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Radio sure has a way of turning shit into sugar. Day in and day out, Future’s cheesy hit stayed on the FM dial. If his faux accent didn’t kill you, his rhymes did: “I need a driver/ To drive me round, how I manuever/ Muthafuckin feel like I’m in Jerusalem.” Say, what? If this where the game is heading, then I’m afraid of the Future.
Previously: #5 Kreayshawn “Gucci Gucci” l #4 J.Cole “Work Out“ l #3 Lil Wayne “How To Love“ l #2 YC x Future “Racks“
You are now watching the Throne—at the top of our list. Easily. What sounded like every rap fan’s dream on paper finally came true in early August. Jay-Z and Kanye recorded their masterpiece across the globe with producers Hit-Boy, RZA, Pete Rock, Swizz Beatz, Q-Tip, and The Neptunes. Mrs. Carter and Mr. Hudson are also featured but it’s Frank Ocean who ceases the moment, nailing the choruses of the opener “No Church In The Wild” and the moving “Made In America”. Still it’s the two superstars who take centerstage. Hovito unleashed the beast on the jolting “Welcome To The Jungle” while Ye agonized over the alarming murder stats of his Chi hometown on “Murder To Excellence”. The Roc Boys playfully trade bars back-and-forth on the hypnotic “Gotta Have It”, dub step their flow game up on “Who Gon Stop Me”, and share their moment of clarity on the prospect of raising children with “New Day”. Even the bonus cuts like the cinematic “Illest Motherfucker Alive” and triumphant “Primetime” are bonkers. You want a shot at the crown? Wait in the wing ’cause these guys are still doing their thing.
Previously: #10 Mac Miller Blue Slide Park l #9 Young Jeezy TM103: Hustlerz Ambition l #8 Wale Ambition l #7 J.Cole Cole World: The Sideline Story l #6 Kendrick Lamar Section.80 l #5 Bad Meets Evil Hell:The Sequel l #4 MMG Self Made l #3 Common The Dreamer/The Believer l #2 Drake Take Care
Be clear, Dwayne Carter is a certified Hall Of Famer. But sometimes, even the Great Ones don’t know their limitations. Remember Rebirth? Yup, I really hate when Wayne gets fixated on living his rock star fantasies in the studio. You can’t play guitar, homie and please leave the singing to Drizzy. “You had a lot of crooks trying to steal your heart.” Yuck! I had a lot of time for this song to grow on me. But nope. Still stinks.
Common returned to the game like a prize-fighter after his second wind with his ninth LP, The Dreamer/ Believer. Produced entirely by No I.D., he kicks off the opus with Maya Angelou and Nas on the ineffable “The Dreamer” and “Ghetto Dreams”, respectively. After delivering 14 shots to the dome on “Sweet”, he deals with his own pain (“Lovin I Lost”). But it’s not all love and war. Backed by a milky hook, he toasts to the good life on “Celebrate”. This is the stuff Dreamers are made of.
Dr. Dre co-signs don’t come everyday. So when Kendrick Lamar released his independent album Section.80, best believe, all eyes were on him. Fortunately, he didn’t disappoint. From a production standpoint, scattered piano’s anchor “Fuck Your Ethnicity” while lounging horns permeate “Hol’ Up”. Elsewhere, “Chapter Six” and “Rigamortis”locks down K-Dot’s unchained melody. “Ronald Regan Era” made being an 80’s baby not so bad. Kendrick said Section .80 was created following a vision from 2Pac, so Afeni’s baby boy would be proud of “Kiesha’s Song” (“She start running like FLo-Jo Don’t care if they Joe Blow/If they got money to blow a blow job is a sure go.”). Make no mistake, this revolutionary MC will be televised. Welcome to Section.80
Jeezy back! Man, it took a long time to get Young’s fourth album but he really came through victorious in the fourth quarter with the fourth highest first week sales of any rap album in 2011. How’d he do that? By keeping that trap music to the forefront and rounding up a gang of guests to help him reach that goal. Hov and 3 Stacks help craft this year’s player’s anthem (“I Do”). A fresh out of jail T.I. rides for his ATL patna on the reflective “F.A.M.E.”. Loso and Fab quench our thirst on “OJ” and 2 Chainz makes time in his busy schedule to spike up the formidable “SupaFreak”. Of course, Jizzle can also hold his own on cuts like the nifty “Nothing”, cater to the females (the lavish “Leave You Alone”) and bare his soul (the Jill Scott-enhanced “Trapped”). Yeah we were “Waiting” forever but thankfully, Da Snowman finally delivered.
After releasing a steady stream of mixtapes, Mac stepped up to the plate last year and delivered his independent debut, Blue Slide Park. With ID Labs handling a majority of the sound bed, Mac proved he wasn’t all party and bullshit. He gives haters the cold shoulder (“Smile Back”, “Of The Soul” ), helps White girls lost (Diamonds & Gold), and enjoys the fruits of his labor,”Man In The Hat”. But despite his new found success, Mac doesn’t forget about his Pittsburgh base (“PA Nights”, “My Team” ,”Frick Park Market”). Blue Slide meet blue collar.
It is safe to say, Khaled Khaled knows how to make a hit. With T-Minus, 40, and Kromatik handling the production duties, Khaled rounded up three of the game’s top MCs for this summer’s undisputed anthem. On the slow-rolling instrumental, Drake sets the tone showcasing his vocals. Don’t get it twisted though. Drizzy gets back on his rap shit before setting up Rozay, who then later passes the baton to Tunechi for the final stretch. Still and all, it’s Aubrey’s great chorus that stays in your brain. Yo Khaled, let’s keep these three within arms’ reach at all times. 3x platinum? Let’s see you top that. Ha!
Respect due to Snoop for releasing free music each and every Tuesday for months. We enjoy that type of stuff on these Internets. But when he finally released his eleventh album Doggumentary, it did more than disappoint. This might be the worst edition to the Dogg’s legendary catalog. Things never get going over an overwhelming 21 tracks. Unwanted guests and horrendous production are prevelant. “Wet” left radio in a drought and “Platinum” with R. Kelly was far from even sounding golden. Not even E-40 or Jeezy could make themselves at home on “My Fucn House” and what was Kanye thinking cosigning “Eyez Closed”? And really “Superman” with Willie Nelson? Pass the kryptonite! Calvin, this was a doggone shame.
Meek Mill and Rick Ross made 9-to-5ers feel like the H.N.I.C. with last year’s inescapable, “Ima Boss”. Fuck a blog dog, Jahlil Beats’ triumphant horns were responsible for nearly every party in 2011. Operating like a hip-hop Stockton and Malone, Meek creates a perfect assist for his mentor, “Got so many shades they thought I had a lazy eye” before closing the track with a game-winning third verse. Who took a loss? Not MMG.
Previously: #10 Wale x Miguel “Lotus Flower Bomb” l #9 J.Cole x Trey Songz “Can’t Get Enough” l #8 Ace Hood Ft. Rick Ross x Lil Wayne “Hustle Hard (Remix)” l #7 2 Chainz x T.I. “Spend It (Remix)” l #6 The Throne “Otis” l #5 Common “Blue Sky” l #4 Bad Meets Evil “Fast Lane” l #3 The Throne “Niggas In Paris” l #2 DJ Khaled Ft. Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne “I’m On One“
We knew what we were getting ourselves into before opening this CD, but this is even worse than you can imagine. Out on bail, fresh out of jail, the first thing Gucci does is…. Randomly lock himself in the studio to create a joint album with Kreayshawn’s White Girl Mob affiliate, V-Nasty. You made the wrong call. We can’t decide what’s more offensive: V’s annoying voice or her sucky simple nursery rhymes. Tha Bizness-produced “Out My Circle” and Slim Dunkin-featured “Push Up” may be tolerable, but the rest of the album is pretty much torture. “Let’s Get Faded” fizzles. “Food Plug” is foolish. “Whip Appeal” has none whatsoever and “Sick Swag” will make your stomach turn. BAYTL? What an epic fail.
Folks of all races skated to one song and this one song only. Over Hit-Boy’s heavy drums and electrifying bridge, Jay and Ye displayed their balling antics on tilt that made even the poorest man wanna dig in his pocket to cop a bottle of bubbly. The Will Ferrell Blades Of Glory-sample during the break was actually quite fitting since we needed a time out from all the kinetic energy. Thankfully the bars were as strong as the bounce. From Yeezy’s cockiness “Doctors say I’m the illest, ’cause I’m suffering from realness” to Jay’s clever metaphors “Psycho. I’m liable to go Michael, take your pick: Jackson, Tyson, Jordan, Game 6″. And if you were lucky enough to attend their tour, you might have caught it live which was its own experience. Who performs a song 11 times in a row? Now that shit is cray.
Jomo’s good with us ’round these parts. But when it comes to his last album, Capo, this was just all kinds of bad. For starters, his single “Perfect Day” didn’t live up its flawless title. Unlike Jim’s previous efforts, (particularly Harlem: Diary Of A Summer), Capo lacks continuity and cohesiveness. There’s jacked flows (“The Paper”, “Hockey Bag”), poor production (“Dope Boi”), and mediocre rhymes (you can take your pick on that one). Jim’s proven to be capable of holding down the Dip’s Set, it’s just that this album does nothing for his cosa nostra.
Before the album even dropped, this song was a movement by itself. Son! Do you remember how this pass-the-mic, soul sample-packed lyrical exchange shook the rap game up? Over Otis Redding’s “Tenderness,” this nigga Kanye told YMCMB to “tuck their whole summer in.” Crazy! Hov’s callin the paps on himself? This shit still give me chills. Run it back! Maybe Flex likes this shit more than me. But not by a lot. Ha!
This street anthem set the year off right. Make no mistake, Khaled’s protege had a certified smash on his own. Lex Luger’s sinister track was knocking and Ace’s hook was deadly killer but then Rozay and Wayne hopped on and this joint went national. Weezy’s verse here is his best since life after prison. With a lil help from his friends, Hood proved all the doubters wrong. The third time is still the charm. We The Best be that logo.
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