Reader Review: Tha Dogg Pound - Dillinger & Young Gotti II: Tha Saga Continuez... (November 1, 2005)

(Today’s Reader Review, which, yes, are still a thing that you could get in on if you’re interested, finds DJ Sakmaster tackling the third official project (but not the “third album”, per the artists involved) released from Tha Dogg Pound, 2005’s Dillinger and Young Gotti ll: Tha Saga Continuez... Leave your comments for him below.)

Reader Review: Soopafly - Dat Whoopty Woop (July 31, 2001)

(Hey! Remember the Reader Reviews I used to run? BrianL certainly did, as he submitted some words on Long Beach stalwart Soopafly’s debut project, Dat Whoopty Woop, which you two can now leave your own thoughts about in the comments below. Enjoy!)

Ten Tracks (by Alec J. Weatherwood)

(Today I’m trying something different. Ten Tracks is a new series where contributors can talk about ten specific songs of importance to them – ten songs which they feel should be shared or discussed much more often, whether it be for personal reasons, or because they help describe or helped form their tastes, or even just because their ten songs likely wouldn’t receive any coverage on the blog for whatever reason. Today I bring you the Ten Tracks which helped Alec J. Weatherwood get through our shared nightmare known as 2020. If you’re a reader who finds the concept of a Reader Review daunting but likes the idea of talking about your faves in a less high-pressure format, hit me at the e-mail address in the sidebar. Enjoy!)

Reader Review: RBX - No Mercy, No Remorse / The X-Factor (June 29, 1999)

 

(Today I'm running a Reader Review from BrianL, who continues his exploration of West Coast projects that I likely wouldn't have gotten around to writing about with the second RBX solo project, the horribly-titled No Mercy, No Remorse / The X-Factor, named as such for reasons that will become clear in a bit. Leave your thoughts for him below, and if you have an album you'd like to see written up on HHID and are cool with doing the legwork yourself, hit up my e-mail and we'll chat.)

Reader Review: Blu & Exile - Miles: From an Interlude Called Life (July 17, 2020)

 

(Hello! The rumors are true – I still run Reader Reviews on HHID, so if you’re interested in seeing your opinions take up an entire post, as opposed to just leaving a comment, hit me up at the email addy in the sidebar and pitch me what you’ve got. Until then, today Justa returns, having been inspired by the newest Blu & Exile album, the very very lengthy Miles: From an Interlude Called Life. Leave him some notes below!)

Reader Review: Danny Brown - The Hybrid (March 16, 2010)

(Hey! I have a Reader Review for you! Yeah, I still accept and publish Reader Reviews! I know, right? Today’s submission comes from Andrew, who elected to tackle the first proper album from Motown’s own Danny Brown, The Hybrid, and is presented with mild edits that mostly concern references from when this review was originally conceived back in 2014. Enjoy, and leave your thoughts below!)

Reader Review: Warren G - The Return of the Regulator (December 11, 2001)

(Today’s Reader Review comes from BrianL, who returns to the Warren G well to write about the G-Child’s fourth album, The Return of the Regulator, on which our host himself seems to return to a similar well. Leave your thoughts for BrianL below.)

Reader Review: Tha Eastsidaz - Snoop Dogg Presents Tha Eastsidaz (February 1, 2000)

(For today’s Reader Review, we return to the West Coast with BrianL, who gives his thoughts (and uses all of the words) on the first album from Snoop Dogg’s group Tha Eastsidaz, the creatively-titled Snoop Dogg Presents Tha Eastsidaz. This also happened to be the first project released by Snoop’s own label, which was called Dogghouse Records at the time. Leave your thoughts for BrianL below.)

Reader Review: Jay Rock - 90059 (September 11, 2015)

(Welcome back, you two! I’m running dangerously low on Reader Reviews, so if you have an idea you wish to pitch to me (and I do mean “pitch” – as in, don’t send me a full write-up that I haven’t asked you for, why waste anybody’s time), shoot me a message at either the e-mail address on the right or on Twitter (@hhid_Max). For today’s submission, frequent contributor T. Karras writes about TDE stalwart (and now Grammy-winning artist) Jay Rock’s sophomore effort, 90059. Leave your thoughts for him below.)

Reader Review: Hilltop Hoods - Drinking from the Sun (March 9, 2012)

(Today’s Reader Review comes from Miguel, who first wrote about the Australian hip hop group Hilltop Hoods (*checks notes*)…damn, nine years ago? Wow. Anyway, here’s the follow up to that review, in which he discusses their sixth album, Drinking from the Sun. Enjoy, and leave your thoughts below.)

Reader Review: RBX - The RBX Files (September 26, 1995)

(Today’s Reader Review comes from BrianL, who continues diving into Death Row and Death Row-adjacent hip hop history with his take on RBX’s debut solo album, The RBX Files, which famously featured the man verbally attacking his former labelmates and friends because… Death Row declined to release his album? I never really understood why he turned on Snoop, Dre, and company so quickly. Anyway, whatever, leave your thoughts below.)

Reader Review: MC Face - Not The Green Tom Show (June 20, 1998)

(For today’s Reader Review, we’re going the less serious route, as Mathieu Frasier submitted his thoughts for the rather rare album from MC Face, Not The Tom Green Show. For the purposes of this lone project, MC Face was the alter-ego of Canadian comedian and former MTV talk show host Tom Green, which is a weird creative choice, as he has other albums under his own name. Anyway. Leave your thoughts for Mathieu below.)

Reader Review: MC Solaar - Prose Combat (February 9, 1994)

(Today’s Reader Review is kind of special, if by “special” you mean “holy shit, Max has been holding on to this submission for four fucking years? What the hell is his problem?” Yes, it’s true: back in 2014, Tochi sent me his pitch for French rapper MC Solaar’s second album, Prose Combat, which I promptly held onto , as I had different plans for the site at the time. And then I vanished for two years. But hey, with Tochi’s blessing, it’s here today, so leave some comments for him.)

Reader Review: Warren G - I Want It All (October 12, 1999)

(Today I’ve running a Reader Review from BrianL for Warren G’s third album I Want It All. My own attempts at writing up this project resulted in multiple false starts, as I just couldn’t sit down to listen to any of this without becoming easily distracted by literally anything else. Does this mean that the album is of subpar quality? Read on to find out, maybe?)

Reader Review: Das EFX - Generation EFX (March 24, 1998)

(Today’s Reader Review comes from frequent contributor shoe-in, whose final Das EFX write-up, for their fourth album Generation EFX, I’m finally running. Look into his own blog if you’re into that sort of thing, and leave your thoughts and stuff for him below.)

Two Gut Reactions (Including My Own): Kanye West - Ye (June 1, 2018)

I don’t follow rap artists for their personal or political views: if I did, I would be a horrible fucking person. I mean, have you heard about how some of these guys feel about women? But Kanye West is a special snowflake, in that he’s incredibly outspoken about what he feels are unique views but are really shared talking points conceived by the alt-right, white supremacists, and other supporters of the fat couch in the White House that will still likely kill us all just to make a few more bucks, and yet, he's a fucking moron who admits to not studying history and doesn't read books. His stance on slavery, especially, had lost him a significant number of fans and inspired thinkpieces from many journalists and music critics who proclaimed him “cancelled” and told anyone who would listen that they would never listen to any of Kanye’s music ever again.

Until West debuted his eighth solo “album”, the seven-track, twenty-three minute, self-produced (with a bunch of collaborators, as is his way) ye, at an exclusive listening party in Wyoming, where he’s been holed up in a studio prepping his label, G.O.O.D. Music, for their summer 2018 lineup. ye is merely the second of five projects allegedly coming our way (following last week’s Daytona from Pusha T, which made a lot of waves, almost all of which stem from a single track and not from that album as a whole), but it’s the one everyone was most curious about, so those same fans, journalists, and music critics excitedly boarded flights to Wyoming and have praised Kanye as a genius, dancing along to soul samples and surprise celebrity sightings at the party, exposing themselves as the starfuckers they truly are. It apparently never occurred to any of these folks that Kanye West was merely using them to promote his product and further his own agenda, as everything the man does stirs up the media machine, so they fell right into his trap.

Reader Review: Vince Staples - Big Fish Theory (June 23, 2017)

(Hey, how about that, it's the first Reader Review of 2018. Only took me five months. God, I suck. Today I’m filling this space with d. money’s thoughts on the second full-length album from Vince Staples, 2017’s Big Fish Theory. I know some of you two really wanted to discuss the man, so leave your thoughts and stuff in the comments below.)

Reader Review: Sticky Fingaz - Blacktrash: The Autobiography of Kirk Jones (May 22, 2001)

(So today I'm running another of the Reader Reviews submitted fifty years ago, this one from Savion, who tackles the solo debut from Onyx's Sticky Fingaz, Blacktrash: The Autobiography of KirkJones. Note: this write-up will not discuss any plot details, as Savion chose instead to comment on just the music and not the overall narrative, so there aren't any spoilers to be found, unless you count song titles. If anyone wishes to discuss the story itself, use the comments section. Enjoy!)

Reader Review: Das EFX - Hold It Down (September 26, 1995)

(Today I'm running a Reader Review from frequent contributor shoe-in, who is in the midst of a Hit Squad appreciation project over on his own site, Boom Bap Reviews. I've sat on this submission about Das EFX's third album, Hold It Down, for probably three years now, but he was kind enough to update some of it for today's audience. Enjoy.)

Reader Review: Mobb Deep - Murda Muzik (Unreleased Version) (1999)

(So Taylor provided this Reader Review of the original version of Mobb Deep's Murda Muzik shortly after my Prodigy post, but I've been lazy about posting it. Which is still on brand for me, so huzzah! I'm consistent! Anyway, read on, and leave your thoughts for Taylor below. And as always, the italicized thoughts in parentheses are mine.)