'07 Top Albums

[Mista JpKoff]

i ain't seen no such thread, maybe cuz i didn't bother to browse further than page 3.

Which are your favorite rap cds this year ?

On a mainstream side, i really enjoyed those UGK's Underground Kingz and Jay-Z's American Gangster. Other than that, 2006 was a better year as far as mainstream is concerned. Kweli's Ear Drum and Common's Finding Forever were kinda cool though, but it's some shit we're already familiar with, nothing groundbreaking. Redman's Red Gone Wild has its moments too, but Red usually has less filler on his cds. Graduation had too many weak cuts and rapping. I haven't even listened to Curtis, Ultimate Victory or TI vs TIP. Did I miss something great?

Borderline mainstream/underground, Wu-Tang's 8 Diagrams was a good surprise for me. As far as West Coast is concerned, that Kurupt & J Wells' Digital Smoke was a banger. Even better than the good DPG's Dogg Chit. After a few listens, Ghost's The Big Doe Rehab has lost quite a lot of its interest. Pharoahe Monch's Desire got a few spins, and Black Milk's Popular Demand was an interesting debut. I still can't get my hands on those new Scarface, Beanie Sigel or Styles P

Deeper into the underground, my favorite picks would be Aesop Rock's None Shall Pass and Necro's Death Rap. Innovative shit, dope rhymes, dope flows, dope beats. I'd also mention Brother Ali's Undisputed Truth and Phat Kat's Carte Blanche, as well as Hell Razah's both projects, Renaissance Child and Razah's Ladder. The Cunninlynguists' Dirty Acres is a solid effort, but much too similar to their 2006 outing.

Other interesting things : RZA's Afro Samurai OST and DJ Vadim's The Soundcatcher

The rest, i wasn't too impressed with or didn't listen close enough. What about your picks ?

[PDTantisocial]

10-One Be Lo "The R.E.B.I.R.T.H."
9-Jay-Z "American Gangster"
8-Ghostface Killah "The Big Doe Rehab"
7-Talib Kweli "Eardrum"
6-Scarface "Made"
5-Hell Razah "Renaissance Child"
4-Sean Price "Jesus Price Supastar"
3-Killah Priest "The Offering"
2-Blue Sky Black Death & Hell Razah "Razah's Ladder"
1-CunninLynguists "Dirty Acres"

[Mista JpKoff]

4-Sean Price "Jesus Price Supastar"
i quickly forgot about this one after a few spins... as far as i remember, it was lyrically on point, but musically a little boring (to me at least). there was that joint "King Kong", it was the shit. i would still choose Monkey Barz over Jesus Price

i should listen to One Be Lo's album as well, his first was really good, plus it seems to be a good year for Detroit artists

[SHAoLiN LoRD]

Eight Diagrams.
Ghostface Killah "The Big Doe Rehab"
Show & A. - Live Hard

[snakesonawiggly]

KRS ONE & Marly Marl - mHip Hop Lives

[GhettoGnom]

No order:
Wu-Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams
CunninLynguists - Dirty Acres
MF Grimm - The Hunt For The Gingerbread Man
Killah Priest - The Offering

[11th Chamber]

Wisemen Approching gets no love in this forum...

[junius]

NOT IN ORDER (YET)

Wisemen Approaching (for real, ya'll are NOT listening closely enough, these guys are dope, subtle lyricists too, much better than Talib blather or Jay-Z bullshit)

Smif N Wessun

Hell Razah (both)

Killah Priest

Sean Price

Prodigy

(also Mobb Deep "Infamous Archives")

Tragedy Khadafi

Boot Camp Click (better than "Big Doe Rehab," tho' similarly not "new")

8 Diagrams

Chamillionaire

KRS One & Marley Marl

Canibus "For Whom The Beat Tolls" (he brought it hard)

UGK

Special Teamz (Ed O.G. still killin')

***

good to very good: Havoc, Infamous Mobb, Plies, Curtis, PE, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Tek & Steele solo mixtapes on Duck Down, Ghost... Cilva ** if ** you cut off the idiotic skits, "Death To America" ("musically" wack, i don't give a shit about his "politics") & "Michael Jackson," oterwise it's way too annoying.

Fuck you very much: Jay-Z, Beanie, Freeway, Common, El P alternative arena rock rap, Aesop indie rock rap, Army of the Pharoahs, Esoteric solo, other shit I forgot

[DR. NICK RIVIERA]

Wisemen, El-P and Sage Francis r underrated, so I'm giving them props...

Percee P had a great old school album :)

[junius]

p/s-- i accidentally forgot JOELL ORTIZ, which I still ride with... def. in Top 10.

[begongo]

KRS One and Marley Marl - Hip Hop Lives

[DR. NICK RIVIERA]

I forgot to add Muggs cd.....Muggs made beats like: yo, any instrument could work, fuck people who say guitars don't mix well with hip-hop

[main_man]

best album of the year i heard? el-p "i'll sleep when your dead"
it gets some hate for having a rock influence, but best believe its one thousand percent hip hop. it is original, and it sounds like hip hop really should in 2007 if it didnt get all watered down and simplistic. el is a beast on the mic and his beats are complex. it sounds like a soundtrack to urban warfare.

[whitey]

no order.

dj muggs v. sick jacken
mf grimm-gingerbread man
percee p-perserverance
jay z-american gangster
beastie boys-mix up
wu tang-8D
ghostface-BDR
styles p-sgeg
statik selektah-spell my name right
kanye-graduation
NYGz-welcome to g'dom
marco polo-port authority

[Rame]

Wu-Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams
Jay-Z - American Gangster
Marco Polo - Port Authority
Killah Priest - The Offering
Little Brother - GetBack
Royce Da 5'9'' - The Bar Exam

[PoisonousDarT36]

Jay-Z - American Gangster
Ghostface Killah - Big Doe Rehab
Wu-Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams
Talib Kweli - Eardrum
Chamillionaire - Ultimate Victory
Common - Finding Forever
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - Strength & Loyalty
Freeway - Free at Last

all are good albums, bolded are the cream of the crop

look out for Lupe Fiasco - The Cool dropping dec. 18. haven't heard it yet, but I expect a good album

[hide1998]

My top 10 favorite hip-hop albums of 2007

01. Wu-Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams
02. Cilvaringz - I
03. Hell Razah - Renaissance Child
04. Talib Kweli - Eardrum
05. Wisemen - Wisemen Approaching
06. Killah Priest - The Offering
07. A-Plus - My Last Good Deed
08. Hell Razah - Razah's Ladder
09. Ghostface Killah - The Big Doe Rehab
10. Pharoahe Monch - Desire

[Richard Nixon]

Prodigy - Return of the Mac, dope ass album

of couse 8 diagrams

did hip hop is dead come out in 07?

[PoisonousDarT36]

Prodigy - Return of the Mac, dope ass album

of couse 8 diagrams

did hip hop is dead come out in 07?

hhid came out dec 19, 2006

return of the mac is among the worst of the year for me. prodigy's rhyme scheme was really bad (didn't rhyme a lot of the time), as were his lyrics

[GSTYLE]

not including those that came out in the last 2 weeks, id say young buck's buck the world and ugk's underground kings

[LiquidWordz]

Havoc - The kush. Dissapointing at first, but it grows on you, or it grew on me at least. And co sign on that jesus price superstar.

[Suga Duga]

Wismen Approaching
8 Diagrams
The Offering
The Hunt For The Gingerbread Man

gotta get Razah's Ladder

[DR. NICK RIVIERA]

gotta get Razah's Ladder

mos.def.

it's real real dope

both of his albums...more wu-related rappers should take their raps seriously like Razah...

[Dirty Knowledge]

8 Diagrams - Wu-Tang Clan
The Offering - Killah Priest
The Album - Smif-n-Wessun
Big Doe Rehab - Ghostface Killah
Super Gangster, Extrodinary Gentleman - Styles P
Spell My Name Right - Statik Selektah
Blunt Sessions - The Bluntologist
Dillagence - Bustah Rhymes, J. Dilla
Still Rising - Jeru
Master P [Official Mixtape] - Sean Price
Rap Murr Phobia - Keith Murray (Yeah.. it's decent...)

All I can think of right now.. I still got some Wu-Affiliates to check out (Wisemen, Hell Razah) that I've been sleeping on for a while but I'll definitly be copping soon enough.

[DVSK]

all i likes is

Sleep when you're dead
8 diagrams
big doe
The Cool
Graduation (slightly)
Finding Forever
The Offering

theres prob. more but idk...

[famenchuan]

muggs vs. jacken

[Wu-Tality]

1. Ghostface - BDR
2. Talib Kweli - Ear Drum
3. Jay-Z - American Gangster
4. Common - Finding Forever

[crds]

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/J72/the_best_of_2007_in_hip_hop

[MAYOR QUIMBY]

Wu-Tang Clan - 8 Diagrams

[McTom]

I haven't heard or bought many hiphop albums this year. I thought 8 Diagrams was pretty good and I appreciate RZA tried to do something a little different with it. I haven't heard Big Doe Rehab yet, but somehow I am not excepting much from it. But maybe I'll be wrong.
The more commercial hiphop albums were disappointing this year. Kanye West's Graduation was just average with few memorable tracks. On the other hand, Timbaland's Shock Value had some memorable tracks but the rest of the album absolutely sucked.
Only other hiphop album I heard this year was from the English rapper Dizzee Rascal - Math + English and it was actually pretty good, full of energy and better and his second album imo.
With the expection of 8 Diagrams overall a disappointing year for hiphop.

[DR. NICK RIVIERA]

With the expection of 8 Diagrams overall a disappointing year for hiphop.

I wouldn't say that...this year was def. better than last year's...Pharaoh Monch, Wisemen, Sick Jacken, Hell Razah, Killah Priest, Decompoze, Sage, El-P, Jay-Z,... I listened to a lot of hip-hop this year, yessir!

[Exodus]

1) Ghostface Killah - The Big Doe Rehab
2) Jay-Z - American Gangster
3) Blu & Exile - Beneath the Heavens
4) Killah Priest - The Offering
5) Talib Kweli - Eardrum

Kanye West's Graduation, Common's Finding Forever, Chamillionaire's Ultimate Victory, and Lupe Fiasco's The Cool get honorable mentions

[DVSK]

o ya eardrum, and PE's

[DVSK]

i made sure to keep jay out of my list.

[Longbongcilvaringz]

ive missed out on a fair few of the albums mentioned, not sure if i will go out and get them anytime soon. but im interested in One.Be.Lo's album.

anyway, these are the albums i enjoyed this year in hip hop.


Brother Ali - Undisputed Truth

http://www.djouls.com/groove/images/Brother_Ali-The_Undisputed_Truth_b.jpg

demonstrates to me how hip hop can still be reminiscent of the early nineties, both in terms of quality and style, but still be innovative and interesting. Lyrically, Ali is diverse and makes every track interesting . His flow to me is an example of how rapping on beat is preferred to simply rhyming quickly. Its seems to me that Ant saves his best material for Brother Ali, both his albums have some of the best and appropriate production ive heard from him.

Favourite Track: Pedigree


El-P - I'll Sleep When Your Dead

http://bp1.blogger.com/_hU1ib4ColmQ/RhZdQnk7SGI/AAAAAAAAAQo/J5NmVXDu1zQ/s320/El-P+-+I%27ll+Sleep+When+You%27re+Dead.jpg

this album pretty much kept me coming back more times than i expected. both lyrically and sonically it was one of the most interesting records this year, and although El-P dystopic and misanthropic outlook is slightly overwrought at times, he communicates enough interesting material for this to be overlooked.

Favourite Track/s: The League Of Extraordinary Nobodies or Up All Night

(i noticed Brother Ali on Pedigree says "Probably Thought I Was Born Yesterday, But Motherfucker I Stayed Up All Night"...! )


Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass

http://bp1.blogger.com/_wvZoLgs0rdQ/Rs0Yn0v38uI/AAAAAAAAApg/ZzXI1jGsq8U/s320/Aesop+Rock+-+None+shall+pass.jpg

i only recently really got into Aesop, and when i started listening to him i pretty much found his flow and voice unpalatable. i bought this album, and its probably the best introduction to Aesops work, production wise and in terms of flow, its clearer than his previous efforts in my opinion. i now feel as though its not his best album, but its still one of my favourite albums in the past few years, and it got me into his earlier work. noticeably, the production on this is more consistent than some of his other albums, and its fits perfectly with the majority of the tracks, i think Aesop sounds better over this kind of sound than the Def Jux/El-P industrial production. Bring Back Pluto was kind of stupid, but the rest of the album makes up for it.

Favourite Track/s: Fumes or Five Fingers


Common - Finding Forever

http://headmasterz.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/00-common-finding_forever.jpg

ok, it doesnt have the same replay value as the other albums ive liked this year, but i still think it deserves a mention a head of Kanyes, Jay Z's or Talibs albums. to me, Common returned to form with this album, i didnt enjoy Be particularly, but tracks like The People, Forever Begins, Misunderstood and The Game showed Common as still lyrically sharp. there were weak moments (I Want You, Drivin' Me Wild, Break My Heart) but in my opinion these tracks were brought down by the terrible cameos, rather than Common or the music. Additionally Kanye produced the best, consistent piece of material ive heard from him, easily, eclipsing the quality of his own project for the year.

Favourite Track: Forever Begins


Ohmega Watts - Watts Happening

http://www.cvibes.com/images/OHMEGA-WATTS-Watts-Happenin.jpg

this would almost be number one for me this year, i havent played it as much as the other records simply because i bought it fairly recently, but as with Brother Ali's effort, its a nostalgic album which is still fresh and innovative. The album for me, perfectly melds instrumental music with straight up hip hop tracks, and both are of high quality. Watts reminds me of a better version of Talib or Common, although comparing them is pointless, i feel as though these artists could easily make an album like this, but dont have the motivation. Basically this album proves why hip hop cant be described in terms of genre.

Favourite Track/s: hard to say, not because it all sounds similar, but because its so varied but of a consistently high quality. id go with Gone With The Wind and the soul/funk track Are You Satisfied.


The Beastie Boys - The Mix Up

http://bp0.blogger.com/_zjhyOujX-uM/Rny-c9tHJbI/AAAAAAAAADk/pB1FeeSR-WE/s320/the+mix+up.jpg

not sure why so many people thought this was a disappointment, for me it provided a relief from the last Beasties album. this album for me fits in the the same category as other great instrumental hip hop album, such as Endtroducing, Deadringer and Flight 602. not much else to say, except that i played it a lot when i got it, and it still gets spins now. one of the best pieces of music i heard this year.

Favourite Track/s: Dramastically Different or Electric Worm



Other things i liked that werent that great:

Kanye - Graduation (still an enjoyable listen, but some tracks started to really grate on me after a while. i still think its his best album)

AOTP - Ritual Of Battle (had some really good tracks, and some really good beats, but mc wise was a bit of a let down. and stuff like Frontline, Murda Murda and Pages In Blood were musically disgusting)

Talib - Eardrum (pretty good album, but had very little replay value for me. seems like the same shit from Talib, which isnt bad necessarily but i think i'll just listen to Quality rather than this)

Sean Price - Jesus Price Superstar (dope album, Sean P was as good as ever in terms of his recent style. musically it was a bit boring though. still quality though)

Lupe - The Cool (i really like this album, but basically havent had enough time to listen to it properly. it would be in my top albums, i just cant say that its amazing after only having listened to it a few times)


non hip hop that was great:

Daft Punk - Alive
Puscifer - V is for Vagina
Klaxons - Myths of the Near Future
Justice - Cross


overall, i pretty fucking good year in music terms, and especially in comparison with last year.

[Marc051]

1. Marco Polo - Port Authority

2. DJ Muggs Vs Sick Jacken - Legend of the Mask and the Assassin

3. Ghostface Killah - Big Doe Rehab

[MastaCee]

Common - Finding Forever
NYOIL - HoodTreason
Ghostface Killah - The Big Doe Rehab
Brother Ali - The Undisputed Truth
Show & A.G. - Live Hard EP