Jul 28, 2025 at 5:25 PM

356. Eminem - Kamikaze (2018) [July 28th, 2025]

A very nostalgic album for me. I literally got into Em like, two weeks before this dropped, so the rollout (or lack thereof) really brings me back. Kamikaze is definitely a step up from Revival, but I would say that it hasn't aged too well in the 6 years (d---) since it's release.

To be fair, I don't hate Kamikaze. "The Ringer" is a great fiery intro from Em (and let's be honest, it's much better as an opener than "Marshall Powers" could've ever been"), and "Greatest" is probably one of my favorites on here. I like to clown on Joyner a lot these days, but "Lucky You" is an all time b-----r.. "Normal" sucks though. I get that it's a Drake parody I guess, but it's just lame. "Stepping Stone" is a nice sentimental ode to D12 though. "Not Alike" is a great BME track, and d--- Em went in on MGK. "Kamikaze" is..."Kamikaze. Nothing much to say about that.

I wanna give a special focus to "Fall". In a lot of ways, "Fall" feels like a pseudo sequel to "Walk on Water" for me. On WOW, Em clearly laid out his insecurities and his fears about the high expectations that people place on him. On "Fall", Em is clearly shaken by the (albeit deserved) negative reaction to Revival. The last "I'm not gonna Fall, b----" before Justin Vernon's chorus has always felt pretty sad for me. Although, mentioning Hopsin as a sign of your legacy was a bad move lmao.

Then the album falls apart. "Nice Guy" is Revival levels of bad, and "Good Guy", while okay, feels way too out of place on here. I have to admit that "Venom" is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, but I do recognize that it's not exactly MMLP level.

Kamikaze's biggest problem is based on the fact that a lot of it's subject matter is either dated, or wrong to begin with, Hearing mumble rap discourse in 2025 is beyond lame, and the fact that Em chooses to defend Revival on most of these tracks is hilariously dumb. For an album that is billed as a "f--- You to the Haters" having 5 songs that have nothing to do with the theme is almost laughable. Still, I do think that it's mostly a very vulnerable album, and I think I'll always have a soft spot for it in a way.

 

Jul 29, 2025 at 1:05 PM

357. Ween - 12 Golden Country Greats (1996) [July 29th, 2025]

Is it a bit strange to check out Ween's full country album before albums like The Pod and Quebec? Perhaps

12 Golden Country Greats is strange, in part, due to how normal it is. Instead of the genre crossing that was a staple on their previous album Chocolate and Cheese, Gene and Dean decided to do a full on country album. And it's fine. The type of country that they do on this record isn't my cup of tea usually, but there's enough Ween humor on here to make it worthwhile at least. Eh, it's nothing too special in my opinion

 

Jul 29, 2025 at 4:50 PM

358. Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist - Alfredo 2 (2025) [July 29th, 2025]

This one might be unpopular. At least for now (literally 1 listen), I didn't really enjoy Alfredo 2 that much. I revisited the first Alfredo in preparation, and I still think that it's a great project.

Alfredo 2 on the other hand, was good, but not mindblowing for me. Freddie is charismatic as always, and I feel like all the features did pretty good. I am more mixed on Alc though. None of the beats here are bad, but I feel like recent Alchemist beats haven't really grabbed me like they used to before. "Feeling" and "I Still Love H.E.R." were pretty dope tho.

Hoping that I enjoy this one more on a relisten

 

Jul 30, 2025 at 7:57 PM

359. Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988) [July 30th, 2025]

Can we all agree that It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back is one of the coolest album names ever? PE is a legendary group in Hip-Hop circles, and that reputation is well deserved man.

First off, the album's sound is dope as h---. There's something about mid-late 80's Hip-Hop turntabling that sounds amazing. "Bring the Noise" and "Don't Bring the Hype" start off the album well, and Flava Flav does a good job on the solo track ""Cold Lamping With Flavor". "Terminator X to the Edge of Panic" is a great track as well, and it increases my appreciation for Terminator X's role in the group. "She Watch Channel Zero?" is a surprisingly rock-based song, but it's great. "Security of the First World" is a strangely addictive instrumental track, even if isn't anything too crazy. The iconic "Rebel Without A Pause" is incredible, with that amazing sample throughout, and the dope-a--- turntabling during the chorus. I haven't gone too deep into the subject matter so far, but d---, this is amazing protest music. Like, this sounds like pure, unfiltered anger towards the government, and it's stellar.

I really like this record, and I hope to check out it's successor soon.

 

Jul 30, 2025 at 8:08 PM

360. Nine Inch Nails - And All That Could've Been (2002) [July 30th, 2025]

Similar to its companion album Still, And All That Could've Been essentially serves as an ending for the original run of NIN. And as a live album that consists of songs from 4 great projects, it's a pretty good time.

"Terrible Lie" is a good start, and I honestly like the version of "Sin" better than the original on Pretty Hate Machine. I'm not gonna go too deep into most of the tracks, but the live version of "The Mark HAs Been Made" is absolutely stellar. I don't really have much to say honestly, but as someone who's a big fan of this era of NIN, this was a treat. Hoping to get into the With Teeth-Present Day Stuff soon.