We are officially less than two weeks away from Christmas. Remember back in the day when you used to pray for CDs in your stocking? Now they’ve been replaced by iTunes gift cards. Some people still like the CDs though (especially if you’re older than 25). Besides, you can’t unwrap the internet on Christmas morning and read the liner notes, now can you? As our favorite holiday of gift-giving draws near, there are plenty of musical gift ideas for your Hip Hop loving loved ones. We got some pushbacks, but for the most part there is a lot to look forward to.

Last week HipHopDX had a historical moment with The Roots’ album undun. The album had a perfect 5-rating, something DX hasn’t done since Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor over five years ago. We rarely hand out perfect scores on albums (much to our C-section’s chargin), so you know giving this rating to ?uestlove and the crew was something very important to us. Read the review here. Will we get another 5-star before 2012? Probably not. But let’s hope some more perfect music arrives so that our next 5-star doesn’t happen in 2017.

This week is all about the smokers. Not really, but a few albums will surely make the stoners happy. Snoop Dogg and Wiz Khalifa deliver the original soundtrack for Mac + Devin Go To High School (listen to the snippets ). The album has other smokers like Curren$y on it, and has plenty of THC-loving tunes for your iPod and your bong. In the meantime, check out this “House Party Freestyle” Snoop and Wiz did on their radio promo run. Roc ‘C’ also drops today and Roc’s the Stoned Genius. There’s another album definitely going into a smoke-filled rotation. Crooked I brings his EP In None We Trust today (read the review here). The Slaughterhouse member is still gearing for a full album. Diamond District’s yU comes through with The Earn, and Naughty By Nature comes with Anthem Inc. We dedicated last week’s Throwback Thursday to Naughty with “O.P.P.” Tonedeff and Kno haven’t said if Chico and the Man is still happening this week, but fingers crossed.

Next week is the one some of you have been waiting for. Jeezy drops Thug Motivation 103 and Common comes with The Dreamer, The Believer. Jeezy recently leaked another track off the album, “OJ” with Fabolous and Jadakiss, and has heads eager for this project. Common is also a front-runner for December 20th. His album is arguably his big comeback, and with the recent leak of the John Legend-assisted “The Believer,” it’s no surprise that the champ is back. If neither of those are of interest to you, then maybe French Montana, Juicy J, and Project Pat’s Cocaine Mafia will entertain you. Three the hard way brought out “You Need Haters” recently as a teaser track.

In pushback news, Juvenile’s Rejuvenation has been moved to January 17th. The album was supposed to drop this week, but now gets the 2012 treatment. After releasing cover art, Ja Rule’s camp announced that Pain Is Love 2 moves a week to January 24th. This one has seen many many pushbacks, so hopefully this new date sticks.

In limbo land, DJ Khaled announced a new album. El Presidente of Def Jam South is titling his album Kiss The Ring. Khaled’s on his Pope ish? We had no idea.

Check HipHopDX’s Release Dates page for all your Hip Hop album needs.

 
December 13
Snoop Dogg x Wiz Khalifa – Mac + Devin Go To High School
Roc ‘C’ – Stoned Genius
Tonedeff x Kno (Cunninlynguists) – Chico and the Man
yU – The Earn
Naughty by Nature – Anthem, Inc.
Crooked I – In None We Trust EP

December 20
French Montana, Juicy J & Project Pat – Cocaine Mafia
Common – The Dreamer, The Believer
The Internet (Syd the Kyd of OFWGKTA) – Purple Naked Ladies
Tha Joker – The Phenom
Young Jeezy – Thug Motivation 103
Roscoe Dash – J.U.I.C.E. EP

December 31
Waka Flocka Flame – Triple F: Friends, Fans, & Family

January 2, 2012
Strong Arm Steady x Statik Selektah – StereoType

January 12, 2012
Sha Stimuli – The Calling

January 17, 2012
Necro – The Murder Murder Kill Kill EP
Juvenile – Rejuvenation

January 24, 2012
Ja Rule – Pain Is Love 2

January 30, 2012
Kid Cudi x Dot Da Genius – W Z R D

February 14, 2012
Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded

February 21, 2012
Monica – New Life

March 2012
T.I. – Trouble Man
Chris Brown – Fortune