Reviews
A running index of Low End West reviews, from underground rap and beat tapes to soul, funk, R&B, and nearby left-field records.
-
Album Review: Little Simz – Sugar Girl EP: A Flex Disguised As a Playground
There’s something quietly defiant about releasing an EP where you barely rap. For an MC who once promised a Pyramid Stage crowd they were “witnessing greatness” — and meant it — to step back from the thing everyone knows you for isn’t retreat. It’s the kind of move only available to someone who’s already proven
-
30-Year Throwback: Dr. Octagon – Dr. Octagonecologyst
Kool Keith’s debut as Dr. Octagon remains one of the most singular, unsettling, and influential underground hip-hop records ever made — 30 years later, it still sounds like a transmission from another dimension.
-
Review: Hieroglyphics – Drum Talk: Oakland’s Cipher Reopens
Hieroglyphics return with a compact, drum-forward cipher that makes their next crew album feel necessary instead of nostalgic.
-
25 Years Later: Cannibal Ox – The Cold Vein Still Sounds Like the Future Def Jux Promised
Twenty-five years after its May 15, 2001 release, The Cold Vein still feels less like a nostalgia piece than a transmission from underground rap’s alternate future.
-
Album Review: AZ – Doe Or Die III: A Legacy Cemented
AZ closes the trilogy that began 30 years ago with an album that proves consistency is its own kind of genius.
-
Album Review: Oddisee & Heno. – From Takoma With Love: Suburban Wisdom, Generations Apart
Two generations of DMV talent find common ground on a soulful album that turns neighborhood specifics into something universal.
-
Album Review: Casual – Black Magic: Bar Heavy and Built for Battle
Casual still has one of the sharpest pens in the game, and Black Magic is a reminder that some veterans only get better with time.
-
Review: 2Mex – L.A. Underground (Moonlight Grams Remix): Still Carrying the Torch
A remix that bridges generations of LA underground, proving the city’s low-end frequencies are still in good hands.
-
Album Review: Black Milk – CEREMONIAL: A Bridge Between Two Decades
Black Milk polishes the grit without losing the Detroit in his drums, delivering the clearest picture yet of who he is as an artist.
-
Review: Ravyn Lenae – Reputation / Bobby: A New Chapter in Real Time
Ravyn Lenae trades airy R&B for indie surf rock and somehow makes it sound like she’s been here the whole time.
-
Review: KAYTRANADA – Ain’t No Damn Way!: Production as the Main Character
Four albums deep and KAYTRANADA is still making the kind of beats that make you forget everything except the groove.
-
Album Review: Open Mike Eagle – Neighborhood Gods Unlimited: Still the Most Interesting Rapper Alive
Open Mike Eagle trades punchlines for emotional clarity on his most honest album yet.