1. The Game ‘LAX’The major sentiment surrounding Game's third project, LAX, is "wait and see." Wait and see if the L.A. rapper will match the success of his first two albums. Wait and see if Dr. Dre, who backed down from The Doctor's Advocate, will assist with production this time. Wait and see how 50 Cent will react to that. Game has said that LAX will be his last album. Wait and see if he'll be the first rapper keep to honor a retirement commitment.
2. Bun B - 'II Trill'
Powered by the lead single "That's Gangsta," II Trill marks Bun B's return to active recording since the death of his UGK partner Pimp C. Bun says he recorded most of the songs on II Trill earlier in 2007. This time, you can expect more from Bun than the braggadocios anthems that graced his solo debut, Trill.3. Saigon - 'The Greatest Story Never Told'
Saigon's major debut has been delayed so much that I'll have to see it to believe it still exists at this point. Despite the cloud of uncertainty hovering around Sai-Giddy's album, one thing's for sure: With Just Blaze manning the boards and Sai on the mic, anticipation for The Greatest Story Never Told remains at an all time high.
4. Andre 3000/Big Boi
OutKast's critically acclaimed double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was originally intended as two separate LPs. Apparently, packaging them jointly wasn't a bad idea, as that set went on to sell over 10 million units. There's no arguing that Big Boi and 3000 have been contemplating their respective solo albums for a long time. Thankfully, they two have confirmed that they're working on their respective solo projects, due later this year.5. Gnarls Barkley - 'The Odd Couple'
Much like 2006's St. Elsewhere, Gnarls Barkley's latest album title is a play on a bygone TV show. Expect more of the same envelope-pushing musicology from the duo of Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse.
6. Lil Wayne - 'Tha Carter III'The third installment in Lil' Wayne's Carter series has been in the making for more than two years now, but Wayne says it's well worth the wait. "It's one of those albums people are really waiting on," he told Billboard.com at the beginning of the year, "so I made it so that whatever is on it will stick with you forever." Don't they all say that?
7. Snoop Dogg - 'Ego Trippin''
Snoop's ninth album, Ego Trippin', will feature production from Pharrell, Teddy Riley and others. If "Sensual Seduction" is a sign of what's to come, then this should be a fun album.8. T.I. - 'Paper Trail'
With T.I. being one of hip-hop's best selling artists for the last five years, it's hard to imagine a year passing by without new material from the trapstar. While under house arrest in his Georgia mansion, Tip has been putting finishing touches on Paper Trail. The album is expect to drop sometime this summer.
9. The Roots - 'Rising Down'Not many groups have managed to last 10 albums. Considering all the creative differences that exist among members and the diplomatic effort required to keep everyone on a level playing field, it's not news to hear of a breakup every now and then. But ?uestlove and co have overcome obstacles to consistently churn a flurry of street classics since 1993. Fans will be looking for them to deliver a stunning follow-up to 2006's Game Theory.
10. Nas - 'Untitled'
With L.A. Reid and others privately rejecting Nas' album title, N*gger's future hangs in the balance. But without a single music note or video in rotation, it's still the most buzzed about, most anticipated, and most wanted hip-hop album of 2008.
11. Mr. Lif “I Heard It Today” AlbumI’ve got to admit, I’ve been a little disappointed with hip-hop’s lack of awareness recently. While everybody came together in support of Obama, we all just seemed to drop off in the months following the election – as if there was no economic instability, housing crisis or social injustice being done in this country. Luckily, Mr. Lif stepped up with “I Heard It Today,” an album intended to create dialogue about various problems that plague our nation today
12. Rugged N Raw “Truth Serum” AlbumFor me, Rugged N Raw’s “Truth Serum” is a perfect example of how music videos and free track downloads can help artists find fans in this new age of the hip-hop industry. I picked up this album from RNR at a local show almost a year ago. Being a big fan of his previous release “Another Level,” I listened to the new album right away, and even picked Life’s Purpose to be HHL track of the week in October – before getting caught up in other music. But recently, RNR dropped consecutive videos for I’m Broke and Proud and The Ultimate, and I was so impressed with them that I gave “Truth Serum” another listen – and I’ve been bumping it nonstop ever since.
13. X-Clan “Mainstream Outlawz” Album
X-Clan is one of those groups that always makes me realize how far my musical tastes vary from the norm. I guess I realized this back in ’07, after I gave “Return From Mecca” five stars while pretty much everybody else dissed it. Two years later, all I can find is negative reviews of X-Clan’s “Mainstream Outlawz,” yet I think this album is super dope – and has been bumping on my iPod for over two weeks now.
14. K’naan “Troubadour” Album
I only paid $2 for this album. I guess there was some kind of fuck up over at Amazon.com, because when I went there to preview the tracks, the sale price was listed as $1.99. Realizing this couldn’t be correct, I quickly jumped on that shit and, immediately after purchasing, checked the page again to see the price listed at $7.99. Nice, huh? Especially since K’naan’s “Troubadour” has become probably my favorite album of 2009 thus far.
15. Cymarshall Law & Mr. Joeker “Hip Hop in the Soul” Album
At the beginning of every year, I find myself going through the stack of albums that is left over from the previous year – and I always come across one or two that I missed out on. Cymarshall Law and Mr. Joeker’s “Hip Hop in the Soul” is that album for 2009. While this record dropped back in November, it took me until recently to get around to it, and boy am I glad that I did. “Hip Hop in the Soul” is one of my favorite albums of the year thus far.
16. Kats & Domer “Almost Famless Vol. 2″ Mixtape
What do you get when you take a handful of underground rappers in New York City, mix in a couple local beat makers, and scatter them throughout a ten-track compilation album? Well, you get the “Almost Fameless Mixtape Vol. 2” – and boy is it worth the free download. Kats & Domer’s project is one of my favorite albums in a while – and I normally don’t even fuck with mixtapes!
17. ScholarMan “GameShift: The Movement” Album
ScholarMan never disappoints me. Every January, I find myself thirsting for dope hip-hop to start the year with. And every January, ScholarMan drops a new album that helps quench this thirst – while simultaneously getting me amped for the year to come. This year’s album, “GameShift: The Movement,” is arguably the Maryland emcee’s best work to date – and was definitely worth the year-long wait.
18. Serge Severe “Concrete Techniques” Album
Serge Severe was the first underground emcee ever featured on HHL. I remember receiving his debut album, “Walk In My Shoes,” almost four years ago – and the way it helped strengthen my belief that real hip-hop could still be found in the underground. Since then, I’ve eagerly anticipated his follow-up solo project, and “Concrete Techniques” has definitely lived up to my long-standing expectations. Serge Severe’s “Concrete Techniques” was definitely worth the wait.
19. Metermaids “Nightlife” Album
The Metermaids are made up of two emcees, Sentence and Swell, who give one of the best live performances in the NYC underground. The past couple of years, I’ve constantly found myself at shows they’ve opened – and have been so impressed that I’ve now become a regular at shows they’re headlining as well. So when I got my hands on their album “Nightlife,” I just knew it was going to be dope.
20. TV on the Radio: Dear Science
The year's finest rock record was also the one that sounded the most like America in 2008, with infernal visions of war and economic desperation. But amid the fear and loathing, there was defiance: "No bombs are falling on me for sure," sang Tunde Adebimpe; he also called this "the age of miracles/The age of sound." These Brooklynites greeted the historical moment with awe — and responded with art-rock party music. Call it the audacity of hope. Producer-guitarist Dave Sitek has streamlined and deepened the band's fusion of doo-wop, punk and soul; there are swooning ballads, wind-whipped funk and even a Tom Petty bite. And then there's "Lover's Day," the greatest hipster booty call ever recorded, in which TVOTR greet millennial terror with the oldest form of transcendence. "Ball so hard, we'll smash the walls," shrieks singer-guitarist Kyp Malone. "We could build an engine out of all your rising stars." On Dear Science, the sky's the limit.
21. Bob Dylan: Tell Tale Signs – The Bootleg Series Vol. 8
This is one of Dylan's most consistently gripping albums, even though it is a roundup of outtakes and orphaned songs, many cut for the haunted triumphs Oh Mercy and Time Out of Mind. Like any night on his Never Ending Tour, each track is a fresh portrait of Dylan at the crossroads, cutting new roads in rhyme, tempo and emotional emphasis: the introspection of "Most of the Time," the looming apocalypse of "Ring Them Bells" and the heavy weight of "Ain't Talkin'." The veering tempers of Dylan's medicine- rattle rasp are a wonder to themselves. His enraged growl in the piano demo of "Dignity" — "In the next room a man fightin' with his wife/Over dignity" — sounds like he's ready to jump right in.
22. My Morning Jacket: Evil Urges
Jim James and his bearded crew became the year's mightiest rock band by embracing indie, Southern and hippie rock, but also by transcending what those categories mean. Evil Urges, the Kentucky group's fifth studio album, took My Morning Jacket's pigeonhole-dodging style to wild and crazy new lengths: James indulged in a Prince-style soulman falsetto on the title track, and "Highly Suspicious" stepped to a brittle New Wave funk groove that was nearly unrecognizable as My Morning Jacket — at least until the Lynyrd Skynyrd-flavored multiguitar break kicked in. On Evil Urges, the band pledges loyalty to only one genre: itself.
23. John Mellencamp: Life, Death, Love and Freedom
John Mellencamp's growling fatalism and T Bone Burnett's scorched-blues production made this the darkest, most compelling Mellencamp album in years. It was also the perfect run-up to Election Day: 14 songs about a nation going broke and a generation on the ropes. "But nothing lasts forever/Your best efforts don't always pay," Mellencamp sings in "Longest Days." He didn't call himself Little Bastard for nothing. "Beware of those who want to harm you/And drag you down to a lower game," he snarls in "Troubled Land." "Just know the truth is coming," he adds, a line that now sounds like the Election Day we deserved.
24. Santogold: Santogold
Before going solo, the singer-rapper Santi White fronted a punk band, studied African drumming and co-wrote a song for Lily Allen. As Santogold, she wields those influences like hot wax, sealing together icy electro, pogo-worthy ska, fierce dancehall anthems and downtown art-rock for the most ear-opening debut of 2008. Like M.I.A., Santogold specializes in off-kilter street jams. But on songs like "L.E.S. Artistes," she also has the creative ambition and the pop hooks to play venues bigger than Brooklyn basements.
25. Coldplay: Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
During the sessions for Viva la Vida, Chris Martin consulted a hypnotist to help with the pressure of writing the Great American Rock Album. And it worked. Coldplay got ambitious, calling in Talking Heads and U2 producer Brian Eno, drawing on exotic instruments like Indian tablas and the Persian santur, writing about world events instead of their own feelings, and making music as far-reaching as their global fan base. They ended up with an album that's massively expansive yet intimate enough to incite lighter-waving from London to Tokyo.
26. David Banner - 'The Greatest Story Ever Told'
The Greatest Story Ever Told is one of those albums that sounds decent on first listen, but nothing sticks out 2 weeks later. And by the lofty heights of David Banner's previous records, this comes across as a mediocre effort. No memorable cuts. Just a good MC and a bevy of other rappers rhyming about the familiar. Banner is capable of much more.
27. Prodigy: H.N.I.C. 2
H.N.I.C. 2 is a conventional Prodigy album with less interesting production. The lyrics are still grimier than a sewage, but the menacing bass lines and retro-soul soundscape of Return of the Mac have been replaced by second-rate beats.
28. Three 6 Mafia - 'Da Last 2 Walk'
Three 6 Mafia's follow-up to 2005's Most Known Unknown was delayed over and over for 2 years. Fans waited patiently with the hopes that the longer wait period would yield a better product. When Last 2 Walk finally hit shelves on June 24th, 2008, it was anything but spectacular. Instead, DJ Paul and Juicy J decided to beat us over the head with their penchant for Jane Doe and fellatio.
29. Foxy Brown - 'Brooklyn's Don Diva'
You would think that Foxy Brown's health issues, label trouble, and those 579 run-ins with the law would give her enough material to make a thoughtful and compelling album. That wasn't the case. If anything, Brooklyn's Don Diva delivered more fashion references than fiery rhymes. Though she takes off her Chanel shades for some teary introspection on "Star Cry," a big chunk of the album is devoted to rote sexual braggadocio and empty boasts.
30. G-Unit - 'T.O.S. (Terminate On Sight)'
T.O.S. (Terminate On Sight) is essentially a collection of uninspired rage and gun talk over marginal production. Fiddy and Co. wanted to show that they’re capable of a grittier sound devoid of R&B rhythms and sing-songy hooks à la "Candy Shop," so they turned to mostly little-known producers digging in a bag of simple Pro Tools tricks. (The only true standout track is "Let It Go," produced by Don Cannon.)
31. Ludacris - 'Theater of the Mind'
The only chink in Luda's armor has always been his inability to craft an album of great material from start to finish. He's like a singer who can carry a note, but can't carry a tune. Theater of the Mind continues this unfortunate tradition of underwhelming full-lengths from one of hip-hop's nastiest MCs.
32. Kanye West - '808s & Heartbreak'
It's hard to imagine a mediocre album by Kanye West, but 808s & Heartbreak snaps a long winning streak. There's a handful of lovable pop cuts here like "Street Lights" and "Coldest Winter" and West is still a hip-hop genius. Longtime fans will certainly enjoy 808s for what it's worth, but everyone else will have to look to 'Ye's next outing for any hint of rapping.
33. Common - 'Universal Mind Control'
The main drawback on Universal Mind Control isn't that Common ditched his grown-man, button-up rap brand for a naughtier style. It's just that the new pants don't fit. Common is not convincing as a foul-mouthed rapper. "Sex 4 Sugar," for instance, falls flat with uninspired seduction lines like "Girl you can touch my forces of nature/ I'm just tryin' to motivate ya," while "Punch Drunk Love" suffers from blatant bedroom braggadocio and a lame Kanye West hook.
34. THE COOL KIDS: The Bake Sale
Even though Bake Sale sounded as defiantly retro as any release this year--its spare, drum-machine-driven sound reminiscent of Eric B and Rakim and EMPD--Mikey Rocks and Chuck Inglish are doing more than just revisiting the sounds of hip-hop's golden age. Those sounds are the vehicle for a witty lyricism more interested in referencing the BMX-and-Fruity-Pebbles culture of Middle America than gangsta esoterica. On "A Little Bit Cooler," Mikey said it best: "I'm a rebel/Eating a bowl/Of them Fruity Pebbles, Fruity Pebbles, Fruity Pebbles/How gangsta is that?/Not gangsta at all." Expect a (pop) hit in the near future; these guys are too smart and savvy for it not to happen.
35. BLACK MILK: Tronic
It might be stretching a point to include Tronic on this list, since its sound draws heavily from hip-hop's more insular golden age (although it's filled with organ and other live instruments). But it belongs in large part because of the fantastic production; with this disc and his work on Slum Villager--and fellow Detroiter--Elzhi's The Preface, Black Milk makes a case for himself as producer of the year.
36. Q-Tip: Renaissance
Q-Tip is an artist who's been burned at the crossover game: His Amplified was derided as a pop sellout, while 2001's brilliant, jazz-inflected Kamaal the Abstract never saw release. But Renaissance strikes a happy medium between those two extremes and classic Tribe Called Quest hip-hop, making it as strong and accessible an album as he's created yet.
37. Jack Davey: The Beauty in Distortion/The Land of the Lost
It's as much electro and new-wave as it is hip-hop (then again, that fusion worked like a charm for Spank Rock), but there were few more invigorating sounds in '08 than the real-life mashups of this Los Angeles duo. On these twin EPs, frontwoman Jack Davey and instrumentalist Brook D'Leau find room for Daisy Age rap, Missing Persons hiccups, and the touch of their obvious influence, pre-slavery Prince.
38. MICK BOOGIE AND TERRY URBAN: The Kickdrums
Technically, it represents a regional scene, but the genre-bending hip-hop experimentation coming out of Cleveland on a regular basis is all about building bridges, not burning them. Boogie and Urban are the nation's indisputable mixtape kings, and their Jay-Z/Coldplay mashup Viva La Hova is as intriguing as all those Grey/Brown albums a few years back. (Has anybody created a greater assortment of interesting, free popular music as these two guys...ever?) And production duo the Kickdrums are equally ambitious on the Roxy Music-referencing "Love Is a Drug," a taster for their fine full-length.
39. TECH N9NE: Killer
In his own way, perhaps, so had Kansas City rapper Tech N9ne. On Killer, he used the biggest, baddest pop iconography possible: The cover and title play off Jacko's classic Thriller, with amusing results. But what made this double album most compelling was its perspective: At age 37, Tech hasn't outgrown the silly sex story (check "Waitress"), but he also has a mature perspective that's rare in hip-hop. "Hope for a Higher Power" is a dark-hued, intelligent look at belief, while "Crybaby" offers perhaps the best response ever to those who have made hip-hop a series of warring regional factions: "The ones that wanna hold us back/Ain't been outside their cul-de-sac."
40. Atmosphere: When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold
The same point was made, in slightly more subtle fashion, by this Minneapolis duo, whose new album saw Slug and Ant broadening their scope and leaving pure hip-hop behind. The live instruments and the veiled 1980s pop influences could hardly get the two accused of selling out; some of the music, in fact, was highly complex. Yet when Slug spoke earnestly of his transition from autobiography to fiction in his lyrics--as a step toward making more accessible music in primary colors like "yellow and orange...and fucking baby blue!"--it was hard not to think he'd reached the same conclusion as Kanye and GCH.
41. GYM CLASS HEROES: The Quilt
Another keynote moment of 2008 came while listening to rough mixes of this album aboard the Heroes' tour bus last summer. Frontman Travis McCoy is an inveterate and enthusiastic tune selector; his iBook was constantly pumping out his favorites of the moment. One track that stood out ended up being left off The Quilt. Produced by hip-hop titans Cool & Dre, it was a song called "Cold Revolver" that featured McCoy on bass and was a dead ringer for the Cure. More to the point, McCoy spoke of how Cool & Dre viewed the song as a chance to stretch beyond their usual audience. In other words, it apparently wasn't a move made solely for the benefit of GCH.
The comment made more sense after spending some time with the Heroes on the Warped Tour, seeing the racially mixed crowds moshing to a Lamb of God cover and hearing the band's everything-but-the-kitchen-sink (in a good way) new album. There have been the usual naysayers reluctant to see their cult band go global (something McCoy addresses in "Don't Tell Me It's Over"), but The Quilt's mashup makes the same point, in its way, as West's 808s. Neither is hip-hop with hooks to make a buck; both are the products of intelligent artists who refuse to be slaves to the same old boom-bap or the same old boom-pap in their quest for wider acclaim. In short, they want it all: credibility and commercial clout. Both efforts are worth supporting.
42. Kanye West: 808s and Heartbreak
West's fourth album almost completely dispensed with rapping, perplexing and vexing scores of fans and supporters. The music itself was low-key, chilly techno that featured West's Auto-Tuned croon as the most prominent element; inevitably, what support West loses from his fan base will be replaced with critical hosannas for 808s, even though the recycled 1980s licks and equally familiar (and tiresome) "It-ain't-easy-bein'-rich-and-famous" sentiments mean it's merely solid and not spectacular.
Yet West's stated rationale for creating the album is fascinating. He has spoken of wanting to reach the level of a McCartney or a Bono and has presented what is essentially a pop record as a step toward that goal. We shouldn't read too much into the statement, perhaps--he's already at work on a follow-up, supposedly, which might well end up a return to verse--but you could also view it as a rare admission of hip-hop's limitations (or at least its limitations without the olive branch of pop). And almost 20 years after hip-hop took over the world, that's a startling idea.
That a star of West's magnitude would court scorn in this way is the sort of chance only a great artist can take and survive--a potential Prince Under the Cherry Moon moment.
43. J-Live: Then What Happened?
It may be one of the saddest things in hip hop when you hear that an artist as talented and as skillful as J-Live has only sold 100,000 records over his 5 album span. What’s even more upsetting is the number of people that still sleep on someone who is arguably one of the brightest and best lyricists out of the hip hop Mecca, New York. Whatever, it doesn’t slow down J and he continues to put out quality material like Then What Happened? Not sure what else the guy has to do, but whether it is taking care of production on his own, getting guest production from Oddisee, DJ Evil Dee, DJ Jazzy Jeff, DJ Spinna, and Nicolay, or dropping mad science, J-Live will never sell his soul for money or fame.
44. Akrobatik: Absolute Value
It’s been a decade since Ak first stepped in the hip hop came, he makes this known on the intro track, “A to the K.” Not only is it hard to break out the way Ak did and continues to do, it is even harder to keep an album relevant at the end of the year when it came out in the first quarter of the year. Absolute Value had more than enough power to remain in the deck and get constant spins on the daily. With production from Illmind, 9th Wonder, J Dilla, Da Beatminerz, and J-Zone, it wasn’t hard to make this album sound good. What pushed it over the edge was Ak’s fearless lyricism and impeccable style. His technique on this album is a ten; fitting some very difficult beats to rap over and maintain the star of each and every track even with features ranging from B-Real, to Phonte, to Talib Kweli and Bumpy Knuckles.
45. DJ K.O.: Picture This…
Criminally slept on. Criminally. This album contains one of the first times Royce and Elzhi ever got together to make that magic happen, K.O. heard it first and made it happen. Surely, that eye and ear for potential and success shouldn’t be slept on. Crafting together everything from the sequence of rappers, to the sequence of tracks, to the overall beat and product put out to gathering artists like Talib Kweli, Masta Ace, Diamond D, and O.C. to appear on the same album and in some cases the same track, K.O. does it all. Along with other releases this year, hip hop brought it back to the backbone of the industry, the DJ. The production is courtesy of super beatsmiths like Black Milk, 9th Wonder, Buckwild, Illmind, and Ayatollah. Nothing more should be said…check it out.
46. Statik Selektah: Stick to the Script
What a year for Statik. He has asserted himself as one of the premier producers in hip hop and has made himself a household name in discussions surrounding the up and coming power of the genre. If his debut, Spell My Name Right, wasn’t enough for people to fess up, perhaps his unjinxed sophomore release will spurt more interest. Even if you wanted to step aside from Statik, check out the names on the album: Little Brother, M.O.P, CL Smooth, Redman, Bun B, and Talib Kweli. It doesn’t end there though. He blends the old school with the new school and crafts some remarkable joints that all combine perfect chemistry with perfect production and theme. Great album.
47. Q-Tip: The Renaissance
You may have remembered how harsh I was on this album when I first reviewed it. Through plenty of listens later, Tip’s live performance, and lots of research, it is evident that The Renaissance is easily a 4-5 star album. Q-Tip is undoubtedly hip hop’s comeback story and what better ways to do it then handle 95% of the production on your own album, get an assist from the late Dilla, and rap your heart out on tracks like “Dance on Glass” and “Renaissance Rap.” Key features from Raphael Saadiq, D’angelo, and Norah Jones all contribute to the soul and beauty that Tip wishes to display. It is indeed a Renaissancial album.
48. Reks: Grey Hairs
Top to bottom heat from Statik Selektah, DJ Premier, and Large Professor, Grey Hairs already had a lot backing it. A veteran of hip hop, Reks recently only sprung up on everybody’s radar, in large part to this masterful album. He is hungrier than ever and seemingly pissed off and frustrated. These traits make for some of the heaviest and energized tracks of 2008. One listen to the title track, “Say Goodnight,” and the crazily creative and perfectly executed “All in One” will not make you think twice about putting this album in your top 10.
49. Atmosphere: When Life Gives You Lemons…
There was little chance that this album wasn’t going to make the list, straight up. The beauty in this album can be found in the stories. Slug has cemented himself with some hip hop royalty as one of the best storytellers in the genre. The album comes with a storybook, tells a story through its song titles, and 15 songs (+ 2 bonus tracks) that each tell a story of its own. Whether it is “The Waitress,” where Slug raps from the perspective of a homeless man, or “The Skinny,” where he raps as an addictive pimp, a cigarette, Slug makes genius seem so easy. Ant is, as always, tremendous on production and, this time around, uses live instruments to perfect the craft. Each element of Lemons contributes to this tremendous piece of work and the continuously impressive catalogue that Atmosphere continues to develop.
50. Black Milk: Tronic
After the success and surprise of Popular Demand, there were extremely high expectations for Black Milk. What better way to exceed these expectations then become the undisputed Best Producer of the Year on nearly every relevant website and blog? Not to mention the fact that he managed to put Sean Price, Pharaohe Monch, and DJ Premier on the same track and make it sound as good it did. The praise doesn’t end with the production, fact is, Black’s microphone game is much improved; the flow, the lyrics, the style- everything has picked up. He’s about as focused as it can get and the rap world needs to pay attention to this Detroit juggernaut.
51. The Roots: Rising Down
Anytime a Roots album drops, they are undoubtedly perennial candidates for year end list in pretty much any category (as you have seen). Rising Down was risky to say the least; it was the darkest we’ve heard The Roots sound and the darkest we’ve heard Black Thought. It was also a continuous theme of The Roots becoming a whole large crew again, evident from the frequent number of guest spots from Malik B, Peedi Peedi, P.O.R.N, amongst others. These guest spots on Rising Down also turned out to be some of the bright verses of the year including ones from Mos Def, Styles P, and verse of the year candidate, Dice Raw (on “Get Busy”). “75 Bars” is arguably the best song of the year, but more over is the crafting around it. This album is a story from beginning to end and the genius of The Roots doesn’t seem to slow down. It’s now time for them to get some paper on The Jimmy Fallon show though, so get what you can here.
52. Elzhi: The Preface
This album truly doesn’t hit you until further down the road. It isn’t until the 3rd or 4th listen that you begin catching onto the brilliance of “Colors” or “Guessing Game.” It isn’t until the 4th or 5th listen that you begin to further appreciate “Talking in my Sleep” or “Transitional Joint.” Still, tracks like “Hands Up” and “Motown 25″ hit you right off the bat. The entire disc, except for 2 tracks, is produced by Black Milk and even then, T3 and DJ Dez hook Elzhi up with great tracks. A guest spot from Royce and a jam packed “Fire” remix sweetens the deal. It’s a complete album from head to toe loaded with lyrical passion, persuasion, annihilation, and comprehension. It’s a lesson in emceeing taught by arguably the best emcee of the last 2 years. Don’t miss out on what is a very, very special LP.
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