Like Jay-Z once said – “Do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it?” While rap reviews may not hold the same weight today as they did back in The Source days, it’s still interesting to see how albums are measured.
Metacritic is a pretty cool website that aggregates reviews of movies, TV shows, music and video games. According to them, for each product, the scores from each review are given a weighted average.
So we thought it’d be fun to check out a few rappers’ scores and see what their highest vs. lowest reviewed album looked like.
Eminem
Best reviewed: The Marshall Mathers LP – 78%
“What’s most pure is Eminem’s liberating fearlessness in taking hip-hop left turns and acting the fool. The best hip-hop stand-up comic since Biz Markie; all that and a bag o’ chronic.” – MTV.com
Worst reviewed: Revival – 50%
“Revival isn’t even interesting enough to warrant all of the critical beatdowns it’s taken in its short time in the world. Instead, it’s boring and predictable, which are greater threats to the Eminem legacy than anything else.” – The A.V. Club
Kanye West
Best reviewed: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy – 94%
“The end result is a body of work that pushes hip-hop in a bold new direction and puts Mr,. West back at the forefront of the culture once again.” – XXL
Best reviewed: Jesus Is King – 53%
“Jesus Is King is impersonal, repetitive, boring, and somehow too long at just 27 minutes. Some albums grow deeper with subsequent listens; Jesus Is King shrinks.” – Consequence
Jay-Z
Best reviewed: The Blueprint – 88%
“In this regard the recording represents the most simplistic distillation of Jigga since his groundbreaking debut Reasonable Doubt. While The Blueprint falls short of his debut’s brilliance, it is easily the best Jay Z recording since that release.” – PopMatters
Worst reviewed: Magna Carta Holy Grail – 60%
“This isn’t Watch the Throne, full of rich and weighty contributions from a man who is still enormously talented. It’s rap music as a transaction, with a host of stars and hip names wrangled together to convince you it’s not.” – Spin
Kendrick Lamar
Best reviewed: DAMN. – 95%
“It’s so lean and spare sonically that it feels like a dash of cold water to the face after the cacophonous, dense To Pimp A Butterfly; it’s so light on its feet that it makes Good Kid, M.A.A.D City feel ponderous in comparison. It does this while also staking its claim to being Kendrick’s most philosophically profound album to date.” – The Quietus
Worst reviewed: Section.80 – 80%
“Self-serious flaws and all, Section.80 still stands as a powerful document of a tremendously promising young guy figuring out his voice.” – Pitchfork
Drake
Best reviewed: So Far Gone – 81%
“So Far Gone is unquestionably one of the most cohesive, atmospheric hip hop records in recent memory–which is almost the antithesis of what one expects from a mixtape.” – RapReviews.com
Worst reviewed: Dark Lane Demo Tapes – 61%
“This collection is a nice gift for fans who wanted all these stray tracks gathered up in one easily accessible place and shows that Drake’s cast-offs aren’t far from his keepers and his minor moves are still worth following just in case he comes up with something genius. Nothing here quite rises to that level, but overall, it’s a solid entry in his ever-growing catalog.” – AllMusic
Nas
Best reviewed: King’s Disease II – 87%
“A record that captures nostalgia without devolving into anachronism or retrograde – a fine line that Nas is well-versed in toeing. As ever, Nas is his own lynchpin. Tracks including “Store Run” and “Moments” demonstrate the rapper’s gift as a lucid narrator of his own experience.” – The Independent (UK)
Worst reviewed: The Lost Tapes II – 58%
“The Lost Tapes II, is a grab bag of loose tracks from this era, four very different album sessions, and naturally it’s a messy display of the many sides of Nas – storyteller, street life narrator, conscious MC, rap showboat, true-school historian, emo diarist – at both his most essential and least essential.” – Rolling Stone
Young Thug
Best reviewed: Beautiful Thugger Girls – 84%
“Few artists manage to balance wide-eyed eroticism with genuine warmth, and fewer manage the feat while packing multiple albums’ worth of hooks into each song. For Thug, it’s just his default mode.” – The A.V. Club
Worst reviewed: Super Slimey – 66%
“Similar to how Drake and Future on What a Time to Be Alive, the two collaborators have trouble finding common ground here. They’re equally impressive in their own right but they rarely connect, and when they try on each other’s styles, it’s awkward.” – Exclaim
J. Cole
Best reviewed: Revenge of the Dreamers III – 77%
“Few verses on the album are particularly memorable outside of spots from Maxo Kream, Vince Staples, a string of appearances from the consistently good J.I.D, and the standalone moments of introspection from J. Cole himself. But the comp works because it never feels forced or closed off to ideas.” – Pitchfork
Worst reviewed: 2014 Forest Hills Drive – 67%
“He’s a smart, self-assured lyricist–confident enough to end with a 14-minute thank-you track–but not as interesting in his contradictions as the likes of Drake or Kanye West.” – The Observer (UK)
Pusha T
Best reviewed: DAYTONA – 86%
“While ‘My Name Is My Name’ was a great album, this is a masterclass in design: in contrast to the 20+ track albums of this streaming era, Kanye’s ruthless editing ensures every song, every bar and every sample have purpose.” – Clash Music
Worst reviewed: Fear of God II: Let Us Pray – 69%
“Pusha is too reserved to pull off the revamped sound–he’s more Raekwon than Rick Ross, better suited to quick-tongued storytelling than to bombast.” – Rolling Stone
Future
Best reviewed: Beast Mode – 81%
“Not only does the tape constantly satisfy, at nine tracks and less than a half hour it does what nearly every truly fantastic hip-hop album does: it makes its motives known and gets the hell out.” – PopMatters
Worst reviewed: SAVE ME – 63%
“There’s no denying Future’s ability to constantly curate content, but perhaps with a little more time and focus, Save Me could have been significantly better.” – Consequence
Travis Scott
Best reviewed: Astroworld – 85%
“This is the sound of a musician who has worked to forge an entire world, an empire, around himself–we can peer in, but from afar, guessing at his motives and life behind the velvet rope. – NME
Worst reviewed: JACKBOYS – 63%
“It’s Toliver who sounds like he’s rallying, his voice less like a piece of software and more an instrument of feeling. His singsong verse is one of the few moments on JACKBOYS that isn’t just product.” – Pitchfork
Kid Cudi
Best reviewed: Man On The Moon: The End Of Day – 71%
“Cudi turns out to be that rarest of rap phenomena: a hyped upstart who really does represent a promising new phase in the genre’s evolution.” – Entertainment Weekly
Worst reviewed: Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven – 44%
“As it stands, this album feels like a few good ideas mired in a mess of half-formed sketches, rough recordings, and simple cliches.” – Consequence
Rick Ross
Best reviewed: Teflon Don – 79%
“Ross raps unhurriedly, encouraging listeners to mull over his every word. Teflon Don is one of this summer’s blockbusters.” – Billboard
Worst reviewed: Hood Billionaire – 54%
“Mr. Ross is trying hard to find new ways to present himself, making this an ambitious album, but not always one with the right ambition.” – The New York Times
Meek Mill
Best reviewed: Championships – 77%
“As much as Championships is filled with nonchalant club/street anthems, it’s also about healing. Tempered by both celebration and struggle, Championships shows the duality of Mill’s world–one that still reflects on the past, but has made leaps towards his future–and that’s perhaps the greatest win of them all.” – Exclaim
Worst reviewed: Dreams and Nightmares – 69%
“Everything is executed competently enough, but the album’s stuffy backward focus hardly complements an excitable rapper whose best work comes from rapping in the here and now.” – The A.V. Club
Logic
Best reviewed: No Pressure – 78%
“Building upon labyrinthine beds of sound and plump rhythms with lyrics that are both funny and frank, Logic is in his best, kid-like Q-Tip mode.” – Variety
Worst reviewed: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind – 65%
“Across the album, there’s a looming question–what makes any of these canned Confessions even remotely Dangerous? If Logic wants to be above commercial Hip Hop, he will have to try a lot harder than this. Scratch that, maybe he should stop trying this hard.” – HipHopDX
Tyler, the Creator
Best reviewed: Call Me If You Get Lost – 88%
“The result is a dense, kaleidoscopic album that might take a lot of time to fully unpick, but clearly isn’t going to diminish in quality if you do so.” – The Guardian
Worst reviewed: Cherry Bomb – 69%
“Cherry Bomb is Tyler’s greatest creation to date. However, the album is bit of a mess in the beginning, and while Tyler’s grown immensely as a producer, his rapping isn’t consistently up to par.” – Complex
Lil Wayne
Best reviewed: Tha Carter III – 84%
“Instead of hiding his bootleg-bred quirks in anticipation of the big-budget spotlight, he distills the myriad metaphors, convulsing flows, and vein-splitting emotions into a commercially gratifying package that’s as weird as it wants to be; he eventually finds his guitar but keeps the strumming in check.” – Pitchfork
Worst reviewed: Rebirth – 37%
“There’s nothing wrong with experimentation, and a handful of rock tracks here could have worked well. But to make a whole album based around a sound Lil Wayne is so inexperienced with is simply outrageous.” – BBC Music
The Roots
Best reviewed: Undun – 88%
“If any rap group could pull off a project this unwieldy, it’s the Roots, and they make it seem effortless.” – NOW Magazine
Worst reviewed: …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin – 70%
“While the ambition and musical dexterity is admirable, the work doesn’t feel fully realized.” – Boston Globe
Ghostface Killah
Best reviewed: Fishscale – 88%
“Fishscale intermingles skewed narratives, expert guest choices, exquisitely conflicting production, and a concept and focus—the drug trade is the near exclusive subject mater—that, while somewhat reductive in scope, sharpens the album into an immense, furious, and focused album.” – Stylus Magazine
Worst reviewed: Ghostdini: Wizard Of Poetry – 68%
“This project was D.O.A. from the moment Ghost announced it a year back, and hip-hop fans should consider themselves lucky that there’s at least a few salvageable moments in Wizard of Poetry.” – Tiny Mix Tapes
Freddie Gibbs
Best reviewed: Alfredo – 88%
“It’s an incredibly tight record packed with stellar performances, production and presence throughout. The blood, sweat and tears of hip-hop run through the album, but Gibbs has once again redefined what that means.” – The Line of Best Fit
Worst reviewed: ESGN: Evil Seeds Grown Naturally – 73%
“It’s the sound of a rapper more than happy to maintain his narrow lane after being burned by the industry, one who’s lost the ambition to leave his comfort zone, at least for the time being.” – Pitchfork
Common
Best reviewed: Black America Again – 88%
“Building a strong, solid foundation for his skyscraper of words, the rapper channels everyone from Malcolm X to James Brown into a mountainous manifesto of beautiful blackness that is reflective of the struggle for dignity and equality, while also working towards the banishment of stereotypes.” – The Wire
Worst reviewed: Universal Mind Control – 53%
“It’s a blatant mismatch, Mr. Williams’s blunt-force id with Common’s casual gravity. The Neptunes, who produce seven of the 10 songs here, treat Common as an obstacle to be worked around, which, in fairness, he is.” – The New York Times
Royce da 5’9″
Best reviewed: Book of Ryan – 84%
“The album does start to feel the weight of having 21 tracks at times, but little overstays its welcome. Even 20 years into his career, Royce maintains his reputation as one of hip-hop’s premier rappers by releasing his most affecting work yet.” – XXL
Worst reviewed: Hell: The Sequel – 72%
“Their balance of humor and lyrical precision isn’t as persistently dope as it was originally, but with one release they’ve already solidified themselves as one of the better duos in hip-hop, as they should be. I’m really happy about this.” – PopMatters
Jadakiss
Best reviewed: Ignatius – 82%
“Rather than trying to please the club, the ladies, the hardcore 30+ crowd, the younger fans, and everyone in between, Jadakiss has released a cohesive, satisfying album that is easily one of his best efforts. More of this, please.” – RapReviews.com
Worst reviewed: The Last Kiss – 61%
“When he caters to changed times, the results are forgettable. But when he stays in his lane, there’s no one who can snarl a couplet quite like him.” – Entertainment Weekly
Big Sean
Best reviewed: Hall of Fame – 72%
“All together, that makes Hall of Fame beautiful more often than it’s interesting, because Big Sean’s ear is working smarter than his mouth.” – The New York Times
Worst reviewed: Double Or Nothing – 54%
“Truly, the blame lies at the feet of Sean, whose limp bars and flow make middling fare of ten reasonably well-rounded bangers.” – Sputnikmusic
Schoolboy Q
Best reviewed: Blank Face LP – 81%
“Blank Face turns away from the ambitious fusion of To Pimp a Butterfly, instead doubling down on a smoked-out atmosphere that points the listener’s focus toward rapping. That puts the onus on Q to hold attention for the duration of the record’s hour-plus running time, and he does so.”
Worst reviewed: CrasH Talk – 69%
“CrasH Talk is an unfortunate example of what can happen when someone gets the creative validation they’ve desired, only to find themselves at an impasse.” – The 405
Jay Rock
Best reviewed: Redemption – 81%
“Redemption shines brightest when the music itself matches Rock’s dynamic performance and infuses enough energy for him to seize the moment.” – HipHopDX
Worst reviewed: Follow Me Home – 73%
“Listeners may be able to follow Rock home and live vicariously through him, but for thousands that is their home. There’s no leaving, and those are the people who Follow Me Home was truly made for.” – DJBooth
