Focus Hip Hop

Music Writing with a Focus on Underground Gems

  • Album Review | Kanye West – JESUS IS KING

    This album was released on October 25th this year. I usually don’t post reviews on the weekend, but since it’s a special occasion—my birthday—I figured I’d publish this to celebrate. It also kinda works with the theme of this album since it’s a Sunday. Anyway, I kinda fucked up with my Kanye Marathon to be…

  • Rating Mega Ran’s Discography

    If it isn’t clear by now, Mega Ran is easily my favorite Nerdcore rapper. Going through his catalogue led to some of the most fun I’ve had with music all year. It’s a shame that he’s been pigeon-holed into the whole Nerdcore thing because he’s not just some gimmicky nerd who likes video game soundtracks.…

  • Tardy Mixtape Review | Mega Ran – Beyond the Stars: The BTS Tape

    This mixtape was released on August 30th this year. As you can see from the title and cover art, it’s inspired by the monumentally popular K-Pop group, BTS. I wasn’t exactly sure what this tape was gonna consist of, so I had no expectations. Well, I don’t know. I guess I kinda thought it’d just…

  • Don’t Sleep | K-Murdock – Beats by K, Vol. 1: Panacean Music

    Don’t sleep on this instrumental album from K-Murdock. It’s the first album that he dropped this year, but, as of October 24th, he’s released 7 installments in this series. This one was released on July 31st this year. Before I checked this project out, the only time I’d ever heard any production from K-Murdock was…

  • Tardy Album Review | MC Frontalot – Net Split, or the Fathomless Heartbreak of Online Itself

    This album was released on March 8th this year. Since I’m trying to be consistent with the Nerdcore theme this week, I figured it’d only make sense to try out the music of the subgenre’s creator. Before trying out this album I’d only ever heard features from MC Frontalot, so I really had no expectations.…

  • Tardy Album Review | Mega Ran – Patreon Tracks, Vol. 1

    This album was released on June 21st this year. As you can probably surmise from the title, it’s a compilation of singles that were formerly exclusive to Mega Ran’s Patreon supporters. If I didn’t make it clear enough in my review of The Dewey Decibel System, I’m a pretty big fan of Mega Ran. I…

  • Tardy Album Review | Mega Ran & MC Lars – The Dewey Decibel System

    This album was released on June 7th this year. I’ve learned a lot about Nerdcore music in the past 40 days. I’ve been binging Mega Ran’s entire discography, and it’s been really great. My first introduction to him was his featured verse on Kill Bill & Rav’s NEW MOON album from January of this year. Or maybe…

  • Tardy EP Review | Al-Doe & Spanish Ran – Doña Blanca

    This extended play was released on July 4th this year. I first became familiar with Al-Doe in December of 2014 when I started this blog. The second review I ever wrote was for a mixtape called The Outsiders by a group named R.F.C., which was led by Smoke DZA. I didn’t really care for the…

  • Album Review | Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels 3

    This album was originally released for free on Christmas day of 2016. I literally downloaded it within an hour of its release, and it’s been sitting on my computer ever since. I hadn’t listened to it until today—October 14, 2019. I honestly have no idea why I never actually listened to it. I think there…

  • Tardy Album Review | Casey Veggies – Organic

    This album was released on June 7th this year. Honestly, I really wasn’t expecting this project to be very good personally. Casey Veggies is one of those rappers who isn’t really trash at all, but he does very little to excite me. He’s like a more tolerable version of Curren$y. He rarely has anything interesting…

  • Album Review | Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – Bandana

    This album was released on June 28th this year. I really don’t think I need to say much about this album in this preamble. If you’re a Hip Hop fan, you know what this is. It’s probably the most hyped up album of the year. People have been begging for this album to drop for…

  • Album Review | Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels 2

    This album was released on October 24th in 2014. It was my introduction to Run the Jewels. I remember thinking it was amazing the first time I heard it, but after like 3 or 4 months I was kinda over it for some reason. I don’t know why. Hopefully reviewing it again now will help…