Sean likes ugly girls and most underground rap sucks. At least that’s what the duo’s names suggest. However, after modeling the previous two albums after Christina Ricci and Lisa Bonet and delivering such great product, it’s obvious that both names are false. With this third project, A Tribute to Rosie Perez, it is once again prevalent that the names couldn’t be more wrong. After all, Rosie Perez is far from ugly and “underground” rap, in this case, certainly doesn’t suck. But, like all Felt albums, there’s a necessary third wheel to help form the perfect tricycle, the producer. Felt 1 had The Grouch (associate of Murs) and Felt 2 had Ant (lifelong Atmosphere member with Slug), so having Aesop Rock in for Felt 3 provided the perfect middle ground for both emcees to designate a neutral source in for production. However, after delivering two very good projects, the duo + 1 deliver a project so difficult to listen to and monotonous in nature that one can’t help but ponder what they (the listener) may be missing. The end result is simply an album that is remarkably unsettling, and since the lyricism and emceeing is as on point as ever, it is only appropriate to look at the production as the one big flaw.
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There is a certain level of quality you come to expect when you’re listening to a mixtape compared to an album. An artist usually isn’t going to empty out their bag of tricks for what usually serves as a prelude to their album. CunninLynguists, the trio of Kno, Deacon The Villain & Natti, have gone in the complete opposite direction of that thought process not once but twice this year. Strange Journey Volume 2 hit shelves a few months after Volume 1 and continues the Kentucky & Georgia natives’ streak of high quality music. CunninLynguists are undeniably one of the best groups in the last decade and SJV2 is yet another successful addition to add to their growing discography.
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When I think of Minnesota, I think of one of the few real hockey states in the US, the classic Coen Bros film Fargo, and Justin Morneau. I should also add that I think of remarkably underrated and underappreciated hip hop acts such as Brother Ali, Atmosphere, Doomtree, and Kanser (just to name a few). Even though he is originally from Kansas, Analyrical, who is currently a full time resident of Saint Paul, certainly has a demeanor and style reminiscent of the various aforementioned artists. Fresh off of his first recorded work, The Platter Mixtape, Analyrical delivers what he hopes to be his magnum opus: First Date. Spawning various topics such as relationships (both bad and good), his love for the mic, and straight up trash talk, Analyrical definitely has all the talent a capable emcee should have, but lacks exciting and engaging lyricism and song composition that consequently makes this project an unfortunate snoozer.
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After an underwhelming performance with his release Great Expectations [review], Element has tightened up his game a bit and linked with [really dope] producer Abstrakt Soundz to release A Long Story Short [free download]. While the album is listed as a “mixtape,” it certainly works like an album, which is ironic considering that this project is a build up to Element’s [more] “major release,” Battle Cry. The California emcee has plenty of evident skill, and Abstrakt Soundz is more-or-less on the brink of working with some of the dopest emcees we all know, but something lacks in A Long Story Short that prevents it from reaching that next level of great. Instead, it teeters on the tightrope in between a good album to being a great project.
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Web is an emcee and I.D.e.A is a team of producers comprising of Syrenn, Tecknowledgy, and Fyness. Together they are God’s Favorites. The producers handle the beats individually throughout the project with Syrenn taking a bulk of the load. Together, their credits already comprise of Joe Budden, Donny Goines, and Young Scolla, and on this LP, they evidently have collective heat able to make even the most cynic hip hop head get to rockin’. Web has also done his fair share of work. Rhyming since he was nine, he already has four albums lined up and in the vault. Since 1982: Inferno is the first of three conceptual albums based on Dante’s The Divine Comedy (seriously, pick this up and read all of it. It’s one of the world’s finest pieces of work). Naturally, his journeys in the booth have led him to opening for some of hip hop’s elite such as The Roots, Raekwon, Talib Kweli, Common, and Mobb Deep. Now that you know the back story, I can tell you that God’s Favorites may be one of the easiest listens and most reassuring albums of 2009 simply based off of the ocean calming production and rugged, rusty, and chagrined tone of the emcee. For the most part, God’s Favorites is a win for hip hop and also, a win for the up and comers of the game.
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Composed by Blu. That’s all I had to see to pick up this album, Sene’s, A Day Late and a Dollar Short. Realistically, I figured a few guest appearances from Blu with solid production and a few stand out tracks. This was not the case, as this is a great album. Backed with production solely handled by Blu, which is top notch and a strength of the album, the Brooklyn native Sene tells tales about his rough childhood and current life that make for a great listen.
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We may hate him as an artist, envy him as a millionaire, and even despise him as a person. Regardless, there is no denying how entertaining Curtis Jackson can be on a regular basis. Sure, he may craft an entire album titled Curtis, suggesting a more introspective look at the thoughts inside of the head of the musician, and instead deliver an entire album loaded with tracks about flossing and styling, but really, 50 Cent does it so stylistically and so blatantly that one can’t help but simply ignore any preconceived notions of what a “good piece of cake” taste like and “kneed the dough” (shouts to The Yellow Kid for that one). With 50, you get what you expect; an above average rapper with an uncanny ear for tremendous production and zero to limited lyrical range. On Before I Self Destruct, an album title that once again suggest some sort of in-depth commentary on the man behind the music, there is only this school-yard bully who has no conception of forming any sort of academic essay. Sadly, for this reviewer, there is something hypnotic about BISD that keeps him coming back. At times it is like that bug you squished with a book: you know it’s gross and really you have no attachment to this thing, you know it’s dead, but you lift up the book anyways just to check. That’s not to say this album doesn’t have some “unsquish worthy” material, in fact, it has exactly 50% heat, making Before I Self Destruct one of the most blatant hot and cold albums put out in recent memory.
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It’s up to the emcee in regards to how much they want to show their age—for better or for worse. They could show shining moments of maturity or show evident signs of wear-and-tear. For Masta Ace and Edo.G, it’s not so much about the age as it is about the games started stat in their hip hop column. Both have been around for a long time, and while Ace has more-or-less remained consistent and a perennial pick for one of the dopest emcees ever, Edo.G has had a little bit of a tougher road in terms of being stomped on by hip hop executives and thrown to the side by “true-school” hip hop fans. Surging like a bat outta hell, Ace showed a rejuvenated side to him when dropping Disposable Arts, A Long Hot Summer, and EMC’s The Show, with ALHS being a borderline classic. Edo showed some life, and hey, maybe all that his career needed was that classic production courtesy of Pete Rock and Diamond D on My Own Worst Enemy and a Special Teamz link up via Duck Down for the acclaimed Stereotypez. Now that ya’ll are caught up with their story, there’s no reason to deny Ace and Edo’s collaboration, Arts & Entertainment (A&E), since it is a surprisingly solid release featuring some familiar faces lending some necessary helping hands. Although, A&E isn’t without its fair share of unwanted commercials during it’s usually fine flowing and well executed programming.
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Sha Stimuli has most definitely paid his dues. His record label dispute with Virgin Records and Roc-a-Fella has left him in a state of MC limbo. You can ask 10 different people how they heard about Stimuli and you may get 10 different answers. I was late to the party and first heard of him in his standout MTV2 Sucker freestyle. What you won’t get ten different answers about is his lyrical ability; quite simply dude can spit. His first major album release, My Soul To Keep, is comprised of solid production provided by Focus, Just Blaze, Cookin’ Soul and others, laced with smooth, hard hitting lyrics that you would expect from the Brooklyn native. Sha is definitely a force to be reckoned with and shows it on this record.
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If his 2008 “Mixtape of the Year” candidate (The Mixtape About Nothing) showed anything, it showed everything that this proud DC native is capable of. Wale’s got an enjoyable wit locked in with a catchy and unique flow, while having a constant knack for delivering applicable pop culture notes. Wale is fun, energetic, and wears his heart on his sleeve, evident on his latest record, Attention Deficit. Maybe not on the decline reminiscent to fellow freshman classmate Charles Hamilton, Wale was under fire for perhaps being slightly overrated, poppy, and too cocky for someone still unproven. It’s hard to say if that motivated him to create such a wonderful piece of work via Attention Deficit. This project is backed by great production, guidance from some pretty important hip hop personalities, and a dedicated District of Columbia fanbase evident in his momentum. Wale is certainly showing that he is an artist carving his own niche in the sacred art of hip hop and doing it so stylistically that it is hard to hate on.
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Remember that feeling Illmatic gave you when you first listened to it? It’s a feeling rarely felt again by hip hop listeners this day and age. While the album itself wasn’t as uplifting or bright and shiny as one would expect to get when getting this feeling (a la A Long Hot Summer, Connected), it reeked of true hip hop, and that alone, that essence of an album was always hard to come across. Enter Fashawn, a Cali native who certainly spits his heart out on every track. Tie him together with fellow Cali producer, Exile, and it is instant chemistry on Boy Meets World. Together, they evoke this feeling of real hip hop, true emotion, and genuine mannerisms through their craft.
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Having released The Cause and Effect in 2006, Seattle emcee D. Black didn’t take leaps and bounds until his striking appearance on “God Like,” off of Jake One’s White Van Music. With the doors wide open, D. Black has returned to deliver Ali’Yah, a distinct conceptual album served up alongside a plate of passion and power.
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It is a tough feat to be considered the “greatest” by any means in hip hop today. It is a term that gets applied to just about anyone and any song, really without any merit or valued source to this claim. However, Royce Da 5’9, based on his skill alone, has been able to develop a stable movement of opinions and statements asserting him as the best emcee of the last two years. Considering he hasn’t even dropped an album, the fact that this notion does indeed make perfect sense is somewhat scary (Check our Top 10 Emcees of 2008 list). So, when Street Hop was announced, hip hop minds everywhere were intrigued with the potential this album already held. Evidently only getting better, Royce took a step in defining his career as a complete emcee, since making a solid and cohesive LP had yet to be in his repertoire. Could Street Hop, which consisted of production from DJ Premier, Streetrunner, Emile, and Nottz (amongst others), be that next step to “completion” in Royce’s impressive career? Could it live up to the hype of the last 2 years of his undoubted reign on the mic?
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When Eastern Philosophy dropped, heads began to turn in the direction of Apathy. For Ap, this must’ve been bittersweet considering that EP was seven years into his career and really his first official release. Moreover, Apathy was once a major label artist, inking with Atlantic, but then moving to the indie hip hop label, Babygrande. Starving for three years, Ap fans get what they’ve been waiting for in Wanna Snuggle? Producing all but 4 tracks on the long 21 track LP and bringing his lyrical A-game for most of the project, Apathy has certainly given listeners an album worth wrapping their eardrums around.
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If you’ve followed Gang Starr then you’ve probably followed the whole Foundation. Once comprising of Group Home, Big Shug, Freddie Foxx, and Jeru amongst others, the Foundation was never known for their lyrical mastery, but more so for Premier’s production. On 98’s Moment of Truth, Krumb Snatcha stole the show from both Guru and Premier with his verse on “Make ‘em Pay.” While he wasn’t as strong on the microphone as Bumpy Knuckles or as scientific as Afu Ra, Krumb delivered a unique blend of skills that the Foundation lacked. His career trekked out to this point, where he is no longer Krumb Snatcha, but is now K.S. Even though he was under the radar for a bit, he’s gathered up Pete Rock, Large Professor and Statik Selektah for some help on the production. Even without Premier on the boards, could this release be one that fans of Krumb were expecting?
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Jon FTW!
