Albums

Reviews of hip-hop albums or mixtapes.

SAGE FRANCIS - A Healthy Distrust

The previous album of Sage Francis, Personal Journals, had won over an audience external to hip-hop. And this was not surprising, considering that the rapper's label was Anticon, and that he was leaning toward rock […]

ADLIB - International Beats

One of the original members of Global Phlowtations – a Californian collective from the Project Blowed family, with legendary people like Orko Eloheim and Sach, also from The Nonce – Thavius Beck is mostly known for his […]

PRINCESS NOKIA - 1992

The only good music is the one that resembles its creator. And 1992, as a matter of fact, resembles New-York. Not only because its title refers to the 1990's decade, when NYC hip-hop was as its best – 1992 is, actually, […]

JEDI MIND TRICKS - The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological, and Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness

Though 1996 is generally considered as the start of the indie rap era, 1997 is the year of its classics. The first Jedi Mind Tricks album, The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological, and Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of […]

BLACKALICIOUS - Nia

Though he was more visible than others, DJ Shadow has never been a lone wolf. Even before his fame and the monumental Endtroducing… album, he was a part of Solesides, a label from the Bay Area, the very place which, […]

CANNIBAL OX - The Cold Vein

The Cold Vein was the first important album released by Def Jux, and the first El-P, the label's founder, had entirely produced since Company Flow broke up. In addition, it had been heralded by two striking singles, […]

DJ SHADOW - Endtroducing...

This is a recurring debate, though a rather quiet one, and it exists since the very day Entroducing… was released: is this crucial album of the 1990's decade as great as its reputation says? In other words, is it really […]

MCENROE - The Convenience EP

By 2002, Peanuts & Corn had produced a large collection of impeccable rap albums. Its founder, however, hadn't released anything since his Ethics EP, apart from the side-project Billy's Vision. The main guy behind […]

KANYE WEST - The Life of Pablo

Let's forget Kanye's mischiefs for a second. Let's put aside his recent words in favor of Donald Trump, or his hospital admission, and focus on the essentials: his latest work. Now is finally the right time. So, let's […]

SANDPEOPLE - Honest Racket

No Doubt: for most underground rap fans, the Wu Tang Clan of the Pacific Northwest is Oldominion. The region, however, has another talented collective. It is based in Portland and called Sandpeople, and it is every bit […]

BRAD HAMERS - The Cut-Ups of a Paper Woman

Slug, Sole, Alias, Sage Francis, Yoni Wolf... By focusing their raps on intimate and confessional lyrics, all these artsy and hypersensitive White men, plus a few others, have been pioneers in a new kind of hip-hop. The […]

BUCK 65 - Vertex

By the end of the 90's, Buck 65 was a central radio DJ, rapper and producer in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was also a White man, a Canadian, and he had grown by the countryside. As a result, he was everything but your […]

SLUMPLORDZ - Present SunnMoonSekt

Rard and Moon, a.k.a. SunnMoonSekt, had previously been part of an East Coast band called Devious Dysfonctional. Later on, they would join another, Young & Restless. And ultimately, they would become part of a […]

DALEK - Abandoned Language

With their fourth album, Dälek still complied with their formula. Once again, this record from the Newark band was made of walls of sound, tenebrous ambiances, giant bass sounds, virulent lyrics, rapped admonitions, and […]

SWAMP THING - Creature Feature

You know what to expect, considering whom Swamp Thing is made of. Those familiar with underrated rappers Timbuktu and Chokeules from Toolshed, and Savilion, shouldn't be overly surprised by the content of Creature […]

JOHN SMITH - Blunderbus (Or, in Transit)

Joe Compayre, a.k.a. John Smith, is coming from an improbable location for a rapper: Churchill, on the Hudson Bay, a city renowned for being... the "Polar Bear Capital of the World". He settled in Winnipeg in […]

page 5 of 17