God Loves Ugly By:
Atmosphere
"See, bands like us don't get groupies," Slug tells a female admirer between cuts on God Loves Ugly. "I mean, have you heard our songs? " Groupies, presumably, require hits, and he's right, there isn't anything resembling one on the album, just as th
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Power in Numbers By:
Jurrasic 5
Two years after Jurassic 5's debut album, Quality Control, proved that B-boy-oriented retro-rap doesn't have to be corny, the six-member crew (four MCs and two DJs) seems to be gearing up for the revolution. While fans of Quality Control's bright sou
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Taste the Secret By:
Ugly Duckling
What is hip-hop? Is hip-hop about sharp rhymes and catchy hooks? "Off the chain" beats and brilliant production? Maybe one's definition of hip-hop is some super sick one-hundred bar verse. However, for myself, hip-hop is more than that. Hip-hop is a
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Get Lifted By:
John Legend
Given the sped-up classic soul samples with which Kanye West has made his mark, it comes as no surprise that the producer/rapper would pick a tradition-minded R&B singer as his first big pet project. Legend first made his name on Philly's incense-clo
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Demon Days By:
Gorillaz
A side project doesn't usually hit gold, especially when said project is a quirky virtual collective fronted by cartoon characters. But the first, self-titled album by Gorillaz--the brainchild of illustrator Jamie Hewlett and Blur frontman Damon Alba
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Late Registration By:
Kanye West
For haters eager to see Kanye hit a sophomore slump--no such luck. Late Registration can't replicate the novelty of last year's College Dropout, but otherwise, this is an impressively more mature and labored-over album. Lyrically, Kanye's only improv
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The Craft By:
Blackalicious
This is the kind of album that divides fans. On one side, there are the ones that will see the Bay Area hip-hop duo composed of rapper Gift of Gab and producer Chief Xcel taking a logical step forward, recruiting high-profile guests (George Clinton,
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