Rap Reviews

When it comes to the genre of hip hop, it would be remiss not to include Slick Rick on the list of pivotal figures. Iconic in style and inspirational in his output. His 1988 track 'Children's Story' warns of the perils of taking the wrong path in life and concludes with a fate sadly all to common to this day.

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We finally delve into the world of one of hip hop's greatest mind's, one Kendrick Lamar Duckworth. 'm.A.A.d City', m.A.A.d being an acronym for my angels on angel dust, sees Kendrick reminisce on some transformative moments in his youth growing up in South Central. 

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it's about time we delved into one of the most prominent and influential figures in modern hip hop history. A track off Ye's critically revered fifth album 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy', 'Gorgeous' is an eloquent commentary of injustice that plagues the US.

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A track named in honour of the location of the Bell Foundry, a now condemned artist collab space. The opening track of Peggy's album 'Veteran' sees the rapper taking a swipe at mainstream rap, or maybe a more directed swipe at Drake - listen to the episode and be the judge yourself.

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We stay in Brooklyn this week and look at the area's Drill scene's vanguard - Schmurda. Recently released from the slammer for weapons possession and conspiracy to murder, 'Hot N***a' is the track that shot Bobby to fame.

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We dive into Brooklyn king Jay Z's supposed final album 'The Black Album' and look at the track 'Lucifer' this week. As the name suggests, this track is heavy with theological references. We go through the journey of Jay Z exploring and trying to make sense of his friend Bobalob's death.

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In the second instalment of this two part series looking at a relatively pacified rap feud between Noname and J Cole, we look at Noname's response to J Cole's 'Snow on tha Bluff'.

Was it a coincidence that episode 33 of Rap Reviews is 'Song 33'? Absolutely, but we will take all the congratulations we can for showing some semblance of a well organised podcast.

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When it comes to beasts of language, Aesop should be formally awarded the crown from Shakespeare. This week we look at one of Aesop's less lengthy, less lyrically dense pieces and still struggle at times to wrap our heads around one of hip hop's greatest underground stars. The bloke is undeniably a scholar of the genre.

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In a Rap Reviews first, we try our hand at a serial. 'Snow on tha Bluff' represents part one in a two-part series looking at a rap beef between modern hip hop royalty J Cole and the critically acclaimed Noname. This track was released by Cole following a tweet that Noname put out in the wake of the BLM protests.

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A happy new year to you listeners. Waking up to the news that MF DOOM had passed back in October 2020 was a devastating way to kick the new year off. It is only right that we delve Metal Face Doom and pay him the respect he deserves. RIP to one of the greatest to ever don the mic in his right hand.

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