Of all the fuckery that occurs in hip-hop, the one anomaly I never understand is when music critics, bloggers and rappers alike claim that “Hip-Hop is Dead.” Sure the landscape has morphed and face of hip-hop is unorthodox, but 2012 has been a damn good year for the genre.
10. Action Bronson and The Alchemist – Rare Chandeliers: I think the only thing missing from this project is a Danny Brown feature. Nonetheless, Bronson is entertaining as ever.
9. Slaughterhouse – On the House: In an interview’ Royce pretty much summed up this mixtape perfectly: “The mixtape is what we do, the album is what people thought we couldn’t do.” What they can do is definitely proven on this mixtape with lyrical genocide on every track; I just wish I could say the same for their album…
8. Brother Ali – Mourning In America And Dreaming In Color: Jake One and Brother Ali really need to do more shit like this.
7. Kids These Days – Traphouse Rock: It really is criminal how slept-on this group is, especially with the album they dropped this year. They’ve got more talent than the entire MMG roster and are barely even adults. If any Chicago native deserves a co-sign from Kanye, it’s Kids These Days.
6. Childish Gambino – Royalty: This was an interesting, if not surprising, project for Childish Gambino. The experimentation with a more aggressive flow and traditional beats made for mixed results. Although this isn’t his best work, I enjoyed the hell out of this mixtape. Oh, and bonus points to anyone who can ride a Brittany Spears sample.
5. Ab-Soul – Control System: “Black Lip Bastard Remix” is still in rotation and will continue to be, along with the rest of this album, for a while.
4. El-P – Cancer 4 Cure: Paranoia, anarchy, dystopian society, reckless behavior, alternate reality, emotional closure; it’s all a good time on Cancer 4 Cure.
3. Aesop Rock – Skelethon: As someone with a very nerdy love for words, Aesop Rock’s ridiculous vocabulary never ceases to continuously blow my mind. This album is as rewarding as it is difficult to decipher.
2. Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d city: Does anything else really need to be said about this album?
1. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis – The Heist: If Macklemore’s music is defined by anything, it’s the emotionally brutal honesty he pours into every song. Fortunately The Heist was no different this year as Ryan Lewis crafted production that complimented Macklemore perfectly.
Honorable Mention: Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music: I’m very aware that this album should be on my list but for reasons I really can’t explain, I slept on this album way too long. If I was more familiar with it, it’d be ranked very highly.
Well that’s my list. Leave your comments, criticism and most importantly, your own lists. I want to hear them all!
Childish Gambino’s mixtape should of been higher up in my opinion, I just think it didn’t get the hype it deserved. It’s versatility and options within the overall genre of rap and hip hop showed CB’s creativity. Half of the tracks took on traditional tracks with a deeper personal meaning while the rest had aggressive beats and with aggressive almost swag rap lyrics. It was an awesome combo not to mention I’m a huge fan of CB.
I think it got a decent amount of hype prior to its release. And yeah it was a great project but have you heard all of the other stuff ahead of it on my list?
Oh and it’d be cool to know what your list is.
This is probably one of the more interesting lists that I’ve seen for this year. Its a great one too…
I think this guy is mentally handicapped macklemore #1 and killer mike honorable mention that is actually retarded
This coming from the guy who uses no punctuation and forgets the fact that this is not his own list…
Nice list. Surprising that this is the first time I see Macklemore on a year-end list though!
And holy crap, that’s a peculiar commentary on Skelethon. I love words too, but the saturation in his rhymes is sooooooooooooooooooooo high. It seems like a maddening logorrhea to me.
But it is logorrhea! And I’m sure Aesop is aware of how verbose he is, but I really think that’s just the way he views the world. Because his songs never sound forced and in interviews he’s really normal when he speaks. It seems to me what’s convoluted vocabulary to most people is just natural thought for him. Either way I love that shit. Just hearing the way he phrases ideas and such.
I have to say Macklemore shocked me too. Didn’t expect to see him as a number one choice.
Yeah as I was debating which album to put in the number one spot (which was a very tough decision), I thought about which album I listened to the most and enjoyed the most. Macklemore just makes really relatable music.
I suppose. I’m gonna listen to my copy again and see if my mood changes lol.