I now know why Wale was giving away a boat load of shit for the advanced orders of his album. It doesn't suck and his fans may like it but it's just alright. Nothing ground breaking and definitely not that must have album in my humble opinion. Check out the samples on iTunes and Amazon before you purchase.The Gifted - Wale
Emilio Rojas dropped an album and if he spoke more about life in Washington Heights and the difficulties of being biracial this might have been a hit. He spent too much time vacillating between rapping and being an R&B singer. A little more focus and this might have been the stand out album of the month, give it a sample.
No Shame... No Regrets - Emilio Rojas
To my surprise Slum Village released another album this month and I was afraid that it was going to be another of what seems to be a long line of disappointing albums since their debut produced by J Dilla, 10 albums to be exact. To my surprise it is actually the best album since the debut, Fantastic, Vol.2 which in itself is as good as any hip hop album every made by anyone. If you haven't heard Fantastic, Vol.2 stop reading this right now and go listen. Buy it, steal it or do whatever you need to but its an experience that every human should have at least one time in his or her life. The new album isn't nearly as good as the debut album but it is solid and the second half is close to the original sound of this group that has seen many members come and go in the past 13 years. Give it a good sample.
Evolution - Slum Village
J Cole released his much anticipated album this month and I know I am going to take hit for this but to me it ain't that hot. I think the vocals just don't live up to the good music and excellent production. I'm sure every blog and magazine will nominate it for rap album of the year but it's just nothing special to me.
Born Sinner (Deluxe Version) - J Cole
Alchemist & Prodigy collaborated on an outstanding album and it was definitely in the running for best album of the month of the month until I heard the next artist but please pick it up. You will assuredly enjoy it.
Albert Einstein - Prodigy & Alchemist
I'll be perfectly honest with you I was ready to dislike this dude's album. Just something about his attitude that put me off but to be fair I have to listen to everyone's album and I was pleasantly surprised. Mac Miller is not bad and his album is pretty cool. My prejudice stems from his affiliation with Wiz Khalifa who I am no big fan of and I just assumed that it would be more of the same crap but Mac Miller actually has his own voice. His short coming is that he strays from it too much from his unique sound and attempts to go down the Lil Wayne lane and that's when he loses me. I really don't want to hear a lot of blatant imitation. Influence is understandable but he veers off a tad too much for me. So even though he had a strong album I can't name it rap album of the month. Do check out his album I am sure you will find much to enjoy.
Watching Movies With the Sound Off (Deluxe Edition) - Mac Miller
I listened to the new Statik Selektah album several times and really marveled at how this guy makes collaborations work so easily. This month's release includes Raekwon, Bun B, Nore, Talib Kweli, Smif-N-Wessun, Sean Price, Prodigy and the list goes on. And the majority of songs sound really good. So much so that I was about to wrap this blog up and name this joint the rap album of the month but I had one more album to listen to and well, it is the reason why I didn't name this the album of the month but it is a must buy for the summer of 2013 fo' sho.
Extended Play - Statik Selektah
Releasing his second album in three years MC Wrekonize dropped his new album and although there were a few tracks that I'm not feeling the vast majority of this album blew me away. I had heard of dude about ten
years ago when he was battle rapping but either he dropped off the radar or I just wasn't checking for him but either way, when I saw this new album I thought it was just another attempt but some washed up battle rapper to cash in before he or she goes riding off into the sunset. Boy was I wrong. This cat is so talented vocally that I had to listen to his background vocals and the sung hooks several times to make sure that it was him singing. The rhymes are as ferocious as ever but there is a level of maturity that makes this album one of the best I've heard all year and there you have it. The best rap album of the June 2013 is The War Within by Wrekonize. Buy it today.
The War Within (Deluxe Edition) - Wrekonize
