Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2012
Willie Evans Jr. –
Introducin’ (2011)
I missed Willie Evans Jr.’s album last year but I wanted to
give it a mention considering it would have been in the top 5 if it were a 2012
release. It’s an accomplished album that boasts good production and a great
delivery from Evans Jr.
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18. Talib Kweli &
Z-Trip –
Attack The Block
Talib sounds renewed with Z-Trip in the mix.
“They don't want you at
your best/That means they're at their worst/They wanna hear struggle bars/You
wanna kick a classic verse” (Attack The Block)
17. Nas – Life is
Good
It’s interesting to see what age does to our hip-hop heroes.
Nas can still slang a street story better than most current rappers, but he’s
also more reflective and satisfied on his 10th full-length album.
“So much to write and say,
yo I don't know where to start/So I'll begin with the basics and flow from the
heart/I know you think my life is good cause my diamond piece/But my life been
good since I started finding peace” (Loco-Motive)
16. Chino XL –
RICANstruction: The Black Rosary
The metaphor matador is still writing punch rhymes on a
hefty 35 track double album. Chino, still boasting his microphone prowess as
the “lyrical Jesus”, but also taking a turn for some introspective storytelling.
“I'm dangerous, when I
communicate what I'm thinkin'/Brain dead I'll spit in Morse code, write down
what I'm blinking”(Nahh!!)
“You should change your
name to Nas/Cause when you ask, can you out spit Chino all you're gonna hear is
a lot of nahh's/Nas” (Nahh!!)
15. Schoolboy Q –
Habits & Contradictions
Q had one of my favorite cuts this year with “Hands on the
Wheel”. A promising introduction for Q.
“Didn't get a coma nor a
cent for the karma/Just an imaginary stripe so he can hold his head in honor”
(Raymond 1969)
14. El-P – Cancer For
Cure
Besides being the man behind the best-produced album this
year (which wasn’t his own), Cancer For Cure is a tight mix of traditional
Company Flow and El-P styling’s.
“Either,
etherlicious or rebel yelling the theme of/Son of forgotten freedom, rebel ¡Arriba 'riba!” (The Full Retard)
13. Death Grips – No
Love Deep Web
One day in the future music fans will wonder why hip-hop
didn’t sound more like Death Grips distinctive commotion. This is a group well
ahead of their time.
“I'm the
man who press that button/Sweaty palm get caught bluffin’/Fold a man into
nothin’ for nothin’” (Black Dice)
12. Himanshu – Nehru
Jackets
Rest in piece Das Racist. Welcome to solo prominence Heems.
“I'm living single, it's a
nineties world/Catch me in a bar with like ninety girls/40 Sinclair’s, 20
Latifah Khadijah types/30 Maxines that'll probably probably freak tonight”
(Swate)
11. Mike Mictlan –
Snaxxx
This Doomtree member could be the most overlooked, shadowed
by P.O.S., Sims, and Dessa. But take a listen to his album and see him cast a looming shadow of his own.
“Chop a rhymer down to context filler/Feel affirmative that I’m the next-getter-champ-splitter-shrimp-dinner-butcherboy-beefcake-barber Jimmy Snuffa chest-splitter/And what the hell does that even mean?/Means I’m just ill at rhyming and everything in between” (Creeper Status)
10. Roc Marciano –
Reloaded
Busta Rhymes once said “keep it gutter, keep it grimy”.
Marciano took that to heart and made an album composed of stories seemingly
authored from a violent street corner.
“You shed a tear, I just
shed hatred/But to get here more than skill takes patience/Ill nature, golden
age reels feels ancient/Motion picture rap we like film-makers.” (Nine Spray)
9. Lupe
Fiasco – Food and Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album pt. 1
Fiasco is only getting better with each album. With Food
& Liquor II he’s getting closer to his classic.
“First off say peace to
Pine Ridge/Shame at all the damage that the white man wine did/Ghost Dance,
Trail of Tears, 5 million beers a year.” (Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free))
8. Lecrae – Gravity
Faith based hip-hop makes it’s first appearance on my list. Lecrae is
inspiring on Gravity; speaking truth and love for the man upstairs with an
impressive flow and exceptional production.
“Everything is fallin’ all around me, put
yo’ arms around me/Sinkin’ in my sorrows got me drowning/Tempted to empty
bottles and throw ‘em off in wind/Devils lurkin’ ‘round the corner, just
waitin’ for me to sin” (Walk With Me)
7. Brother Ali –
Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color
Brother Ali speaks his mind, regardless of how much it might
offend your politics or religion. And I for one hope he continues the
unrelenting attacks…someone has to say it.
“Overseas we can
mutilate and mangle/Let me give you an example what our troops are coming back
to/Cold cities where the youth are getting strangled/The community in peril and
our future looking narrow” (Mourning in America)
6. Kendrick Lamar –
Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City
Kendrick made the best mainstream hip-hop album of the year,
and that’s impressive for someone whose last album was basically a mixtape.
“Backseat Freestyle” could have the best beat of 2012. It will be interesting
to see where Kendrick goes from here.
“I'm never living life confined/It's a
failure even if I'm blind/I can tell ya who what when where how/To sell ya game
right on time” (Backseat Freestyle)
5. Ab-Soul – Control
System
Ab-Soul touches on so many different topics over the course
of the hour-plus Control System. Nothing is off limits both socially and personal.
This is a meet and greet album with the most interesting guy in the room. With
so much to say, Ab-Soul seems to just be warming up.
“Flow like the
Nile river, yo it's now or never/You
had a release date, but now it's never” (Track 2)
4. Action Bronson –
Blue Chips
With an undeniably entrancing flow, Action Bronson will take
you on a head-nodding voyage of lust, lies, and laughter. The best mixtape of the
year.
“Take
the money, cop 5 dimes, 2 chicken sandwiches, 9 limes/For the Canada Dry/pose
for the cameras by the banister, high/In the summer, rock the vest set: Salmon
Kani.” (Steve Wynn)
3. Big Boi –
Vicious
Lies and Dangerous Rumors
Who needs Andre 3000? Big Boi doesn’t as he crafts an
impressive album filled with diversified hip-hop exploring realms only an
Outcast member could get away with. The addition of Wavves and Phantogram
offers ingenious collaboration.
“Leaving us all stuck in
elections/With no progressions, just recessions” (Shoes For Running)
2. P.O.S. – We Don’t
Even Live Here
P.O.S. is an examiner who is often reluctant to offer any
kind of answer in his rhymes. Still, what he brings to the hip-hop table is an
outlook of his world that is both a blend of realism and fantasy.
“Didn't get in to
win 'cause I don't respect the game/ I got up with all my friends and picked a
repellent name/I constantly recommend what little bit of disdain/A little bit
of resistance, they can hang.” (Lock-Picks, Knives, Bricks, and Bats)
1. Killer Mike –
R.A.P. Music
Killer Mike poses frustration, anger, solitude, and relief
amidst every difficult question he solicits. Lyrically, Mike is on top of his
game from start to finish. El-P produces, tailoring the album towards Mike’s
strengths but also challenging his execution. I still find new things to love
about this album.
“I don’t trust the
church or the government/Democrat, Republican, Pope, or a Bishop or them other
men/And I believe God has sustained me with rap/So I pick a burning bush, put
it in a Swisher wrap” (Untitled)
*Warning: Strong language and mature subject matter are displayed in the following video.
View with caution.
Top Hip-Hop Albums of 2012
from Monte Yazzie on Vimeo.
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