Stankonia ‘Gobble up jism like school lunches’ I love the eclecticism of this, that they would take forward into Speakerboxx/The Love Below. I loved the overtop-ness and anything goes-ness of that album, but this benefits from being more condensed, even if it's still quite long at 73 minutes and even if it does tend toward sex quite a bit. It occasionally falls into slightly demeaning and misogynistic, although I think they are mostly commenting on those attitudes rather than perpetrating it, although sometimes that line is a bit blurred. It definitely feels less problematic than Ice Cube the other day, balancing some of the horny teenager-ness with genuine empathy, like the superb Ms Jackson, or introspection like Humble Mumble, or zeitgeisty-ness with the excellent Bombs Over Baghdad. Musically it is fantastic though, the Drum’n’bass of B.O.B., the homemade beat of I’ll Call B4 I Cum with a great synth line, the funk bass and guitars of Toilet Tisha, a the groove of Slum Beautiful, as well as the generally atypical rhythms and beats throughout. I don’t know this as well as Speakerboxx/The Love Below outside the 3 big singles, but it grew a lot on me on repeat listens, although I think it sits a notch below that. Despite it being shorter, it could possibly still do with a bit of an edit, its wooliness isn’t quite as charming as S/TLB. Still a great album though, and a solid 4. 💣💣💣💣 Playlist submission: Ms Jackson