Reviews - HIPHOP.COM | A HIP HOP STATE OF MIND

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JAY-Z
The Blueprint 3

The biggest most star-studded release of the year is here, check out DJ Z's review

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WU-TANG CLAN
Chamber Music

The Wu-Gambinos return with a short but truly incredible new set, supported by a live band and cast of top draw true-school era guests. Reviewer DJ Z can't recommend it highly enough...

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JAY-Z
DOA (Death Of Auto-Tune)

Jay returns with the declaration so many hip hop fans were wishing for. DJ Z checks out the cut, while assessing the importance of this statement and how its impact is elevated via it coming from the Jigga man.

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MOS DEF
The Ecstatic

The Mighty Mos Def serves up his fourth solo album, this time thankfully with cover artwork. DJ Z checks in to see if it lives up to expectations.

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METHOD MAN & REDMAN
Blackout! 2

It's taken a decade to arrive, but was it worth it? DJ Z thinks so...

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BASHY
Catch Me If You Can

After the movies and the mixtapes, the Londoner drops his debut. DJ Z listens in on a global hip hop revolution going overground

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BUSTA RHYMES
Back on My B.S.

He's one of the GOATs, an unmistakable rapper with skills to burn, whose exuberance, talent and star quality have never been in doubt. Why, then does BUSTA RHYMES always disappoint when it comes to albums? DJ Z tries to puzzle it out

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EMINEM
Relapse

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: FIRST FULL-LENGTH REVIEW!

It's here: the first fruits of Slim Shady's comeback, brought to you with a swiftness by HIPHOP.COM's hard-to-please resident sceptic, DJ Z

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RICK ROSS
Deeper than Rap

The Bawse replies to the 50 controversy in emphatic style, with a Number One album: but is it, erm, worth copping? DJ Z investigates

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JADAKISS
The Last Kiss

DJ Z checks out Jada's third LP, and first for Def Jam, and is pleasantly surprised by a consistent set from a major label artist who doesn't slather every song in autotune

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ASHER ROTH
Asleep in the Bread Aisle

He's energised discussion and caused controversy, but as ASHER ROTH hits debut album time, DJ Z asks the only question that matters: is the music any good?

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EMINEM
We Made You

It's another EMINEM lead-in single; what clues does its mixture of celebrity ridicule and "I'm back!" declamations give about the forthcoming album? DJ Z checks in on the Mathers show

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BOW WOW
New Jack City II

Oh dear. Bow Wow's bark is worse than most rabid hounds' bites, if DJ Z's response to this latest collection is anything to go by

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JIM JONES
Pray IV Reign

After the pop hits, the beefs and the dramas, it's time for the Dipset consigliere to get back to the hip hop. DJ Z wonders whether Jones has done enough

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UGK
UGK 4 Life

The show must go on; DAVID DRAKE reconsiders a game-changing career as Bun B and his late partner bow out in style

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Q-TIP
The Roundhouse, London

LIVE REVIEW

Back in Europe for the first time in a decade and a half, can Q-Tip cut it alone without bringing his Tribe back out with him? DJ Z checks the rhymer

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CAPONE-N-NOREAGA
Channel 10

Reunited, and it feels so good: DAVID DRAKE listens in as Cap 'n' N.O.R.E. go back to their NY roots, and discovers that you've gotta be clever to get this stoopid

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PUBLIC ENEMY
BB King's, New York

When Flavor Flav held his 50th birthday party in New York, a host of hip hop icons dropped by to help him celebrate. HARDEEP PHULL counts his lucky stars

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BLUE BOY ENTERTAINMENT
Pied Piper

DELE FADELE applauds a brave but successful attempt to bring some hip hop insurrection into the often highbrow world of dance theatre

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BEASTIE BOYS
Paul's Boutique 20th Anniversary Edition

Dismissed as a failure at the time, the Beasties' sampleadelic masterpiece is 20 years young. STEVE YATES salutes one of the greatest hip hop albums of them all

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DOOM
BORN LIKE THIS.

He's no longer MF, but you never know what you're going to get with a DOOM album. RUSSELL MYRIE listens with care as the enigmatic underground icon tries to bridge past and present

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B-REAL
Smoke N Mirrors

A solo debut from the Cypress Hill rapper doesn't quite do enough to consistently excite, says DAVID DRAKE

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N.A.S.A.
The Spirit of Apollo

An attempt to boldly go where hip hop hasn't dared, or the ravings of a pair of lunatics? STEVIE CHICK listens in two DJs take Kanye, Chuck, ODB, Kool Keith and a cast of thousands to infinity, and beyond...

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EMINEM feat. DR. DRE & 50 CENT
Crack a Bottle

The illustrious trio's return might have had the corks popping in chartland, but the Mathers Nouveau vintage tastes a bit sour for HIPHOP.COM editor ANGUS BATEY

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GEORGE TILLMAN, JR.
Notorious

The much-hyped movie tries to reveal the man behind the myth; but, STEVE YATES wonders, is Biggie too BIG for the screen?

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COMMON
Universal Mind Control

It's not the classic its maker has claimed: but GAVIN MARTIN argues that while his latest is more cruise control than mind control, Com's still a class act

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EPMD
We Mean Business

The dynamic duo's latest comeback doesn't quite convince RODNEY GREENE that Erick and Parrish are going to make quite so many dollars this time around

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Q-TIP
The Renaissance

After years in the wilderness, the return of this hip hop icon was well worth the wait, says DELE FADELE

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JAMES SULLIVAN
The Hardest Working Man

A new book about James Brown's riot-averting April 1968 Boston gig shows that hip hop producers haven't just been mining the Godfather's beats, but capturing his essence, says GAVIN MARTIN

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E-40
The Ball Street Journal

The Bay Area legand's latest shows why he deserves a place among the GOATs, but DAVID DRAKE isn't convinced hyphy is 40's forte

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