No malice, only curiosity: why is 2 Chainz still making music? There's no doubt that his moment is in the rearview - with it, those heady days of college when Birthday Song, I'm Different, and No Lie were inescapable day or night - and yet he continues to release better and better albums at a furious pace. Pretty Girls Like Trap Music is no exception, collecting the highlights from his excellent 2016 along with all-new solo and collaborative material. 2 Chainz (re-)made his name with a furious run of instant-classic features, but this is his first release in which other artists' appearances feel as symbiotic - there are three or four guest spots on here that supersede the rest of the artist's entire catalog, in my eyes. Loaded with the sort of close-but-not-quite hits that will rack up just enough views to keep a career in stasis, there's no reason for the interstitial filler to be as good as it is. Whatever; I choose to believe that it's simply harder for 2 Chainz to make a bad song than a bop.

Highlights: Poor Fool, Rolls Royce Bitch, Blue Cheese