NEW YOUTUBE VIDEO: Live now: part 5 of 10 of my analysis of Rolling Stone's 200 Greatest Rap Albums of All-Time list! This 20 album segment features a ton of picks from hip hop's golden age, and I break down why I think this is the best part of the list so far. youtu.be/TmE1_TrsIcs?...

Part 4 of my analysis of Rolling Stone’s 200 Greatest Rap Albums of All-Time is now live on YouTube! We’re digging deeper into the list now, and this video covers numbers 140 to 121. youtu.be/csVc-fCZ5gs?...

NEW YOUTUBE VIDEO: here’s why I think the 2020s are a great decade for music. Just hear me out: youtu.be/PFHxLdfuC40?...

This week, I’m starting a new video series, a 10 part series counting down Rolling Stone’s Top 200 Greatest Rap Albums of All-Time. This is part one, covering numbers 200 to 181. youtu.be/WOwu-oGzXs4?...

YOUTUBE VIDEO ALBUM REVIEW: Private Music by Deftones. One of the most successful bands in the world of heavy music are back with their best effort in years. I break this 10th album by the band down track by track. youtu.be/bP84d1tX5zY?...

ALBUM REVIEW: I’m breaking down the latest Earl Sweatshirt album, Live Laugh Love. Earl is back after two years with another quick, dense and busy album that shows his continued growth not just as a rapper and writer, but as a person. youtu.be/XQo-QomEaVU?...

ALBUM REVIEW: God Does Like Ugly by JID. A solid follow up to 2022’s The Forever Story, JID’s latest album shows us more of the rapper we’ve grown to love, though it seems sometimes like he’s trying too hard to sound different. I break it down in my latest YouTube video: youtu.be/kYbgxKbmJao?...

This week's video reviews how great some of the new hip hop in the summer of 2025 has been. I dive in on three albums: Clipse's "Let God Sort 'Em Out", Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist's "Alfredo 2", and Tyler, the Creator's "Don't Tap the Glass", as well as a few others. youtu.be/mqrlhr0hRnM?...

Part 2 of my reaction to Complex’s top 50 Los Angeles rappers is live! This video covers the top 25, and I was surprised how many solid picks were at the top of this list. youtu.be/V6wbCQ8XkeQ?...

The last two weeks have featured my reactions to Complex’s Top 50 New York rappers list. This week, I’m tackling the Los Angeles list. Not quite as much controversy on this one - some solid picks, in fact, but nothing’s ever perfect! youtu.be/vy8_V5oj2WI?...

In this week’s long form video, I’m breaking down Complex’s top 50 New York rappers of all-time list! This is the first of a two part video, covering the first half of this list (numbers 50 through 26). There are some EXTREMELY controversial picks on here, to say the least. youtu.be/mo31LTG2-kY?...

Well, we’re halfway through 2025, and there has been some fantastic music so far this year. In this week’s video, I review my 10 favorite albums from 2025 so far along with a few honorable mentions. youtu.be/rqkw2ZPeX9A?...

I’m back with my second episode in my No Skip Albums video series! This time around, I’m covering albums between 1970 and 1974 that I wouldn’t skip a single track on! youtu.be/M9gT8nEqTxs?...

Memphis Rap from the 90s is one of my favorite regional hip hop scenes ever. In this week’s Ryan Talks Music video, I did a deep dive on the mysterious, lo-fi, spooky, DIY-driven scene. youtu.be/wJFydFnf3Dc?...

I’m talking 80s deep cuts this week! Picked a handful of my favorite albums from the decade and ran down my favorite deeper tracks and why I feel that way: youtu.be/_vZ6sfGvCS8?...

This week’s video starts off another new series: no-skip albums! I’m kicking it off by talking about a handful of albums from the 1960s that I can listen to from front to back without skipping a single track. youtu.be/vqrfeu8pe34?...

New video for this week is a continuation of a video series I did back in late 2024: 90s underrated hip hop albums! There are so many, and these are a few that didn’t make the cut back in my original videos. youtu.be/rPr0FCtW4U8?...

Rare non-music related post: Max Verstappen is a TWAT.

Philadelphia hip hop from the 90s is the focus of this week’s video, which is the second episode of my 90s hip hop regional scenes series! Philly’s my hometown, so this one was close to my heart. Enjoy! youtu.be/yodY3R6CRvs?...

It’s Friday, that means another new Ryan Talks Music video on YouTube! This week, I’m going over deep cuts, or tracks that are commonly slept on, from some of the best albums of all-time. youtu.be/Ksa8v9LZmBk?...

I’m starting a new video series this week, as I’ll be diving into regional hip hop scenes from the 90s. First up in my first video - LA and Southern California. I feel like regional scenes mostly don’t exist anymore, and it was such a cool part of 90s hip hop. Enjoy! youtu.be/uob0-2y9x14?...

One week in and Golliwog is the heavy favorite for 2025 Album of the Year as we approach the year’s midpoint.

While their best work is later in the 70s and into the 80s, the relative simplicity of Rush’s first three records gives me a dopamine hit that’s not quite like anything else.

New video: my top albums of the 2010s! This one has some nice variety across a few different genres, including a #1 pick from one of the most influential artists of my lifetime. youtu.be/GBG_Sk_EJFo?...

This week’s NEW VIDEO visits my 8 favorite albums from the 2000s! Glad to have some nice, diverse picks here from a number of different genres. Check it out! youtu.be/D2TAtW9VUe0?...

Happy 30 YEARS (!) to my favorite album of all-time and one of the most important hip hop albums ever, The Infamous by Mobb Deep. “I got you stuck off the realness, we be the infamous, you heard of us, official Queensbridge murderers” Lyrical and sonic perfection. Happy anniversary to a titan.

Mobb Deep’s The Infamous turns 30 tomorrow! In honor of its milestone, I did a deep dive on what made and makes this album so special. This is my favorite album of all-time, so making this video meant a lot to me. youtu.be/eDiUh86qV_U?...

A certain favorite album of mine turns 30 at the end of this week! It’s one of the fittest albums to survive in a sea of halfway crooks. Retrospective video coming tomorrow.

The sixth and final part of my analysis of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time list is live! This covers each album in the top 10 and brings my video series to a close: youtu.be/rXOh2nBABaE?...

Part 5 (which will NOT the final part of this series) of my analysis of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time is live! Things get pretty bad between #100 and #11. Check out the video to see why! youtu.be/4lqpclUPiTY?...

Part 4 of my reaction to Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time list is live! This video covers albums between 200 and 101 on the list. youtu.be/xC8YDYsD9ck?...

Part 3 of my analysis of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time is live! Covering numbers 300-201 in this one. youtu.be/7eowEgCFgwA?...

I’m working on breaking down Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All-Time list. Numbers 500-401 had some interesting picks: here are my thoughts. ⬇️ youtu.be/ioMlzcphykU?...

10 years ago today, To Pimp A Butterfly dropped and changed the landscape of modern hip hop forever. In its honor, I did a video analyzing its impact. youtu.be/Xr_nNAx9CFU?...

Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly turns 10 years old(!) on March 15. Ahead of its anniversary, I did a retrospective on one of the best hip hop records of the 21st century. youtu.be/Xr_nNAx9CFU?...

Ichiko Aoba’s new album Luminescent Creatures is a fucking beautiful record. That is all.

The fourth and final part of my video series on NYC’s hip hop renaissance is live! This explores the “life after death” for NYC and east coast hip hop following the shiny suit era, ultimately signifying that good hip hop would never die. youtu.be/8Dv7dT6uP9w?...

Part 3 of 4 of my video series on NYC’s mid 90s hip hop renaissance is here! This chronicles 1996 and the downfall of rugged hip hop in 1997 with the emergence of the Shiny Suit Era: youtu.be/ptt_6NRzjqU?...

Is 1995 the best ever year for NYC/east coast hip hop? In my latest video, I explore ‘95’s greatness in part 2 of my NYC hip hop renaissance series! youtu.be/6HOqVjZJCnY?...

They did it just seven years apart, with a completely different team, and a whole new coaching staff. Yow.

Kendrick still the king, despite the lack of a surprise. And since I’m an Eagles fan, this is all that much more special.

Was Serena the surprise???

Thank god Kendrick did it.

Predictable song selection so far. But the performance is on point.

The special surprise tonight from Kendrick must be Lil Wayne. Anything else (other than Drake and they hug it out on stage) wouldn’t really be a surprise.

Happy 25th anniversary to Ghostface Killah’s Supreme Clientele! In honor of its birthday, I did a deep dive on what makes this album so great. youtu.be/5QbIyv_P01Y?...

One of the main figures of masculinity in pop culture today is the deeply uncool whiny guy who thinks he’s smart/powerful/etc (Elmo, Zuck) and I think part of what made Kendrick’s hit so big is that it puts a guy like that in his place

Kendrick Lamar is king. Is, has been, and always will be.

No acknowledgement of Brownsville Ka on the Grammys tribute, not a surprise, but still 👎👎👎

Ahead of tomorrow’s Grammys, here are my picks. Made this video back when the nominations came out late last year: youtu.be/SgOKs15AH04?...