A few years ago I decided to try a whole album from Dido after remembering her hits from back in the day along with the 'Stan' feature and then it felt like all I played for weeks was Dido. This has a couple of moments that are too slow like 'My Lover's Gone' and 'Isobel' but the best all have immense replay value. Best Tracks: Here With Me, Hunter, Thank You, Slide, Take My Hand, Worthless

This is another "classic" that I'm not enamoured with. After having it at a rating of around 3/5, I've tried to give the album a relisten to see if an older, wiser me appreciates it more, but it wasn't long before I was reaching for the skip button. The production is quite similar on a lot of the tracks with Chuck D yelling at you, and when Flavor Flav gets a bit of time on the mic, on songs like 'Cold Lampin' with Flavor', the results aren't good. I don't love much '80s hip hop though, so keep that in mind I guess. Songs like 'Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos' stand out from the rest with the Isaac Hayes' 'Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic' sample. There are too many songs in the middle of the album that don't hit me. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★ Best Tracks: Bring the Noise, Don't Believe the Hype, Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos, Party for Your Right to Fight

This is my second taste of The Tea Party after I got a lot out of 'Splendor Solis'. Again, I love their sound and this will encourage me to continue diving into their discography. After heaps of spins though, it is somewhat of a challenge to tell one track from another. They are a little too alike, but at the same time all great. The second half of 'Babylon' sounds a helluva lot like The Weeknd's 'Tears in the Rain'. It's a difficult album to turn off. Best Tracks: Psychopomp, Alarum, Release, Babylon, Emerald

'Stop the Music' is the standout on this producer album. The verses aren't backed by much but then it goes all out on the hook. Akon's 'Keep on Calling' isn't far behind and the soulful 'Two Step' and 'I Had None' are others that catch my attention. Much of the rest won't have you reaching for the skip button but there isn't much to rush back to. Best Tracks: Keep on Calling, Two Step, I Had None, Stop the Music

Fans of west coast hip hop have waited months for this to drop after it was only released as an NFT with a slightly different track list under the name 'Bad MFs'. I was incredibly underwhelmed on the first listen but have found more on the second spin. It's a little disappointing that these four well and truly grown men can't rap about a little more than sex, brag rap and gangsta shit more often. There are moments where they are trying to give 'game' but it's all fairly non-interesting stuff. I've never loved Too $hort. Cube's rhymes have become more simplistic than what he used to write for a while now. I mean, listen to some of his rhymes on 'Big Subwoofer'. Snoop is the least noticeable MC on here. E-40's adlibs and refraining his own bars on almost every bar can get a bit grating. Despite having many producers, like Rick Rock, DecadeZ, Soopafly, Battlecat, Fredwreck, Droop E and Ant Banks, who have created some amazing stuff, the production is decent but never really elevates beyond that. There are some catchy hooks, but again, there is nothing that creative with many just being the track title repeated, and others like 'Have a Nice Day' being weak, which is a shame as the verses are some of the best. 'Mash' is another that feels like a missed opportunity. With a few more production touches or a better hook I think it could've been a great banga to close the album. I can play this through and enjoy it, but there is nothing much that is good enough to go back to in a week. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★☆ Best Tracks: California, Motto, Big Subwoofer, Activated, Have a Nice Day, I Got Pull, On Camera