#6: Shad - TSOL

Hip-hop, like any genre, is subject to classification. Hip-hop fans obsess over categorizing what is real hip-hop and what isn't, whether something is conscious rap, cocaine rap, gangster rap or any of the other countless subgenres. This practice is hardly unique to music, it can be found in studies of literature to cinema. But every once in a while their comes along a musician, artist, or author that seems to defy classification. They seem to defy everything their genre portrays and stand out from the lineage of progression along which most others can be found.

This is certainly the case when listening to Shad's TSOL. Make no mistake, the album features your traditional hip-hop beats and it's focus is still the clever wordplay that has been the focal point of hip-hop for over two decades. But none the less something about Shad seems different. Perhaps it's that he's from London, Ontario (which is perhaps the least likely hip-hop setting of all time) but Shad seems to be outside of the hip-hop tradition yet steeped in it at the same time.

A fine example of this can be found on the song 'Keep Shining' which decries the absence of woman in hip-hop in what is the most appropriate example of self-reflection any hip-hop artist has displayed on the subject in a while. And in reality, the song not only applies to hip-hop but to American society in general. Shad pin-points a fact that few can grasp in a mere three minutes: equality has less to do with a shallow mirage of acceptance and more to do with a deep understanding of the other and this can only be gained through letting others do and speak for themselves. This lyric can truly be transformed to almost every aspect of American society:

I talk to women I just can't talk for women, that's for you
We need women for that, more women in rap


Shad will undoubtedly be labeled a 'conscious rapper', and this is truly a shame. Not only is his wordplay some of the cleverest I have heard all year, but to pigeonhole an artist like this is a mistake. Shad is so unique it's tough to make sense of him. He raps about typical conscious rap subjects but does so in his own creative way that still focuses on creative writing as well as important subject matter. He's a Kenyan born Canadian bred rapper working on his Masters in Liberal Studies. He's an artist too unique for specific categorization and that's what makes this album so uniquely great.





Shad - TSOL

#7: Freeway & Jake One - The Stimulus Package

Sometimes the familiar is best. In a new age of hip-hop where ringtones can make a rapper it's comforting, and in some ways precocious, to go back to what made hip-hop what it is. This is not to say that modern hip-hop is dead, as so many like to say, and I hope this list proves at least that. But for every album like Black Milk's Album of the Year, which strains the limits of what we thought hip-hop could do, it's important to have an album that falls back on hip-hop's traditions, a meat and potatoes album if you will.

In this age of hip-hop futurism, Freeway and Jake One have delivered that classic hip-hop meat and potato album that is full of all the genre's staples. Freeway's tough talk rhymes are laid perfectly against Jake One's head nodding beats full of soul samples. And if you had any doubt of what this album was going to sound like, Freeway and Jake One clear all doubts with the opener, 'Throw Your Hands Up', which just has a sound that seems to perfectly describe what a pure hip-hop should be.

And while the formula may seem simple, Freeway and Jake One prove that less can mean more. With the passing of Guru of Gang Starr it's becoming increasingly clear that the close relationship between rapper and producer is disappearing. Very rarely is an entire album produced by one person as artists increasingly focus on appealing to a wide audience and hire different producers to create the soundscape they desire. But it becomes clear that with Jake One producing the entirety of The Stimulus Package that the producer-rapper relationship is still incredibly important.




But this album is about more than simply trying to recapture the golden era of hip-hop. Upon one listen of this album, it's clear that it's not incredibly marketable. It wasn't going to get a whole lot of publicity and it wasn't going to garner much financial success. But Freeway lays out the purpose of the album later in the album when he raps:

I am not going to hate on the state of hip-hop
In fact, all I'm here to do is give you real rap

While a simple line, this type of work is becoming a scarce commodity. In an age when far too many rappers are trying to grab a piece of the seemingly boundless hip-hop market, Freeway and Jake One deliver something that many people are forgetting: real rap.

#8: Reflection Eternal - RPM

It's no secret that hip-hop receives it's fair share of criticism, and sometimes rightfully so. But one of the criticisms that I have always felt has been completely ungrounded is the argument that hip-hop is far too nihilistic; far too angry. The argument typically goes that a certain old person heard some random rap song on the radio (which usually isn't the best barometer for what most fans of the genre would consider truly good hip-hop music) and were disgusted by how angry it sounded, how in your face it was, and how it lacked any constructive message like all that great music that was released when that person was growing up in the 1960's.

It takes little immersion in the hip-hop genre to realize how ridiculous the argument that rap is hopelessly vapid is and the latest album for Reflection Eternal, comprised of Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek, sheds light on the absurdity. Rap excels at being the modern realist poetry and truly great rappers are able to rhyme about something many people are feeling but in incredibly complex and nuanced patterns. This is precisely what Talib Kweli does on the song 'Ballad of the Black Gold':





There is no other genre that could possibly display the far-reaching consequences of our societies addiction to fossil fuels in such a nuanced way as when Talib Kweli pens:


Loyalty to petroleum royalty spoiled the economy
We won't get it poppin' till we oil free
If you're oil rich then we invadin'
They call it occupation but we losin' jobs across the nation


But perhaps it isn't that hip-hop is as nihilistic as it has been portrayed. Maybe it's just proudly declaring a message that most of America doesn't want to hear. But in this fact lies hip-hop's greatest strength. At it's best, it is almost viciously unapologetic, holding up a world that most would rather ignore. When one listens to an album like RPM they can't help but notice that most hip-hop is not vapid at all, but instead irresistibly engaging.

"STRANGERS" TALIB KWELI & Hi-Tek feat. BUN B from Reset Pictures on Vimeo.

Reflection Eternal - RPM

#9: Nas & Damian Marley-Distant Relatives

Collaboration albums always seem to come out a disappointment. This may be the result of the initial collective fan freakout that inevitably follows when it is discovered that successful artist X is pairing with successful artist Y for a full length album and the resultant let down when all realize it's not an instant classic that will redefine rap. Too often concerning hip-hop collaborative albums, the whole is not greater than the sum of it's parts, but less than. Sorry Aristotle.

While collaboration albums always seem like a great idea in theory, they have proven to be incredibly difficult to numerous pairings in reality. This may be because it's difficult enough to create a coherent full length album as an individual, but once another artist with entirely different artistic visions enters the fray the album becomes disjuncted. Or it may be because collaboration requires just that, full collaboration, and without that close artistic relationship the album is doomed to mediocrity.

With all the potential pitfalls, it was understandable that when Nas and Damian Marley announced they were uniting forces for a full length album titled Distant Relatives the fan reaction was split between skeptical and anxiously anticipatory. After all, collaborations are tough enough, but uniting two artists from two different genres seemed like a daunting task. Leading up to the release it seemed fair to ask if this would be a hip-hop album, a reggae album, or both. And if both, could the two artists make it work?

However, where other collaborations fail, Distant Relatives excels as both artists feel at home at all points on the album and neither feels like they are being pulled in a certain direction. This may be due to the focused topic of the album. Most collaborations lack any unified feel and the listener leaves feeling that the two artists just went into the booth to showcase their individual talents and see what happens. This is not the case on Distant Relatives. Both Nas and Damian Marley have become famous for their ghetto stories and becoming a voice for the voiceless. In this sense, the uniting of these two artists makes perfect sense and provides the strength that brings their album onto this list. As is usually the case, Nas' lyrical verbosity is on full display throughout the album and he gives a very apt description for the entire hip-hop generation in a mere two lines when he raps on the song 'My Generation':

Can you blame a generation subject to gentrification
Depicting their frustrations over ill instrumentations

This theme of being the voice for the hip-hop nation is what makes this work so ambitious and so powerful. It goes beyond speaking simply for those in American ghettos all across the country and acknowledges the fact that all of the problems that have created our American ghettos and the racial underclass exists around the world. For over a decade now, hip-hop has been a global genre celebrated and loved around the world. This album, with two seemingly very different artists, creates a sound that may be defined as global hip-hop, and without the collaborative effort I doubt the message would have been so powerful.





Nas and Damian Marley - Distant Relatives

#10: Black Milk-Album of the Year

While Black Milk's ambitiously titled album may have fallen a little short of it's namesake, it is still one of the most forward pushing albums of the year. Known for his producing more so than his rapping, Black Milk attempts to push hip-hop in a burgeoning new direction away from prototypical hip-hop beats and into something that more closely resembles a cross between soul/jazz/funk/rock/whatever else you may think of. With most hip-hop albums one listens too, it's tough to conceptualize how it would play in a live performance. However, hip-hop has grown and with it the expectations for live hip-hop has grown as well and fans are starting to require unique experiences that go past a DJ in the background waving a towel around and shouting into a microphone every fifth word to pass as musical accompaniment.

And in this sense of expanding what live hip-hop is capable of, Black Milk excels. With several big acts now touring regularly with a live band, Black Milk reaches even further and creates an album that begs for a live performance. This is the case for songs such as Keep Going and Gospel Psychedelic Rock as on the former Black Milk creates a beat that seemingly only he could create and on the latter creates a beat that is oozing with Detroit's musical heritage.

However, the album is not without it's missteps. At times, it feels Black Milk is reaching too far artistically to pioneer that brand new sound that hip-hop and it's fans are constantly searching for. But it's hard to truly be upset by the missteps. Black Milk has constantly prided himself on progressing hip-hop, particularly as a producer, and when trying something that has rarely been tried there are sure to be missteps. But overall he produces a work that few else could or would even dare to try, and even though I may be showing a slight hometown bias, I believe he deserves the credit.

Top 10 Hip Hop Albums of 2010

The year is indeed winding to an end and with that ends another year of music that has been quite amazing. While T.I. and Weezy have both seen the extended jail time that will occasionally become intertwined in the career of your favorite rapper, hip-hop is also witnessing the rise of it's next generation with stars such as Drake, and depending on who you ask, this may be the next death of hip-hop.

Whether you have love for the new stars that are emerging or not, hip-hop is strangely becoming a genre that revels in it's albeit rather recent antiquity while still striving forward, and this makes the current of era of hip-hop quite interesting. Hip-hop has always been a genre defiant of the ever-present 'establishment', but it is increasingly becoming a genre divided against itself. This may be a result of the now well-documented transition of rap from a grassroots to a commercialized genre or it may simply be a generational difference. A new generation of hip-hop fans are coming of age, and to these fans hip-hop's golden age is nothing but ancient history.

However, for every movement there is a counter-movement and as the new generation of fans have flocked to the likes of Drake and the rest of the Young Money roster, it has forced other artists not just back to the booth to attempt to redefine the greatness that was exhibited in the Golden Era of hip-hop, but also to push the genre forward. So here hip-hop stands, a genre defiant against itself, grasping at it's past while pushing itself towards the future. And I believe many of the albums I will come to describe do that incredibly well.

But before I go any further, let me stress that while I may view this as a top list, it is just that MY top list. I went by nothing other than my pure enjoyment and paid absolutely no mind to record sales, 'hotness', or whatever else you may think of that might cause disagreement.

Before I get into this sure to be epic list that I'm sure will come to define hip-hop music in the year 2010, here are some of my favorite tracks/videos/mixtapes that simply can't be ignored.





Sweet Jesus. I know Rick Ross is a huge phony. I know that the whole persona this song is based on is fabricated and I've never really been able to fully get into his music because of it. But, once again, Sweet Jesus. The best way to describe this song: HUGE.





Another enormously popular song from this past year, and for this one I can't for the life of my figure out why I love it so much. I am, admittedly, susceptible to a nice city anthem (Whatup Pittsburgh!) and the question of whether I have or have not been to that city is completely irrelevant. Or maybe it's the infectious hook and celebratory beat. Or maybe it's just that Wiz Khalifa sounds so excited about having a huge year and this sound oozes with excitement. Whatever it is, I haven't been able to tear away and haven't really wanted to. As previously mentioned, it was part of a big year for Wiz as his Kush and Orange Juice mixtape also got heavy play.





If there is one fear I have that is totally lacking in an experience, it is rural poverty. That statement is even truer concerning rural poverty in the south. It's a terrifying world that seems completely foreign. The sense of nihilism that Yelawolf portrays in 'Pop The Trunk' does nothing to alleviate these fears but rather exacerbates them.

Speaking of hip-hop trying to get back to it's roots while still striving forward, the Cool Kids manged to get away from their seemingly unceasing label drama to release one incredibly solid mixtape titled 'Tacklebox'. Chuck English really comes into his own as a producer on this.




Speaking of label troubles, it's a real same that this song wasn't on one of the albums that is one of the ten best albums of the past year because it was one of the best of 2010. Hip-hop versus hip-hop labels are one of those never ending conflicts.

Andre 3000 and Big Boi- Lookin' For Ya

Hustle

Rap, at it's best, is about hustle. It's about being heard when no one else is able, or willing, to speak for you. Hustle was perhaps the greatest characteristic of rap in the 1990's that produced many of the genres biggest stars and best music. Without romanticizing the hip-hop golden era too much, to ignore the differences in financial opportunities for rappers in in the 1990's and 2000's would be a mistake. Hip-hop of the 90's represented more of a grassroots movement, and like most successful grassroots movements, in the 2000's it became an establishment.

As hip-hop not only became artistically, but also financially, established some of that artistic work ethic was lost. One of the biggest developments of the 2000's has been the emergence of the rapper as entrepreneur. Countless artists have translated their musical careers into acting and business careers to make even more money in a modern musical landscape that is becoming less financially viable. Unfortunately, this has had numerous negative effects on hip-hop music, with two being the most important.

Firstly, the attention of the rapper/actor/businessman is inevitably divided. When they go in the studio for an album, if they go in at all, rapping isn't their only job, it's only a part time job. Secondly, because many rappers have diversified their sources of income, rap no longer becomes essential for their prosperity. If 50 Cent or Jay-Z releases an album that flops, their will be almost no financial impact. Subconsciously, it keeps a rapper hungry if he's rhyming to put food on the table.

If there is any positive that can be found from skittish record labels refusing to take a chance on new artists, it's that it accentuates hunger and encourages a return to the hustle prevalent in the 1990's, and this is something evident in Big K.R.I.T. from Mississippi.

On his self-released and free debut album K.R.I.T. Waz Here, his hunger is on full display as he often somewhat brags and somewhat complains that he has had to make his own beats. Even the album title suggests a solitariness from an artist that is determined to leave his mark even if others are seemingly disinterested. This theme carried over into his video for 'Hometown Hero' as he is the only soul you see in the entire video.

It is rare that an artist releases an album for free on the internet and in the week that follows has record label representatives knocking on his door ready to sign him to a deal, but this is exactly what happened with Big K.R.I.T. But the question is, would Big K.R.I.T.'s debut have been as powerful and raw if his path was made easy and those record labels had come earlier? As is often the case, the toughest times in one's life can bring out the hustle in just about any person. The degree to which Big K.R.I.T.'s struggle to gain recognition affected his album will never be known, but it is fairly certain that it didn't hurt.