No particular order but I made some lists.
Top 5 rap albums (since I can only recall listening to 9 the whole year
)
Kid Cudi - Man On The Moon: The End of DayThe sleeper album & rapper for me. I wasn't initially sold on the man. I heard Day N Nite well before hearing the album which I liked but that didn't sell it for me. But after hearing the positive comments for Cudi and the album, I figured that I should try it out. And then I realized why he was getting all this rave reviews. Depending on how you want to label this concept album (fever dream, pseudo-biography etc..) the album sets a mood and maintains the atmosphere for the entire album. If there is any drawback, it might stick to the plan a little too well. (Which might not be a drawback at all) Broken up in five acts, and narrated by Common, its an experience that ill admit took more than one listen through to wrap my head around it but once I did, I was glad I spent the money to buy it.
Slaugherhouse - SlaughterhouseShit goes hard. Along with Kid Cudi, I knew of the group consisting of Crooked I, Royce Da 5'9", Joe Budden & Joell Ortiz but wasn't sold on them either. (What is up with me not accepting people quickly?) But hearing some songs here and there, I knew that this 4 headed monster was a group I should pay attention to. And from the opening track "Sound Off" where each rapper goes slowly but on a dime all go into double time speed for the second half of their verses, you sorta know right off the bat what kind of album you are gonna get. The only real drawback on this album is the stupid skits. They aren't funny and honestly make no real sense, but that is a small price to pay for an impressive first album from the group and lays down the blueprint for better albums in the future from Slaughterhouse.
Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt III am a Wu head. And it's safe to say that most if not all Wu-Tang fans would agree that the original album from Rae is one of the best solo albums from Wu. It was a classic criminal movie in audio form. And so for Raekwon to announce that Pt. II was gonna release in 09, I was excited but very skeptical that a sequel to a classic album was going to drop. Most sequels don't live up to the original. But to my surprise, Pt. II lives up quite well. After Papa Wu & Rae welcome you back to the North Star, "House Of Flying Daggers" is a high energy track and reminded me why in the blue hell I am a Wu-Tang fan in the first place. The only real minuses I have against this album that there are 22 tracks, versus the 18 on the original. And even if the sequel's runtime is shorter than the original, I felt that there are too many filler tracks, though those filler tracks are better than the majority of rap music today, cutting away just a few songs would have made a huge difference. Runtime aside, Pt. II compliments the original just how all sequels should.
Method Man & Redman - Blackout! 22009 felt like 1993 all over again. Method Man came with Redman to drop a sequel to the original Blackout! and along with OB4CL2, it achieved its job. From the intro, I re-learned why Meth & Red made a dope combination. Hip Hop's Cheech & Chong delivers a piece of work that even when it was released in 1st half of 09, made an impact on me to claim it one of my rap albums of the year. "Dangerus MCees" and the Bun B featured "City Lights" are some of the quality songs on BO2. There are sadly songs that don't stack up as well, mostly due to the sometimes lazy rhyming that the pair do, but the whole is better than the sum of its parts and if you want some smoked out rap, Blackout! 2 is that album.
Drunken Tiger/Tiger JK - Feel gHood Muzik: The 8th WonderDoesn't matter if you call him Drunken Tiger or Tiger JK, the fact remains that he dropped for lack of a better term a dope ass double LP. Dude has full songs in both Korean and English. It was just a joy to listen to this album. But with most double LPs, there are a ton of filler songs, but that doesn't prevent you from enjoying what Tiger loves to do, and he just loves to rap. Features from his beautiful wife and dope rapper in her own right, Tasha and appearances from Rakka from Dilated People and the God MC Rakim himself (Who BTW is my favorite rapper of all time) on the english version of "Monster", this double LP proves that hip hop can exist and thrive everywhere in the world.
Honorable Mentions:
e.via - e.via a.k.a. happy e.vil Too many skits bog the album down, but this rookie is a prime example of what hip hop originally was, an expression of one self with the usage of the five elements of hip hop.
UGK - UGK 4 LifeThe first and only album from UGK after the death of Pimp C, and it is a shining example of the type of music you expect from UGK. Rest in Peace Pimp C.
Other genres top picks
Utada: This Is The OneI bought this album the same day I bought Raekwon's album, and I loved it. From "Come Back to Me" and "Apple and Cinnamon", this 13 track album demonstrates why I am a Utada fan. It has songs for many people, it is focused and it's an album I can damn near recommend to anyone. (Bonus, the booklet that comes with the CD is some high quality glossy paper and some good pictures of Utada in them)
2NE1 - The First Mini AlbumIt might be a stretch to call them the Korean female Slaughterhouse, but this 4 headed monster released an impressive mini album, and a rookie group while their time promoting the album absolutely demolished their competition. 2NE1 put the streets on "Fire" and it seems like they won't be stopping for anyone. (They also get thumbs up from me for repping Street Wear clothing to the fullest)
SNSD - THE FIRST MINI ALBUM - GeeI can't fake the funk. I am a Girls' Generation fan. But I have to admit, I didn't become a fan until literally the
day after they ended Gee promotions, and I had their Baby Baby album a year before Gee but still wasn't a fan. Regardless, Gee stands out for me because, well it tugged at my zombie heart strings. "힘 내! (Way To Go)" is a one hell of an uplifting song. There has been way more than enough said about "Gee" but I gotta mention "Destiny" because that song goes hard as fuck.
I might post some more lists later but that is the majority of my thinking. I hope someone reads all this
Topic: Favorite albums/singles/songs of 2009 (International Edition) (Read 4690 times)