Reviews

Ed. Note: This review originally ran in the January/February 2001 issue of XXL Magazine. In honor of the 19th anniversary of Eminem's Marshall Mathers LP, we are re-running our classic review here. LOVE Let's put all the personal shit aside, we can admit it. We're no...

When it’s time to generate publicity for a new project, many veteran rappers shamelessly laud their latest offerings with hollow phrases like, “This is my most personal project to date.” But Murs has built a career on authenticity, and when speaking of Have A Nice Life, his debut album for Tech N9ne’s Strange Music label, the MC's own testimony allows for a clearer picture of the music to follow:

Maintaining relevance in hip-hop is a challenge that all veteran MCs deal with at the latter part of their careers, but in the case of Snoop Dogg, the iconic rapper has managed to evolve and reinvent himself from time to time into a model of gangsta consistency and become one of America's most beloved rappers...

When Rich Homie Quan announced in February that he had “stepped away from the Rich Gang a little bit just to get back to Quan," it came as a surprise to just about everyone. The Atlanta MC's formidable partnership with Young Thug and Birdman had produced one of the best mixtapes of 2014, Tha Tour Pt. 1, and the hig...

The frontal lobes of the human brain are directly connected to an individual’s primary emotion, conscious thought, social conduct and sense of empathy. It’s with definite purpose that in the first 10 seconds of the introductory track (“The Procedure”) to Tech N9ne’s 15th studio album, Special Effects, that the listener finds themselves in an operating room with surgeons on the brink of incision in

Nappy Roots has all but disappeared since their last album Nappy Dot Org, released in 2011. In the era where if you're not poppin' you're forgotten, the once platinum-selling, two-time Grammy-nominated group is back with The 40 Akerz Project...

Raekwon’s legacy is set in stone. As a solo artist and member of the Wu-Tang Clan, Raekwon has crafted some of the most important works in rap history. Albums like Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... and Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) have ensured that the Chef will always hold a special place in hip-hop lore. Having...

Just in time for summer, California duo Audio Push have infused their positive energy into an easy-listening offering. Enter The Good Vibe Tribe, the latest mixtape from Hit-Boy's HS87 go-to tag team Oktane and Pricetag. The group first known for their hyped up jerkin' tracks has noticeably slowed things down with Good Vibe. As soon ...

Before this album/mixtape was even released, Young Thug's Barter 6 was already steeped in drama and controversy. As soon as the Atlanta MC announced that the project would seriously be called Carter 6—which he had been mentioning in interviews for more than a year, comments that had largely been taken as a joke—hip-hop heads did a double take. And when Lil Wayne b...

Nearly four years after the release of his Shady Records debut, Radioactive, Yelawolf is finally back, this time to attempt to solidify his place in the spotlight with his sophomore album, Love Story. As many may argue and as Yelawolf has even openly admitted, on past releases the Alabama native focused more on pleasing others than staying true to his own personal craft...

Leaving behind the trap anthems found on his 2012 debut release, Stritcly 4 My P.A.P.I.Z., Bodega Bamz takes a new direction on his latest release Sidewalk Exec under the venerated Duck Down Music label. Bamz serves up an LP  that sonically and lyrically are reminiscent of the boom-bap era of New York hip-hop and that fits right alongside the refreshing Beastcoast movement coming out of New York.

Young Buck has always been G-Unit's wild child, the original quartet's lone Southern rep with a flow as unpredictable and diverse as Busta Rhymes and Ol' Dirty Bastard before him. But he's also been the member of 50's record-breaking crew who has faced the most adversity over their now-decade-plus run, getting kicked out of the Unit live on Hot 97 in 2008 (with the infamous crying tape), being rai