Classic in Review: Cannibal Ox-The Cold Vein
I always mention this album and people give me the most clueless look every. Actually, I don’t expect anyone to even know about this album anymore. It’s the only release from Cannibal Ox and it’s eleven years old (today).
So why should you even care?
Resurrection: The New Chicago
A few months ago, everyone could agree that the West and the South were battling for dominance. Well…not anymore.
There’s a new leader on the hip-hop scene, and it’s an old familiar one, Chicago. After Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, and Sir Michael Rocks of the Cool Kids, there was a drop off of new talent, but not Chicago is Resurrected (Common reference fyi).
Here’s a few artists from Chicago that should be on your radar:
Lil B NYU lecture
The Based God blessed the student body of NYU with a rare lecture. Listen in full above.
April(?) Madness-NEW Best Rapper Alive Tournament
As soon as I was about to release this, twitter went crazy with their own brackets. I know it’s not March anymore but better late than never. I introduced the idea here (thanks for all the feedback) and we shortened the list on Listen Up Radio first At first there was 32, which were all submitted through twitter, now there’s 16. Seeding is random.
I understand there may be some hate towards the brackets (I personally wanted Skyzoo on but it was a 1/3 vote pretty much) but here it is. Vote now. First round ends Monday.
March Madness: Best NEW Rapper Alive Tournament
Before I start, yes I know it’s not march.
In my opinion, Hip-Hop is on its 3rd Generation. 1st Generation greats include: Rakim, Kool G. Rap, Big Daddy Kane. 2nd Generation Greats: Jay-Z, Biggie, Tupac, Nas, Eminem. Now who will be this generation’s best rapper?
Top 4 Seeds:
1. Lupe Fiasco (let’s forget about Lasers ok?)
3. Drake
4. J. Cole
Those trying to get in the tournament:
5. Blu
6. Skyzoo
7. Big K.R.I.T.
8. Curren$y
9. Schoolboy Q
10. Wale
11. Killa Kyleon
12. Alley Boy
13. Danny Brown
15. King Mez
17. Tiron
18. Iggy Azalea
19. Azealia Banks
20. Smoke DZA
21. Dom Kennedy
22. Nipsey Hu$$le
23. Chuuwee
24. Stalley
25. Fashawn
26. The Kid Daytona
27. Gilbere Forte
28. Vic Mensa
30. Casey Veggies
31. Logic
32. Earl Sweatshirt
33. Childish Gambino
34. Cyhi the Prince
35. Spaceghostpurrp
36. A$AP Rocky
37. Action Bronson
38. Yelawolf
Out of these 38, will come 32. Feel free to comment or add any names you feel that should be included (trust me, most of these names are suggestions, I don’t agree but added them for the sake of debate). Final bracket is coming in the last week of the month.
5 Female Rappers Better Than…
Yep, you guessed it. I’ve been wanting to excommunicate her from the industry but after that atrocious Grammy’s performance, a lot of people share my views. Don’t worry, there’s other female rappers worth checking out.
Classic or Not? : Examining Section.80
Classics are nearly impossible to make these days. This can be credited to the birth of the digital age along with the music industry itself. Classics stand the test of time, which is why I had to ask myself whether or not Section.80 is classic (I listen to it nearly everyday).
After many months, I think that yes, Section.80 is a classic. My disdain with this word was already expressed here, but I think that this label is ready to be applied once again.
T-Shirts & Cargos/Hip-Hip Sense Presents: The Art of Storytelling
@CheesusSlice of T-Shirts and Cargos put this compilation of storytelling tracks together. Lots of great songs here so download below.
Hip-Hop Sense Presents: Songs About H.E.R. Vol. 1
(Artwork by @CheesusSlice)
I’m sure you’re all familiar with this song (which happens to be my favorite of all time):
Well this song gave me an idea to form a playlist with following the same theme, loosely at least. So here’s a playlist of songs that are about hip-hop one way or another.
1. Common-I Used to Love H.E.R.
2. Zion-I-Bird’s Eye View
3. Hip Hop-Dead Prez
4. Passin Me By-Pharcyde
5. Phil Ade-Always There
6. Shad-I Heard You Had a Voice Like an Angel
7. Tanya Morgan-She’s Gone featuring Phonte
8. Dreams-J. Cole
9. Fakin the Funk-Main Source
10. Old School-Tupac
11. Lyrics to Go-A Tribe Called Quest
12. Real Hip Hop-Das EFX
13. Love of my Life-Erykah Badu featuing Common
14. Hip Hop-Mos Def
15. I Still Love You-Nottz featuring Mayer Hawthorne
Top Albums of 2011: 1. Drake-Take Care
I’ve already expressed my views on this album several times. It’s nearly flawless
Top Albums of 2011: 2. Danny Brown-XXX
This album is brilliant. I will admit though, it’s a challenging listen. However, listening to only the first half is cheating yourself. Danny uses the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde approach and wraps it all up in the end. I won’t give the them away but hint: The first track name is “30″ and last is “XXX”
Top Albums of 2011: 3. The Roots-Undun
Just when you think The Roots can’t break anymore barriers, in comes Undun. This album is a narrative about Redford Stephens, who is fighting to find his place in the world
Top Albums of 2011: 4. Kendrick Lamar-Section 80
This is by far one of the most creative albums this year. It follows the a loose theme and really is an album for the 19-23 year old generation. It takes music that influenced this generation and blends it together for one cohesive album.
Top Albums of 2011: 5. Jay-Z & Kanye West-Watch the Throne
This is how collaborative albums are supposed to be done. Not the boring verse-hook-verse format, but taking what both artists do best and finding a nice formula. While this album does contain a lot of “money talk” as you would expect, they find a way to sneak in socially conscious issues.
Top Albums of 2011: 6. Big K.R.I.T.-Return of 4Eva
Not only was this album a great reinterpretation of the classic southern hip-hop sound but it’s alsofree.
Top Albums of 2011: 7. Phonte-Charity Starts at Home
Phonte, 1/3 of Little Brother and Foreign Exchange front-man, used all of his talents to craft one of the realer albums of the year. Expect nothing but good music and real life experiences here.
Top Albums of 2011: 10. CunninLynguists-Oneirology
CunninLynguists pump out great underground albums every year but Oneirology is instantly one of their bests. This album includes great guest features from Freddie Gibbs and Big K.R.I.T.
Top Albums of 2011 (30-21)
30. Smoke DZA-Rolling Stoned
29. Sir Michael Rocks-The Rocks Report*
28. The Airplane Boys-Where’ve You Been?*
27. Co$$-Before I Awoke
26. Freddie Gibbs-A Cold Day in Hell*
25. Fly.Union-The Greater Than Club*
24. Young Jeezy-Thug Motivation 103
22. Wale-Ambition
21. Killer Mike-Pl3dge
Top Albums of 2011 (40-31)
Debut album from 9th Wonder’s female MC
39. Spaceghostpurrp-Blackland Radio*
Definitely one of the more…”interesting” albums of the year. Spaceghost combine sounds of classic southern hip hop with futuristic beats
38. Jet Life-Jet World Order
Curren$y’s Jet Life Recordings drop their first compilation.
37. Ab-Soul-Long Term Mentality
36. Curren$y-Weekend at Burnie’s
35. Boldy James-Trapper’s Alley*
34. Action Bronson-Well Done
32. Stalley-Lincoln Way Nights*
31. Mr. Exquire-Lost in Translation*
*free downloads, click title for links
Top Albums of 2011 (50-41)
With no further adieu, let’s jump right into the Top albums of the year.
50. Big Sean-Finally Famous
Don’t debate with me until you click the link below bro
49. 9th Wonder-The Wonder Years
Lots of good features and great beats–everything you would expect from a 9th Wonder album.
48. Kidz in the Hall-Occasion
Kidz in the Hall set out to make a more lively occasion on their 4th LP
47. Pac Div-The Div
The Div releases their first album
46. Cool Kids-When Fish Ride Bicycles
The Cool Kids kick off the list with their often delayed debut
45. Raekwon-Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang
Raekwon takes on the Wu-Tang solo on this album.
44. Talib Kweli-Gutter Rainbows
Talib never disappoints, neither does this album
43. Theophilus London-Timez Are Weird These Days
Definitely one of the more interesting albums to be released this year.
42. Random Axe-Random Axe
>
Underground legends Guilty Simpson, Sean Price, and Black Milk join forces to make Random Axe
41. Maybach Music-Self Made Vol. 1
Ross showcases is roster on this one. Great, because I typically hate compiltaiton albums.
Everything But…List
As I’ve been telling you for months now, my album of the year list in on the way. Since this is a hip-hop blog, I focused my list around hip-hop specifically. However, here’s my list for albums outside of the genre that deserve praise.
10. Flash Bang Grenada-10 Haters
I’m going to immediately break my own rule by posting a hip hop album. I did this on purpose though. After a recommendation from @ThankUBasedQuad I listened and was pretty amazed. I put this on this list because you REALLY have to be open minded about this album. The beats and rhymes are so diverse that I wouldn’t even consider it a rap album. It would be unfair.
9. Mayer Hawthorne-How Do You Do
Although A Strange Arrangement will never be topped, in my opinion, Mayer’s major label debut is still a pretty good album.
8. The Black Keys-El Camino
Black Keys link up with Dangermouse (half of Gnarls Barkley) for their 7th album.
7. Jhene Aiko-Sailing.Souls
Besides having a GREAT cover, Sailing.Souls shows that there are a few talented female R&B acts left.
6. James Blake-James Blake
There’s…really…no way to describe this album. You’ll just have to listen
5. Iman Omari-Energy
I discovered this only a few weeks ago and I’ve been playing it nonstop ever since.
4. Frank Ocean-Nostalgia, Ultra
3. The Weeknd-House of Baloons/Thursday/(Echoes of Silence?)
The trilogy…hopefully
2. Adele-21
Rolling in the Deep = best song of the year
1. Tv on the Radio-Nine Types of Light
And my winner is…
#SoundsofBlackness: The Album
It is a great honor to announce an album, no, an experience, that will change the rest of your life. Fate has drawn together a group of talented individuals (and two deities) to make the greatest album since Dark Side of the Moon and Flockaveli respectively.
I present to you:
Buddha Jenkins
Random black guy in medical scrubs
And yours truly, Young Bowtie aka Lil Demop aka Yung ProPain aka Whewdonis Haslem aka Young Jesus…
Toghether this tandem makes:
SOUNDS OF BLACKNESS
This album will include such hits as Rotel Hotel, Rotel Hotel (Dancehall Remix), Rotel Hotel (So So Def Remix), Rotel Hotel Miami Bounce Remix, Rotel Hotel Go Go Remix, Rotel Hotel Rick Rubin Remix, Niggas in Birmingham and Lose My Mind freestyle.
Coming SOON!!! (Soon being whenever we have time)
