J. Cole - KOD: My Track By Track Review

Slightly customized cover art (by me, Joseph Sanker II) for J. Cole's 5th studio album "KOD"

J. Cole. Admittedly, I've never been the biggest J. Cole fan. I'll go on record to say I never really paid attention to the Dreamville Records co-founder until his major breakthrough project "2014 Forest Hills Drive". Before that, I had heard of him here and there during the times where "Work Out" and "Power Trip" were being played constantly on the radio. I even listened to a few tracks off the "Sideline Story" thanks to a melon review.

If you're one of the three people who don't know who J. Cole is just know he's a rapper from Fayetteville, North Carolina for people with a certain level of intelligence because he went platinum multiple times with no features. Don't believe me? Well, twitter, a reputable social media service, can surely back me up...

                      J. Cole in the music video for the lead single off his "KOD" album "ATM"

March Madness Day 22: YG, Joey Purp, Kodak Black, Juicy J, Wiz Khalifa & TM88

(L to R) YG's album "Still Brazy", Joey Purp's album "iiiDrops", Juicy J, Wiz Khalifa & TM88 collaborative album "TGOD Mafia: Rude Awakening" and Kodak Black's "Lil Big Pac"

**YG - Still Brazy** - Been playing this since it dropped last night and it pales in comparison to "My Krazy Life". Now it's a *solid* album on its own 2 feet but YG wouldn't be in the place he is now if he released "Still Brazy" first. "Still Brazy" is an alright album with some pretty good moments while "My Krazy Life" was a great album with excellent moments. Also, "Twist My Fingaz" is the best song on there, which really disappointed me cause that single was the whole reason I even got hyped for this album in the first place. Still, I'm walking away with some cuts from here that I'll be playing all summer long. I'll elaborate more on the official discussion thread of this album, I'm also writing a full length review of this album as well. These are my 1st impressions obviously.

Fav tracks: Twist My Fingaz, Gimmie Got Shot, Bool Balm & Bollective, Still Brazy, I Got a Question, Blacks & Browns

*TL;DR Solid album, but not a worthy successor to "My Krazy Life"*



**Joey Purp - iiiDrops** - Finally got around to listening to this project after hearing some buzz around it and it's definitely *not* overhyped. This shit is *nice*. Joey knows how to pick interesting and fresh beats. The song "Photobooth" has one of the most unique beats I've ever heard and the whole project is very concise. At only 11 tracks there were only 2 tracks I really wasn't fucking with and those were "Say You Do" and "Kids". "Say You Do" bored me cause Joey's shallow subject matter couldn't carry him on that off kilter-but-in-a-way type beat and I hate Joey's use of auto tune on "Kids" or as he pronounces it "KEEEEDDDSSS" lol. But yeah, every other track I was fucking with, I wish Joey was a better rapper though, he keeps the same flow throughout the entire tape and I wanted him to switch it up, but Joey has interesting enough beats to where he doesn't need to switch up the flow with his voice. Great project. Check out this project. I wrote a full review for it [here.](http://www.ilikeitstill.com/joey-purp-iiidrops-track-track-review/)

Fav tracks: Morning Sex, Money & Bitches, Winners Circle, Escape, Godbody, When I'm Gone, Photobooth, Corner Store

*TL;DR Joey shows promise as a new up and coming rapper, I'm definitely looking forward to whatever he has next, dude made me a fan off this mixtape*

**Kodak Black - Lil Big Pac** - I ain't fucking with this shit at all. Kodak has some moments of brilliance on this tape and if the entire tape was like the songs "Everything 1K" and "Can I?" than this tape would be flames, but the middle portion of this mixtape is so fucking weak compared to the beginning and end of the tape. Once the tape gets passed the song with Boosie, it's a boring mess until it picks back up "Young Prodigy", the songs "Today" and "Purp" bore the fuck outta me. Kodak sounds like he's about to fall asleep on those songs and he's not a strong lyricist, so he can't do that "boring flow" I like to call it like Earl does where he spits insane bars like it's literally nothing to him. A few solid individual tracks though (like "Letter" "Blood Sweat Tears Revenge" and "Young Prodigy") but as a whole, I was glad when I finished this fucking tape, I ain't going back to this shit again. I also wrote a full review for this project [here.](http://www.ilikeitstill.com/kodak-black-lil-big-pac-track-track-review/)

Fav Tracks: Everything 1k, Can I, Young Prodigy, Letter, Blood Sweat Tears Revenge

*TL;DR I don't like this shit, Kodak ain't for me*


**Juicy J x Wiz Khalifa x TM88 - TGOD Mafia: Rude Awakening** - I swear, Juicy J can make a song out of anything, this project actually surprised me though. As soon as I heard the intro, I knew what to expect...Juicy J talking about Juicy J shit, money, ratchet pussy, drugs and why you shouldn't fuck with him lol. This project is more of a Juicy J x TM 88 project with a bunch of Wiz Khalifa features on it. Juicy and Khalifa don't play off each like a true tag team like Run the Jewels would where they trade verses and weave in and out of each other's verses seemlessly. This project is like a way less hyped "What a Time to Be Alive" with 2 rappers who have a dedicated, core following. I fucks with this project cause it doesn't pretend to be anything deep or meaningful, it's 16 banging beats that sound great on a nice speaker with Juicy J and Wiz going in on them. Simple. I like simple.

Fav tracks: Da Power, I See I Want It, On the Way and a bunch of other tracks I'm forgetting, this whole track bleeds together pretty well thanks to TM88.

*TL;DR Juicy J is an entertaining as fuck rapper, and shines the most on here by only being himself and not pretending to be anything else. TM88's production is banging and bassy as fuck, and I love it...oh, and Wiz Khalifa is here too*

March Madness Day 21: The Underachievers & Maxo Kream

**Maxo Kream - QuiccStrikes** - S/O to reddit user /u/mpejkrm for recommending this to me, this mixtape is a very worthy 2nd place to "Maxo 187". I love how I can see the musical progression from "QuiccStrikes" to "Maxo 187". This project is just as consistent as 187 but I feel 187 has superior musicality, like, the beats are more interesting and experimental sounding on 187 like there's no song like "1998" on "QuiccStrikes" but "QuiccStrikes" is very fucking good in its own right. I've had the song "Silentgr52ve" on repeat for fucking days now. So good. Maxo's flow can't be touched, and he can spit too! Granted, 90% of Maxo's lyrics is about shooting motherfuckers in their face and trappin'. But I like that shit, he keeps me entertained, so I don't mind. I don't expect some "To Pimp a Butterfly" type subject matter from Maxo, just some grimy-shoot-a-dude-in-his-face-type music. There's a lane for everyone.

*TL;DR "QuiccStrikes" is good but not quite as good as "Maxo 187" but it's STILL good in its own right*

**The Underachievers - Evermore: The Art of Duality** - Still as good as I remember it in 2015. The phase 1 music has really aged gracefully from last year. Sure, this project is only a couple months old, but I didn't think I'd be listening to album even a month from when it was released. But I digress, this is UA's best project to date. If They would've ended the album after the phase 1 music ended, that project would've been a lot more critically acclaimed because I think the phase 2 music sounds too samey. Too many bangers about smoking, although there are more conscious lyrics in the bangers on here, they are swallowed up by the beats and more stand out lyrics about superficial shit like smoking, suffice it to say Phase 1 >>>>>> Phase 2.

*TL;DR Still UA's best project to date, but I wouldn't blame you if you turned off this project after the "phase 1" part of the album is done as "phase 2" starts to sound like the same shit after a couple tracks*

March Madness Day 20: Underachievers, Montana of 300, Mr. Lif, Maxo Kream

[2x2
](http://imgur.com/mJUjpyH)

**The Underachievers - It Happened In Flatbush** - 10 tracks of straight bangers. Nothing else to say really. Issa & AK spit and flow over banging, melodic [Anthony Fantano voice] "trap influenced" beats. And it's really just something to put on in the car with your friends if you guys want boomin' production. Solid mixtape but don't expect anything too deep or mind blowing from this project.

*TL;DR UA provides bangers for the banger-less*


**Montana of 300 - Fire in the Church**- Really disappointed in this project. I thought Montana was finally gonna prove to everyone why he's more than just his remixes. But honestly? The entirety of "Fire in the Church" isn't even *close* to touching his "Chiraq" remix, "Holy Ghost", or hell even his remix to Desiigner's "Panda" was better than half the songs on here. Montana has bars, that's a given. But his auto tuned hooks are garbage and his production leaves a lot to be desired. If Montana did a one rapper, one producer type album like KXNG Crooked did with Statik Selecktah with "STATIK KXNG" then I think he can make something really great. But until then, "Fire in the Church" is a swing and a miss. Out of 18 tracks, I only really fuck with 4 of the songs and even those 4 songs don't hold a candle to his "Chiraq" remix, "Holy Ghost" or even "Computers". If you've heard the remixes and want to hear this album, just check out the following songs and spare yourself the rest:

+ Heat Stroke

+ Angel with an Uzi

+ Fighting Demons, Dropping Jewels

+ Fge Cypher, Pt. 2

*TL;DR Check out the 4 songs I listed and then run far away from this album*

**Mr. Lif - Don't Look Down** - Not a bad album at all. The 1st 2 tracks have some of the most vivid storytelling I've ever heard. I was so captivated during the story and it really set the bar high for the rest of the album and sorry to say but it didn't live up to my expectations. The songs are still good now, but not as captivating as the 1st two tracks were. But there are songs on here with high replay value such as "A Better Day" and "Let Go" but overall, I can't see this album making anyone a bonefied Mr. Lif fan as this was my first time listening to a full Mr. Lif project but for what's it's worth the album is pretty decent. But "Don't Look Down" really is the epitome of a take it or leave it album.

*TL; DR Read the last sentence of the Mr. Lif paragraph*

**Maxo Kream - Maxo 187** - Wow, this shit is *nice*. The song "1998" with Joey Bada$$ has to have one of the best  and most catchiest flow I've ever heard. The whole project has a very dark, murderous gangster trap vibe and I dig it. Seriously sucks that I rarely see this project mentioned around here, I see like maybe one person talk about this project. If I didn't know any better I'd think this ~~album~~ mixtape was mediocre but that is not the case at all. If I would have heard this album in 2015 it would've made my top 15 *easy*. Give Maxo 187 a listen [here](http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/maxo-kream-maxo-187-new-mixtape.115746.html). It'll definitely be worth it.

*TL;DR You need to listen to Maxo 187 if you haven't yet*

March Madness Day 19: Kemba, Gucci Mane, DJ Drama & Z-Ro

**KEMBA - NEGUS** - I want everyone reading this to go listen to this album. I think it's one of the best projects that has been released this year so far. I love the way Kemba is able to tie an entire narrative in a concise 12 track project while STILL making the music sound great. I love the strings and harmony that Kemba's producer Frank Drake provided for him on this album. I made a [discussion thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/hiphopheads/comments/4umj4i/discussion_kemba_negus/) where the man himself (Kemba) commented on the thread, which I thought was awesome. I hope he does an AMA on this sub one day for this album.  I really think it's sad that so much dope music gets slept on this sub, but that's another story. I really want this project to get more exposure cause I think it's a very relevant in it's subject matter as well being pleasant to listen to. If you haven't heard this album, I seriously think you're missing out on some quality shit and I think you are doing yourself a disservice by skipping over this album which I don't think is a good thing, I think it's sad really.


*TL;DR I want you to listen to this album right now. Listen to it for free on[ soundcloud here](https://soundcloud.com/kembaland/sets/negus-album) and if you like it I think you should buy it [here](https://kembaland.bandcamp.com/album/negus).*


**Gucci Mane - Everybody looking** - I was pleasantly surprised by this project. I didn't think Gucci had lyrics, I thought he just slurred/mumbled his words to hot trap beats like a lot of other rappers today. But nope, I thought Gucci came with some pretty decent lyricism and I was surprised at how catchy his fucking hooks are, like I think the hooks are simple which I think is a good thing but Gucci's charisma takes them to the next level for me, like Gucci is like "Yeah, I'm gonna repeat this hook until you fuckin' sing along" like at first I didn't like the song "Out Do Ya" but then I found myself singing that hook in head, like it just randomly popped up in my head and I was like "FUCK, Gucci got me!" which I think is a good thing, cause it proves that your music has staying power with me. I won't listen and just move on, I'll remember the songs and hooks which is a good thing. I liked all the features on here especially Drake and Kanye West who I thought really added, in a good way, to both of their respective tracks. I like this project cause even at 15 tracks there isn't a single track I hate, only tracks I didn't like as much as others, which is a really great thing to me, usually I absolutely hate at least one track on a project, but nope, not here. Good shit, Gucci.


*TL;DR I think Gucci's comeback project is pretty fucking good, for what I was expecting, which was absolute shit, I was pleasantly surprised.*


**DJ Drama - Quality Street Music 2** - I think this project is one big downward slope. Meaning, I think it starts off extremely well with Lil Wayne's insane intro about all sorts of shit, but the part that most stood out to me was when Wayne talked about "Molesters and Rapers Confessin' Prayers" which I thought was one of the coldest, most vivid Wayne lines I've ever heard. After Wayne's fire intro, I thought every other track was either boring or forgettable. I don't think that's a good thing, your music shouldn't be boring or forgettable to me, I should be excited and be remembering your music. I didn't even care that the album was called "Quality Street Music" I didn't have any expectations going into this and I left disappointed, especially with such an interesting track list, I was like "Oh, I wonder how Drama is gonna handle all these guys on this one track" and I didn't like what I heard. Besides the "Intro" I don't like this.


*TL;DR Listen to Lil Wayne's [Intro on this album](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoyQLo4ghrY) and save yourself the time and skip everything else.*


**Z-Ro - Drankin' & Drivin'** - Wow, I thought this shit was fucking nice as hell. Like, I love the way Z-Ro utilizes his singing voice for a great, melodical hook and verse. It reminds me of southern Drake who can sing with soul and passion in his voice, but not on no R&B shit but on some just harmony shit like the way Kendrick sometimes sings a little bit in his songs to make a good hook or to put some great melodies in his songs. I really liked how I could tell that Z-Ro was talking about shit that mattered to him which I liked. Also, I think a lot of these songs can be played on the radio, I think they are *that* catchy but I think Z-Ro wasn't aiming for radio play, but I think it's so cool how Z-Ro manages to be himself on this album while still being catchy, and musically melodical in the best way. I also liked the way Z-Ro approached done to death topics in rap like haters, women, drugs etc but in a way that is personal to him. I really liked the rap sing song shit throughout the entire album as well as the layered laidback production. Good shit, Z-Ro.


*TL;DR I think this is also one of the best projects released this year, I've never heard a Z-Ro project before this one and now I want to see what else he has to offer, which Z-Ro projects should I listen to after this one?*

March Madness Day 18: Rittz, Charles Hamilton & Future

Cover Arts (starting from the top; Rittz's "Top of the Line", Charles Hamilton's "The Pink Lavalamp" and Future's "Monster")

• Rittz - Top of the Line 

Cover Art for Rittz's "Top of the Line" 

 Rittz gets really overlooked on this sub and that's a shame, I want more people to check out this project. This is Rittz's best work to date. At first, you might be put off by the 24 tracks on the track listing but do not be alarmed as it's not 24 songs as much as it is unnecessary skits and the strange music tag for some reason, lol. But yeah, really solid, could've used some trimming in the track listing but overall Rittz is very engaging with his subject matter, and he has some of the best hooks (I think) in the game. Dude knows how to harmonize and make smooth car riding music. I really enjoyed this project and will be bumping this for the rest of the year.

March Madness Day 17: Drake Madness

3 of Drake's project (from top to bottom; Drake's "Take Care", Drake's "If You're Reading This It's Too Late" and Drake's "Nothing Was The Same")

Went in full Drake mode this week. I wanted perspective on him as an artist.

• Drake - Take Care

Cover art for Drake's "Take Care"

 I can see how this can easily be regarded as his best work. Take Care works as a better Views. Showcasing all sides of Drake but just in a better way. The songs hit harder, the production is more lush and the intimate moments are *really* intimate in comparison to "Views". Personally, this project has too many tracks for my taste. It just gets boring to me after the second half of the project (With the exception of "Lord Knows") I know a Drake fan is reading and is vehemently disagreeing just know that I never was a big Drake fan to begin with, I still have a few songs from this album in regular rotation till this day. I remember some reviewer saying "Take Care" would make an excellent EP and I couldn't agree more, if Drake kept the track listing to 12-14 tracks than Take Care would've been something truly special to me. But for right now, I don't care for it as much as others do.

March Madness Day 16: Beyoncé, Earl Sweatshirt, Drake & Apollo Brown

4 projects that I gave my thoughts on. (From left to right, clockwise: Beyoncé's 'Lemonade', Earl Sweatshirt's "I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside", Apollo Brown's "Clouds" and Drake's "So Far Gone")

QUICK THOUGHTS:

• Beyoncé - Lemonade

Cover art for Beyoncé's "Lemonade"

 It's diverse yet somehow really cohesive and not too long, I appreciate the instrumentals on this album more than Beyoncé actually. I love the production on songs like "Hold Up" "Formation" and "Daddy Lessons". While I'm not exactly sure what makes this project as a whole SO GREAT like people are claiming, I will say "Sandcastles" is the most raw I've ever heard Beyoncé every time she sings

"Bitch, I scratched out your name and your face"

"What is it about you that I can't erase, baby?"

That shit physically hits me, like its impossible to not feel the pain in her voice. So, while I'm not in love with every single song on here. I will say "Sandcastles" is a worthy 10/10 and one of the best songs this year. But the other songs are just ok to me. I love the production though but Beyoncé herself I just don't care for. Sorry Beyhive lol.

March Madness Day 15: SOB X RBE - Gangin

Cover Art for SOB X RBE's "Gangin"

Quick review of the Vallejo collective that got major attention from being featured on the Black Panther soundtrack curated by one Kendrick Lamar himself.

March Madness Day 14: Kevin Gates - Islah

Cover Art for Kevin Gates' "Islah" album

I already explained who Kevin Gates was in my Kevin Gates - Murder For II post. Check it out.

Gonna try a one paragraph summation of an album. See if it works better than my track by track reviews. Gotta switch it up you know?

Anyway, here's yet another throwback review on Kevin Gates' debut album "Islah"

Now reverting back to 2016 Joseph S...

March Madness Day 13: Drake - Views

Cover Art for Drake's "Views" Album

Drake. You know who he is, I know who he is, he needs no introduction.

Lets’s get straight to it…

1. Keep the Family Close 

March Madness Day 12: Cozz - Nothin' Personal

Cover Art for Cozz's 2016 Mixtape "Nothing Personal"

Yet another throwback review...turns out I have written gold scattered throughout the internet. Anyway, today's review comes from Dreamville signee Cozz (who recently dropped his sophomore album "Effected" (which, I may or may not review...most likely not but then again...you never know)...so yeah, Cozz dropped a mixtape in early 2016 called "Nothin' Personal" and today we're going to be checking it out.

NOW GOING BACK TO 2016 JOSEPH S...

My track-by-track review of Cozz’s “Nothin’ Personal”: I have never heard a Cozz project prior to this, so I’m completely unbiased. I’m going try to review some of the projects I’ve heard this year, and since this is the first project of 2016 I’ve heard, why not start here?

March Madness Day 11: Mistah FAB - Son of a Pimp, Pt. 2

Cover Art for Mistah FAB's "Son of a Pimp, Pt. 2"

In 2016, Bay Area veteran Mistah FAB had released his album "Son of a Pimp Pt. 2", his sequel to his 2005 album "Son of a Pimp" which was chalk full of features from respected California artists like E40 and Mac Dre. "Son of a Pimp Pt. 2" continues this with an even more star studded guest list with features ranging from recognizable household names like Kendrick Lamar to local buzzing Bay artists like J. Stalin.

Mistah FAB is what you would call regionally famous. In the California Bay Area, FAB has been around along time and as a result of this, he has gathered many contacts and artist connects throughout his years of rapping. Therefore, it's only right that his album previous to "Son of a Pimp, Pt.2" is 4 years apart. Gathering features for a guest list as diverse and as star studded as this was most likely no easy task...

This is also a throwback review, just so you know...

March Madness Day 10: Kevin Gates - Murder For Hire II

Cover Art (slightly customized) for Kevin Gates' "Murder For Hire II"

Kevin Gates. Kevin Gates is a Baton Rouge, Lousiana born rapper, who, through a slew of mixtapes and strong social media presence over the years, built a fanbase that eventually launched Gates into international fame in early 2016 via a successful, record label endorsed, debut album called "Islah" (named after his first born daughter) which spawned two successful and catchy hits ("2 Phones" and "Really Really"). Threw his mixtapes, charismatic interviews, social media presence and general hustler mentality, Gates managed to grow organically as a rapper by first building a buzz from he's from first, then expanding nationwide and eventually worldwide. 

"Murder For Hire II" was released in May of 2016, that same year as "Islah" but (unfortunately) it would be the last project that Gates himself released before going back to prison in October 2016 over allegedly kicking a woman in the chest at one of his shows. 

This review I remember writing on the HHH forum and I decided that I didn't want to mess up my March Madness streak by not posting anything today, so here's another throwback (New reviews coming soon though, promise)

Anyway, enjoy this super short review I wrote in like 5 minutes...

WE ARE NOW GOING BACK TO 2016 JOSEPH S...

March Madness Day 9: Royce Da 5'9" - Layers

Cover Art for Royce Da 5'9's "Layers" (slightly customized by Joseph Sanker II)

Today's throwback review is about one Royce Da 5'9". A Detroit born wordsmith who's career has had ups and downs. Known for his early collaborations with fellow Detroit artist Eminem, Royce was known for those collabs until recently his career started gaining traction, starting in 2014 with his DJ Primere collaboration titled "PRHYME". Ever since "PRHYME" Royce had released a 2015, deluxe addition of "PRHYME" with features from Joey Bada$$, MF DOOM and others. Then in 2016, Royce released "Layers" which, I will be reviewing today in today's throwback review. (Also, PRHYME 2 out March 16, 2018, so why not post a Royce review?)

WE ARE NOW GOING BACK IN TIME TO 2016 JOSEPH S...

March Madness Day 8: Freddie Gibbs - Pronto EP

Cover Art for Freddie Gibbs' "Pronto" EP

Freddie Gibbs. Freddie Gibbs is a rapper from Gary, Indiana. Freddie Gibbs is probably most known for his 2014 breakout collaboration album "Piñata" with legendary producer Madlib. Prior to "Piñata", Gibbs was bubbling in the underground with a slew of revered, street oriented mixtapes such as "Baby Face Killa", "Cold Day in Hell" and "The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs". After "Piñata", Gibbs followed up with a small EP called "Pronto" released the following year in 2015.

Freddie, at the time, had always kept his fans tided over in between full length album releases and 2015 was no exception. He released the EP "Pronto" in March 2015 (actually, after some research, I've realized that Pronto was released 3 years ago today, yes March 9, 2015, so, that's something considering legendary dead rapper The Notorious B.I.G. was also killed on this date 21 years ago) while he completed his next solo album "Shadow of a Doubt" which dropped in November of that same year. 

Will I ever review full length albums again? Or will I just be that guy who only reviews EPs of artists he's already reviewed in order to cut down on the amount he has to write in the artist's background info/introduction? Who knows...anyway, let's review this small 3 song EP.

March Madness Day 7: Skepta - Konnichiwa

Cover Art, slightly customized, by Joseph Sanker II

I swear I don't have enough throwback reviews to post every other day for this month, BUT since I do have them, why not post?

Today's post is a review for Skepta, who, at the time, was the first UK based rapper I ever reviewed. I have since expanded my international hip hop tastes (although not by much) and since then, I look back on Skepta's Konnichiwa with a fondness. Skepta really had American based youtube reviewers like Dead End Hip Hop, Theneedledrop etc, reviewing his music for the first time, despite the fact that Skepta "Konnichiwa" is Skepta's fourth album AND he's been in this rap game since 2003. So suffice it to say, it was a long time coming for this man to get his shine.

Also being in the good graces of one of the biggest rappers on the planet (you know, the one from Canada) doesn't hurt either. It really cool when one of the best selling projects of 2017 featured you on your own solo interlude track that was aptly named after you. A good look is an understatement, Skepta is definitely known in the American scene in hip hop and it is no accident or stroke of luck.

Putting that to the side however, enjoy this circa 2016 review of Skepta's "Konnichiwa"

WE ARE NOW GOING BACK IN TIME TO JOSEPH S IN 2016...

March Madness Day 6: Mozzy - Spiritual Conversations EP

Cover Art (slightly customized) for Mozzy's "Spiritual Conversations EP"

Mozzy. Mozzy is a rapper from Sacramento, California. Mozzy has been bubbling locally in the Sacramento hip hop scene for quite sometime (he actually went by Lil Tim back in 2004 for a little while before changing his name to Mozzy in 2012) but his hype seemed to have really increased ten fold in 2015 when he released multiple projects, both solo and collaborative. But the most prominent album being "Bladadah". With the release of "Bladadah" Mozzy gained buzz worldwide. So much buzz that notable magazine Rolling Stone ranked Mozzy's "Bladadah" as the 22nd best rap album of 2015 . Complex magazine, another well known publication, published an article stating that Mozzy had the best run of any rapper in 2015. So, with all these accolades as well as new attention, Mozzy continued dropping project after project. Whether it be a solo project or a collaborative project. Mozzy released a whopping 11 projects in 2016.

In 2017, Mozzy dropped two collaborative projects with two prominent street oriented artists (Carol City Rapper Gunplay, and Vallejo rapper and member of SOB X RBE Yhung T.O.) in addition to locally known Bay area rappers Yowda and Lit Soxxx. This is on top of dropping two solo albums, one of which I reviewed called "Fake Famous" and the well put together "1 Up Top Ahk".

What's special about "1 Up Top Ahk"is that, in addition to being one of the best music releases of 2017.  It also housed a song called "Sleep Walkin". That song "Sleep Walkin" would end up in the critically and community acclaimed film "Black Panther" (which I think is due to the director, Ryan Coogler, being from Oakland, a place where Mozzy's music is being played routinely).

Couple that with the fact that Mozzy was also featured on the Kendrick Lamar curated soundtrack for the film "Black Panther" (not to mention that Kendrick shouted out Mozzy at the 2018 Grammy Awards, which WAS the coolest thing that happened that night) and 2018 is raining blessing upon blessing on the Sacramento based rapper and the best part, he isn't slowing up at all.

On March 2nd, 2018, Mozzy released his first solo project since "1 Up Top Ahk" back in June 2017. Perfect timing too as more and more people are starting to find out about Mozzy since "Black Panther" came out...

Anyway, is Mozzy showing signs of slowing down, or is he keeping his music consistent in terms of quality? Let's find out

March Madness Day 5: Chance The Rapper - Coloring Book

Cover art for Chance The Rapper's "Coloring Book" (obviously edited by me)

Once again, a throwback review, I know, I'm being lazy just throwing out reviews from years past, but I figured,  might as well get them out there before they aren't seen by anyone.

Anyway, the following is a review I did around the same time I did the Kendrick Lamar 'untitled unmastered' throwback review. This time, I focused on the future grammy winning mixtape 'coloring book', which did get overrated by critics, but when it came out, at the time, I actually liked the sonic direction chance took, even at the expense of rapping. 

However, I will say that since "Coloring Book" dropped, it hasn't necessarily aged that well in my view, but upon reviewing my 2016 review of "Coloring Book" I'd say my thoughts  are still valid for the most part.

Anyway, we're going to go back in time to a 2016 Joseph S...  and here...we...GO!

2016 REVIEW STARTS BELOW FOR CHANCE THE RAPPER'S 'COLORING BOOK':

March Madness Day 4: Drake - Scary Hours EP

Cover art for Drake's "Scary Hours" (obviously edited by me, Joseph Sanker II)

On January 19th, 2018, legendary Chicago drill rapper, Fredo Santana passed away due to his heavy use of codeine. In addition to this devastating loss in the hip hop world, the United States government had also shutdown due to...well...lot's of things, but let's just say January 19th, 2018 wasn't a good news day (When is it ever a good news day?). 

However, on January 19th, 2018, Drake also reappeared in the public eye with the conveniently titled "Scary Hours" his first official project since 2017's "More Life" (which I did, in fact, review) and it seemed like Drake's timing with new music, along with the title of "Scary Hours" was almost more than coincidental, but then again, I'm never the one for conspiracy theories, but if I were, I'm 100% artists in the industry have done crazier things in the past, this is just a drop in the bucket I'm sure.

Enough of that though. With his new EP "Scary Hours", Drake has returned to re-establish his reign as "that guy" in hip hop. You know, the chart topper, hook singer, "guy you hear constantly on the radio", billboard mainstay, apple music stream record breaker...you know, the guy who turns out hits like pimps turn out hoes on the strip.

And to think, he re-establishes his dominance with only two songs and today, it's going to be talked about...

March Madness Day 3: Kendrick Lamar - untitled unmastered

Cover art for Kendrick Lamar's "untitled unmastered" (obviously edited by me, Joseph Sanker II)

The following is a review I've written on a now defunct website that I (thank goodness) saved before the whole site shutdown for good. Back in 2016, I wasn't the most to-the-point writer. I pretty much wrote in huge sum paragraphs most of the time, and on top of that I had a hard time summarizing my points in as few words as possible, but everyone starts somewhere.

Anyway, enjoy my throwback review for Kendrick's "untitled unmastered" compilation album. I notice I didn't post yesterday, so I'm going to try to throw something extra in one of the coming days so I can 31 published posts, one everyday for the month of March. Anyway, here's the review... 

We are now going back in time to 2016 Joseph S...

March Madness Day 2: Brockhampton - Saturation (My Track by Track Review)

My review for Brockhampton's "Saturation" album (also the cover art for Saturation, edited by me)

If you read my "Best Verse from Each member of Brockhampton" post then it's no secret that I'm fond of these guys. After reading over that post, I've realized a lot of my picks for best verse for many of the (recording) members came from the first Saturation. So, it's only right that I review the project that got Brockhampton all of this internet attention and hype.

As far as origin story goes for this boyband, I briefly touched on it in the aforementioned 'best verse' post above, but basically Kevin Abstract, the founder of Brockhampton, posted on an online forum and basically said "Hey, wyd, lets make a boyband, hmu" and essentially recruited people via the internet. 

These random internet strangers, would come together, and eventually release a project called "All-American Trash" in 2016, which did garner a little bit of attention but as far as anyone was concerned, they were still nobodies. 

Fast forward to 2017, and these music videos for singles off their upcoming album "Saturation" start making rounds on the internet. I still remember the first video I ever saw from them and was for the single "STAR". It was interesting, quirky if you will, like seeing an animal at the zoo that you've never seen before. A breeze of curiosity passed by me and so I decided to check out the rest of the music videos that were released to promote the first Saturation album ("FACE", "HEAT", "CANNON", "GOLD" etc.)

I checked out the first Saturation album by Brockhampton and well, these are my thoughts on it...

March Madness Day 1: The Introduction

What is this March Madness you ask? Well, one blog that I follow, hip hop isn't dead, recently did this thing called a 'stunt month' where he would do something special for the entirety of a chosen month. This past February, he decided to do another "Stunt Month" the theme being, just reviewing projects, and not repeating the same artist twice. That's it. Posting consistently for an entire month is impressive, and lord knows I need more consistency, especially when it comes to this blog. So that's what I'm going to do.

Top 5 Albums That Disappointed Me in 2017

The 5 projects that underwhelmed me the most last year.

While 2017 had its fair share of good to great projects as well as overlooked-but-still-deserves-some-praise projects in general. There were also projects that made me have the sad face emoji that you see above. This is because all five of the artists, whose projects I'm about to talk about, I saw immense potential in their projects. 

Truth be told, I don't even get as hype for projects like I used to, all of my favorite projects, I realized, are projects I didn't anticipate. Projects that I didn't even know were coming out until the actual release date or mere days before it dropped. It never occurred to me that having expectations for a project, is actually just setting yourself up for disappointment.

I should know this, and on further thought, I do know this, but for some reason, every year, I fall into the same trap. I think it's because I see no reason as to why these artists should disappoint or fall short on their projects but in reality, anyone can fall off and have a bad year, what matters is...is if they are consistently trash...

And on this list...well, I've wasted enough time, let's get to the worse of the worse. Starting at number 5...

My Top 17 Favorite Guest Verses of 2017

Yes, 2017 is done and in the books. Now, that it's 2018, let's approach 2018, butt-first by looking back at the best of 2017. I know this is way later than the usual publications who publish their end of the year lists as early as the first week of December (which, I get why, but if you have major music releases coming out near the end of the year, why in the world would you snub those releases just to salvage a few extra clicks? I guess capitalism is a MF huh, gotta get that money.)

Anyway, today we'll be looking at the best "Guest Verses of 2017" where I'll be examining which rapper (or singer) came onto another artist's track and absolutely stole the show (not in a competition aspect but more in a "hey, this artist is really having a moment right now, and it so happened to be on another musician's song).

1 Year Anniversary of Hip Hop & Other Things

One year ago today, I started this blog...

I started this blog one year ago today, I had no idea what I was doing other than I wanted to share my year end list and the hip hop head section of reddit had an anti "posting your 'listicles' policy" so I decided to make a blog to showcase my honorable mentions and picks for the best hip hop albums of 2016.

That was one year ago today. Now, I've tried to think what I could do to make this blog better...