Album Reviews5.9/10
Drake’s ‘HABIBTI’ Is a Moody Course Correction Undone by Uninspired Writing
Drake's 11th album HABIBTI trades bravado for moody R&B, but uneven writing and filler drag down a cohesive, hazy soundscape. A 5.9/10.
CLAY TRIBUNE / THE ARCHIVE
Tag: hip-hop
Album Reviews7.5/10
Thank Me Later at 16: Drake’s Debut Traded Certainty for Honesty — 7.5/10
Our review of Drake's 2010 debut 'Thank Me Later,' a confessional album about fame's hidden costs, blending hip-hop with Auto-Tuned vulnerability.
Album Reviews5.3/10
Drake’s ‘For All the Dogs’ Mistakes Length for Depth
Drake's 23-track album 'For All the Dogs' is a bloated, repetitive mess with a few highlights like 'First Person Shooter' and '8am in Charlotte.'
Rod Wave Keeps Landing No. 1 Albums by Betting Everything on His Devoted Fanbase, Not Radio
Rod Wave's 'Don't Look Down' debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, his fourth chart-topper of the decade. Billboard staff break down his consistent success.
Album Reviews7.9/10
Nothing Was the Same: Drake Perfects the Sound That Made Him, Rather Than Escaping It
A detailed review of Drake's 2013 album Nothing Was the Same, exploring its moody production, lyrical themes, and critical reception.
Album Reviews7.8/10
How Take Care Turned Drake’s Late-Night Insecurities Into a Sound Everyone Else Chased
A track-by-track look at Drake's 2011 album Take Care, the genre-defining record that blended rap and R&B and reshaped hip-hop.
Album Reviews8.2/10
Dark Times: Vince Staples Drops the Distance on His Def Jam Farewell
Vince Staples closes his Def Jam run with Dark Times, a quiet, blues-tinged album about grief and money. Here's why it works.
Album Reviews8.3/10
Saba’s ‘Few Good Things’: Hard-Won Joy, Sharpened Craft
Saba's third record turns old grief toward daylight, weighing guilt against gratitude across fourteen songs of hard-won joy.
Album Reviews8.5/10
Denzel Curry’s ‘Melt My Eyez See Your Future’ Refuses to Sit Still — and That’s the Point
A solemn survey of Denzel Curry's fifth record, a tumult of fourteen songs where genre melts and mingles across forty-five wild minutes.
Album Reviews6/10
Certified Lover Boy: 86 Minutes of Comfortable, Not Hungry
A grim, ninety-minute chronicle of Drake's ninth toil, wherein guest verses and hooks contend against the tedium of length.
Album Reviews8.5/10
Danny Brown Turns Drug Panic Into Post-Punk Rap on Atrocity Exhibition — 8.5/10
A restless, grim record of drug panic and collapse, 15 tracks strong, that never once turns away from its own dreadful subject.
Album Reviews9.5/10
DAMN. Review: Kendrick Lamar Cuts the Excess and Hits Harder — 9.5/10
A tale of fourteen songs, wherein a man of rhyme tells of the doom and destiny of his own soul and country. A precise, singular work.