Nine Inch Nails, 'Ghosts I–IV' (NIN.com)
Radiohead unseated as Hot Internet Babes of the Month!
By Thomas Golianopoulos 05.29.08 2:59 PM
Since leaving Interscope last year, Trent Reznor has been on a productive tear. The latest evidence: For as little $5, you can download Ghosts I–IV (or for you diehards, Halo 26), a stunning collection of 36 instrumental tracks that is one of the most varied and ambitious releases of his career.
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Prodigy, 'H.N.I.C. PT. 2' (Infamous/Vox Music Group)
Mobb Deep's ill villain goes out with a bang -- and whimper.
By Thomas Golianopoulos 04.15.08 12:21 PM
Prodigy just might be the most depressing, paranoid, and nihilistic artist in hip-hop today. In his world, neighborhood menaces are canonized ("Veteran's Memorial Pt. 2"), guns are always shot ("Click Click"), and Satan-worshipping pedophiles control the government ("Real Power Is People"). H.N.I.C. Pt.
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Scarface, 'Made' (Rap-A-Lot/Asylum/WMG)
Houston gangsta-rap godfather gets back to hardtack basics.
By Thomas Golianopoulos 01.25.08 11:14 PM
On this wily Geto Boy vet's previous official solo album, 2002's The Fix, he went the Santana route, collaborating with all the top-notch talent he could schedule.
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Wu-Tang Clan, '8 Diagrams'
Was RZA networking when he should have been beatmaking?
By Thomas Golianopoulos 01.25.08 5:22 PM
It's been a rough millennium for Wu-Tang Clan. Their fourth album, 2001's Iron Flag, tanked; their most charismatic member, Ol' Dirty Bastard, died from a drug overdose; and infighting reduced the most important hip-hop crew of the '90s to a touring nostalgia act. 8 Diagrams doesn't reverse the decline.
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Aesop Rock, 'None Shall Pass' (Def Jux)
Introspective MC cuts deep with voluminous verses.
By Thomas Golianopoulos 09.19.07 3:00 AM
Aesop Rock has a voice unlike any other in music, a hyper drawl that can swallow entire words whole or make sure every letter in unctuous is clearly enunciated. Paired with the Long Island rapper's abstract, self-aware lyrics, it makes None Shall Pass a challenging, rewarding head trip.
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Common, 'Finding Forever' (G.O.O.D. Music/ Geffen)
The crunchy moralist decides to let it flow.
By Thomas Golianopoulos 08.30.07 3:00 AM
Common shows his hand early into his seventh studio album. The rapper's first words form a lighthearted old-school announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, it's the C-O-double-M-O-N." By contrast, he began his previous effort, 2005's solid yet stuffy Be, with a rhyme that referenced his late friend Yusef, Malcolm X, and John Coltrane.
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