ALBUM REVIEW: E-40 – The D-Boy Diary
Originally posted on HipHopDX 12/2/206
Rating: 3.6/5
Longevity and Hip Hop aren’t words that are commonly synonymous. There’s keeping your name relevant throughout the years and then there’s being able put out a consistent body of work to match. The Bay Area leads the league in all of those statistical categories thanks to E-40. The dual book D-Boy Diary stands as 40’s 23rd and 24th studio albums and slowing down is not the motto here. But with this latest album set coming in at 44 tracks over the course of three hours, perhaps it’s time Charlie Hustle paced himself a little better.
By the way, that wasn’t a typo. The D-Boy Diaries are an asinine 44 tracks in length, spanning over the course of an entire Lord of the Rings movie. Yep, you can ghostride the whip all the way to Mordor and still have some E Fonzarelli music to spare. That’s the thing about being indie; an A&R to help you vet bad ideas is always ideal. If there’s anyone who could pull it off, however, it’s Earl Stevens. Despite having a rollout longer than a lot of current MC’s entire discography, E-40 shows why he had been able to remain relevant over the past four decades.
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ALBUM REVIEW: Nipsey Hussle Poised For Victory On Famous Lies & Unpopular Truths
Originally posted on HipHopDX 11/25/2016
Rating: 3.8/5
Since his 2013 release of Crenshaw, blue’d up MC Nipsey Hussle has been on a trajectory to become a California great. Nip has been riding high with YG as they performed their incendiary track “FDT” across the country but now Crenshaw’s own is back with new music. Famous Lies & Untold Truths is a five-track, 13-minute EP meant to whet the appetite of Nip’s fanbase as they await his upcoming album Victory Lap.
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ALBUM REVIEW: IshDARR Exhibits Modest Growth On Broken Hearts & Bankrolls
Originally posted on HipHopDX 11/6/2016
Rating: 3.4/5
For Milwaukee MC IshDARR, his life has to be playing out like a dream. Two years ago, he was a senior at Messmer High School piecing together what would become his career with his then music teacher. Fast forward to 2016 and the 20-year-old is taking meetings with labels, having young Hollywood starlets tweet his music and releasing his second full-length project Broken Hearts & Bankrolls.
At first listen, Broken Hearts & Bankrolls doesn’t carry the normal inequities you’d expect from an artist who isn’t old enough to legally drink. The production is robust and mixed with attention to detail. His flow is polished. The storytelling sequencing is spot on and there is a preset focus on the direction of the music.
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