Drake: For All the Dogs review – repetitive rap titan needs new tricks
Dismal lyrics and wearying misogyny find too much airtime among the Canadian rapper’s most invigorating songs in years
Nines: Crop Circle 3 review – possible swansong for a UK rap great
On purportedly his last album, the London artist bows out with an eclectic mix of styles from reggae and trap to R&B and gospel, his gruff, easy flow sounding enticingly liberated
Doja Cat: Scarlet review – globe-conquering star comes out swinging at the stans
There’s a pugilistic force to the rapper’s lyricism as she takes on her diehard fans’ sense of entitlement, but even amid some experimental production, she starts to repeat herself
Diddy: The Love Album: Off the Grid review – rap megastar gets lost amid big-name return
Diddy’s productions remain imaginative across this 24-track album, but he gives us frustratingly little lyricism
Gaika: Drift review – the sonic shapeshifter goes analogue
The London MC disrupts expectations on his latest album, ranging from breakbeats and funk-soul to cinematic strings
Burna Boy: I Told Them review – Nigerian superstar punches closer to the mainstream
Eschewing the political controversies of his interviews, the Nigerian musician’s seventh album is streamlined, swaggering and rich with perfectly deployed vocal samples
Stormzy review – rapper’s bullish approach pays off with joyous performance
Slow lovelorn songs make way for a crowd-pleasing succession of hits that has the audience running to the stage
Noname: Sundial review – riveting rapper builds new ways of living
On her long-awaited album, the Chicago artist isn’t scared to spread around the culpability for discord, from white society to Beyoncé, Barack Obama – and herself
Pusha T review – the greatest snowman
The fiery former drug dealer turned US hip-hop star is a sharp, electrifying wordsmith who addresses friends, family and the finer things in life
Travis Scott: Utopia review – rap superstar gets lost amid sublime soundworld
Returning with a long-awaited fourth album in the wake of the Astroworld disaster, Scott’s rhyming isn’t strong enough to distinguish him from his A-list guests
Barbie: The Album review – a dream house of pop royalty gets all dolled up
Dua Lipa and Charli XCX bring high camp to this Mark Ronson-produced movie mixtape that climaxes with the sugary filth of Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice’s Barbie World
Paris Texas: Mid Air review – a blast of fresh air
LA duo Louie Pastel and Felix combine rap with left-field sounds and a punk-adjacent attitude on their full-length debut
JID review – swagger and soul from an emotive rap storyteller
The versatile US rapper directs the ebb and flow of the crowd in this energetic show of verbal dexterity and intimate narratives
J Hus: Beautiful and Brutal Yard review – still Britain’s most adaptable, charismatic MC
Back after three years away, the east Londoner is polarised between feelgood summer tracks and bleak reportage – but he makes it all cohere, despite some terrible sex puns
Big Freedia: Central City review – a mighty endorphin rush
After a feature on Beyoncé’s Break My Soul, the best-known name in bounce is back with an album of bass-laden beasts, star guests and surprisingly musical moments