January and February tend to be slow months when it comes to album releases. Luckily, December had enough quality albums to help get us through the boring months. Twenty year old New York rapper, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, led the charts through December which was surprising despite the album being pretty solid. He released his third studio album Hoodie SZN on December 21.

This is the uniquely named rapper’s longest album out of his three. It includes 20 songs in total. The album also features a multitude of features, but there are plenty of songs that do not include any. The features range from some of the most famous rappers in the world right now, such as Young Thug and Offset, to more obscure artists not many casual hip-hop fans would recognize.

A Boogie kept to his usual script; his style of silky vocals paired with energetic beats dominates the album. If someone expected an album distinct from his previous albums, the only difference I picked up on is that he included a few more gloomy tones this time around.

However, he is definitely still improving. He remains more consistent with the quality. I can firmly say I enjoyed a larger percentage of tracks compared to his earlier albums. He has been able to almost master his flow while still being pretty early on in his career.

The high points of this album for me are “Demons and Angels” and “Startender”.

The only downfall of this album is a slight lack of originality from track to track, which seems to be a common factor in a lot of hip-hop releases. Still, A Boogie is only just getting started and this album has set my expectations high. 7.5/10.