Chesstown King's Reviews and Thoughts

Man its been a good year for rap. As you can see alot of albums had the same rating so I didnt really say one was better than the other, I just gave them the same rank starting with 1 and going up to 20.  You'll notice I added 2 cds that werent on the original list(Rick Ross and Pusha T). If you dont agree let me know. 20) A$AP Rocky- At Long Last A$AP 20)Scarface- Deeply Rooted 20)Mac Miller-GO:OD 12) Raekwon-Fly International Luxurious Art 12)Drake-If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late 12) Joe Budden-All Love Lost 12) Talib Kweli & 9 th Wonder-Indie 500 12)Jay Rock-90059 12)Rick Ross-Black Marcket 12) Jeezy-Church In These Streets 12)Ludacris-Ludaversal 10)Tyler the Creator-Cherry Bomb 10)Big Sean-Dark Sky Paradise 8) Jadakiss-Top 5 Dead or Alive 8)Logic-The Incredible True Story 7) Vince Staples-Summertime ‘06 6) Pusha T-King Push: Darkest Before Dawn 5) Dr. Dre-Compton 4) Kendrick Lamar- To Pimp a Butterfly 3) The Game-The Document

A$AP Rocky returns with a truly complex, laid back album. This album proves A$AP is a good rapper….but is he a great one? Not really. The album has really good production. It gets off to a great start with Holy Ghost which features Joe Fox, a singer who’s on a few tracks. The album doesn’t really get really good till after the first few songs are over (excluding Holy Ghost). Things do pick up really well though. Guests include Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Future, M.I.A. Schoolboy Q, Juicy J, UGK and Miguel. All of the guest spots aren’t well used but most are. This is an album that grew on me and is very well executed. The verdict is a solid 8.9/10

The boss has returned for his 3 rd album in 2 years. This one is better than Mastermind and way better than Hood Billionaire. Lyrically Ross has stepped up.  There isn’t really just one song I can say that he really stepped it up; he’s consistent throughout. The beats are pretty good too. Not all trap beats as you might expect.  There’s a lot of guests like Nas, Mariah Carey, Chris Brown, Mary J. Blige, John Legend, and the Dream. This is a solid album and keeps Ross relevant easily. The verdict: 9/10

1.       Game-Documentary 2.5 (100)- Game’s 2 nd offering of Documentary 2 is a classic. Songs like Gang Bang Anyway, The Ghetto, and Up On the Wall are incredible. Is it the album of the year? 2.       Game- Documentary 2 (99)- Arguably has more bangers than 2.5…Game’s sequel to Documentary is superior in most every way.  There’s a huge guest list like Kanye, Dr. Dre, Future, and Snoop. 3.       Dr. Dre-Compton(97)- Perhaps the most unexpected album of the year. Compton has just enough Dre and just enough guests to make a great album. 4.       Vince Staples-Summertime ’06 (94)- VS’s debut didn’t disappoint. The songs are short but they are great. The album is oozing style. 5.       Jadakiss-Top 5 Dead Or Alive (93)- A great offering from an aging yet extremely effective rapper. I really like the guests too. Lil Wayne shows promise on the song Kill. Jada is back. Aha!  6.       Logic-The Incredible True Story(93)- Tied for 5 th technically is Logic. His new album is great

Jadakiss claims hes a top 5 rapper all time..i say no, maybe top 15, maybe. However this album is very good. Theres a big guest list including Styles P, Lil Wayne, Akon, Swizz Beatz, Ne-yo, and Jeezy. The guests do well, especially Lil Wayne...who surprisingly steals the show. The beats are also pretty good. Some are raw and dark, but others bring a brighter energy. Jada spits with intensity on every track. I liked the skits too.The album is superior to the Last Kiss album easily. AHHA! The verdict is a 9.3/10

Tamar  Braxton’s new album is a damn good one. It seems better than its predecessor in some ways, most notably depth. The first 2 tracks are fire. The album slows down a little afterwards, but the quality tracks continue. She shows some tremendous. Vocally she’s really good too, and the production is like a great backdrop. Circles is a great ballad track. These are the tracks I yawned at sometimes on her Love & War album. Give this one a listen. The verdict is a 9.1/10

Talib has teamed up with 9 th wonder and other mcs to release a pretty damn good album. The beats are really good, but not quite as good as the strong lyrical performances from Talib and Rapsody in particular.My biggest complaint is some songs don’t have Talib Kweli on them. I don’t have a lot to say about this album, but its one of the years most well rounded works. The verdict is a 9/10 ....what would u expect?