Hallways

Homeboy Sandman and the producers for 'Hallways' have put together a very special album of conscious lyricism and cooling, re-energizing beats. Homeboy Sandman, in his constant flow of advanced, complex rhyming, delivers medicine for the soul, his own personal thoughts on what he has experienced in life. Listeners will agree with what he has learned from his sagely travels on Earth, and his flow is impeccable and impressive. Not only are the beats titillating to the highest degree, they are also pioneering, delving and dabbling in sounds rarely if ever heard before in hip hop. Homeboy Sandman's rise to prominence in hip hop is indisputable.

I am a big Homeboy Sandman fan. This album does not disappoint, it's his best yet in my opinion.

His best album. His first in fact that fully measures up to his incredible talent.

Homeboy Sandman has done it again!. he never cease to amaze me.

Reminds me of a sober and sarcastic Quasimoto. Incredible album

To be honest, I probably had unrealistically high hopes for this album. In my opinion, Homeboy Sandman has always had two achilles heals: Awful hooks and questionable beat choices. It's unfortunate, because his lyricism, flow, word play, style is all completely on point. I thought Hallways might be the album where he finally puts it all together for a more well-rounded package, especially after seeing names like Jonwayne, Knxwledge, and Peanut Butter Wolf on production. It's not. In fact, I think I actually liked First of a Living Breed better than this. The hooks and beats have gotten worse. "1, 2, 3" and "America, the Beautiful" are a solid start to the album, but "Loads," which features a great verse by Blu, is ruined by an awkward and annoying hook. "Refugee" and "Activity" are unlistenable for the same reason (which is unfortunate, because "Refugee" may be the best production on the album). "Heaven Too" is probably the second or third best track on the album. "Problems" is decent as well. Then the rest of the album just diverges to sleepy, experimental beats and bad hooks again, for the most part. I have a ton of respect for Homeboy Sandman. He tries really hard, sometimes too hard, to step outside of the box and tread an original path. He's intelligent, his lyrics are on point, his views are on point, he's the real deal. However, all the talent in the world can't give you a good ear for what vibes right. "Hallways" is a respectable album simply because of the level of talent present, but it's not something you could even get close to calling a classic. It's not even a contender for album of the year. It just is what it is, tons of potential handicapped by the same two achilles heals we've come to expect from Sandman. I recommend buying the MP3's for "America, the Beautiful," "Heaven Too," "Problems," and maybe "Stroll." Skip the album.

Flow, lyrics, unique style, production. It's the LP I've been waiting for since I heard The Carpenter a few years ago. From that instant I knew he was potentially one of the best rappers I had ever heard and Hallways is that potential come of age. As soon as he signed to Stones Throw and released the brilliant Subject Matter EP something was different. Access to the best hip-hop producers and space and freedom has resulted in some of the most clever personal, real, funniest and honest rhymes I have heard. I'm not one for analysing and picking apart an album then coming up with a load of pretentious rubbish to describe it like so many music Journalists and wannabe music journalists. With a great album there is no need. I also like to see this as a big finger to all those 'hipsters' who declared the Shabazz Palaces album "The future of hip-hop". That statement says instantly to me that they know nothing about the genre; zilch. It annoyed me as I think Shabazz are doing something unique and special but if the future of hip-hop is albums that take two weeks to get into then count me out.. Sandman, Blu, Jonwayne, Jeremiah Jae, Oh No, Quelle Chris, L'Orange, Denmark Vessey etc. Hip-hop is in good hands.

You can listen to this all the way through. Homeboy definitely brings a different feel and sound to the cookie cutter rap and hip hop that is popular today. The whole album has an underrated quality about it and you'll be proud to have this is your collection. Great head nod production with tight lyricism. Hand over your money.