Best Albums of 2023
Mic Cheque | Bridging UK Rap and Hip Hop
by Hamza Riaz
3M ago
Last year in music was one for the history books. It’s no surprise 2023 had a lot to live up to, and it certainly tried. Artist comebacks, reinventions, long-awaited blockbusters, and a few surprises turned the gears as the twelve months unfolded. In retrospect, 2023 took some time to get going, with the second half of the year picking up steam with high-profile, quality releases. From Travis Scott’s anticipated showstopper to Sampha soothing the soul, plenty of albums scratched the itch across hip hop, R&B, pop, rock and alternative. The Mic Cheque team have rounded up the top thirty best ..read more
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Best Jay-Z Songs: 30-1
Mic Cheque | Bridging UK Rap and Hip Hop
by Alex Corrales
3M ago
Hip-hop’s most notorious hustler has spent the better portion of three decades spreading game like gospel throughout his catalog. Whether you love or hate him, Jay-Z’s impact on the game goes beyond sixteen-bar verses and concept albums. He provided an entire generation with the blueprint on how to hustle through his music. Not many rappers can say their music has influenced the entire world with their unique view of the world and economics, making the hustler’s catalog the most sacred in the entire genre. With over thirteen full-fledged studio albums under his belt, Jay has compiled some of t ..read more
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Review: M1OnTheBeat, ‘M1OnTheBeat: The Mixtape’
Mic Cheque | Bridging UK Rap and Hip Hop
by Hamza Riaz
4M ago
The drill aficionado tackles curation duties on his debut project, blaring the fundamentals of the genre he helped pioneer. Curating a compilation is tough work. It puts the producer’s executive capabilities under the microscope. Take DJ Khaled, Metro Boomin and DJ Drama albums as examples. Closer to home, there’s the likes of Brixton’s Carns Hill with his own drill compilations over the years. Just like his peers before him, M1OnTheBeat’s mission is to work out a balance between the aim of a mixtape (a casual, unpolished crux) while impressing listeners with the songs. Fortunately for M1, he ..read more
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Review: CASISDEAD, ‘Famous Last Words’
Mic Cheque | Bridging UK Rap and Hip Hop
by Hamza Riaz
4M ago
The masked rapper’s debut album is an exceptional world-builder, bleak yet glistening in its dystopian soundtrack to an instant classic. There’s no British rapper as elusive as North London’s CASISDEAD. Faceless since his rebrand from Castro Saint, the mystique behind his story is what’s kept fans engaged, obtainable purely through the minimal output the ex-grime emcee puts out. His last full length effort came in 2014, drip-feeding singles over the last nine years close to strategic fashion. “Listen to the album,” he said in a recent rare interview. If the rapper’s to be believed, the answers ..read more
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Review: Drake, ‘For All the Dogs’
Mic Cheque | Bridging UK Rap and Hip Hop
by Hamza Riaz
6M ago
The Toronto official’s fifth release in three years is, yet again, an uninspired, lengthy slog about Drake hating his exes. Do we care at this point? Dominating a decade can be enough for some artists. In Drake’s case, he’s engaged in dominating two. Thirteen years since his debut album, the Canadian’s still repping for the undisputed Big Three. He’s had various phases in his career, withstood every change in trend, and survived career-damaging rap beefs. Even at 36 years old, the poster-boy persona remains. To maintain that persona, Drake’s never taken true time away from the game—it’s a repe ..read more
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Review: Nas, ‘Magic 3’
Mic Cheque | Bridging UK Rap and Hip Hop
by Hamza Riaz
6M ago
Nasir Jones rolls back the years for a sixth time, replicating the rap equivalent of Michael Jordan’s three-peats with the Bulls. Between 2010 and 2019, Nas released a mere three studio albums, two of which came in the first two years of the decade. It’s fair to say no hip hop fan was expecting consistent drops from a rapper like Nas at this stage of his career. Within the blink of an eye, Nas released five albums in three years, all produced by an unexpected partnership with West Coast producer, Hit-Boy. Their first Grammy Award-winning effort, King’s Disease, turned into a trilogy, rounded o ..read more
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Review: Nas, ‘Magic 2’
Mic Cheque | Bridging UK Rap and Hip Hop
by Hamza Riaz
6M ago
The Queensbridge legend’s fifth project with Hit-Boy shows it may be time to introduce new tricks to the act. Nas and Hit-Boy have been rap’s most impressive duo for the last three years. The new Gang Starr, in their own words. Starsky and Hutch. Inseparable for four albums straight, one of which led to the QB icon’s first ever Grammy win. Every time you think they’re done, the run continues. The run now stretches to five projects, taking off the King’s Disease crown and putting on the magician’s top hat for a sequel to their 2021 Christmas present. This time round, the rabbits are stuck in th ..read more
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Review: Young Thug, ‘Business Is Business’
Mic Cheque | Bridging UK Rap and Hip Hop
by Hamza Riaz
6M ago
The Atlanta icon’s latest album has the spirit of a posthumous release, cobbled together in honour of the #FreeThug movement. Young Thug’s inspired a whole generation of modern music. What was one considered absurdly trash is now a heavily popular subgenre within hip hop. It’s great that Thug gets his flowers, all while remaining active with material. That activity was seemingly put on hold when Thug found himself at the centre of the YSL RICO case in 2022. His career was put on the sidelines as the feds came knocking, losing time and affiliates along the way. At no command, Thug’s released an ..read more
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Review: Nas, ‘Magic 3’
Mic Cheque | Bridging UK Rap and Hip Hop
by Hamza Riaz
6M ago
Nasir Jones rolls back the years for a sixth time, replicating the rap equivalent of Michael Jordan’s three-peats with the Bulls. Between 2010 and 2019, Nas released a mere three studio albums, two of which came in the first two years of the decade. It’s fair to say no hip hop fan was expecting consistent drops from a rapper like Nas at this stage of his career. Within the blink of an eye, Nas released five albums in three years, all produced by an unexpected partnership with West Coast producer, Hit-Boy. Their first Grammy Award-winning effort, King’s Disease, turned into a trilogy, rounded o ..read more
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Review: Travis Scott, ‘Utopia’
Mic Cheque | Bridging UK Rap and Hip Hop
by Hamza Riaz
6M ago
The Houston native’s fourth album affirms Scott as a sweeping sonic conductor, granting the imposing blockbuster listeners expected. It’s been a meandering five years for Travis Scott. Since the release of his last album, Astroworld, he became a father of two, a brand powerhouse, a successful labelhead and festival headliner. The last of those turned sour in 2021 when a devastating crowd crush occurred at the third Astroworld Festival, leading to reclusion, both for legal and remorseful reasons, and the inevitable delay of the much-anticipated Utopia. Scott’s waited for the right time to come ..read more
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