Sarah Angell '13 reviews ASAP Rocky's new mixtape, LIVELOVEASAP.

Andy Volosky '15 reviews Mac Miller's debut album, Blue Slide Park. 

The Sun reviews Cole World: The Sideline Story.

The Sun reviews Cole World: The Sideline Story.

Waiting for small victories.

Waiting for small victories.

A documentary on the esteemed hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest brings to life the vibrant Native Tongues scene of the 1990's.

In May, the guy at Radio Shack told me that those little iPod-hooker-uper things don’t work and that I shouldn’t even bother getting one. As a result, I was stuck listening to the radio all summer long — in other words, I lived and breathed the top hits of summer 2009. Now, MTV’s Video Music Awards have come, inspired the status of virtually everyone on Facebook, and gone, and many of these songs are still appearing regularly on the radio. Personally, I can’t think of a better time to assess a few of the key hits.

Blame it on T-Pain. The irritating Auto-Tune you hear on rap songs these days likely seems to stay — though Jay-Z begs to differ. Through the creation of his new album The Blueprint 3, Jay-Z has declared war against its use in the music industry. Featuring only his classic verses with the untainted vocals of guest artists, he has created a refreshing, organic rap experience.

On his latest effort, The Broad Street Bully, Philly lyricist Beanie Sigel doesn’t show up until halfway through the album. The first track, “Beanie,” is a simple intro with an unentertaining beat and a few shouts from Sigel. The following song, “Why Wouldn’t I,” is not much more exciting. Beanie rap-talks, out of tempo at times, over unoriginal instrumental work.