Jpegmafia review – hip-hop gunslinger blasts away at his many targets
Dressed like an extra from Deadwood, the US rapper showcases his dizzying eclecticism in an intense performance that lacks subtlety but has room for laughs
Krept & Konan: Young Kingz II review – filthy and poignant in equal measure
The south London rappers’ frankness and sharp wordplay puts their rivals to shame on studio album No 4
Biig Piig: 11:11 review – long-awaited debut hovers on the edge of clubland
Switching between English and Spanish vocals, Irish singer-songwriter Jess Smyth’s genre-hopping set feels most at home in the quieter moments
Central Cee: Can’t Rush Greatness review – a tantalising debut of hits and misses
The British rapper gathers his bangers and chart-toppers together with less impactful work on this 17-track record
Mobb Deep review – New York rap duo can still keep the temperature rising
Thirty years on from their album The Infamous, and seven years after the death of founder member Prodigy, Havoc teams up with Big Noyd for a breathlessly-paced set
Mac Miller: Balloonerism review – poignant second posthumous album
Made during a difficult time in the late rapper’s life, this abandoned work captures the musicianship and introspection of his fertile mid-career
Music: Kitty Empire’s 10 best albums of 2024
Americana’s classiest duo weather the storm, Kendrick Lamar has the last word, UK jazz soars – and Charli xcx unleashes the power of Brat
Kendrick Lamar: GNX review – amply backed-up grandstanding
Fresh from his feud with Drake, the US hip-hop star’s latest album finds him on imperious form
Kendrick Lamar: GNX review – stunning surprise from a rapper determined to be the greatest
After his beef with Drake, Lamar expands his list of targets with enthralling rhymes and adventurous arrangements. At this point, he’s deferring only to God
Ghostface Killah review – Wu-Tang vet coasts as fans take up the slack
This lopsided night lacks atmosphere, but the enduring magnetism and mythos of Wu-Tang Clan lifts it a little
IDK: Bravado + Intimo review – bright beats, retrograde rhymes
The US rapper and Harvard mentor’s inventive, trap- and jazz-influenced tunes are let down by unreconstructed lyrics
Tyler, the Creator: Chromakopia review – early midlife crisis triggers a freaked-out psychodrama
Full of switchback turns, the rapper’s unsettled and unsettling seventh album zaps from Beach Boys harmonies to G-funk synths – and from boasts to self-loathing
Lauryn Hill and Fugees review – embattled reunion tour turns out to be utterly thrilling
Beef with Pras means he’s not present at the co-headlining blowout, but the remaining duo are enjoyably ragged – and solo, Hill has an almost mythic power
Jpegmafia: I Lay Down My Life For You review – scattergun brilliance
The US rapper brings reflection as well as energising polemic to his compelling fifth studio album
Killer Mike: Michael & the Mighty Midnight Revival: Songs for Sinners and Saints review – hard-won life lessons
The Run the Jewels rapper follows up last year’s Grammys-sweeping Michael with an album addressing a tumultuous few months