BC's Top 10, 60 - 2008

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

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BC's Top 10, 40 - 2005

Looking back, this was a real good year. I especially had a real hard time narrowing down my top songs to 20, so I went ahead and expanded my songs to 40 (for the price of 20!), and any of the LP’s in my top 5 could easily be #1. I only had about 14 LP’s that I considered for my top 10, but there were a lot of albums that had some really good songs, but just weren’t good enough to make the top 10 LP's.

I would also like to complain about the auto-spell check function of Microsoft Word that changes Tonedeff to Tone-deaf, Del the Fukee Homosapien to Del the Funkee Homespun and plenty of other annoying crap. So, if you see any weird spellings, that aren’t just a result of your normal hip-hop spelling, please ignore them. Just a rant.

BC's Top 10 LP's of 2005

10) Edan - Beauty and the Beat - There might not be a lot of stand-out songs, but listening to it as a whole really makes for a great listen and a solid LP.

9) Dangerdoom - The Mouse and the Mask - I dig this LP and I love all that Adult Swim stuff (well, a lot of it). Dangermouse is a crazy-dope producer and DOOM is one of the greats out there right now (just not live).

8) Fatlip - The Loneliest Punk - I was pleasantly surprised by Lip’s debut solo LP. It starts to trail off a bit at the end, but the first 75% of the LP is nice. I’d add “What’s Up Fatlip?” to my songs, but it came out back in 1999, but it’s the best song on the LP.

7) Busdriver - Fear of a Black Tangent - Busdriver might not be some people’s speed, but I really like him and his odd, interesting albums. I listened to this straight through numerous times with a large amount of enjoyment.

6) Blueprint - 1988 - Was 1988 the height of hip-hop greatness? I don’t know, but this album from Blueprint is straight dope. Go ahead and buy this if you don’t already have it.

5) Tonedeff - Archetype - I love this album. I think there is one song on here that I don’t like and I can’t wait to get the next Tondeff album.

4) Asamov - And Now... - This one took me a while to get into, and I actually remember posting on www.mastaace.com with Travis about this one. He was digging it, but I hadn’t gotten into it, but gave it another chance and just loved it.

3) CunninLynguists - A Piece of Strange - They came a little more mellow on this album, but it’s a good one. Kno continues to grow as a producer and Deacon, and now Natti, are well above average MC’s.

2) J-Live - The Hear After - Another solid album all the way through from J-Live. I just can’t get enough of Mr. J-Live and you get another classic from The Hear After.

1) Atmoshpere - You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having - This is the first Atmosphere LP that I really just couldn’t get enough of. I liked Atmosphere before this, but wouldn’t call them one of my favorites really, but it was always nice to be able to get some of these local folks here in the Twin Cities to go to a hip-hop show. Everyone wants to claim to be down with big local acts. Anyway, this is their first unskipable album and more than worth the 15 bucks or so it’ll cost you.

BC's Top 40 Songs of 2005

40) Grand Ol’ Party Crash - Cage - A nice anti-Bush song with Jello Biafra (from Dead Kennedys) playing the part of W.

39) Party Hard - The Perceptionists w/ Guru - The Perceptionists LP was pretty solid and I don’t know if this was the best track on the LP, but it’s a good one and Guru is on it, so you can’t go too wrong.

38) Remember the Name - Fort Minor w/ Ryu and Tak - You have to admit this track is catchy and perfect for all those basketball or baseball ads it was featured in.



37) All in Together - GZA and Muggs - My favorite song from the collaboration from the Wu-Tang and Cypress Hill members. This is an LP that I think I need to back to.

36) Employees of the Year - Felt 2 (Slug and Murs) - A nice song from the second Felt LP. You have to like a song where the first verse starts with an interpolation of one of EPMD's greatest songs, So Wat' Cha Sayin'.



35) The Mask - Dangerdoom w/ Ghostface Killah - Hopefully, that DOOM/Ghostface album will come out eventually. It’s an interesting pairing of MC’s and this song gives a little taste of what may come out.

34) Let It Out - Ugly Duckling - Another fun song from UD. Play this one at a party and people will start head nodding from the horn laced beat.

33) Supa Dynamite - Asamov w/ Mr. Lif - This could be higher on the list, but it sits here for now. A real great song from Asamov’s album.

32) Smart Went Crazy - Atmosphere - Atmosphere had some uncharacteristically hard tracks on YCIHMFWH and this is one of them. The beat is a little rugged and Slug, being the versatile MC that he is, kicks a bit of a harder flow than usual.

31) World of Vibrations - Blackalicious - This song kicks off The Craft and is a catcht little diddy, if I can come off sounding like a jackass.

30) Old School - Dangerdoom w/ Talib Kweli - Talib kicks a verse about watching Saturday morning cartoons and being old school and DOOM kicks a verse about his childhood. The beat from Dangermouse creates a great horn induced funky track for them to spit over.

29) Befriend the Friendless Friendster - Busdriver - A speedy beat that has Busdriver kicking his usual unique and speedy flow. “Because you’re an undersexed lady cop.” is one of my favorite lines.

28) Side to Side - Blackalicious w/ Pigeon John and Lateef - Gift of Gab, Lateef and Pigeon John all go to a club and kicks rhymes about their different experiences at said club.



27) Poems 4 Post Modern Decay - Zion I w/ Aesop Rock - I just think Aesop Rock is the rap equivalent of what they call a change of pace back in the NFL (him and Ab Rude). When you add him to a song, he adds a little something different to the other MC(s) on the track.



26) Make Music - Emanon - One of the 3-4 real good songs from The Waiting Room. The beat is real nice and features some vocalization as part of the beat, which I always dig.

25) Birdz - Fly the Coup - Buckshot & 9th Wonder w/ Phonte - A real nice song from the Buckshot/9th Wonder LP.

24) Count Your Blessings - Emanon - Another crazy vocalized beat and Aloe Blacc does his thing, like he always does.

23) Sleepwalking - One.Be.Lo w/ Ka Di - A great song from a great LP. The singer on this track actually adds a lot to the song.

22) Lefty’s Lament - Busdriver - Busdriver kicks some lyrics about race and perception over a dope, mellow beat.



21) Lo-Fi Funk - Blueprint w/ Aesop Rock - A crazy beat with Aesop Rock handling the duties of the chorus. Blueprint does his thing.



20) Hourglass - Cunninlynguists - Again, I have never studied music, so I’m not sure, but I think the beat might feature an organ. Whether it does of not, it’s a dope beat and a real nice song.

19) Help Me Sing - Asamov - Just a great beat and a great song. A bit of a song about the fans.

18) Can’t Hold On - MED - A great back in the day song with a great Madlib beat. MED raps about his younger days and Kool Ade stains on his shirt. Dope track. A live version:



17) Writer’s Block - Fatlip - Fatlip talking about writer’s block, which might explain why it took so long for his solo debut to be released.

16) Pseudo - Emanon - When I first heard this I went nuts, and I thought they sampled the score from The Frighteners. Turns out it just kind of sounds like something from that score. Anyway, it’s a real nice track with a great beat. The LP had a few real good songs, but the mediocre songs out number the great ones, like Pseudo.

15) Aaw Yeah - J-Live - J-Live being his normal dope self. He just cranks out quality hip-hop on a regular basis with tight beats and lyrics.

14) What U Hear - Zion I w/ Del the Funkee Homosapien - The way the beat switches up when Del kicks hie 2nd verse is just crazy.



13) Porcelain - Tonedeff - A great introspective song from Tonedeff.



12) Brooklyn Public, Pt. 1 - J-Live - J-Live speaking from his experience as a teacher about fictional students in an under-funded inner-city public school.

11) The UNDERground - One.Be.Lo - This song starts off s.o.n.o.g.r.a.m. on a strong note.



10) The Arrival - Atmosphere - This song just comes hard and I love the line “ I’m just a man that loved rap!” It was anice track to be featured on Fight Night 3 (I think it was 3).

9) Feel Good Inc. - Gorillaz w/ Dave (De La Soul) aka Trugoy - Again, I love the Gorillaz and this is one of the hip-hop infused tracks from their second LP. A great song.



8) Where’s Your Girlfriend At? - Blueprint - It’s 10pm, do you know where your girlfriend is at? Blueprint probably does. A throwback song with a sense of humor involving Blueprint entertaining your lady. You have to love an MC that can be both self-deprecating and cocky at the same time. “As long as 2 five’s still add up to ten, then I got options every Friday night., and a team of mediocre broads grabbing my tip.”

7) Git Loose - Asamov w/ Akrobatik - An old-school throwback track featuring Akrobatik. Another well produced Asamov song, Beatrice!



6) Children - Tonedeff - A song about how things can change from a young person to an adult. I dig the singer that is also featured on the song. “One day you’ll look back at your life and wonder, like, what the fuck was I thinking?” That sums it up.

5) Making Planets - Edan w/ Mr. Lif - Edan starts the song nice and slow and he kicks his verse, but the song slows down even more and you can just sense that something dope is coming right before Lif comes in. I’ve found myself telling people to just wait… wait… wait, then the beat switches up and Lif kicks his verse. It’s a real dope song.



4) Give It Up - R.A. the Rugged Man and J-Live (from Wu-Tang Meets the Indie Culture) - I love the pairing of R.A. and J-Live. The beat is solid and you have 2 top-notch MC’s at the top of their game.

3) Play Hard - Masta Ace (from Sloppy Seconds 2) - Ace and some fellas hit the club and Ace speaks on it over a catchy beat featuring a lot of “oh’s”.

2) Get Fly - Atmosphere - The beat is phenomenal and is piano heavy with a choir feel. It’s a pure head nod song.



1) Hellfire - Cunninlynguists - I looked this up when the song came out, and the song sampled is from someone called Aurthur Brown. To me, it sounded like a song from The Doors, and that’s what others have said as well. Anyway, I remember hearing this song before the LP came out and it got me pumped. The beat is chopped nicely and it’s just a straight forward dope rap song.



Pack Up (remix) - Lyrics Born w/ KRS-One and Evidence
Rocketship - One.Be.Lo
Life Vegas - Felt 2 (Slug and Murs)
Avantcore - Busdriver
Since When - Cunninlynguists
Serious - MED - Oh No produced track
Archetype - Tonedeff
That Night - Atmosphere - A song about the tragic murder of an Atmosphere fan in Albuquerque after an Atmosphere show.
Dirty Harry - Gorillaz w/ Bootie Brown
Big Girls Need Love Too - Blueprint
Zodiaccupuncture - Aesop Rock
After - J-Live
Vats of Urine - Dangerdoom
Ride Off in the Sunset - Haiku d’Etat w/ Zumbi and Deuce Eclipse from Calicomm 2004
Benzie Box - Dangerdoom w/ Cee-Lo
Fat Leezy - Fatlip
Fly That Knot - Talib Kweli

Bonus track: About 6 minutes into Liberated (track 13) of Blueprint’s 1988 is a bonus track (although it’s hidden within a song, there’s about 1 minute of nothing and a new song kicks in). The beat is ill and if you haven’t heard it, check it out.

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BC's Top 10, 20 - 2002

BC's Top 10 LP's of 2002

I have to say that 2002 was like 2001 in retrospect. I didn't find a whole lot that I was psyched to include on this list as far as LP's were concerned. My top songs are heavy on songs that aren't included on a top 10 LP from my list. I guess that's indicative of what the year was like.

10) The Demigodz - The Godz Must Be Crazy - I liked this EP from the Earplug series, although it is pound for pound filled with the most homophobic lyrics this side of an Eminem LP. The beats are all solid.

9) Atmosphere - God Loves Ugly - Atmosphere keeps getting better and better to me. their last 2 are their best and i really didn't think this one was that great until I went back and listened to it. Based on what I listened to in '02, it makes the top 10, but if I keep listening, it could move up (if I were forced to make another list by future BC).

8) Jurassic 5 - Power in Numbers - When they made good songs, man, they made good songs. But, this LP, like the rest of theirs, just had too many adequate songs to make it a top 5 LP.

7) Mr. Lif - I Phantom - This is a pretty good effort from Lif. I can listen to it all the way through, but there are a few songs that just don't demand too much attention. Overall, though, it's worth it.

6) Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow - This LP is like all of their albums, a bit inconsistent. When they make good hip-hop songs, they are right up there with the best, but they always have a few songs that I just don't like.

5) Camp Lo - Let's Do It Again - I really like this album from start to finish, with the exception of 1 really, really bad song (8 Moons Ago).

4) MF Grimm - The Downfall of Ibliys: A Ghetto Opera - I still really like this album and it took me a little while to get into, but when I did, I was playing it on a daily basis for a good month or two.

3) Emanon - Anon & On - This is another EP from the Earplug series. There are a couple amazing songs on here and this is high on the list because I ran those into the ground.

2) The Roots - Phrenology - I like this LP a lot, but i didn't think it would be this high up. But, after looking at what I had in '02, I had to make this high on my list.

1) J- Live - All of the Above - This LP is solid all the way through, like most of J-Live's albums. This guy is one of my all-time favorites now and this album was the one that really got me into J-Live.

BC's Top 20 Songs of 2002

20) Multiply - Xzibit w/ Nate Dogg - A nice commercial song for the masses. The beat is funky and Nate Dogg does his Nate Dogg thang. To me, X to the Z's music just wasn't as good when he had Dr. Dre and other's doing the producing and not the Liks.

19) The CIA is Trying to Kill Me - Non-Phixion - The CIA is trying to kill some paranoid dudes, aka Non-Phixion. This beat is a nice one.

18) Ultimate - Large Professor - I dig this beat and listened to it a lot back in 2002.

17) Whodafuckareyou?!? - C-Rayz Walz - The first time I heard this song, and C-Rayz, I couldn't stand him (that sounds dumb like Outkast breaking up), but then something happened. His flow just grew on me and he became an MC that I always look for.

16) Together - MF Grimm - The beat features a nice piano loop. The lyrics are about snitches basically, and there are some violent lyrics and the chorus gets a little more violent as it progresses.

15) Captivate/Deactivate - The Demigodz - This beat is sick and you just have a couple MC's bragging on the mic. I just dig this song.

14) Modern Man's Hustle - Atmosphere - I think the best track off of God Loves Ugly. Live performance:



13) A Glimpse at the Struggle - Mr. Lif - Mr. Lif as a man that needs some money and robs a store. The last 30 seconds is Fakts-One cutting Cannibal Ox, "Imma live life after this one crime."

12) Rolling With Heat - The Roots w/ Talib Kweli - Mostly some raw drums from Questo on the beat and Kweli and Black Thought wreck the mic on some hardcore.

11) Celly - Extended Famm - This is a track that is destined to be crazy outdated someday, and kind of is now. But, it's a funny song about bad cell service and misunderstandings over a dope track.



10) Bad Babysitter - Princess Superstar - I was curious about Princess Superstar and checked out the LP this song is on. This is a funny song with a horn heavy beat. If Lady Gaga needs an emcee to kick a verse, she should pick the Princess. Whatever, I like this song.



9) It's Going Down - Blackalicious w/ Lateef - The beat is hot and Lateef and Gab work off each other well. Even the R&B chorus is nice.

8) Let's Do It Again - Camp Lo - I feel like this track fits in where they left off on Uptown Saturday Night. If you threw this on there, you wouldn't have any idea that it wasn't part of their classic debut.

7) High Fidelity - Jurassic 5 - I just love this beat. Jurassic 5 doing what they do best, kicking old-school rhymes.

6) One For the Griot - J-Live - J-Live kicks 3 similar verses with varying outcomes from a one night stand.

5) React - Erick Sermon w/ Redman - I had high hopes when I heard this song. I never really got into the LP, but this song is a good one.

4) Life and Death - MF Grimm - Grimm possibly getting a bit personal about good and evil. Life and Death are women in his life that he goes back and forth with, along with his girl Coma. He talks about Life wanting him to do the right things, but Death is crazy fun to hang out with and just seems to be more fun for whatever reason. I don't know, it's deeper than I am. Can't vouch for the image, but you can listen to the song:



3) Listen - Yaggfu Front w/ Esau the Anti Emcee- I loved Yaggfu's debut in high school and it took years upon years for anything else to be released. This comes from their The Secret Tapes that has mostly older unreleased material and this dope track. The beat is sick and the guest MC, Esau, drops a crazy ass verse about the music industry that includes the line, "That's why Atmosphere ain't selling shit, but Ludacris is." And, that's from 2002. Future Shock from this release is another more than worthy listen.

2) The Seed - The Roots w/ Cody Chestnut - I love this song. Watch/listen:



1) Blind Love - Emanon - This is a song you need to hear if you haven't. Exile produces a crazy beat and Aloe Blacc speaks on trying to get girls. His friends tell him that "...she look good but she ain't all that, her behind is fat, but her mind is wack." You don't hear about a girl's mind all that much in hip-hop.



A couple honorable mentions because I had some extra songs that almost made the cut:

Frontline - El da Sensai w/ Pharoahe Monch, Prince Po, Mike Zoot and F.T.

The Lyricist - J-Live

How U Walkin' - Camp Lo - A crazy tribalish beat and some masochistic lyrics, but a great song.

Home of the Brave - Mr. Lif - Can't say that I always agree with the man's politics, and I'm a liberal ass dude (I'm not the conspiracy theorist that I once was as a teen). This is a scathing track about the Bush administration and 9/11 from Lif's Emergency Rations EP.

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