It’s that time again! The year has six days left, and I’ve come to a final assessment, and I’m handing out “awards” for this year. To be honest, this was a lot harder than last year. There were not many stand out albums this year. There were plenty of releases that I had to listen through, and many of them seemed repetitive and didn’t hold my interest. I feel that there was some greatness, some horrible stuff, and in the majority – a mix of mediocre and average work. That being said, the year did result in some solid releases from many different people. Leave some comments, I KNOW people don’t agree with me.
Single of the Year: “Hero” by Nas
Song of the Year: “Winter Takes All” by Common Market
Video of the Year: “Children Sing” by Pacewon & Mr. Green
Guest Appearance of the Year: Saigon on The Roots’ “Criminal” (couldn’t find original – damn remix contest!)
Album Cover of the Year: Jean Grae & 9th Wonder – “Jeanius” (all four of them!)
Producer of the Year: 9th Wonder
Rapper of the Year: R.A. Scion
Hype Machine (over rated): Nas – “Untitled”
Dark Horses (under rated):
88-Keys – “The Death of Adam”
Shawn Jackson – “First of All”
Braille – “The IV”
Most Unique: Foreign Exchange – “Leave It All Behind”
Frustraters: Nas, Chaundon
Surprises: Kanye West, 88-Keys
Comeback of the Year: Jean Grae
Instrumental Album of the Year: Metaform – “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants”
Mixtape of the Year: Wale – “The Mixtape About Nothing”
Albums of the Year:
10. The Roots – “Rising Down”
The album starts off and ends strong, but drags horribly in the minute. There was tons of unlocked potential in this album, but it’s still not a bad release.
9. Atmosphere – “When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold”
Slug is back at it, and producer Ant is just as adequate as ever. Some solid tracks, some duds, and a few spectacular ones. Slug shows maturity in his song writing, and it’s nice.
8. Elzhi – “The Preface”
An incredible wordsmith backed with lackluster production, this album shows sparks of genius throughout. It doesn’t have much replay value, and some songs don’t do much to differentiate themselves from one another. If you want top-notch lyricism, this is where to look.
7. Murs – “Murs For President”
2008 is the year of change. Released in the midst of one of the most important time periods in the history of the United States, Murs’ album is a call to action. Showing introspection, observation skills of society, and maturity, this is a great album, but not without a few mis-steps.
6. Jake One – “White Van Music”
All star producer Jake One finally gets his turn to shine in the spotlight and he doesn’t disappoint. There are a number of excellent tracks on here, courtesy of Elzhi, Little Brother, Brother Ali, Freeway, De La Soul, and Slug, among others. The only downfall is the questionable choice of some of the emcees, but Jake has the ability to make combinations work that you probably never even imagined could happen.
5. Lil’ Wayne – “The Carter III”
Yeah, I’m serious. I know many of you are bum-rushing the door with pitchforks now, but hear me out. He is not the greatest rapper of all time. He’s not the greatest alive, not even the best current. But alas, he is not horrible by any means. The man knows how to make solid songs, and if you removed some of the garbage filler, this could very easily take the top spot. Standouts include “Tie My Hands” and “Mr. Carter”. The man is the most polarizing figure in hip hop, but he released a solid album.
4. 88-Keys – “The Death of Adam”
An album about a man, chasing the stereotypical male goal: a woman. This concept album is full of comedy, from the opener of “Morning Wood” (yes, that’s what you think it is), to the Redman-assisted “Burning Bush”. Nice production from Kanye’s protege, 88-Keys, although his voice might take some getting used to. Solid album, and if nothing else, good for multiple laughs. Very enjoyable.
3. eMC – “The Show”
Super-group consisting of Wordsworth, Masta Ace, Stricklin, and Punchline. They rope in solid production backed by consistent wordplay. Highly recommended.
2. Jean Grae & BSBD – “The Evil Jeanius”
It’s unfortunate that this was not approved by either emcee Jean Grae or producer team Blue Sky Black Death. Providing haunting and ominous (in a good way!) backdrops for Jean and a few guests to rip lyrically. Jean’s as honest as ever, and the production team shines. Hopefully she won’t need Craigslist anymore.
1. Common Market – “Tobacco Road”
I wrote a full review about this, and I still love it to this day. Prolific wordplay over fantastic and diverse production makes this album great. It’s too bad – I’m not seeing this mentioned anywhere among the best of this year. Highly, highly recommended. Just make sure you bring a dictionary.
New England-area emcee delivers a solid release, for the free.99 of course.
(Shameless plug)
No relation to one of Musical Essence favorites Brother Ali, but this guy is still dope.
