Posts Tagged ‘the notorious b.i.g.’

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January 2022 – Music Edition

February 2, 2022

ALBUM OF THE MONTH

Che Noir – Food For Thought

Top 25 Most Played Albums of January 2022 (* indicates new album in January)

  1. *Che Noir – Food For Thought
  2. *The Weeknd – Dawn FM
  3. J Dilla – Donuts (2005)
  4. Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
  5. Roddy Ricch – Live Life Fast
  6. Lil Wayne – Tha Carter II (2005)
  7. *Gunna – DS4EVER
  8. Baby Keem – The Melodic Blue
  9. Mos Def – Black On Both Sides (1999)
  10. Nas – Magic
  11. Ghostface Killah – Supreme Clientele (2000)
  12. *Cordae – From a Birds Eye View
  13. Roc Marciano – Reloaded
  14. *FKA twigs – CAPRISONGS
  15. Lil Wayne – Tha Carter III (2008)
  16. Nas – King’s Disease II
  17. Ghostface Killah – Ironman (1996)
  18. Jazmine Sullivan – Heaux Tales
  19. Lil Wayne – SQ4 (2004?)
  20. Adele – 30
  21. Big Boi & Sleepy Brown – The Sleepover
  22. Lil Wayne – Sorry 4 the Wait (2011)
  23. Labrinth – Euphoria Soundtrack (2019)
  24. The Roots – Undun (2011)
  25. Mac Miller – Circles (2020)

The 25 Most Played Artists of January

  1. Che Noir
  2. Lil Wayne
  3. The Weeknd
  4. The Roots
  5. J Dilla
  6. Nas
  7. Little Simz
  8. Ghostface Killah
  9. Roddy Ricch
  10. AZ
  11. Gunna
  12. Baby Keem
  13. Mos Def
  14. Cordae
  15. Roc Marciano
  16. FKA twigs
  17. Mach-Hommy
  18. Westside Gunn
  19. Jazmine Sullivan
  20. Adele
  21. Big Boi
  22. Conway the Machine
  23. Labrinth
  24. Mac Miller
  25. Ransom

Follow me on Apple Music @DarkKnight1717 to add my playlists
2020s Bangers Playlist
January 2022 Additions:

AZ, “Jewels for Life”
Baby Keem, “trademark usa”
Big Boi & Sleepy Brown, “The Big Sleep”
Che Noir, “Brains For Dinner”
Che Noir, “Communion”
Che Noir, “Table For 3” (feat. Ransom & 38 Spesh)
Dr. Dre, “Eta” (feat. Anderson .Paak, Busta Rhymes, & Snoop Dogg)
Dr. Dre, “Gospel” (feat. Eminem)
FKA twigs, “careless” (feat. daniel caesar)
FKA twigs, “tears in the club” (feat. The Weeknd)
Lute, “Birdsong” (feat. JID & Saba)
Lute, “Overnight”
Nas, “Speechless”
Nas, “Meet Joe Black”
Nas, “Wave Gods” (feat. A$AP Rocky)
Nas, “40-16 Building”
Ransom & Rome Streetz, “Claudine” (feat. Che Noir)
Roddy Ricch, “rollercoastin”
Roddy Ricch, “don’t i” (feat. Gunna)
Wale, “Poke It Out” (feat. J. Cole)
The Weeknd, “Take My Breath”
The Weeknd, “Sacrifice”
The Weeknd, “Out of Time”





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2021 Year In Review – Music Edition

January 2, 2022

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Dave – We’re All Alone In This Together

Top Albums of 2021 (in alphabetical order)

Adele – 30 (Pop)
Benny the Butcher – The Plugs I Met 2 (Rap)
Dave – We’re All Alone In This Together (Rap)
Isaiah Rashad – The House Is Burning (Rap)
J.Cole – The Off-Season (Rap)
Kanye West – Donda (Rap)
Nas – King’s Disease II (Rap)
Nas – Magic (Rap)
Olivia Rodrigo – SOUR (Pop)
Silk Sonic – An Evening with Silk Sonic (Pop)
Tyler, the Creator – CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST (Rap)

Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order)

AZ – Doe or Die II (Rap)
Boldy James & The Alchemist – Bo Jackson (Rap)
Conway the Machine – La Maquina (Rap)
Grip – I Died For This!? (Rap)
Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert (Rap)
Lute – Gold Mouf (Rap)
Mach-Hommy – Pray For Haiti (Rap)
Skyzoo – All the Brilliant Things (Rap)
Tash Sultana – Terra Firma (Alternative Rock)
Westside Gunn – Hitler Wears Hermes 8: sides A & B (Rap)

Top 25 Most Played Albums of 2021

  1. J. Cole – The Off-Season
  2. Isaiah Rashad – The House is Burning
  3. Dave – We’re All Alone In This Together
  4. Kanye West – Donda
  5. Nas – King’s Disease II
  6. Mach-Hommy – Pray For Haiti
  7. Benny the Butcher – The Plugs I Met 2
  8. DMX – Exodus
  9. MC Eiht – LESSONS (2020)
  10. The Notorious B.I.G. – Life After Death (1997)
  11. Sa-Roc – The Sharecropper’s Daughter (2020)
  12. Tash Sultana – Terra Firma
  13. Conway the Machine – La Maquina
  14. Tyrone’s Jacket – Tyrone’s Jacket (2020)
  15. Tyler, The Creator – CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST
  16. Grip – I Died for This!?
  17. Toby Ganger – Free Machine (unreleased)
  18. Pink Sweat$ – Pink Planet
  19. Drake – Certified Lover Boy
  20. Lana Del Rey – Chemtrails Over the Country
  21. Ghetts – Conflict of Interest
  22. Eminem – Music To Be Murdered By – Side B
  23. Nyck Caution – Anywhere But Here
  24. Vince Staples – Vince Staples
  25. Courtney Bell – Poverty Stricken (2020)

The 50 Most Played Artists of 2021

  1. J. Cole
  2. Benny the Butcher
  3. Isaiah Rashad
  4. Nas
  5. Eminem
  6. Kanye West
  7. DMX
  8. Scarface
  9. Dave
  10. Kool G Rap
  11. Lana Del Rey
  12. The Notorious B.I.G.
  13. Big K.R.I.T.
  14. Boldy James
  15. Vince Staples
  16. Sa-Roc
  17. Conway the Machine
  18. MF DOOM
  19. Mach-Hommy
  20. KOTA the Friend
  21. Westside Gunn
  22. Drake
  23. MC Eiht
  24. Outkast
  25. Yelawolf
  26. Dua Lipa
  27. Kendrick Lamar
  28. Mac Miller
  29. Tyler, the Creator
  30. Tash Sultana
  31. Jessie Ware
  32. Lil Wayne
  33. Tyrone’s Jacket
  34. Grip
  35. Pink Sweat$
  36. Toby Ganger
  37. Adele
  38. Freddie Gibbs
  39. Ghetts
  40. Nyck Caution
  41. Snoop Dogg
  42. Elzhi
  43. Jadakiss
  44. AZ
  45. BROCKHAMPTON
  46. Courtney Bell
  47. Devin the Dude
  48. Emotional Oranges
  49. Evidence
  50. Kali Uchis

Top 25 Most Played Artist of December (* indicates released new album last month)

  1. Nas *
  2. Elzhi
  3. The Beatles
  4. Lil Wayne
  5. DJ Quik
  6. Adele
  7. Roddy Ricch *
  8. Big Boi *
  9. Dave
  10. Brother Ali
  11. Kanye West
  12. Russ *
  13. Westside Gunn
  14. Benny the Butcher
  15. Boldy James *
  16. Silk Sonic
  17. Porter Robinson
  18. Khalid *
  19. Big K.R.I.T.
  20. Cozz *
  21. LE$ *
  22. Young Thug
  23. Ghostface Killah
  24. Isaiah Rashad
  25. J. Cole

Top 50 Most Played Artists of All-Time (since like late summer 2020) [last year’s ranking in brackets]

  1. Eminem [1]
  2. Benny the Butcher [2]
  3. Nas [10]
  4. J. Cole [unranked]
  5. Conway the Machine [4]
  6. Lil Wayne [3]
  7. Kanye West [unranked]
  8. MC Eiht [6]
  9. Scarface [unranked]
  10. Isaiah Rashad [unranked]
  11. DMX [unranked]
  12. Black Thought / The Roots [5]
  13. Sa-Roc [24]
  14. Che Noir [7]
  15. Boldy James [29]
  16. Lana Del Rey [unranked]
  17. Toby Ganger [16]
  18. Westside Gunn [26]
  19. Dave [unranked]
  20. Kool G Rap [unranked]
  21. Amine [9]
  22. Outkast / Big Boi [unranked]
  23. The Lox / Jadakiss [37]
  24. Dua Lipa [30]
  25. MF DOOM [unranked]
  26. 38 Spesh [14]
  27. Spillage Village / Earthgang [8]
  28. Mac Miller [48]
  29. Dueling Experts / Recognize Ali [15]
  30. Ty Dolla $ign [12]
  31. The Notorious B.I.G. [unranked]
  32. Ransom [31]
  33. Tyrone’s Jacket [44]
  34. KOTA the Friend [unranked]
  35. Berner [11]
  36. Big K.R.I.T. [unranked]
  37. Jessie Ware [unranked]
  38. Elzhi [49]
  39. Busta Rhymes [13]
  40. Vince Staples [unranked]
  41. Kid Cudi [46]
  42. The Weeknd [17]
  43. Drake [unranked]
  44. Kendrick Lamar [unranked]
  45. Pop Smoke [28]
  46. Blu [22]
  47. Flip Huston [19]
  48. Mach-Hommy [unranked]
  49. Freddie Gibbs [unranked]
  50. Brother Ali [42]

Dropped Out: R.A. the Rugged Man [18], Big Sean [20], 21 Savage & Metro Boomin [23], Felt [25], T.I. [27], Goodie Mob [34], Ariana Grande [35], CunninLynguists [36], Jaden Smith [38], Dinner Party [39], Future [40], Kaash Paige [41], Deante Hitchcock [43], Rich Brian [45], Dave East [47], Ice Cube [50]

Bangerz Playlist Additions – Follow me on Apple Music @DarkKnight1717 to add my playlists
2020 Bangers Playlist
2021 Bangers Playlist





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August to November 2021 Music Ratings

December 10, 2021

ALBUM OF THE PERIOD

Adele – 30

Ratings:

10 – Masterpiece
9 – Amazing
8 – Great
7 – Highly Enjoyable
6 – Recommended
5 – Decent
4 – Lackluster

3 – Bad
2 – Horrible
1 – Trash

Top 25 Albums from August 1st to November 29th

Note: These albums are NOT ranked in order of preference; they are ranked in order of number of songs listened to (scrobbles) over the past month. Previous ranking in brackets. Year of release in parentheses if it’s not 2020 or 2021.

**indicates November release

  1. Isaiah Rashad – The House is Burning – 7+
  2. Kanye West – Donda – 7
  3. Nas – King’s Disease II – 8
  4. Dave – We’re All Alone In This Together – 9
  5. Grip – I Died for This!? – 7
  6. Drake – Certified Lover Boy – 5+
  7. Mach-Hommy – Pray For Haiti – 6+
  8. Travis Thompson – BVLD BOY – 6+
  9. Big K.R.I.T. – It’s Better This Way
  10. Boldy James & The Alchemist – Bo Jackson – 6+
  11. AZ – Doe or Die II – 7+
  12. Little Simz – Sometimes I Might Be Introvert – 7+
  13. Olivia Rodrigo – SOUR – 7
  14. **Adele – 30 – 8+
  15. DMX – Exodus – 6
  16. Baby Keem – The Melodic Blue – 5+
  17. Benny the Butcher – Pyrex Picasso – 6+
  18. Big K.R.I.T. – A Style Not Quite Free
  19. *Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak) – An Evening With Silk Sonic – 8+
  20. Westside Gunn – Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Side B – 6+
  21. D Smoke – War & Wonders – 6
  22. Skyzoo – All the Brilliant Things – 7+
  23. Lute – Gold Mouf – 7+
  24. Tyler, The Creator – CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST – 7
  25. Westside Gunn – Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Sincerely Adolf – 6+

The 25 Artists I Listened To the Most last three months

  1. Kanye West
  2. Isaiah Rashad
  3. Nas
  4. Dave
  5. Big K.R.I.T.
  6. Eminem
  7. Grip
  8. Outkast
  9. Westside Gunn
  10. Drake
  11. Benny the Butcher
  12. Travis Thompson
  13. AZ
  14. Mach-Hommy
  15. Boldy James
  16. Lana Del Rey
  17. Little Simz
  18. Adele
  19. Olivio Rodrigo
  20. DMX
  21. Halsey
  22. Silk Sonic (Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak)
  23. Baby Keem
  24. D Smoke
  25. Skyzoo

Bangerz Playlist Additions – Follow me on Apple Music @DarkKnight1717 to add my playlists
2020 Bangers Playlist
2021 Bangers Playlist





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August 2021 – Every Movie I Watched

September 5, 2021

Movies – Reviews or ratings for every movie I watched in the month of August.

Movies I watched, but didn’t review:

  • Batman: The Long Halloween, Part Two (2021) – 7/10
  • CODA (2021, Apple TV) – 8/10
  • Jungle Cruise (2021) – 4/10
  • The Green Knight (2021) – 7/10
  • The Suicide Squad (2021, HBO Max) – 6/10
  • Together, Together (2021, Hulu) – 6/10
  • The Father (2020, re-watch) – 8/10
  • Icarus (2017, Netflix) – 8/10
  • Apocalypto (2006, Prime) – 8/10
  • Croupier (1998, Netflix) – 6/10
  • The Fugitive (1993, HBO Max, re-watch) – 6/10
  • Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991, Netflix) – 10/10
  • Police Story (1985, HBO Max) – 7/10

2021 Best Feature Films: My top 25 of 2021 through August
2020 Best Feature Films: My top 25 of 2020 through August 2021
2021 Best Documentaries/Docu-Series: My top documentary style films of the year
Focused Watchlist: A list of 30+ movies that are at the top of my watchlist with a breakdown of how I formulate my picks
September 2021 – New to Theaters and Streaming: Ranking new and old movies I want to see coming to streaming or theaters this month

I also went crazy and made a best films of the year list for every year from 2020 to 1982, the year I was born. I ranked 25 films for 2000 and later and 10 films for 1999 to 1982. I started fizzling out on my lists in the early 90s as I just haven’t seen most of the important films from those early years when I was a kid. I have all the lists on my blog here. Enjoy!

T.V. Shows (Ratings out of 5)

  • Dave season 2 (2021, Hulu/FX) – 3.5/5
  • Dr. Death (2021, Peacock)
  • The Outsider (2020, HBO Max) – 3/5

Currently watching:

  • Better Call Saul season 5 (2020, FX)
  • Big Shots season 1 (2021, Disney+)
  • Loki season 1 (2021, Disney+)
  • Rick & Morty season 5 (2021, Adult Swim)
  • The Sopranos season 1 (1999, HBO Max, re-watch)
  • Ted Lasso season 2 (2021, Apple TV+)

Music

None

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June & July 2021 Music Ratings

August 16, 2021

ALBUM OF THE MONTH

Dave – We’re All Alone In This Together

Ratings:

10 – Masterpiece
9 – Amazing
8 – Great
7 – Highly Enjoyable
6 – Recommended
5 – Decent
4 – Lackluster

3 – Bad
2 – Horrible
1 – Trash

Top 25 Albums from June 1st to July 31st

Note: These albums are NOT ranked in order of preference; they are ranked in order of number of songs listened to (scrobbles) over the past month. Previous ranking in brackets. Year of release in parentheses if it’s not 2020 or 2021.

*indicates June/July 2021 release

  1. *Dave – We’re All Alone In This Together
  2. J.Cole – The Off-Season
  3. *Tyler, The Creator – CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST
  4. *LLoyd Banks – The Course of the Inevitable
  5. *Evidence – Unlearning, Vol. 1
  6. DMX – Exodus
  7. *Vince Staples – Vince Staples
  8. Scarface – My Homies (1998)
  9. Kool G Rap – Return of the Don (2017)
  10. *HRSMN (Canibus, Kurupt, Killah Priest, Ras Kass) – The Last Ride
  11. *Isaiah Rashad – The House is Burning
  12. BROCKHAMPTON – ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE
  13. *King Blitz – THINGS NEVER GO AS PLANNED
  14. Yelawolf & DJ Muggs – Mile Zero
  15. *H.E.R. – Back of My Mind
  16. *IDK – USEE4YOURSELF
  17. Kool G Rap – Riches, Royalty & Respect (2011)
  18. Kool G Rap – The Giancana Story (2002)
  19. *Smoke DZA – The Hustler’s Catalog 2
  20. *Sy Ari Da Kid – Sy Ari Not Sorry
  21. Kool G Rap – Roots of Evil (1998)
  22. Wu-Tang Clan – Wu-Tang Forever (1997)
  23. *Emotional Oranges – The Juicebox
  24. Kool G Rap – Live and Let Die (1992)
  25. Kanye West – Late Registration (2005)

Comments: Recent albums that are absolutely must listens: J. Cole, Tyler the Creator, Isaiah Rashad, and I think Dave just dropped the 2021 Album of the Year so far.

The 25 Artists I Listened To the Most in June & July

  1. Kool G Rap
  2. Scarface
  3. Dave
  4. J. Cole
  5. Yelawolf
  6. Tyler, The Creator
  7. Lloyd Banks
  8. Evidence
  9. Benny the Butcher
  10. Vince Staples
  11. DMX
  12. Wu-Tang Clan
  13. Isaiah Rashad
  14. Kanye West
  15. Ransom
  16. Lana Del Rey
  17. Eminem
  18. HRSMN
  19. Sa-Roc
  20. BROCKHAMPTON
  21. H.E.R.
  22. King Blitz
  23. Pop Smoke
  24. IDK
  25. Smoke DZA
  26. Sy Ari Da Kid

Comments: My biggest focus over the past couple months was going through the discographies of a couple of hip-hop legends: Kool G Rap and Scarface. I’ve always been a casual fan of KGR, but I have to admit I’ve never really dug into his music too much and it’s hard to have a valid opinion on someone’s place in hip-hop history if you don’t really know what you’re talking about. Old school heads love to put G Rap in their top 20 so not being able to debate that claim intelligently is something I felt like I needed to fix. After listening to basically every project he’s ever made, I think KGR is a great rapper that deserves more credit from the current generation, but I’m not really seeing someone I’d seriously consider for my top 20. He’s vocally nice and lyrically great, but I wasn’t blown away by his discography – it just doesn’t have the versatility or emotional depth I’d like to see from someone I’d consider in my all-time favorites. Scarface, on the other hand, is a fringe top 10 rapper of all-time. His discog is amazing and he’s someone that has evolved with the times and was still completely relevant as recently as the mid-to-late 2010s. The Fix is an absolute masterpiece of a rap album. Every song is a pure banger. It really looked like Covid and the pandemic might take Scarface away from us, but he fought through it and survived and hopefully he will bless us with more great music eventually.

Bangerz Playlist Additions – Follow me on Apple Music @DarkKnight1717 to add my playlists
2020 Bangers Playlist
2021 Bangers Playlist

You can click the link above to see my most recent additions to either playlist, but I’m not going to list them here because it’s the middle of June and I don’t which songs I added in May and which ones I’ve added in June, so I’ll just post them all in my next writeup.





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May – July 2021: Every Review I Wrote

August 3, 2021

Movies – As I said in my last movie post, writing has become one of my bottom priorities and here we are three months since I last made a movie post. Oh well, here are the reviews and/or ratings for every movie I’ve seen over that time. I’ve been going to the theaters at least once a week and Dina has even jumped back on the movie theater going experience as we’ve started taking our niece and nephew to a movie every other weekend. This has been a pleasant surprise as I’ve been seeing movies in theaters mostly by myself for years now. I still seem to be reviewing only about 33% of the movies I watch. The best movie I watched that I’ve never seen was Captain Fantastic. It was just a complete joy to watch. I think it is still streaming on Netflix and if you happened to miss it like I did, it’s time to make up for that mistake. Also, I think horror fans should check out the Fear Street trilogy on Netflix. It’s based on the kids book series by R.L. Stine (which I never read — I was a “Goosebumps” kid though), but it’s actually a pretty hard-R experience. I admittedly did not like the first movie, but I always had my eyes on the second one anyway because it looked like an homage to 1980s campsite slasher flicks and that horror sub-genre will always have a special place in my heart. Of course, I enjoyed that one, but I was surprised to also like the third movie and I think the last entry makes the whole trilogy substantially more enjoyable as a whole. It almost made me want to re-watch the first one.

Movies I watched, but didn’t review:

  • Allen v. Farrow (2021, HBO Max) – 7/10
  • Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One (2021, Prime Rental) – 6/10
  • Black Widow (2021, Theaters) – 6/10
  • Fear Street: 1978 (2021, Netflix) – 6/10
  • Fear Street: 1666 (2021, Netflix) – 6/10
  • Luca (2021, Disney+) – 7/10
  • Mitchells vs. The Machines, The (2021, Netflix) – 7/10
  • Palmer (2021, Apple TV+) – 7/10
  • Pig (2021, Theaters) – 8/10
  • Quiet Place Part II (2021, Theaters) – 8/10
  • Summer of Soul (…or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021, Hulu) – 7/10
  • Those Who Wish Me Dead (2021, HBO Max) – 6/10
  • Zola (2021, Theaters) – 7/10
  • The Forty-Year-Old Version (2020, Netflix) – 6/10
  • Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017, Netflix) – 7/10
  • Captain Fantastic (2019, Netflix) – 9/10
  • Matchstick Men (2003, HBO Max) – 8/10
  • Hero (2002, HBO Max, re-watch) – 7/10
  • Audition (1999, tubi) – 7/10
  • The Fly (1986, re-watch) – 8/10
  • Stand by Me (1986, Hulu, re-watch) – 8/10

2021 Best Feature Films: My top 25 of 2021 through July
2020 Best Feature Films: My top 25 of 2020 through July 2021
2021 Best Documentaries/Docu-Series: My top documentary style films of the year
Focused Watchlist: A list of 30+ movies that are at the top of my watchlist with a breakdown of how I formulate my picks
August 2021 – New to Theaters and Streaming: Ranking new and old movies I want to see coming to streaming or theaters this month

I also went crazy and made a best films of the year list for every year from 2020 to 1982, the year I was born. I ranked 25 films for 2000 and later and 10 films for 1999 to 1982. I started fizzling out on my lists in the early 90s as I just haven’t seen most of the important films from those early years when I was a kid. I have all the lists on my blog here. Enjoy!

T.V. Shows (Ratings out of 5)

  • Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitt’s Creek Farewell (2021, Netflix) – 3.5
  • Bo Burnham: Inside (2021, Netflix) – 3.5
  • Friends: The Reunion (2021, HBO Max) – 3.5
  • Invincible season 1 (2020, Amazon Prime) – 3.5
  • Mare of Easttown (2021, HBO Max) – 4.5
  • Mighty Ducks: Game Changers season 1 (2021, Disney+) – 3
  • Schitt’s Creek season 6 (2020, Netflix) – 4

Currently watching:

  • Better Call Saul season 5 (2020, FX)
  • Big Shots season 1 (2021, Disney+)
  • Dave season 2 (2021, Hulu/FX)
  • Loki season 1 (2021, Disney+)
  • Rick & Morty season 5 (2021, Adult Swim)
  • The Sopranos season 1 (1999, HBO Max, re-watch)
  • Ted Lasso season 2 (2021, Apple TV+)

Music

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The Notorious B.I.G. – Ready to Die (1994)

July 27, 2021

Genre: Hip-Hop/Rap

Release Date: September 13th, 1994

Song Rating Scale

  1. Intro – N/A
  2. Things Done Changed – 3.75
  3. Gimme the Loot – 4
  4. Machine Gun Funk – 4
  5. Warning – 4
  6. Ready to Die – 4
  7. One More Chance – 4.25
  8. Fuck Me (Interlude) – N/A
  9. The What (feat. Method Man) – 4.5
  10. Juicy – 5
  11. Everyday Struggle – 5
  12. Me & My Bitch – 3
  13. Big Poppa – 5
  14. Respect – 3.5
  15. Friend of Mine – 3.75
  16. Unbelievable – 4
  17. Suicidal Thoughts – 3.75
  18. Who Shot Ya? (Bonus) – 4.5
  19. Just Playing (Dreams) (Bonus) – 4.25
  20. One More Chance (Remix) (Bonus) – 4.5

Spin Rate: heaps
Average Song Rating: 4.1/5
3.5+ Percentage: 93%
Skips: 0.5
Bangers: 10

Thoughts: This album is an all-time classic and the debut project of one of the best rappers to ever pick up a microphone. I have to admit I didn’t appreciate this album when it originally came out – I was 12 years old and my musical preference was transitioning to grunge, alternative and metal at this time and even when I did start to get back into rap music, I was a Tupac fanboy and since I was an ignorant and easily influenced 14 year old, that meant I hated Biggie.

Over the years (and decades) though, Ready to Die has become one of my favorite albums of all-time and the data here supports that claim. With an average song rating of 4.1, Ready to Die now has the highest average song rating of any full length album I’ve posted a review for using this system. No surprise there. “Juicy,” “Everyday Struggle,” and “Big Poppa” are absolutely perfect songs. The only song I even think about skipping on this project is “Me & My Bitch” – it’s not bad, but i don’t think it’s good either. Also, this album has 10 bangers in 15 songs and I wouldn’t blame anyone for suggesting I underrated a few other songs here.

I don’t include bonus tracks as part of my overall rating or in my number of bangers since they aren’t really meant to be part of the album, but it’s worth noting that all three 1994 era Biggie tracks that I tacked on to the end of this album are all fire and would only improve Ready to Die’s already lofty esteem.

I think perhaps the most impressive aspect of this album is that Biggie is not a polished rapper here. When he was recording Ready to Die, Biggie was more of a crack dealer than a hip-hop artist. This was his side gig and it sounds like this? Good grief. This is why people don’t hesitate to list Biggie in their top 10s despite a limited discography due to his murder in March of 1997 – he had more natural ability than basically any rapper that has ever lived and the two albums he did record while he was alive are both legendary. It’s crazy to think what he would have accomplished in music if he was still alive today.

Verdict: 10/10 (Masterpiece)

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May 2021 Music Ratings

June 16, 2021

ALBUM OF THE MONTH

J. Cole – The Off-Season

Ratings:

10 – Masterpiece
9 – Amazing
8 – Great
7 – Highly Enjoyable
6 – Recommended
5 – Decent
4 – Lackluster

3 – Bad
2 – Horrible
1 – Trash

Top 20 Albums in May

Note: These albums are NOT ranked in order of preference; they are ranked in order of number of songs listened to (scrobbles) over the past month. Previous ranking in brackets. Year of release in parentheses if it’s not 2020 or 2021.

*indicates May 2021 release

  1. *J. Cole – The Off-Season – 8+
  2. *Mach-Hommy – Pray For Haiti – 7+
  3. Vince Staples – Summertime ’06 (2015) – 7+
  4. Westside Boogie – Everythings For Sale (2019) – 8+
  5. *DMX – Exodus – 7+
  6. *Sa-Roc – The Sharecropper’s Daughter (Deluxe) – 8+
  7. *BROCKHAMPTON – ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE – 7+
  8. *Benny the Butcher & 38 Spesh – Trust the Sopranos – 6+
  9. Eminem – Kamikaze (2018) – 6+
  10. Pink Sweat$ – Pink Planet [17] – 6+
  11. Mac Miller – Faces (2014)
  12. *DJ Khaled – Khaled Khaled
  13. JID – The Never Story (2017)
  14. Tash Sultana – Terra Firma – 7+
  15. Yelawolf – Mud Mouth
  16. JID – Dicaprio 2 (2018)
  17. Toby Ganger – Free Machine – 8+
  18. Inverse – So Far (2008) – 7+
  19. Devin the Dude – Soulful Distance – 6+
  20. Guapdad 4000 – 1176
  21. Lana Del Rey – Chemtrails Over the Country Club [20] – 6+
  22. Mello Music Group – Bushido

Comments: Almost no holdovers from the previous month, as I continued to work older albums into my regular rotation. May belonged to J. Cole though. I listened to his new album so much already that he went from unranked in my top 25 most listened to artists of 2021 to #1 on the list below. I’m a big fan of the album. I think every song is good. I can’t say I had high expectations for a new DMX album since he hasn’t made good music for like 15 years now, but this new album is pretty damn good. Certainly anyone that’s been a loyal fan all this time will enjoy it and even those of us that abandoned ship long ago should give it a listen. The production is substantially better than on any of his most recent releases and while X is far from sounding in prime form, his vocals are improved. Plus he also has some stellar features on the album. Imagine Benny the Butcher going half a year without releasing a new project. I’m officially starting my JID and Vince Staples anticipation phase.

The 25 Artists I’ve Listened To the Most in 2021

  1. J. Cole [unranked]
  2. DMX [unranked]
  3. The Notorious B.I.G. [1]
  4. Benny the Butcher [5]
  5. Eminem [2]
  6. MF DOOM [4]
  7. MC Eiht [3]
  8. Sa-Roc [14]
  9. Conway the Machine [unranked]
  10. Mac Miller [25]
  11. Tash Sultana [8]
  12. Lana Del Rey [18]
  13. Tyrone’s Jacket [12]
  14. KOTA the Friend [15]
  15. Dua Lipa [13]
  16. Pink Sweat$ [unranked]
  17. Toby Ganger [unranked]
  18. Kali Uchis [23]
  19. Kendrick Lamar [unranked]
  20. Kid Cudi [6]
  21. Courtney Bell [7]
  22. Snoop Dogg [unranked]
  23. Scarface [unranked]
  24. Boldy James [9]
  25. Nyck Caution [10]

Comments: Since I last updated this two months ago, J. Cole released a new album and DMX passed away and then released a posthumous album so they went from outside my top 25 through March to my two most listened to artists of the year. Conway also got a similar bump thanks to yet another new project. I’ve been listening to a lot of TDE lately since all their artists are due to drop this summer. Almost all of them fell shy of my top 25 here, but Kendrick cracked the list and I expect him to keep climbing it, especially if his long overdue follow-up to 2017’s DAMN. finally drops.   

Bangerz Playlist Additions – Follow me on Apple Music @DarkKnight1717 to add my playlists
2020 Bangers Playlist
2021 Bangers Playlist

You can click the link above to see my most recent additions to either playlist, but I’m not going to list them here because it’s the middle of June and I don’t which songs I added in May and which ones I’ve added in June, so I’ll just post them all in my next writeup.





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April 2021: Every Review I Wrote

May 8, 2021

Movies – My focus last month was to watch all the Oscar nominated shorts and the Oscar nominated feature films I wasn’t excited about. I did end up watching all the shorts, but after watching Over the Moon on Netflix, I decided I didn’t want to finish my Oscar watchlist. I’ll save that bucket list project for when I’m retired. Hell, I didn’t even win my damn Oscar pool, so what’s the point? I was pretty excited to get back to watching movies I actually want to see after the Oscars aired. I did not get my money’s worth from AMC A-List last month as I saw Godzilla vs. Kong in early April, streamed Mortal Kombat on HBOMax, and then cancelled my tickets to Raya and the Last Dragon multiple times. Because of the ongoing pandemic, the movie theaters don’t have early matinee showings and any movie I watch is going to cost me at least three hours of poker and with Raya streaming for free on Disney+ in June, I just haven’t had the desire to go see it. Another thing that has become pretty clear to me: writing is my absolute last priority. I’ve gone from writing thoughts on every movie I see to only doing so less than 33% of the time last month. Plus, I didn’t post a single album review for any music I listened to. Yikes. I have a hard enough time balancing work, study, mental and physical health, hobbies, and family time. Posting movie reviews just hasn’t fit in my schedule since I’ve been back to playing.

Movies I watched, but didn’t review (ratings out of 10):

  • Shiva Baby (2021, watched twice) – 8
  • Burrow (2020, re-watch) – 6
  • Colette (2020) – 6
  • Concerto is a Conversation, A (2020) – 6
  • Do Not Split (2020) – 6
  • Genius Loci (2020) – 4
  • Hunger Ward (2020) – 5
  • If Anything Happens I Love You (2020, re-watch) – 8
  • The Kid Detective (2020) – 7
  • The Letter Room (2020) – 6
  • Love Song for Latasha, A (2020, re-watch) – 7
  • The Man Who Sold His Skin (2020) – 6
  • Opera (2020) – 8
  • The Present (2020) – 8
  • Two Distant Strangers (2020) – 5
  • Yes-People (2020) – 4
  • Feeling Through (2019) – 7
  • White Eye (2019) – 7
  • The Lost Boys (1987) – 7
  • Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986, re-watch) – 7
  • Clue (1985) – 7
  • Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985, re-watch) – 3

2021 Best Feature Films: My top 25 of 2021 through April
2020 Best Feature Films: My top 25 of 2020 through April
2020 Best Documentaries/Docu-Series: My top documentary style films of the year
Focused Watchlist: A list of 30 movies that are at the top of my watchlist with a breakdown of how I formulate my picks
May 2021 – New to Theaters and Streaming: Ranking new and old movies I want to see coming to streaming or theaters this month

I also went crazy and made a best films of the year list for every year from 2020 to 1982, the year I was born. I ranked 25 films for 2000 and later and 10 films for 1999 to 1982. I started fizzling out on my lists in the early 90s as I just haven’t seen most of the important films from those early years when I was a kid. I have all the lists on my blog here. Enjoy!

T.V. Shows (Ratings out of 5)

  • The Falcon and the Winter Soldier season 1 (2021, Disney+) – 3.5

Currently watching:

  • Schitt’s Creek season 6
  • Invincible season 1
  • The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers season 1

Music

None!

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April 2021 Music Ratings

May 2, 2021

ALBUM OF THE MONTH

Conway the Machine – La Maquina


Rating Scale

10 – Masterpiece
9 – Amazing
8 – Great
7 – Highly Enjoyable
6 – Recommended/Good
5 – Decent/Cool
4 – Lackluster
3 – Bad
2 – Horrible
1 – Torture Material

Top 20 Albums in April (all ratings are out of 10)

Note: These albums are NOT ranked in order of preference; they are ranked in order of number of songs listened to (scrobbles) over the past month. Previous ranking in brackets. Year of release in parentheses if it’s not 2020 or 2021. I’ll include a rough rating for each album to make my feelings on each project clearer.  The more I’ve listened to an album, the more accurate my rating is. Any rating that has a + symbol means that I’ve found my floor, but I could rate it higher. I won’t leave a rating for anything I don’t have a good feel for yet.

*indicates April 2021 release

  1. *Conway the Machine – La Maquina – 7+
  2. DMX – It’s Dark and Hell is Hot (1998) – 8
  3. DMX – …And Then There Was X (1999) – 7
  4. 50 Cent – Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2003) – 8+
  5. Snoop Doggy Dogg – Tha Doggfather (1996)
  6. DMX – The Great Depression (2001) – 4+
  7. Benny the Butcher – The Plugs I Met 2 [3] – 7+
  8. DMX – Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood (1998) – 6
  9. *Kenny Mason – Angelic Hoodrat
  10. Ghostface Killah – Supreme Clientele (2000)
  11. *Saigon – Pain, Peace & Prosperity
  12. Black Coffee – Subconsciously
  13. Ghostface Killah – Ironman (1996)
  14. *KOTA The Friend – To Kill A Sunrise [14] – 7+
  15. The Notorious B.I.G. – Life After Death (1997) [1] – 9+
  16. Big L – Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous (1995) – 7+
  17. Pink Sweat$ – Pink Planet [9]
  18. The Notorious B.I.G. – Ready To Die (1994) [4] – 9+
  19. Tyrone’s Jacket – Tyrone’s Jacket [18] – 8
  20. Lana Del Rey – Chemtrails Over the Country Club [6] – 7
  21. The Avalanches – We Will Always Love You [7]
  22. The Lox – Money, Power & Respect (1998)

Comments: This is the most I’ve distanced myself from new music since I started doing these monthly posts.  Obviously, I did a lot of reminiscing on DMX’s early discography as his life seemed to be in danger and then he ultimately passed away.  I gave DMX a pretty unfavorable write-up when I went through his whole recording career, but his peak was really strong and looking back at my ratings for his earliest albums, I think I was a bit unfair.  For all his flaws as a lyricist, he was a great songwriter and made very enjoyable music.

The 20 Artists I Listened To The Most In April

  1. DMX
  2. Conway the Machine
  3. Ghostface Killah
  4. Kendrick Lamar
  5. Snoop Dogg
  6. The Notorious B.I.G.
  7. Benny the Butcher
  8. 50 Cent
  9. Kenny Mason
  10. J. Cole
  11. Jay Rock
  12. Big L
  13. Kali Uchis
  14. Saigon
  15. Black Coffee
  16. Cordae
  17. Isaiah Rashad
  18. KOTA The Friend
  19. Pink Sweat$
  20. Ab-Soul

Comments: Snoop crept into my top 5 because I was re-listening to Tha Doggfather plus he dropped a new album last month (that didn’t crack my top 20 spins).  I also re-visited some early Ghostface Killah and 50 Cent while Biggie stayed in rotation from the past couple months.  It was recently announced that Top Dawg Entertainment will be breaking a very long dry spell by releasing new music on May 7th.  This is a label whose entire roster is basically years overdue for a new album.  I’m excited for all of them to drop, so I was listening to TDE releases heavy this past week and four of them ended up cracking my top 20 for the month, with Kendrick leading the way.  TDE season is upon us!   

Top 50 Artists All-Time (since August 2020)

Note: last all-time rank in parentheses

  1. Eminem (1)
  2. Benny the Butcher (2)
  3. MC Eiht (6)
  4. Conway the Machine (4)
  5. Lil Wayne (3)
  6. Che Noir (7)
  7. The Roots/Black Thought (5)
  8. Toby Ganger (16)
  9. Nas (10)
  10. Amine (9)
  11. Biggie (unranked)
  12. Sa-Roc (24)
  13. Spillage Village (8)
  14. MF DOOM (unranked)
  15. Recognize Ali/Dueling Experts (15)
  16. Dua Lipa (30)
  17. Jadakiss/The Lox (unranked)
  18. Ty Dolla $ign (12)
  19. Tyrone’s Jacket (44)
  20. Boldy James (29)
  21. Berner (11)
  22. Kid Cudi (46)
  23. Busta Rhymes (13)
  24. DMX (unranked)
  25. Flip Huston (19)
  26. The Weeknd (17)
  27. Lana Del Rey (unranked)
  28. R.A. the Rugged Man (18)
  29. 38 Spesh (14)
  30. Mac Miller (48)
  31. KOTA The Friend (unranked)
  32. Blu & Exile (22)
  33. Logic (21)
  34. Westside Gunn (26)
  35. Big Sean (20)
  36. 21 Savage & Metro Boomin (23)
  37. Jessie Ware (unranked)
  38. Scarface (unranked)
  39. Felt (25)
  40. Brother Ali (42)
  41. Pop Smoke (28)
  42. Freddie Gibbs (unranked)
  43. Nyck Caution (unranked)
  44. T.I. (27)
  45. Ransom (31)
  46. Reason (33)
  47. Kendrick Lamar (unranked)
  48. J. Cole (unranked)
  49. Phoebe Bridgers (32)
  50. Playboi Carti (unranked)

Bangerz Playlist Additions – Follow me on Apple Music @DarkKnight1717 to add my playlists
2020 Bangers Playlist
2021 Bangers Playlist

Ghetts (feat. Jaykae & Moonchild Sanelly), “Mozambique”
Pink Sweat$, “Not Alright”

Yep… I was sleeping on adding new bangers last month.