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.

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.

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.

11. Atmosphere - When Live Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold

The emcee producer duo of Slug and Ant can do no wrong. Slug’s emotive rhymes over Ant’s beats have always been a surefire formula for a a great album to me since day one. And since Slug just gets better and better as an emcee, and Ant has slowly become an absolute monster behind the boards, this album was damn near guaranteed to be great. This was actually in my top ten for a good chunk of 2008, and got pushed out at the last second. I’m still wondering whether that was a good move or not.

12. Nas - Untitled

I was scared that this album would be absolute crap after all the hype that came about from its controversial choice in name (Untitled was a cop out move). But my fears were put to rest when I listened to this album for the first time. And upon multiple listens, I realized that this album was actually pretty damn good.

13. Pacewon and Mr. Green - The Only Color That Matters Is Green

To be honest, I don’t really know much about Pacewon or Mr. Green. All I know is that this album rocks.

14. Jake One - White Van Music

I first became turned on to Jake One when I heard his absolute beast of a track on De La Soul’s Grind Date (hearing it live was freaking amazing). Jake One’s production is consistent quality throughout and it helps that he brought along some of the best emcees of our time to join him.

15. Blu and Mainframe - Johnson and Jonson

Those who expect another Below the Heavens will be pretty disappointed. However, those who take it for what it is (some good music by a rising emcee and Mainframe I guess) will walk away pleased.

16. DJ Revolution - King of the Decks

This came out of freaking nowhere. I was expecting this album to be average at best but as soon as it started playing, I knew I had something special in my hands. Great beats, great rhymes. What more could you ask for?

17. Restoring Poetry In Music - Cave Drawings

The side project of Panacea’s Raw Poetic was actually more enjoyable than the new Panacea album itself. Raw Poetic’s rhymes just seemed so much more on point and focused on this and the jazzy beats suited him just fine. If you like Panacea or jazz rap in general, make sure you give it a try.

18. Common Market - Tobacco Road

Sabzi and RA Scion have done it again. I didn’t really enjoy Black Patch War, the pre album EP, but they were able to redeem themselves with this one. Make sure you check out their latest EP, Winter’s End, as well.

19. Sadistik - Balancing Act

I’ve never heard of Sadistik until my friend made me listen to this and I actually thought I was hearing Slug at first. The two really are quite similar in their voice and their choice in dark subject matter and if you’re the fan of one it’ll be easy to get into the other.

20. Heltah Skeltah - D.I.R.T.

I always tend to get worried whenever an artist or a group releases a comeback album after a long ass hiatus because let’s face it, such albums usually suck ass. This is one of those rare exceptions and while it’s still a fairly far cry from Nocturnal, it’s shits on Magnum Force any day.

Come back tomorrow for the conclusion to the top 30. In the meantime, get off your ass and hunt some of these down. It’ll be worth your time.

21. Black Milk - Tronic

Black Milk’s production is dope, only an idiot would disagree with that at this point. However, his emceeing skills could still use a bit more practice. However, if the trend of improving his rhymes with each album continues, and he gets some more guests on it, his next one could be some truly mindblowing stuff.

22. The Roots - Rising Down

It hurts me to put a Roots album so low in an end of the year list. However, this may be, in my humble opinion, the weakest offering by them since their debut, Organix. The first half of the album is undeniably fire but the second half bores me, which is something I never thought I would say about an album from one of the greatest groups of all time. That being said, 72 Bars, Get Busy and Criminal are still phenomenal songs and probably some of the best in their catalog. If only that quality was consistent throughout.

23. GZA - Pro Tools

It’s no Liquid Swords (despite the artwork in the back of the jewel case), but I think it’s the best GZA has given us in a long time. With this, 4:21, No Said Date, Fishscale, and the (hopefully) upcoming Cuban Linx 2, the Wu has really been impressing me lately. Now if only RZA would get his act together.

24. Scarface - Emeritus

Scarface really is one of the GOAT’s of the South and even of hip hop as a whole. Ever since his Geto Boys days, he has given us nothing but consistent quality. This album continues streak of hits.

25. Immortal Technique - 3rd World

Production wise it’s better than Revolutionary Vol 1 and 2 and Immortal Technique even managed to step up his flow a bit. It’s a great release by a solid emcee and if you enjoy the heavy political stuff, this is right up your alley. Contrary to what I said in the review however, I find that I do prefer Revolutionary 2 to it.

26. Panacea - A Mind On A Ship Through Time

This release was so low key, I actually almost missed it. After dropping a top ten album 2007, my expectations were sky high for this one. It didn’t exactly match up to them but it was still a great listen (and my expectations were pretty unrealistic I suppose).

27. Blue Sky Black Death and Jean Grae - Evil Jeanius

This sounds like a match made in heaven. How the hell could it not have been great? Seriously though, even though there are times when the production seems a little mismatched with the rhymes, the overall product is still a blast. I won’t say this is better than Jeanius though (close call really).

28. Ludacris - Theater Of The Mind

Luda just gets better and better over time. Despite one or two missteps, I think it’s probably one of his best releases to date (this and freaking Word of Mouf) and it sure featured some strange collabos that worked (Primo? I know I didn’t see that one coming).

29. Killer Mike - I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind Pt 2

Shoot, Killer Mike is hands down one of the most underrated emcees ever. His lyrics are always on point and there are times when he legit outraps frequent collaborators Andre 3000 and Big Boi (although it’s really not a common occurrence). Support the man. Give it a try.

30. Termanology - Politics As Usual

Term is not the next best thing in hip hop, but he’s no slouch either. The album could’ve been ALOT better but heavy reliance on Nottz, and surprisingly weak beats from Hi Tek and Pete Rock dragged it down some. Still worth checking out for the shining moments found throughout.

Tomorrow I’ll continue with albums 11-20.

Hits: ABC’s (ft Chubb Rock), I Come Prepared, Bang Bang (ft Adam Levine), If Rap Gets Jealous, Wavin Flag, America (ft Mos Def, Chali 2na), Fire In Freetown, Take A Minute, People Like Me

Strikes:

Balls: T.I.A., Dreamer, Somalia, Fatima, 15 Minutes Away

There’s a lot moments in K’naan’s Troubadour that makes one forget that one is listening to a hip hop album. In fact, a lot of what makes this album work owes itself to the fact that it was able to blend the sound of multiple genres throughout. But, make no mistake, at it’s heart this is a hip hop album through and through.

With a distinct voice, the tendency to switch between singing and rapping (at times in the same song), and his emotional lyricism sprinkled with a bit of political charge makes K’naan inevitably sound a bit like a Canadian Mos Def. So it’s maybe not coincidence that track 9 features the Mighty Mos himself alongside Chali 2na (on a side note. Where the fuck is Chali 2na’s solo album at? Despite rumors that the album is coming along and that Rakim(!) is on it, I’m beginning to fear it’ll just become another one of those albums that will be released in the year 20never. End side note.). But the two emcees are distinct from each other and while Mos can shred K’naan to pieces lyrically, I tend to enjoy it more when K’naan sings anyways. He’s really not the most complex of rappers/lyricists in terms of technique, but he does have a way of bringing out emotion in every word he spits/sings.

Bottom line is if you feel the need to experience something a bit different, and maybe support our neighbors north of the border, give K’naan a chance. Like I said, there’s not gonna be too many moments where you’ll be rewinding your CD/mp3, trying to catch a sick line here and there, but I guarantee you’ll enjoy the listen. Sometimes I like my hip hop presented in a simple form without the need to dissect every line and K’naan is just the thing to satisfy that craving.

Hits: To Be Told, The Rules, Prepare For War, Spit, Goodbye, The Reason, I Warned You

Strikes: My Crew

Balls: So Cruel, Lady Sings The Blues, Lose Her

Saigon and the fairly overrated Statik Selektah team up to bring us Saigon’s first official album, All In A Day’s Work. Well, calling it an album seems to be a bit of a stretch as the whole thing clocks in at just over 30 minutes and 11 tracks. The whole premise behind this thing was that it was all recorded within the span of one day (hence the title). And you know what? It shows.

Listening to it, you can tell that the whole album has a rushed feeling to it and in fact the songs sound more like a collection of tracks than a cohesive bigger picture. The beats, provided entirely by Statik Selektah are entirely hit or miss and I wouldn’t be surprised if he just rummaged through a pile of unused material and sent it to Saigon to use. Saigon’s rhymes as well have a wild range on this album going from dope to average, sometimes within the same song. When beat and rhyme come together it creates pure fire but that really doesn’t happen too often on this.

Ultimately, the 24 hours of work they put into this resulted in a scattered body of work and leaves me feeling empty. Saigon has showed much more potential than this in the past and you should still have hope for The Greatest Story Never Told (if it’s released!) but as for this, feel free to skip it. Sagion, the next time you release an album, take your time. The whole recorded in a day gimmick may have impressed some, but in a year’s time, nobody’s going to remember that and all they’ll be left with is an average album from a rapper that should’ve given us more.

Hits: Shine All Day, (ft Q-Tip, Jumz, Kel Spencer) (borders on Ball), We Speak Hip Hop (ft Afasi, Kase O, Maccho, Abass, KRS-One), Bounce Back (ft Busta Rhymes and DJ Scratch), Tribute To The Breakdancer (ft Supernatural)

Strikes: Swagger (ft Red Café, Snoop Dogg, Lynda Carter), When I Get There (ft Big Daddy Kane), I Got Sumthin To Say (ft Lordikim, Jay-Flo, Almighty Thor), Can I Take You Higher (Mr. Cheeks, Grandmaster Caz, Tito), Unpredictable (ft Big Daddy Kane and Syndee), Those Chix (ft Byata, Princess Superstar, Hedonis Da Amazon, Syndee), Oh Man (ft Syndee and Natacha Atlas)

Balls: Welcome, Here Comes My DJ (ft DJ Kool and DJ Demo), What If (KRS One), Grown and Sexy (ft Mr Cheeks), Connection, Bronx Bombers (ft Almighty Thor, Lordikim, Mann Child), Zuka The Sound

I mean no disrespect to an absolute legend. But damn if this isn’t the most average release I’ve heard so far in the new year. I gotta get to work so I’ll make this as short as possible.

Grandmaster Flash is great as a DJ but when it comes to producing beats, most of these sound like your average joe schmo backdrops. Some, such as the one on When I Get There, are straight garbage. But as I always say, lyrics above production right? I mean, Grandmaster Flash can put together some alright beats but if they have some quality rhymes over them, the end result would’ve been fire, or at the very least, enjoyable. Unfortunately, the quality of emceeing on this album is wildly inconsistent and ranges from good to absolutely horrible. Even the veterans on the album sound as if they’re simply on the album out of some sort of obligation, since most of their rhymes come off as extremely run of the mill, especially by their standards. For example, Big Daddy Kane and Mr. Cheeks, two emcees who’ve proven their talent over and over again, spit some questionable material on each of the two songs they’re featured in.

The album however, isn’t without any redeeming qualities. As previously mentioned, some of the rapping is pretty good (ie. Busta Rhymes and Q-Tip’s verses), and the overall theme is presented fairly well. Of course the problem with the second reason is that these “lessons” on the culture were pretty basic in nature and I’m pretty damn sure that anybody who would be checking for a Grandmaster Flash album in the first place will know all of that already. Still, I gotta give props for trying, and besides, We Speak Hip Hop is probably one of the most interesting songs I’ve heard in a while.

I realize that today’s review seems rushed and unorganized, and that’s probably because I am rushed today. Just know that you really don’t need to check for this release. This could’ve been so much more, but as it is it won’t add anything to your hip hop life if you do listen and it won’t take anything away from it if you don’t.