Chesstown King's Reviews and Thoughts

 This latest MC album is pretty good. Sure she's beginning to not be as great a singer as she's been....but she's still great. The opener "Mi" is fun and energetic. "Play This Song" features a good Anderson .Paak feature. She straight up raps on "Type Dangerous" but I think it works. I mean let Mariah brag a little bit lol. "Sugar Sweet" with Kehlani is very smooth. Ironically I matched up Mariah and Kehlani in my R&B tournament. Search for that post. Sheneseea also joins the lady on that song. The album's production is good but nothing amazing. I found myself liking most of these songs. I mean at this point Mariah is a legend for sure. The full ranking of Mariah Carey's albums is coming so look out of that. Lyrics 22 Beats 20 Depth 23 Tilt 22 Verdict 87

  The latest Sabrina Carpenter album is a good one. Sure there aren’t really that many stellar songs but there aren’t any songs I didn’t like that much. Lead single “Manchild” is a solid track. Some other stand outs include "We Almost Broke Up Again" and "Never Getting Laid". On the latter she wishes an ex never has sex again lol. I liked "Sugar Talking" too. "Tears" is a very sexual song...but it's very playful. On some ways Sabrina seems more effective on this album than she was on Short n Sweet.....but in other ways it could be seen as a step down. The production was solid throughout. And yeah I have the version of the album with the deluxe picture....the regular picture is atrocious.....like what was she thinking? Overall though its a win for Sabrina as this is a very well rounded album. Lyrics 22 Beats 23 Depth 23 Tilt 22 Verdict 90

 People had a lot of hype for this album. For the most part it delivers ....It was interesting to see what Nas would talk about after 6 Albums in 3 years with Hit-Boy.  Nas has some pretty good concepts for this record that very much embraces the past. There's "Nasty Esco Nasir" where he raps from different perspectives of his career (Young, Middle, and Current). I like "My Story Your Story" where Nas and AZ spit some hot fire. "Boquet (To The Ladies)"is just that as Nas shouts out like every female MC there is. Some songs aren't so great like "NY State of Mind Pt. 3". It sounded like the new beat was just so inferior to the classic one.....That brings me to the fact these beats DJ Premier cooked up were good but not incredible. It's a shame really cause Nas was really spitting well on this. Overall tho it's a good album but I think it falls short of much of what Nas did with Hit-Boy. But yeah Nas shows no signs of slowing down......

This was another Kanye album I wasn't too hype to listen to cause of its bad reputation. I am glad he put it on traditional music services.The album was available on this weird music player thing in 2022 at first. Kanye raps alot about his ex wife Kim Kardashian here. I know he did on Donda 1, but he does it a lot more here. The song "Get Lost" feels empty and is so boring. "Security" has a weird beat...I mean it's too weird for its own good.  I really like "Keep the Flowers", its got a nice beat to it.I liked "Too Easy" as well. "City of God" is arguably the best song....Alicia Keys does a great job, as does Five Foreign. A different version of "530" is here as well. I enjoyed "Pablo" too which features Future and Travis Scott. Ultimately its an average album....but it wasn't that bad overall. However it did fall woefully short of the first Donda which was great. Lyrics 18 Beats 21 Depth 18 Tilt 18 Verdi...

 I don’t listen to much Freddie Gibbs. But this album was so good I want to hear more from him. The Alchemist production was really smooth and fit Freddie’s flows well. Freddie is a gangster rapper and the bars were hardcore throughout the album. I really enjoyed "Mar-a-Lago" and "Lemon Pepper Steppers". Most of the features were pretty good too; like JID and Anderson .Paak. The last song "A Thousand Mountains" is really fire as Alchemist blesses us with a Japanese sounding beat. This album was really well balanced. But yeah this was certainly one of the better rap albums of 2025. I've got to hear the first Alfredo now.  Lyrics 23 Beats 23 Depth 23 Tilt 22 Verdict 91

 This album grew on me. It’s just Tyler having fun for once after the theme heavy Chromakopia. It’s funny I just did a discography ranking for Tyler cause I didn’t think he was gonna come out with a new album any time soon. This is Tyler’s shortest album thus far at only ten songs. He’s not as lyrical as he’s been on the past couple albums . I really like the title track. It’s just a banger. "Suck Free" is dope too. I do like the different sounds and styles he implores here. "Mommanem" is short but has one of the hottest beats. It was dope to hear him rap with Pharrell Williams on the first song "Big Poe". This album has great production, but I've come to expect that from Tyler's albums. Overall it's good to see him try something new. He's really become one of my favorite rappers ever since 2015. Lyrics 21 Beats 24 Depth 22 Tilt 22 Verdict 89 to check out my Tyler the Creator album ranking click here:  https://maxreviewsandthoughts.blogspot...

 Who knew we'd finally get a new Keri Hilson album after almost 15 years. I gotta say its short and sweet! In the intro she kinda talks about how she's felt over the years. The first song "Naked (Love)" kinda has a weird tempo to it. "Searchin" feat Method Man is a true banger. The album features really good singing and songwriting from Keri....but that's what you'd expect. The production is pretty good too. I liked the song "Bae" too...kinda felt right out of the late 2000s. The album is just pretty well balanced as you can see from the scores. Overall I think this is a good album from Keri...no its not her best but I think it's about as good as her No Boys Allowed album. Lyrics 22 Beats 22 Depth 22 Tilt 22 Verdict 88

 I have only had this phone for over a week but I feel the need to review it. I recently got a 512gb light gold iPhone Air. This phone is so thin. You really have to hold it for yourself to believe it. I knew when I used it at a local Best Buy I had to have it. The phone is also a modern marvel having most of the technology in the camera bump. Of course you're wondering about that camera and battery life.  Honestly the battery is decent. It gets me through the day at work with minimal charging ( I mean who goes somewhere with no charger anymore?). The camera is good too. I'm not a huge camera guy anyways. The phone's 6.5 inch Super Retina XDR OLED display is great. I really notice a difference from my old phone (iPhone 12). The phone doesn't really get that hot either which is great. One thing I'm not a huge fan of is the one speaker on the phone....but honestly it's not that bad. I usually use headphones anyways. Apple Intelligence is still in beta but I think ...

 I meant to review this album sooner, but nonetheless its another terrific album from Gaga. The album gets off to a great start with songs "Disease" and "Abracadabra". Lady Gaga is in top form lyrically and vocally here. The production was really exceptional too. "Killah" and "Zombieboy" were also highlights. I really like the album closer with Bruno Mars, "Die With a Smile" too. "Garden of Eden" might be my favorite song. You're basically looking at an album with no bad songs and great replay value (tilt). I mean at this point you can't count out Gaga. This one is a tad bit better than her 2020 album Chromatica. I reviewed that too if you want to read my thoughts about it. Lyrics 25 Beats 24 Depth 25 Tilt 24 Verdict 98

  The much anticipated latest Doja Cat album! I was very curious to see where she'd go after the dark rap heavy Scarlet. The path she took was a 80s sounding pop album. It took a few listens for the album to click with me but yeah its awesome. Doja is in her zone here on this album. She sings a lot and acts as her own featured rap artist which is interesting. The first 3 songs are pretty strong. "Cards" is sultry. I love "Jealous Type" too (the lead single). "AAAH MEN!" might be my favorite song however. The production is great but maybe not the best she's ever had. I liked most every song. "Silly!Fun!" and "Come Back" are also excellent. As far as features go there's only SZA on " Take Me Dancing". So basically we have a very strong album here...but maybe not quite as good as Planet Her but it’s very close. Maybe I'll do a Doja Cat album ranking in the near future. She's been one of my favorite artists sin...

 Yesterday was the day! I finally got a PS5 y'all....after wanting it since it about came out....Expect a review on the system at some point like I've done for other systems. I got one that came with NBA 2k26. I also bought Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Tekken 8. It's good to be a gamer! My first impressions is the system feels so premium and futuristic. That controller feels so damn good! The astro bot demo was very fun from what I tried out yesterday.

  You gotta admit 7 years is a long time, but Cardi B did well on her sophomore album. The album gets off to a good start with "Dead" which features Summer Walker, who does her best SZA impression. "Hello" and "Magnet" are great songs too. Things slow down with songs like "Pick It Up" which features Selena Gomez, and "Safe" with Kehlani. "Bodega Baddie" is really good yet short latin song. "Man of Your Word" is obviously about ex-husband Offset...and its really thoughtful. The first 2 singles "Imaginary Player" and "Outside" aren't bad but perhaps not the best singles for this album. Lyrically Cardi has her signature charisma here. The beats are good too but not quite as good as the ones on Invasion of Privacy. "Pretty & Petty" is the diss track to rapper Bia....and I like Bia...but theres no coming back from that one lol. "ErrTime" was good too. That one really reminde...

Well I didn't rush this review, I've had some time to sit with this album. It's a hell of a comeback album. Pusha T and Malice are deadly as ever on the mic. The album lyrically is intense. Production is pretty good too but I expected slightly more from an album produced entirely by Pharrell Williams. Speaking of Pharrell, he's all over this album...sometimes not just relegated to a hook. The album gets off to a great start with "The Birds Don't Sing" where both brothers talk about their parents who passed. Pusha T raps about his Mom. Malice about his dad. I really liked the vibe of "All Things Considered"; the The-Dream feature is good. That brings me to the features....like a monster one from Kendrick Lamar on "Chains & Whips". Tyler the Creator does well on "P.O.V.". Nas is on the 2nd last track and he does well too. "M.T.B. T. T. F." is fire, and it stands for Mike Tyson Blow to the Face lol. Ultimately its h...

 My opinion on this album has changed from when I first got it. There's over 20 songs and for the most part it doesn't really feel bloated. I'd say only near the end do things kinda drag. Most of the album however is really dope. "I Can't Wait to Get There" was a nice smooth song. "Cry for Me" and "Timeless" are bangers...but my favorite song has got to be "São Paulo". That song is just amazing. Overall I'd say his singing performance is pretty consistent with the last 2 albums. The production was great too. I had to knock some points off the depth for some of the last songs. The reparability (tilt) was good tho. I don't agree this is his best album but it honestly adds a lot to his legacy to have 3 great albums back to back like this. Lyrics 24 Beats 23 Depth 22 Tilt 23 Verdict 92

 I don't like to rush reviews out, but I had to for this one...Sure there are some good songs here....but for the most part its a train wreck! "Welcome to The Carter" is good....so is the LL Cool J inspired "Bells". I found "Sharks" which features Jelly Roll and Big Sean to be decent too. Lyrically tho on this album Wayne really really struggles. "Cotton Candy" has interesting production but its a pretty lazy song. On some songs Wayne just sings with heavy autotune and its truly awful. "Peanuts 2 N Elephant" was actually a highlight....if you don't mind the Elephant noises lol. But yeah there aren't enough songs here to validate this album. I wasn't too crazy about his previous Carter album, but that one had way more heat on it than this. Wayne acted like he didn't care about proving he should of had the super bowl last year and thats disappointing. Is it time for this GOAT to retire?? Signs point to yes. Lyrics 16 B...

 Ok with the NBA finals about to start this week I thought I'd give my thoughts on this NBA playoffs so far.... First Round 1)Cavs vs. 8)Heat: This series was truly wash. The Cavs dominated the Heat which actually ended the season as the 10th seed, but they won the play in games. It just looked like the Heat didn't have enough firepower and the Cavs blew them out 3 of the four games. 4)Pacers vs. 5)Bucks: This series was interesting and a rematch of the first round matchup last year. Unlike last year tho....this one was only 5 games. The pacers won the first two then lost game 3. They ended up beating an injured Bucks squad.....No one really knew just how good the Pacers were this year yet. 3)Knicks vs. 6)Pistons: This was a great and very physical series. I honestly thought the Pistons had a good chance. They lost one game controversially. Ultimately it was a really close series that should of went 7 but Knicks got it done. 2)Celtics vs. 7)Magic: The Celtics the defending cham...