Top 5 Hip-Hop Albums for 2006:
(1) Kingdom Come - Jay-Z - Jay came back despite the retirement, and lived up to the hype around this release. The production all around is on point, bottom line. The lyrics are classic Hov, and just when you think he may be running out of things to rap about he hits you with songs like "Beach Chair" / "Lost Ones" and "30 Something" broadening the at times clich-ish topics that frequent this genre of music. He also sends appropriate subliminal and at times blatent shots at emcees who have attacked him since his retirement. He appeals to every listeneer, and even picks up a few more along the way. He also shows that you can make a classic album without having so many features and having your album look like a who's who in hip-hop callaboration wise. The King is back!
(2) The Big Bang Theory - Busta Rhymes - Busta brought so much style, flavor, and energy back to the game with this LP it ain't even funny. This is probably the best Busta release to date, and he did it in a very hard way. Typically albums chalk full of features do not succeed as much because with so many artists contributing you never know how the end result will pan out. With production from Swizz Beatz, Dr. Dre, Don Cannon, The Neptunes & will.i.am, and lyrical skills from Floetry, DMX, Papoose, T.I., Flipmode Squad, & Q-Tip (to name a few, trust me there are more) he smashes the competition. From start to finish it is on fire, he even has a song with Rick James. RICK JAMES?!? Yes, and it's fire as well. The production for every track matches his energy, and Busta even brought the hip-hop posse cut back to the game with the "Touch It" remix. The move to Aftermath was well worth it.
(3) Second Rounds On Me - Obie Trice - I guess being shot multiple times and surviving doesn't nessasirly mean you will sell millions of records? Because Obie didn't kill SoundScan, but he did manage to murder every track on his album lyrically. From the Akon feature, to the at times boring production of Eminem, Obie struts his stuff and crafts another classic. This is only his second album, and he is setting the bar very very high for himself. I love this album, go get it, or download it!
(4) Release Therapy - Ludacris - Borrowing a formula that Busta used for his LP, Luda gets production from the top notch producers, and guest spots from some of the best emcees and more popular lyricists of today for this album. And like Busta, it worked wonders. The 3 singles he released thus far are only hitting the surface of what this album has to offer ("Money Maker" / "Grew Up A Screw Up" and "Runaway Love"). There are probably 4 other tracks on the album that are possible singles. Luda does not always get the credit he deserves, but this year I am giving it to him because this is a excellent album.
(5) The Blue Carpet Treatment - Snoop Dogg - Snoop holds the west DOWN. Like a BEAST! Some of the tracks off of this LP have me remembering old Snoop, just the hunger, and the style and swagger he shows on this proves age adds flavor. The production again compliments his style, and the first single was a perfect choise because it just works. THAT'S THAT SHIT!! Everyone is saying that I bet at the club when this comes on, just like they were when he performed at the BET Hip-Hop Awards. I love everything about this album honestly. Although I do wish "Imagine" with Dr. Dre and D'Angelo was on the LP, that might have made this album jump to number 4.
Honorable Mention: Hell Hath No Fury - The Clipse, Doctor's Advocate - The Game, Port of Miami - Rick Ross, King - T.I.
Biggest Let Downs: Eminem Presents The Re-Up - VA, Hip Hop Is Dead - Nas, Rotten Apple - Lloyd Banks
Biggest Surprises: Tru3 Magic - Mos Def, Laugh Now Cry Later - Ice Cube
(if I think of more I will update this to include those)
Showing posts with label Hip-Hop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hip-Hop. Show all posts
Friday, December 8, 2006
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Indie Hip-Hop Review: Rumorz "The Whisper Campaign"
I first discovered Rumorz online, I believe on H1 a little less than a year ago, and liked him so much off the strength of his track "Cryin" that I offered him a guest appearance on my album the idENTITY (Rumorz appeared on "Over & Over"). His voice tone stuck out to me, and his delivery was very on point, and it continues to get better on his new LP The Whisper Campaign.
The first track "You Ain't Really Want It" starts off strong with Rumorz coming hard on a Scott Storch-esque paino rhythm however the beat to me over powers the lyricism here as the instrumental seems to get played out. It kind of just sounds like one continuous loop, which is not bad all the time, but here did not work well.
"If You Wanna Ride" starts out very Epic like with a double-time drum pattern that suits Rumorz' flow very well. He begins killing the fast flow, something to me I have noticed as a fan of his that seems to be his forte. He really know what the track calls for, and delivers perfectly. This song transitions well into the next one "Show You What I Mean" which has a Kanye West-ish-Chi-Town-Twista-like bounce to it (lol, how about that for a description!). With lines like "Look at her movin', she like Shakira with them hips//Angelina with them lips, and Pamela with them shhhhh" shows that Rumorz has a playful wordplay that makes for a good mix of lyricism with a nice bounce. These two tracks set a nice tone to the album, and draws my attention further. Thus far, at first glance, he is passing the iPod test (a system where I listen to every track on a album, and rate the ones too keep on Pod).
The track that shows the broad ability that Rumorz possess to adapt to what a track calls for is displayed on "What's It Gonna Be." This pairs the East coast emcee with production that samples En Vouge's "Don't Let Go" and showcases a RnB singer on the hook that matches the track perfectly as Rumorz appeals to his audiences softer side with lines like, "I guess it took a heartbreak just to teach me//but if you change your mind girl you know where to reach me." So far this is my favorite track, bar none.
After that showcase of raw, uncut emotion we travel to a darker world of Rumorz in a song titled "Gruesome." The darkness of this track shows a different side to Rumorz as he intorudces his rhyme partner S.Money to the album. This song was perfect for a callab, and I believe he picked the right person to callab with, as they both contribute to a nicely crafted hook, nice track for sure. Rumorz hits with the fast flow again in the 3rd verse, and closes the track exceptionally.
Speaking of callab's, Rumorz calls on Young Cal to create "Game Set Match" over a Mister KA instrumental. To me on the first verse of this track Rumorz almost channels his inner Nas, and reminds me of Nas' flow on "Small World." Not as if he is copying Nas, but how the beat hit in that Nas track, and how he came off flowing on it, which is def. a compliment for Rumorz. I actually had to hit pause on my iPod to re listen to a few bars he spit as the beat dropped in this track. At about 1:17 he gets his Twista on with a tongue-twister line that will blow your mind. Wow. He spits some shit that I swear I would type if I could make it out. Shit I'm bout to e-mail his ass and ask him what he is saying, it's not like he is just babblin', he is saying some shit but it's so fast I ain't even gonna try and butcher his lyricism here. Just check it out, the part is crazy!
Now to the reason why I even fuck with Rumorz, "Cryin." This beat is perfect, his flow and message on this track is ill too. His voice tone and delivery is perfect for this track too. He spits a heartfelt apology about trying to make a change, and talks in depth about what seems like some deeply personal issues in his life. Not too many quote ables here, but on tracks like this a emcee doesn't need to wow you with their lyrical prowess. Tracks like this show versatility in a emcee, and I love it. To me this is what makes or breaks a emcee, cause check it, as a emcee, yeah we all good with the words, but can you make a song. Club song, check. Callab track, check. Lyrical track, check. But can you MAKE people FEEL your music, and to relate to your audience and to make them think on tracks like this is exceptional, and he did so, bravo Rumorz. Another note able track on The Whisper Campaign that explains further what I am talking about is "Stuck" featuring Rayne.
Other note able tracks on the album are the album clo
ser "My Thoughts" and "What It Look Like." So what's the verdict. Well, the iPod test says 7/12 songs make the iPod cut off. Most of the songs I went into in depth coverage on are the ones that made it to the iPod, and nowadays a album with 7 solid bangers should be considered a great find. I say Rumorz has what it takes to make his mark on the game, and I recommend this album highly especially at the current state of hip-hop. With all these mixtape rappers releasing mixtapes every week and seeming to not put time and energy into everything they do, I offer you The Whisper Campaign. Shh, don't sleep, fuck it, don't even whisper, this shit is hot.
Purchase The Whisper Campaign Here
Album also available for purchase on iTunes (check iTunes Ministore)
Rumorz Myspace
The first track "You Ain't Really Want It" starts off strong with Rumorz coming hard on a Scott Storch-esque paino rhythm however the beat to me over powers the lyricism here as the instrumental seems to get played out. It kind of just sounds like one continuous loop, which is not bad all the time, but here did not work well.
"If You Wanna Ride" starts out very Epic like with a double-time drum pattern that suits Rumorz' flow very well. He begins killing the fast flow, something to me I have noticed as a fan of his that seems to be his forte. He really know what the track calls for, and delivers perfectly. This song transitions well into the next one "Show You What I Mean" which has a Kanye West-ish-Chi-Town-Twista-like bounce to it (lol, how about that for a description!). With lines like "Look at her movin', she like Shakira with them hips//Angelina with them lips, and Pamela with them shhhhh" shows that Rumorz has a playful wordplay that makes for a good mix of lyricism with a nice bounce. These two tracks set a nice tone to the album, and draws my attention further. Thus far, at first glance, he is passing the iPod test (a system where I listen to every track on a album, and rate the ones too keep on Pod).The track that shows the broad ability that Rumorz possess to adapt to what a track calls for is displayed on "What's It Gonna Be." This pairs the East coast emcee with production that samples En Vouge's "Don't Let Go" and showcases a RnB singer on the hook that matches the track perfectly as Rumorz appeals to his audiences softer side with lines like, "I guess it took a heartbreak just to teach me//but if you change your mind girl you know where to reach me." So far this is my favorite track, bar none.
After that showcase of raw, uncut emotion we travel to a darker world of Rumorz in a song titled "Gruesome." The darkness of this track shows a different side to Rumorz as he intorudces his rhyme partner S.Money to the album. This song was perfect for a callab, and I believe he picked the right person to callab with, as they both contribute to a nicely crafted hook, nice track for sure. Rumorz hits with the fast flow again in the 3rd verse, and closes the track exceptionally.
Speaking of callab's, Rumorz calls on Young Cal to create "Game Set Match" over a Mister KA instrumental. To me on the first verse of this track Rumorz almost channels his inner Nas, and reminds me of Nas' flow on "Small World." Not as if he is copying Nas, but how the beat hit in that Nas track, and how he came off flowing on it, which is def. a compliment for Rumorz. I actually had to hit pause on my iPod to re listen to a few bars he spit as the beat dropped in this track. At about 1:17 he gets his Twista on with a tongue-twister line that will blow your mind. Wow. He spits some shit that I swear I would type if I could make it out. Shit I'm bout to e-mail his ass and ask him what he is saying, it's not like he is just babblin', he is saying some shit but it's so fast I ain't even gonna try and butcher his lyricism here. Just check it out, the part is crazy!
Now to the reason why I even fuck with Rumorz, "Cryin." This beat is perfect, his flow and message on this track is ill too. His voice tone and delivery is perfect for this track too. He spits a heartfelt apology about trying to make a change, and talks in depth about what seems like some deeply personal issues in his life. Not too many quote ables here, but on tracks like this a emcee doesn't need to wow you with their lyrical prowess. Tracks like this show versatility in a emcee, and I love it. To me this is what makes or breaks a emcee, cause check it, as a emcee, yeah we all good with the words, but can you make a song. Club song, check. Callab track, check. Lyrical track, check. But can you MAKE people FEEL your music, and to relate to your audience and to make them think on tracks like this is exceptional, and he did so, bravo Rumorz. Another note able track on The Whisper Campaign that explains further what I am talking about is "Stuck" featuring Rayne.
Other note able tracks on the album are the album clo
ser "My Thoughts" and "What It Look Like." So what's the verdict. Well, the iPod test says 7/12 songs make the iPod cut off. Most of the songs I went into in depth coverage on are the ones that made it to the iPod, and nowadays a album with 7 solid bangers should be considered a great find. I say Rumorz has what it takes to make his mark on the game, and I recommend this album highly especially at the current state of hip-hop. With all these mixtape rappers releasing mixtapes every week and seeming to not put time and energy into everything they do, I offer you The Whisper Campaign. Shh, don't sleep, fuck it, don't even whisper, this shit is hot.Purchase The Whisper Campaign Here
Album also available for purchase on iTunes (check iTunes Ministore)
Rumorz Myspace
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
Is it cool to beef with Jay-Z now?
Just curious cause I'm hearin' all over the place rappers are beefin' with Jay-Z. I mean I see on YouTube, Raekwon talkin' greasy about Hov saying his album is trash. I see Lil Wayne is making comments about Hov coming back out of retirement. I hear 50 Cent & DJ Whoo Kid on Shade 45 talking about Jay's album, and you can't tell whether or not they are hatin' on him or not, like subliminal shit. The The Game one minute makes references to Hov (or at least it sounds like on "One Blood"), then he squashes the beef on BET saying "I ain't got no beef with 50, and no beef with Hov."
Then you got this all too popular Jim Jones beef, which is kind of weird to me for many reasons. First off I didn't understand why Hov responded to Jim, and not the Cam diss that was almost a year ago. But then Hov made me understand when he was on 106 & Park and basically said he did that "Brooklyn High" shit so that every time Jim's biggest record gets played, it's no longer "BALLIN" it's "BROOKLYN" alluding to the fact that people will think of Jay-Z when they hear Jim's popular "We Fly High." Which made sense. But where did all this come from, looks as if Jim wants some sales, same thing Cam probably wanted, a little bit of attention to generate a bit of sales, which it did, and Jim made the REMIX, or BEEFMIX with Hov's verse and is now using that to help his album. Then you got Cam making another diss to Hov, and then JR Writer, I mean come on, JR Writer? I understand he is a soldier for DipSet and all, and I am a fan of DipSet, but come on JR Writer is hardly doing any damage in any of this, hell Jim is barely doing any damage, actually he is doing NO damage to Hov, so JR is pretty much waisting studio time. It's almost as if he wants Jay-Z badly to acknowledge his existence, it's kinda funny.
It must be the new thing to beef with Jay-Z. Weird, are we forgetting that this man is partly responsible for the growth of hip-hop through the past few years? Are these rappers forgetting he paved the way to be a Hustler turned into a Rapper? Are these dudes forgetting that they used to recite this man's lyrics and look up to him, hell Jay is probably responsible for a few of these cats even wanting to rhyme. Hell Jay is probably the sole reason DipSet is a huge deal, seeing as the biggest DipSet album, Cam's Come Home With Me, was released on Roc-A-Fella Records.
I'm lost...........
Then you got this all too popular Jim Jones beef, which is kind of weird to me for many reasons. First off I didn't understand why Hov responded to Jim, and not the Cam diss that was almost a year ago. But then Hov made me understand when he was on 106 & Park and basically said he did that "Brooklyn High" shit so that every time Jim's biggest record gets played, it's no longer "BALLIN" it's "BROOKLYN" alluding to the fact that people will think of Jay-Z when they hear Jim's popular "We Fly High." Which made sense. But where did all this come from, looks as if Jim wants some sales, same thing Cam probably wanted, a little bit of attention to generate a bit of sales, which it did, and Jim made the REMIX, or BEEFMIX with Hov's verse and is now using that to help his album. Then you got Cam making another diss to Hov, and then JR Writer, I mean come on, JR Writer? I understand he is a soldier for DipSet and all, and I am a fan of DipSet, but come on JR Writer is hardly doing any damage in any of this, hell Jim is barely doing any damage, actually he is doing NO damage to Hov, so JR is pretty much waisting studio time. It's almost as if he wants Jay-Z badly to acknowledge his existence, it's kinda funny.
It must be the new thing to beef with Jay-Z. Weird, are we forgetting that this man is partly responsible for the growth of hip-hop through the past few years? Are these rappers forgetting he paved the way to be a Hustler turned into a Rapper? Are these dudes forgetting that they used to recite this man's lyrics and look up to him, hell Jay is probably responsible for a few of these cats even wanting to rhyme. Hell Jay is probably the sole reason DipSet is a huge deal, seeing as the biggest DipSet album, Cam's Come Home With Me, was released on Roc-A-Fella Records.
I'm lost...........
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
