Top 10 Albums of 2011
So this year was a huge year for hip hop. I became a fan of many new artists as well as heard some great projects from some of my favorites. One of them I discovered at the last second, while another one I almost forgot dropped this year. For a brief review on each album and my favorite track off of each hit the jump. There were also a few more great albums that I had a hard time leaving out so make sure you check them after the jump as well.
1.Kendrick Lamar – #Section.80
2.CunninLynguists – Oneirology
3.J. Cole – Cole World: The Sideline Story
4.Big K.R.I.T. – Returnof4eva
5.Drake – Take Care
6.Childish Gambino – Camp
7.Saigon – The Greatest Story Never Told
8.Common – The Dreamer, The Believer
9.Game – The R.E.D. Album
10. Bad Meets Evil – Hell: The Sequel
1. Kendrick Lamar – #Section.80
Favorite Song: Rigamortis
This album is something special. I first really got put on to Kendrick Lamar after hearing his first single off the album, HiiPower. I was blown away by his lyricism as well as J. Cole’s excellent production. Then on a late school night, the album dropped. I downloaded it and breifly skimmed the tracks and wasn’t really impressed much. I decided I’d give it a full spin while driving in my car a couple of days later. When I finally revisited it I became a fan of a few more tracks. It stayed on my iPod for sometime and for some reason whenever I couldn’t decide what to listen to, I gave it another spin. Eventually around my third or forth listen it finally clicked. This album was a masterpiece. The whole album plays out as a story and it’s totally worth hearing it from track one all the way to sixteen. I finally knew that this album was as good as it was when I became pissed off at a thread on Studio Leaks where people voted out their least favorite songs until a final favorite song was chosen. Me and a few others were going at it because we couldn’t believe people were voting out our favorite tracks. That just goes to show you how great the album was in a way, though. If everyone has a different favorite track on an album, I think there’s a lot to say about it’s range of content. Noteworthy tracks include: “F*ck Your Ethnicity,” “Hol Up,” “A.D.H.D,,” “Ronald Regan Era,” “Poe Mans Dream,” “The Spiteful Chant,” “Keisha’s Song,” and “HiiPower”
2.CunninLynguists – Oneirology
Favorite Song: Darkness [Dream On] (feat. Anna Wise)
The CunninLynguists are another group I didn’t really fully discover until this year. Kno is the mastermind of the group who produced and rapped on every song. The other members are Natti and Deacon the Villain. The one thing that really makes this album one of my favorites is its simply amazing production along with carefully chosen guest features. I was really glad that they got two of raps upcoming greats, Big K.R.I.T and Freddie Gibbs on tracks because they certainly ended up being some of my favorites. The first track I heard was “Hard as They Come” with Freddie Gibbs. I absolutely loved the song and decided that I would without question be checking out the album when it dropped. When it finally came out I listened to it and was every bit of impressed. I’ll never forget finishing off my last exam before summer break and cruising down the road to this as I drove to a burger joint where I met my parents for lunch. Noteworthy tracks include: “Predormitum (Prologue),” “Hard as They Come,” “Murder (Act II),” “Get Ignorant,” “Stars Shine Brightest,” “Enimies with Benefits,” and “Embers” After hearing this album I decided to go back and listen to some of their previous stuff. I was very impressed by it as well.
3.J. Cole – Cole World: The Sideline Story
Favorite Song: Lost Ones
As some of you may already know, I first really discovered J. Cole towards the end of last year when Friday Night Lights was dropping. I remember seeing people hype him up so much and there were anticipation threads across all forums of people waiting for that tape to drop. I finally decided I’d be giving it a chance and it ended up being the only thing I would listen to other than My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy for that month. Ofcourse after hearing FNL, I was extremely hyped for his major label debut. In a way I kind of lucked out that I waited to get into him because his album saw a lot of pushbacks before finally coming out. Luckily he dropped two noteworthy singles in “Work Out,” and “Can’t Get Enough,” and finally secured a release date. These singles were excellent in my book. I usually get tired of the bullshit singles rappers drop, but I still thoroughly enjoy both of these. While Friday Night Lights may have garnered my attention a little more, Cole World: The Sideline Story proved to be an excellent album nonetheless. One thing that seemed kinda risky to me at first were his inclusion of older tracks: “Lights Please,” “In The Morning,” and the somewhat early internet leak, “Lost Ones.” In the end, after hearing them with the final project, my initial inclinations were put to rest. I really enjoy J. Cole as an artist because a lot of his subject matter is really identifiable with me. He’s certainly a lot deeper than people give him credit for, or even initially realize. Noteworthy tracks include: “Dollar and a Dream III,” “Can’t Get Enough,” “Lights Please,” “Sideline Story,” “Lost Ones,” “Nobody’s Perfect,” “Rise and Shine,” & “Breakdown.”
4.Big K.R.I.T. – Returnof4eva
Favorite Song: The Vent
I also discovered Big K.R.I.T. late last year. His K.R.I.T. Wuz Here album was a late bloomer for me. While I thought it was great it seemed as something was missing. K.R.I.T. soon filled that void when he dropped Returnof4eva. He first dropped his single, “Dreamin,” which caught on very quickly with me. The music video made me appreciate it even more. When it finally came time for the album to drop, I was pumped. On first listen I was very impressed. K.R.I.T. had evolved so much since his last mixtape. He seemed to finally find his own true sound. This album should be looked at as a blueprint for all upcoming Southern artists. It’s got the feel of old Outkast and UGK albums down perfectly, while still having it’s own sound at the same time. Noteworthy songs include: “R4 Theme Song,” “Dreamin,” “My Sub,” “American Rapstar,” “Highs and Lows,” “Kings Blues,” “Time Machine,” “Another Naive Individual Glorifying Greed and Ecouraging Racism,” “Free My Soul,” & “Country Shit. ”
5.Drake – Take Care
Favorite Song: Look What You’ve Done
Drake is somewhat of a new name in hip hop but his presence has been so amazing that it seems like he’s been here for much longer. Last year he dropped his first album, Thank Me Later, after getting signed off his 2009 mixtape, So Far Gone. It was a great album but it certainly didn’t live up to it’s predecessor. This year So Far Gone finally found it’s true adversary in Take Care. He definitely is doing more of his signature singing on this album than the last but also he’s really stepped up his rhymes and even flows. The first track that he let out in promo for the album was, “Dreams Money Can Buy.” It was a great song but it didn’t garner my attention as much as his follow up, “Trust Issues” did. Neither of those tracks actually ended up making the album, but the next single, “Marvin’s Room” did. It was definitely my favorite of the three as it described a female situation that I could kind of relate to at the time. Even though I would have preferred him to set us up with a mixtape before the album, his decision to give us 2 singles that didn’t make the album, ended up working better in the long run. The anticipation for the album was much greater and he was almost certain not to let us down. Noteworthy songs include, “Over My Dead Body,” “Shot For Me,” “Headlines,” “Take Care,” “Marvins Room,” “Underground Kings,” “Cameras,” “The Real Her,” “HYFR,” and “Practice.”
6.Childish Gambino – Camp
Favorite Song: That Power
Childish Gambino’s Camp album was a very late listen for me. I didn’t fully discover it until the end of December after Christmas. It’s impact on me was powerful enough to reach the 6th spot though. It’s a really amazing debut album that in some ways reminds me of Kanye’s The College Dropout. The production isn’t similar, the songs aren’t similar, but the breath of fresh air he’s bringing to hip hop is very reminiscent of what Kanye did in 2004. You can also attribute the comparison to the fact that he produced and wrote the entire album himself. This album has everything from: girl songs, real life songs, funny songs, all the way to introspective songs. Noteworthy songs include: “Outside,” “Fire Fly,” “Letter Home,” “Heartbeat,” “Backpackers,” and “Sunrise.” The end of the album ends with my favorite track, “That Power” in which on the Outro, Gambino tells the story of a girl he met one summer and how that changed him. It was a story so identifiable with parts of my own life, that I couldn’t not be in awe.
7.Saigon – The Greatest Story Never Told
Favorite Song: Oh Yeah
Saigon was always one of those artists I had heard great things about but never really payed attention to. Part of the reason was because I was waiting for his debut album, The Greatest Story Never Told, to come out. He was signed to Atlantic in 2004 and had been planning to release the album ever since. Due to bullshit label politics and him not wanting to change his image it got pushed back over and over. Finally Saigon got released from his contract with all his tracks intact and released the album last year (2011). All of the albums production (except for “It’s Alright”) was handled by his biggest co-signer, hip hop producer Just Blaze. Just Blaze is one of my favorite producers and his beats from the 2004-2006 era were some of my favorites. This album prominently showcased Just’s artistic direction from those years. “It’s Alright” was produced by Kanye West during his soul-centric production period. Saigon is an amazing artist that I would compare to the likes of Nas as far as content goes. This album was very political and socially conscious while also telling several stories. Noteworthy tracks include: “The Invitation,” “Come on Baby,” “Bring Me Down Pt 2,” “Enemies,” “Friends,” “Clap,” “Better Way,” and “It’s Alright.”
8.Common – The Dreamer, The Believer
Favorite Song: Celebrate
Common’s album dropped right at the end of 2011. I was in Japan when it came out and I didn’t get a chance to listen to it until I got back. I finally got around to hearing it around the same time I heard Childish Gambino’s. The Dreamer, The Believer was one of my most anticipated albums to come out this year, especially once he revealed it would be entirely produced by, NO I.D. Well unlike some of this years albums, this one certainly lived up to it’s hype. The production was top notch and Common was still just as socially conscious as ever. The three lead singles “Ghetto Dreams,” “Blue Sky,” and “Sweet” were all amazing tracks that only built my hype and anticipation for the album further. I really appreciate Common keeping his albums short and to the point. With Be, Finding Forever, and now The Dreamer, The Believer, he has put out albums with little to no flaws. Let’s hope the rumored Nas.Com collaboration album that sparked from the Nas feature on “Ghetto Dreams” actually comes to fruition. It could be one of hip hop’s future classics. Noteworthy tracks besides the singles are: “The Dreamer,” “Lovin I Lost,” “Raw,” “Celebrate,” and “The Believer.”
9.Game – The R.E.D. Album
Favorite Song: The City (feat. Kendrick Lamar)
Putting this album on my list is somewhat conflicting to other people’s opinions. A lot of people described it as disappointing, but I don’t know where they are coming from exactly. Sure the second half of the album may have a slight decrease in powerful tracks but towards the end it picks back up and finishes very strong. This is another album that has had some troubles being released. It was originally slated for release in 2010 but constant pushbacks set it back to 2011. Luckily Game kept his name out there by releasing 4 or 5 mixtapes worth of material. This album also saw Game’s first reunion with Dr. Dre since his debut. Not only did Dr. Dre narrate each album’s different chapters, he also appeared on a track with Snoop Dogg called “Drug Test.” Noteworthy tracks include: “Martians Vs. Goblins,” “Red Nation,” “Good Girls Go Bad,” “Ricky,” “Speakers on Blast,” “Mama Knows,” and “California Dream.” Some say this album had too many features but even with all his features, Game made sure to stand out on each and every track.
10. Bad Meets Evil – Hell: The Sequel
Favorite Song: Take From Me
This album should have happened over 10 years prior. Eminem and Royce were once one of the deadliest forces in hip hop. Their collaboration on Eminem’s first album, The Slim Shady LP was always one of my favorite songs from both of their catalogs. There were also many noteworthy B-Sides featuring Eminem and Royce that never saw retail release. Sadly both rappers soon turned to beef and we didn’t hear them on a track for nearly 10 years after. In early 2007 there were talks about Eminem and Royce finally squashing their beef but it wasn’t until 2010 until we finally heard a new track. The first track we heard was the Slaughterhouse iTunes bonus from Recovery, “Session One.” It wasn’t until later that year when we finally heard just the two on a track though. Internet leaks known as “Echo” and “Living Proof” surfaced and soon there was talk about a much anticipated EP. After both refuting the rumors the finally admitted they were working on something at the start of 2011. This June we finally got hear a full extended play of their material, titled Hell: The Sequel.. Noteworthy tracks include, “Welcome 2 Hell,” “Lighters,” “Fastlane,” “The Reunion,” and “Above the Law.” The two previous leaked tracks “Echo” and “Living Proof” were also included in full mastered form as deluxe bonus tracks. In my favorite track, “Take From Me,” Eminem addresses people stealing from him in regards to all the recent leaks. Overall the EP was great but many were left disappointed. It wasn’t a full fledged album and it didn’t fully live up to their original Bad Meet’s Evil tracks, but it still showed a lot of promise to me.
Action Bronson & Statik Selektah – Well Done
Yelawolf – Radioactive
Jay Rock – Follow Me Home
Statik Selektah – Population Control
Atmosphere – Family Sign
M.I.C. – The Constant / The Variable
Joell Ortiz – Free Agent
Shwayze – Island In the Sun
Royce Da 5’9′ – Success is Certain
Frank Ocean – Nostalgia.Ultra
Joe Budden – Mood Muzik 4.5 EP
Elzhi – Elmatic
….
Jay-Z & Kanye West – Watch the Throne
Uncategorized | neomerge | 
January 6, 2012 8:36 pm
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