The New Rating System:

Simple, yet effective. I only work with the scale of 1 – 5 for simplifying reasons, and just in case you’re unsure of what each number is, I will explain it in this post for you. This will also be linked at the Music Review tab, which is up top somewhere, lol.

1 – Horrible

It sucks. Point blank, there’s a lack of, a faltering, or a misstep of mostly (if not all) criteria imaginable, even by typical groupie fan standards. This project lacks cohesion, quality, and quite frankly, I shouldn’t even be talking about it because it doesn’t deserve words. It’s rare when I give one of these rankings as well.

(Examples: “J-Kwon’s “Hoop Hop 2.0”, Young Dro’s “Dro Street”)

2 – Lacking

These projects aren’t exactly ALL bad… but it’s definitely missing mass appeal. These can include fragmented ideas, bad mixing, horrible presentation, but the most frustrating thing about this rating is that there were flashes of greatness in the project, but for some reason it got lost in mediocrity. It’s not all bad, but it’s flirting with it.

(Tyga’s “Well Done”, Rick Ross’ “Anastacia Albert LP”

3 – Solid

These are projects that are good, the artist delivers what their fans want, and they stay in their comfort zone for the entire project. If you like that type of music, then you’ll love the album, but if you want more, you’re going to feel as if there’s something lacking here. This isn’t a BAD rating by any means… it’s just not a standout project.

(Examples: Maino’s “If Tomorrow Comes”, The Game’s “LAX”)

4 – Great

These are projects that can propel an artist to a whole different level as far as audiences. These are projects that have minor issues, but besides that, are well-executed and balanced enough to show off more than one side of their musical talent. The tracks reflect that as well, and because of that, these mixtapes/albums have something that MOST fans can dig.

(Examples: Kendrick Lamar’s “(O)verly (D)edicated”, J. Cole’s “Friday Night Lights”, B.o.B’s “No Genre”)

5 – Excellent

Truthfully, I don’t give out these unless it’s really, really deserving. An Excellent project contains full, well-executed concepts, flows together great, and no real flaws or blemishes taint the final product. It has high replay value, and is something I’d recommend to anyone because of its appeal and its thorough attention to detail.

(Examples: Jay-Z’s “Blueprint”, Fort Minor’s “The Rising Tied”)