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9.0
64612
9.0 |
PopMatters
The truly impressive thing about Piñata is that when the album is at its top level, it’s nearly untouchable
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8.9
64497
8.9 |
Earbuddy
Easily the best hip-hop album of 2014 so far
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8.3
63630
8.3 |
Consequence Of Sound
Piñata might not even work as a front-to-back listen, but it’s a damn near guarantee you’re going to get good raps over left-field beats
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8.3
63709
8.3 |
A.V. Club
Piñata may not be Madlib’s best personal handiwork, but it’s well tailored to suit his partner’s impressive rhyming abilities
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8.0
63776
8.0 |
Clash
The unlikely partnership of bohemian LA beatmaker Madlib and snarling MC Freddie Gibbs reaches its apex with ‘Piñata’
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8.0
63784
8.0 |
NME
Nothing here is polished or computer perfect: instead the beats stink and stumble, full of unnerving soul strings and off-centre drums
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8.0
63627
8.0 |
Pitchfork
United in their uncompromising, independent-as-fuck visions, they put together something hardcore hip-hop heads on both sides should feel
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8.0
63628
8.0 |
Slant Magazine
The MC is completely comfortable holding down the fort, his street tales rarely overblown, his boasts simple and in your face
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8.0
72084
8.0 |
The FT
Looped samples and jazzy textures provide a dreamlike backing to the Indiana rapper’s mid-ranking tales of street life
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8.0
63671
8.0 |
All Music
Piñata winds up excellent overall. Extra points are added for being a peerless success while still giving fans of Mobb Deep, Slum Village, Young Buck, Odd Future, and David Banner enough familiar touchstones for easy access
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7.5
63631
7.5 |
The 405
Into the later stages it can become grating that some of the samples aren't given the breathing space they deserve and Gibbs' subject matter begins to tire
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7.0
63629
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
At its best, Piñata recalls the dark-alley vibes of Raekwon's classic, RZA-produced 1994 debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
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7.0
64025
7.0 |
Beardfood
Refreshing in a world of stale EDM influence
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7.0
63662
7.0 |
Spin
Madlib has served as midwife to street-rap epics before but Gibbs may be the first MC to try to add context deeper than his own paranoid churlishness
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6.0
63632
6.0 |
The Guardian
It doesn't always seem a perfect fit – Gibbs' rough edges scrap up against Madlib's strings, and sometimes Piñata sounds like a low-key affair
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