action bronson - mr. wonderful

have a fuckin' sleepover with my weapons / my rambo knife is eatin' nuggets with my smith & wesson - a light in the addict

[should've saved my food review for bronson instead of kendrick, huh]

bronsoliño has to be one of the more interesting figures in hip hop right now in a non-musical sense. it's hard to separate his persona from his music because of the way he integrates them. he takes the recipe for an album and chooses to omit certain ingredients for the stylings that he favors. armed with a breadth of knowledge of both kinds of bread, he delivers some freshness.

however, it's really easy to fill up on the breadsticks before the full meal. most of the songs here have a thickness to them, primarily due to the stream of words that bronson spits with a slurred inflection. the production is crisp yet hazy, all psychedelic. in that, it blurs together and can be quite entrancing. this is its biggest strength and ultimately its biggest weakness.

top 3 + bottom one: actin' crazy, easy rider, a light in the addict, city boy blues

score: 55

earl sweatshirt - i don't like shit, i don't go outside: an album by earl sweatshirt

i just want my time and my mind intact / when they both gone, you can't buy 'em back - grief

earl should go outside. there's a lot out there to grasp for someone like him, a lot of experiences that he could collect and use to fuel his lyricism. but then again, earl should stay inside. he's got the twisted closed off shtick down and his darkness does captivate. schrodinger's sweatshirt: if earl branched out more and engaged in some of the trends being set by his peers (not his odd future peers) would he emerge as a stronger rapper or would he completely lose what got him there in the first place?

what we do know is that a stripped down aesthetic is what earl does like; no beat sounds like it was given more than 30 minutes of attention. no verse really sounds like it was given more than 30 minutes of attention, but for earl that results in the occasional bar or idea that's pretty striking. since each listen of the album only demands 30 minutes of attention, it gives you what you'd expect. schrodinger's sweatshirt.

top 3 + bottom one: grief, dna, wool, am (not radio)

score: 52

kendrick lamar - to pimp a butterfly

i've been A1 since day one, you niggas boo boo - hood politics

to pimp a butterfly is a hearty selection of cold cuts slapped with a generous helping of a groovy marinade cooked medium well, served on a black platter with a side of black eyed peas (for the soul). it's a dish best served, no modifier needed. from the appetizing beginning to the dessert prepared by 2pac himself, there's no way you could leave feeling like you were under fed. you might even feel bloated, almost sick to your stomach due to how rich it was and how quickly you devoured it. every punchline and bassline alike more delectable than the last. the garnish at the end of each track only prepared you for the next dish, fork and knife at attention ready to consume. it's effortless. 

conventionally speaking, there's a lot to take in with this album, and it's up to you how you want to experience it. it is lyrically intriguing; there are times where you will laugh, wince, and feel inspired. it is musically rewarding; there's just something about the compositions that feel right at home but conversely from some far away planet, only accessible via mothership. certain things may click from the jump, others might kick in at halftime. it's all about who you are and what you've experienced combined with how you choose to experience the butterfly.

top 3 + bottom none: hood politics, alright, king kunta

score: 93

big sean - dark sky paradise

niggas can't control me, ain't no handles on me - paradise

if you would've told me in 2012 that i'd be interested and eager to listen to a big sean album, i would've laughed in your face. thankfully, sean has grown quite a bit since the a$$ days. with kanye at the executive production helm, big sean delivers some of his most hard hitting and emotional material yet. as the album's title suggests, a looming sense of unrest pervades every song in some way. 

most of these beats feel dark; even the most uplifting track one man can change the world feels heavier. it creates a serious tone that sean really takes advantage of on the more intense instrumentals but conversely hurts him on the slower ones. it's not even about what he has to say, it's explicitly how he sounds when he says it. further expanding that, he uses many different pacing styles successfully all over the album, so it may be that he simply hasn't picked the right one to use on the more introspective tracks.

in closing and more direct: the album is almost two sided. the front half is the more aggressive boastful big sean, and the latter is the more introspective medium sean. (if you have the special edition, it's more like thirds, with the second part being medium sean who returns to being big with the last two + all three bonus tracks) he's not all the way live just yet, but this is a solid step in the right direction.

top 3 + bottom one: all your fault, i don't fuck with you, paradise, i know 

score: 63

drake - if you're reading this it's too late

"runnin' through the 6ix with my woes" - know yourself

if someone took all the memes and converted those to album sales, drake would probably be the richest man in the world. these only arise due to how charismatic he is, on the mic and off the mic. picking it up out of nowhere, aubrey has graciously given us this collection of 17 tracks that will essentially take its listener through the 6 alongside its frontrunner.

each track is scarce instrumentally, very cold and striking. the low tempo beats resound and echo on for measures and the harder ones punch and leave space for you to feel each hit. this allows drake to employ any kind of delivery he wants to; slurred singing and crooning or elongated words with stop and start spitting. just as soon as you get comfortable with any given flow, the entire mood will shift on you, beat included. even though these soundscapes aren't incredibly varied in tone, many combinations are explored in what areas 40 and the other producers choose to employ.

top 3 + bottom one: madonna, 6pm in new york, know yourself, preach

score: 79