The Heist is a fitting title for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ official debut. Seemingly in broad daylight, hip-hop’s independent contractors infiltrated Main Street, made their demands, and robbed critics blind with big budget hits and honest transparency. Anchored entirely by Ryan Lewis’ sonic boom, Macklemore begins their caper with “Ten Thousand Hours” and follows up with the irresistible, “Can’t Hold Us”. He spills his guts on cuts like “Neon Cathedral”, “Make The Money”, “Starting Over”) but still manages to not take […]

Everyone likes when a plan comes together. Such is the case when producer El-P hooked up with Killer Mike to score last year’s R.A.P. Music (Rebellious African People). Bun B, T.I. and Trouble set the tone on the lyrical monster “Big Beast”. But make no mistake, Mike’s no slouch. He’s meaner than John Hinckley Jr. on “Reagan” and engrossing with narratives like “JoJo’s Chillin” and “Don’t Die”. He catches the holy ghost on the title track and wrestles with his spirituality on […]

I’m starting to think y’all niggas take DJ Khaled for granted. Maybe it’s because the Mouth of The South continues to make amazing all-star collabos look so easy. “Bitches and Bottles” is one of his career best with an infectious Future hook and a rejuvenated T.I.’s opening bars. “I got my own shine/But I want yours.” Khaled has always been able to get the most out of an MC. Who else could motivate Kanye West to spaz out like he […]

Curren$y loves to flood the game with free music, but last year, he made fans come out of pocket with his major Warner Bros. debut, The Stoned Immaculate. Through the clouds of smoke, Spitta pulls up with a bundle of standouts (“Chandelier”, “Showroom”). He’s equipped with witty lines (“Sunroof”, “Chasin’ Papers”, ) and stands tall amongst collaborators as evidenced by “No Squares” (Wiz Khalifa), “What It Look Like” (Wale), “Fast Cars, Faster Women” (Daz), “Capitol” (2 Chainz), “That’s The Thing” […]

On track one of Control System, Ab-Soul professed to being the underdog and secret weapon. That’s actually a fair assessment. As Top Dawg Entertainment’s most enigmatic artist, Soul announces his arrival with “Track Two” and shortly after, delivers a mean hook alongside Danny Brown on “Terrorist Threats”. He dumps a full clip on the Kendrick Lamar-featured “ILLuminate” and then surveys the damage with calm (“A Rebellion”, “Empathy”). It’s politics as usual and on “Beautiful Death”, The Black Lip Bastard turns his face […]