Get To Know H.E.R.

In the words of Duck Down Records…

Hits: Allison James (ft Slaine), When The Sun Goes Down (ft Saigon), The Truth (ft Supastition), That’s Me (ft Joell Ortiz), The Torch (ft King Magnetic, Reef The Lost Cauze), Speakeasy (ft Outerspace), Transition Of Power (ft M.O.P.), Find A Way (ft Lorrie Doriza)

Strikes: N/A

Balls: Evil Deeds (Demoz, Des Devious, Jus Allah), Independence Day (Block McCloud)

Stoupe The Enemy Of Mankind (or just Stoupe for short) is one half of the usual roster of underground hip hop group, Jedi Mind Tricks. Those that listen to Jedi Mind Tricks will acknowledge that Stoupe is an absolute monster behind the boards. I actually have a sinking suspicion that people only tolerate Jedi Mind Tricks because of Stoupe’s productions. I know that’s what it is for me. I’ve always felt that the group was actually holding Stoupe back and boxing him in to collaborating with a very narrow range of artists. Naturally, when news of a solo album reached the ears of the hip hop community, the community went wild.

I went into this album expecting sick beats and sick rhymes. The beats were pretty much guaranteed to be on point. It’s not the greatest material I’ve heard from Stoupe (with the exception of a couple of beats) but even an average Stoupe beat is good by normal standards. As far as the collaborators went, I was slightly disappointed that he didn’t reach too far outside of his comfort zone, since most of the guest rappers were Army Of The Pharoah rappers and affiliates. I mean, how dope would the Wu sound over some of this stuff? And where the hell was Canibus on this? Sigh, but I guess that’s just the hopeful fan in me speaking and I hope that rant didn’t turn you off to this album because the guests that are on this do their job (except fucking Jus Allah).

To my surprise, my favorite song on this wasn’t one with a rapper on it but the trip hoppy Find A Way. The beat on it was pretty different than what I’ve come to expect from Stoupe. Not much of that ominous sound that tends to dominate the majority of Stoupe beats. The piano driven beat blended perfectly with the vocals and provided a sound that hit me in a way I wasn’t expecting from this. I’m not sure how to put it in words. But I love this track.

My final opinion on this album is that it’s pretty good. It’s a little shorter than I would’ve liked (although with the name Decalogue, what did I expect) but I guess with that brevity came a conciseness that’s missing from most projects these days. I would recommend you listen to it and keep a look out for his rumored Trip Hop album to hit in the relatively near future.

Hits: Gazillion Ear, Ballskin, Yessir! (ft Raekwon), Absolutely, Rap Ambush, Lightworks, Batty Boyz, Cellz, Microwave Mayo, More Rhymin, That’s That

Strikes: Bumpy’s Message (ft Freddie Foxxx) (to have a track with Freddie Foxx just to have him talk? Horrible choice)

Balls: Supervillain Intro, Angelz (ft Tony Starks) (in all honesty, it’s pretty good…but the original was a masterpiece and I resent that he felt the need to change the track), Still Dope (ft Empress Sharhh), Supervillainz (ft Kurious, Slug, Mobonix), Thank Yah

After years of hiatus and losing the MF in his name, DOOM comes back to drop Born Like This on our asses. The album starts with the mandatory rap album intro and goes right into what we’ve come to expect from the man: incomprehensible yet dope rhymes over dope beats. As an added bonus, it seems that DOOM has improved his flow a bit since his last couple of albums, reducing what was always his biggest weakness. In fact, the only complaint that I have about this (other than the lack of the original Angelz!) is its brevity. I expected a lot more than 40 minutes from a 4 year hiatus, and some of the tracks felt as if they were incomplete. Some of the tracks also didn’t feature DOOM at all, but since Yessir! was so dope, I may have to forgive this.

Still, what a great 40 minutes this has been. I’ve heard a lot of people say that they were disappointed by this album, and I wonder if we were listening to the same album. Maybe it’s because I’ve been missing new DOOM in my life for a while now but I would rank this right next to Operation Doomsday, below only Vaudeville Villain and Madvillainy. As for the question of whether everyone should buy this or not is a bit of a dilemma. On one hand it’s always a plus to support good hip hop like this. However, I am against supporting douche’s and DOOM has been accused of various acts of douchebaggery over the years. Regardless of whether you decide to get this legally or not however, you should make it a point to listen to it sometime in the near future.

WTF Moment: Raekwon on Yessir!. All I can say is…holy shit! Dude kills it and I want Cuban Linx 2 even more now.

Really quickly, here is a list of five albums that either barely missed the cut or considered ineligible because it wasn’t technically a 2008 release.

1. Freddie Foxxx aka Bumpy Knuckles - Crazy Like A Foxxx

This album finally saw a proper release last year but was originally recorded and ready for 1994. If this were an actual 08 release however, it would’ve easily taken a top 10 spot on the list. The record is fire from start to finish and it doesn’t hurt that there are two versions on here, both equally sick.

2. Jean Grae and 9th Wonder

Jean Grae is without a doubt one of the finest femcees hip hop has to offer. I actually felt that 9th’s beats sometimes fell flat compared to her rhymes but overall the combination worked very well. Too bad this album has been floating around the internet for years before this. I wish they’d included some extra material on it.

3. EPMD - We Mean Business

Legendary veterans Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith return after years of hiatus to bring us this piece here. It’s a good return to form for the duo and I really hope this isn’t the last we’ll hear from them.

4. Kong - Shackles Off

Kong is an emcee’s emcee.  Actually, the whole entire MIC crew is comprised of people who are dedicated to no fluff, no bullshit hip hop. Now that I think about it, there really was no concrete reason for my leaving it off the top 30. Shoot. Well consider this the most honorable of the honorable mentions then.

5. El Da Sensei and the Returners - Global Takeover EP

I don’t include EPs in the running for top whatevers. This one would’ve completely torn shit up. Seriously, I haven’t heard hip hop like this in a long time.

Here it is. After months of procrastination, my top ten albums of 2008 is finally put together (sort of). As with the other groups of ten, there really is no order of preference within this set itself, with the exception of one album, which I will get to when I get to it. Now I give you the top 10.

1. Q-Tip - The Renaissance

First of all, I thought this album wouldn’t even see a proper release within my lifetime. Kamaal the Abstract and Open both suffered this fate and I figured this effort would be no different. And in the small chance that it did come out, I thought that it would be because Tip had sacrificed some of his artistic vision to create a more “marketable” album and that we would have another Amplified on our hands (which I will admit, is not as horrible an album as most people make it out to be). Thus, it would suffice to say that this album was without a doubt the pleasant surprise, maybe even shock, of the year. Q-Tip sounded focused and there were moments when he regained a full blown Abstract Poet mindset that I hadn’t seen in him in years. Some people were knocking the beats, but I think the beats were beautiful. Seriously, kudos Tip. You’ve restored my faith in the veterans of yesteryear and made me believe anything (maybe even an A Tribe Called Quest reunion album) is possible.

2. Reks - Grey Hairs

I go to school in Boston, and I’ll be the first to tell you, it’s not exactly well known for it’s hip hop scene. Sure there are a handful of good acts here and there (Mr Lif, 7L and Esoteric, etc) but other than Esoteric, none of these rappers have really been able to hold my attention. Then along came Reks. I’ve heard the name before but never really bothered to give him any time. So many albums, so little time. you know how it is. But one of my friends was able to get his hands on an advance copy and he hyped this shit up so much, eventually I had to listen to it, just to see what he was talking about. And I’m glad I finally caved in because this album grabbed my attention with the first track and didn’t let go until the damn thing was over. Say Goodnight and Stages, in particular, are some pretty incredible songs.

3. Elzhi - The Preface

I knew this album was gonna be good. As soon as I heard Motown 25 with Royce, I knew this was an album to look out for. And I was right. Elzhi takes a no fucking around, straight lyrical approach to rapping and comes out all the better for it. Especially because unlike most intensely lyric centered rappers (Canibus, Ras Kass, etc) he’s backed up by good beats. Lyrics over beats any day but people gotta remember, the musical backdrop can make or break a hip hop song.

4. Jazz Liberatorz - Clin D’oeil

French production group (I think they’re French), Jazz Liberatorz were able to provide the perfect balance of Jazz (duh) and hip hop with this release. Starting with the instrumental intro track (on which they pay homage to some greats of the Jazz Hop sub-genre), the album goes through song after song on which jazz and hip hop are combined in a way that I haven’t heard in a long time. I discovered at a great time too. I was still vomiting after the crap that was Del’s 11th Hour and AZ’s Undeniable, and along came this little gem to save the day.

5. Dela - Changes Of Atmosphere

If you didn’t get your fill of jazz rap with Clin D’oeil, don’t worry. 2008 actually provided us with two excellent jazz infused releases that are both coincidentally French. You won’t hear anybody blasting this form their car stereos any time soon (probably never actually), but this type of music wasn’t meant for that. Too loud and you’ll actually be missing the subtle elements of the production that add up to give a complete musical experience. And since this recently experienced a US release, there’s really no excuse to pass on it.

6. J-Live - Then What Happened

J-Live is a sick ass emcee who for reasons I will never know, is also criminally underrated. He’s released nothing but top quality throughout his careers and even his EPs will easily shit on most full length albums released these days. Expect nothing different from Then What Happened. Seriously, stop sleeping and pick this up.

7. eMC - The Show

The rap supergroup is a hard thing to make succeed. There has been many failures in the past and most supergroups never even manage to release a proper debut. This album is proof that there is a hip hop god out there and that he loves Masta Ace (seriously, everything this guy does is sick). But Masta Ace isn’t the only emcee in this group carrying his weight and in fact, each of the four emcees do their job throughout. Hopefully this means good things for 2009’s future supergroup release, Slaughterhouse.

8. DJ KO - Picture This

Great compilation that features some of the best emcees over beats by some of the best producers in recent times. It features a wide range of said emcees and producers and some of the combinations were completely unexpected. That’s really all I can say about this except it completely rocks.

9. Presto - State of the Art

I’m pretty sure he’s had releases before this one, but this is the first album by the Californian producer that I was turned on to. I picked it up off the strength of Pour Another Glass with Blu, and was pleased to find that the rest of the album was consistent in quality. With guests such as OC and CL Smooth, you really couldn’t expect anything else other than good music from this one.

10. Raashan Ahmad - Push

Crown City Rocker’s emcee steps away from his live band for a bit to give fans a solo effort. However, if nobody told me this was a solo album, then I would’ve thought it was another Crown City album. The sounds found throughout are very similar to the group’s sounds and therefore Raashan seems very comfortable throughout. This album though is probably the weakest album on the top ten and for the longest time I wanted to switch it with Atmosphere’s newest effort. Still, it’s a great listen and especially Crown City fans should give it some time.

Well, there you go. With today, you now know what albums I enjoyed listening to over and over again in the past year. To be honest, a top X list is always difficult to do, because it’ll always be subjective no matter how unbiased one tries to make it. However, I write this with the hope that there is a common taste that binds most fans of hip hop together and that this list will help you to discover artists and albums that you may have been sleeping on. I really do encourage you to search out any of the albums I’ve put on and give it a serious listen when you’re bored one day.