Focus Hip Hop

Music Writing with a Focus on Underground Gems

  • Top 20 Albums of 2021

    Here’s my list of the 20 best albums I heard this past year. It should go without saying that these aren’t the only good albums worth hearing from 2021; they’re just my 20 favorites. There are plenty of great albums that didn’t make the list. There are also some albums here that I didn’t get…

  • Top 5 Extended Plays of 2021

    Last year I published a list of my 25 favorite EPs of 2020. This year, there weren’t nearly as many standout extended plays, so that’s why I’ve pared this list down to the five best ones of the year. Gotta problem with it? Too bad. With that said, these aren’t the only EPs worth listening…

  • Don’t Sleep | Defcee & Messiah Musik – Trapdoor

    Don’t sleep on this latest collaborative album by MC Defcee & producer Messiah Musik. As soon as this project was announced, it became one of my most anticipated releases of the year. Defcee has quickly become one of my favorite writers in the industry over the past 24 months, and I’ve been a fan of…

  • The Best Songs of October 2021

    Here are the Apple Music & Spotify versions of the playlist of my favorite songs from the month of October. Shoutout to Teller Bank$ for having my favorite album of the month. Anyway, check these tracks out and let me know which one is your favorite, as well as what your favorite album from October…

  • Don’t Sleep | Vakill – God’s Guns

    Don’t sleep on this latest extended play from Vakill. It was released on July 20th this year. Vakill is a Chicago MC who I first heard of around 2017 when I discovered his 2011 album, Armor of God. This latest project is his first release in 10 years. Armor of God is the only project…

  • The Best Songs of September 2021

    Here are the Apple Music & Spotify versions of the playlist of my favorite songs from the month of September. Shoutout to Alaska & Jason Griff for having my favorite album of the month. Anyway, check these tracks out and let me know which one is your favorite, as well as what your favorite album…

  • FHH Update 11-15-2021

    As you guys probably noticed, I’ve been relatively inactive for the past week. The main reason is that I had a nasty cold. Thankfully it wasn’t Covid, but I was still pretty miserable up until about a day ago. Apart from that, I’ve also been getting my ass kicked by school, so I haven’t really…

  • Album Review | Teller Bank$ – The Part & Parcel

    This album was released on October 22nd this year. Teller Bank$ has already released one of my favorite albums of the year with The Pen for Whom the Sword Moves, so I’m pretty excited to see how he’s following it up with this latest project. If I’m not mistaken, this is a sequel to The…

  • Don’t Sleep | Steel Tipped Dove – Call Me When You’re Outside

    Don’t sleep on this new album from Steel Tipped Dove. It was released on October 8th this year, and it’s fucking fire. His production on this album is absolutely fantastic. These beats are super detailed; even if there was nobody rapping over them I’d be hooked. Thankfully, there are quite a few amazing features on…

  • Album Review | D. Lanham & Ronesh – Bleak Americana

    This album was released on October 1st this year. D. Lanham & Ronesh are pretty much my favorite underground duo right now. Everything they’ve done together has blown me away. I think D. Lanham is an incredible lyricist, and Ronesh has quickly become one of my favorite producers in the underground, along with August Fanon…

  • EP Review | A Hundred Disorders

    This EP was released on April 2nd this year. A Hundred Disorders is a duo comprised of producer RWVII and MC Bloodmoney Perez. I didn’t really have any expectations going into this project mainly because I wasn’t actually that familiar with Bloodmoney Perez prior to listening, and I’d never heard of RWVII before. I’d heard…

  • Album Review | CRIMEAPPLE & DJ Muggs – Cartagena

    This album was released on September 24th this year. CRIMEAPPLE & DJ Muggs released one of the better albums of 2019 with Medallo, so I was pretty excited when I saw that they were dropping this sequel. I haven’t heard any of the singles from this project, so I’m going into it blind. However, based…