Shatter the Standards

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July 2026 Roundups: The Best Albums of the Month
With eighty albums cleared the bar in July, from Madonna’s dance floor to Fox BD’s living room, and the underground outwrote the majors at every weight…
 • Shatter the Standards
Album Review: The Clock Don’t Go Back by Juicy J
With spoken-word instead of rapping over Paul Cornish’s six-piece live band, Juicy J fills his third jazz album with character studies and comes back…
 • Shatter the Standards and Daliah Green
Album Review: Nature Boy by Goosebytheway
Rapping about money as an obligation to other people, Goosebytheway reports the years he couldn’t provide, and his second Drumwork project is excellent…
 • Shatter the Standards and Miles Everette
Album Review: Oriadé by Davido
Chasing a woman at 4:30 a.m. and calling his car dealer an hour later, the Nigerian singer builds his sixth album out of appetite and gets real comedy…
 • Shatter the Standards and Priya Okafor
Album Review: Resonance Frequency by Homeboy Sandman & Jack Splash
Ten albums in, the Queens rapper riffs on food, phones, and the people who can’t put either down, and the jokes do the arguing for him.
 • Shatter the Standards and Joelle Figueroa
Album Review: petal by Ariana Grande
Apologizing for being irresistible and plainly enjoying it, Ariana Grande turns petal into a comedy about wanting people who cost her something.
 • Shatter the Standards and Charlotte Rochel
Album Review: Hardbody by Nickelus F
The Richmond rapper-producer’s new album makes its dealer-boasting answer to the daughters and winter coats it pays for, and stays funny throughout.
 • Shatter the Standards and Tariq Belson
Album Review: Andy by Romi Wrights
Romi Wrights writes her protest song in the same language as her breakup songs. Andy is a record about eviction in every sense.
 • Shatter the Standards and Jamila W.
Album Review: Made of Gold by Dark Lo & V Don
The Philadelphia rapper takes a decade apart at close range, giving a store run and a stabbing equal attention and letting each verse run as long as it…
 • Shatter the Standards and Wesley Durham
New Music Drops: July 31, 2026
As new albums and singles get constantly flooded into our radar, look no further than skimming through the release week of July 31st. We know it can be…
 • Shatter the Standards
Album Review: LVRS PARADISE (SIDE B) by Isaiah Falls
Singing every song to a woman he wants to keep or convince, the Orlando singer writes in close detail with one person in mind and in stock phrases…
 • Shatter the Standards and Hana Beltrán
Album Review: Tales from My Hood by Kurupt & DJ Battlecat
Ruling out the banks and liquor stores before hitting all of them anyway, Kurupt makes a record whose robbery writing outpaces anything he wrote about…
 • Shatter the Standards and Javon Bailey
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