Album Reviews, Playlists, and More

When Whitney Houston passed away in February 2012, she was in the process of yet another comeback. A sea of personal issues had turned the powerhouse vocalist into a bit of a laughing stock in the new millennium. Her death was the final sad event in…

Has anyone transitioned from young artist to star to everyone's favorite auntie better than Mary J. Blige. I remember when she hit the scene in the early 90s and wore the ball cap and jersey better than anyone. Snap your fingers and she's wearing go…

Back in 1990, LL Cool J dreamed about a girl with “a Fendi bag and a bad attitude.” However, Uncle L’s around the way girl didn’t really exist in popular culture. Even in the music world that created that rap classic, female …

There are few artists who came around in the 2000s who have connected with me as a music fan like the artists of my youth did. One who did is Shaffer Chimere Smith, better known as Ne-Yo. Ne-Yo's strength was as a song writer for others, but …

Las Vegas native Ne-Yo spent a solid decade at or near the top of the pop/R&B world, as a songwriter and performer. His pen game is what got him in the door, thanks to songs like “Unfaithful” (made popular by Rihanna), “Let Me …

At one point, Kanye West was near the top of my mountain of music artists. Kanye was the underdog, the up and comer, the guy who had to produce first to get a chance to rock the mic. His big brother Jay-Z was pretty much a titan of the game since hi…

I have written more words about Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall than I have about any other album I’ve ever owned. Each time I put (virtual) pen to paper, though, I become intimidated. How do I properly discuss an album that’s so es…

One thing I marveled at when we did our 50 For 50 deep dive on Alanis Morissette was her longevity. While she didn't keep making the same juggernaut albums from her younger days, she kept making music. A lot of it. And I got to listen to it; a lot o…

 I feel compelled to start this review by saying that, for the record, I find the last 12 or so years of Kanye West’s public persona abhorrent. I do not harbor or support his anti-Black or anti-Semitic views. It has been heartbreaking to …

Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill was one of the ‘90s biggest success stories. Millions upon millions of records sold. The Album of the Year Grammy (in a pretty stacked year for music). Legions of imitators (more on that later). Wha…

Mike and I have known each other for almost half our lives. We met in the early 2000s through the internet. Now, that might not sound like a big deal in 2026, but back in the day, it wasn't that casual to consider someone you'd never met in person t…

It's funny which artists you gravitate to when you're young. I don't know why Huey Lewis & The News was my cup of tea as a youngster in the mid-80s. I know my dad played Huey a bit inside the house. He recorded their videos on MTV and VH-1. But …

The sophomore jinx is real, y’all. Artists have their entire lives to create their debut, and often just a year or two to create a second album. The light shines brighter on you if your debut is a success. The eyes of the public are staring de…

I was a young teenage hooper playing one-on-one against my buddy George in his drive way. Even though we were the same age, physically, George was two years ahead of me. Just dipping his shoulder and going through my chest. He had his boom box out a…

I’ve been trying to think of a good way to describe Huey Lewis & the News, and the most accurate analogy I can make comes from the News’ home base in The Bay. Think of the TV show “Full House”, and imagine The Rippers fro…

The modern day rap fan doesn’t know MC Hammer from Armie Hammer, and that makes me simultaneously happy and sad. The Bay Area-based rapper was the first all caps POP ICON of hip-hop. His sophomore effort, 1990’s Please Hammer Don’t…

As I said on our episode about The Beastie Boys, I learned so much about a group that I knew so little about. So much so that I would consider myself a huge fan now. I love their story. I love their place in history. And I love how they took account…

In 2004, The Beastie Boys released To The Five Boroughs. It was the first album of new music released by the trio since the attacks on September 11th, 2001 that left an indelible mark on the city they (and I) were born in. To The Five Boroughs is a …

Is there a precedent for 55-year-old rappers making good albums?No?Well, of course, count on LL Cool J to break the mold. It’s something he’s been doing for four decades. He was the first solo rapper to have a Gold album. The first s…

Trying to condense LL Cool J's career into a podcast was hard, but I think Mike and I did a great job at telling our story as it relates to our LL fandom alongside his journey.What was also hard was putting together a list of our favorite LL songs…

We're at the end of Bruno week here on 50 For 50. It's time for our Bruno Mars playlist as created by our mix-tape-ologist, Mike Joseph.On one of our podcast episodes this week about Bruno Mars, Mike mentioned that if Bruno ever put out a greatest…

We’re in 2026. Bruno Mars is, arguably, the biggest male singer on the planet*. His world tour sold out in minutes. He’s already amassed more Grammy Awards than his heroes Elvis, Michael and Prince. It’s hard to believe that once, …

This week is Bruno Week on 50 For 50. Bruno Mars' new album, The Romantic, dropped last weekend and Mike Joseph and I have been anticipating it since we heard the news of the release several months ago.We decided that this week is Bruno wee…

TLC was so cool.They would stay cool after their second album sent them into superstardom, but it would be a different kind of cool; like a famous person cool. When Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip dropped, they dripped with the type of coolness …