I was able to find a ton of real good music from 2008 and I ended up expanding my list of top songs to 60.
BC's Top 10 LP's of 2008
10) Substantial - Sacrifice - The last 2 LP’s on this list were hard to come up with. Substantial’s Sacrafice was a good album, but a little inconsistent. But, overall, well worth the purchase.
9) Guilty Simpson – Ode to the Ghetto - Guilty Simpson has a dope flow and the beats on this album are a little different then other albums, and that makes for a nice LP.
8) The Mighty Underdogs – Droppin’ Science Fiction - I didn’t get into this LP until this year, but I’m glad I gave it another chance.
7) EMC - The Show - It’s not entirely unsuitable, but it’s a real nice collabo from 4 dope MC’s, including one of the greats, Masta Ace.
6) Nicolay & Kay – Time:Line - There are a couple songs that I don’t really dig, but there are some real great songs on here.
5) Shawn Jackson – First of All - I’m looking forward to hearing more from Shawn Jackson. If you haven’t heard of this LP, please check it out.
4) J-Live – Then What Happened? - This is a real solid album from J-Live, as usual.
3) The Roots – Rising Down - Another classic from the great Roots crew.
2) Q-Tip – The Renaissance - I was impressed on how good this album was and I was glad that it lived up to the greatness of Q-Tip.
1) Atmosphere – When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold - They just keep getting better and better. This album features great beats from Ant and Slug kicking those deep lyrics.
Honorable Mentions:
Dagha - The Divorce, Jake One - White Van Music, Akrobatik - Absolute Value, EPMD – We Mean Business, The Knux - Remind Me In Three Days…, Heltah Skeltah - D.I.R.T., Reks - Grey Hairs, Black Milk - Tronic, Jedi Mind Tricks - A History of Violence
And, because there were a lot of LP’s that I just didn’t get into (yet), here are the LP’s that I didn’t give a fair shot to: GZA - Pro Tools, Almighty - Original S.I.N., Johnson & Jonson. I fully expect to get back to these in the near future, but the decade ran out before they got their fair shot.
BC's Top 60 Songs of 2008
60) As the Wheel Turns - Nicolay & Kay
59) Wild Wild Horses - Atmosphere
58) Cappuccino - The Knux
57) Listen Up - EPMD - EPMD’s last LP was pretty good, even if they recycled old funk beats. Here’s another funk track.
56) Deathbed Doctrine - Jedi Mind Tricks - A great hardcore track with some cutting and Jus Allah is back.
55) Shaka - Q-Tip - A dope song that ends a dope album.
54) Everything - Murs - Who would have thought a song using a James Blunt sample would be good? But, it is and Blunt has actually grown on me.
53) Laughing At You - The Mighty Underdogs - A cool song that uses laughter as part of the beat.
52) Drinks Up! - Madlib w. Frank-N-Dank
51) The Zone - J-Live w/ Chali 2na - A up tempo party track with the former Jurassic 5 MC, known for his crazy deep voice.
50) Go! - Madlib w/ Guilty Simpson
49) Robbery - Guilty Simpson
48) I’m Coming - Jake One w/ Black Milk and Nottz - I love this beat.
47) Da Beginning of Da End - Heltah Skeltah
46) Losing Out - Black Milk w/ Royce Da 5’9”
45) Blizzard - Nicolay & Kay
44) Butcher Knife Bloodbath - Jedi Mind Tricks - This is another example of what Stoupe can do on a beat. Just a cool beat.
43) Intro: The Formula - 9th Wonder and Buckshot - I didn’t really get into the LP, but I really dig this song.
42) We Fight-We Love - Q-Tip w/ Raphael Saadiq
41) Say Goodnight - Reks - A real nice beat from DJ Premier and some hardcore mic work from Reks.
40) Black Hell Breaks Loose - Akrobatik w/ Therapy and Willie Evans
39) We Alright - EMC
38) Bang! Bang! - The Knux - The Knux showed some real potential on their debut LP.
37) Resurrection of the House Party - Substantial - A party starter.
36) Bac Stabbers - EPMD - This is one of the better songs from the last EPMD effort.
35) Road is My Religion - Murs - Murs’ ode to touring.
34) Yesterday - Atmosphere - A deep song from Slug and Ant (surprise!). Slug thinks he’s just seen someone from his past, but realizes that it can’t be that person.
33) Official - Q-Tip
32) Get ‘Er Done - Jake One w/ DOOM - This is the closest I will ever come to liking Larry the Cable Guy.
31) Criminal - The Roots w/Truck North and Saigon
30) Cliché - Dagha - Dagha spits out a bunch of clichés and puns on a nice track.
29) The American Dream - Guilty Simpson
28) The Grudge - EMC - The fells from EMC speak on some people that wronged them in the past and the grudges they’ve held.
27) Labor Pains - Substantial - I’m a sucker for those “9 to 5 cube jobs suck” songs. I guess it’s because I can relate to that.
26) Devil’s Work - Dagha - When this beat kicks in I just start nodding my head. I could just listen to the first 10-20 seconds on a loop over and over again.
25) Grey Hairs - Reks
24) Git Sum - EMC w/ Sean Price - This was one of the nicer beats on The Show.
23) Feelin’ Jack - Shawn Jackson
22) Get Busy - The Roots w/ Dice Raw and Peedi Pedi - All three MC’s on this track come with heat.
21) Puppets - Atmosphere - This song comes in nice and slow and kicks into a harder track about half way through.
20) Oh Really - Jake One w/ Posdnuos and Slug - It’s a real short track, but it’s nice to hear these 2 MC’s together on the same track.
19) You Out There - J-Live - A real nice song and a nice way for J-Live to end his last LP.
18) Dreamer - Atmosphere - The story of a lady struggling through life and a deadbeat boyfriend/father.
17) Hands in the Air - The Mighty Underdogs - Do you remember Velemints? I just wish this song was longer.
16) Life Is Better - Q-Tip w/ Norah Jones - This is almost a Norah Jones song, but it’s a real nice song. And, Norah Jones seems like a cool lady because she likes Evil Dead. Yes, that is what I base my opinion of Norah Jones on.
15) Not Another Day - Atmosphere - This is a great song from their Sad Clown Bad Spring EP.
14) I Must Love You - Guilty Simpson - And, I love this song.
13) The Understanding - J-Live - Just a great song with a great use of a Jeru the Damaja sample.
12) UFC (remix) - The Mighty Underdogs
11) Painting - Atmosphere
10) The Gunshot - Nicolay & Kay - This is my favorite song from the Nicolay and Kay collaboration.
9) The Wake Up Call - Substantial
8) Fix Ya Face - Shawn Jackson - The best song on a nice album from up-and-comer Shawn Jackson.
7) It Don’t Stop - J-Live - One of those perfect examples of great hip-hop from J-Live.
6) Royal Flush - Big Boi w/ Andre 3000 and Raekwon - A read somewhere that this song contains one of the best uses of a tuba in a song. Just thought I’d share that.
5) MVP - Ludicris - The only song by Luda that I actually like. He always drops some great guest verses on other people’s albums, but his own music is boring and clichéd. It helps that he got a dope Premo beat to rock over.
4) Rising Down - The Roots w/ Mos Def and Styles P - The beat is great and all three MC’s kick some lyrics that make your motor go 'skur'.
3) Better Than the Best - Murs - For some reason this wasn’t on Murs’ major label debut. This song got my pumped for the Murs release, and although it wasn’t a classic, there were some good songs on there (first half was great, 2nd half was awful). The sample of The Four Tops’ I Can’t Help Myself works and Murs is more than happy to tell you why he‘s the best. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDGgYrPCazA
2) Won’t Trade - Q-Tip - Real nice use of some old school R&B samples.
1) You - Atmosphere - I could never have thought in the 90’s that a song about a waitress could be so good.
Honorable Mentions:
Happymess - Atmosphere
Rising Up - The Roots w/ Wale and Chrisette Michele
Everything is Heltah Skeltah
What Up Man - The Cool Kids
Soul Glo - Akrobatik
ILL Vacation - The Mighty Underdogs
Backstage - Shawn Jackson
Lookin’ Fly - Murs - Ill Kill Bill sample.
The One - Reks
The Train - The Knux
Johnny Is Dead - Q-Tip
The Show - EMC w/ Ladybug Mecca
Make It Better - EMC
One To 31 - J-Live
Time: Line - Nicolay & Kay
Grand Theft Auto - Nicolay & Kay
Long Story Short - Black Milk
Actin’ Up - EPMD w/ Tre and Vic D.
Yo - EPMD
Me - Atmosphere
Shoulda Known - Atmosphere
Scared - Jake One w/ Blueprint
Trap Door - Jake One w/ DOOM
Ratrace - Madlib w/ Murs
1/11/2010
BC's Top 10, 60 - 2008
1/08/2010
Bloggerhouse & WYDU Present the Decade In Review: Favorite Tracks 06-08
As we wrap up our review of the double zero zero's and get ready to say goodbye to 2009 (we are always a little late around here), we cover the last three years, 2006-2008. These past three years will probably go down in history as the year of the blogs. Let's face it you, you are reading this, so you had some help in this. Good and bad, the blogs and online in general became the new "streets". We were influential on many fronts and many artists, hell, we even coined the term Blogger rapper. Cats like Drake, Mickey Factz, Blu, Kid Cudi, all got major pushes from the bloggers (I'm sorry, except for Blu). The whole explosion made it easy for artists to promote their music, which in turn made for more bedroom rappers, which in turn made for a lot more music, which in turn made for a lot of mediocre music. You get the picture. Like I said, it's good and bad on all fronts.
We could debate it all day, and being an old school myself at heart, I have mixed views on it. I have more music from '08 and '09 than I do than the rest of the decade combined. I got so far behind on listening to music this year, that I might as well just gave up trying to keep up. But all that digging is worth it, you never know when you might run into that Archetype, which I found in '07, or Poorly Drawn People which was another group that I discovered thanks to the internet these last few years. Yes, the game is forever changed, and 06-08 are hold a great key to that whole change. Whether it's good or bad is something that I have a feeling will be debated even ten years from now. Until then though, we look back and find some great music was released in the time period, especially '07, which is in the running for my favorite year in hip hop.
02 Pete Rock & Grap Luva - Revenge
03 Busta Rhymes - You Can't Hold The Torch (Feat. Q-Tip & Chauncey Black)
04 Cunninlynguists - Beautiful Girl
05 J Dilla - E=MC2 Featuring Common
06 Rhymefest - Dynomite (Going Postal)
07 Obie Trice - Wanna Know
08 Oh No feat Pos - Smile a Lil Bit
09 Nas - The N
10 J Dilla - Love Featuring Pharoahe Monch
11 AZ - The Format
12 Jay-Z - Lost Ones
13 J Dilla - So Far To Go (Featuring Common & D'Angelo)
14 Lone Catalyst - One's We Miss
15 Ghostface - You Know I'm No Good
16 eMC - Four Brothers
17 Little Brother - Life of the Party
18 Blaq Poet - Bang Dis
19 Termanology - Watch How It Go Down
20 Krs-One - When I'm On The Mic
The funny thing is, I'm looking at this list of songs (which first appeared back in Jan of 2007) and nothing really sticks out to me today. I mean, yeah, obviously I liked this collection of songs and still do, only a few really stick out as "personal classics". One such track would be Busta's "You Can't Hold The Torch". One of my guilty pleasures of 2006 was Busta's "The Big Bang", and this track was one of the main reasons. I remember playing it over and over, as the Native Tongue like vibes, mellowly played through the speakers. The oft-forgotten eMC track, "4 Brothers", comes in toward the end, but I think it'd probably be higher today. The beat is simple, yet infectious and all four emcees do their thing. With the year '06 being the first year I heard of Rhymefest, with all the "Jesus Walks" (fake) drama, he demonstrated why he should be considered one of the best emcees of the decade with "Dynomite (Going Postal)". For me, Nas always released his best music that wasn't on the album. That happened again when he dropped "The N", a track that sees Nas being the Nas we all know and love over a loud, horn filled track. The Oh No/Pos collaboration brings out the best in both artists. Oh No's beat sounds like something that could have been on "De La Soul is Dead", and Pos drops some insightful lines, demonstrating why De La and Pos are my favorites in the hip hop culture. Then of course we have three tracks from J Dilla's "The Shining" album, which I obviously loved. Dilla always brought out the best in Common IMO, and it shows with "E=MC2", a track that I played constantly that year. There is also "So Far To Go", which is on some "Electric Circus"/Soulaquarians vibe, but it works well. Pharaohe Monch and Dilla connect on "Love", a bouncy groovy song that gets the head noddin', and Monch rides the beat with ease and brings a smile to the hardest hardrock. No excuses for the "You Know I'm No Good" track, except it was before we all knew that Amy Winehouse was a boozing, crack head that she has exposed herself as being. I love the beat and Ghost sounds right at home over the whole thing. The top track of the year in my opinion though, was the Primo assisted "Ding!" from Royce. It's tracks like this that make me pray each night before bed that we'll get a Primo PRODUCED album from Royce. Maybe next year?
http://usershare.net/fm2i7rm21bj3
http://rapidshare.com/files/333335610/Bloggerhouse___WYDU_Presents_the_Best_of_2007.rar (Back Up Link)
01 Marco Polo feat Masta Ace - Nostalgia
02 Nas - Can`t Forget About You
03 Cunninlynguists (feat. Phonte & Witchdoctor) - Yellow Lines
04 Blue & Exile - So(ul) Amazin (Steel Blazin')
05 Royce Da 5'9 - Hit 'Em
06 eMC- What It Stand For
07 Evidence - Mr. Slow Flow
08 Kanye West feat T-Pain - Good Life
09 Blu & Exile - Simply Amazin'
10 Buff1 - Pretty Baby
11 Juggaknots - Leon Phelps
12 Marco Polo feat O.C. - Marquee
13 Archetype - Keep It Comin'
14 Blu & Exile - No Greater Love
15 Common - The Game
16 The Smile Rays feat Akrobatic - Smilin' On You
17 Blue Scholars - Still Got Love
18 Atmosphere - Sunshine
19 Archetype - I'll Be Honored
20 Blue Scholars - Second Chapter
The year 2007 was obviously dominated by a select few albums, all of which had two and even three tracks on the original list that appeared in Jan of 2008. First, there was my personal classic and probably my favorite album that I received as a promo the whole decade. Archetype, a duo from Kansas, had two tracks on the final list. Both "Keep It Comin'" and "I'll Be Honored", are great tracks that shine the light on the group's talents. Blue Scholars got a lot of play from in me in '07 and that shows, since even the album's "intro" made the list in the form of "Second Chapter". "Still Got Love" was a great topic from the duo, since I've dealt with my share of "snakes", I still got love for ya! Then of course the number one album of the year, "Below The Heavens", from Blu & Exile had a whopping three tracks. "So(ul) Amazing", "Simply Amazin", and "No Greater Love", exemplify why "Below The Heavens" is among my favorite albums of the year (now if I could only find a copy of it somewhere). A couple tracks that actually came from 2006 show up as well. The first, Nas with "Can't Forget About You" actually did drop as a single in 2007, and that's when I really got into it, so it stays. Juggaknots dropped "Use Your Confusion" in October of 2006. My dumbass didn't listen to it until late December/early January, so I'm making an exception and putting the dope track, "Leon Phelps" in with the collection. In the end, there are soooo many great songs in this top 20, that I'm not sure it'd change much if I was to reorder it. Of course the number would still remain "Nostalgia", from Marco Polo's "Port Authority" LP featuring none other than Masta Ace. This song would be in the top three of my favorite tracks of 2007. Classic....
http://usershare.net/h5v63rnqiwmp
01 The P Brothers - Outta Control (ft. Roc Marciano)
02 1773 - Sounds of Life
03 Ludacris - MVP
04 Has Lo - The Quiet Things
05 The Grouch - Artsy
06 Tha Connection - Take It Higher (Revamped)
07 Baje One - Mission Statement
08 Shawn Jackson - Fix Ya Face
09 Castor Pollux - 1979
10 Praverb - The King
11 eMC - Leak It Out
12 Amad Jamal - Goin' Postal
13 DJ K.O. - Ladder of Success (feat. Phonte, Wordsworth, K-Hill, Masta Ace)
14 Fat Joe - That White
15 Jake One - Kissin The Curb (feat. Bishop Lamont and Busta Rhymes)
16 All Natural - The All
17 Mr. Green & Pacewon - Children Sing
18 Black Milk - Hold It Down
19 Zilla Rocca - Flow God Zilla
20 Storm Davis feat. Ams Uno & Prolyphic - Fatbackburners
It what seems like yesterday, our 2008 year end appeared last January 13th (so at least I'm not too far behind last year's pace) in which we dropped our top 25. All these tracks should be fairly fresh in everyone's subconscious and of course the list contains my own tastes directly influencing it. Artists like Has-Lo who remains on the up and up, but not yet on the radar's of a lot of the spoon feed rap consumers popped up with his somber "The Quiet Things". Another WYDU favorite in Storm Davis dropped "Fatbackburners", a fuzzy guitar inspired track that makes me want to punch a whole through a wall. The same vibe is also found on Zilla Rocca's "Flow God Zilla", that uses the same energy as the previously mentioned track. Cator Pollux, yet another WYDU favorite, made himself known with the extremely ill "1979", a track that I play almost weekly to this day. All Natural's "The All" was another "holier than thou, fire and brimstone, smack a hooker in the snot box" type of track as well. Even more mainstream artists such as Ludacris got their music on the illustrious WYDU list with the Primo beat on "M.V.P". Jake One enlisted Busta and Bishop Lamont for "Kiss the Curb", but it was the beat that stole the show, or at least matched Busta's intensity. The best track of the year went to The P Brothers and "Outta Control", which featured Roc Marcio. Straight up hip hop in all it's goodness, the bass line and drums get my headin' noddin' every time I hear it.
1/07/2010
BC's Top 10, 40 - 2007
I found the list of top LP's to be a easier, as there weren't as many great albums as the previous 2 years, but the number of great songs from '07 was overwhelming.
BC's Top 10 LP's of 2007
10) Mac Lethal - 11:11 - I saw Mac Lethal open for Atmosphere and bought this at his show solely based on the strength of his live performance and I wasn’t disappointed. There are some real good songs on here.
9) Camp Lo - Black Hollywood - I dig this album. I thought the vast majority of this album was solid and there are some great songs on here.
8) C-Rayz Walz and Sharkey - Monster Maker - I remember this getting luke warm reviews when it came out, but I really liked this pairing. It’s a bit different, but C-Rayz always is. Check it out if you haven’t.
7) Atmosphere - Sad Clown Bad Summer/Fall/Winter (3 EP's) - If you put these 3 EP’s together, you have a great 15 track album. Add Sad Clown Bad Spring from 2008 and you have 20 dope songs from the band that never sleeps (who also released a full album for free download, Strictly Leakage, in 2007).
6) Busdriver - RoadKillOvercoat - This album is still in my rotation, not as much as in ‘07, but it has had staying power with me.
5) Lupe Fiasco - The Cool - Lupe’s follow-up isn’t as good as his classic debut album, but it holds it’s own. Hopefully, #3 won’t be his last as he has threatened.
4) El-P - I'll Sleep When Your Dead - This one took me a while to get into and it just snuck up on me. It’s weird and great at the same time.
3) DJ Jazzy Jeff - The Return of the Magnificent - One of those dope producer albums. There are only about 2 tracks that aren’t that great. Other than those songs, this LP is full of great songs.
2) Pharoahe Monch - Desire - It fades a little at the end, but pound for pound, this is one of the best albums of the 2000’s and I can only hope that we don’t have to wait 8 years between every release from Monch.
1) Blu & Exile - Below the Heavens - This is a great pairing that provided a dope album. This LP is solid from beginning to end and I played it (for what seemed to be) non-stop for a months upon months.
BC's Top 40 Songs of 2007
40) Rebirth - One Be Lo - A solid start to One Be Lo’s LP. I liked rebirth, but not as much as sonogram.
39) Road to Riches - Atmosphere (cuts by DJ Plain Ol’ Bill) - An ode to Kool G Rap and DJ Polo.
38) Gutterfly - Lifesavas w/ Camp Lo - A nice funky horn based track featuring Camp Lo.
37) Loss of Niche - C-Rayz Walz and Sharkey w/ Zooks - I love C-Rayz Walz, he’s clever as hell. My favorite line, “That’s why I’m still shining like Shelley Duvall.”
36) One Shine - Panacea - Just a real dope song from a so-so album.
35) For the Future - Marco Polo w/ Critically Acclaimed - Marco Polo ends Port Authority with one of his best beats.
34) Havin’ Thangs - Planet Asia - This is the kind of beat that I wish Asia would spit over more often. He’s a nice MC, but I haven’t really gotten into many of his albums. Anyway, this is a nice track.
33) The World Is (Below the Heavens…) - Blu & Exile - Just another nice track from Blu & Exile’s great album.
32) Come On - DJ Jazzy Jeff w/ Dave Ghetto - Tales from the hood. Dave Ghetto spits about trying to make something out of a bad situation.
31) Mash’s Revenge - Peanut Butter Wolf w/ MF DOOM, Guilty Simpson and J Dilla - I assume this song is at least partially produced by Dilla and the piano loop is ill. DOOM and Guilty Simpson handle the mic duties.
30) Mr. Mistake (Bested by the Whisper Chasm) - Busdriver - The chorus makes this song (who doesn’t feel like this sometimes?): I’ve got people to disappoint, I got mistakes to make. How can you believe that I’m not a waste of space. Oh I’m sorry to disappoint, I seldom save face. But how can I speak your language when I don’t know my own.
29) Valley of Death - Cunninlynguists - I was disappointed with Dirty Acres. I was so excited for this album, but it was just too mellow for me. Maybe I would have preferred this as an instrumental LP. The beats are nice, I just don’t know why this LP was a diappointment, other than it was too slow for me. Anyway, this song is nice.
28) Supa Jean - DJ Jazzy Jeff w/ Jean Grae - This LP is great and this is another top-notch beat from Jeff with some more of those clever Jean Grae verses.
27) Chase the Clouds Away - Evidence - The beat from The Alchemist is, well, happy and Evidence raps about, well, being happy. He helps an old lady cross the street and he even shares his girl with you. How very generous of the man.
26) Keep Off the Lawn - Aesop Rock - Aesop’s None Shall Pass was a nice LP, but the first 2 songs were the best to me. It takes 30-45 seconds before the beat kicks in, but when it does, it is a truly unique experience.
25) Calm Down Baby - Mac Lethal - A dope beat and Mac Lethal telling you his likes, dislikes and other random information. How’s that for some in-depth analysis?
24) Run the Numbers - El-P w/ Aesop Rock - Find those detonators! This LP (get it El-P) is on some space age stuff, so the lyrics are kind of sci-fi tinged.
23) Pain to the Picture - C-Rayz Walz and Sharkey - C-Rayz kicking those crazy rhymes and I like the mixture of C-Rayz and Sharkey.
22) When the Gun Draws - Pharaohe Monch w/ Mr. Porter - Pharaohe’s anti-gun song were he speaks from the point of view of a bullet in the first verse and kicks some more anti-gun rhymes in the second.
21) Desire - Pharaohe Monch w/ Showtime - Even with an R&B hook, this song is dope.
20) Little Weapon - Lupe Fiasco w/ Bishop G and Nikki Jean - Lupe and gang dropping a song about violence among/from young people. Child soldiers in Africa and kids playing violent video games.
19) Second Chapter - Blue Scholars - I don’t know exactly how to explain this beat, which you can probably tell if you’ve read my lists, but it’s a phenomenal beat.
18) Take Me Home - Brother Ali - This is my favorite track from Ali’s The Undisputed Truth. Ant’s beat is a head nodder and Ali holds it down.
17) Body Baby - Pharaohe Monch - Man, Pharaohe’s LP had some bangers. Here’s another one.
16) Marquee - Marco Polo w/ O.C. - I love this beat and O.C. brings some fire.
15) Small Town U.S.A. - Foul Mouth Jerk w/ Masta Ace - Ace and FMJ speak about the dopeness of small towns and how they can get down as much as the city (plus a little shout out to Minnesota). A real nice song, but I have to admit that I haven’t heard anything else from Foul Mouth Jerk, but based on him putting MA on a track, I should support it. Let me know if it’s any good, if you’ve heard it.
14) Tasmanian Pain Coaster - El-P - It’s a slow build to a wonderfully odd and brilliant song.
13) So(ul) Amazin’ (Steel Blazin’) - Blu & Exile - A real soulful beat featuring a M.O.P. sample, which is always a good idea.
12) Don’t Forget - Atmosphere - This beat is just great. Another dope piano loop and Slug speaks on some real life experiences from his youth.
11) Mr. Slow Flow/Mr. Slow Flow (remix) - Evidence - The hook enhances the greatness of the song. The remix featurs Mr. (original) Slow Flow himself, PMD, with Rakaa, and, well… Mr. Slow Flow, Evidence.
10) Opening Salvo - Blue Scholars - Another great beat, this one features a dope cello (bass?) and some great rhymes by Geologic.
9) Pushahoe - Camp Lo - I love this beat, it’s an old-school nod to Run DMC’s Peter Piper.
8) The Definition - DJ Jazzy Jeff w/ Kel Spencer - The piano laced scratch beat on this track is straight dope and Kel Spencer in niiiiice. He’s definitely an up-and-comer that I am looking forward to hearing more from.
7) Push - Pharaohe Monch w/ Showtime, Mela Machinko and Tower of Power - I had a hard time picking the best song from Desire and for now, it’s Push. It’s a funky, soulful beat.
6) The Troglodyte Wins - Busdriver - Mostly random lyrics from what I can tell, but with an obvious George W. Bush dis.
5) Practice - DJ Jazzy Jeff w/ J-Live - Probably the best beat on Return and the Allen Iverson sample is just classic. J-Live lets you know that his a better MC then you… and, chances are, he is. There aren’t too many better in my eyes.
4) Nostalgia - Marco Polo w/ Masta Ace - Marco’s beat and Ace’s lyrics create a classic joint. Extra points for the scratch heavy hook. Video (w/ cameos):
3) Show Me the Good Life - Blu & Exile w/ Aloe Blacc and Joseph - Blu talks about the pressure of providing for a child when he can hardly provide for himself. Aloe Blacc provides another solid verse as well. Exile’s beat is a damn good one.
2) Superstar - Lupe Fiasco w/ Matthew Santos - Verse 3 is just one of the best verses I’ve ever heard, The cadence and flow are just on point.
1) Sunshine - Atmosphere - A song about waking up hung over, but it’s so damn nice out, Slug just had to grab that 10 speed and get out there and enjoy Minneapolis.
Honorable Mentions:
Peyote - Atmosphere
Truth Is - Brother Ali
Between Earth and Sky - Panacea - Mmmm… DROP! Any song that samples Ad-Rock’s patented Mmmm… Drop, can’t be all bad. I also dig the very whistle friendly beat.
NC to CA - Evidence w/ Defari, Joe Scudda and Big Pooh
Things You Do - Evidence
They All Get Mad at You - Atmosphere
The Old Style - Atmosphere (cuts by DJ Plain Ol’ Bill) - An old-school track from Strictly Leakage.
Crewed Up - Atmosphere w/ Stage One, St. Paul Slim, Muja Messiah, YZ, Brother Ali, Toki Wright and Blueprint
Hold It Down - DJ Jazzy Jeff w/ Method Man
Smash - Polyrhythm Addicts - One of those nice DJ Spinna beats and Shaabam, Complex and the gal that took over for Apani kick some battle type rhymes.
Up All Night - El-P
The Overly Dramatic Truth - El-P
Paper Planes - M.I.A. - I debated this and decided to leave it off, but you have to admit, it’s a great song.
Jumping Off at the Jump Off - C-Rayz Walz and Sharkey
The Clinic - Lords of the Underground - I liked this album, and I was a huge LOTUG fan back in the day (don‘t think too much since the debut has been that great), so I think that means something. This beat is dope.
I Love Hip Hop - Lords of the Underground
Hip-Hop Lives - KRS-One and Marley Marl
Fish Fillet - Sa-Ra w/ Pharoahe Monch - Childish lyrics, but a funky song.
Double Up - Lifesavas
Let’s Go - Pharaohe Monch w/ Mela Machinko
Chedda - Big City - A head nodding part beat and a mix of braggadocio and battle rhymes.
Posse From the Bronx - Camp Lo
My World Is… - Blu & Exile
Blu Colla Workers - Blu & Exile
Dump the Clip - Army of the Pharoahs - The beat isn’t as great as I once thought it was. I think the sample makes the song (in whatever language it‘s in), along with Celph Titled.
Jihad! - Mac Lethal - Mac Lethal hates Boulevard beer, Applebees and other corporate sell outs. All hail George Carlin!
Pound That Beer - Mac Lethal - Here’s that beer drinking anthem you’ve been looking for. The LP version can’t quite match the energy of the live version, but it comes pretty close.
Make-Out Bandit - Mac Lethal
The Coolest - Lupe Fiasco
Church - Sean P w/ Rock and Loudmouf Choir
1/06/2010
Bloggerhouse & WYDU Present the Decade In Review: Trav's Favorite Albums of 2006-2008
As we come close to wrapping up the decade end list and to get warmed for the year end lists we have lined up, we'll be checking out the albums that dropped for 06-08, straight from the Wake Your Daughter Up archives. We'll see what I was (and wasn't) thinking as we go back through history of our last three year end issues.
Catch all the Decade Review posts here:
Tracks 2000-2002
http://www.wydublog.com/2009/12/bloggerhouse-wydu-presents-decade-in.html
Tracks 2003-2005
http://whentheyreminisce.com/?p=2715
Tracks 2006-2008
Coming This Week.....
Albums 2000-2002
http://whentheyreminisce.com/?p=2572
Albums 2002-2005
http://whentheyreminisce.com/?p=2902
Part Two: http://www.wydublog.com/2007/01/top-50-songs-of-2006-and-wydu-panties.html
10. Ghostface - More FishNot one, but two albums from Ghost this year. When I heard about this, I was very hesitant. How was he going to come with two good albums. How would he have the matrial to put out two good albums? At first I thought it was a bonafied mixtape, but when I sat down and listened to it, I was very suprised. I'm not saying this is better in quality than Fishscales, but I enjoyed this release more than the first one. "You Know I'm No Good" is one of those songs I played over and over when I first heard it.
9. Asamov (The AB's) - And Now.....
Yeah, I know this dropped in 05', but it's my list so I'll post what albums I please. I didn't pick this up until the spring after hearing "The Lawn" rant about this. The music is right up my alley. It's kind of laxed, but still encompasses all the raw aspects of Hip Hop.
8. Lone Catalyst - Good Music
This was a group in the past that I always heard getting a lot of praise, but I couldn't really get with their music. This album changed that for me. This album was in the Top 5 for most of the year for me. There is some great music on here, "One's We Miss" is a great song.
7. Boss Hog Barbarians - Every Hog Has It's DayRemember me saying I enjoy the more "grown" music these days? This is the exception. Pure ignorance and bliss in all it's glory. If you read this blog much, you know J-Zone is one of my personal favorites and Celph Titled adds a nice touch and some funk and 808 making this a fun album to pick up some booty to.
6. Jay Dee - Donuts
I remember hearing this before it's official release, before Jay's death and not really liking it much. I'm not much on instrumentals, unless I just want something to fall asleep to. I gave it a few more listens and before I knew it, I had beats stuck in my head, leading me to play this more and more, even if it wasn't until August that I really had it in major rotation. There is some INCREDIBLE stuff on this.
5. Tanay Morgan - Moonlighting
Another group I was introduced to through "The Lawn". I was already familiar with Von Pea then after hearing a pre-release mixtape, I was fairly amped for the release. The actual album made more of an impact than I could ever imagine though. Coupled with a great sense of humor in their lyrics and some jazzy smooth beats, this album was just an enjoyable listening experience all the way around.
4. Exile - Dirty ScienceTook a listen to this based on Polarity's advice. We don't always have the same tastes, but he was right about this one. Exile is one half of the group Emanon, who had an top 5 album for me last year and is somewhat of an up & coming producer (see "Pearly Gates" on the last Mobb Deep album). This is a producer album with many different artists like Slum Village (a track that had been floating around for sometime, but still pretty dope), Aloe Blacc and even Ghostface.
3. Oh No - Exodus In Unheard Rhythms
Yet, another producer based album, but one of the more original albums I've heard in sometime. The beats are based on the music of Galt McDermont, which adds cohesiveness that many DJ/Producer albums lack. Great songs from Pos of De La, Buckshot & Wise Intelligent.
2. J Dilla - The ShiningWhy this isn't getting more attention than it is is kind of odd to me. This is Dilla's swan song, and while it might not have been finished by Dilla himself, this is still some great music. I played the shit out of this LP with the first half of it being as good as any album that's been released since 2000.
1. Cunninlynguists - A Piece of Strange
It's becoming more and more rare for me, but every so often an album comes along that I won't put down for a week straight. It will be all I listen to. Since 2000, only a handful of albums would fall into that category of "Classic" in my book (Masta Ace - Long Hot Summer & Disposable Arts, Binary Star - Masters Of The Universe, Little Brother - The Listening, Foreign Exchange - Connected) and this one would fall into that list as well. I can't even begin to start bragging about this album. The concept, the music, the audio imagery it presents, it's all just a masterful piece of work that shouldn't be overlooked. Hell, even the cover art is dope as fuck.
Well now, as we look back at this list, obviously there are a couple head scratchers. As much as I like the Dilla's "The Shining" to this day, it's obvious that "Donuts" should be ahead of it, both in my opinion and a "consensus" list. In fact, if we look at the overall quality of the year, "Donuts" should probably be the album of the year, although it's difficult for me to not have "A Piece of Strange" as my favorite for that year.
And yes, where is "Game Theory"? The Roots album was one of those that I didn't truly appreciate until after the year was over. It's easily a top five release as well.
Top 10 of 2006 (General View)
1. J Dilla - Donuts
2. The Roots - Game Theory
3. Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor
4. Nas - Hip Hop Is Dead
5. J Dilla - The Shining
6. Ghostface - Fishscale
7. Cunninlynguists - A Piece of Strange
8. Ghostface - More Fish
9. Tanya Morgan - Moonlighting
10. Oh No - Exodus In Unheard Rhythms
Trav's Updated 2006 Top 10
1. Cunninlynguists - A Piece of Strange
2. J Dilla - Donuts
3. Juggaknots - Use Your Confusion
4. J Dilla - The Shining
5. Oh No - Exodus In Unheard Rhythms
6. Exile - Dirty Science
7. Boss Hog Barbarian - Every Hog Has It's Day
8. Tanya Moran - Moonlighting
9. The Roots - Game Theory
10. Louis Logic & JJ Brown - Misery Loves Company
(tie) Ghostface - More Fish
The year 2007 wasn't all that long ago, but I'd go out on a limb and say that '07 was in the running with '00 and '03 for the best year of the decade for hip hop. My man Eric and were totally going back and forth supplying each other with "must hear albums". And a lot of them were just that, MUST HEAR.
I'm not going to change anything on this one. For one, I got so wrapped up in the music I was finding on music, I didn't care or follow what anyone else was listening to, except the few people and blogs that had the same tastes as I did. Their are a few "surprises" in here, such as the Archetype album, "Bleed For Them". An album that I still play on a weekly basis. Same with The Smile Rays "Party Place", which if you've been reading WYDU very long, will know consists of Batsauce, Daisey and my man Paten Locke. If anything, "Party Place" has moved up in my favorites.
My top 40 list appeared as an end blurb to our WYDU Awards that year, so nothing written, but here it is.....
Original Post: http://www.wydublog.com/2008/01/year-end-list-to-end-all-year-end-lists.html
10. Joell Ortiz - The Brick Bodega Chronicles 
9. Evidence - The Weather Report
8. Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass
7. The Smile Rays - Party Place
6. Kanye West - Graduation
5. El-P - I'll Sleep When Your Dead
4. Blue Scholars - Bayani
3. Archetype - Bleed For Them
2. Cunninlynguists - Dirty Acres
1. Blu & Exile - Below The HeavensThe year 2008 took a step down from my potential favorite year, 2007, but it still wasn't a bad year by any stretch of the means. The only thing that is really missing in here that I would have today would be Black Milk's "Tronic" album. Other than that, it's more of my more personal tastes popping up. Has-Lo, Kooley High, and Chief Chinchilla are show up that are probably not the norms. I might switch up the order a bit today, but it's still pretty much these albums that I jam today.
9. Shawn Jackson - First Of All......
8. J-Zone & Chief Chinchilla - Live At The Liqua Store
7. eMC - The Show
6. Elzhi - The Preface
5. Has-Lo - Fuck Has Day
Free Donwload: http://sharebee.com/d636c37b
4. Grip Grand - Brokelore
3. Dagha - The Divorce
2. Nicolay & Kay - Time:Line
1. Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons, Paint That Shit Gold
1/03/2010
BC's Top 10, 40 - 2006
BC's Top 10 LP's of 2006
10) (tie) Oh No - Exodus Into Unheard Rhythms/MF Grimm - American Hunger - I have a tie at #10, cop out y’all. Oh No - This dropped a bit from when it came out, but it’s still a real solid producer based LP with some great guests like, Posdnuos, Wise Intelligent, Aloe Blacc and Murs. Grimm - I just had to recognize a guy that put out a triple LP, that’s 3 full albums, and they’re all good.
9) J Dilla - The Shining - A short and sweet LP from the late, great J Dilla. The production is tight and the guests include Pharoahe Monch, Guilty Simpson, and Black Thought, among others.
8) Louis Logic and JJ Brown - Misery Loves Comedy - It took me a while to get into this album, but when I did, I ran a whole through the CD. I think there’s only 1 song on this LP that I don’t really feel that much.
7) P.O.S. - Audition - Another great album all the way through from P.O.S. He seamlessly adds those punk sensibilities of his into his albums and creates great hip-hop.
6) Outkast - Idlewild - Outkast’s worst album to date, but still a real good one. There are some great songs, but there’s too much filler for this to be higher on my list.
5) The Roots - Game Theory - The Roots bring us another dope album to be added to their significant catalog.
4) K-os - Atlantis: Hymns for Disco - I didn’t know much about this Canadian artist before this LP. I liked Sunday Morning, so I decided to check out and was immediately impressed. He goes back and forth from singing to rapping, but it works. A real solid album and he has at least one more fan because of Atlantis.
3) Exile - Dirty Science - Yet, another producer led album and one of the best LP’s of 2006. Every track on here is gold. It also features one of the great up-and-comers, Blu and some established greats like Aloe Blacc and Ghostface Killah.
2) Pigeon John - Pigeon John and the Summertime Pool Party - Man, this is just a crazy fun album from start to finish. People may know PJ as a so-called “Christian rapper”, but you don’t get any preachy religious statements (the opposite on “As We Know It” where PJ questions all the horrible acts that happen in the world), just a fun hip-hop album.
1) Lupe Fiasco - Food and Liquor - Lupe doesn’t disappoint with all the hype surrounding his debut album. The LP is straight dope.
Honorable Mention: Tha Alkaholiks - Firewater, Soul Position - Things Go Better with RJ & Al, Boot Camp Clik - The Last Stand, MF Grimm - American Hunger, Cut Chemist - The Audience’s Listening, Juggernauts - Use Your Confusion, Ghostface Killah - Fishscale, Rhymefest - Blue Collar, Murs and 9th Wonder - Murray’s Revenge, Mayday! - Mayday!
BC's Top 40 Songs of 2006
40) Murs Iz My Manager - Mr. Lif w/ Murs - Murs is Lif’s manager on this funky track.
39) Jungle Love - J Dilla w/ Guilty Simpson and MED - The beat is raw and Guilty Simpson catches wreck.
38) Crowd Pleasa - El da Sensai - I was disappointed in the LP as a whole, but this song is nice.
37) Leon Phelps - Juggaknots - Breezily Brewin’ is The Ladies Man on this solid track.
36) Morning After Pill - Louis Logic and JJ Brown - Louis spits some more drunken tales on this well-produced song from Misery Loves Comedy.
35) Narrow Grave - Army of the Pharoahs - I just dig the beat a lot. Good song.
34) Sunshine - Lupe Fiasco - One of many great songs from Lupe in 2006.
33) Electric Heat - The Seekwill - K-os - This song starts off Atlantis on a good note.
32) Love - J Dilla w/ Pharaohe Monch - This song basically has Monch sing-rapping over a nice Dilla beat.
31) Things Go Better - Soul Position - This is a great song. The beat is tight and Blueprint discusses how him and RJD2 got together to make music, almost quitting, and persevering. The LP was dope as well.
30) Welcome to the Show - Pigeon John - A great beat and a great song.
29) I Can’t Win - PackFM - PackFM speaks about how hard it’s been for him to make it in the business and sell some damn records and gain a fan base.
28) Macro/Micro - Mayday! - I love the beat on this song and Bernbiz kicks some anti-war/corruption type verses.
27) One For The… - Pigeon John w/ Brother Ali - Here’s an interesting pairing, your “Christian rapper” paired with a Muslim. Dope song.
26) Mighty O - Outkast - Pretty much the only old-school Outkast type song on Idlewild. You have both Andre and Big Boi kicking rhymes on this great track.
25) Build Me Up - Rhymefest w/ Ol’ Dirty Bastard - ODB handles the chorus (Build Me Up Buttercup, just imagine ODB singing that) and Rhymefest talks about a possible female companion.
24) Outlive the War - Jedi Mind Tricks w/ Sean Price - Another one of those dope Stoupe tracks.
23) What’s the Altitude - Cut Chemist w/ Hymnal - One of the few tracks on Cut Chemist’s album that features a rapper.
22) De La Souls - P.O.S. - P.O.S. rhymes about his life and how he lives his life over a beat featuring deep bass (possibly a stand-up bass, maybe a cello, I ain’t a musical maestro yo).
21) Fly Paper - K-os - Here’s one of those songs that mixes K-os’s singing and rapping to great effect. I could put quite a few more songs from this LP on this list, but I felt that some of them maybe weren’t as hip-hop as other songs I had for this list.
20) Kilo - Ghostface Killah w/ Raekwon - Ghost and Rae’s song about the drug trade that uses a sample from Sesame Street, or some other kid’s show (I think, sounds familiar).
19) Fire - Aceyalone and RJD2 - The stand out from Acey and RJD2’s solid collaboration.
18) Tradin’ Places - Boot Camp Clik - This LP was better than I expected and this song is the one that became my favorite.
17) Long Time - The Roots w/ Peedi Peedi and Bunny Sigler - Not even Peedi’s “It started in the bathroom taking a dump” lyric could stop this from being a stand out song.
16) Heaven Can Wait - MF Grimm - This beat is sick and the first time I heard it I said to myself, “BC, this beat is sick, perhaps ill even.”
15) Do the Pigeon - Pigeon John - What’s the Pigeon? Is it a dance? I don’t know, just do it.
14) Do It - Tha Alkaholiks - Speaking of doing it (what a segue), this song from the Liks is great. The lyrics are all over the place, from girls to being yourself.
13) Audition Mantra - P.O.S. - The beat for this was used in P.O.S.’s first LP and earlier in his second. I remember thinking it was a cool beat and I love that it was used in this song. It starts slowly and builds up to a satisfying end.
12) Kick, Push/Kick, Push II - Lupe Fiasco - Lupe’s great songs about skating and the lives of kids that grind.
11) Spittin’ Image - Exile w/ Aloe Blacc - 3 verses about people making mistakes with their lives, the last of which is about a young rapper choosing drugs over a promising career.
10) Rule By a Fool - Louis Logic and JJ Brown - Almost every song on Misery Loves Comedy was my favorite on the album at one point in time, but this one came out the winner with me.
9) Can’t Forget About You - Nas w/ Chrisette Michele - Nas getting deep about growing old and reminiscing about his younger days and just back in the day in general. Chrisette Michele has a soulfully unique voice that makes her stand out from other R&B singers.
8) Groundhog Day - Mayday! Feat. Cee-Lo - Mayday put out a real nice LP and this song, featuring Cee-Lo, is a tribute to the working man and the tediousness of the 9-5 work week.
7) Smile a Lil’ Bit - Oh No w/ Posdnuos - A positive song in which Pos asks you to smile a little bit and frown a little less.
6) Game Theory - The Roots - Try not to nod your head once the music really kicks in.
5) The Last Sunshine - Pigeon John w/ J-Live - One of the great songs from PJ’s LP. J-Live’s last verse just starts off amazingly and continues in that fashion.
4) Fly (Song of Liberation) - Exile w/ Blu - A mellow beat with a couple dope piano loops. Blu kicks some lyrics about life.
3) The Train - Outkast - What a great song. Big Boi reminisces about his life.
2) Daydreamin’ - Lupe Fiasco w/ Jill Scott - Lupe takes some shots at your favorite ignorant, thuggish rappers and speaks on life in the ghetto.
1) Morris Brown - Outkast - A funky marching band song featuring Big Boi handling the mic duties without Andre.
Junkies - Count Bass D
Right There - MF Grimm
Watch Out! - MF Grimm
Agony (No Jugamos) - MF Grimm
Metrorail Thru Space - Cut Chemist
Milk ‘Em - Exile w/ Ghostface and Trife
Second Chance - Oh No w/ Aloe Blacc - This isn’t technically a hip-hop track, as Aloe Blacc, who is a real nice MC, sings about getting a second chance after a car crash almost takes his life.
Be Easy - Ghostface Killah w/ Trife
You Know I’m No Good - Ghostface Killah w/ Amy Winehouse
Here I Come - The Roots w/ Dice Raw - This is the song that is basically the Jimmy Fallon theme song.
Here We Come - Boot Camp Clik
My Favorite Mutiny - The Coup w/ Black Thought and Talib Kweli
Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story - JedI Mind Tricks w/ R.A. the Rugged Man
Razorblade Salvation - Jedi Mind Tricks
Tear It Down - Army of the Pharaohs
Hit ‘Em - Zion I and The Grouch
Love Movin’ - J Dilla w/ Black Thought
No Gimmicks - Soul Position
Hey - Juggaknots
Caged Birdsong - Aloe Blacc
Valhalla - K-os
Captain Lou El Wino - Louis Logic and JJ Brown
The Flute Song - Tha Alkaholiks
