Top 10 Albums of 2009

This was bound to happen sooner or later - but not too late. Here is, in my opinion, the top 10 best hip-hop albums of this year with an extremely brief explanation.

1. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... II - I already mentioned this album in the top 10 of the decade. This album really stuck to me. Awesome production, lyrics and cameos, what more could I ask for?

2. Wale - Back to the Feature - This was easily my summer album. So many summer jams. Amazing production by 9th Wonder on the bulk of the mixtape, also less mainstream lyricism than in Wale's Attention Deficit.

3. Slaughterhouse - Slaughterhouse - One of the harder albums of '09. Royce, Joell Ortiz, Buddens and Crooked I all kill it on this collaboration. This supergroup collaborated to promote their solo careers further, in doing so they put out a real serious album.

4. Mos Def - The Ecstatic - This album is simply awesome. The beats are smooth as butter and the lyrics and flow are wonderful.

5. Jay-Z - Blueprint 3 - Probably one of the "core hip-hop fans" biggest let down of the year. B3 takes a whole new approach compared to other Jay albums. Admittedly I am not all ears for the entire album, but Jigga knows what he is talking about.

6. Large Professor - The LP - Its like stepping into a time machine. This album brings old school style to modern day hip-hop successfully. Large Professor was one of New York's most renowned producers in the 90s, don't sleep on this album.

7. Wu-Tang Clan - Chamber Music - Although this album was no officially released under the Wu-Tang title, I'm going to consider it a Wu release. Most of the Clan have an appearance along with some classic guest spots. Better than 8 Diagrams to say the least.

8. UGK - UGK 4 Life - Bun B and Pimp C are UGK, and this album is a posthumous release since Pimp C died in December of 2007. Bun took the direction of the album the way it should be - classic UGK, who can hate on that?

9. BlakRoc - BlakRoc - A nice collaboration between blues rock group the Black Keys and some of the game's top hip-hop artists like Mos Def, RZA, M.O.P., Q-Tip and more. Keeping the tradition of collaborations alive this decade, this is easily the best collab of 2009.

10. Eminem - Relapse - This was one of this years most anticipated albums, and it did fairly well. I'm more into older Em - Encore did not really do it for me. The album was produced entirely by Dr. Dre - basically Eminem picked beats out of Dre's extensive catalogue. The album was solid none the less, maybe not to everyones expectations.

Basketball References and Theater of the Mind

Ludacris' Theater of the Mind might be a bit over a year old, but I still listen to it on the daily. It's really hard not to - in my opinion this is one of Luda's best releases production wise and also very solid lyrically. With his wit and hysterical metaphors, how can you not love this guy? One thing I've noticed in the past year is that this album has numerous basketball references. So for the sake of humorous lyrics and over all knowledge here are the ones I've noticed.

"Gettin' live buying bottles thats taller than Chris Webber." (Everybody Hates Chris)

"The car is all black like it got traded to the Timberwolves." (Wish You Would)

"And I keep a little bit of that green up in the lining, but as the weather change my weed adjust to different climates, green in the summer time, orange in the spring, now its black with that purp I call my whip the Sac [ramento] Kings." (Wish You Would)

"Bow down to greatness before I get pissed and (Piston) run up in the stands like the Indiana Pacers." (Undisputed)

"You got defeated by the heat, but we'll just say we Alonzo (Mourning) mourned ya." (Undisputed)

"I'm on point like CP3, (Chris Paul) and I'll be going down in rap as the MVP." (MVP)

Hey Y'all

What up? Hope everyone had a merry christmas or are just straight up enjoying the holidays. I had a nice, enjoyable christmas morning with the family. Parents got me NBA Live 10 for XBox 360 along with a Paul Pierce jersey and some gift cards. There really aren't that many surprises once you pass a certain age - it's just nice that every christmas morning feels as wonderful as the rest. I wish I had some music to toss your way, usually every year I get a CD or two, but this year I didn't get any... so, I am going to randomly shuffle my iTunes and post the first 5 songs that come up:

The Streets - Turn The Page

Talib Kweli - Waiting For The DJ

Beanie Sigel - I'm In

Dizzee Rascal - Dream

Jay-Z - No Hook

Top 10 Albums of the Decade - Honorable Mentions

One of the hardest things about composing a list that highlights amazing albums within a ten year span is making the cut from the eleventh album to the tenth. There are so many albums that I wanted on that list, but couldn't do it. Here are some of them.

OutKast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below - The individual creativity of both Big Boi and Andre 3000 come out on this album. It is basically their solo work combined on a double disk of fire. Big Boi's Speakerboxxx is a hood favorite while Three-Stacks' The Love Below is more poetic and ventures into numerous different styles of music. The hottest singles off the album were "Hey Ya!" and "Roses," which both came off of 3000's The Love Below. Personally, I think Speakerboxxx is better.

Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele - This album just made the cut. Released January 25th, 2000, Supreme Clientele displays classic Wu beats by RZA and Mathematics to name a few. Check out the classics "Apollo Kids" featuring Raekwon and "Mighty Healthy".

Nas - Stillmatic - This would be album #11 if the list was more expansive, and damn I am disappointed it couldn't show up anywhere because it deserves all the recognition it could get. A Nasir Jones classic that addresses issues from the government and foreign policy in the track "Rule" to street life in "Got Yourself A..." to his world famous Jigga diss "Ether".

Talib Kweli - Quality - Amazing flow and lyrics combined with classic production from J Dilla, Kanye West, Ayatolla and more make for a high quality album (pardon that grade school caliber pun). Kweli's "Get By," to me, is one of the best tracks to ever come out this decade and it has nothing to do with its mainstream appeal. Quality also delivers upbeat tracks like "Shock Body" to the mellower "Put It In The Air" featuring DJ Quik. This album is easily Kweli Greene's best work since his collaboration with Mos Def on Black Star. Some of my favorite lines and flows come from this album.

50 Cent - Get Rich Or Die Tryin' - It is almost amazing that you could go from this album to work like Curtis and Before I Self Destruct. 50 is a prime example of not staying true to the roots. Get Rich Or Die Tryin' had numerous hood favorites, but since then his work has been a product of industry standards. He's making bank, but loosing respect by doing so. GRODT was incredibly hyped, and lived up to its standards, putting out chart topping singles "In da Club", "21 Questions" and "P.I.M.P." The album ventured out of the east coast/New York style of sampling and used more synths, clap drums, horns - it basically sounded like a Southern album coming out of South-side Jamaica Queens, N.Y.

Boombox, V11

I hope everyone is having a great holiday vacation. My gift to you is some more great hip-hop jams.

Redman - Coc Back (Feat. Ready Roc) - After The Fugees, Redman is my favorite artist from New Jersey. Funk Doctor Spock Redman spits pretty hard and flows nice on this one.

Blu & Exile - My World Is... - Kellen recommended Blu & Exile to me. The album Below the Heavens is amazing and incredibly underrated. "but Nas told me 'The World is Yours" before "Halftime." Any owner of Illmatic knows what he's talking about.

Snoop "Doggy" Dogg - For All My N*ggaz & Bitches - Why not?

Jay-Z - Hola Hovito - In light of Jigga's Blueprint ranking numero uno on my top 10 albums of the decade list check out one of the albums singles.

Top 10 Albums of the Decade - 1

1. Jay-Z - The Blueprint

September 11th, 2001 was not only a historic day that would shape international affairs - you know what I mean without getting too far into it - but was also coincidentally the date release of Jay-Z's The Blueprint, which pushed the limits of the rap game in production and direction, but still displaying classic Jay-Z that the world has already been accustomed to since the 1996 release of Reasonable Doubt.

I got a facebook inbox today from my friend Kellen that predicted that this would be the #1 pick. Was it because he knows me and my taste so well, or is it that this album truly is the best thing to happen to hip-hop in the 2000's? I'm going with both.

Hip-hop critics and aficionados credit mostly The Blueprint or Reasonable Doubt as Jay-Z's best work. Though it is difficult to for me to decide, Blueprint proved that Jay-Z could still pump out amazing material since his debut album in 1996. The Blueprint was put out at the height of the Jay-Z/Nas beef, where the two New Yorkers exchanged a number of diss tracks, and also more subliminal disses on studio albums. The track "Five to One," produced by Kanye West, samples The Doors and attacks Nas and Prodigy of Mobb Deep. Production of the album is mainly handled by Mr. West, but also features Just Blaze, Timbaland and Eminem to name a few. Like I said when I was talking about College Dropout, the Kanye beats rely heavily on soul and R&B samples from Bobby "Blue" Bland, Jackson 5 and David Ruffin. Other sampled artists include Slick Rick, Al Green, KRS-One, David Bowie and The Doors (and more...). The albums production is a clean A+, outdoing so many albums that came before it, and also albums that followed it. This being said, it is no surprise that The Blueprint appealed to everyone from the suburban, mainstream listener to inner city thugs that been on that Jay-Z shit since Reasonable Doubt. Jay's lyrics explore numerous subjects like street etiquette, fame, women and plain ol' American society - this is another clear reason why it received unanimous praise and mainstream success - there was something for everybody. "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" not only became one the albums most celebrated tracks, but also Jigga's career anthem, highlighting his younger days as kid turned hustler and his recording industry history. This track was also considered Kanye's breakthrough beat, launching him into his prolific production career.

In short, and in my opinion, The Blueprint is the best album to be released in the 2000's. Stepping up in: production quality; outstanding, bountiful lyrics; wide ranging flows, Jay-Z displays confidence in himself along with his creativity and desire to move forward with his music. Like Jigga's one time foe spit in his Stillmatic intro "... but its always forward I'm movin', never backwards stupid here's another classic..." Jay continued this trend as the years moved on, now he is arguably the greatest rapper alive.

Top 10 Albums of the Decade - 2

2. Kanye West - College Dropout

Yes. Kanye made the list twice. On a list that is dominated by albums that were well received in the mainstream it only makes sense. College Dropout is Kanye's first release, after working heavily producing music for Jay-Z in The Blueprint, also working Beanie Sigel, Scarface, T.I., Cam'ron and Talib Kweli to name a few. After proving himself as a renowned producer, making Jay-Z's classic anthem "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)," West proved to critics that he had the ability to also spit game about more than guns and drug dealing.

The album was released in February of 2004 and fared wonderfully on the charts, producing three top ten singles and putting out two others that did well, to say the least. His first single was "Through the Wire," which talks about a car accident that Kanye was involved in, thankfully escaping death, leaving him with a broken jaw. On the track Kanye raps with his jaw wired shut, making him sound nothing like he usually would. His forth single would be his most successful, "Jesus Walks" launched on to the charts and deservingly won a Grammy for the best rap song of the year. Lyrically, the album ventures away from the then dominant street gangster rap into a more observational approach, touching up on subjects that Kanye felt were worth addressing in current affairs. Things from the government, materialism, religion and more are explored on the album. The fact that Kanye managed to create a mass fan base and following by doing something different and untraditional in mainstream rap is well worth applauding. It is also important to realize that the entire album was produced by 'Ye, relying heavily on soul and R&B samples like Chaka Khan's "Through the Fire," and also other tracks by Curtis Mayfield, Luther Vandross, Aretha Franklin and more. The albums that followed College Dropout do not follow this trend, but instead are proof of Kanye's innovative style and progression in hip-hop. All this being said, I think it is pretty obvious that Kanye deserves a spot high up on the charts, even two spots.

Top 10 Albums of the Decade - 3

3. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale

I love this album, from the day it was released to the present day I can listen to Fishscale through without getting bored of it. I bought the album the day it came out, kind of as an impulse buy at Future Shop as they had it on display at the end of the hip-hop/rap aisle. I only had enough money to buy one of the two albums in hand, I don't even remember what album the other was, but it didn't matter, I made the right choice and bought the Ghostface disk.

Ghost worked hard this decade, putting out seven solo albums and collaborations with Trife, not to mention his work with the Wu-Tang Clan. Out of all this, Fishscale ranks highest for Ghostface releases - even higher than Supreme Clientele. On this album Ghost comes through like he often does: load and fast paced for a portion of the tracks, the rest a bit slower paced, but none the less maintain the standard Ghostface flow, lyrical style and humor. Ghost is known for his wacky lyrics. He opens his part in "9 Milli Bros" screaming "Y'all be nice to the crack heads!" In "Shakey Dog," the drug deal gone wrong story of Shakey, Ghost calls a female holding a gun a "big tittie bitch" then seconds later "I'm on the ground like holy shit!" displaying Ghost's loose humor. The majority of the album's content deals with cocaine, hence the name Fishscale. There some different tracks, like "Momma," which talks about Ghost supporting and respecting a woman that went through all horrible walks of life under uncontrollable circumstances, or the albums first single "Back Like That" featuring Ne-Yo, which talks about Ghost's ex-girlfriend cheating on him with a man that he strongly dislikes. "Three Bricks" is Ghost and Raekwon's addition to Notorious B.I.G.'s "Niggas Bleed," which includes the first part of Biggie's track on an intense piano beat produced by Cool & Dre. Like most Ghostface releases, the album features Wu members and a few other artists like Ne-Yo, Megan Rochell and Sean Wigs, but mostly Raekwon and Trife, who is not a part of Wu. The album has a nice balance of production by Pete Rock, MF Doom, J Dilla, Just Blaze and more, but still the album remains true to the traditional Ghostface Killah style of music that critics praised, and yet not that many people bought. Do yourself a favor and buy this album, it is one of the few recent classic releases. As I wrap this up, I'd like to say as I watch MTV Teen Cribs, kids now a days are fucking spoiled.

Top 10 Albums of the Decade - 4

4. OutKast - Stankonia

I think it is a no brainer that this album made the list. "Bombs Over Bagdad" and "Ms. Jackson" were some of the biggest hits in 2000-01, especially Ms Jackson. Perhaps it was overplayed? Probably, but don't let that affect how you much you like the album, Stankonia is filled with classics - 24 tracks (including the interludes), you're bound to find something tight between Gasoline Dreams to Gangsta Shit. Stankonia was OutKast's forth studio album, and though their previous work was much praised, Stankonia was proof that the duo from Georgia meant business, perhaps not in their lyrics, but in the art of hip-hop. The two released Southernplayalistcadillacmuzik in 1994 and been putting out solid gold ever since. Stankonia, like other OutKast releases display the duo's lyrical ability and their individual styles - Big Boi traditionally raps about pimps, players, hoes, guns and Cadillacs, meanwhile Andre 3000 displays playful humor, tricky wordplay and sick metaphors. If you ever want to see how different Big Boi and Andree 3000 are just check out Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, their solo missions combined into one double-disk collaboration, that like Stankonia, runs shit.

Stankonia was also well received as the groups successful crossover album into the mainstream. Now, I'm not trying to say that old OutKast was not at all mainstream, what I mean is that Stankonia ventured away from the surreal intergalactic and space age rap as seen on ATLiens and Aquemini to more relative content. Listen to "Return of the 'G'," the intro track to Aquemini, at the end there is a skit that explains what I mean. "At first they were some pimps man, then there was some aliens or some genies, then talking about black rights in space man... I ain't fuckin' with them no more."

Top 10 Albums of the Decade - 5

5. The Roots - Phrenology

I love The Roots. They are easily one of my favorite groups off all-time. I'll never forget the first time I heard The Roots on Much Music - the song was "You Got Me." That got me instantly hooked.

Phrenology was The Roots' first album of the 2000's, and though it did not fair as well as Things Fall Apart did in the mainstream, it was a much played and much appreciated album in my books (and respectively, the charts). Everybody knows the hit single "The Seed 2.0," which interestingly enough, when played live is mixed with Curtis Mayfield's "Move on Up." Much like Things Fall Apart, Phrenology weighs heavily on The Roots' traditional edgy, jam funk hip-hop style that created a huge following after Illadelph Halflife in '96. Lyrically, Black Thought can compel you (Break You Off), make your head bop (Seed 2.0), or just straight up blow you away (Rock You) with his talent and different styles of delivery throughout the album. And though Black Thought is a crucial member of the group, the band itself is nothing short of amazing. Questlove, The Roots' iconic drummer, provides the listener with authentic drumming that you do not get with many other hip-hop acts. Though The Roots perform with a keyboard, the involvement of the entire band is crucial to their unique, yet amazing sound.

Top 10 Albums of the Decade - 6

6. Kanye West - Graduation

Kanye, like Eminem is really an artist that need no introduction, however, unlike Em, Kanye took hip-hop to brand new heights with less controversial lyrics, proving that you can reach the top without a thuggish ruggish past or gun-talk and murder.

Graduation ranks number six on my list because of Kanye's ability constantly progress and change hip-hop and remain at the forefront as he does so. When Kanye is not making his own music, he is making someone else's. He produced a significant number of this decades hit music and also guest starred on some of the hottest tracks. Unlike College Dropout and Late Registration, Graduation was a shift in Kanye's musical style that had a huge impact on hip-hop in the late quarter of the 00's. The beats are dominantly electronically inspired, like "Stronger," which samples Daft Punk and also tracks like "I Wonder" and "Flashing Lights," which is a huge change from the common soul and R&B sampling from his previous albums. Even after this transformation, Graduation was unanimously a crowd and critic pleaser that produced a handful of chart-topping singles. Lyrically, Kanye shifted from a more observational perspective, often rapping about problems in America and also the occasional slow jam and slow riding tune to personal success and the life of an "A" list celebrity. Through all this, Kanye still managed to maintain his emotional style of delivery that entices the listener.

In switching his style up and looking forward with confidence, Kanye managed to do it right and with style. This album was Kanye's graduation from hip-hop university into a world of change... 808's & Heartbreaks. "And with my ego, I could stand there in a speedo and be looked at as fucking hero." -Kanye, The Glory.

Late Night Sandwiches

Came across this today. Some Roots jams from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Check it out, some nice stuff up in here.

Sandwiches.

Biebel Ballin'

Again, I hate to break the chain on the Top Albums but I felt the need to post this. It involved basketball and skateboarding, from the pro-skateboarder that is notoriously linked with the two.

In this clip Brandon Biebel is interviewed after a pre-game scrimmage in Sacramento.

Thanks Mark Feero for posting this on facebook. If you wanna see how good Brandon Biebel is on a skateboard, look here:

Spud & Manute

I hate to break the consistency of the Top 10 Albums of the Decade, but I felt like this needed to be posted. My friend Ciaran showed me this yesterday as we watched the Mavericks beat the Hornets. The pic is from our friend Colin's facebook. It is Manute Bol (7'7") and Spud Webb (5'7"). Webb is the shortest player in NBA history to ever win a dunk competition, followed by Nate Robinson. If you guys remember the dunk comp from two years ago, Webb had a cameo in Nate's dunk routine. Enough of getting side tracked though, here is a pic of Spud & Manute:

Top 10 Albums of the Decade - 7

7. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP

You can hate him or love him, I'm sure Eminem doesn't care. Acclaimed as one of the most controversial rappers of all time, this white rapper from Detroit exploded on to the hip-hop and pop charts with the hit single "My Name Is" in 1999 and hasn't stepped out of the limelight since. After building up an incredibly large fan-base off of two singles, Em released the Marshall Mathers LP, which would go down in the history books as one of hip-hops most praised albums by critics, but most criticized by mainstream society. Unlike the Slim Shady LP which focused on his persona (Slim Shady), the Marshall Mathers LP weighs in heavily on the dark, disturbed personal life on Marshall Mathers (Eminem's real name). Mather's hatred towards critics, family and his ex-wife Kim are blatantly obvious throughout the album. I guess the first track after the intro titled "Kill You" is a disclaimer to those that want to hate and beef with Shady.

When it comes to lyrical content not much needs to be said about Eminem. I wasn't allowed to buy his albums for two reasons: my mother was a responsible parent; parental advisory stickers became hot after Eminem, Korn and Limp Bizkit put out albums. Noteworthy is Eminem's style through the entire album, jumping back and forth from dark, violent personal raps to outrageous comedic acts. The Marshall Mathers LP put out four singles, three of them dominating the charts for months: The Real Slim Shady, The Way I Am, and Stan. Thank God for "Stan," the hook by Dido made my mother even like the track, which I'm sure allowed me to eventually buy the album.

You can write a story book about Eminem and his controversies, albums, style, 8-Mile, and so on, but I am going to stop here. I don't want my number 7 choice for album of the decade to have the longest, most descriptive write up.

Top 10 Albums of the Decade - 8

8. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Part II

This album deserves to be on the list for a number of reasons. For one, Raekwon maintains his flawless, crime-ridden, mafia don storytelling technique that made the original Only Built 4 Cuban Linx so amazing (mind you, there are differences...). As usual, Rae gets the bulk of his beats from the Wu camp, but also uses some classic J Dilla beats, like on the "House of Flying Daggers." I also feel this album deserves to be listed because it simply lived up to its hype. How many "older" artists do that? 50 Cent has put out a series of flops since Get Rich Or Die Trying and even Jay-Z released some mediocre work (and I'm not downplaying Blueprint 3, more or less B2 & Kingdom Come). OB4CL... II keeps the Cuban Linx trilogy hot. The album also features the majority of the Wu-Tang Clan and also Styles P, Jadakiss, Beanie Sigel, however, Raekwon is the don.

Top 10 Albums of the Decade - 9

9. Gang Starr - The Ownerz

I can't stress enough how many times I went through my CD collection, iTunes, and old tapes/CD-Rs to try and find what I feel is the best representation of amazing hip-hop from the past 10 years. My rough draft had about 30 albums on it, cutting out 20 albums that I feel are not only amazing, but had a strong impact on hip-hop, was far from easy.

We all know Gang Starr, the dynamic duo consisting of Guru and DJ Premier, and their everlasting impact on East Coast hip-hop. The only release Gang Starr put out this decade is the Ownerz, their final album before the two disbanded. Gang Starr stays consistent to their roots as The Ownerz brings classic Premier production filled with jazzy samples and piano riffs and the casual Guru smooth, free-flowing lyricism (check out song titled "The Ownerz" for example, a perfect summary of what the album has to offer). The album also features some New York heavyweights like M.O.P., Jadakiss, Freddie Foxxx, Fat Joe, Bean Town label-mate Big Shug and LBC's Snoop Dogg, although half of them do not compare to Guru's raw lyricism. This album is proof of Gang Starr's longevity in hip-hop - sucka free since '89.

Top 10 Albums of the Decade - 10

Alright, so before I get started I would just like to say that the criteria used to make this list is twofold: my personal sentiment towards to album is obviously the strongest, however, with a list like this, looking over an entire decade of hip-hop is no easy task and an album's mainstream influence must be considered. That being said, I will gradually post my way to number 1, hopefully before Christmas.

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10. The Game - The Documentary

In 2005 The Game released The Documentary, which became on of the West Coast's biggest releases since Dr. Dre's Chronic 2001. During the albums production stages Game was signed to Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, Interscope and G-Unit, along with featuring countless hip-hop and R&B big timers on his debut album. The album put out five singles, the two most popular being "Hate It Or Love It" featuring 50 Cent and produced by Cool & Dre, and also "How We Do," which again featured 50 Cent. The production on the album was handled Dr. Dre, but also featured Cool & Dre, Just Blaze, Kanye West, Timbaland and more. It sold over half a million records in its first week, and has since reached to 5 million mark. As stated numerous times on the album, The Game's goal was to revive the West Coast rap scene that flourished in the 80s and 90s. Although Game's lyrical depth can easily be criticized as being bland, relying more on name dropping (I can't even count how many times he drops famous names or rap albums), Game still managed to "create a buzz without a single like N.W.A. did." and then once releasing some singles took hip-hop in 2005 to a whole new level, becoming one of the most know rappers, for better or worse, this decade.

Welcome to Nova Scotia

I came across this track a few months ago, it is called "Welcome to Nova Scotia" by Ghetto Child. I totally forgot about this track until I saw it on my friend Jeremy's facebook. Check it out, its like a history lesson with really good production.

Pro Tools

After hitting up Future Shop today for some christmas shopping I came across a bargain bin that had a Sean Kingston album on the top. After seeing this I figured there must be some mediocre at least albums in there since that album was somewhat recent. Within 10 seconds of searching the pile I came across GZA's Pro Tools album that was released last year. With a price tag of $2.99 I would be stupid not to. I already listened to the album and have it downloaded (for shame, I know) but it doesn't hurt to add this to the collection.

For those who have never heard it, Pro Tools weighs in heavy on GZA's lyrical ability, but also comes through with solid, simplistic production quality. The album received for the most part positive reviews, it did not rank as high as Liquid Swords and Beneath the Surface. The albums first single was Paper Plate, which is a 50 Cent diss - a good one at that.

Go check out your local Future Shop to see if they have any left laying around. Three bucks is a steal for some quality Wu.

"Compose like a symphony with the a chorus." -GZA, Alphabets

Top 10 of the Decade

As the remaining days in the 00's (I feel incredibly awkward calling it that by the way...) wind down, I decided to take the unoriginal route and copy the Rolling Stone's Top Albums of the Decade article. The only difference is mine will be exclusive to hip-hop music. That being said, I don't have the list done at the moment. But I will gradually add albums up, starting with 10 and working my way down. Hold tight, friends.

Also, Celtics movin' on up to an 18-4 record after tonight's dangerously close game against the Wizards.

Boombox, V10

Damn things are hectic! Not really actually, I really hope my peers don't mind me saying this, but I only have one take home exam left till I get to go home for the break... and exams haven't even started yet! I have been busy finishing everything up however, and that is why I have not been updating often.

Maybe I'll just hook you guys up with some nice tunes for now, since I don't really have anything else to say...

Lil' Wayne - Receipt

The Roots - Game Theory (Feat. Malik B)

Scarface - Born Killer

X-Ecutioners - Live From the PJs (Ghostface, Trife, Black Thought)

R.I.P. Pimp C

Its been two years and two days since the death of Pimp C from the rap duo UGK (Underground Kingz). I remember getting a text on last class bash two years ago from my friend Mex saying that Pimp C had just passed away. Since last night was last class bash I was reminded of this anniversary. As a tribute, jam these tracks that are either Pimp C or a feature.

Ridin' Dirty

Diamonds & Wood

International Players Anthem

Kings (Young Buck)

Big Pimpin' (Jay-Z)

Welcome 2 Houston (Slim Thug)

Chris Clements: Exam Time Blues

Exam time is rolling up quick on University students, I know I am affected until mid-December. Chris sent me a list of tracks that he likes to listen to while studying and essay writing. Check it out.

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I put this playlist together for myself during exam period. It's a rather cool mixture of slowed down beats and calm lyrics. Overall, it pays tribute to some of the best that's ever done it and the nice new talent that is developing overtime.
Enjoy!

1. The Fugees - Zealots

2. Lupe Fiasco - Much More

3. Kanye West - Gone

4. Lupe Fiasco - Jedi Mind Tricks

5. Gangstarr - Moment of Truth

6. T-Pain - Can't Believe It

7. Lupe Fiasco - Lupe the Killer

8. Common - So Far to Go

9. Jay-Z - Girls Girls Girls (Remix)

10. Blakroc - Ain't Nothing Like You