The Writer's Block: February 2012

2011 brought tons and tons of hip-hop music and with the way things are going, it’s going to be harder and harder to keep track of in the future. I bought well over 20 albums in 2011, downloaded 15-20 mixtapes and then had all the individual tracks that got released via Twitter or as Web only releases. I had to narrow my Top 20 songs down from 40 and my albums list to 10 from 20 that could’ve legitimately earned a spot among the year’s best. With so much music to digest, it wasn’t easy to narrow this list down but finally I think I’m there.

Before we get started, I wanna recognize the mixtapes that I really enjoyed this year which are as follows: Elzhi’s Elmatic; XV’s Zero Heroes; Big K.R.I.T.’s Return of 4eva; Willie The Kid’s #thecrates; Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire’s Lost In Translation; Skyzoo’s The Great Debater; Money Making Jam Boys: The Prestige: Jam Boy Magic; Curren$y & Alchemist’s Covert Coup; Lupe Fiasco’s Friend of the People; and Mac Miller’s Best Day Ever. And I didn’t get a chance to hear Raekwon, Ludacris or Jon Connor’s mixtapes, which I’m going to download as well. So yeah, there was a shit ton of music to chose from.

So let’s get down to business. Same rules as before. And here we go….

Best Songs

20. “Lost Ones” – J. Cole
Cole touches on the topic of abortion from three different perspectives, the best being the second verse when the pregnant girl calls out the future father for following the same path as his own father and abandoning the child. Cole brought a lot of introspection to his debut album and made me a believer. Also check out “Dollar And A Dream III,” “Lights Please,” “Rise And Shine,” and “Breakdown” which are my other favorites from Cole World: The Sideline Story.

19. “Outside” – Childish Gambino
I had no idea what to expect from Childish Gambino, but heard there was some buzz about him and his debut, Camp, was on sale on Amazon for $5.99 so I decided to give it a go. Pretty dope debut from Donald Glover. This is the opening track and it’s the best on the album. Gambino touches on his personal life, talking about playing with a Land Before Time toy from Pizza Hut (which I also owned) and his uncle’s debt troubles causing his mom to try and protect the family with Phillip’s Head screwdrivers, while his cousin with whom he took “sink baths” with no longer says “I love you” because Gambino has it better than him.

18. “Too Long” – Saigon feat. Black Thought
Black Thought may actually be the MC of the year for 2011 when you go back and look at his contributions. You have his guests spots on albums from Saigon and Raekwon, as well as the Money Making Jam Boys mixtape and of course the Roots’ terrific undun. I didn’t think of this until I started typing this blurb, but I think he may have had the best year of his career. As for “Too Long” it’s my favorite track off Saigon’s debut album and that’s saying something because there was plenty to work with off that disc. Great beat and excellent lyrics by both Saigon and Thought.

17. “One Time” – The Roots feat. Phonte & Dice Raw
Had a tough choice between “Make My” featuring Big K.R.I.T., which was undun’s first single, and “One Time” with Phonte, but ultimately Dice Raw’s vocals on the hook for “One Time” won me over. I love the hook on this song and Phonte and Black Thought both tear it up lyrically. Phonte’s Charity Starts At Home was my No. 11 album and I had it in the Top 10 on a dozen different variations of my final list, but ultimately left it off the list. That album deserves its praise though so make sure you cop that disc as well.

16. “The Last Huzzah!” – Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire feat. Despot, Das Racist, Danny Brown & El-P
One of my favorite mixtapes of the year was eXquire’s Lost In Translation. So many great moments on that tape and eXquire’s style is rivaled by none. “Huzzah” could’ve easily made this list on its own, but when it got remixed with this all-star list of underground heroes, it took it to a whole nother level. El-P steals the show on this one and Necro’s production on this track may be my favorite beat of the year.

15. “The Definitive Prayer” – Skyzoo
I loved this song the first time I heard it. Spitting over David Axelrod’s “Holy Thursday” has been done by both Fat Joe and Lil Wayne, but to spit over it without sampling it or breaking it down? That was some new shit and Sky spits for 4 minutes straight going over the song in its natural form. That’s some real MCing right there. And you can’t go wrong with a hip-hop/jazz fusion.

14. “Barry Horowitz” – Action Bronson
2011 introduced me to an overweight, big bearded, food loving, Ghostface sounding white boy from New York and I’m happy to add Action Bronson’s work to my collection. Bronson was a busy man in 2011, dropping Dr. Lecter as well as the Statik Selektah collaboration Well Done, not to mention his countless cameos. Of all his work, this song was my favorite for two reasons. No. 1, he spits some raw shit on here. No hooks or gimmicks, just rawness. No. 2, he named the song after one of the greatest jobbers in wrestling history. Barry Horowitz, who wore suspenders and always patted himself on the back, never won a match to my recollection and is legendary among wrestling fans. In fact I’d take Horowitz and La Parka as my two favorite jobbers of all time.

13. “Something So” – Atmosphere
This song would fit perfectly in a movie. I can picture the instrumental starting as a car is entering a highway with a scenic mountain view. I know that doesn’t sound very hip-hop, but it is grown up music. Hopefully it doesn’t end up in a car commercial or some shit. Slug’s tone and delivery match the music to perfection and this song just brings out a different mood and emotion than anything else on this list. I don’t know quite how to describe it, but I love this track and will listen to this song for the rest of my life.

12. “Smallville” – XV
If XV’s Zero Heroes was an actual release instead of a mixtape, it would be in my Top 5 with ease. I had a hard time choosing between “Smallville,” “Pictures On My Wall” and the Kendrick Lamar-assisted “Textbook Stuff” for this list, but I remember the first time I heard the mixtape “Smallville” was the song that stuck out the most for me and made me want to listen to more of XV’s stuff. Going back and listening to all three songs again, I stand by my decision. J. Cole’s production on this track is tremendous and XV opening the track with a Saved By The Bell reference sealed the deal for me.

11. “Otis” – Jay-Z & Kanye West
The opinions on Watch The Throne vary so widely from one hip-hop fan to another and I’ll touch a little more on that later, but I can’t find anyone who didn’t love “Otis". Jay and Kanye absolutely tore up the Otis Redding sample and delivered a song that made you feel like Watch The Throne was going to be monumental. Interestingly a lot of people pick “Ni**as In Paris” as the their favorite Throne song, but I still don’t understand the appeal of that song. Is it because Kayne says “That shit cray” or because Jay said “Ball so hard,” or is it the beat? I don’t know. I just don’t think that song is much to write home about. I’d say it is middle of the road for that album. And I’ve tried over and over again to love that song. I just don’t. I think it kind of sucks. Regardless, “Otis” is the banger on the album that will live on with time.

10. “2.0 Boys” – Eminem, Slaughterhouse & Yelawolf
Em celebrated his new signees in grand fashion on this track. After Royce opens the track it transitions seamlessly to Em who lays another terrific verse. Royce and Em didn’t need to prove how well they rhyme together, but further cemented their chemistry on this track as well as their Bad Meets Evil album. This is also the first time I gave any credence to the hype surrounding Yelawolf. I still don’t think I could stomach an entire album of him, but he was really dope on this track and on Tech N9ne’s “Worldwide Choppers” (which just missed the Top 20 song list).

9. “East Coast Rapist” – Apathy
Ap kept teasing us with music in anticipation of his new album. After 2010’s “We’re Gonna Kill You,” Ap dropped “Make Alotta Money,” “Most Murderous Music,” “Word To The 23rd” and “East Coast Rapist” which was the best of the bunch. And while Honkey Kong was excellent from start to finish, it was only right that Ap included “East Coast Rapist” as a bonus track as it was his best work of 2011. And that’s not an easy feat given how good songs like “Most Murderous Music,” “Check To Check,” “The Villian,” and “The Recipe” are.

8. “Ghetto Dreams” – Common feat. Nas
Common came back hard in 2011, sounding reinvigorated over some No I.D. production. And he couldn’t have picked a better single to showcase just how hungry he was as he brought Nas along for the ride on a track that sounds like its straight outta 1995. Com spits, “I want a bitch that looks good and cooks good/Cinderella fancy, but she still look hood,” while Nas caps off the song with, “Jumping out a Bentley with some fresh Red Bottoms/You live your dream with me when you was just in the projects.”

7. “So What” – Mac Miller & Wale
This song was offered as a free download and I only downloaded it because I’m a big fan of Wale. At this point I wasn’t real big on Mac Miller, although he did impress me on “82-92” with 1982. Wale spits first and doesn’t disappoint, but its Mac’s performance that really solidified this song for me. When Mac spit, “I been laughed at, hated on, no one would even play my songs/Wouldn’t even listen to anything my name was on,” it hit home because seeing certain artists on songs gives me a prejudgement of what that song will sound like. After hearing this, I downloaded Mac’s Best Day Ever mixtape and was pleasantly surprised. And while “So What” is only two verses and it isn’t anything ground breaking, I love this song and I can see myself listening to this for years to come.

6. “Nasty” – Nas
I talked about Common sounding hungry earlier and Nas matched that ferocity on this banger. “Nasty” reminded me of “Made U Look” in that Nas came right at you and came hard as hell. For a successful rapper who’s been named among the all-time greats, Nas sounds like a kid trying to get signed on this song. This is what MCing is supposed to sound like.

5. “American Psycho” – Jon Connor
Connor was everywhere in 2011. It was truly his year as he claims at the beginning of this song. I heard Connor go in over just about every instrumental out there and he killed each and every one. But there was no better showcase of his skills than “American Psycho” and holy shit did he destroy this track. When he speeds up the flow it’s as quick as anyone in the game and he still delivers each word with clarity. If you aren’t familiar with Connor, google this track and then you’ll realize the hype.

4. “Hard As They Come (Act I)” – CunninLynguists feat. Freddie Gibbs
At one point in 2011 this was my favorite song and I had this song ranked everywhere from No. 1 to No. 6, but I’m happy with it here. CunninLynguists have been around for a while now, but I can honestly say I didn’t have any of their previous work. I knew they were underground favorites, but I just never took the time to pay attention. Oneirology impressed the hell outta me. That album was one of the toughest omissions for the Top 10. On this track each MC spits from the perspective of a killer, but with a twist as those killers are alcohol, drugs and AIDS respectively. Really dope concept, terrific beat and outstanding delivery for one of the most original songs of the year.

3. “25th Hour” – Reks
DJ Premier lent his timeless production to a lot of acts in 2011. Torae got a Premo beat, Apathy got a Premo beat, Evidence and Royce Da 5’9” got laced with Premier production, and all of those acts brought the heat to match up with the quality of the music they received from one of the greatest producers of all-time. But no one, and I mean no one, delivered over a Premo instrumental like Reks did on “25th Hour.” In the opening bars Reks says he riding with Guru in the passenger seat and that sums it up perfectly. The Reks-Premier collaboration is reminiscent of Gang Starr and made me hit rewind the first time I heard it and I still get excited every time it comes on my iPod.

2. “The Kill” – The Game
Game had another one of my favorite songs of the year with “The City” featuring Kendrick Lamar. But it was Kendrick who stole the show on that song and made it so damn good. “The Kill” was all Game and he absolutely owned it. Game may’ve been the hardest working rapper in 2011, releasing a double mixtape, as well as another mixtape a week later and then a full length album. That’s 60-plus songs in one year, not to mention any guest spots and freestyles he put out. But “The Kill” absolutely stopped me in my tracks the first time I heard it and although I listened to it probably more than any other song this year, I’ve never gotten tired of it and I still crank the volume every time it comes on. And I know Game wasn’t the only person to flip the La Roux sample, but his version was by far the best.

1. “Ronald Reagan Era” – Kendrick Lamar feat. RZA
Kendrick made a huge impact in 2011 and was on everyone’s list of best new MCs. He even got the attention of Dr. Dre which says it all really. The first time I heard Kendrick was “Ronald Reagan Era” and the main reason I checked it out was RZA was featured on the track. I was intrigued to see RZA featured on a song with an up-and-comer from Compton so I gave the song a listen and never looked back. The opening of the song with the sung, “We’re far from good, not good from far/90 miles per hour down Compton Boulevard/With the top down screamin’ we don’t give a fuck/Drink my 40 oz. to freedom while I roll my blunt/Cause the kids just ain’t all right,” makes me reach for the volume button every time it comes on. The song is not your typical 2011 hip-hop song, it’s so much more. And while most people would lean towards “HiiiPower” as the standout from Section.80, “Ronald Reagan Era” just blew me away and entered my all-time favorite list.

Before we start the best albums list, I want to take a second to recognize a few albums that didn’t make my list. As I said above, there were close to 20 albums that I could’ve put on this list and would’ve been okay with, but the four that missed the cut that were the hardest omissions were CunninLynguists’ Oneiorlogy, Bad Meets Evil’s Hell: The Sequel, Saigon’s Greatest Story Never Told and Phonte’s Charity Starts at Home. Oneiorlogy is a terrific album, but I haven’t listened to it enough to bump anything from my Top 10. It’s original and has a great sound and stands alone, I just don’t go to it enough.

As for Bad Meets Evil, I feel like it was Em and Royce’s chance to say we can do whatever the hell we want and we’re going to just spit punchline after punchline and sick rhyme over sick rhyme. You can tell they had a lot of fun making the album and “Welcome To Hell” shows how good Em and Royce are together as they actually start finishing each other’s lines on that track. But overall I looked at the album as an EP with a few misses like “I’m On Everything” which kept it off my Top 10.

Saigon was No. 6 on my list, then No. 8, then No. 10, but ultimately didn’t make the final cut. It’s really good and having Just Blaze produce almost the entire disc was a real plus, but I don’t see myself listening to that album over and over again over the years. Again, it’s really good, but I don’t think it’ll stand up over time for me. I don’t know why, I just don’t see it as a Top 10 album five years from now, so I took it off the list. And I already discussed Phonte above as that would truly be my No. 11 album of 2011. Just solid hip-hop music from start to finish.

Best Albums

10. Watch The Throne – Jay-Z & Kanye West
This could’ve been the album of all albums. You have two artists that have made several classic albums between the two of them and some great songs that the two have made together. So of course expectations were off the charts for this disc. And unfortunately it didn’t live up to the hype. Yes, there are some great moments like “No Church In The Wild,” “Otis” and “Murder To Excellence.” But there are some definite misses as well such as “Take Off” and “That’s My Bitch.” And the biggest single off the album, “Ni**as In Paris,” hit it big with hip-hop fans, but I remain unimpressed and that was the general feeling I had after I first heard the album. I said this when I wrote my review of the album and I feel the same now, it’s good, not great.

9. Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang – Raekwon
Raekwon has enjoyed quite a comeback over the past few years. After Ghostface took over as the face of Wu-Tang, Raekwon kind of went on a bit of a hiatus. But after 2009’s sequel to Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, Rae hasn’t taken his foot off the gas releasing another solid LP in 2011’s Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang. Rae brought that classic Wu-Tang sound on songs like “Every Solider In The Hood,” where he’s joined by Method Man, “Silver Rings” with partner in rhyme Ghostface, “Butter Knives” which was actually released in 2010 so I had to keep off my Best of 2011 list, “Snake Pond,” “From The Hills” with Meth again, and the Black Thought assisted “Masters Of Our Fate.” It’s not Cuban Linx III, but Raekwon put another winner in his catalog with this LP.

8. Well Done – Action Bronson & Statik Selektah
Statik has been really busy in recent years and scored big with last year’s 1982 album along with Termanology. This year, Statik released his own project, Population Control, before teaming with Bronson for Well Done. This album really took me back to the mid-90’s golden age of hip-hop. There are songs that remind me of Gang Starr (“Cliff Notes”), Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Noreaga and of course Ghostface, which was unavoidable given Bronson’s voice. The album doesn’t try to be anything but straight hip-hop and with Statik and Action teaming together, that proves to be a winning formula. Well Done indeed.

7. Section.80 – Kendrick Lamar
A lot of hip-hop heads put this in their top 2 and they make a solid case. But I didn’t see this as a classic. I see this as a great debut album, but not exactly flawless. Kendrick fuses jazz, soul, spoken word and hip-hop and makes a unique sound, especially given his Compton background. My favorites are “Hol’ Up,” “Ronald Reagan Era” (which was my Song of the Year), “Keisha’s Song,” “Ab-Souls Outro” and “HiiiPower.” I have high hopes for Kendrick’s career as I think he has a sound all to his own and brings real lyricism instead of opting for any cheap tricks to sell records.

6. Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme – Reks
When I saw the trackist for Reks newest effort I knew it had plenty of potential. DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Nottz, Statik Selektah, Alchemist and Hi-Tek all providing beats, not to mention guest spots from Styles P, Termanology, Freeway and Lil Fame, I mean damn that’s an all-star list. But often times those expectations aren’t met. The beats and guest spots are mailed in or the main artist gets lost in the shuffle. Neither are the case with Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme. This is Reks’ album in every sense of the word. Fortunately for us, he got some of the best producers in hip-hop to provide him some really dope beats that match Reks’ lyrics. “25th Hour,” “Limelight,” “This Or That” (which was on the Best of 2010 list), “Face Off” with Termanology, and “Mascara (The Ugly Truth)” are all standout tracks, while the rest of the album suffers no down moments. It’s an underground hip-hop fans dream line-up and Reks delivers from start to finish.

5. The Family Sign – Atmosphere
It’s no secret to anyone who’s read anything on this site that I’m a big fan of Atmosphere. And with each album they seem to have taken on a different sound. The Family Sign brought a guitarist and keyboard player into the fold and gave the group their most advanced sound musically. This is grown man music and it fits Slug perfectly. No man wears his heart on his sleeve better than Slug and he hits on the usual relationship topics on “Just For Show” and “She’s Enough,” but it’s on “The Last To Say” that Slug takes things a step further breaking down an abusive relationship and encouraging the female protagonist to break away from her abusive boyfriend. Slug also shows his impressive storytelling on “Became,” “Your Name Here” and “If You Can Save Me Now.” While “My Key,” “Who I’ll Never Be,” “Something So” and “My Notes” all show the musical growth of the group.

4. Cats & Dogs – Evidence
My expectations heading into Evidence’s Cats & Dogs weren’t super high and there’s no album I was more wrong about. I expected a good underground hip-hop album that would be worth buying and giving a few listens, but that was about it. I’ve always liked Dilated Peoples music, but it was Rakaa that held my attention on the mic more so than Evidence. And given Rakaa’s Crown of Thorns wasn’t on my Top 10 albums list last year, I didn’t expect Ev’s solo album to make that big of an impact either. But damn is this shit great! The production alone brought me back for more and more and I’ve never been more impressed by Evidence’s abilities on the mic. He knocked it out of the park on Cats & Dogs. The first 6 tracks are all terrific and set the tone for the rest of the disc. And let me recognize “Late For The Sky” featuring Slug and Aesop Rock which just barely missed my Top 20 songs list. I wanted to find a home for it badly as all three underground favorites come correct.

3. Honkey Kong – Apathy
Lyrically there was no doubt that Apathy would deliver on his latest LP. There hasn’t been a project that Ap has released where he hasn’t ripped the shit outta the mic. The question as always would be production and this was the best produced album that Ap has released to this point in his career. Tracks 1-8 are a nonstop exercise in head nodding, rewind inducing hip-hop bangers. Bringing along friends Vinnie Paz, Slaine, Ill Bill, Celph-Titled, Xzibit, Action Bronson, the Demigodz and the Army of the Pharoahes, only helped solidify this album as an underground favorite. To top it all off, Ap included seven bonus tracks giving us 23 tracks in total with no filler. That’s a helluva accomplishment and this is Ap’s finest to date.

2. The Dreamer, The Believer – Common
If this album could keep up the momentum built in tracks 1-4, Common would have the Album of the Year and would’ve joined the “Classic” albums list. The aforementioned “Ghetto Dreams” speaks for itself and “Blue Sky” was so good that I almost picked it over “Ghetto Dreams” on the Best Songs list. And then there’s “Sweet” which stirred up a lot of controversy as speculation ran rampant that Com was dressing down Drake on the song. A small beef stemmed from there, but a Drake diss or not, “Sweet” is hard as hell! “Lovin’ I Lost,” “Raw” and “The Believer” keep the album moving and are all excellent as well. My only gripe with the album, and it may seem petty but I can’t dismiss it, is the sung hooks by James Fauntleroy II. I have no doubt that Fauntleroy’s a talented singer and he can sure sing better than I can, but his hooks were painful for me. He completely ruined “Windows” for me, which lyrically could be Common’s strongest effort on the whole disc. And to hammer my point home, John Legend sings the hook on “The Believer” and absolutely knocks it outta the park. He actually adds value to the song, while Fauntleroy’s vocals hurt every song he was on. It may be petty, but it annoyed the shit outta me and it knocked this album down a peg for me. Great MCing from Common regardless.

1. undun – The Roots
This shouldn’t really come as a surprise to anyone as this was musically, conceptually and lyrically the best hip-hop album of 2011. Watch The Throne had its moments as did Section.80, The Dreamer, The Beliver and every other album in my Top 10. But nothing was as complete as undun. The Roots took their game up another notch, which at this point in their career isn’t easy to accomplish, and delivered an album that’s short, sweet and to the point with no missteps or miscues along the way. From the moment Black Thought’s vocals hit on “Sleep” until the vocals come to an end on “Tip The Scale,” the Roots show their mastery of not only hip-hop music but music in general. Then in grand fashion, the group wraps the album up with a musical tour de force over the final four instrumental tracks. Now this album is a concept album following the rise and fall of Redford Stephens, a fictional character who serves as the focal point of the music, only it is told in reverse. But it’s not the story itself that makes undun so special, it’s the music.

That’ll wrap up 2011. It took me forever to finalize these lists as there was just so much damn music to get through. But overall I thought it was a really strong year for hip-hop. There was a great balance between commercial and underground and enough new stars to get excited for what’s to come next. Perhaps most importantly there was a lot of Premo in 2011 and that’s always a good thing!

It’s time to start digesting some new music for 2012. And I have a great place to start with Gangrene’s Vodka & Ayahuasca (thanks SSD!).