so where's everyone elses top 10? HA, ANZ, Khem, Spanks?
jew bastards
:lol:
Ok, here goes. Won't do it in any specific order really, except to say that Royce's Street Hop is number 1.
Royce Da 5'9 - Street Hop:Well I'll just start by saying that this album is flat out dope. Royce has a ridiculous amount of talent and he showed that he has matured as a rapper on this album and thankfully, it has been matched on the production side of things. He made it really easy for me to put this album on top of the list of what was a pretty damn good year for hip hop.
Earatik Statik - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly:I had vaguely heard of these dudes but not paid much attention to them. Then I reckon Quaz suggested I give their new album a listen and I'm glad he did. Two skilled mc's that work really well together over varied, but awesome beats. I like how they both do long verses and then will go to the switch up style rapping on tracks. Makes for easy listening. I'm a sucker for a good hip hop duo and these guys are just that.
Apathy - Wanna Snuggle:By the end of this album I gotta say I was a little disappointed. After that intro over the hard as hell beat and the first few tracks, I thought this was going to be a boombap classic. Unfortunately, as Quaz said, it's pretty evident he went through a bad breakup from the tracks in the second half of the album, as he gets his Slug on in quite a big way. That said, this album is still very good and Apathy is a machine. I just want to see a whole album full of bangers from him. :lol:
Also, props to B-Real of Cypress Hill. Was awesome listening to him with Ap and Celph.
Raekwon - OBFCL2:Well this took a looooooooonnnng time to come out. So long that I was nervous that I'd wished it had never come out, because it was going to suck. Thankfully, I was very wrong. Rae exceeded all my expectations and it was definitely a worthy sequel. This is that real original gritty coke rap shit, ain't no N.E.R.D.'s round here ;).
Great to see Wu back in form.
PUTS - Carried Away:Definitely the funkiest album out of my top 10. IMO this is easily their best work since O.S.T. and now the weather is heating up, I'm finding myself going back to this one again and again. I think it's also because it's just a nice change up of style compared to the banging shit I'm usually listening too. There are some great party tunes on here too. Just a good fun album all round.
Cormega - Born & Raised:Same as Quaz for me with this one. Takes a bit of getting into, but once there, it's a great album. With production from the likes of Pete Rock, Large Professor and of course, DJ Premier, it was unlikely that this album wouldn't be good. Basically just dope gritty NY shit.
Also gotta love Lil Fame - "My flow tighter than Kanye clothes" :lol:
Kam Moye (Supastition) - Splitting Image:Kam/Supa is highly slept on IMO. For example, I don't see him in any top ten lists in here, and he should be haha. This is a dope, dope album with some really nice and different production. Kam is an intelligent dude with a fearsome flow and he doesn't miss a beat on this. I'd say that this album was probably closer to Royce's than any of the others in my list.
Rakim - The 7th Seal:I don't really know what the general concensus is on this one, but I really like it. Could it have been better if production was handled by some NY legends? Yeah, probably. Are these the sort of beats I was expecting Rakim to rhyme over after a 10 year hiatus? Definitely not. Are they dope? Definitely yes. I really like the production on this and IMO, Rakim is still on point like a needle. So basically, give a fuck what anyone says, this album is dope. :lol:
I don't know why, but I get the feeling that Rakim would have had a lot of fun rhyming over beats like this.
Fresh Daily - Gorgeous Killer In Crimes Of Passion:Really like this guys style and this album is awesome. Dope mc over dope beats and that's all that needs to be said really. Cop it!
Marco Polo & Torae - Double BarrelHas to be one of my favourites for the year. While it lacks the depth of say Royce or Supastion, it's just banger after banger from start to finish with a highly skilled MC calling out the fake gangsters. Reckon Quaz described it best when it came out with something along the lines of pure battle raps from Torae with Marco Polo doing his best DJ Premier impersonation.
Honourable Mentions:Blaq Poet - Blaqprint
Freestyle Professors - Gryme Time
KRS & Buckshot - Survival Skills
Slaughterhouse - Slaughterhouse
Masta Ace & Edo G - A&E
OC & AG - Oasis
Sean P - Kimbo Price
Skyzoo - The Salvation
El Da Sensei - The Money EP
Crooked I - Pig Face Weapon Face
Fashawn - Boy Meets World
Singapore Kane - Living Militant
Great year for hip hop IMO. Best in quite a few years. Was hard to choose that list as there are some in the honourable mentions that could easily be in the top 10. Bring on 2010!
