Reviews
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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…
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Album Review: Hit-Boy & The Alchemist – The Goldfish
Two elite producers prove they can hang on the mic too, delivering an album that hits from every angle.