What I’ve been listening to:
Joey Bada$$ - B4.DA.$$ - A-
I know I’m late, but I’m really digging this album. The raps are on point, the production is great, and Joey seems to have found his lane as something almost approaching a bohemian rapper. I’m glad Joey kept his gravelly flow for at least part of the album, but I…

*shrugs* One listen through, i actually think i might like this better than Nothing Was The Same. Granted, I wasn't a huge fan of NWTS, but this release did a better job of grabbing and keeping my attention throughout. Yeah there are some duds mixed in, but there's enough strong material to compensate. This actually…

Well, since this is the only rap record that will realistically get a review here until Lupe Fiasco's at the end of January, I guess i'll drop off my Best of 2014 - Hip Hop Edition right here.

This wasn't a bad release at all. Nicki takes a lot of shit from the hip hop community for pop/mainstream leanings, but this is very solid as far as a commercial rap goes and definitely her best record. She sounds perfectly comfortable occupying this pop lane this time, and that makes all the difference for me. Id…

The Western Conference is so much fun though. Take out the Jazz, Lakers, and Wolves, and there's a ton to like about any match up you rum across. I was downright giddy over a Kings/Pelicans matchup because that meant watching Cousins battle the Brow.

I know 35 million is a lot of money, but how much you wanna bet Stan Van Gundy looks at the Warriors, sees Curry, Thompson and thr Bay Area and think "I've made a horrible mistake"?

Favorite Song, Run the Jewels division: Oh My Darling Don't Cry
Honorable Mention: Angel Duster

Man Dec 9th is gonna be stacked. J cole, Prhyme, Ghostface, termanology all dropping projects. Fuckin stoked.

Very nice article. Hey AV Club, more hip hop writing from this guy please.

Naw, AV Club's rap coverage is way better than in 2013, where neither Run the Jewels nor Pusha T's My Name Is My Name got reviews. There really aren't any surprising omissions that i can think of from this year. It's not as expansive as i'd like, because i always enjoy the comments sections in their hip-hop coverage,…

To me at least, a good portion of Fantastic Damage DOES sound like just blurry noise. Part of the reason i haven't gone back and checked out his Company Flow stuff. I'll Sleep When Your Dead, to me, is when his stuff started to tighten up, and i've loved everything since then. I totally get what you're saying though,…

God, Tasmanian Pain Coaster is amazing song. Totally agree as the best song El-P has done. My introduction to him was ISWYD, and by the time TPC was done i was 100% bought in.

Cunninlynguists consistently fill me with more guilt than any other act. I LOVE A Piece of Strange, and ever since i've been excited whenever they put out new shit, get it…… and then don't listen to it for months. Invariably i get around to it like 4-5 months later and kick myself for waiting for so long to dive in. I…

Man, I LOVE Jonesy, and especially that Colors album. I don't think anything really happened between them. Killer Mike decided to abandon the idea of Grind Time as a label because he didn't like the business side of it, so it became more a loose collection of rappers than a real crew. Jonesy is still doing his thing…

yes and no. The second track is called "How to Kill God" and is 100% the Ras you described, but other than that i don't recall him going off the deep end at all. He's pretty firmly in the present and the real world through the rest of this.

I loved GSNT and it still holds a fond place in my heart, but yeah some of that production didn't age terribly well. Still, lyrically that album is a damn masterpiece and the tracks that do hold up are just as powerful today. "Clap" "Oh Yeah" and the hidden track with Black Thought are unbelievable.

If i had an idea what Pearls Negras was saying, i'd probably like it. Beat was cool, and for female MC's they had really strong, powerful delivery. Language barrier is a turn off, but thats just my personal issue.

I actually forgot about that one. I haven't listened yet, but that's definitely getting shoved towards the top of the qeueue. You got me excited now.

I'm still holding out hope for the Big Boi/Killer Mike/Gangsta Pill album that was promised to us like 2.5 years ago. I know that's basically hoping for Detox or something from Jay Electronica, but damnit i still believe.

Man, i'm just happy we got ANY review, after they ignored RTJ1. I aint bout to question the content.