Eyedea & Abilities - By the Throat (2009)

Rhymesayers-based hip-hop duo Eyedea & Abilities return after a 5 year hiatus with somewhat mixed results. They've mostly left behind the aggressive, battle-centric lyrics and turntablism that were present on E&A in favor of a more indie rock/electronic type sound.

Eyedea's short stint as the vocalist for rock band Carbon Carousel is pretty apparent here, and many of the songs feature him crooning along to dull and uninspired guitar lines that were probably originally intended for the aforementioned band. Eyedea isn't a particularly good singer either, and the tracks that forgo singing in favor of actual rapping are generally the more successful ones.

Another thing worth noting is the apparent lack of DJ Abilities. He still makes a few appearances here and there with some scratching, but his contributions are seemingly minimal compared to the first two albums. This can be explained by the complete change in direction sound-wise, but it is still pretty disappointing, considering Abilities used to be an integral part of the E&A sound.

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Genius/GZA - Liquid Swords (1995)

Released in 1995 during the first round of Wu-Tang solo albums, this solo debut from Wu-Tang member GZA (pronounced 'Jizza') is often regarded as one of the best hip-hop albums of all time. Almost all of Liquid Swords was produced by Wu-Tang leader RZA, whose dark, ominous, and brooding beats perfectly set the gritty atmosphere of the album. GZA is simply the most talented lyricist of the group, and while his delivery might not be quite as interesting as some of his fellow clansmen, the depth and intricacy of his writing certainly makes up for it. Every Wu-Tang member makes a cameo here, but I think Method Man's appearance on the excellent Shadowboxin' stands above the rest. A must listen for fans of hip-hop.

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Dynospectrum - The Dynospectrum (1998)

Not much in the way of interested new releases lately aside from stuff you've probably already checked out, so I'm just going to go ahead and post another album I've been digging a lot lately. If you're familiar with Rhymesayers Entertainment then you already know they put out quality hip-hop records, and The Dynospectrum is no exception.

Essentially a supergroup of Rhymesayers artists (including Slug and Ant from Atmosphere), this is a dark hip-hop record perfect for those murky rainy days. Ant's production sets the mood with simple, hard hitting beats and every emcee is consistently on point and in their prime, both lyrically and in delivery. This is a must-listen for fans of east coast hip-hop.

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