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Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 3h

With JMSN, PARTYOF2, Sudan Archives, Boz Scaggs, 7xvethegenius, Bryant Barnes, WILSN, Isaiah Falls, Pynk Beard, Charlotte Dos Santos, and others, hit play on these projects released last week.

Wednesday Roundups #124: 25 Albums/EPs You Should Listen to In Your Spare Time

With JMSN, PARTYOF2, Sudan Archives, Boz Scaggs, 7xvethegenius, Bryant Barnes, WILSN, Isaiah Falls, Pynk Beard, Charlotte Dos Santos, and others, hit play on these projects released last week.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 4h

Unlike the explicit world‑building of their peers, Groove Theory plants its imagery in everyday moments—commutes, stoops, first kisses.

Anniversaries: Groove Theory by Groove Theory

Unlike the explicit world‑building of their peers, Groove Theory plants its imagery in everyday moments—commutes, stoops, first kisses.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 18h

Teal Dreams reimagines freedom not as a grand statement but as a series of small, deliberate gestures. In doing so, Yazmin Lacey continues to carve out her own space—teal, tender, and defiantly hers.

Album Review: Teal Dreams by Yazmin Lacey

Teal Dreams reimagines freedom not as a grand statement but as a series of small, deliberate gestures. In doing so, Yazmin Lacey continues to carve out her own space—teal, tender, and defiantly hers.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 1d

Though it flew under the radar in 1995, the album became a bedrock for the Los Angeles underground hip-hop renaissance. Aceyalone inspired countless artists who followed.

Anniversaries: All Balls Don’t Bounce by Aceyalone

Though it flew under the radar in 1995, the album became a bedrock for the Los Angeles underground hip-hop renaissance. Aceyalone inspired countless artists who followed.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 1d

Both artists, across eras, translate collapse into communion. They show that when utopias fall apart, music can offer refuge; when slogans lose their power, groove can carry the weight of protest. Read over at Blackpolitan.

The Quiet Revolution, From There’s a Riot Goin’ On to Black Messiah

Both artists, across eras, translate collapse into communion. They show that when utopias fall apart, music can offer refuge; when slogans lose their power, groove can carry the weight of protest.

www.shatterthestandards.com

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Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 2d

Sudan Archives has done it again with her third album. The strengths—muscle‑building loops, hybrid production, and a cohesive narrative of self‑transformation—make The BPM a standout release.

Album Review: The BPM by Sudan Archives

Sudan Archives has done it again with her third album. The strengths—muscle‑building loops, hybrid production, and a cohesive narrative of self‑transformation—make The BPM a standout release.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 3d

Soulife holds space in Anthony Hamilton’s catalog not simply as a curiosity or a compilation, but as an alternate axis. It stands beside his later work as both precursor and companion.

Anniversaries: Soulife by Anthony Hamilton

Soulife holds space in Anthony Hamilton’s catalog not simply as a curiosity or a compilation, but as an alternate axis. It stands beside his later work as both precursor and companion.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 3d

Ty Dolla $ign sounds relaxed and in control, yet the sharpest moments are the ones where his tycoon façade cracks and he lets us see the cost of being unfuck‑with‑able.

Album Review: Tycoon by Ty Dolla $ign

Ty Dolla $ign sounds relaxed and in control, yet the sharpest moments are the ones where his tycoon façade cracks and he lets us see the cost of being unfuck‑with‑able.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 4d

Carl Thomas wasn’t an overnight creation. Emotional purposefully leaves us in a suspended state—aware of unresolved tensions, still resonating with lingering confessions.

Anniversaries: Emotional by Carl Thomas

Carl Thomas wasn’t an overnight creation. Emotional purposefully leaves us in a suspended state—aware of unresolved tensions, still resonating with lingering confessions.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 4d

Isaiah Falls has the presence and the instinct for intimacy. While the songwriting often settles for the first draft of an idea rather than pushing through to something sharper, this EP still goes.

EP Review: Lucky You (EP) by Isaiah Falls

Isaiah Falls has the presence and the instinct for intimacy. While the songwriting often settles for the first draft of an idea rather than pushing through to something sharper, this EP still goes.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 4d

Monaleo shows how trap can hold testimony, how braggadocio can coexist with grief, and how a Houston rapper can turn her own reckoning into a public sermon without losing the plot or the punchline.

Album Review: Who Did the Body by Monaleo

Monaleo shows how trap can hold testimony, how braggadocio can coexist with grief, and how a Houston rapper can turn her own reckoning into a public sermon without losing the plot or the punchline.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 5d

In the broader hip-hop canon, Deltron 3030 is frequently lauded as a cult classic and a watershed for alternative hip-hop.

Anniversaries: Deltron 3030 by Deltron 3030

In the broader hip-hop canon, Deltron 3030 is frequently lauded as a cult classic and a watershed for alternative hip-hop.

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Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 5d

For this to be their debut effort, Amerika’s Next Top Party! is an assured and multifaceted statement from two artists who have been preparing for this moment since childhood.

Album Review: Amerika’s Next Top Party! by PARTYOF2

For this to be their debut effort, Amerika’s Next Top Party! is an assured and multifaceted statement from two artists who have been preparing for this moment since childhood.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 5d

Here’s your upcoming rundown of albums/singles releasing on October 17th, featuring Gucci Mane, Tame Impala, Melanie C, Lauren Jauregui, and many others.

New Music Drops: October 17, 2025

Here’s your upcoming rundown of albums/singles releasing on October 17th, featuring Gucci Mane, Tame Impala, Melanie C, Lauren Jauregui, and many others.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 6d

Vol. 3 builds on the foundations of its predecessors and then bursts through the ceiling, revealing new rooms in the house that Black Thought built. It’s both a mourning hymn and a battle cry.

Anniversaries: Streams of Thought, Vol. 3: Cane & Abel by Black Thought

Vol. 3 builds on the foundations of its predecessors and then bursts through the ceiling, revealing new rooms in the house that Black Thought built. It’s both a mourning hymn and a battle cry.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 6d

Deadbeat is a brave document of burnout and relapse, offering candid glimpses into Kevin Parker’s psyche and refreshing production choices.

Album Review: Deadbeat by Tame Impala

Deadbeat is a brave document of burnout and relapse, offering candid glimpses into Kevin Parker’s psyche and refreshing production choices.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 6d

We are still in that orbit. And so the lineage is not a freighted tomb but a living relay. The fire stoked in 2014 continues to burn, shifting shape, illuminating new angles.

The Lineage of D’Angelo’s Black Messiah

We are still in that orbit. And so the lineage is not a freighted tomb but a living relay. The fire stoked in 2014 continues to burn, shifting shape, illuminating new angles.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 7d

With Amber Mark, The Cool Kids, Niia, JayDon, Princess Nokia, ODUMODUBLVCK, Ink, Josh Levi, Lily Massie, Lyvia, JaRon Marshall, OBED, and others, hit play on these projects released last week.

Wednesday Roundups #123: 25 Albums/EPs You Should Listen to In Your Spare Time

With Amber Mark, The Cool Kids, Niia, JayDon, Princess Nokia, ODUMODUBLVCK, Ink, Josh Levi, Lily Massie, Lyvia, JaRon Marshall, OBED, and others, hit play on these projects released last week.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 7d

JMSN glides between ruin and reverie, making heartbreak his signature move. His newest work traps you in the echo of desire and self-sabotage.

How JMSN Turns Heartache Into Theater on …it’s only about u if you think it is.

JMSN glides between ruin and reverie, making heartbreak his signature move. His newest work traps you in the echo of desire and self-sabotage.

www.shatterthestandards.com

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Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 7d

When the ache of absence feels unbearable, may the music he made—from Brown Sugar, to Voodoo, and Black Messiah—wrap you in his embrace and remind you that he never left.

Our Tribute to D’Angelo

When the ache of absence feels unbearable, may the music he made—from Brown Sugar, to Voodoo, and Black Messiah—wrap you in his embrace and remind you that he never left.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 8d

Ludacris was back for the first time in 2000, and hip-hop hasn’t been the same since. One foot in the raw Dirty South of the late ‘90s, and one foot in the polished, crossover-minded 2000s.

Anniversaries: Back for the First Time by Ludacris

Ludacris was back for the first time in 2000, and hip-hop hasn’t been the same since. One foot in the raw Dirty South of the late ‘90s, and one foot in the polished, crossover-minded 2000s.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 8d

The “voice of the streets” may no longer be the sole authority, but it hasn’t vanished. Instead, it has been amplified, remixed, and contested by a multitude of voices. Read over at Blackpolitan.

The Voice of the Streets Is Fading? Benny the Butcher Weighs In

The “voice of the streets” may no longer be the sole authority, but it hasn’t vanished. Instead, it has been amplified, remixed, and contested by a multitude of voices.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 10d

Chronixx remains captivating as ever, and the themes of identity, resilience, and community on his much-anticipated second album are handled with sincerity.

Album Review: Exile by Chronixx

Chronixx remains captivating as ever, and the themes of identity, resilience, and community on his much-anticipated second album are handled with sincerity.

www.shatterthestandards.com

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Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 10d

The Foreign Exchange’s third album renders visible the power of acknowledging that love can be simultaneously futile and brilliant. Its wisdom lies in holding both truths at once without flinching.

Anniversaries: Authenticity by The Foreign Exchange

The Foreign Exchange’s third album renders visible the power of acknowledging that love can be simultaneously futile and brilliant. Its wisdom lies in holding both truths at once without flinching.

www.shatterthestandards.com

Shatter the Standards @thestandards.bsky.social · 11d

Hydraulic is a promising debut that highlights Josh Levi’s potential but leaves room for bolder songwriting and tighter editing in future projects.

Album Review: Hydraulic by Josh Levi

Hydraulic is a promising debut that highlights Josh Levi’s potential but leaves room for bolder songwriting and tighter editing in future projects.

www.shatterthestandards.com