Chesstown King's Reviews and Thoughts

 This latest K. Michelle album is good....but its a firm step down from the other albums of hers I've reviewed. K's singing is great as usual. The production is pretty good too. However I found a few songs to be a little average. There are some highlights here tho like "No Pain", "Wherever the D May Land", and "Hurt Shit". "Scooch" is another high tempo banger. The album ends with the country song "Tennessee" which ins't bad. Overall its a good album but I expected more from such a stellar artist. Lyrics 23 Beats 22 Depth 22 Tilt 22 Verdict 89

1.       Kanye West-Graduation -Coming in at number one we have Kanye’s 3 rd  album. Sure it’s not his best or flashiest but damnit I love it so much. Listening to this album just gives me so much joy honestly. “Champion” is a great song, then there’s a fan favorite pick “I Wonder”. I do think the lyrically dense “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” is the best track. Who could forget the smooth “Flashing Lights”. It really amazing that Kanye was able to create another great soundscape that sounded very different than College Dropout and Late Registration. Honestly this album isn’t my favorite by leaps and bounds over the top 10; but its certainly still my favorite rap album. 2.       Ludacris-Word of Mouf- Coming in at number 2 is Ludacris. I think this album is his best while others may say Release Therapy or Chicken & Beer. Fun fact this was the first album I ever bought. Sure there’s some filler…but this album has a lot of Ludacris’s bes...

 This latest Doja Cat album is good....but I think I prefer her old style more. Lets get into it. This is her longest album I think..and for the most part the album is pretty well spaced out with hits. The singles are great and really grew on me....especially "Paint the Town Red". Doja spits well on "Demons" too. Its an awesome song honestly. Doja spits pretty well on this album. This album has a much darker and more hostile tone than her previous work. "Agora Hills" tho is a great love song that could of went on her older albums. The production sounds pretty consistent although I dont think its as good as Planet Her's production. Depth wise the album is good too. The final song "WYM Freestyle" is kinda redundant but its not a bad song. Ultimately tho this was a good album and im interested to see what sound Doja goes for next time around. Lyrics- 23 Beats-22 Depth-22 Tilt-23 Verdict 90

1.       Justin Timberlake-Future Sex Love Sounds- To be honest I didn’t go back and forth on what was my favorite Pop album like i did R&B. To me this was a clear favorite of favorites. I remember when I got this album in 2007. Clicked immediately. I like every song except the last song. “Sexy Back” and “My Love” are classics. Did I mention the production on this album from TImbaland. Oh man is it great. “LoveStoned” and “Until the End of Time” are also classics. So even amongst my favorite albums in the genre, this one reigns supreme.  2.       Britney Spears-Blackout- Not Britney’s best album but its really one of my favorites. Songs like “Gimme More” and “Break the Ice” are terrific. “Radar” is another good one.This is just one of my favorite albums plain and simple. The production is cohesive and Britney does great on these beats.  3.       Michael Jackson-Thriller- Arguably the greatest album ...

Travis Scott's latest album was surprisingly good to me. Yes I think its better than Astroworld.(Not by much tho). For one he's actually saying stuff more in his lyrics....and the production is great as usual. The guests spots are well used here like Drake on "Meltdown" or SZA and Future on "Telekinesis". I just really  find this one easier to get threw then Astroworld. I won't say its his best album...but man this was quite the way to bounce back after all the drama in 2021.   Lyrics 20 Beats 24 Depth 23 Tilt 22 Verdict 89

 This review is really late as I've had this album since fall last year. This album didn't blow me away when I first heard it...but since then it's grown on me. JID is a terrific lyricist with many great flows and clever bars. The production is pretty good too. The guest spots are well used which include 21 Savage, Lil Wayne, Yasiin Bey (Mos Def), and Ari Lennox. I liked most of the songs here but not every one was exceptional to me. My favorite songs were "Money", "Surround Sound", "Dance Now", and "Can't Make U Change". Overall tho this is a great album and I need to here more from this talented MC. Lyrics 25 Beats 22 Depth 23 Tilt 22 Verdict 92

Here are my favorite R&B albums. I'm not gonna do the countdown....I'm just going to list them. The last time I did a list like this was 2013. 1.       Rihanna-Good Girl Gone Bad- As her best album and the album that made her a star…it’s only right that as my favorite singer Rihanna takes the title. GGGB isn’t a perfect album but I love it. There’s a little something for everyone here. The smooth “Lemme Get That”, the party anthem “Don’t Stop the Music”, and the jam “Umbrella” featuring Jay-Z. “Hate that I love You” featuring Ne-Yo is really good too. This album is just always a blast to listen to. 2.       Amerie-In Love & War- When I made this list about 10 years ago, this was the number one album. I love this album so much. I was considering her “Because I Love it” album for this list too, but I don’t really go back to that one that much. This album is just a flamethrower of R&B execution. That first half is great with son...