With the formation of his Cactus Jack label, Travis Scott followed a blueprint laid out by some of the biggest rap stars that precede him. Much like J. Cole's Dreamville label or Lil Wayne's Young Money roster before that, Cactus Jack allows Scott to slowly build an empire in his own image, offering a platform for new artists he handpicks. The brief Jackboys compilation acts as an introduction to the Cactus Jack roster in its earliest stages. Though it spans only a slim seven tracks and 21-minute running time, the scant material is packed with big-name appearances and attention-grabbing performances from the new Cactus Jack signees. There's a feature from Young Thug on the slithering flute-loop driven "Out West" as well as established stars like Rosalía, Offset, and Lil Baby stopping by on various songs. Cactus Jack newcomers Sheck Wes, Luxury Tax, and Don Toliver trade verses with Scott on "Gang Gang," and Toliver stands out on the mournfully soulful "Had Enough" and the ominous "What to Do?" Jackboys is multifaceted even in its brevity. The seven tracks move across druggy trap vibes, brooding emo rap hooks, and bravado-heavy bangers like the Pop Smoke-featuring closer "Gatti." The various creative directions are cohesive enough to gel, but the songs rush by in a flash, making Jackboys feel less like an introduction to an exciting new label and more like a sneak preview of what's to come.© Fred Thomas /TiVo

Spanning the band's early-'70s genesis as an unhinged funk congregation and their later resurgence with urbane R&B balladry and synth-inflected disco, The Very Best of Kool & the Gang may not be a unified collection, but it is the first to offer every hit that's expected -- as well as a few that aren't -- from the band's long career. The emphasis is definitely on their peak as a pop group, from 1979 to 1986, with pride of place going to the hits "Celebration," "Get Down on It," "Ladies Night," "Too Hot," "Misled," and "Joanna." Fans of the funk get only three tracks ("Funky Stuff," "Hollywood Swinging," and "Jungle Boogie," all from 1973's Wild and Peaceful), which won't cause anyone to sell their copies of The Best of Kool & the Gang 1969-1976, but does give pop fans a glimpse of their mid-'70s greatness. All in all, this lengthy collection doesn't transition well from hit to hit, but then again, chronological order would've forced legions of pop fans to forward through the funk material to get to their favorites.© John Bush /TiVo

Just shy of a year after Kentucky rapper Jack Harlow released his 2022 sophomore studio album, Come Home the Kids Miss You, he narrowed his focus and drew from more personal material for his third proper commercial effort, Jackman. Harlow was fresh off of an enormous surge in popularity due to his appearance on Lil Nas X's 2021 track "Industry Baby" when Come Home the Kids Miss You was released, and he was primed for mainstream breakthrough with the album's extravagant production and superstar guests like Pharrell Williams, Drake, and Justin Timberlake. Jackman. is spare and understated by contrast, with just ten tracks clocking in at under 25 minutes, no features, and a somewhat bleak and solitary emotional tone throughout. Harlow stays in the role of a cautious observer in most of his lyrics, sometimes commenting on society at large (the white appropriation of Black culture on "Common Ground," loyalties deteriorating when ugly true colors are shown on "Gang Gang Gang") but mostly reflecting on his own struggles with family, fame, and his place in the rap game. "It Can't Be" finds Harlow running down a list of his talents and the hard work he's put in to get to his level of success, and "They Don't Love It" comes from the confrontational perspective of a rapper who was grinding out mixtapes for years before the world caught on. It's ironic that Harlow sounds worn down by the weight of his own stardom on his first album to debut at the top of the Billboard charts, and how Jackman. moves further away from pop than his previous record, feeling more like being in the room while Harlow is filterlessly talking to himself for almost half an hour. In that way, however, a lot of his thoughts are unfinished, and statements don't feel fully resolved. Even when he's rapping about a painfully strained relationship with his brother on "Blame on Me," there's no sense of closure, catharsis, or even deeper understanding of the pain; Harlow just raps in what equates to sad venting for a few minutes and then the song ends. As ever, Harlow is serviceable as a rapper and performs well enough cycling between beats styled after either late-2000s Kanye or early-2010s Drake. So much about Jackman. feels incomplete or partially thought out, however, that the album relegates itself to mere background music with occasional flashes that suggest serious emotion or profound contemplation without ever fully delivering.© TiVo Staff /TiVo

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Undeterred by having already released an album called Live at the Village Vanguard in 2015, albeit with a trio, force-of-nature bassist Christian McBride has decided to give it another go under the same title as the earlier Grammy-winning set. McBride is powered by obvious musical gifts and a big personality that revels in promoting his many ventures: he runs a jazz school in New Jersey with his wife—jazz singer Mellisa Walker and leads five different jazz groups, including a trio, big band, the New Jawn, the edgier DJ-led ensemble Christian McBride Situation, and Inside Straight—the band heard here. The biggest difference between the two albums, both recorded during the same two-week stand at the storied NYC West Village club in 2014, is that unlike the earlier set list which included jazzified renditions of mainstream pop tunes like Rod Temperton's "The Lady in My Life," (famous as part of Michael Jackson's Thriller) and Motown producer Norman Whitfield's theme to the film Car Wash, all the tunes on this new album are composed either by McBride or a member of Inside Straight. Well-played, hard-driving post-bop with plenty of room for solos by all is the method. On top of a solid rhythm section of McBride and drummer Carl Allen, virtuoso vibraphone player Warren Wolf is a breath of fresh talent accenting every tune but shining brightest in a pair of his originals including the long, propulsive "Gang Gang" where his speed and natural lyricism combine with Allen's bravura performance for the album's standout piece. In his composition "Fair Hope" McBride has a long solo that once again excels at dexterity and musicality. Generally thought of as an alto saxophonist, Steve Wilson leads a take of his moody tribute to poet Maya Angelou, "Ms. Angelou" on soprano sax. The boxing-themed, fast-paced closer "Stick & Move" is kicked off by McBride, with pianist Peter Martin taking the first solo before handing back off McBride who quotes "Old Macdonald Had a Farm," for a playful, crowd-pleasing conclusion. McBride has successfully taken his instrument out of the rhythm section and into the spotlight—no small feat. Another solid outing, this time with a lesser known setlist, from a player bent on stardom. © Robert Baird/Qobuz

Though Kool & the Gang was a fine hardcore funk outfit in the 1970s, the group decided, by the close of that decade, to reinvent its sound for pop radio. The result -- a combination of slick production, R&B vocals, and the band's already well-honed grooves -- made Kool & the Gang one of the biggest-selling and most beloved pop acts of the '80s. Celebration: the Best of Kool & the Gang collects 17 of the band's singles from this era, most of which will be immediately familiar to anyone even remotely familiar with '80s pop radio. The Gang wrote numerous, highly polished dance grooves featuring a heavy backbeat, staccato horn charts, and infectious vocal choruses that seem custom-built for group singalongs. The international smash "Celebration" is one such song (has there been more definitive party anthem?), as is the hard-grooving "Ladies Night," and the groove imperative "Get Down on It." The Gang also scored with their midtempo R&B ("Joanna"), funk-tinged soul ("Fresh"), and swelling ballads in the adult contemporary mode ("Cherish"). These showcase the Gang's superior vocalists (check out James "J.T." Taylor's butter-smooth croon on "Too Hot," for example). Those seeking a comprehensive collection of Kool & the Gang's '80s hits need look no further than this excellent compilation.© Anthony Tognazzini /TiVo

Considering that the only previous hip-hop hits collection to stretch two full CDs came from 2Pac (and that only after his death), Gang Starr's Full Clip is a surprising release, though it's incredibly welcome. The duo of DJ Premier and Guru has been one of the longest continuous acts on the rap scene, beginning with 1989's No More Mr. Nice Guy and a spot on the soundtrack to Spike Lee's 1990 film Mo' Better Blues. And as demonstrated by Premier's stunning productions on classic early tracks like "Who's Gonna Take the Weight," "Words I Manifest," and "Just to Get a Rep," Gang Starr hit its stride early, and just kept on hitting peak after peak during the '90s with "Speak Ya Clout," "Code of the Streets," "Tonz 'O' Gunz," and "You Know My Steez." And new tracks, usually the bane of any best-of collection, provide quite a few highlights here -- including "Full Clip," "Discipline" (featuring Total), and "All 4 Tha Ca$h." Also, the set compiles several notable B-sides -- "The ? Remainz," "Credit Is Due," and "You Know My Steez (Remix)" -- as well as soundtrack works like "1/2 & 1/2" (from Blade), "Gotta Get Over" (from Trespass), and "The Militia II (Remix)" (from Belly). Though Guru's monotone raps can grate over the course of two hours, Full Clip documents one of the best, most underrated hip-hop groups ever, from their jazzy beginnings into Premier's harder productions from the mid-'90s and beyond.© John Bush /TiVo

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The fact that Mass Appeal: The Best of Gang Starr is the second greatest-hits compilation released by Virgin simply attests to the importance of the duo, one of the first great MC/DJ-producer teams in hip-hop (and both of who, incidentally, have gone on to do well as solo artists, Guru with his whole Jazzmatazz series and DJ Premier most recently on Christina Aguilera's Back to Basics). But while 1999's Full Clip was two discs of 31 tracks (some of which were remixed versions), Mass Appeal limits itself to one disc of 20 songs, and includes almost all of their singles ("You Know My Steez" is the most notable exclusion), which means that while the scope is actually greater, spanning all six of their studio albums, the depth is less. Though the tracks are not listed chronologically, the jazz-based beats of Premier and Guru's relaxed flow are highlighted and strong in each. Gang Starr staples "Take It Personal," "The Militia," "Just to Get a Rep," "Mass Appeal," "Ex-Girl to Next Girl," and "Step in the Arena" (all but the latter also found on Full Clip) are found on the compilation, as well as lesser-known though not obscure cuts like "Check the Technique" and "B.Y.S." More serious fans may be intrigued by the bonus tracks, "Natural" and "Tha Squeeze," but considering that both are also found on the 2004 Japanese import of The Ownerz, Mass Appeal is probably a better pickup for fans who've heard about the glory and genius of the group but don't own all the albums.© Marisa Brown /TiVo

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“He have credits on all my shit because I’ll do the lyrics and I do everything, and he’ll hear something [like], "Drop the beat out hard. Cut this verse off. You did this verse too long’’ He pretty much do all my ad libs and song placements and stuff like that.” A huge vocal absentee in CrasH Talk, Q’s fellow artist, Kendrick Lamar of the label T.D.E, remains front and center with regards to production. Qualitative rather than quantitative, this fifth opus arrives after the passing of Mac Miller and Nipsey Hussle. Out of respect, Q delayed releasing his record into such a morbid situation that still shows no sign of fading. The L.A. schoolboy is joined by YG, Travis Scott (Chopstix), Ty Dolla $ign, 21 Savage (Floating), Kid Cudi (Dangerous) and Lil Baby (Water) in order to deliver one of the best records of early 2019. But Gang Gang, the creepy 5200 and CrasH are testament to the fact that the repentant gangsta hits just as hard solo. In the hands of Boi-1da, CrasH Talk moves through bass heavy trap (Die Wit Wm), R&B (Lies) and shades of old-school (Crash and his sample of DJ Premier). Excellent. © Charlotte Saintoin/Qobuz

Kool & the Gang's funky debut was an unexpected hit, with a first single (self-titled) climbing both the pop and R&B charts. Subsequent singles -- "The Gang's Back Again," "Let the Music Take Your Mind," and "Funky Man," -- followed the first into the charts, and there were plenty of other standout tracks: "Raw Hamburger," "Chocolate Buttermilk," and "Kool's Back Again." Though barely over a half an hour long, Kool and the Gang is a blast of a record containing strong elements that would become the band's trademarks: smooth melodies, suave rhythms, and brassy horns. This is one of Kool & the Gang's jazzier albums and a strong debut worth checking out, though less accessible than any of their later pop recordings.© JT Griffith /TiVo

The group's debut LP demonstrates what can go wrong, even with a group enjoying a trio of hit singles. Though those hits are here, the album is the least representative of what the group was about and a mixed bag for fans, presenting a trio of widely available hits, six or seven fine tracks currently unavailable elsewhere, and two musical lapses that between them account for nearly one-third of the running time. Spanky & Our Gang started out in Chicago with a sound somewhere midway between the original Jefferson Airplane and the original Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, a folk-rock ensemble with a few jazzy twists and some funny between-song sketches. For their first year at Mercury Records, however, and especially on this LP, producer Jerry Ross used the group as an instrument of his own, turning them into a virtual clone of the Mamas & the Papas on a big portion of this album. Vocally most of the album is outstanding, the harmony singing absolutely radiant on the familiar hits "Sunday Will Never Seem the Same" (which featured an opening vocal vamp devised by Malcolm Hale), "Lazy Day," and "Making' Every Minute Count," and the popular B-sides "Commercial" and "It Ain't Necessarily Bird Avenue"; "5 Definitions of Love" captured some of the group's penchant for off-beat humor and some glorious harmony singing that has a strangely archaic feel, like a piece of medieval music (somehow anticipating elements of the sound that Gentle Giant, of all groups, would later create). The latter track, written by Bob Dorough, also pointed the way toward their future: Dorough and his songwriting/producer partner Stuart Scharf would be their producers the next time out. "Brother Can You Spare a Dime" is the most controversial song here, an unfinished track that was stuck onto the album by Jerry Ross in the process of rush-releasing the record and getting it above 30 minutes running time, with nothing but an awkward guide vocal, never intended to be heard by the public, from Elaine "Spanky" McFarlane; along with the four-minute rendition of "Ya Got Trouble" from Meredith Willson's The Music Man, which might've worked well on stage (and was a more immediate satire in 1967, closer to the movie's release and the run of the original show), it's the nadir of the record. The successful album tracks include a pair of gems with soaring harmonies, "If You Could Only Be Me," where they're singing and playing with a lot of heart despite the presence of a string section; "Leaving on a Jet Plane," the latter beautifully embellished with a punchy folk-rock sound, closer to the Byrds or the Beau Brummels than to Peter, Paul & Mary's hit; and the closer, a rocking, bluesy rendition of Jo Mapes's "Come and Open Your Eyes." Mapes, a big-voiced folk singer who started out in the early '50s, is all but forgotten today, but she made network television appearances during the '50s and cut records for Kapp, and was a major influence on Mary Travers, among others.© Bruce Eder /TiVo