Welcome, to the Rapid Fire Reviews page. With a large number of albums being released these days I thought my readers would appreciate a quick overview of the latest Hip Hop/Rap and RnB releases. Everything on this page gets the same listening time as in the full reviews, so the scores reflect my thoughts of the general album. If there are any questions feel free to leave a comment. I promise I’ll respond!

Omarion & Bow Wow ~ Face Off
“A la Jay Z and R Kelly Mr 106 & Park Bow Wow and Omarion come together for the album Face Off. Both artists play it safe by keeping the subject matter similar to what they have done in their solo careers. In a nut shell if you are fan of their previous singles such as Bow Wow’s “Let Me Hold You”, you should be happy with Face Off.”
My rating is 3/5

DJ Drama ~ Gangsta Grillz(The Album)
“If you’re familiar with DJ Drama mixtapes, then you would have a good idea of what you get here. A collection tracks mainly featuring southern rappers in groups of three or more (Young Jezzy, T.I, Rick Ross etc) dropping verses over numbers of different beats. Unlike the majority of albums from down south Drama tries to mix the sound and not just stick to the snap music flooding the market with the result being positive most times than not. The only bad thing being that if you follow the mixtape scene, there is a good chance you have the stand out tracks already.”
My rating is 3/5

Mary J Blige ~ Growing Pains
“With studio album number nine the Queen of RnB seems to be at a bit of a cross roads. After reaching international acclaim and the growth shown on here last two albums I expected something more. Growing Pains feels like a standard RnB album which many songstresses would be proud of, it just with Mary you tend to set the bar a bit higher.”
My rating is 3/5

Ghost Face Killah ~ The Big Doe Rehab
“Like clock work Ghost Face releases another strong album with The Big Doe Rehab. From start to finish Pretty Tony stays on point lyrically and sonically without resorting to the current trends in rap music. The only bad thing is that listening to this album will make you wish that the Wu-Tang Clan’s 8 Diagrams was on the same level.”
My rating is 4/5

Birdman ~ 5 Star Stunna
“With his so called son Lil Wayne riding high these days it made sense for Birdman to release an album. The result, a fairly solid effort with a number of standout tracks 5 Star Stunna deserves a listen. It will not stun you lyrically but if you are a fan of the current trends of mainstream rap, especially Southern rap then you should feel right at home.”
My rating is 3/5

Pittsburgh Slim ~ Tastemaker
“Pittsburgh Slim is the latest of non traditional rappers with an obvious eye on mainstream success. Tastemaker serves more as an EP rather than an album with only seven tracks and aims to show the artists range. Unfortunately I still think these types of artists lack the swagger of veterans The Beastie Boys. If this is your type of thing check out any Beastie Boys album or Gym Class Heroes’ album if you haven’t already.”
My rating is 2/5

Hi-Tek ~ Hi-Teknology 3
“Well respected among the hip hop community producer Hi-Tek releases his third instalment of his Hi-Teknology series. As always production is of a high standard, especially on the last track “Time”, where he teams up with long time collaborator Talib Kweli. Note to Hi-Tek: “Another Reflection Eternal” album please”. Only downside there is a lack of A list features as with the previous albums. A number of largely unknown (mixtape) artists feature which may put some off.”
My rating is 3/5

Gucci Mane - Back To The Traphouse
“I would have probably given this album the same score if it was an instrumental album as it is the production which is the star of the show. No surprises here as it pure southern snap and trap music covering the same redundant topics. However it you have a decent home or car stereo I’m sure you’ll find a number of songs to please the ears.”
My rating is 3/5

The Mitchell Brothers ~ Dressed For The Occasion
“After a strong debut album I expected more second time around from The Mitchell Brothers, unfortunately it seems that’s not the case. Conceptually and lyrically they stay fresh and amuse, however the production lacks the energetic rhythm of the original album.”
My rating is 2/5

Too Short ~ Get Off The Stage
“Its hard to believe that Too Short released his first album way back in 1983. With Get Off The Stage his twenty second album Too Short keeps it pimping as usual. The production is the only thing updated here as the same subject matter is covered pimps, hoes etc.”
My rating is 2/5