Top 5 Albums So Far in 2011
Believe it or not, 2011 is already half over, and while you were watching Japanese cities get destroyed, Wikipedia searching ‘Moammar Gaddafi’ and ‘Charlie Sheen’, ironically rioting for Osama Bin Laden’s death, and hating on the Miami Heat, scores of rappers were releasing new music. As always, some of it was expected to be good and then sucked and some didn’t have much hype yet turned a few heads. Most noticeably seems to be a growing norm with the advent of free online mixtapes and the Twitterverse, up-and-coming rappers have been gaining out-of-this-world hype before succumbing to a record company’s mainstream “direction”. Wiz Khalifa, Tyler the Creator, Big Sean, the list goes on… all dropped albums which sounded like watered down recreations of their best mixtapes. And the sad thing is there are many more up-and-comers to come, – sorry Mac Miller – anyone remember when it took an album or two before a rapper “fell off”. Ah, the good ol’ days.
Somewhere in L.A., The Game is smiling (The Documentary was a DOPE album, btw)
Anyway, enough lamenting, beneath the perpetual pile of trashy hip hop, there have been some true gems this year. Whether you’ve peeped these albums already – like, duh its dope – or you’ve been wondering where the hell hip hop music has been in 2011, these 5 albums are definitely worth checking out:
5.) Pete Rock & Smif-n-Wessun – Monumental (Released June 28)
This album is literally fresh off the presses – it dropped just last week – so I glanced it over as I was drafting this post, with list already in mind. Well, so much for that. By ‘That’s Hard’, the fourth track, I was completely hooked to Pete Rock’s modern adaption on his legendary soul-infused beats and Smif-n-Wessun’s – whom I honestly had not heard much of before this album – confident and intelligent lyrics, and needless to say had to do a little editing. Sorry Atmosphere, Family Sign was a pretty dope album, but Monumental is produced completely by notorious perfectionist Pete Rock and features a hoard of hip hop heavyweights including Styles P, Sean Price, Raekwon, Bun B, Freeway, and Black Rob (yes, THAT Black Rob). Monumental is an educated hip hop head’s wet dream, with quality production and verses from start to finish, but is also approachable for anyone looking for some tracks to bump all Summer. After listening to it just a couple of times, I feel like I’ll be comfortably in the middle.
Top Tracks:
- 4.) ‘That’s Hard’ Feat. Styles P & Sean Price
- 6.) ‘Feel Me’ Feat. Bun B
- 7.) ‘Roses’ Feat. Freeway
4.) Saigon – The Greatest Story Never Told (Released February 15)
The Greatest Story Never Told was one of my most anticipated albums of 2011, and unlike so many others on that list, it actually surpassed my expectations. At a glance, the album is a typical rags-to-riches rap story with a well-trodden East Coast hip hop blueprint, but look closer and you have one of the buzziest, respected rappers in the game teaming up with the best producer in hip hop on a project over 3 years in the making. Yeah, there’s dry spots like the forced thug love ‘It’s Alright’ and the boring ‘Clap’, but holistically this album packs enough dope lines and notable beats to more than forgive its faults. GSNT’s greatest achievement – the lack being the greatest fault of so many hip hop albums – is its varied content. Though Saigon centers around the usual New York City drug game – below, for example – he also recites captivating and introspective lyrics about his struggle to make it in the rap game – ‘Too Long‘ – and switches seamlessly to spit club-influenced lines for ‘Believe It‘.
I wait for niggas then shoot em like I was a paparazzi
I jump out the back n turn ya block into Nagasaki
In a year where nearly all debut albums lacked any dynamic approach or – for lack of a better word – cajones, Saigon and Just Blaze reminded us all that, when done great, the prototypical hip hop ‘blueprint‘ (pun intended) is all you need.
Top Tracks:
- ‘Bring Me Down Pt. 2‘
- ‘Believe It‘
- ‘Too Long‘ – Feat. Black Thought
3.) Mac Miller – Best Day Ever (Released March 11)
If its hard to believe that a party mixtape from a 19 year old kid who looks – and probably acts – like a total douchebag is one of the best albums of 2011, it is something to say about Mac Miller’s buzzworthy, smart lyrics and the inventive production of ID Labs, Big Jerm, and others. Like its predecessor KIDS, The Best Day Ever feels thrown together, with tracks ranging from intelligent to corny, and understandably promoted toward a large audience. No matter the format, however, cream always rises to the top, and though you will have to press skip a few times to pass through ear-bleeding bad tracks like ‘Wear My Hat’ and ‘Snooze’, there are also some gems on this album. ‘Donald Trump‘, ‘She Said‘, and ‘Get Up!‘ are fun, catchy, and lyrically better than you would imagine from a white teenager from Pittsburgh, but the pinnacle of Best Day Ever is the experimental b-side ‘BDE Bonus‘. Cutting away all the artificial hype, exaggerated mojo, and marketing, this track goes back to the basics; a couple of guys making an ill beat and Mac uninhibitedly flowing without a hook. And that’s what separates Best Day Ever from your run of the mill monotonous mixtape. Whether or not Mac Miller is nothing more than a flash in a pan – see my comment earlier – no one can deny that he knows what he’s doing.
Top Tracks:
2.) Bad Meets Evil (Eminem &. Royce da 5’9′) – Hell: The Sequel (Released June 14)
What’s began as a collaboration track (above) on Eminem’s sophomore album The Slim Shady LP, Bad Meets Evil - Detroit duo Eminem and Royce da 5’9“, respectively – became a 12 year off-and-on project that quietly concluded last month with the release of debut album Hell:The Sequel. Quiet is a relative term, the album did go to #1 its first week, mostly because the collaboration surprised – and honestly excited – a bunch of hip hop heads still buzzed from Em’s Recovery and with plenty of respect for the only rapper proud enough to tell you his height. By the way, if you don’t know Royce, check this dope track out. Like any huge Eminem fan – he is the best ever – I think his collaborative work, especially with D12, is fantastic, but I was completely thrown off to find out that ‘Renegade‘ was not originally Em and Jay-Z… it was Em and Royce!? Needless to say, I was pretty hyped for Hell:The Sequel. After hearing the title track ‘Fast Lane‘ I was consumed by the raw energy of the two working off each other with competitive respect reminiscent of Jay-Z and Biggie on ‘Brooklyn’s Finest‘ and nearly void in hip hop today. While not necessarily as complex or inventive as some of the other albums on this list, Hell:The Sequel is the filet mignon of 2011 rap albums. It only has a few ingredients – hard beats, harder flow, and phenomenal lyrics – but they are all that’s needed for what is surely to become a classic album.
Top Tracks:
- ‘Fast Lane‘
- ‘Lighters’ Feat. Bruno Mars’
- ‘Living Proof’
1.) Cunninlynguists – Oneirology (Released March 22)
By leaps and bounds. Oneirology by Kentucky based trio Cunninlynguists is not only the best hip hop album so far in 2011, it may be the talented group’s best work of their decade long career which includes SouthernUnderground and A Piece of Strange. Oneirology is the study of dreams, which serves as the albums thematic concept which is both flawlessly mastered and never shortcut. The madman behind such a holistically cohesive work is genius producer Kno, who lays down dark ominous beats accompanied by fantastical horns and a slew of folk samples – seriously – which blend perfectly to create a sound not far from what you probably hear when dreaming. Deacon the Villain, Natti, and featured rappers Big Kritt and Tonedeff play along with bright, relevant lyrics that weave between fantasy and reality themes effortlessly. Even the rapper-half of Kno, infamous for pitiful lines such as “I get the cleanest dome, I mean it homes” delivers a dope verse at the end of ‘Get Ignorant‘ that rivals his lyrical counterparts. Beginning with the explosive ‘Premortidum (Prologue)’, there is not a single dull moment in the album; so much so you may never really figure out which track is which. If you have been asking where the “real hip hop” has been, maybe its time you take your eyes off NY and LA and instead peep this gem from the backcountry of Kentucky by a group whose name belongs with best. $20 says you don’t press skip once the first listen. Any takers??
Top Tracks:
Though I recommend peeping each of these five albums – if you haven’t already – with albums set to come out from Immortal Technique, Jay Electronica, J. Cole, People Under The Stairs, Wu Tang Clan, and so much more, it looks like the best hip hop of 2011 may be yet to come. So, like always, thanks for checking out WB4HH and stay tuned for more peepage to come!
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