Before we get rolling on The Best of 2005, I want to mention a few songs that I cut from the list that deserve special recognition. First is Blackalicious’ “Supreme People,” from their 3rd album The Craft. The album scored very high marks from critics, however, I would rank it as their 3rd best album. In fact, I’d rank them in order with Nia as No. 1, Blazing Arrow at No. 2 and then The Craft. “Supreme People” was my favorite song off the disc and was on this list at one point, but got bumped.
I also had One Be Lo’s “The Ghetto” on the list, but I just heard that song for the first time earlier this year. My brother got me Binary Star’s Masters of the Universe and One Be Lo’s S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. for my birthday because I had slept on them for so long. I love, love, LOVE, “The Ghetto,” it belongs on the Best Songs list. But I can’t pretend I’ve been listening to it for the past 6 years and include it on the list. Wouldn’t be the right thing to do. So a very Honorable Mention to One Be Lo’s fantastic “The Ghetto.”
Now let’s see what did make the list, shall we….
Best Songs
20. “Sittin’ Sidewayz” – Paul Wall
My goodness there was a lot of hip-hop coming out of the South in 2005. Young Jeezy, Lil’ Wayne, Slim Thug, Bun B, Three 6 Mafia, Geto Boys, Chamillionaire, David Banner and Paul Wall all dropped albums in 2005. For an East Coast and underground hip-hop fan, that’s too much Dirty South for me. Not that it’s all bad, but it just felt like oversaturation in ’05. But there was something about Paul Wall that I liked. He wasn’t a lyrical giant by any stretch of the imagination, and I found his buddy Mike Jones to be pretty damn annoying. But Paul Wall seemed true to himself, rhymed about pretty basic shit and was easy to digest. This song has a great beat on it and it was certainly one of my favorite Dirty South joints from 2005.
19. “The Mask” – Danger Doom feat. Ghostface Killah
Had a tough decision to make here, as this song and “Old School” featuring Talib Kweli, were both terrific songs off of Danger Mouse and MF Doom’s Cartoon Network inspired collaboration. I gave this song the nod, because I remember how excited I was to hear Ghost and Doom together on the same track. And I liked that both were masked MC’s which played right into the whole cartoon inspired album. But don’t get it twisted, this is still some genuine hip-hop.
18. “Good Morning” – Cage
This was another tough call for me as I really liked Cage’s “Subtle Art of the Breakup Song.” The story on that song is straight up nasty. But this track was a great way to kick-off Hell’s Winter and I remember being drawn in immediately. Cage made his Def Jux debut on this disc and touched upon that spittin’, “My style was sick and homeless, freezing and stuck/’Til Def Jux stuffed them G’s in my cup.”
17. “I’m Supposed To Die Tonight” – 50 Cent
50 released The Massacre in 2005, which was a huge letdown after Get Rich Or Die Trying. There was too much filler on that disc to stand up to his classic debut. The singles didn’t do much for me, as “Disco Inferno” was decent, but nothing memorable and I absolutely despise “Just A Lil’ Bit.” To this day I can not stand that song. People love that track and I can’t understand why. The beat on that song may be one of the most annoying I’ve ever heard. Seriously, I’m getting angry just thinking about that awful song. Fuck, I just listened to it again to make sure I wasn’t over exaggerating and I had to turn it off as soon as possible. That song SUCKS! Anyway, this was my favorite song off The Massacre.
16. “Where’s Your Girlfriend At?” – Blueprint
The saxophones on this song are absolutely tremendous. I love Blueprint’s humor on this song as well. The entire 1988 album was really nice, but this was my favorite track off the disc. Blueprint drops “I may not bag a dime piece in my life, but as long as two 5’s still add up to 10 then I still have options every Friday night.”
15. “Still Lives Through” – Little Brother
Little Brother always paid homage to the Native Tongue sound and this song was a perfect example of that as a sequel to A Tribe Called Quest’s “God Lives Through” off Midnight Marauders, even sampling the same hook. Pooh attacks the track from the outset and then Phonte brings some absolute heat. And of course 9th Wonder brings another hip-hop banger.
14. “Woman Tonight” – Felt
The thought of two of my favorite rappers collaborating for an album had me geeked. And believe me I couldn’t have been more excited for a Murs and Slug album, but the first installment of the Felt series left me a little disappointed. Not that it wasn’t good, it just didn’t live up to my expectations. Murs and Slug got back together in ’05 to drop Felt 2: A Tribute To Lisa Bonet and once again came up a little short in my opinion. It’s really hard to say that considering how much I’ve loved both of their catalogs, but neither Felt album was better than any Murs solo project, Murs & 9th Wonder project or Atmosphere disc. This song was really nice, however, as both MCs touch on one-night stands after shows and the loneliness that accompanies those experiences. Not your typical “I’m a pimp” bullshit.
13. “Nothing Without You” – Pigeon John
Pigeon John flips a sample of Jim Croce’s “Lovers Cross” to perfection. John has never been touted as a lyrical giant, but he does make very relatable songs. I’m a huge fan of his music and can appreciate that he doesn’t take himself too seriously, but can make some introspective music. There have been questions over the meaning of the song, whether it’s referring to a girl, music or God. I’ve always thought it was about love, God, and the Bible. The fact that it can have different meanings to different people makes the song that much better.
12. “When I’m Gone” – Eminem
This song was a bonus track for Em’s Curtain Call: Greatest Hits album. After the clustercuss that was 2004’s Encore, it was nice to get back to the heartfelt, introspective Eminem. He has made several songs for his daughter and this is one of the most open and honest tracks he’s done. I loved this track when it dropped. I’ve kind of forgotten about it since, but was glad to go back and listen to it again. He hits on having to leave his daughter to go on tour and his relationship with Kim spiraling out of control. It even hits on his drug addiction. Em has always given us an open look into his life and this song is no exception.
11. “Get Fly” – Atmosphere
Lots of great tracks to pick from Atmosphere’s 2005 offering, You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having. As always, Slug brings some great narratives and Ant provides some of my favorite production of the group’s catalog. This track always made me feel good. It’s upbeat, it’s got a feel good vibe and of course it has a deeper meaning than a casual listen would pick up on. Love the hook as well, as Slug spits, “When I get some money I’m a buy me some time.”
10. “Remember The Name” – Fort Minor
This song has been used for everything. NBA playoffs, Friday Night Lights, the trailer for the remake of The Karate Kid, the trailer for Gridiron Gang, the trailer for Fighting, a commercial for the Grammys, seriously, it’s been used for everything. And it’s really dope. The beat is instantly recognizable at this point, but the lyrics were nice as well. Mike Shinoda gets a big assist from Styles of Beyond on this, but he still holds his own. This is a great song to get you amped for anything.
9. “Here I Stand (The Streets Been Good To Me)” – Smif-N-Wessun
I absolutely love the sample on this track. I don’t know where it’s from, but it’s really, really dope. Great beat on this one as well. And of course there’s Steele & Tek spittin’ fire on this. It’s an ode to the streets which is right up Smif-N-Wessun’s ally. The hook on this track is among my favorites, “Here I stand/Before you a man/Nothing less, nothing more that’s all that I am/Death before dishonor the brand/You understand?/Street’s been good to me.”
8. “Safe 2 Say” – Fat Joe
A Just Blaze banger. One of my favorite Blaze beats and that’s saying something. The Chuck D. sample is tremendous and the beat is enough to break your neck. Joe comes hard on this track as well, which was much needed after “What’s Love,” which wasn’t his proudest moment (even though it definitely sold records). This track took me back to his better days. This is how I like my hip-hop. Bangin’ beat, great sample scratched for the hook and some in-your-face shit. It’s nice.
7. “The Corner” – Common
Jesus this track is nice. Kanye brought an amazing beat for Common to spit over and Com delivers in every way. This is an incredible look at life on the streets as Common paints so many vivid pictures with his lyrics. “We talk shit, play lotto and buy German beers.” I love that line. And adding the Lost Poets was genius, as they tie the song together perfectly.
6. “Mic Check” – Juelz Santana
I was not a big Santana fan when he first dropped. I liked his appearance on Cam’ron’s “Oh Boy,” but in general I didn’t like The Diplomats at all. I thought they created a bad brand of rap music and weren’t very original at all. In fact, I hated the “Ay!” bullshit they always did. It was just horrendous. But this song knocks. Juelz shows why he had so much hype on this track. The beat is terrific and Santana brings the heat on the mic. This song won me over and convinced me to buy his What The Game’s Been Missing album. The disc was okay, had a little too much of the stupid bullshit that turned me away from the Diplomats to begin with, but it did have its moments. None brighter than this one (although the album version is slightly different than the single version).
5. “How We Do” – Game feat. 50 Cent
I’ve been a fan of this song since the first time I heard it. I was already going to include it on this list, but did debate “Hate It or Love It” as my choice off The Documentary. This past Saturday night I got in my car and popped in an old mix CD and the first song to come on was “How We Do.” It reminded me why I loved it in the first place, not that I really needed to be reminded, but it’s such a great song. And 50 was tremendous on this song. I haven’t been able to say that a lot since his debut album, but there’s no denying 50 on this track. “Gotta sick vendetta/To get this chedda/Meet my ba-retta/The dra-ma setta/Sip Am-a-retta/My flow sounds betta/Than average/On tracks I’m a savage/I damage/Any n-gga tryin’ to front on my click.” Oh and the beat is one of the best of ’05 with ease.
4. “Ms. Hill” – Talib Kweli
This is one of the greatest tribute songs you’ll find. Talib shows his love to Lauryn Hill and shows his appreciation for what she has done for his career, as well as what her music has done to inspire young black women. Talib spits, “You give us hope, you give us faith, you the one/They don’t like what you got to say but still they beg you to come.” Kweli sings the hook over a sample on top of a piano that is goose bump inducing. Seriously, I could listen to this song every single day and love it for the rest of my life. It’s as genuine as you’ll ever find. I don’t know if there’s a song that better shows off Talib’s abilities, as he plays story teller, spitter and lyricist all in one, while pouring his heart out at the same time.
3. “Yes Yes Y’all” – Geto Boys
I love “The G-Code,” but I had to go with this song off the Geto Boys’ The Foundation. I remember seeing the video for this and being souped up that Scarface, Willie D. and Bushwick Bill were all together again. The beat is a banger and all three MC’s drop some hard street shit. Willie D. spits one of my favorite lines, “Hoe n-ggas make me hotter than Tabasco/Play with my money I’ma kick you in your asshole.” It’s not thought provoking or life changing, but the way Willie spits it, it’s perfect. This song is hard as hell, but it’s also a lot of fun.
2. “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” – Kanye West
Nothing was more highly anticipated in 2005 than Kanye’s follow-up to his classic debut The College Dropout which came out the year before. After “Through The Wire” and “Slow Jamz” and “All Falls Down” and “Jesus Walks” and “New Workout Plan” (my goodness, Kanye dropped a lot of singles off that disc!) we all wondered what sound he’d go with for his first single from his sophomore effort. In typical Kanye fashion, he flipped it on us once again, using a Shirley Bassey sample from her song “Diamonds Are Forever,” the theme song for the James Bond movie of the same name, to set up another instant smash hit. “Gold Digger” would go on to be the biggest single off the album, but I can remember the day I heard “Diamonds” so clearly that it’s stuck with me to this day. I was working at the liquor store and one of the local hip-hop & R&B stations played the track 3 times in a row as it made its debut. I stood right next to the radio for all three versions and it was a definite “Wow!” moment for me
1. “Feel It In The Air” – Beanie Sigel
This is one of my favorite songs ever. Beanie elaborates on his verse off “Streets Is Talking” and goes into detail on being able to sense a friend’s deceit. The horns sound like something from Boyz N The Hood which is really dope. Beans is on point lyrically, flipping Scarface’s verse from “Minds Playing Tricks On Me,” by spitting, “I sit alone in my 4 cornered room staring at hammers/Ready to go bananas/2 vests on me/Techs, extra clips on me/I know my mind ain’t playin’ tricks on me.” And then there’s the line that my boy D loves, “I’m still afloat/I ain’t the captain of the yacht, but I’m on the boat.” This song takes me back to a great time in my life, just after college when we would have house parties all the time and life was so simple. I will always take a journey back to those days when I hear this song and it will make me smile. As a big Beanie Sigel fan, I couldn’t pick a better song to highlight his career. I rap along with Beans every time this song comes on and I’m sure I always will.
Best Albums
10. Hell’s Winter – Cage
I don’t like everything Cage does, but when he’s on he can be really good. This album had some abstract, weird shit that I didn’t care for as much which comes with the territory with Cage. The album starts in tremendous fashion with “Good Morning” and closes with the terrific title track. The other real standout on this disc is “Subtle Art Of The Breakup Song” which details a drug-influenced drive with his girlfriend that leads to a fatal car crash. The lyrics are very vivid and the beat is chilling.
9. 1988 – Blueprint
Printmatic throws it back to the old school with this disc, as evidenced by the title. Blueprint brings the humor on “Big Girls Need Love Too,” kicks it old school on “Boombox” and “Inner-City-Native-Son” touches on growing up in less than ideal circumstance as he spits, “His only babysitter was a TV screen.” The album brings a very nostalgic feel, features plenty of lyrical gems, has great production and is a lot of fun to listen to.
8. The B. Coming – Beanie Sigel
Obviously this song opens in grand fashion as the No. 1 song of 2005 is the first track on the disc. But Beans keeps up the pace for the majority of the album. “I Can’t Go On This Way” deals with Beans personal struggles as he spits, “We make chips off this gift that we cursed with/And then my mind drifts, am I defeating the purpose?/Cause you feel like shit when you miss your son’s first shit/But who gonna pay the bills, supply the meals, no surplus/My baby momma give me drama on the daily/Like she makin’ it barely and my kids is eatin’ rarely.” It’s lines like these that have always given Mac great appeal to me. Great guest spots on here as well, including Grand Puba and Sadat X on the Just Blaze produced “Bread & Butter” and Jay-Z on “It’s On,” but it’s the Rell assisted “Look At Me Now” and Cam’ron cameo on “Wanted” that sealed the deal for me.
7. The Minstrel Show – Little Brother
An excellent, cohesive follow-up to the groups’ terrific debut album, it opens with some of Phonte’s dopest lines on “Beautiful Morning” and effortlessly blends right into “The Becoming” where ‘Te drops more gems. Pooh, Phonte & 9th Wonder never let up, dropping great track after another. Phonte even shows off his vocal chops on the hilarious “Cheatin’” where he does his best Ron Isley impression. Elzhi stops by on “Hiding Place” and LB favorite Joe Scudda drops a verse for the fantastic “Lovin’ It,” which would’ve been on my Best Songs list if it wasn’t for “Still Lives Through.”
6. The Rising Tied – Fort Minor
I couldn’t have been more surprised by an album than Mike Shinoda’s solo effort. I’ve never really been a Linkin Park fan, I don’t hate them or anything, just don’t go out of my way to listen to their shit. But this album had some great hip-hop on it. It actually had four of my favorite songs of 2005 on it. I already mentioned “Remember The Name” above but the album had so many more gems on it. Not surprisingly the guests on the album steal the show from Shinoda, but when you get Black Thought, Common and Styles of Beyond on your record it’s not hard to guess why. Gotta give credit to Shinoda for sharing the mic with them. Black Thought has one of my favorite verses of the year on “Right Now.” “Where’d You Go” got this record some commercial attention and it is a terrific, heartfelt song. Shinoda’s finest moments come on “Cigarettes” and “Kenji” while John Legend brings his butter smooth vocals to “High Road,” another one of my favorites.
5. The Foundation – Geto Boys
I already described my excitement for the Geto Boys reunion in the Best Songs portion and I can say that the album lived up to my expectations. “Declaration of War” is the perfect song to kick off the album, only to be followed by the great “Yes Yes Y’all.” Then there’s the Scarface solo cut, which he also produced, “G-Code.” You may’ve heard this one on a recent car commercial. Shit is so hard. Face talks about snitching over one of the best beats of ’05. “Yes Yes Y’all” was my favorite song of ’05 at one point, so that’s why it remains on the Best Songs list. But if that song wasn’t around “G-Code” would take the No. 3 spot in its place. It’s that good. “When It Gets Gangsta,” “What?” and “Real N-gga Shit” are some more gangsta anthems, which always sound good coming from Face, Willie D. and Bushwick Bill. They also get introspective on “I Tried” discussing everything from breast cancer to having their kids taken from them and “Leanin’ On You” which finds Bushwick reflecting on a suicide attempt and thanking God for being the only one that’s strong enough to hold him up.
4. You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having – Atmosphere
From a straight hip-hop production standpoint, this may be my favorite Atmosphere record. Ant brought so many great beats for this album and Slug feels right at home over them. The Family Sign is certainly more advanced, thanks to the addition of two live musicians, but in terms of hip-hop production Ant is tremendous on this one. “The Arrival” is a celebratory opener, “Panic Attack” and “Watch Out” are upbeat, boom-bap tracks and “Musical Chairs” has that traditional Atmosphere sound. That’s just the start of the album. Things get even better from there, as “Say Hey There,” “Pour Me Another,” “Smart Went Crazy,” “That Night,” “Get Fly,” and “Little Man” are among the best songs of the groups career. “Pour Me Another” deals with Slug’s drinking addiction, “That Night” deals with the grisly details surrounding the night an Atmosphere fan was raped and murdered at one of their shows with Slug torn on whether to even write the song but feeling compelled to address the issue and “Little Man” is Slug’s ode to his father, his son and his reflections as both a father and son, where he finishes by saying to himself, “Your son says, ‘Hi dad’/Your dad says, ‘What’s up?’/And me, I wanna thank you, but I won’t, I’ll just say, ‘Good Luck.’”
3. The Documentary – The Game
When this dropped it received praise reserved for classics. Now, six years later, I can tell you that it’s not a classic. But it did get heavy rotation in ’05 and certainly was a nice return back to the days of The Chronic and All Eyez On Me, sprinkled with a touch of Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, thanks to 50’s heavy influence on the disc. The album started in classic fashion, it just runs out of steam a bit towards the end. “Westside Story,” “Dreams,” “Hate It Or Love It,” “Higher,” “How We Do,” the title track, “We Ain’t,” and “Like Father, Like Son” are all top-notch, while “Don’t Need Your Love,” “Church For Thugs,” and “Start From Scratch” are all really good. Game did way too much name dropping on the album, which has been the biggest criticism of his career. But he is a good rapper, this just isn’t on the same level as Illmatic or Ready To Die, even though Game talks about those albums over and over again.
2. Be – Common
Common finally got his just due on this disc, thanks in large part to his affiliation with Kanye West. Common had been one of the best MCs in the game for over 10 years before this disc was released, but never got noticed. Better late than never, right? The album intro is simply amazing. If it was more than 2:24 long it may’ve surpassed “The Corner” on the Best Songs list. “Go!” features vocals from John Mayer of all people, but it works as Kanye’s production makes the song come together beautifully. “Faithful” is more soulful music from Common, before the outstanding “Testify” which has an incredibly dope sample courtesy of Kanye and Common at his best as storyteller weaving a tale of deceit. The second half of the album slows down just a tad, with the exception of the fantastic “Chi-City,” but it’s still really good music. My only real complaint is not including a studio version of “The Food.” It was a tremendous performance on Chappelle’s Show, but I have that shit on DVD. I want a true audio version of the track. I know it’s nitpicking, but I’m very particular about this shit.
1. Late Registration – Kanye West
As good as Kanye’s production was on Common’s album, he saved his best for his own album. Sophomore slump? Not even close. Kanye brought it again on this disc, leaving us to debate which album was better: The College Dropout or Late Registration? I’ve always leaned towards College Dropout because of the impact it had on me as a fan and on Kanye’s career, but I certainly wouldn’t fault anyone for siding with Late Registration. I give major props to Kanye for branching out and taking a chance by sharing production credits with Jon Brion for a more polished sound and for starting the album with an Adam Levine collaboration. As for the album, the highlights are “Heard ‘Em Say,” “Touch The Sky” (featuring a super hungry Lupe Fiasco), “Gold Digger” (one of Kanye’s biggest songs ever), “Drive Slow,” “Diamonds From Sierra Leone,” “Diamonds From Sierra Leone (Remix)” with a show stealing verse from Jay-Z, “We Major” featuring the one and only Nas, “Hey Mama” (one of my favorite Kanye tracks ever), and the amazing “Gone” featuring Cam’ron and Consequence. I didn’t even talk about the Gil-Scott Herron and Common assisted “My Way Home” (which should’ve been a full song, instead of a 1:43 interlude), “Crack Music” featuring the newcomer of the year in Game, “Roses,” and “Bring Me Down” with a cameo from Brandy of all people. The whole disc is amazing and is an easy choice for Album of the Year.
Alright, that’s it for 2005. Kanye has now grabbed Best Album honors in consecutive years. He didn’t put out a disc in 2006, so we’ll have someone new take top honors. Will it be an underground favorite? Or perhaps one of the best groups to ever do it? Oh, and despite what one of the biggest singles from ’06 says, hip-hop ain’t dead!
Until next time…
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