Man on the Moon: The End of Day Review

The influence is so total that it is hard to hear how strange this was in 2009. Rap albums did not sound like this, all reverb and slow drums and a lead performance that is closer to humming than rapping, with a narrator walking you through acts like it is a bedtime story. Day 'n' Nite is the entry point and still the best single moment, a two note bassline and a vocal that seems to be coming from another room.

Soundtrack 2 My Life is the writing at its most direct about depression, and it is plainly written, which is the point. Pursuit of Happiness is a great record made better by being handed to a rock band. Where it slips is the actual rapping, which is limited and knows it. What carries it is atmosphere and nerve. Half the melodic rappers of the following fifteen years are standing in this album's shadow whether they admit it or not.