Jul 22, 2025 at 11:17 AM

345. SUSS - Promise (2020) [July 22nd, 2025]

Probably the last SUSS record that will be logged here for a while. Good time, but I definitely prefer Ghost Box and High Line.

 

Jul 22, 2025 at 6:18 PM

346. Westside Gunn - Supreme Blientele (2018) [July 22nd, 2025]

Yet another album that I have been wanting to check out for YEARS. Seriously, Supreme Blientele has been on my list since like 2020, so it's about d--- time.

A big part of what makes Gunn so cool, is his greatness as a curator (cringe title I know). This whole record feels so tight and damnnnn is it good. The beats to songs like "GOD$ Don't Bleed", and "Brutus" are so f---ing cool. Lyrics-wise, songs like "Elizabeth", "Brossface Bripper" and "Spanish Jesus" are incredible. The whole record has a very Miami Vice-ish feel. Like, I can totally imagine this playing in the background of a high concept crime epic. It's great, what else can I say?

 

Jul 23, 2025 at 3:58 PM

347. Chalino Sanchez - El Pela Vacas (1992) [July 23rd, 2025]

Another short review unfortunately. El Pela Vacas is a good time, but it doesn't really come close to the heights of Nieves de Enero or even Alma Enamorada.

 

Jul 24, 2025 at 7:37 PM

348. Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 3 (2016) [July 24th, 2025]

A bit of a strange one for me. I've listened to RTJ2 and RTJ4 a bunch over the years, and I was lukewarm on the debut, but for some reason, I had never checked out Run the Jewels 3. I don't really know why, but this was my first time.

First off, I have to praise the cohesion of this album. Seriously, every track segues into the next seamlessly, and the whole record feels like the background to a chase. The beats to "Legend Has It", "Don't Get Captured" and "Thieves..." are f---ing dope, which is no surprise since El-P is dope as h---. Both El and Mike tear these beats up to, and they sound so energized man. My favorite track has to be the closer " A Report To The Shareholders/ k--- Your Masters". The first half of the track is dope, but the second....d---. That secret Zack De La Rocha feature was so cool,

So yeah, I'm glad I finally checked this out. Hoping to revisit it more in the future

 

Jul 25, 2025 at 12:14 PM

349. Ween - God Ween Satan: The Oneness (1990) [July 25th, 2025]

My first foray into the "brown" Ween albums. As someone who loves their later, more polished works like Chocolate and Cheese and The Mollusk, I was very excited to finally dive into the band's earlier work.

GodWeenSatan... is a strange album man. Many of the songs are less than two minutes, so it goes by pretty fast. The energy on this album is honestly my favorite thing about it. Songs like "You f----- Up" and "Cold and Wet" are really fun. There are a few stinkers ("Nicole" would be amazing if it wasn't 8 minutes long), but as a whole, I had a lot of fun. I do think that the short tracks means that I didn't really latch onto too many individual songs, but as an experience, it was great!! I do have to say that I didn't really find it too "brown" though. Like, it definitely sounds rougher than an album like White Pepper, but I thought it still sounded pretty nice. I don't know, maybe The Pod is more abrasive

 

Jul 25, 2025 at 7:07 PM

350. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (2013) [July 25th, 2025]

I know this sounds strange for a zoomer to say, but I had a preowned iPod a few years ago that had a few Em songs. Some of the songs included "Without Me", "Superman", etc....and "Berzerk". I This was how I found out that there was a sequel to the MMLP, and I was intrigued to day the least. It's been seven years since then, and my opinion on The Marshall Mathers LP 2 has frequently changed over the years.

First off, "Bad Guy" is a great intro. To start off a record with a sequel to "Stan" is VERY risky, but Em pull it off, with the second half basically functioning as a total deconstruction of his persona. It's cool. "Rhyme or Reason" samples a great Zombies track, and Em does very well on it thankfully. "Legacy" is a nice little track about Em's upbringing, and "Berzerk" is awesome. "Brainless" is dope, "Stronger Than I Was" is overhated imo, and "The Monster" is probably my favorite Em/Rihanna collab. "Love Game" is a surprisingly funny collab between two greats, "Headlights" is really f---ing sad, and "Evil Twin" is a great closer, where Em basically admits that all the things he's said come...from him.

Now, there are a few songs that I'm not that into. "So Much Better" has a bad beat and a bad hook, "Survival" and "a------" are lame, and I've never liked the beats to "Rap God" or "So Far"


As for the deluxe tracks, "Baby", "Groundhog Day", and "Don't Front" are really d--- good, but I can't stand "Desperation". The rest are fine.

Honestly, I still really like The Marshall Mathers LP 2. While it does feature some elements that would make me dislike future projects like Shady XV or the Southpaw soundtrack, it still comes together pretty d--- well. Some people think that this record doesn't fit as a sequel since it sounds so different to the original, but honestly, I think that having an album that is so stylistically different to the original MMLP is a great move. SO yeah, It's cool.

 

Jul 26, 2025 at 4:14 PM

351. Pulp - Different Class (1995) [July 26th, 2025]

Reviewed in AOTW Club, but I enjoyed it so much, that I'm gonna quote the review

 

Jul 26, 2025 at 5:10 PM

352. King Combs & Ye - NEVER STOP (2025) [July 26th, 2025]

I never expected to listen to this EP. But I figured "I've listened to most Ye related projects before, so I'll check it out for completion's sake". i wish I hadn't

NEVER STOP is a "nothing" project. The beats s---, the features s--- (they need to stop trying to make North a star, cause she's way too young to be talking about "fake friends"), and most of all... King Combs is BORINGGGGG. There is nothing about this guy that's even remotely interesting aside from being Diddy's kid, and even then, he doesn't even sound enthusiastic about that. Literal garbage, 2/10 because at least it's listenable.

 

Jul 27, 2025 at 3:59 PM

Redux #4. Jay-Z - The Blueprint (2001) [July 27th, 2025]

The release of The Blueprint is arguably the most important event to ever happen on September 11t, 2001.

Is it fair to say that this is Hov's magnum opus? To have an album this great after an already incredible five album stretch is baffling. "The Ruler's Back" is one of the greatest intro tracks in Hip-Hop history, and Jay sounds as slick as ever. "Takeover" is f---ing incredible. That Kanye beat that samples The Doors' "Five to One" is a headbanger, and Jay sounds so pissed on the verses g.d. (Better than "Ether" by the way). "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)", "Girls Girls Girls", "Jigga That n-----", "U Don't Know", "Hola' Hovito".....perfection. The production credits on this album are nuts man. Kanye, Just Blaze, Trackmasters...and best of all... NO SWIZZ BEATZ

"Heart of the City" might be my favorite track on here. I had listened to The Blueprint around 2-3 times prior to this, but I vividly remember hearing this album in the summer of 2023. I was on a school trip to New York, and trust me, there's no experience like listening to "Heart of the City" in the middle of Manhattan. Good times man. "Never Change" has a pretty cool early Kanye feature, and "Song Cry" is peak. "Renegade" is well...."Renegade". I'm sure that @Minato can speak for how great Em's verse is. The final 3 tracks are fun too, and "Girls Girls Girls Pt. 2" is such a funny way to end the record.

The Blueprint is simultaneously dope, and incredibly fun. The beats on this album fill me up with joy every time I listen to it, and I absolutely love it more and more every single time.

 

Jul 27, 2025 at 11:32 PM

353. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) [July 27th, 2025]

Was Apple Music bugging when they declared this the best album EVER? Probably. But it's still pretty d--- good.

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill holds a bit of a strange place in current music discourse. If you disregard the MTV Unplugged record, it's basically the only full solo album we've gotten from Lauryn, period. I might be in the minority, but I feel that this uniqueness helps the record build up a sense of prestige. Like, this is Lauryn's solo, it's great, and you better enjoy it cause you're probably never getting another.

"Lost Ones" is a stellar album opener. That beat is simple, but it goes so hard man. Lauryn sounds so ill on the verses too. I'll be honest, I used to not be that big a fan of "Ex-Factor" and "To Zion" on previous listens, but they clicked this time man. Absolutely stellar. Then we have the classic "Doo Wop (That Thing)", which is always such a fun song to put on, especially during the summer. "Final Hour" has some pretty good rapping from Lauryn, "I Used To Love Him" has a sick beat, and "Forgive Them Father" is a nice highlight. My only real issue with the album, is the fact that some of the songs go on for way too long. Like, somebody should've told Lauryn that it's perfectly fine to have a song be less than five minutes lmao

A great mix of rap and R&B, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is a great time, that is a bit too long in my opinion. I can definitely see the influence that this album has on one of my all time favorites, The College Dropout, and it helped me appreciate Soul/R&B more the first few times that I heard it. This is far from an underrated album, but I think it's always worth revisiting once in a while.

 

Jul 28, 2025 at 12:07 PM

354. Alice in Chains - Sap (1992) [July 28th, 2025]

The first "proper" Alice in Chains EP is a very good time thankfully. Although I'd say that it isn't as well known as Jar of Flies (probably due to it's length), I still think it's an essential release in the band's catalog, with it serving as a pretty good bridge between the Facelift and Dirt eras.

Aside form being a great song, "Brother" is notable for being the first AiC song to have Jerry Cantrell on lead vocals. I love Layne of course, but Jerry's vocals have a sort of, country strain that makes him sound great. Ann Wilson from Heart does a great job with the background vocals as well. "Got Me Wrong" is a great duet by Layne and Jerry, although I've grown to enjoy the Unplugged version more over time. "Right Turn" is the weirdest posse cut in grunge history, mixing Jerry, Layne, Chris Cornell and Mark Arm (not too familiar with him admittedly) into a very nice little track. "Am I Inside" is a pretty good closer as well, with "Love Song" being a nice hidden track to end the EP off on a humorous note.

There really isn't much to say about Sap honestly, but it's still a very good project. You have two of the band's best songs, and a great posse cut, so this is automatically a pretty good tape. It's very short too, so it's very easy to revisit. Definitely recommend this one!!!

 

Jul 28, 2025 at 4:48 PM

355. Eminem - Revival (2017) [July 28th, 2025]

Revival sucks. We all know that right. It's Em's worst album by a mile, and it arguably impacted his image in ways that are still felt today. And boy do I hate it more every single time I revisit it.

In a way, most of Revival's biggest sins are shared with the previous contender for worst Eminem album, Encore. Revival doesn't know what the h--- it wants to be. Just like how The Black Album looms over Encore, JAY-Z's 4:44 outshines Revival in almost every way. The record fails at commentary, as a political statement, and most importantly, it fails at being good.

"Walk on Water" is a pretty good song in my opinion. Granted, the beat is boring, and some of the lyrics aren't the best, but the song's sentiment is honestly very good. Despite how braggadocious he's been his enture career, Eminem is a human at the end of the day, and he has hisown sets of insecuritied and problems. It's a great way to start an album honestly.


It's just a shame the rest of the album sucks.

"Believe" has a s-----y beat, a terrible "Phenomenal"-esque chorus, and the first terrible choppy flow of the record. "Chloraseptic" is laughably bad, especially when you consider that PHRESHER (Remember Him?) is the album's only rap feature. I like "Untouchable" in a "so bad it's good" way, but the execution is f---ing terrible. "River" is probably the only good pop crossover on the record, and Ed and Em have some decent chemistry honestly. "Remind Me" is so s---, to the point that it makes me want to retract any good thing that I've ever said about Rick Rubin. "Like Home" is a painfully bland political track. Seriously, this is the guy who said that he'd rather see Bush dead than to rap for the money, and the best he can come up with about Trump are s-----y puns? REALLY?

"Bad Husband" and "Tragic Endings" f---ing SUCKKKKKKKKK. "Framed" is great, and that beat is very cool, i like it. "Nowhere Fast" sucks. "Heat" is a guilty pleasure for me honestly, but "Offended" and ESPECIALLY "Need Me" s--- a---, "In Your Head" is meh. And lastly, we have "Castle/Arose". These two tracks are so good, that they honestly piss me off. These two tracks have some of Em's best writing, and they end such a terrible album.

Revival is painfully embarrassing for an artist of Em's caliber. Excluding guilty pleasures, there are only five songs that I'd say are worth listening to. Five....out of 19. This album is god awful, and Em rightfully got s--- on for it, i mean Jesus Christ this is s---.