March 21, 2012 – So, "Beez in the Trap" is Nicki Minaj's gangsta rap record, right? In the loose, street-rap context that shouts out crack sales and rounds up a guest verse from 2 Chainz, for sure, but also because of the way it nods to the late-'80s, minimalist origins of the genre. She matches the vocal delivery of Schoolly D's "P.S.K What Does It Mean??" and Ice-T's "6 N' The Mornin'," and quotes that Dr. Dre aphorism, "bitches ain't shit," and then makes it her own by throwing that misogynist bullshit right back. Like, at all rappers.

March 20, 2012 – Too often, the focus of New York rap, particularly the bringin'-it-back type, is on airtight perfection. Queens rapper Action Bronson's Blue Chips, a collaboration with Brooklyn producer Party Supplies, is demo-like and imperfect, and much more interesting because of that. The beats are treble-filled, the volume often shifts between tracks, the pop-culture references are particularly random, and on a few songs, Action starts his verse over because he got ahead of himself, or cuts a rhyme off prematurely, modestly telling you what he was trying to say had he not garbled the lines. There is a tangible, flawed, weird personality behind Blue Chips, not an impervious MC. Action Bronson is also a detail-oriented type of dude. And more than his wheezing, soft/hard flow, that's what he shares with Ghostface Killah, the Wu's eccentric, open-hearted hard-ass.

March 20, 2012 – Today, 16-year-old Diggy Simmons releases his debut album, Unexpected Arrival. It consists of 12 tasteful tracks of boilerplate rapping, wrapped around a rather distasteful conceit that it's time, after much struggle, for Diggy to shine. The guy outta nowhere who's here to change the game, carrying an underdog's chip on his shoulder — this has been the blueprint for a hip-hop debut for a couple decades. But that approach, which manifests itself here as po-faced rhymes about grindin' from the son of one half of Run-DMC, isn't particularly empowering or exciting (at least to anybody over the age of 15).

March 16, 2012 – Philip had a great idea with the "Friday Five" over at his dance blog Control Voltage, so I'm just going to rip him off. I must admit, I didn't go to a totally awesome record store and curate my picks, as he's been known to do, though. I just sat at my computer like a lard and obsessively downloaded and streamed anything that seemed even remotely interesting. But, before we get started: I will not be hoodwinked by Nas. Whiny genius comedian Todd Barry's old bit about how musicians are always going "baaaaack to their rooooooots," keeps rattling through my head when I put on that new Nas song, "The Don." Because, like "Nasty" and his guest verse on Common's "Ghetto Dreams," the energy's there, but it all feels a little bit off. He's going through the hard-ass emotions.

March 16, 2012 – Apparently, even a successful major label album requires an apology. Last month, Wiz Khalifa posted a letter to his fans on Tumblr that said this of 2011's Rolling Papers: "The album did great numbers, but creatively wasn’t my best work." Wiz's latest mixtape, Taylor Allderdice, named after his Pittsburgh high school and the first since that apologia, has been billed as a return to the form of his earlier mixtapes. The problem is, Rolling Papers is actually Wiz's most focused and rewarding collection of songs to date. It opened the windows to the Pittsburgh rapper's weed-filled crib and let in the perfect amount of outside, industry air. That album's "On My Level," featuring Too $hort, sounds as dark and pot paranoid as anything Wiz has ever done; "Roll Up," the other hit collaboration with mega-producers Stargate, is still one of the sweetest rap songs in recent memory.

March 15, 2012 – In the clip for "Survival Tactics," the best Nas-circa-1994 rap song of 2012 so far, Brooklyn's Joey Bada$$ and rappin'-ass friend Capital Steez invoke Occupy Wall Street, the lost youth gangsta flick Gomorrah, and golden era, gritty hip-hop gone DSLR. Joey is 17, which makes his rapping talent and presence particularly impressive — it also shows up the goofing off of the twenty-somethings in Odd Future — and does help explain why his rap name is so terrible. It is totally something a 17 year old would think is cool. Still though, really dude, you had to go with the dollar signs, too? That is just ridiculou$$$! (At least, guest rapper Capital Steez knew better than to go by Capital $teez). But these kids can fucking rap, and that's all that matters.

March 15, 2012 – Last week, Jay Electronica announced that he has handed over his long-awaited debut album, Act II: Patents Of Nobility, to his label, Roc Nation. Though there is plenty of excitement, the news was met with a collective shrug as well. He had previously mentioned its completion in July of 2011, and usually, you drop a release date, not a gave-it-to-the-label-so-they-can-give-me-notes-on-it, date. Comments at the bottom of any post covering this little bit of "news" revealed many who are getting sick of hearing about his album's ever-adjusting release date (a few years ago, it was called Abracadabra: Let There Be Light), then waiting around for one MP3 a year, as he wanders off to Nepal, spends too much time on Twitter, and shills for Dr. Pepper. That sounds a bit like rap fans mom-ing the MC, though.

March 13, 2012 – Sorry, I just couldn't decide between Big K.R.I.T.'s 4evaNaDay and Lil B's God's Father. They have a surprising amount in common, anyway. Namely, here are two Internet-rap veterans completely in their respective lanes, providing very few concessions to those not already indoctrinated into their worlds, and only acknowledging everyone else when it's time to lash out. At the same time, these confident, comfortable releases confront the ceiling you hit when you're no longer "cult," not yet "mainstream," are taken for granted by even the most invested rap fans, but unwilling to compromise to take yourself to that next level. Think of Big K.R.I.T. as hip-hop's Hunter Hunt-Hendrix.

March 12, 2012 – Bruce Springsteen's Wrecking Ball is a rap album. "Death to My Hometown" is punctuated by the sound of gunfire; "Jack of All Trades" features the Boss threatening to shoot up a few Wall Street types ("If I had me a gun, I'd find the bastards and shoot them myself"). There's an icky sex jam called "You've Got It." The death of a close friend, Clarence Clemons, looms heavily over the entire thing. Along with some programmed drums and a ghostly vocal sample pulled from a decades-old recording, "Rocky Ground" actually features a rapped verse from gospel vocalist Michelle Moore. Then, there is the mood of the album, which is aggressive and devoid of Springsteen's usual, wide-eyed empathy.

March 12, 2012 – "Rammin," off Nacho Picasso's January mixtape Lord of the Fly, finds the Seattle rapper pouring ridiculous boasts ("I'm like the statue of David except I'm more endowed") and cheap-on-purpose punchlines ("Got the whole world in my palm, arthritis"), all over an ornate, stoned beat from producers Blue Sky Black Death. Though a nod to whatever pain's hanging out underneath his weed-armored exterior does appear every once in a while, Nacho mostly just locks in on beautiful beats like this and raps with a ton of style and a dose of dark humor. But that's enough — following September's For The Glory, Lord Of The Fly is the second very good mixtape the guy has put out in less than six months.Blue Sky Black Death have as much to do with say, an avant garde guitarist like Mark McGuire as they do fellow zone-out hip-hop producers Clams Casino or the Block Beattaz.