Aug 5, 2025

366. Clipse - Til the Casket Drops (2009) [August 5th, 2025]

This is a bit of a confession. Even though I consistently praise Clipse as one of, if not the best duo in rap history (which they are), I had never checked out their fourth, and previously last, LP, Til the Casket Drops. And after checking it out, I think it was...

good

Til the Casket Drops is not a bad album, but it doesn't match the heights of Lord Willin', h--- Hath No Fury, and even it's successor Let God Sort 'Em Out. "Freedom" is good, but it's no "Intro" or "We Got It For Cheap" level either. The only song I had checked out beforehand was the single "Popular Demand (Popeye's)", which I'm largely indifferent towards. Thankfully, tracks 3 - 8 are pretty good, with "Kinda A Big Deal", "Showin' Out", and "There Was A Murder" being highlights. The album does slip a bit after that, but "Footsteps" and "Life Change" are pretty good.

I really don't have much to say about Til the Casket Drops. It's competently made, but I think it's easily the weakest project in the duo's discography (I haven't checked out their shelved debut, or 3 of their mixtapes). I might revisit this one in the future, but as it stands, it's a decent time

 

Aug 6, 2025 at 6:52 PM

367. Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet (1990) [August 6th, 2025[

This one might be a bit controversial. Now, I absolutely love A Nation of Millions..., and I was beyond excited to check it's successor. I mean, the record is called Fear of a Black Planet... That is like, one of the coolest titles ever. Sadly though, I didn't really get into this one, at least off of 1 listen.

First off, there are some great tracks on here, like "Anti-n---- Machine" (what a title, huh?), "Burn Hollywood Burn", and "Who Stole the Soul". But, I do have some pet peeves with this album. The production didn't really grab me compared to ITANOMTHUB. I think there are too many interludes that really don't do much, with "Pollywannacracka" being the best example. I don't really have any major problems aside from those, but as a whole, this record didn't really live up to my (admittedly high) expectations.

 

Aug 6, 2025 at 7:05 PM

368. John Cena & Tha Trademarc - You Can't See Me (2005) [August 6th, 2025]

Admittedly, I was never really into wrestling as a kid. But after listening to Supreme Blientele a couple weeks back, I started getting interested into that whole rabbit hole, so I decided to check this record out, just for the h--- of it.

Now, You Can't See Me, is a surprisingly decent record. "The Time Is Now" is well known for being Cena's second main theme, and it's honestly pretty d--- good. I was also impressed by songs like "Don't f--- With Us' and "Bad, Bad Man", and I actually found them to be pretty d--- good. The record also has some decent chill tracks like "Just Another Day" and "Summer Flings".Sadly, the record falls off pretty steeply after "Bad, Bad Man", with the closing track "If It All Ended Tomorrow" being the only notable song from that point onward.

I was simultaneously surprised and let down by You Can't See Me. There are some really great songs here, but a lot of the album, was just meh. For a WWE album, I do think that it was pretty d--- good however, but I don't know if that criteria is easy to surpass or not.

 

Aug 7, 2025 at 5:33 PM

369. g--- Starr - Hard to Earn (1994) [August 7th, 2025]

It seems like g--- Starr's albums always take some getting used to for me. I mean, Moment of Truth took me two listens to fully get into, so maybe this one will hit better on a relisten. Oh well. "Code of the Streets", and "The Planet" were pretty cool tho

 

Aug 7, 2025 at 6:03 PM

370. Conway the Machine - God Don't Make Mistakes (2022) [August 7th, 2025]

Speaking of relistens, i hope we can all agree that it always feels great to revisit an album you were lukewarm on, in order to give them another chance. And when it comes to God Don't Make Mistakes, it clicked man. Like, holy s---.

"Lock Load" is one of the best rap intros of the 2020's without a doubt. There are so may f---ing amazing tracks here man. "Tear gas", "Piano Love", "John Woo Flick", literally every single song man. I'm not usually caught off guard by tracks, but "Stressed" literally made me f---ing gasp man. The production on this album off the charts. It literally feels like the son of The Infamous. I've never really gotten into Conway as much as i have with Gunn, but he absolutely shines on this project. Absolutely stellar, and I'm beyond glad that I revisited it

 

Aug 9, 2025 at 1:56 PM

371. Arcade Fire - Neon Bible (2007) [August 9th, 2025]

Review made in AOTW Club

 

Aug 10, 2025 at 5:49 PM

372. Godspeed You Black Emperor! - Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven! (2000) [August 10th, 2025]

I remember finding this album incredibly daunting the first time I listened to it. Mainly instrumental, and every song is 15+ minutes long? d---. Since I've slowly grown to appreciate instrumental albums more and more, I figured that it was time to revisit Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven, and i'm glad I did.

Now, I've been quite honest about being terrible at describing what I like about albums instrumental-wise, so this will be quite short. I like this record more and more everytime, but I still prefer F# A# ∞. hat record was so dark and brooding, and this one doesn't really grab me as much. Still, there are some absolutely great moments on here.

 

Aug 11, 2025 at 1:49 PM

373. Bill Elm & Woody Jackson - Red Dead Redemption (2010) [August 11th, 2025]

This soundtrack is pretty d--- good. For the instrumental tracks, I'd say that "The Shootist", "Horseplay", and "Gunplay" are the best. The vocal tracks at the end were pretty good too, with "Deadman's Gun" being my favorite. I need to replay this game soon man

 

Aug 11, 2025 at 5:36 PM

374. Method Man - Tical (1994) [August 11th, 2025]

Tical is one of the strangest Wu-Solos for me. Over time, I've grown to absolutely love albums like Liquid Swords and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, but similar to Ironman and Return to the 36 Chambers, Tical has never really hit that hard for me. Although, I did enjoy it a lot more this time around.

"Tical" is a decent opener (sidenote: why is the beat to "Guillotine (Swordz)" played so much on this album lmao), but the next few songs really hit it out of the park. "Biscuits", "Bring the Pain", "m--- vs Chef", "Sub Crazy"... all great. Granted you aren't getting Liquid Swords-level lyricism on these tracks, but m---'s coolness is undeniable. My main takeaway from Tical is the following: Method Man is cool as h---, and the album is good, but not great. Lackluster review? Probably. But there really isn't much to say

 

Aug 11, 2025 at 5:42 PM

375. Westside Gunn - Fourth Rope (2019) [August 11th, 2025]

A compilation album made up of wrestling themed Griselda songs? Count me in!!!

It's hard to discuss compilation albums since there really isn't too much cohesion to speak of. There are many great songs on here, but my favorites are probably the ones from Supreme Blientele like "RVD" and my all time favorite "Elizabeth". There are some other good tracks here like "Dudley Boys" and "Ringside Rocking Furs". Nothing much to say aside from the fact that this is a great cardio album!!!!

 

Aug 12, 2025 at 6:23 PM

376. Eminem - Music to Be Murdered By (2020) [August 12th, 2025]

The contrast between Kamikaze and Music to be Murdered By is insane. I still remember waking up and seeing the headline "Eminem slammed for Ariana Grande concert lyrics". My first thought was, "Didn't that s-----y freestyle come out months ago?".....and then I checked Spotify. A second surprise album? And it's 20 tracks long? I was ecstatic. I remember listening to a few songs before class started, and in a lot of ways, Music to be Murdered By was the last release that I checked out prior to the whole COVID-era we all went through. I loved this album when it first came out. I bought the CD with the alternate cover, and everything. But now, I'm definitely more mixed.

"Premonition" is a pretty good intro for the most part. Em sounds vicious on this, but the whole "People hated Revival" s--- just makes me cringe. "Unaccommodating" is good, even if Young M.A. f---ing sucks. "You Gon' Learn" is a highlight, and both Em and Royce do great (Why haven't we gotten a collab since??). "Alfred (Interlude)" should've been the intro in my opinion, and the fact that it transitions into "Those Kinda Nights" is laughable. I don't hate TKN for the record, but it does NOT fit here lmao. "Godzilla" is really fun, and I'm glad that it got as big as it did. "Darkness" is a very poignant statement by Em, and it's probably one of the greatest tracks he's ever written. Em does good on "Leaving Heaven", but the Skyler hook is kinda lame imo. "Yah Yah" is absolutely insane, and it might be my favorite track on the album. Royce, Q-Tip, BLACK THOUGHT and Em on once track? h--- YEAh

The second half is much more mixed however. "Stepdad (Intro)" and "Stepdad" are f---ing laughable, and the fact that this is the only Alchemist collaboration on an Em album is legitimately infuriating. "Marsh" sucks (shout out to my ese though!), and "Never Love Again" is fine."Little Engine" is good, even if it is a bit silly. "Lock It In" is fine as well, but "Farewell" and "In Too Deep" (a song that I literally forgot to mention in the first paragraph lol), are just so out of place here. "No Regrets" is actually pretty dope, and "I Will" is a really good closer in my opinion.

As time goes on, Music to Be Murdered By's flaws become increasingly more apparent to me. Could my memories be influencing my enjoyment of this album? Probably. But I still have a decent time with it, and I'm glad that we got something better than Kamikaze

 

Aug 12, 2025 at 6:36 PM

377. Eminem - Music to Be Murdered By: Side B (2020) [August 12th, 2025]

Just like with Side A, I have lots of memories tied to Music to Be Murdered By: Side B. I remember joining S80 during the initial rumor mill. The Side B thread was such a fun time for me, and it introduced me to a community that I have continued to post on for nearly four years. Does it hold up though?

"Black Magic" is fine, even if I'm not the biggest Skylar fan. "Alfred's Theme" is pretty funny, and I've been a "Tone Deaf" hater since Day 1. f--- that song. "Book of Rhymes" is a great Preemo collab (About time!), and the two hitter of "Favorite b----" and "Guns Blazing" is pretty dope. The album falls off pretty steeply after this though, with "Gnat", "Higher", "These Demons", "She Loves Me", and "Killer" being pretty forgettable. "Zeus" is great though, and its honestly one of the best reflective tracks form Em in the past 10 years. "Discombobulated" is awesome though, and it's a great way to end the project.

Music to Be Murdered By: Side B, doesn't really hold up in my opinion. I still have a lot of memories about the lead up, and I do own the alternate cover CD after all, but as a whole, it isn't too crazy. It's a decent time, but nothing incredible