10.
Skillz- The Million Dollar Back Pack
One of the most under appreciated and slept on albums to be released this year. Spearheaded by the Freeway assisted "Don't Act You Don't Know" and " So Far So Good" featuring Common and production from the late J.
Dilla, this album finds
Skillz demonstrating his lyrical dexterity from beginning to end over very solid production. Million Dollar Backpack finds
Skillz cementing his status in the game as one the best lyricist around today. "(For Real) He Don't Own Me" shows
Skillz ability to make a record for the ladies while tracks like "My Phone" and the standout "Preaching to the Choir" show off his storytelling skills. Except for a couple of miscues ("Yeah Ya Know It" and "Crazy World") this is a solid album front to back something that is hard to come by these days. One listen and you will remember why he is revered as one the go to ghostwriters and one of the most respected lyricist.
9.
GZA/Genius- Pro Tools
This album is hailed as
GZA's best work since the classic Liquid Swords by many but I must disagree. With that said this is still some his best work to date as it finds the Genius sounding reinvigorated and hungrier than he has in a while. One of the main gripes against
GZA is that his flow is boring at times but for most part he offsets that with perfect selection of beats to craft his flow around. Highlighted by the searing "Paper Plate" which finds the Wu brethren throwing
poisonous darts at the G-Unit general himself, 50 Cent. Aside from "0% Finance" which suffers from the same tried and true formula of previous
GZA songs such("
Labels", "Fame" to name a few) the Genius doesn't get side tracked by trying to make a record for mainstream airplay which results in a very cohesive effort for the Wu-Tang legend.
8. Ludacris- Theater of the Mind
One of
Luda's better albums overall from beginning to end.
Ludacris' desire to prove his position in the game as one of the elite
lyricist make it easy to overlook slight missteps like the Plies
assisted "Nasty Girl" and "Contagious" which features Jamie
Foxx.
Luda's at his best when he steps in the booth along side the big dogs in the game like the
Nas and Jay-Z
collabo " I Do it For Hip Hop", " Last of a Dying Breed" featuring Lil' Wayne and the thematic "Southern Gangsta" where
Ving Rhames, Rick Ross, and
Playaz Circle co-star alongside Mr. Bridges. Not a true concept album at heart but
definitely a must have for all true
Ludacris fans.
7.
Black Milk- Tronic
With the death of Detroit legend Proof and absence of the "great" Marshall
Mathers on the Detroit scene, a new group of artists such as lyrical
assassins Royce
Da 5'9 and
Elzhi have arrived. Now enter producer/MC Black Milk into the equation and the new regime in the "D" , if not better than the previous regime, is
definitely able to carry the city on its back. An album with no major flaws, Black delivers a sonic gem with standout cuts like the Royce assisted "Losing Out" and "The Matrix" which features guest
appearances from
Pharoahe Monch, Sean Price, and the legend himself DJ Premier. Guest
appearances aside Black proves he can hold his own on the mic as proven in the albums opening cut "Long Story Short".
6.
Young Jeezy- The Recession
Even in the midst of a recession, The Snowman still got that work! Musically compared to his previous albums,
Jeezy shows some maturity as an artist which is evident is his willingness to step out of his comfort zone to
acknowledge social and personal issues. Tracks like "Circulate" and "Don't Do It" highlight those aspects perfectly but none more so than the albums most impressive cuts "Crazy World" and the
NaS assisted "My President". While still finding time to talk about gun play and his snow shoveling game, there is a balance to this album that is evidence of a growth spurt for the A-Town MC.
5.
T.I.- Paper Trail
Easily the most important album of T.I.'s career, "Paper Trail" doesn't disappoint and is
Tip's best work since the hood classic "Trap
Muzik". This album tackles various subjects and thing relevant to T.I. (and even T.I.P.). Cuts like "56 Bars" and "I'm
Illy" find Tip lyrically in a comfort zone none like we've ever heard from him. Then there are the introspective and emotional tracks that don't miss a beat such as "No Matter What", "Ready For Whatever" and my personal favorite "You Ain't Missing Nothing". Then there is the
menacing Shawty Lo
diss "What Up, What's
Haapnin" and the colossal
collabo with Jay-Z,
Kanye West and
Weezy F. Baby "
Swagga Like Us". The album only contains one slight misstep ("Porn Star") but
that's easily forgotten when the infectious Swizz
Beatz produced "Swing Ya Rag" follows immediately behind it. This may be the Kings best
album to date.
4.
The Game- L.A.X.
The Game's third
LP, L.A.X., is just as menacing as the scowl on his face. Hurricane Game once again proves why G-Unit can't win without him as he
concocts some more of the best music from the city of Compton without the good Dr. From beginning to end The Game is in attack mode while finding a little time for the ladies ("Gentleman's Affair"), his home state ("Cali Sunshine") and even the great Martin Luther King on the
NaS featured "Letter To The King". The albums highlights come in the form of "Angel" which features production from
Kanye West and verse from fellow
Chicago native Common and the vivid "Never Can Say Goodbye" which finds Game telling the story of the greats
Tupac, Biggie Smalls, and Easy E last moments before
their untimely demise. The Game continues to deliver the goods and he contends that this may be his last offering, if so the King of the West went out with a big bang.
3.
Elzhi- The Preface
The Slum Village lyricist, steps out on his own with "The Preface" and fails to disappoint. Known for his memorable guest
appearances (Little Brother's "Hiding Place") and battle ready flows.
Elzhi perfectly displays his talents on the mic on his solo debut. This is probably the best album this year that no one has heard. The production on the album mainly handled by fellow Detroit native Black Milk provides the perfect sonic landscape for El to roam free and deliver one of the most lyrical albums this year. Concept records such as "Colors" and "Guessing Game" show that there is still some creativity left in hip hop's veins. The Royce 5'9
assisted "Motown 25" turned out to be one of the hottest tracks this year as the two trade fiery battle ready versus that push both emcee's to their peak. There's never a dull moment in the album with gems like "D.E.M.O.N.S." , "Talking In My Sleep" and "Can't Save Ya" sprinkled throughout.
Elzhi is definitely an artist to keep your radar on in the upcoming years.
2.
Q-Tip- The Renaissance
I must admit...I wasn't readily looking forward to another Q-Tip album after "Amplified" but after hearing "The Renaissance" those thoughts became a very very distant memory. Returning with the fire helped him ascend to greatness in his Tribe days delivers an album for golden age and new age hip hop fans alike. Anyone who can't appreciate the greatness of songs like "Renaissance Rap" and "You" should give up on music altogether. Then there's the
D'Angelo assisted "Believe" which sounds so good that I find it hard to
believe that this wasn't recorded back in
D'Angelo's heyday.
Dipset fans
beware, there are no tales of gun play and coke rap just pure unadulterated grown man hip hop. On an album that so well put together the lead single "
Gettin Up" almost seems out of place but doesn't take away from the album. A definitive moment in the Abstract
Mc's legacy, a must have for true music fans.
1.
NaS- Untitled
First of all I would just like to say: So what he dropped the original name of the album, the cover says it all. Now to the music, I've heard some say this a classic and maybe even better than
Illmatic. I don't know quite yet if its better that
Illmatic but this easily the best album I heard this year and yes I'll give it the the c- word classification...classic. For most this was the hardest album to love this year and the easiest to hate for all the wrong reasons. Anchored by the lead single "Hero", Nasty delivers an at times dark but introspective view on today's society and that dreaded "N" word.
Nas is at his best on tracks such as "Testify" and "N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave and The Master)", while still finding time to appease fickle fans with quick jab at Curtis Jackson on the albums opening cut "Queens Get The Money". This is
definitely one of the most important albums to be recorded in a while and while it won't change the landscape of the game, it serves as a testament that good music is still out there.
Baltimore Ravens @ 3.
Miami Dolphins
Indianapolis Colts @ 4. 
San Diego Chargers
