Hip-Hop Reviews
9 Hip-Hop records in the Certified Archive. Every one of them earned five rainbow thumbs-up, because we only publish reviews of records we think are great — so treat this page as a listening list rather than a ranking. Newest first.
Curly Castro's 'Yaphet' Is a Masterclass in Curating a Room and Then Out-Rapping Everyone In It
Backwoodz Studioz rapper Curly Castro, produced almost entirely by Locust, with billy woods, Fatboi Sharif, Blueprint, SKECH185, AJ Suede, PremRock and Brian Ennals along for it. Bandcamp Daily made it Album of the Day and called the guest list a Murderers' Row. The guests do not win.
All Hail Y.T. & DJ Manifest's 'Soul In The Mirror II' Is a Smooth, Big-Hearted Masterpiece of Encouragement
Fourteen tracks from the Delaware rapper and his longtime producer, built almost entirely out of Quiet Storm soul. It is a motivational record that never once raises its voice, and Bandcamp Daily's J. Edward Keyes says Y.T. is 'the perfect rapper to deliver this kind of uplift.'
doseone, Wino Willy & Zetroc's 'sighting' Is a Filmless Score for a Bad Dream
Twelve tracks of abstract dread from a rap lifer and two producers who understand that restraint is the scariest setting. Out on HandsMade, Bandcamp and vinyl only. Bandcamp Daily made it Album of the Day and called the production 'a masterclass in restraint.'
Open Mike Eagle & Kenny Segal's 'DOOMED!' Turns a Breakup Into the Funniest Sad Record of the Year
Fifteen tracks, forty-one minutes, every beat by Kenny Segal. The first full collaboration between two friends of nearly two decades, written while a relationship came apart, and pitched by the artists themselves as the world's first half-whimsical break-up album. Album of the Year has it at 81 across nine reviews.
Defcee & steel tipped dove's 'We Will Be Brief' Is Twenty-Seven Minutes With Zero Slack In It
Twelve tracks, roughly twenty-seven minutes, every beat by steel tipped dove and every bar by Defcee. Guest verses from billy woods, Fatboi Sharif, Curly Castro, PremRock, Nappy Nina and SKECH185. Stereogum called it a truly impressive new album, and the title is a promise the record actually keeps.
Brian Ennals & Blockhead's 'Boatshoes' Is Funny, Confessional, and Kicking the Year Into Gear
The Baltimore rapper and veteran NYC producer's full-length team-up is thirteen tracks of dusty boom-bap and psychedelic detours, out on Phantom Limb. Bandcamp Daily called it a record 'kicking the second half of the year off right.'
Vince Staples Plugs In a Band and Levels Up on 'Cry Baby'
One of rap's sharpest writers raps over live rock instrumentation — and instead of a gimmick, it plays like a homecoming. Post-punk bones, West Coast blood, zero wasted bars.
Navy Blue Turns Inward and Finds a Whole World on 'Sir Render'
Sage Elsesser's densest, most psychologically searching record yet — rap world-building where the world being built is the self. Possibly his best work, and that bar was high.
Sideshow Goes Long and Loose on 'TIGRAY FUNK'
Sixty-three minutes, 32 tracks, one continuous stream of consciousness. Sideshow's mack rap opus is deliberately muddy, defiantly loose, and completely magnetic.