TOP TEN HIP HOP ALBUMS OF 2009

And we continue with the big list. The top 5 albums of the year, and what a year it was!!

To review here is what we've got so far

10. Wale - Attention Deficit

9. Street Sweeper Social Club - Street Sweeper Social Club

8. Clipse - Til The Casket Drops

7. Kid Hum - Offshore Drilling

6. Cormega - Born And Raised

And with no further ado, here are my Top 5 Albums of 2009

5. CAPONE -N -NOREAGA - CHANNEL 10

This album got mixed reviews from most critics and I can sort of see why. This album was not as hyped as it probably should have been, and before it leaked people were hoping that when C-N-N reunited that it wouldn't be a desperate attempt to recapture the magic that they had on the War Report and to a lesser extent on The Reunion. Since this is their first album together in almost ten years expectations were all over the place. I'm here to say that this particular hip hop fan who listened to The War Report almost, I dunno, every day for like 2 years that this album is excellent. The best tracks are full on bangers such as Follow The Dollar (prod by Alchemist) and Grand Royal (prod by Premiere) and the duo even lets the listeners in on their tumultuous past and partnership in "The Argument". Capone sounds great and Nore effortlessly slides back into his vintage pre-reggaeton flow getting dirty on each track like it's 1997 again.

WOULD BE HIGHER IF:

Well, it'd be higher if they trimmed like 3 songs. Those songs are 'Beef', 'Mirror', and 'Rotate'. Wishful thinking on 'Rotate', as that is the album's only club track. "Follow The Dollar" was supposed to be the album's lead single but incredibly it failed to chart despite being one of the best tracks to come out this year. Those three songs drag this album out of the top 3 and into the top 5.

4. J DILLA - JAY STAY PAID

Unreleased Dilla beats, arranged and produced by Pete Rock. Ridiculous samples. Stellar MC appreances. Funny interludes. Powerful compositions. This album has everything, and since Dilla's estate is still in question and therefore preventing the release of most of his work this might be all we get from Dilla for a while. The beats on here range in tone from his Ummah/SV days to his more recent beat-tape oriented work. As usual, each track has immense replay-ability and Jay's signature ability to draw powerful sounds from unlikely sources that stick in the listener's mind long after the next track has started is as palpable as ever.

WOULD BE HIGHER IF:

Pete Rock did a yeoman's job on this project, and the only thing I really found that was wrong with it is that Dilla didn't put it together himself. Rock didn't ruin it with his arrangements or mixing or anything, in fact he did his friend a wonderful tribute, but I can't put an album of Dilla beats arranged and mixed by somebody else in my top 3 in good conscience. This is my list, after all.

3. KID CUDI - MAN ON THE MOON: THE END OF THE DAY

This album completely blew me away. Not because it was demonstrably "better" than some of the other picks on this list, but because it was so different and intriguing that I actually found myself getting personally invested in this 25 year old dude's pysche`. Something I definitely was not expecting when I first heard this album. I knew going into it that CuDi is a pretty introspective dude and on tracks like "CuDi Zone" and "Day'N Nite" his self-absorbed experimental personality comes to the forefront as he combines his vastly underrated flows with some pretty touching vocals. The beats on this album don't range that much as most of them are in the vein of CuDi's spaced out wide open semi-electronic style. When CuDi comes out of his shell on tracks like "Make Her Say" and "Enter Galactic" the results are equally as pleasing.

WOULD BE HIGHER IF:

I actually think this is as high as this album could get for me, and this has nothing to do with CuDi's recent Ron Artest impression (check it out, he punched out one of his fans and was subsequently kicked off of the rest of Lady Gaga's tour, whoops) but mostly because the album is a little too on the hipster side for my tastes. CuDi does what he does as well as anyone, but this is one of those artists that I kinda have to be in the right mood to really appreciate.

2. SLAUGHTERHOUSE - SLAUGHTERHOUSE

I'm not gonna lie, I was chomping at the bit to get my hands on this album from the moment I heard these dudes were forming a group. The result is damn-near masterpiece that has set a very high standard for all future "supergroup" -style arrangements. Usually when a group of previously established MC's get together and release music like this there is a real sense that the alliance was forced and that translates pretty obviously in the music. That is not the case here, not at all. Each MC has a distinct style as well as a distinct amount of street cred to compliment their jaw-dropping flows and wordplay. From the opening horns of "Sound Off" to the nasty drum jabs on "Killaz" this album blows your fucking head off and does not apologize for it. In a murky time for music in general where MC's are trying their best to stay relevant Slaughterhouse was a breath of fresh air and a reminder that elite lyrical skills still count for something.

WOULD BE HIGHER IF:

It'd be higher if this next album didn't come out this year. And believe me, this 1-2 seeding was not an easy decision.

1. RAEKWON - ONLY BUILT FOR CUBAN LINX II

Much like #2 on the list, this album reels you in immediately and doesn't let go until the tracks run out. In a way, it's still not over even then as there are so many moments on here that almost make me yearn for a simpler time when I could rewind a verse on my tape player and not have to worry about making the CD/Ipod track skip to the next one by accident.

Let's face it, "Only Built For Cuban Linx" overshadowed a lot of very strong albums and singles that Rae put out over the years, similarly to Nas and "Illmatic". 99's "Immobilarity" and 03's "Lex Diamond Story" were both good albums but neither one could stack up to his debut. In fact, most Wu solo releases couldn't stack up with that debut, it's shadow was long and dark. However, Rae has burst from that shadow with an album that could only sit at #1 on this list. There are fast-paced Wu bangers ("House Of Flying Daggers") moving tributes, ("Ason Jones") haunting narratives (there are several) and an almost cinematic feel to each track. There is a definite story here, and the seamless transition of Rae's character of an up and coming gangster to a saavy boss is exactly the kind of touch needed to keep the Wu on people's minds as we forge on into this next decade of hip hop.

WOULD BE HIGHER IF:

There was a number higher than 1. Take a bow, Rae. This album was the crown jewel of a great year for hip hop.

So there's my list! Feel free to disagree or post up your own in the comment section. Thanks for reading!!

-JM

Top Ten Hip Hop Albums of 2009

Hey folks, since it's pretty much impossible to do a top 10 album podcast I'm gonna drop it up here. These picks are just my opinion, so feel free to argue with me.

Here we go:

10. WALE - ATTENTION DEFICIT

Wale was a one man wrecking machine on the mixtape circuit for the past 2 years and after he dropped this year's "Back To The Feature" fans were on the edge of their seats waiting for this album to come out. Wale tackles a bevy of relevant topics on this album but doesn't come off as preachy which is impressive. Solid debut for the Nigerian Nightmare.

WOULD BE HIGHER IF:

A big problem with mixtape killers like Wale is that when they put albums out often times the familiarity and connection with the listeners gets lost and to an extent this album suffers from it. On his mixtapes, it was like Wale was performing exclusively for each individual listener whereas on Attention Deficit he comes off more like he's putting on a show at MSG. A strong album, but I think Wale is still very much on the rise and that his best is yet to come.

9. STREET SWEEPER SOCIAL CLUB - STREET SWEEPER SOCIAL CLUB

Boots Riley and Tom Morello join forces on this album and the result is a great mixture of dark, sarcastic, antagonizing and powerful. Boots spits inspired bars over Morello's vicious riffs and gets in zones that remind me a lot of George Carlin in terms of the message and the way it is delivered. Morello's spontaneous guitar playing is wrangled in lyrically by Riley in a very unique way, different from Zac De La Rocha's fiery outbursts. Between the catchy chants and snarky observations Boots barrels through the right wing with a razor sharp tongue and despite his more laid back delivery he is still perfectly capable of assisting Morello as he whips the track into a frenzy.

WOULD BE HIGHER IF:

Musically, there is really nothing wrong with this album. If anything it can get a little repetitive as Morello and Riley have very signature styles that most casual music fans are at the very least partially familiar with. The problem here is that we're one year into the term of our first black president who listens to and comments on hip hop. Albums like this are a lot more powerful when "The Man" is an old white guy, especially a Republican. They still attack old white guys on tracks like "Clap For The Killers" and "100 Little Curses" and with the country in an economic crisis there is certainly cause to get nasty with the people who created it but it's hard to really get into the spirit when the head man in charge likely listened to Public Enemy in college. If this album came out 2 years ago then it would absolutely be higher on the list.

8. CLIPSE - TIL THE CASKET DROPS

Another great album from Clipse as they continue to show their range as artists. They still rap about crack and everything but they've expanded their repertoire. You know what you're going to get with Clipse, for the most part: minimalist beats, sick wordplay, unique flows and hard lyrics, but on this album the world finally gets to hear Pusha and Malice over some new kinds of beats including production credits from DJ Khalil and Chin and Sean C & LV providing the album's best tracks in my opinion (There Was A Murder and Freedom, respectively).

WOULD BE HIGHER IF:

The Neptunes' beats on this album are at best inconsistent and at worst disappointing. Maybe it is the "new toy" aspect of hearing Clipse over new producers, and Clipse fans have obviously been spoiled by some of the Neptune's most memorable minimalist sonic landscapes but there just wasn't enough going on here this time. Each Neptunes beat seems like it's one or two sounds away from being vintage Star Trek. No dis to the 'tunes but I think that if Clipse really gets busy with a wider array of producers their next album will be #1 no matter what year it comes out.

7. KID HUM - OFFSHORE DRILLING

Kid Hum is very quickly becoming one of underground hip hop's most sought after producers. This project uses instrumentals from Hum's 08 release "Fossil Fuel" and combines some scorching hot flows from MC's across the country. Colorado's favorite sons Whygee and Sunkenstate each drop in to blaze the tracks down as well as North Carolina's Cy Yung, Chicago's Pugs Atomz, and New York's Brown Bag All-Stars to name a few. All of them shine on this album with a real sense of hunger and drive that independent rappers need to have to be relevant at this stage in the game. These MC's all soar and the directions they all take each Hum beat almost make you forget that you're listening to an album of beats made by one guy.

WOULD BE HIGHER IF:

The album doesn't flow quite as well as Fossil Fuel mainly because of the varying styles that each MC comes with. On Fossil Fuel there was a real beginning, middle, and end that is a somewhat absent on Offshore Drilling. Hum has projects either already out or lined up with most of these MC's individually and while this album is very strong on it's own it is almost more of a really good preview of these upcoming projects.

6. CORMEGA - BORN AND RAISED

A great album that got overshadowed by this year's more ballyhooed releases. Mega got some excellent producers on this project and his hood narratives are sharper than ever. The best songs on here are some of Mega's best songs anywhere and with his catalog that is saying a lot.

WOULD BE HIGHER IF:

Some of these beats just don't cut the mustard. Pete Rock's contribution is pretty boring and since Mega's last album was in 2002 I expected more from this release. It's still very strong but not quite as good as I would have hoped.




PART II Coming Tomorrow!!!!

Top Ten Singles of 2009 Part II 1-5

Here it is folks, part two of my Top Ten Singles of 2009 list. I'll put together one long file if need be but these two should be easy enough to DL and add.

The list so far :

10.) Fashawn - Ecology

9.) Kid Hum ft. Sunkenstate - Gingivitis

8.) Capone-N-Noreaga - Follow The Dollar

7.) Cormega ft. Lil Fame - Get It In

6.) Raekwon - Ason Jones


Check out the top 5!!!!

Judge's Top Ten Singles of 2009 #1-5

Enjoy,

-Judge

It's that time of year so I put together a top 10 singles of 2009. Here's the first half (10 through 6) and I will have 5 through 1 up in a day or two. Feedback is welcome, and all rankings and selections are strictly my opinion.

Top Ten of 2009 #10-6