With over 200 albums reviewed on HipHopDX in 2011, this is our annual list of the 25 best Hip Hop albums of the last 12 months, as voted by our Editorial staff. With two dozen impressive releases from the mainstream and underground, respected veterans and long-awaited solo debuts, these are our best (or “favorite”) albums.
Captions written by Edwin Ortiz for HipHopDX.
Editor’s Note: This list is presented chronologically, in the order albums were released. This is not a ranked list.
The Greatest Story Never Told by Saigon
Released: February 15, 2011
Label: Suburban Noize Records
Highest Charting Position: #61
Producers: Just Blaze, Lamar Edwards, DJ Corbett, D. Allen, Kanye West, SC, Red Spyda, Buckwild, James Poyser, Spanky, Adam Blackstone
Guests: Fatman Scoop, Q-Tip, Jay-Z, Swizz Beatz, Faith Evans, Lee Fields & The Expressions, Marsha Ambrosious, Raheem Devaughn, Devin The Dude, Layzie Bone, Bun B
Even if it took nearly half a decade to see the light of day, Saigon’s debut album proved to be an exceptional release that has established him as a voice of wisdom within the streets. From the relevant material to producer Just Blaze’s crafted direction, The Greatest Story Never Told is indicative of what can be accomplished when an artist is focused on pursuing greatness without the filler.
“Whether you’ve been patiently waiting for five years or just recently got into Saigon’s music, The Greatest Story Never Told delivers a stimulating message that is as cautionary as it is entertaining. Likewise, the album’s quality has stood the test of time, no small feat for an industry that changes eras every three to four years.”
Free Agent by Joell Ortiz
Released: February 22, 2011
Label: eOne Entertainment
Highest Charting Position: #173
Producers: Frank Dukes, Sean C & LV, Knobody, DJ Premier, Kenny Dope, Just Blaze, Audible Doctor, Nottz, Novel, Frequency, Anna Yvette, Large Professor, Broadway, DJ Khalil
Guests: The L.O.X., Fat Joe, Royce Da 5’9, Just Blaze, Novel, Anna Yvette, Sebastian Rios, Barrington Levy
With Slaughterhouse catapulting into the public eye over the last year, it’s easy to forget that each individual within the group carried a blazing torch for their respective city. Topically wholesome and lyrically sharp, New York takes center stage on Free Agent. Joell Ortiz assuredly maneuvers throughout the album, revealing small anecdotes of his past while raw East Coast backdrops set the appropriate tone. No doubt the Shady signing will pay dividends, but Ortiz should have no trouble if he decides to hit the open market again.
“For the second time in as many albums, Joell Ortiz did everything skeptics claim that New York emcees no longer do. Free Agent celebrates the finer moments of an urban childhood, as well as the constant threat of danger.”
Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang by Raekwon
Released: March 8, 2011
Label: IceH20/EMI Records
Highest Charting Position: #12
Producers: Scram Jones, Oh No, Cilvaringz, Blue Rocks, Bronze Nazareth, Selasi, DJ Khalil, Sean C & LV, Kenny Dope, The Alchemist, Mathematics, Xtreme, Evidence, Tommy Nova
Guests: Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, Estelle, Busta Rhymes, Jim Jones, Kobe, Nas, Raheem Devaughn, Lloyd Banks, Rick Ross, Black Thought
Raekwon has been on an artistic tear since 2009, and this active streak can only come as a welcoming sight to his purple tape devotees. This year’s Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang bolsters his musical regiment with production tailor-made for the Chef’s recipe of bruising lyricism and braggadocio. As usual, he opens the door to a variety of guests who in turn follow his eminence into the fray. The end results may not match OBFCL2, but Raekwon still succeeds with a solid effort that keeps his name at the forefront of the Wu-Tang’s legacy.
“The work competes against itself – taking the old school lessons learned from the first encounter with Shaolin and teaming them with the new school version of Wu-Tang (the fame, the films, the Justin Bieber collaborations). In all, it works, but in a way that only the Chef could pull off.”
Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme by R.E.K.S.
Released: March 8, 2011
Label: Showoff/Brick Records
Highest Charting Position: N/A
Producers: DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Nottz, Sean C & LV, Statik Selektah, The Alchemist, Sha Money XL, Hi-Tek, Mike Frey, Blaze P, Fizzy Womack
Guests: Styles P, Termanology, Lil Fame, Freeway
It’s one thing to be underrated; it’s another to be underappreciated. The latter issue is one R.E.K.S. can only shrug off, yet Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme is a 15-track pledge to the Hip Hop nation for his acceptance. From personal tribulations to gripping rhymes built on a fiery delivery, R.E.K.S. leaves it all on the table. Regardless of your familiarity for emcees underground and mainstream, that’s something we all should be able to appreciate.
“Front to back, [Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme] provides the listener with meticulous memoirs from a man that arguably has yet to reach his artistic plateau. Couple that with a solid cast of guest features and producers, and it’s clear to see why R.E.K.S. deserves mention alongside his mainstream counterparts.”
Dr. Lecter by Action Bronson
Released: March 15, 2011
Label: Fine Fabric Delegates
Highest Charting Position: N/A
Producers: Tommy Mas
Guests: Mayhem Lauren, Maffew Ragazino, Shaz IllYork, A.G. da Coroner, Fonda, Machine
Each year a handful of emcees emerge as distinguishable voices for the future, with Action Bronson turning out to be one of the biggest (no pun intended) in 2011. From Tommy Mas’ throwback production to Bronson’s colorful lyricism, Dr. Lecter exemplified a rapper who can pull his own weight (ok, pun intended) without the major co-signs. Now that he has them, Action Bronsonelli can have his cake and eat it too.
Review coming this week.
Oneirology by Cunninlyguists
Released: March 15, 2011
Label: APOS Music
Highest Charting Position: N/A
Producers: Kno
Guests: Anna Wise, Freddie Gibbs, Big K.R.I.T.,Tonedeff, BJ The Chicago Kid, Bianca Spriggs
You’d be hard pressed to find an instance within Cunninlyguists’ career that didn’t display their unyielding chemistry as a group. Taking the dreamscape route, Oneirology highlights this strength well as listeners are greeted with cerebral content backed by Kno’s cryptic, yet inviting production. Oneirology approvingly holds up to their past releases, and likewise opens a new window into their creative consciousness.
“In the end, Oneirology is an album that may serve as an alarm to those still unaware of [Cunninlyguists’] talent. This project combines creative sounds with inventive rhymes and stands as an example of how a great group can come together to craft a well-made album worthy of praise.”
W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) by Pharoahe Monch
Released: March 22, 2011
Label: W.A.R. Media/Duck Down Music
Highest Charting Position: #54
Producers: Pharaohe Monch, Lion’s Share Music Group, Exile, Marco Polo, M-Phazes, Mike Loe, 10, Diamond D, Samiyam, Fyre Dept.
Guests: Idris Elba, Vernon Reid, Immortal Technique, Showtyme, DJ Boogie, Styles P, Phonte, Mela Machinko, Mr. Porter, Jean Grae, Royce Da 5’9, Citizen Cope, Jill Scott
In a musical climate that’s littered with throwaway material and artistic bewilderment, Pharoahe Monch’s album W.A.R. (We Are Renegades) strikes with a forceful purpose. None of today’s socio-political issues go unscathed as Monch tosses a boulder into the glass house of America, leaving his fans more enlightened by the album’s closing. As such, W.A.R. should not be looked at as an enjoyable, fleeting moment in between Monch’s sparse catalog, but rather a precedent for artists who seek positive change through music.
“Full of political and social commentary, Pharoahe’s W.A.R.–time performance will leave fans hoping he continues his trend of cutting the wait time between albums in half.”
Hot Sauce Committee Part Two by The Beastie Boys
Released: April 27, 2011
Label: Capitol Records
Highest Charting Position: #2
Producers: The Beastie Boys
Guests: Nas, Santigold
The Beastie Boys may be pushing 50, yet Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 plays like a conceptually vibrant release that has the youth and old school crowd alike in mind. Aside from a few features, the album gives you the trio in rare form, kickin’ rhymes over synth-sampled beats that’ll have you in your b-boy stance. With their unrestrained positive energy permeating throughout Hot Sauce Committee Part 2, It’s evident the Boys haven’t lost their license to be ill.
“In today’s age of dragging, dropping and Fruitylooping – where the posse cuts require reading the written order of the features to figure out who is rapping – Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 feels more vital than ever.”
PL3DGE by Killer Mike
Released: May 17, 2011
Label: Grind Time Official/SMC Recordings/Tree Leaf/Grand Hustle Records
Highest Charting Position: #105
Producers: Smiff & Cash, Sweatbox Prodictions, No I.D., Raz, The Beat Bullies, Tha Bizness, Zone Beatz, DJ Speedy, Flying Lotus
Guests: T.I., Funkadelic, Young Jeezy, Roc D The Legend, Twista, Gucci Mane, Big Boi
Killer Mike’s explosive commentary on PL3DGE is nothing new to his fan base, yet it certainly is something they’ve come to appreciate from the Atlanta rapper. From social issues to media hypocrisy, Mike can be found reasoning for wisdom over gripping, inspiring production. Aside from that, the album also includes a handful of records for the club or car, but either way the party will be in full effect. PL3DGE bangs from front to back, and Killer Mike once again proves you can’t pigeonhole a rapper based on their location.
“Like most great artists, his messages often conflict, but it just adds to his complexity. While artists these days attempt to align with the right or the left or this label or that label, Killer Mike stands amongst the people.”
All 6’s & 7’s by Tech N9ne
Released: June 7, 2011
Label: Strange Music
Highest Charting Position: #4
Producers: Ben Cybulsky, Seven, B.o.B., Soleternity, EmayDee, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, WillPower, Wyshmaster, David Sanders II
Guests: B.o.B., Hopsin, Busta Rhymes, Ceza, D-Loc, JL, Twisted Insane, Twista, U$O, Yelawolf, Kendrick Lamar, Oobergeek, First Degree The D.E., Stokely Williams, Lil Wayne, T-Pain, Krizz Kaliko, Stevie Stone, E-40, Snoop Dogg, Jay Rock, Kutt Calhoun, Nikkiya Brooks, Blind Fury, Mackenzie O’Guin, Chino Moreno, Stephen Carpenter, Big Scoob
Tech N9ne pulled out all the stops for All 6’s & 7’s, recruiting an assortment of features and producers alike that hadn’t visited Strangeland before. And yet, he made it all work, as if there was any doubt his plan would fail. In the process, he also expanded his brand of rapid-fire lyricism and compelling content, a customary style that “Technicians” have lauded for over a decade. At 40 years old, Tech N9ne is arguably at the pinnacle of his career, and All 6’s & 7’s is a good indicator of why.
“Tech N9ne balances established veterans with newcomers, high-energy rhymes with substance filled bars and heavy beats with softer melodies. Keeping the listener intrigued, All 6’s and 7’s doesn’t disappoint as a well-balanced offering.”
Random Axe by Random Axe
Released: June 14, 2011
Label: Duck Down Music
Highest Charting Position: #73
Producers: Black Milk
Guests: Roc Marciano, Trick-Trick, Melanie Rutherford, Danny Brown, Fat Ray, Fatt Father, Rockness Monstah
On paper, the Random Axe crew –Black Milk, Guilty Simpson and Sean Price– looks like a homerun. The results on their first collaborative project Random Axe likewise do not disappoint, as the trio wax poetics over Milk’s progressively bouncy production. At times it’s almost as if they started this group a decade ago, with each rapper feeding off each other and keeping the energy brewing without long form hooks. The content variety is a bit sparse, but no matter, Random Axe still holds up despite this minor setback.
“Random Axe keeps it simple, and as a result, is simply fantastic. Despite its free-wheeling feel, efficient sequencing and a lack of filler show that it’s not as random as its title implies.”
Weekend At Burnie’s by Curren$y
Released: June 28, 2011
Label: Jet Life Recordings/Warner Brothers Records
Highest Charting Position: #22
Producers: Rahki, Monsta Beatz
Guests: Trademark Da Skydiver, Young Roddy, Fiend
With the amount of material that Curren$y puts out on a yearly basis, you typically have to pick and choose between releases to compile a dope project on your iPod. With it’s polished production courtesy of Monsta Beatz, Weekend At Burnie’s was an exception to the norm. Curren$y likewise keeps the features to a Jet Life minimum, and in the process highlights the crews’ strengths while downplaying their lack of subject diversity. Spitta’s relevance certainly doesn’t rest in the hands of critical success, but it’s nice to know he’s got it in him.
“With Weekend at Burnie’s, Spitta continues to give his supporters what they enjoy most about him, but also shows why some still think he’s a new artist.”
Section.80 by Kendrick Lamar
Released: July 2, 2011
Label: Top Dawg Entertainment
Highest Charting Position: #104
Producers: Soundwave, THC, J. Cole, Tommy Black, Tae Beast, Terrace Martin, Dave Free, Wyldfyer, Iman Omari, Willie B
Guests: Colin Munroe, RZA, GLC, Schoolboy Q, Ashro Bot, BJ The Chicago Kid, Ab-Soul
Prior to Section.80 being released, Kendrick Lamar was an emcee on the stoic rise, though it was unclear where his ceiling topped off at. That all changed swiftly with a project that displayed his immense lyrical capacity and a laser focus that far outweighed many of his Hip Hop counterparts. The album was as much a testament to his Compton roots as it was his vision to magnify the Black Hippy-HiiiPower movement, and it’s one that surely looks ripe for future. All it took was three fingers in the air.
“The Compton, California native delivers one of the year’s sharpest, smoothest albums – a testament to a well-crafted rhyme style, solid production and inspired lyrical swords.”
Greneberg by Roc Marciano + Gangrene
Released: July 19, 2011
Label: Decon
Highest Charting Position: N/A
Producers: Oh No, The Alchemist, Roc Marciano
Guests: N/A
Half Marcberg and half Gutter Water, Greneberg features three individuals –Oh No, The Alchemist and Roc Marciano– who not only rap, but produce as well. This makes for a medley of sample-based beats that leave a nostalgic taste in your mouth. On the lyrical tip, the trio sticks to a gritty script of corner raps and boastful stances, a formula carried out well considering the limited breadth of time allotted to the 7-track project.
“They don’t need pseudo R&B crooners. They don’t need to pander to an industry of cool. Greneberg stands triumphantly on a plateau away from the plastic.”
Watch The Throne by Jay-Z & Kanye West
Released: August 8, 2011
Label: Roc-A-Fella/Roc Nation/Def Jam Records
Highest Charting Position: #1
Producers: Kanye West, 88-Keys, Mike Dean, Jeff Bhasker, Q-Tip, Don Jazzy, Pharrell, Hit-Boy, Anthony Kilhoffer, The Neptunes, RZA, Ken Lewis, Swizz Beatz, Sak Passe, S1
Guests: Frank Ocean, Beyonce, Otis Redding, Mr. Hudson
We’d all like to think that in some way we’re a part of the music that our favorite artists create, that somehow it was made specifically for us. Watch The Throne was not that. It was egotistical, unapologetic and brash. It was overtly pervasive without being too revealing. It was captivating, to the point that we found ourselves begging them to recite a song that described African-Americans in a foreign country. Watch The Throne was an emphatic statement being made by Jay-Z and Kanye West to the world. Simply put; we’re not worthy.
“Truth be told, each emcee has produced better solo material, but that doesn’t take away from the quality found on Watch The Throne, nor does it change the fact that crowns rest assuredly on their heads.”
L.A. Riot by Thurz
Released: August 9, 2011
Label: London Live
Highest Charting Position: N/A
Producers: DJ Khalil, Aaron Harris, Ro Blvd, THX
Guests: Jazzy, Black Thought, Strong Arm Steady, BJ The Chicago Kid, Kobe, Cheryl Johnson
Fueled by events from the past, Thurz chambers lyrical activism into his debut release L.A Riots. The West Coast-centric project delves into matters of race, community and municipal issues, and his stark execution in conveying these messages is something that can’t be denied. Serious in tone yet informative and accessible, L.A. Riots secures his prominence within Hip Hop.
“Thurz connects the messages of Cube, Ice-T, Rage Against The Machine and others with today’s youth and their issues. Better than just saying their names, the album pulls news reports, facts and first-person accounts to make it more than just an acknowledgement. This is one of the most direct and informed accounts from a Los Angelino emcee of the last decade.”
The R.E.D. Album by Game
Released: August 23, 2011
Label: DGC/Interscope
Highest Charting Position: #1
Producers: Cool & Dre, DJ Khalil, 1500 Or Nothin’, Hit-Boy, Streetrunner, I.L.O., Marz Lovejoy, Brody, Larrance Dopson, The Futuristics, DJ Premier, Boi-1da, Pebrocks, Big Kast, Pharrell
Guests: Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Sly, Lil Wayne, Tyler The Creator, Drake, Rick Ross, Beanie Sigel, Young Jeezy, Big Boi, E-40, Lloyd, Mario, Wale, Chris Brown, Nelly Furtado
It seems as though with every Game album the guest list gets longer, the stage gets bigger and the stakes are inevitably raised. The Compton rapper doesn’t bow dow though, as The R.E.D. Album proves his hungry demeanor is more ravenous than ever. R.E.D. also sees his realignment with Dr. Dre, which figuratively reignites chemistry between the two even without a production placement. Forget all the setbacks and controversies surrounding his releases; Game delivers when it counts.
“Considering The R.E.D. Album is close to three years in the making, it should be the tight work that it is. Despite its delay, it’s by no means a swan song, contractually and musically. R.E.D. is a lot of many things, only adding to the anticipation already for Game’s final offering to Interscope.”
Charity Starts At Home by Phonte
Released: September 27, 2011
Label: Foreign Exchange Music
Highest Charting Position: #56
Producers: Phonte, 9th Wonder, Zo!, S1, Swiff D, Khrysis, Stro Elliot, 10, E. Jones
Guests: Sy Smith, Jeanne Jolly, Elzhi, Median, Carlitta Durand, Pharoahe Monch, Evidence, Big K.R.I.T., Eric Roberson
With his personal gusto on display, Charity Starts At Home fully encapsulates Phonte’s past collaborations (Little Brother, Foreign Exchange, Zo! & Tigallo), as well as his quick-witted sense of humor, animated personality and passionate sincerity. It’s this varietal palate and artistic authenticity that makes his debut such a stunning effort. His lyricism and singing are distinctive, yet both styles play perfectly off each other. Suffice to say, other artists can croon and rap, but they’ll never be on Phonte’s level.
“With its substantial subject matter, solid production and tightly-woven sequencing, Charity Starts At Home does exactly what a solo debut should: showcases the artist’s skill set and personality all at once.”
Cole World: A Sideline Story by J. Cole
Released: September 27, 2011
Label: Roc Nation/Sony Records
Highest Charting Position: #1
Producers: J. Cole, No I.D., The University, Canei Finch, Ron Gilmore, L&X Music
Guests: Trey Songz, Jay-Z, Drake, Missy Elliott
As one of 2011’s most anticipated debut albums, it seemed as though J. Cole wouldn’t be able to match the hype accumulated since he aligned his career with Jay-Z. The results bent in Cole’s favor though, with Cole World: A Sideline Story thrusting his brimming lyrical prowess into the mainstream. The Fayetteville-native sounded polished on his first project outside of the mixtape circuit, and his topical subject matter along with his own thematic production demonstrated his versatility as a five-tool Hip Hop artist.
“J. Cole’s debut album has flaws just as others’ rookie seasons did, but Cole World: Sideline Story definitely proves that he deserves a prominent spot on the team. With the skill to match his heart, he’ll be dominating games in no time.”
Cats & Dogs by Evidence
Released: September 27, 2011
Label: Rhymesayers Entertainment
Highest Charting Position: #59
Producers: Evidence, The Alchemist, Twiz The Beat Pro, Rahki, Danny Keyz, Khrysis, DJ Premier, Charli Brown, Sid Roams, Ethan Browne, Statik Selektah, DJ Babu
Guests: Aloe Blacc, Raekwon, Prodigy, Ras Kass, Roc Marciano, The Alchemist, Aesop Rock, Slug, Rakaa Iriscience, Lil Fame, Krondon, Fashawn
Much like the rock solid foundation that was created as part of Dilated Peoples, Evidence has gotten off to a commendable solo career with 2007’s The Weatherman LP and now Cats & Dogs. A cross between rugged, eerie and soulful, the production allows Evidence ample space to shift between themes as his crawling delivery digs into your headphones. As a host of familiar faces give the project a nice contrast, Evidence still is able to maintain direction throughout. The album’s title may give way to a rainfall metaphor, but Ev’s musical results here are all blue skies.
“Cats & Dogs is a moody, well-produced album that, at times, is brimming with meaning—something not entirely common these days.”
Ambition by Wale
Released: November 1, 2011
Label: Maybach Music Group/Warner Brothers
Highest Charting Position: #2
Producers: Tone P, Chris Barz, Mark Henry, EnDuhStreatZ, Dre King, DJ Toomp, Lil Lody, Jerrin Howard, Kore, Cloudeater, Deputy, Diplo, T-Minus, Tha Bizness, Lex Luger
Guests: Miguel, Kid Cudi, Lloyd, Ne-Yo, Big Sean, Rick Ross, Meek Mill, Sam Dew, Jeremih
Wale changed the course of his career by signing with Rick Ross, and then he changed people’s doubtful minds with Ambition. The album not only captured the right balance of pre-Interscope Wale and his present day Maybach Music Group version, but it also revealed his devotion to the rap game despite past hardships that would have turned other artists sour. Cruising into 2012 triumphantly, Wale has more than ambition on his side now.
“Ambition is Wale’s most cohesive and likewise enthralling project thus far in his brisk career. As such, the magnitude of this album rests in the hook of the title-track. Wale doesn’t expect every fan to symbolize their appreciation with a SoundScan; just don’t hold your applause.”
Black & Brown by Black Milk and Danny Brown
Released: November 1, 2011
Label: Fat Beats Records
Highest Charting Position: N/A
Producers: Black Milk
Guests: N/A
In under 25 minutes, Black & Brown bluntly delivers what could only be described as downright Detroit Hip Hop shit. Black Milk and Danny Brown pull tenacious off robustly, and while the message of the album may come out as unclear, you get the feeling they’re not going back in the studio for modifications.
Reviewing coming this week.
The Div by Pac Div
Released: November 8, 2011
Label: RBC Records
Highest Charting Position: N/A
Producers: Like, Dahi, No I.D., Cool Classics, Swiff D, Blended Babies, Mickey Park
Guests: Asher Roth, TiRon, Casey Veggies, Skeme, Bleu Collar
The cover of Pac Div’s debut release is quite symbolic of their current position. Once clients of major label Universal Motown, the trio has now set sail for independence, with The Div proving to be a commendable effort void of any politics. This creative freedom rarely misses a step as Pac Div showcase their always-reliable lyrical aptitude, and it’s fair to say that each member has recognized how to distinguish themselves from one another, a sign of individuality that will bode well for future releases. Major label or not, Pac Div is on the path to greatness.
“The Div proves that no matter the circumstance, Pac Div is dedicated to making music too dope to be held back by industry fuckery.”
undun by The Roots
Released: December 6, 2011
Label: Def Jam Records
Highest Charting Position: #16
Producers: ?uestlove, Ray Angry, Hot Sugar, Khari Mateen, Brent Reynolds, James Poyser, Richard Nichols, Sean C & LV, Richard Friedrich, Sufjan Stevens, D.D. Jackson
Guests: Big K.R.I.T., Dice Raw, Phonte, Greg Porn, Truck North, Bilal
As lamenting the story of Redford Stephens is on undun, it’s also a beautiful tragedy that in turn exposes the plight of human nature. The Roots do a tremendous job of painting a vivid picture of an honest and flawed character, and as the narrative unfolds backward, The Roots channel raw emotion without jeopardizing his relevance to the story. undun is the group at their finest.
“undun is not an album for the faint of heart, nor is it an album for the one-dimensional Hip Hop aficionado. Like The Roots accomplished with Phrenology, this is a work to prove that they could do it, and they’ve done it tenfold. Many assumed mainstream success and a house band gig with Jimmy Fallon would evolve into an inevitable stasis for new Roots music. They couldn’t be more wrong.”
The Dreamer / The Believer by Common
Released: December 20, 2011
Label: Think Common Music Inc./Warner Brothers
Highest Charting Position: N/A
Producers: No I.D.
Guests: Maya Angelou, Nas, Makeba Riddick, John Legend
With the stellar release of The Dreamer/The Believer, Common got his groove back over production fully helmed by long-time partner/friend No I.D. From introspective rhymes to laid back good times, Common reawakened the emcee that put Westside Connection on blast while still preserving a Soulquarian-esque allure in his delivery. With such exemplary results, we can almost forgive him for the half-hearted Universal Mind Control (almost). Nonetheless, Common has made us believers once more.
“As far as musical aesthetics, The Dreamer/The Believer falls somewhere between the ambitious topical themes of One Day It’ll All Make Sense and bumping beat orgy that is Be. That said, it’s best to never snooze on the talents of Lonnie Rashid Lynn.”
HipHopDX’s Top 25 Albums of 2010
HipHopDX’s Top 25 Albums of 2009
Joell Ortiz ‘Free Agent’ was the best of the year.
The P.I.N.K. Album was the worst on this list. It would be the worst on any list.
WERE THE HELL IS DRAKE AND WAYNE? YOU NIGGAS POST ALL THEY SHIT BUT WONT GIVE THEM CREDIT?
Carter 4 blew and you can’t even call drakes album a hip-hop album so I respect DX for not putting them on the list
HAHAHAHA man Young Money must blow if they cant even get one album on here ahahahahahahah.
They sold soooo much and look =( not even one album. Oh well maybe when they stop putting out garbage?
Yeah, because everybody yearns to be on the HipHopDX year-end lists! Forget the fact that “Take Care” was ranked third on MTV’s list, 22nd on Rolling Stones’ list, eighth on Pitchfork’s list etc. etc. Drake must be real upset he didn’t get the nod from HipHopDX. The editors still found the time to include mediocre records like Cole World or The Dreamer/The Believer (both weren’t very well-received by critics), but hey, it’s a gimmicky site, so meh.
Common J. Coles albums are taking dog shyts on Drakes album, that shit not even hip-hop b
^^ Like
Again, another arbiter of what is and isn’t hip-hop! Drake’s album was clearly hip-hop/R&B, seeing as how he was — predominantly — rapping; perhaps he didn’t encapsulate the core ideals of hip-hop on the record, but that’s a subjective call at best. And haha, Common’s album was decent, J. Cole’s album was grossly overrated, but they both don’t compare sonically to “Take Care” if we’re using a criteria that isn’t so hip-hop centric. Critics and consumers both agree on that as a whole …
If “Take Care” ain’t Hip-Hop, then “Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” ain’t Hip Hop. Just cuz the nig is singing, it doesn’t devalue the album.
I was never crazy bout Drake but Take Care is the best album I heard this year.
Btw, “Be” was much better than that trash Common just dropped
^ she’s a women b real talk, an man in hip-hop has to embody some form of hip-hop, she’s also the greatest female rapper ever & her and drake shouldn’t be mention in the same sentence. This guy is getting gunned from Common, various actors(even white actors taking their shots) & and dozens of comedians of course are taking their shots. Now even though Drake is ten times as talented as Ja Rule the level of disrespect he’s receiving is approaching Ja Rule like levels because the guy has a hard time embracing his masculinity and being a man. Common’s album is pretty epic, he always was a dope lyricist but to me NO I.D.’s sound has really elevated his talented. If you think Common’s album is trash you don’t know hip-hip.
*she’s a women b real talk, an man in hip-hop has to embody some form of masculinity
aha this man must really be gay, so concerned with an artist exuding “masculinity” because he’s clearly not comfortable with his own sexuality, i mean were all the great male blues musicians and soul singers effeminate too you dumb bitch? are you aware that most rappers put on a hyper-masculine front because that’s the norm in inner-cities, and drake’s from fucking canada so that shit wasn’t ever ingrained in him? and hahaha, you know hip-hop more because of an opinion you hold? how uneducated are you brah, it’s a fucking opinion, you think common’s record touches his old shit at all?
so i’m uneducated because I don’t think drank is masculine. Come on dawg besides him sounding soft in his music, the man got aaliyah’s pic tatted on him(what man you know has anyone tatted on him in portrait form that’s not a member of his family or not a really close friend at least), pics have surfaced with him in other men’s arms, and last but not least pics of him with women’s earring’s on. A lots changed since his pretty decent first album. Rap is all about the masculinity, it’s a very macho realm. The ones who do suspect shyt like chingy with a tranny,never ever last. Lastly him being from Canada has nothing to do with him being soft when I was away at school, I met looks of whites & black from canada and they weren’t taking no shyt from nobody. And I know about hip-hop yes……..that shyt originated in the east & Common’s album has strong east coast sounds, and that’s what I like. KRS-ONE sd it best you arent doing hip-hop you are hip-hop because real hip-hop from the soul is a culture. The common album was soulful boombap at it’s finest. aND DRAKE IS A FINE YOUNG TALENT HE JUST NEEDS TO GET AWAY FROM BABY AND WAYNE & RETURN TO HIS ROOTS.
Common is mad that Drake hit Serena Williams. Common not concerned with his masculinity. Nobody says Phonte is less masculine for singing. Not everybody can do both.
U A DAMN FOOL IF YOU REALLY THINK DRAKE HIT SERENA BUT HE COULD HIT RIHANNA LOOSE AZZ, PHONTE NEVER MADE A RAP SOLO ALBUM AND SANGED 50 T0 60 PERCENT OF THE TIME. HE SINGS LIKE ON ONE SONG AND A FEW HOOKS. HE MADE TWO FOREIGN EXCHANGE ALBUMS THAT HE LISTED A SOUL. ALSO DRAKES MANNERISMS ARE FEMININE AND GET HIM IN TROUBLE TO, HAVE YOU SEEN HIS FACIAL EXPRESSION & BODY GESTURE DURING A CONCERT? RUN CONCERT FOOTAGE OF HIM & BUSTA RHYMES SIDE BY SIDE AND YOU CAN’T HELP BUT LAUGH. DRAKE IS THE TYPE OF GUY THAT LIKE TO BE HELD DURING SEX AND THATS A FINE WAY TO FEEL BUT COME ON DOG DON’T SING ABOUT A WOMEN HOLDING YOU IN HER ARMS AFTER INTERCOURSE
you’re clearly gay and retarded ^
no aubrey’s clearly gay
All the commercial flops of 2011…
no Em and Royce but watch the throne was there and that was weak
Carter 4 was good. Yelawolf was left off. Liked game Cole Saigon and joell picks but Jon Conner left off? But beastie boys made it? I’m confused
i forgot tech9 Shouts out to the kc weirdo
He had some shit this year.
Em and Royce was an EP, not an Album.
EM/ROYCE SUCKED, CARTER 4 IS AN ALBUM WHERE WAYNE DIDN’T EVEN HAVE A TOP 3 VERSE, AND YELAWOLF SUCKED TOO, ACTION BRONSON IS KILLING THAT MAN OR ANY OTHER FOR “THE BEST WHITE RAPPER TITLE” CURRENTLY
This is a great list. Surprised to see Curren$y… that’s the only one I disagree with.
Shouts on Pac Div, Black & Brown, REKS and Cunninlynguists. No other site is acknowledging them.
You guys are the only site that really bigs up Tech N9ne, Phonte and Evidence too.
WHERES BAD MEETS EVIL?
it was an EP not an official album
that shyt sucked, eminem has regressed and sucks now.
WoW where the fuck is Bad Meets Evil??
that shyt sucked
HOD-guy, you’ve gone through every comment saying how much you hate BME and Eminem. GTFO with yo hatin ass. That shit was dope and clearly top 10 of the year.
if it was clearly top 10 why isn’t it on the list list lame brain, according to this site its not even top 25
Idk how yall left Yelawolf out..I forgot how to press the skip button the whole time i was playin his album.
BECAUSE YOU HAVE BAD TASTE, THAT SHYT SUCKED
Yelawolf = ovverrated
So no Big Sean…Even though he had 3 #1 and a impressive debut….oh aight smh
Big Sean’s album was wack, what are you talking about?
Big sean’s joint was okay but not worthy of a hands down top 25 spot, NO I.D. gave him some hot garbage that sounded as if he stole it from jermaine dupri, and Sean obliged with garbage raps. How your mixtapes better than your album
Curren$$y and Pac Div shouldn’t have been on this list, neither should Joel Ortiz because his shyt was bland. And thats as objective as I can get because I’m a big fan or spitta & joel. Personall SKYZOO- THE GREAT DEBATERS, STALLEY- LINCOLN WAY NIGHTS, AND 9TH WONDER THE WONDER YEARS could easily replace those albums
I guess having dope beats, lyrics, concepts, punch lines and choruses is bland? Free Agent was FLAWLESS.
I can run off 30 albums better than that joel ortiz joint, but the beats were good not great and his rapping(by himself) is not creative, I like his flow but his content & metaphors are average at best. he’s the weakeast dude in slaughter house to me, I still like him, but just pointing out some obvious flaws
so if joell and bad meets evil is bad then what is good according to you?? ya ol hatin ass..
^Not a hater, I try to as objective as possible, Joel Ortiz should have not been rated higher than J.Cole’s album I do know that. Eminem hasn’t been a good rapper for 8 plus years. But man Blu- Her Favorite Color, Blu & Exile- Give Me Flowers While I Can Smell Them, Action Bronson & Statik Selektah- Well Done, M.O.P.- Sparta, The Cool Kids- When Fish Ride Bicycles, Median- The Sender, Tyler, the Creator- Goblin, The Carter 4, & Talib Kwelie- Gutter Rainbows are all better albums or longs plays than Hell the Sequal. Plus the joints HHDX ment and the ones on my previous post are better too
i like a couple on ur list right here, but tyler the creator is suuuper whack…you could pay any A.D.D. 2nd grader to write the dumb shit he does just jumpin from topic to topic…and even tho carter 4 was better than Drake’s newest R&B album, it was still weak…Wayne is the one that’s trending down in my opinion, not em…but em’s last two before he cleaned up were total shit i agree
Hahahahahaha fuck man hod guy u must just personally not like eminem. Straight hater straight hater. His lyrical skill is better than ever before his first few albums sslp mmlp and ES were dope but there his flow and rhyming were on key.. Not much wordplay.. These days his verses are riddled with word-play I mean dam the dude is so creative how could you be so ignorant? Do your self a favour give HTS a. Second listen
J Cole is a fucking fag, dude. Joell Ortiz eats little homos like him for fucking lunch. Free Agent is a throwback classic to the 90’s with ill SONGS top to bottom.
I like eminem on slim shady & marshall mathers , but every since the tail end of encore he’s become unbearable, his voice annoys me, he raps about nothing 70% of the time & when he does pick a topic it’s depressing, i could name 30 mixtapes or album better than hell the sequal
where the fuck is Bad Meets Evil? WAYYY better than Watch The Tiolet, that shit sucked….yall even ranked it, stated you don’t like it, but put it up there anyway.
IT’S NOT BETTER THAN WTT, WHAT DID EM & ROYCE RAP ABOUT? NOTHING, I CAME AWAY FROM THAT ALBUM THINK THAT THESE TWO WERE WASHED UP, THEY CAN’T PIACK BEATS & RECORD SALES MEAN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING
bad meets evil should be on here, the album was epic. but they called it an EP even though it’s really short album length so it doesnt count. still, it has been really slept on for the second half of this year i feel like people are forgetting it when they talk about the years best work
wtf royce & em murderd jay & ye, watch the throne was wack compared to hell the sequel(& that was just an ep) royce & em actually had sick lyrics and flows and didn’t talk about what they had throughout the whole album whereas jay & ye had poor lyrics & flows I will have to say tho I liked kanye on WTT but jay was awful on almost every song WTT shouldn’t be on this list and saying it was better then hell the sequel is retarded
Tell me one topic em & royce rapped about? and obviously hhdx agrees with me because that roc Marciano 6 song ep greneberg is on the list. so whether whether it’s ep or lp this site still didn’t deem it worthy of top 25 material. Eminem lost something over the last 8 years. The quality of his albums got worst & he’s not funny/witty/sarcastic anymore. He raps about how shytty his life is often, but he could swim naked in his money literally for days. It’s over for white boy, bring on a new white boy, i love action bronson (now there’s a real rapper with a story to tell).
@hod_guy: you obviously have your own taste of what “music” is, because Watch The Toilet did in fact, suck.mundo.juevos. you must be one of those types who dickrides hardcore on wordplay. let’s use our brain a lil and think back on why pple don’t sound the same as years go by…losing close friends, your wife and mom are fuckin hoes that want all your money, suffer from addiction, get painted as a monster by O’Reilly and all other fake ass talkingheads, court cases, lose alot. i’ve had alot of the same shit happen to me (O’Reilly would be the last straw). expect on writing the same topics over-and-over and you won’t stay on top. it’s maturity and age, like wine, that can keep it going and w/ flavor
No Mac Miller… #1 Album… ya’ll are some HATTTTERRRRS
I have to check out Free Agent, Action Bronson’s Dr. Lecter, W.A.R. & Cats & Dogs, i heard those albums were REALLY good, Undun is my favorite on this list (so far), i don’t listen to Mac Miller so i can’t judge him, but i’m GLAD Big Sean isn’t on this list, he was the most overrated rapper this year
W.A.R. is a classic IMO
undun – The Roots
The Dreamer/The Believer – Common
Charity Starts At Home – Phonte
Section 80 – Kendrick Lamar
The Wonder Years – 9th Wonder
For The Record – Torae
9Th Wonder album was average as fuck
Smif n Wessun – Monumental. Pete Rock produced with the Duck Down fellas. Such a great album, and one that’s missing from the list!
That shyt was bland, them dudes rappping is dull,and pete gave themnm throw a way beats
No Doppelgangaz? Epic fail.
Free agent isnt that good, lyrically its great but musically just no. WTT was all around great but nothing top 25 worthy.
Totally agree…Wasn’t too impressed with that shit. His first album fuckin SHITS on this album.
you guys are so fuckin funny !
lol you even put 3 star albums and not 4 stars?? its like 3>4 now?? thats just ignorant ! just put carter IV in there and this list will be straight trash (some solid albums in there but you could do better)
fix your fuckin ratings or shove these lists up your ass!
jcole’s 3.5 > so many 3.5s that you didnt mention ????? or even 4s (hell the sequel)
i was thinking that same thing. these guys rate the albums bad then at the end of the year say they’re good. i guess as long as the albums is bad and from some unknown flop then the albums is fire.
I salute you for not including all the mainstream dogshit that dropped through the course of the year
A few I coulda done without, A few others I’d of Added, but all in all, I respect this list
How was “A Sucker For Pumps” by TiRon and Ayomari left off the list!!
no carter 4
HAHAHAHAHA. you’re joking right?
I liked Tha Carter IV by Lil Wayne and Camp by Childish Gambino. They should be on this list. The Game’s RED album wasn’t top 25 worthy in my opinion.
your opinion on whether Game’s album should be taken out is now invalid since you said you liked Tha Carter IV. Get the fuck outta here.
^^^ hahahahhahaha!!!
the game’s album is pretty good, son always picks good beats even though his raps are repetitive
No Doppelgangaz? No Rashad & Confidence. Those albums blow half this list out the water. But it’s not a terrible list.
Not the Doppelgangaz man…the production wasn’t good enough. I agree absolutely agree about Rashad & Confidence though! That dude reminds me of a new Nas!
not having Danny Brown’s XXX on this list = editors slippin, or not even being up on the better sh!t to come out this year.
(smh@not having reviewed Black and Brown yet, maybe they don’t know about XXX)
top ten EASILY of 2011… Easily.
ummm… it’s a MIXTAPE, and on Top 10 list, dumbass.
lol, fuck that, if they’re gonna put EPs on an album list…
and it’s on everyone else’s ALBUM list (the much-loved Spin and Pitchfork), but yall can do whatever… smh
they got most of this right here, I’m not mad. didn’t mean to upset you, though… 😀
Damn no love for yela? His debut album was just as good as J. Cole.
I agree, not feelin this dx list
no it wasn’t j.cole is killing that man
Yela’s was pretty nice, didn’t care for J.Cole, with that being said neither should be on this list.
Im a little surprised that The Wonder Years didn’t make this list. I would probably replaced Free Agent with it instead. Overrall not a bad list. Happy to see Curren$y on this list. Don’t know why people disagree about that.
lol no lil wayne and faggot drake
No LASERS and TM-103? y’all must be crazy putting so many unknown albums on this list while leaving major ones out
Listen to those albums and you’ll see why mainstream artists like that didn’t make it
lupe’s main stream
good list. never gonna get everything we expect, plus we all have different tastes. cant complain
The list cool but no jedi mind tricks, or m.o.p. those two albums were fire.
how is Apathy not on this list?
I listened to nearly all of the albums on that list and I have to agree with most of them. I’m just missing Swollen Members – Dagger Mouth and I can’t understand how Random Axe and RED got on it. Game’s album is so overrated.
No love for bad meets evil? I understand. Eminem is winning to much.
And to the nigga saying bad meets evil had no content: it better to have a sick flow with great technicality and lyricism then having a lame ass lazy flow and zero technicality like Jay and ye.
theres no conspiracy. its just didnt match up to these albums. get over it. eminem isnt god. deal with it
first off yeah no one is God u fool.. but bad meets evil was an EP for the 100th time Eps are not albums they arent suppose to have a concept or rhythim to the albums tracklist. Either way Hell the Sequel had some of the best rhymes and flows i heard all year but its not here because its an EP..Em always gets his well deserved respect on this site anyway
emiminem fell off some 8 years ago, fuck a record sell
no Bad Meets Evil, Lil Wayne, or Drake. Interesting
Hmmmm, BME was pretty good but those other artists were left off because they fucking suck man. It’s about damn time DX stopped riding faggot dick.
BME was bland, typical half assed eminem release
Or Mac Miller, TM-103
fuck you dale
ambition and RED shouldnt be on there. if those are on the top 25 its been sad yr for hiphop
Goblin by Tyler, the Creator
The only reason R.E.D. is on there is because Game paid HHDX off…4 or 4.5/5 X’s, and then he’s editor in chief for a week on this site? yeah…his album was dog shit and his dickriding fans disappeared after they kept saying he would sell more than WTT. Took that nigga a month before he broke 100k.
Nope.
He sold 98k first week you idiot and went number 1
I justed typed Worldstarhiphop into my address box Dx aint talkin about nothing (click)
see ya
Bad meets evil???
it’s not good
Way better than Complex’s Top 25 List.
So BAD MEETS EVIL gets a good rating, but doesnt make the list????
WTF
because it sucked
REKS, Evidence, and Tech N9ne made this year for me.
Wat about Royce Da 5’9 Success Is Certain his album gotta 4 out of 5 stars on average.
R.E.D and Ambition critics said the album was average at best. The probz paid off the editor.
AGREED!!!
Common #1 and The Roots #2
NO Faggot Lil Wayne and Drake!!!
Good Job HipHopDX, you Rock
Eminem sucks
No KRIT? Wale? Game? Common?
meh
KRIT got mixtape of the year you dumb fuck
Plus Common is the last one listed you blind fuck. And you want Wale on the list? You’re not only blind but stupid too.
No Shabazz Palaces-Black Up? One of the best hip hop albums released this year? Come on HHDX, don’t pass this album up.
I didn’t like it that much, but surprised it isn’t on here. It’s on every list everywhere.
man hahaha, wtf, I heard that shit. WTF was that piece of garbage album??? The FUCK did i just listen to??
I love the Random Axe crew but no way they should be on there and not Honkey Kong
2 things:
1) Replace Game’s album with Blu & Exile’s new one
2) Replace Wale’s album with yU’s The EARN
My top 5 this year (in no particular order):
blu & exile – give me flowers while i can smell them
yU – The EARN
REKS – Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme
The Roots – undun
Phonte – Charity Starts at Home
+ everything from The Weeknd
And I forgot section.80! Ok. I have a top 6.
Blu hasn’t released yet, buddy. It’s just free stream.
Somehow we must be quite jealous and naive not to put Carter 4 on the list, there is a reason it was sold more than any album on here. I agree Carter 4 was below par, but I think most of us would like it if it didn’t sell, normal human feelings we have because the next person is doing better I think.
Carter 4 shipped more units than all the albums on this list bar WTT and maybe one more.
Yeah, but it was gaaaay. They’re judging by how good the album was, not by how many units it sold.
NO APATHY???? Comethefuckonson!! Yall HAD to just simply forget, that’s my only conclusion. What about Jedi Mind’s album? No 9th Wonder album???? The FUCK?!! You’re gonna put Pac Div, Black and Brown (Which was fuckin HORRIBLE) before Apathy and Jedi? How about Action Bronson? That production was fuckin horrible, and he’s a knock-off Ghostface. Random Axe was okay. Greneberg was a joke..not even a real album. Man wtf DX? At least Lil Wayne and Drake aren’t on there, but still….c’mon son!
Oh yea, what about Royce’s album????? Also, Bad Meets Evil??
Oh yea, Torae’s “For The Record”????? yall must have had a bad case of amnesia when you made this list. Forgot some serious bangers.
Wait wait wait, When did 7L & Esoteric come out? Also, East Coast Avengers album?
one more more….HAAA, yall left off Brotha Lynch’s album?????????? Pathetic.
7L was on last year’s list.
Happy to see Black and Brown on this list. Great album. Wish it was longer though
No Yelawolf!!??
Fuckin all faggots on here…….
Put gay ass WALE over Yelawolf and that corny ass tech 9
No Honkey Kong? SMH
fuck big sean and drake shit real hip hop shit
Good list…Im proud of Hiphopdx for actually posting good albums instead of albums with the most sales/hype. Except for that J Cole album but otherwise good picks.
“Awesome list.” And if Joell Ortiz sells only 27 more copies of that piece of shit he’ll top 1000! Go fat boy go!
Glad to see Pac DIv
The Raekwon was generic garbage, like everything he’s done since OB4CL2… Remember “Wu Massacre”? Yeah, me neither.
Action Bronstein’s sexist diabetes rap is dogshit too.
Wheres Bad meets Evils album, easy top 10
Wtf. Bad Meets Evil easily topped J. Cole, Curren$y, Wale, Game, Thurz, Raekwon, Joell Ortiz…. what a joke.
your taste suck, bad meets evil was a waste of 45 minutes of my life
bad meets evil was marketed as an EP.
so was greneberg, but it made the list
I would’ve like to see G-Side’s The One…Cohesive in that top 25. That album is seriously under-appreciated.
I’m a huge Curren$y fan but not sure if Weekend at Burnies was top 25 material. Wale and J.Cole in that top 25 baffles the fuck out of me too…not hating on either.
Good to see Pac Div in there though and some other good selections too.
How the fuck styles p not on here ?!?!?!!?
the lox are through, jadakiss & styles dropped this year and nobody cared
Jadakiss didn’t drop this year you dumb fuck. That shit was a mixtape if that’s what you’re talkin about.
Cunninlynguists!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fucking stupid! You guys couldn’t show any love to my boys, eligh or murs? I think this list is biased
and you couldn’t even explain how to save your life. keep jerking off to your boys and split
Wtf Radioactive deserves to be on that list
Naw, Yealawolf is garbage meth head music.
cats and dogs was the best for me…followed closely by kush&corinthians….wouldve like to seen drake’s and doppelgangaz’ albums there too
I cannot believe Eligh & Amp Live’s therapy at 3 was not on the list but J cole and other shit was…I liked that list but I really expected that Cd to be on here.
Dude yes! Eligh, Murs and maybe Z&G’s second outing. But I say murs and eligh for damn sure…sad.
No Yelawolf, Bad Meets Evil, or even Drake? I would’ve thought Bad Meets Evil made the cut for sure..
BME was one of the tightest joints to drop
^BME was boring as hell, i stay in the hood no black person(including myself) I know still listens to eminem. That cracka lazy
THATS WHY YOU NIGGAS NOT TAKING SERIOUS YMCMB NOT ON THE LIST DRAKE AND WAYNE SELLING OUT ARENAS SELLING MORE IN FIRST WEEK THEN LIKE 15 OF THESE ALBUMS COMBINED AND THEY NOT ON YOUR LIST. BUT RESPECTED SITES LIKE ROLLINGSTONE AND PITCHFORK GOT DRIZZY ON THERE LIST UNTIL YOU NIGGAS LEARN ABOUT MUSIC U NOT GETTING NO RESPECT
The list is for the top 25 albums of the year. Not the top selling 25 albums of the year. I’d imagine your list would be wack as fuck.
“!!!” got it right! hahaha carter 4 was fucking whack. a few good songs but nothing compared to what wayne used to bring.
every album of 2011 #ThingsBetterThanCarter4
not really Planet Pit Sold 6 mill worldwide and barely 200k in the US. Example sold 2.5 mill worldwide never charted in the US. Professor Green 1.95 million worldwide it’s not just the US u can sell there’s a whole world u can sell to.
Bad Meets Evil?
Take Care?
Carter 4?
Success Is Certain?
Goblin?
Glad CunninLynguists got some praise! They definitely deserve it.
Kinda surprised Atmosphere’s ‘The Family Sign’ wasn’t included though. Like.. whaaaat?
The list is arguable but I’m glad to see Saigon, The Roots, Kendrick, and Monch on it.
what happened to the carter 4, take care, bad meets evil,radioactive, and they couldve even put young javascript:void(null)jeezy on the list!!!!
Apathy, TM103, and Self Made all deserve to be on this list
couldn’t believe how wack joell ortiz album was..Rae came with a solid joint.
Joel ortiz was solid dx just hyped it up too much 4.5 was waaaay over the top
Carter IV was trash…get over it people.
all of em were gargabe i would rather listen to illmatic before i listen to the bullshit that came out this year
grow up. everyone bumps illmatic, but you have to give new stuff a chance. a lot of dope music came out this year.
Im sorry… but how do you leave out LUPE FIASCO-LASERS… ??????
pretty easily.. by dubbing it the “most disappointing album of the year”? I’m not turned off by it as most people but there are several titles that could pass before Lasers
one positive thing about Lasers is that it contained the best rap song of the year “All Black Everything”
FUCK THIS FAGGOT ASS SITE!!! NO CARTER IV JUST A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT!!
5 LETTERS!: YMCMB
Four letters: YMCA!
Not including Drake is hater status.
The album was more R&B/Pop than hip hop…Dont be stupid.
kinda surprised to see a list that was so hip hop. Thats pretty awesome. I guess the name of the site is hiphopdx and not popcommercialrapdx so fuck your complaints about not having drake and wayne and ross and whatever else bullshit came out this year
I don’t agree with all the picks but overall it’s a solid list. I’m happy that Oneirology, undun, W.A.R., and Hot Sauce Committee Part 2 all made the list. It’s good to know that not everyone’s sleeping on the Cunninlynguists. Am I the only person that liked Gutter Rainbows by Talib Kweli? I thought Gutter Rainbows was better than a lot of the albums on this list.
Gutter Rainbows was disappointing to me. The production was mostly bland, besides that M-Phazes joint. Plus Kweli was uninspired for some tracks (eg. Mr International)
atmosphere? the family sign?
Lol yadig mad, nigga face it c4 was wack. So so production and nursery rhyme pre school punchlines just don’t cut it. And Drake is a joke. Gudda gudda is retarded, tyga sucks, little twist and chuckee are for middle school kids, mysonne should slap some sense into jae millz, and peter gunz should suspend Cory after he signed the dotted line. In other words fuck young money. They ain’t hip hop. As a matter of fact their a disease killing it.
Peter gunz should disown cory
WTT started to lose it’s flame after a month. But, that Section.80…MY LORD!
WTT is STILL dope. I don’t know what album you listened to.
Dirty Pretty Things??
what happen with young jeezy thug motivation 103 and lupe fiasco lasers
this is a solid list of albums, but ranked lists are so much better because it’s harder to make and they spark more conversation. Anyone can list off good albums this year, but comparing them is much more interesting.
for a list of the top albums this year (in order) you should check out
http://www.passedpresent.com/2011/12/editorial-top-5-albums-of-2011.html
where are Apathy, Royce, Jeezy, and 9th Wonder, a top 25 sometimes isn’t enough
Where is Take Care?
It’s not nerdy enough for DX and its followers.
His album is over on the top 25 R&B albums of 2011
carter iv
Carter IV. HHDX is tripping on some bullshit. But its whatever. Most of the cats on this site don’t know shit about rap music but yelling Wu Tang forever or Eminem is deep.
Carter IV is farrrr better than you cornballs realize. For people who say they check for lyrics, you definitely are not listening to Wayne’s bars. But your favorite rapper know what’s up.
Why the fuck is Game in this list? I can’t deal with you new hip-hop heads, yawl have horrible taste.
DX how about a disclaimer of why you picked these albums. By my standards a great album MUST have replay value and be ENTERTAINING on multiple layers.
No one wants to admit that the so called “pop” artists generally balance these ingredients at a high level. Catering to the underground is some pretentious wannabe deep bullshit.
Unless the DX staff is a clone of one person with this myopic list then please diversify your taste. Plus this is some OLD SCHOOL shit you posted. Keep up.
“No one wants to admit that the so called “pop” artists generally balance these ingredients at a high level.”
well put. with that being said i would like to thank drake, lil wayne and nicki minaj for making some of the worst music i’ve ever heard in my life. they make nails scratching on chalkboards sound like beethoven
some of these picks are strait garbage…say what you will about Drake, but you know Take Care deserves a spot on there….DX actin all backpacker and shit
exactly
no drake? hhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahahhhahahahhahaaahhhaahaahhahhahahah
Where the hell’s Pete Rock & Smif-n-wessun ???
Oh well, duckdown did get two placements on the list, which are well deserved.
that shit wasn’t good, I don’t know how smif & wessun have survived 15 years in the game they’re raps is stale
you didnt even listen to the album.stale raps ahaha
I was hyped for the album solely because of Pete Rock & even he dissapointed, the best duckdown releases are Skyzoo-Great Debators & Pharoahe Monch- W.A.R.. Pete Rock is personally my favorite producer of all time btw. I have nothing good to say a smif & wessun, they’re first album was good but since then they only still rap because they’re friends with Dru Ha & Buck Shot
RED Album???
Weekend at Burnies???
Black & Brown EP???
really HHDX, really???
torae- ‘for the record’ was way better than most of the shit on here.
Nice to hear from a rap fan…..no hype
Not to Take anything from Drake an his style, he is being classified as an artiste in the wrong genre. he is simply an r&b artiste, and i dont kno why the hiphop community and mainstream keeps on embracing him as a rap artiste when he doesnt even do it properly and his hooks are what makes his songs popular. Get your minds right.
Not Sure about this list entirely, but that Thurz album is the best on this list. If you don’t believe me, I insist you listen to it from beginning to end. Shit is 5/5 easy.
With that being said, TECH N9NE for the win.
how did they put that album on this list when the guy just copies the flow of his features?
10 of these were dope, but a lot of boring stuff, some great albums missing! Actually some of these albums are horrible, but not necessarily the artists though, but these projects. Where’s BME?
Good to see they didn’t put Drake on the list…I actually listen to his music (at times), but it isn’t a rap album, more Pop/RnB than rapping. That not taking away from his successes, but its not a rap album (in my opinion)
I liked Royce’s album though, could have made it. Don’t have many other complaints.
anybody on cash money or whatever those letters are didn’t deserve to make it. Not hating just honest. I listened to Wayne’s Carter IV. Was his worst offering to date (not including I’m not a Human being, that was a throw away track list that the label released and scums bought it…lol)
You clearly don’t listen to rap. He does rap on the album, and it was an rap album which deserved a spot on the list. I agree with XXL on some joints up there, but not all of them. Stop hating dude
man Drake was aight, he’d be closer to 25 but I will say this I enjoyed his album more than that em/royce or wayne, son still softer than baby thighs though
no slain 2.0? take off the red album
You guys are tripping. Take Care is one of the best works this year. That man put his foot in that album. SMH!
HipHopDX is clearly sleeping and quite possibly hating on the boy Drake. Say what you like..but you cannot front the man knows how to put songs..GOOD songs that ppl can relate or vibe too.
Yeah, all girls on their period and guys that wear womens jeggins should relate
Watch the Throne, Section.80, of course. But Take Care should be on the list.
That foot had gangrene. Take care on a rap level sucked. The kids love it. When i went cd shopping I swear no one under 20, copped it. Just a few girls and high school niggas bought it. The only decent release from ymcmb was malones beach cruiser. And that wasn’t all great either.
You didnt like too much Young Jeezy’s TM 103 i see…
Median’s The Sender….im just saying
I personally thought Median had the best hip-hop album in 2007 Median- The Path To Relief, I loved Kanye’s Graduation & Ghostface’s Big Doe Rehab that year but Median was shytting on them
No love for shady and Royce…..DAMN. Why did u give them a good rating then ? U gave J cole’s mediocre shit a 3.5, Just saying.
WHERE’S BLACK UP? No respect for Shabazz Palaces…
^this
that album was dope, shoulda been on the list. idk if they even reviewed the album.
Dj Quik – The Book of David, Quik’s album is better than all the albums on your list.
Not Wale’s or The Game’s album & where’s Goblin, Bad Meets Evil, or RadioActive?? HipHopDX really dropped the ball on this one. You’ll starting to suck 0/5
How any of those 3 would make your top 25 of the year is beyond me…
Maffew ragazinos rhyme pays and toraes for the record should be there.
Greneberg, REKS, W.A.R., the new Rae ish, Cats & Dogs and Random Axe were the only titles on this I was feelin’ this year. Can’t fathom why Ap’s dope Honkey Kong failed to make the list though. The few Black and Brown joints I’ve heard sounded dope, so I’ll definitely cop that shit.
So what did Joell Ortiz do to get so much HHDX love for Free Agent? Blow everybody in the room? That album was okay, but a 4.5? And listing it as one of the year’s best? Give me a break. That’s crazytalk on a Trill OG getting 5 mics level.
Also, I’m no Drake fan, but Take Care should be in the top 25. Instead of, say, The R.E.D. Album.
Royce da 5’9 “success is certain”???
Bad Meets Evil???
america must have poor taste, more people asking for eminem & his terrible music than ever b4
@Chicago Rilla
Who the fuck are u to decide what someone should like or hate ? Mention 2 albums lyrically better than Hell: The sequel ?
I can mention 25 albums better lyrically, because them dudes didn’t talk about anything, shyt I could listen Skyzoo- The Great Debators or Pharoahe Monch- W.A.R. b4 i listen to that hell the sequel album, Action Bronson”s Well Done & Mr. Lector are better too, shall I gone on? Now lets talk about the music, why do people ignore the fact eminem consistently picks shitty beats for his albums, he’s been doing that since the eminem show too.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say this is the REAL Top 25, but for me, HipHopDX snubbed some amazing albums, so here is what I think the Top 25 should be (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER):
1) “Highlighter” – People Under the Stairs
2) “Oneirology” – CunninLynguists
3) “Undun” – The Roots
4) “The Dreamer, The Believer” – Common
5) “In Case I Don’t Make It/Conversation B” – Has-Lo
6) “Charity Starts At Home” – Phonte
7) “Cinemetropolis” – Blue Scholars
8) “The Sender” – Median
9) “The Earn” -yU
10) “Well Done” – Action Bronson
11) “Moving At Breakneck Speed” – Ugly Duckling
12) “Wasteland Vol. 1” – CYNE
13) “Cats & Dogs” – Evidence
14) “W.A.R.” – Pharoahe Monch
15) “Hot Sauce Committee Part 2” – The Beastie Boys
16) “Lyrical Law” – Canibus
17) “Future Before Nostalgia” – Rasheed Chappell
18) “Introducin” – Willie Evans JR.
19) “Love & Rockets Vol 1” – MURS
20) “Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme” – REKS
21) “The Brown Study” – Boog Brown
22) “The Wonder Years” – 9th Wonder
23) “Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang” – Raekwon
24) “Still On The Hustle” – Neek the Exotic & Large Pro
25) “S.P.T.A.” – J-Live
The Pac Div album didn’t make my list, because although there were some songs that I loved, there were some that I hated. Never been a Kendrick Lamar fan…but when I have time I plan to take in the whole album and give it a fair judgement. Haven’t had the chance to listen to it yet. Also, I think that Tech N9Ne is talented, but I’m not a huge fan. Same with Yelawolf. The Em & Royce album was average…which is a shame, because they were remarkable artists back when they first came into the game. The Shabazz Palaces album was dope…but just didn’t make my top 25. Not a fan of Drake…sorry. The Joell Ortiz album was average. The Apathy album was dope lyrically, but a lot of the production bored me. The R.E.D. album really wasn’t that great. Also, Game has a great voice and delivery, but his subject matter is entirely too repetitive and predictable. J. Cole’s Album was ok. Not Great but not bad. Only like a few tracks on Jay-Z & Kanye’s album. Danny Brown is actually pretty unique because of his style and voice, but I get bored with him because he basically says the same shit in almost every song.
Just my thoughts.
Dope list man,Here a some of my favs that you didn’t list….. Quelle Chris -Shotgun and Sleek Rifle, Actual Proof – Hotter than July, K-Def-Night Shift, Moka only & Chief- Crickets, The sleeper of the yr Rashad & Confidence – The element of Surprise, Grap Luva-Neva Done.
@Dtrain thanks fam. You know what I’ve heard some tracks off of the Actual Proof album and off of the Rashad and Confidence album…but not the whole things in their entirety. I’ll check out all of the ones that you mentioned…thanks!
You know what? I didn’t like the large pro album because he didn’t come with the same quality of beats as the main source album released in 07 or 08. Neek hasn’t pushed himself lyricaly since their faking the funk collab, which Is a shame. Those two could have come out with a modern classic on the same level as celph and buckwilds project but they fell short.
Yeah man they are both really good and so is ugly Duckling’s new CD….Drake and Rick Ross and stuff like that don’t move me….I keep it strictly underground…I been into hip hop since 1979 so I could careless about who cats crown as the next best thing….Oh I actually forgot another great album, DTMD-making dollars, this mug is really good, they are down with YU and Oddisey…
…Thanks for your input. I like cats like you who give references. I will check out these albums. Keep on manifesting and building on the culture. Peace! Hip Hop Forever!
Starr
GAMe TIME!!! RED ALBUM #1
Wait wait wait a second here…NONE of the AOTP Fam shit…What about Outerspace’s album? King Syze’s album? Jedi Mind Tricks? And especially Apathy? FUCK?
No Dom Kennedy: From the Westside With Love II
damn DX y’all know better. That was a great album. Glad R.E.D made it though. surprised no Take Care. Kendrick deserves his spot, glad he made it.
This list is real bad and the worst part is you leave out Drake which is an obvious dis becuase there isnt a single respected music publication that has not placed in their top 50 albums of any genre. I can count 5 hip-hop tracks off Drake’s Take Care that are easily superior to anything on the Game’s horrible boring album. Kendrick Lamar is definantly the most deserving of props because he is actually an innovator. But some of the rest are such weak choices. Like the Beasties easily dropped their worst album ever this year. It was just a lazy album and very forgettable. The problem with the current climate of hip-hop is that too many self-proclaimed hip hop headz holds a blind allegiance to the 93/94 format and anyone who truly challenges the tradition is just vilified. Half of these albums are good but they are so boring and predictable. What you have here is a bunch 93/94 era wanna-bes like Action Bronson (aka Ghostface) or Random Axe. They are not terrible artists by any means and they show flashes of uniqueness but they are not challenging the status quo like the artists they are imitating – they are showing allegiance to the past without any balls to really push the envelope. I mean, Black Moon’s Enta Da Stage, Gang Starr, Busta and Wu-Tang Clan sounded like nobody – they sounded completely different than anything. That is precisely what made it cool. They changed the game – each with their own unique style and production. Few artists here aside Kendrick Lamar and a couple others listed here, are doing that. Common made an ok predictable album but once again, it does not stand up next to the 93/94 era alot of it tries to emulate. Its very predictable. Its just an album that will not get very many repeated listens. Then, on the other hand, you could say HIPHOPDX is moving the spotlight on some underrated underground artists (some of that is done here) but then, if that is truly the case, how come Shabbaz Palaces’ Black Up is not there? Probably one of the most creative hip-hop releases of the year. Even Tyler the Creator’s Goblin is missing. Its not as good as Bastard but it was still alot better than alot of this stuff listed. Where’s ASAP Rocky? Even Yelawolf deserved some props.
Your list is a perfect example of why hip-hop felt like it was dying, just a short while ago. There was no innovation. Everyone is scared shitless of change. Oh well….Not like it matters, the people are obviously looking past it and bored to death with the tired formulaic hip-hop. Sales are weak because everyone knows none of these 93/94 wanna-be albums recapture the greatness/depth of the albums they try to emulate (ie. Midnight Mauraders, Gang Starr, Pete Rock & CL, Supreme Clientele etc.). They just dont come close
Co-Sign 100%!!!!!! You MUST be from the original hip-hop generation like me. I’m 40 now, old I know, but damn you read my mind.
The new shit feels like cheap Chinese knock offs.
I somewhat agree with what you are saying, but Drake?…really? I think Black Up is amazing and definitely deserves a spot up there, but if you look at what has been released this year it is a pretty good list IMO. Nothing on this list is very revolutionary save for Cunninlynguists, but what has been released this year that is revolutionary?
@ bisquic. Hey Drake aint everyone’s cup of tea but to me, what Drake does takes hella talent and at least, he’s trying to push the envelope and do what you are not supposed to do. His approach is just unique to me. Yeah, people hate him and dismiss it as pop but, I think that’s just not coming from a careful listen. The radio plays some of the worst music for any artist. On top of it, innovators usually get a lot of hate anyways. Take Care sounds fresh and original to me. He has more melody in his raps, he has hooks in weird unusual places but its still smooth, he moves between rapping and singing so seeminglessly which as a musician myself, I feel is really not easy to do at all without it sounding forced or annoying to the listener. Hes got these mellow beats that your not supposed to have in hip-hop. Plus he talks like a sensitive pussy, which makes him interesting – more real than alot of this wanna be tough guys who lets face it: 90% of them are just talking shit anyways. Like everyone grills Drake for saying “catch a body” but Dr. Dre (an indisputable legend) blantantly said “its entertainment” and despite how much we respect Dr. Dre, we know his gangster persona is not really real. “Take Care” actually reminds me alot of 2Pac’s “Me Against The World”. Its not as good becuase to me, 2Pac is one of the best to ever touch the mic but I hear some similarities in Drake’s ability to be personable and sound so honest – both narcisstic, confused and insecure – that you feel like its someone you know or having a conversation with. Just listen to Take Care and put it up against alot of these albums listed and so many of the other albums sounds so filled with so many hollow cliques and predictable formulas from the 90s – Rap 8 bars / R&B Hook / Rap 8 bars / R&B Hook etc. Put that up against Drake’s “Crew Love”, “Headlines”, “Cameras” or “Underground Kings”. You may not like the music but the arrangements are unusual/unpredictable. Or Take “The Ride” where the beat is pretty much completely driven the Weeknd’s singing in the background. To me, Pitchfork nailed the Drake Take Care review and had a much better understanding of what he was trying to do than the hiphopdx. There are too focused on looking for next sub-par Midnight Maruaders, Supreme Clientele or Illmatic imitation or Drake’s image, not the artist’s music and whether or not he actually takes risks with creativity and innovates with the same zeal/balls. To me, thats whats important.
You make a good argument, but my problem is not that Drake isn’t talented at…what he does. My problem is I have no interest in a superstar millionaire whine about how hard his coushy life is. Now when discussing HIP-HOP I’m not entirely sure how you can say Drake is so ground breaking. How long do we need to listen to Boy 1-da’s generic pop beats with the repetetive snare drum. I’m tired of ranting about why I don’t want to listen to Drake. The reason for my original post is to understand WHAT you are expecting out of Hip-Hop? I agree many of the albums on this list are not up to par of our favorite 90s albums, but what direction would you rather have Hip-Hop take? Notice I said Hip-Hop, not Hip-Pop. Personally I want musicians to expand on The Roots live instrumentation and not relying on sampling as much. I’m not big on electro, but the way Kno integrates live instrumentation and synths together to create atmospheric production is where I want Hip-Hop to go…
I actually think hip-hop is pretty well positioned right now. This website is just a little out of touch to me. Odd Future, Drake, ASAP Rocky, A-Trak, Kendrick Lamar, Shabbaz Palaces and a few others are all making decent music to me. I dont love every song or all of their albums but they are going the right direction, if you ask me. Where it should go? I want hip-hop to go the direction of just doing the unexpected is all – just breaking the rules. This is what attracted me to it. Id like to pick up an album and feel the same way I did when I picked up the albums of Wu-Tang, De La, Nas, Black Moon, Tribe, Cypress Hill etc. where it was artists doing creative unique work – the production/MCs were different. No one was expecting to hear Kung-Fu samples the way Wu-Tang did it. But its done, I dont want here anyone with similar concepts like Star Trek samples – that would be corny. That shit is over. Artists need to bring something new to the table. Sure – live instrumentation is inevitable IMO because sampling cost so much these days and alot of the artists today are just throwing own music in their samplers. But you know Rage Against the Machine and The Roots have done alot of it. If its live instrumentation, Id just wish its still pushing the envelope and doesnt sound like 80s thrash or Bodycount or the Roots or Rage. I lean against pop music but at the same time, I like innovation. Sometimes, innovation just becomes popular. Bone-N-Thugs sold alot of units. Drake sells alot too. I can appreciate the talent of the Black Eyed Peas for instance but I find that to be unashamedly pop and lacking in any real substance. Will.I.am is just taking alot of old house and re-doing it. Fine for the club with your girl but thats it. I dont like that stuff. As for Drake, Im not gonna harp on it. Obviously, we disagree on Drake but alot of these great artists bitch/moan you know despite their millions -Jay-Z, Kanye and Eminem – probably the worst offenders. I mean, Biggie dropped “Mo Money Mo Problems” when he was pretty well-paid, right? Im not a fan of all of Drake’s tracks but I see alot of the potential and he obviously listens to the right groundbreaking stuff – unusual shit – xx, James Blake, SBTRKT, Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar etc. He has lifted quite a few artists out of obscurity. The electro-hip-hop thing is a great – I like electro period. Even electro-house shit – Deadmau5, Justice, Boyz Noise, etc. Hip-hop used to have alot of electro mixed in the 80s so its a natural progression. You should check Cadence Weapon’s first two albums. Not everyone’s cup of tea but interesting stuff.
I feel like you’ve completely got your shit twisted. The lack of album sales and industry saturation can solely be attributed to wack, weak and soft rappers that came up along with Drakes generation. Drake is not wack, he is merely a sub par rapper from toronto with the southern drawl in his voice. Now there are hundreds of rappers that sound like him and the following rappers: Nikki Minaj, Lil Wayne, Lil B, Wiz Khalifah, Gucci Mayne, Kreyshawn Kanye West, Big Sean Rick Ross, Wale etc. Basically all the pop chart dominators. Due to this there I’d absolutely no resoning in calling out people that emulate 94/93 styles when 1.there’s not even enough of them to call out and 2. Hardly any of them chart as you can see from a lot of the N/A’s in the chart position section. Now as a golden age and real hip hop fan I see it like this. Were better off with rip off ATCQ’s, Gangstarrs, Pete and Cl,s, Why? Because were at risk of rap skill extinction and you get rid of rhyming ability, you basically get rid of the rap form within the hip hop culture. A wack or average billboard 200 rapper has nothing to offer people but album sales. The skilled “biting” rapper might carry our interest a bit further than that and make us think will maybe this person is not biting maybe he’s inspired by so and so. This top 25 list is indicative of what hhdx believes made them listen to hip hop this year and nothing more. Drake released an r&b album which groups that you metioned like ATCQ and Gangstarr woukd have been blasted for doing in the 1990’s, kinda like a PM Dawn. Lol
@ ALC. I dont think alot of those artists you list have zero lyrically ability. Some of this is the same arguement leveled at Jay-Z. Alot of their rhymes have double-meaning that sound simple on the surface but then, do have some lyrical depth when giving a more careful listen. Drake to me is lyrical. So is Lil Wayne – even though I dont really love his stuff. Nicki Minaj has better flow than lyrics but she is still talented – although I dont listen to her. I dont like Rick Ross much either but to me, he still has some lyrics to me. Its just more in the vein of Jay-Z than 93-94 hip-hop. I think the content that Drake brings is different and unusual. Its more insecure, depressing, doubting, personable. Its ironic that you claim that ACTQ and Gangstarr would have blasted “Take Care” but both DJ Premier, Q-Tip are on record as fans of Drake (Premier placed TML – a much worse album – on his top albums; Q-Tip already said he thought Drake was ill). Plus, even KRS-One (who had beef with Prince Be) has also given Drake props. In fact, I havent heard the album but Q-Tips shelved “The Abstract” album apparently had plenty of singing all over it. You talk like Drake is as bad as Wrexx-N-Effects, MC Hammer or Prince Be, which is gimmicky and just straight hollow pop music – the music lacked any true depth. I disagree that Drake is on that level. I think your underestimating the talent. I dont like str8 pop music. I know people want to fit it in that box – but it isnt quite that bad -I think you also know this. I just think there is also some romanticizing of the past too. Remember De La Soul, Jungle Bros. and ACTQ (to a lesser extent) were all ridiculed to an extent for being soft and afro-centric hippies, just like Drake. And on other side, alot of these same acts were also critical of the gangster cliques that are so popular and considered “real hip-hop” today. Like Black Sheep straight blasted west coast gangster cliques on their first album, De Le Soul ridiculed italian-mafiaso references ala Ghostface/Raekwon on “Stakes is High”, The Roots and OGC knocked Biggie for Jiggy-style/R&B hooks (“Do What They Do”). Now, history has told a different story. Personally, Drake has more depth than the super-straight pop stuff without any substance. Is there gonna be a bunch of corny Drake imitations ? Probably because, he is selling and the industry is going to look for the next Drake to make $ rather than the next Action Bronson. At any rate, the fact that artists are making music that would have been blasted in a previous era is to me a good thing. Its called progress. I think we disagree becuase you feel artists like Drake are making sugar-coated hollow pop garbage but I think its not quite that simple. He has his radio joints just like Jay-Z and Kanye but he also has non-radio joints.
I didn’t read the whole thing but this goes into the same thing I’ve been saying; Production is killing hip hop. Like you said, NOBODY sounded like these guys. Nobody sounded like each other! Each group, crew had their own production style and sound. Nowadays, it’s just the same producers making beats for the top rappers, and there are like 16 producers on their album. WU-TANG had the sound of RZA; Cypress Hill had DJ MUGGS. Boot Camp Click had Da Beatminerz. Dre, Snoop, all that shit was DRE. DITC fam had Buckwild, Lord Finesse….Even Diddy had the Hitmen who contributed alot to Bad Boy. Remember how Ruff Ryders used to have their own, such a unique sound?? That was SWizz Beatz and one other dude. Even House of Pain had Muggs and DJ Lethal. Public Enemy the Bomb Squad. The Alkaholiks had E-Swift I think. Gangstarr had Premier. Tribe Called Quest had Q-Tip, and Gravediggaz had Prince Paul and RZA.I think Prince Paul did a lot of De La Soul shit. Oh yea, and Busta Rhymes??? SHEEeettt.His albums and Flipmode Squad had such a distinct fuckin sound! DJ SCRATCH! That’s why I really respect the Saigon album because that whole shit is basically Just Blaze, and the album is fuckin incredible. Shit used to be fuckin amazing back then. I swear to God production is getting worse and worse, both underground and mainstream! Rappers and groups need to have their own producers like they used to, because hip hop just keeps continuing to dissapoint me. Half of the albums on the top25 of 2011 would have been garbage compared to the 90’s shit. LIke I said before, nowadays it’s usually just dissapointment after dissapointment….
Lil Wayne, Jay Z, Eminem and Nas will STILL to this day SHIT on anyone of these cats on this list. And they could of done it when they where in their early 20’s.
Hip-hop is dead because these new cats are BOOOORRRRINNNGGG.
And these underground kings are exactly where they should be.
You do NOT know good hip-hop if you think Game made anymore good albums after his 1st. The one where he had A LOT of help.
shut the fuck up everything game writes is real & its fuckin hard
Game sucks.
GAME GOES ALL OUT ON THE PRODUCTION TIP
J Cole is a good writer but his flow is boring.
Game can’t make songs. Good mixtapes though.
Wale is another good writer with a subpar flow.
Jay Z still dope.
Kendrick is dope with room for improvement.
Joel Ortiz come on son, next.
Saigon’s career was totally mismanaged. Don’t know what to say.
I guess it’s mandatory to hate the South, too bad.
Gangsta rappers need to be gone unless they really are keeping it real.
Passing on Drake, Wayne and other’s you love to hate doesn’t make you legit.
Raekwon probably should evolve his flow and subject matter.
Tech Nine is alright but kinda’ boring.
100% Co-sign, just a sidenote: If I’m about to buy an album, I always expect something near the artist’s finest. A lot of cats “waste” their dopest songs, and can’t reproduce it when it comes to quality. J. Cole is a good example for that, he had a ton album-worthy material, but since majority of those tracks released through mixtapes or leaked, he ended up with a nice, but nowhere-near-classic album. Same goes for Game and Joell Ortiz: both can spit, both had moments on their albums, but at the end of the day the big picture was more like mediocre than dope.
Just my two cents.
where is eminem
Loving the fact that HipHopDx shows hella love for Tech N9ne. That was a great album and if anyone has never listened to him before start with that album because it gives you a whole mixed plate of what he does the best. I dont know much about others on this list because I keep my ears to the underground and stay away from the radio. There are a few albums on here I might check out for sure.
no Yelawolf?!
no Take Care? good job DX, album was garbage. u just gained more respect from me. but no Radioactive? its better than WTT (yeah i said it) and Cole World (im a huge Cole fan) it was just a let down. surprising Hell Sequel didnt make it but i understand
Carter 4
Ambition
I can c not putting C4 on this list but no Take Care? Yea it wasnt all that great and had too much singing but as a whole, it should still be on this list. It wasnt a completely wack albulm
BUTTT all of these are better lol
IKNOW the 93/94 era was a good era hip hop in its prime. And yea niggas try to imitate it but why not. The shit coming out these days is garbage. And take care I discredited the album before it dropped. But after getting called “haters” so many times i listened to it. Guess what? Not impressed. It sounded like his last album but more singing. I’d rather have another supreme clientele or illmatic than majority of the shit we have now. And ASAP rocky I’m sorry that niggas another mims. Not lyrical, and sounding down south. Not my cup of tea son. Niggas from ny or Detroit I expect to mice on the Mic ASAP nor big Sean meet those expectations.
93-94 cant be re-done. Its over. Its been 20 years. Could you imagine if rock-and-roll artists said they wanted the same stuff they had 20 years prior? If the 80s was filled with Jimi Hendrix wanna-bes? Or if in the 70s, everyone sounded like Elvis? There would be no punk, no led Zepplin, no Talking Heads, no Nirvana etc. To me, if we followed this mindset, Hip-hop would get stuck and be left to the way-side, stuck to a particular time-frame ala Disco, Funk, New Wave etc. Harping on the past 20 years later is like wanting everyone to sound like the Black Crowes or Lenny Kravitz did in the 90s (ie. obsessed with the 70s). You have to let the music evolve and grow. Strict rules in hip-hop will not allow that. Even Nas cant make another Illmatic. We would be lucky if Ghostface can make anything close to Supreme Clientele. Those albums were great because they were unique anyways. Id rather artists make music with the same level unique creativity rather than nostaligic music that tries to re-capture the same sound. I gave up on trying to get another 93-94 classic a long time ago. Its not gonna happen. Supreme Clientele is prob the only album that came close in 2000. ASAP is not the best of the new batch but I see some potential there – he is breaking the rules. Kendrick Lamar, Odd Future, Drake, Shabbaz Palaces etc. – these guys are to me breaking new ground and doing what your’e not supposed to do. That reminds of 93-94 when you had a slew of different artists doing different shit – all unique on their own merit.
Co-sign. Thank you for writing what I’m thinking, I’d rather have people biting good shit, than writing original wack shit.
No Take Care? Thank You
Lets get this str8 im suppose 2 believe that these 25 albums are betta than the carter4 & 103 hustlers ambitions & Take Care?? & MMG’s self made?? stop hating on the big dogs u lame as fuQ edwin ortiz must be related to joel ortiz LOL #YMCMB #MMG nuffsaid!!!!
the big bogs need to take more pride in their craft
Wonder if they left 9th Wonder’s off cuz its fulla features…
lol @ “Wheres (my favorite album) at?”
It’s HHDX’s top 25, not every album released this year. This is how they narrowed it down. I say list your own top 25 here instead of wondering why DX doesn’t agree with you.
fuck this site!!!!!!!! ion see no drake,wayne,MMG,or eminem!!!!!fuck whoever made this list!!! i hate yall niggas wit ah passion
No Bad Meets Evil: Hell the Sequel?
No Take Care?
Fuckery
take care is a pop album
and bad meets evil wasn’t good either
Eminem and Royce shouldve been on the list but thank you so much for not placing lil wayne, drake or jeezy or that fat fuck khaled. Glad y’all niggas not feeding into the the hype
@shaolin. Agreed. We don’t need that garbage gargoyle music anywhere near top of 2011
Yeah we DO need it. Because life ain’t about being angry and depressed all the time.
FUCK! When will you morons including the DX staff realize rap music at it’s best is when an artist is true to their own style! Not true to being a fucking thug or being the brokest motherfucker that ever lived.
No Drake??? Fuck outta’ here! He’s the only one with the balls to be himself! and the boy can write. He picks great beats and his flow is nasty. Miss me with this “he’s not hip-hop” bullshit.
Rick Ross is dope too. Yeah I said it, RICK ROSS is DOPE. He should be a damn producer with the production he puts out.
No Wayne, really? Wayne can’t write or rap, really? Yawl know Wayne is a goddamn spitter, point blank period. Jay already passed the mic to this monster, fuck what you saying.
Game LOL! This nigga is hot and cold and at times can sound like an amateur. But he’s a top dawg now?
Tech 9 makes music like “Fuck Food” and it’s all good. But nobody else can??
Eminem makes songs like Superman, farting, and other childish shit and its all good?
There was a time when hip-hop allowed all that shit. Fat Boys did food songs. Run DMC did sneaker songs. Special Ed did swag songs. Tribe did love songs. LL did battle rap. Rakim did hustle music. KRS-One kicked knowledge. ALL that shit was good and it all coexisted.
Now you got all you funny cats trying to be little Skip Bayless criticizing everything about hip-hop music. It’s so bad I wonder WHY THE FUCK DO YOU LISTEN TO RAP IF YOU HATE IT SO MUCH?????
You rap fans are the problem.
hiphop has no place for soft retards ok…i agree with u be yourself as an artist…but if ur a cop,a gay and a soft nigga u dont need to be in hiphop…u need to stay away from it
Just because you’re being yourself doesn’t mean that you’re putting out good music. Kanye is himself and puts out classics. Kendrick Lamar is himself and I don’t think I saw Section 80 on the list and that could easily have been the best record I heard this year. If you roll wit DRAKE that’s fine by me but his music is mediocre and all this new found thuggery ain’t him. So maybe he isn’t being himself.
WAr22 SHUT YOUR YOUNG CLOWN ASS UP- FOREVER!
Ohhh don’t do it, please don’t do it
If one of us goes in , then we all go through it, that’s just something they know, they knowww, they knowww they know, yeah!
My nigga Drake, stay on deck.
Man…shut up.
No this? No that? Where’s that? Like a fuckin kids.
Where is In Case I don’t make it (Has-Lo) and Lone Sharks (The Doppelgangaz). Both are top 10 albums!
List is pretty cool but get take out Games album and Watch the throne then add….
Coathanga Strangla – Brother Lynch Hung
&
Adventures in Counter-Culture – Blueprint
Take out Watch The Throne?? LOL! HELLLLL NO that shit cray.
Watch the Throne.
A Monstrosity of Mediocrity.
Co-sign.
Good Tracks.
1. Otis(Lazy flows actually, but dope sample and beat)
2. Niggas In Paris(Another lazy flow track with bangin beats)
3. New Day(Prolly the best)
4. Gotta Have it.
5. Murder To Excellence.
Can’t think of any other dope track on WTT. Oh yeah, HAM, but that was a bonus track.
Complete Mediocre!!!!
NERD ALERT!!!! WTT is ALL THAT.
None dancing, no rhythm, stiff, midget brain fool.
i fuck with Common,Random Axe and Pharoache’s album…Tech N9ne’s album was dope,Joell ORtiz’s album was dope 2…i still gotta check Pac Div,Roots and Black Milk with Danny Brown
Lmao all the young money fans mad. Face it Drake and Wayne put out shitty albums. Glasses Malone had a better album than them. As a matter of fact it was the only decent album released by ymcmb. And game fans red is a good album but he fucked up by putting some of his best cuts on his mixtapes instead of his album. The song with kendrick was dope but game used the verse from the kill, he should’ve just put the kill om red and used a diffrent verse for the k.dot song. A lot of niggas make that mistake and the mixtapes kill their albums. And one more thing tragedy khadafis album and Sparta should be on the list.
Mad? No nigga, we just enjoying life and good music. You mad? LOL! YOU MADDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay..I see section 80. I was gonna flip.
BLUE SCHOLAR – CINEMETROPOLIS
That’s a slept on album right there!
Brilliant album.
Now gone pop that pussy for me
Haters can’t see me
But them bitches still looking for me
Balls so hard niggas wanna fine me
but first they gotta’ find me
If I want to hear 90’s rap then I’ll go to youtube and hear 90’s rap. Pretenders to the throne SUUUCCCCKKKK!!!!!!!!!!
Jay Z over 40 yrs old and STILL shittin’ on these niggas.
Don’t know Blaq Poet, Blaq Poet Society…YOU ARE FUCKING GAY!!!!
Good music lmao, young money is garbage. I forgot to mention reef the lost cauze that niggas album should be on the list too.
Some str8 up hating assholes below me saying BME wasn’t good. Mention on weak track besides lighters(Lighters wasn’t even weak, just too pop) ?
The whole album was weak just like encore, relaspe & recovery, well encore did have some okay tracks but you get the point. Are u white because yall seem to be the only people defending him and still buying his albums. I’m from chicago & don’t know a single black person who actually purchase a copy of Bad Meets Evil, Relaspe, or Recovery. I never hear it bumped in the hood either, so obviously a good percentage black people in this city aren’t feeling him like they used too
I’ve heard black people say em is nice, but never met a real fan or one who actually bumps his music.
Thats cause Em doesn’t make ridin mudsic like jeezy. I bump some future “at the same damn time”, but ill never put the nigga in my top ten rappers. some shit u ride to, some shit u got to listen to on the head phones or when u gettin high
@chicago rilla
The whole album was weak ????? Recovery was weak ?GTFOH.
The place you live ain’t the only place on the map, fool.
Lol@ Encore having some ok track. Encore had some of best hip hop tracks made in the past decade. Mention one track from you fav better than MOSH or like Toy soldiers or Yellow Brick Road. Did some one say Recovery was weak ? U just said no one bumps Em in ur hood, so how did u get to listen to Recovery ? Lol @Haters
P.s. I’m black.
@chicago rilla
Blacks don’t buy Cds and i believe u know that. you think black bought lil wayne’s album ? Or drake ? Or WTT? Just saying!
Drake & Wayne are buy their own cds as reported on this site,me personally I might download a mp3 illegally & purchase an actuall cd. I have nvr bought a digital copy of any album and as of a matter of fact I one one of the best cd collections of excellent hip-hop in chicago, I have a flawless copy of Poor Righteous Teachers- New World order, Ras Kass- Soul on Ice, and Last Emperor(one of the most underrated former aftermath artist)- Music, Magic, Myth. For anyone to insult the average listeners opinions & thoughts by saying encore contained some of the best music of the decade is just plain ridiculous. I’m a huge Jay-Z fan put thats like saying Kingdome Come or Vol. 1 were two of the best albums of the decade lol. I’m objective enough to know when my favorite artist is being lazy or uncreative. If you’re black and though encore was epic can we have a racial draft and trade you like we did Tiger Woods or Condeleeza Rice?
1. Evil Deeds
2. Yellow Brick road
3. Like Toy solders
4. MOSH
5. Curtains Down
6. Mocking Bird
7. One Shot 2 Shot
8. Never Enough
9. We as Americans
10.Puke
11.Rain Man
12.Spend Some Time
I Really, Really doubt if Encore was weak.
P.S. I’m Black!
Saying Encore is Good ois an insult to hip-hip, it was decent but good? c’mon now. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth- The Main Ingredient is classic, Ghostface- Sumpreme Clientele is Classic, Nas- God’s Son is good soooo when you sit here and say this’s white boy’s half assed project named Encore was goodm u insult a lot of had people that but blood sweat and tears into this hip-hop. Eminem himself has said he didn’t think the album was good in interviews over the years. You are a died hard fan who’s not listening with Objective ears. Encore wasn’t his worst release but I could easily name 200-300 realeases all-time better than that album. SMH at the amount of disrespect that goes on in the culture all because one artic sells a ton of albums because of his race, dude had an amazing run at the beginning of his career and people just can’t let go of it, I guess progress is a slow process. Eminem can’t make albums anymore!
Chicago Rilla:
You don’t listen to Em and you kip saying his shit now is weak. I’d respect your comments more if u listened to him. But, so..far, you are just tripping, it that simple.
Encore was a classic , He said he didn’t like encore and relapse because he have a lot of fan from recovery that didnt like those albums , If you listen to ”the reunion” in Bad meet evil , you can ear that he actually love relapse and encore .
P.S. im black and i bump eminem’s cds everyday
some suckers are so hurt by the nostalgia filter man.. talkin like eminem can’t do albums no more.. no, he just ain’t what he used to be.. there’s a diff..
like, fair enough if you don’t like encore, relapse or even, at the limit recovery. but BME’s Hell, what the fuck. it went a real different direction from Recovery, on some rapid fire wordplay like shit. it was a solid effort if anything
Chicago Rilla, you’re a fuckin moron, straight up. Saying all those Eminem albums are wack. You’re a fuckin retard!
Eminem’s biggest problem is since encore he’s decided he’s gonna rap in the that annoying ass “screaming voice”. he was more mellow the first 3 albums. Like I listen to “any man” off the soundbounding compilation and think what the hell happened to this guy. Vocal inflection is a huge reason the last 4 projects have sucked balls because the wordplay and metaphors are still there somewhat.
WAYNE
Cole world is best hip hop album this year in my opinion. Also this list is missing bad meets evil album which was dope.
big sean finally famous should be on that list straight hip hop
NOTICE THE #1 CHART POSITION FOR R.E.D. Haters
Worst albm list ever…where styles p mc album…snoops doggumentry? HipHopDX fucked up big time on this list. And I listen to everything.
Postedjust now | Reply
Doggumentary = Worst snoop album ever, and this is commin from a huge snoop supporter
Someone just labeled the entire Hell:The Sequel album “weak”. How can you even say that ? Dx have their reasons for not including it in their to 25, besides, that was an Ep, but comments like that reflects the amount of hate you have for the white Guy. No one bumps Em in your hood, but that is your hood. I’m from SA, and one thing i can assure u is that, from Europe, down to Africa and into Asia, the only Rapper they bump in most of the countries there is Eminem.
Here come the eminem stans!!!!i don’t know any black people that bump that shyt in the chi, in any hood to clarify my comment. White folks here bump Freestyle fellowship (they’re into that real hip-hop in wicker park), cultured black folks bump Jay-Z, common & Kanye, and ignorant less educated black folk here bump Gucci or Jeezy. But no one listens to eminem here, they don’t even bump his shyt in the club. You know why? because dude makes subpar music now of days, Slim Shady & marshall mathers were classic but since then dudes has got lazy .
Chicago Rilla AKA “life Accordin to dutch”, Right ? Oh, You change your name, My bad. You are a hardcore Eminem hater. You have been trolling this site for years with the sole objective of posting a negative comment to anything related to Em. Dude got lazy, but in the real sense, Em is still doing better than Jay.
Encore>>>>Kingdom Come
Relapse>>>>Blueprint 3
HTS>>>>WTT
What the fuck are u talking about? Chicago ? Who the fuck cares about chicago ? Name one great Mc from there…..Kanye ? Yeah right!
I’m from cali where real mc’s dwell and we bump Em all day here.
Subpar music ???? I kinda wonder if Jay’s recent music is up to par too. Kanye ? Dude can’t rap, he only knows how to produce. Ask yourself why Kanye can’t make an album without a shitload of guest….Dude can’t write 3 complete verses on his own. Common ? Yeah, he’s dope,can’t front that.
Just try to speak for yourself. You don’t like Em doesn’t mean other don’t. A lot of black in my hood fuck with Em, I mean “A LOT”. If Em was black, you prolly did be worshiping him as the God of rap, but you just disrespect him cuz he’s white….That BS.
“life Accordin to dutch” I have no idea ho the hell that is, it’s pretty pathetic that you troll the comments section and memorize everyone that says something bad about eminem hah, please wipe his zesty come of off your mouth. Someone posed the question wtf cares about chicago, dude chicago is more relevant then Cali, All yall have current is the Game, who consistanly has linked up with Kanye for his production over the years, L.A.X. did feature Common as well. Kendrick Lamar is your best new artist in years. Chicago has monter lyricist in Common & Lupe Fiasco. We have monster producer in Kanye West & NO I.D., your boy Eminem should call them for some tracks. Chicago claim the cool kids, and on the fashion side of thing Kanye rules the high end of things, and cool kids are top dawgs in the street wear culture. Everything them cats wear the entire industry wears. Jay-z generally get better reviews from publication for his albums, Blueprint 3 & Watch the Throne generally rate higher than Bad Meet Evil & Recovery, why? because Jay-Z tells a story and most poor black oppressed people related to. And Last but not least Blueprint in way better that Slim SHady & Marshall Mathers LP and generally critics agree. I’m judging this very objectively. Now Eminem is not a bad rapper/lyricist but in the last 8 years I’d have to say he’s a bad artist because he can’t pick beats & his album generally suck.
Lol@Jay-z get better reviews than Em. Prolly yes cause Em is a bigger artist than Jay, and bigger artists always meet harder criticism. Blueprint better than SSLP or MMLP ????? Lol… Lol… lol… Lol…U actually need to see my facial expression now…Hahahahahaha.
Lemme Break it down.
Rolling stone is easily the most respected publication
Greatest albums of all time
#400—-The Blueprint
#302—-The MMLP
#273—-The SSLP
#317—-The Eminem Show.
See the difference, huh ?
Ok…another tip: Go to acclaimed music.net. They take critically reviews from both mainstream and underground critic, as well as street and individual knowledge. They compile their list every decade. Go check for yourself and see who’s album is rated higher!
Eminem hasn’t made shit the past 8yrs, what has jay made the past 9yrs ? American Gangster is the only strong album he made within that period.
“Jay-Z tells a story and most poor black oppressed people related to”—–I feel sorry for you life, you poor oppressed black idiot.
And Damn you for saying Chicago had better Emcees than cali…DAMN YOU!
rolling stones isn’t a hiphop publication homeboy, and you need to take em’s nuts out of your mouth. damn em left his cum on your lips haha
Right now, today, Chicago’s MC’s are waaaaaayyyyyy hotter than California’s MC’s. The highest regarded rapper from the West Coast (Tupac), was born and briefly raised on the East Coast. True, California does own the history with the Death Row movement and the whole West Coast thing going on at that time but don’t forget, Commnon ate Westside Connection’s asses up even back in those days. That’s how we do it in the Chi. Flows are even more lethal these days here. We got a kid Broadway that I’ll put up against ANY new Westcoast artist. Just my opinion. Agree, respectfully disagree, or EAD!!!!!
@Chicago Rilla:
You just called yourself a huge jay fan, that’s makes your whole argument pointless!!!!
How the hell is a Jay-z ever going to accept that Em is better than Jay ? Or Hell: The Sequel is better than Watch the throne ? Simple logic, boy.
The Same way Jay fans never accept that MMLP is better than the Blueprint or TES>>>The Black album—–Simple logic.
You said Em is weak now…Kinda, but Jay-z is even weaker. Relapse had at least good songs, Kingdom come had barely 5. Recovery Had at least 12 dope songs, The blueprint 3 had barely 5. it’s just that simple.
why did Jay-z tour with Em ? He was looking for a way to re-establish himself!
Jay-Z is a better artist than eminem, he makes better music than dude
Making good or better music doesn’t mean u are better, fool. I doubt if a 20year old kid will ever like Section. 80. Being a better rapper is what we are talking about !! Kanye makes the better music than any rapper walking across the surface of the earth, but that doesn’t mean he is the best rapper(Not even in my current top 15). Just like kendrick Lamer said, “You will die from diabetes if these other niggas wrote it”
Em is a better rapper than Jay. Em is more technical, his rhymes are more clever, complex and on point. He might say the worst shit in the world(like, Nicki Minaj, i wanna stick my penisin ur anus), but the wordplay and lyricism is always on point.
Jay is pretty much ABCD rhymes, with simple flow and catchy beats.
god damn can you please take eminems nuts out of your mouth, u sound like his obsessed lover. jayz > eminem
Relapse had at least 8 good songs
Disclaimer: These are my opinions and thus should not be taken as Gospel. Anybody who doesn’t advocate the fact I can have my own opinion without constantly having to rationalise them on a thread can eat a dick.
Lloyd Banks’ MIXTAPE Cold Corner 2 was better than half these albums. Jedi Mind Tricks’ Violence Begets Violence should have made the list. I fuck with Hell: The Sequel, but it’s an EP; although I’d have Fastlane as Song of the Year. Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang was crazy as fuck, but a disappointment considering how amazing Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II was. Watch The Thone was absolutely awful; Lil’ Wayne and Drake confirmed that they are cancerous for Hip-Hop. J Cole’s album is a great manifestation of him – terrible. Reef The Lost Cause’s album was serious. I quite liked The Greatest Story Never Told, but it felt over-produced. 2011 was a horrible year for Hip-Hop.
Well put I’m with you on everything but I like WTT
Before anybody gets into semantics, I am well aware that half of 25 is 12.5, so don’t attempt to get me on the Cold Corner 2 comments; it’s a figure of speech.
No Atmosphere – The Family Sign? Right – way too mature and too much quality.
About the Family Sign album. I had alotta questions about that. First of all, usually Atmosphere albums are heavily promoted/advertised. I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW THAT SHIT CAME OUT! What was the deal with that, anyone know? I didn’t hear a single thing about a new Atmosphere album, was it even a real album?
Missing album:
Torae – For The Record
Take the Joell Ortiz album off, that shit was trash. I love Joell, but that album was not good at all.
Free Agent was the best album since OB4CL2
^ flag on the play lol free agent was okay, not spectacular
I disagree. As far as beats, flows, wordplay, choruses and stories go the shit was damn near perfect. Masterfully crafted album.
Still no Dopplegangaz….WOW!!
I hate to be, “that guy”, but does Lecrae even get an honorable mention? “Rehab: The Over Dose” had some pretty sick songs. listen to “chase that” and just try not like it. nearly impossible.
Staring to see eminem stans galore on this comment sectio, so funny
another Anonymous faggot
ughhh technically your anonymous also. Why don’t you log in your facebook, then comment. Otherwise, pot meet kettle
How did the Carter IV not make this list
How did lil b and V-giNasty not make this list?
Nigga, why are you mad ? When last did Jay-z make a decent album ?
what’s up with race and stereotyping Bullshit ? 50cent’s first cd went diamond, and blacks don’t even account up to 20% of the people that bought that album.
Get over Em…..He’s better than Jay-z. Get over it. People still talk about him cause he’s still hot, whereas Jay is jumping on Kanye’s back like a baby to kip himself relevant.
Encore and relapse were kinda weak ?Yes. Which other Eminem album can you front on ? I can front BP3, kingdom come, Vol.1, BP2, Vol.2, Best of both words, unfinished business as terrible albums any day.
While you are hating, Em is still selling tons of album(Hang urself if u are mad at that), Winning awards, selling out major arenas(Both locally and worldwide). Jay + Ye can’t sellout 25k, while Em is selling out 150k in another country.
I have Jay-z’s fade to black dvd and he siad something that i always remember, He said, ” You work with people either because they are legends or Just too hot”, Why did Jay tour with Em ???? Why was Em on blueprint ?
You Jay-z fans should be grateful Eminem gave jay-z “Renegade”, and turned his pretty much overrated album into a Classic.
Kingdom come
BP3
Vol. 1
Vol. 2
BP2
Very hot albums. All classics
Encore and Relapse are 10x better these albums. Go troll somewhere else, chicago boy!
Wow dude, u sound like someone who is bitter for some reason. Therefore your little comment is disqualified.
Only Vol. 1 is super suspect, kingdom come went over most people’s heads. Kingdon Come > encore, relaspe, recovery & hell the sequal. He Mase- Halem World > encore, relapse, recovery, & hell the sequal, stans get off eminem’s nuts, Jay-Z does sell out arenas almost everywhere. I’m tired of talking about this regressing crackkker. Jay-z bought you Just Blaze, Kanye, Ski Beatz, Beanie Sigel, Freeway while eminem has bought you his own shytty production, d12 and Royce 5’9′(whom I like occasionally). Em’s a shytty producer & d12 sucked. Critical opinion is all that matters to me, fuck a record sell………….now lets me name 30 albums better than Hell the Sequal that came out this year:
Saigon- The Greatest Story Never Told
The Roots- Undun
Common- The Dreamer, The Believer
Phonte- Charity Starts at Home
Pharoahe Monch- W.A.R.
Kendrick Lamar Section .80
Skyzoo- The Great Debator (Revisited)
Blu & Exile-Give Me Flowers While I Can Smell Them
J. Cole- Cole Word: A Sideline Story
Jay-Z/Kanye West- Watch the Throne
The Game- The Red Album
Currens$y & Alchemist- Covert Coupe
Blu- Her Favorite Col(o)r (Remastered Retail Version)
Reks-Rythmatic Eternal King Supreme
Action Bronson- Dr. Lector
Action Bronson & Statik Selektah- Well Done
Elzhi- Elmatic
9th Wonder- The Wonder Years
Wale- Ambition
The Cool Kids- When Fish Ride Bicycles
Raekwon- Shaolin Versus Wu-Tang
Stalley- Lincoln Way Nights
M.O.P.- Sparta
Median- The Sender
Evidence- Cats & Dogs
Tyler, The Creator- Goblin
Currens$y- Verde Terrence
Talib Kweli- Gutter Rainbows
Roc Marciano & Alchemist- Greneberg EP
Pusha T- Fear of God 2 (Retail)
Big Krit- Return of 4eva
Wale- 11-1-11 Mixtape
Sir Michael Rocks- The Rocks Report Mixtape
Sir Michael Rocks- Premier Politics Mixtape
lastly IDC for these artist bought I though Drake, Big Sean & Lil Wayne’s albums were all better than hell the sequal as well………..
Fanally Famous Vol. 3 mixtape was better too
@Chicago Rilla
Eminem produced 80% of SSLP(With the bass Brothers),and that album is classic. Dre only produced my names, guilty conscience and Role model.
Eminem produced 80% of MMLP (Along with Jeff Bass), and that album is classic too. Dre only produced I’m Back, Criminal, Kill you and Bitch please.
Eminem Produced 95% of Eminem Show(This time around, himself), and that was classic too.
Eminem produced all the tracks on Obie trices classic(Underrated), cheers.
How is Em a shytt producer ? Jay doesn’t produce. See, the same fingers you point at Em kip pointing back at you. Jay is only relevant now bcoz of Ye.
Jay give us Just Blaze, Freeway, Beenie Sigel ???? Nigga what ? Beenie sigal has been rapping since the 90’s. Who cares about freeway ???? What is he doing ?
Em give us Royce. Royve is better than every Roc MC, including Jay himself(Presently).
What about 50cent ??? You forgot to mention that ?(Yes, he not doing well now)
Get Rich or Die tryin—–Classic
Now, slaughterhouse and yelewolf is about to take over.
Kingdom come is better than Encore, Relapse, HTS ????? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
An album that barely have 4 decent songs ??? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Harlem world ???? WTF ? U listen to Mase ? WTF!!! When u listen to weak rappers like Mase, freeway, why won’t that overshadow your opinions and cloud ur brains ???
You sure have a very bad taste, sorry to say.!
Critical Opinions ?? Em is still more acclaimed than Jay-z. This Em V Jay or Jay V Nas argument happens only on the internet. Never heard anyone b4 say Jay>>>Em or Nas—–Honestly!
Now, lets me name 30 albums better than WTT.
24 of the albums up there are better than WTT. let me add more for u.
Return of 4eva
Elmatic
Tha Carter IV
Take Care
Finally Famous
Freeway & Jake One – “Stimulas Package” Kills every Shady records release this year or the last two years, and yeah I stand on that 100%. Freeway > every d12 member, obie trice, any slaughterhouse member, or yelawolf. Give freeway a classic beat he slays it everytime, never fails. Freeway- Philadelphia freeway, Freeway- Free at Last, and Freeway & Jake One- Stimulas package kill every album but every artist I just listed above.
Eminem did not produce 80% of mmlp or sslp, please go back and read the credits sir, u just mad because the man is clearly not capitalizing on his talent so you make up stuff to make him look better. jay-Z is relevant now still because he’s a beast of lyricist, & can still pick good beats. Lemme break is down to u, w/o Jay-z & Damon Dash they’re be now Kanye West. kanye’s catalog wouldn’t exist, Common’s Be or Finding Forever wouldn’t exist. After Commmon stopped working with NO I.D. in the late 90’s NO I.D. starting working with Jay-Z. Being Around Just Blaze, Bink, & Knaye helped No I.D. evolve as a producer and that recently gave us Common’s The Dreamer, The Believer. Jay-z bought us Ski Beatz, Ski beats bought us Stalley(maybach music signee from cleveland),Ski beatz has help make Currens$y relevant again, Ski beatz off the connect with Jay linked up with Camp Lo, and they made “Uptown Saturday Night”, Ski Beatz introduced Jay Electronica to Jay-Z and boom Jay Electronica’s on Roc Nation. Jay-z but just blaze on and Just Blaze produces Saigon’s Greatest Story Never told which is an excellent listen. Just Blaze Produces a single for Marsha Ambroshus, he produces countless songs for Ghostface, Freeway, Kanye, Beanie Sigel, Usher………….AND SO ON, Jay-z also executive produced Lupe Fiasco’s first album, helped put that man on the map. Jay-Z linked up with 9th wonder on the balck album and 9th ended up doing hit singles for destiny’s child and badu. Jay-Z bought us J.Cole too
W/O JIGGA WHERE would hip-hop be man, give respect where respect i due, I find it mighty funny all of these respected artist run in Jay-Z’s circle
HAhahahahahahaaahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha……….Freeway is better than any slaughterhouse member ?? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahaha
Jeoll Ortiz(The weakest SH member is 10x better than freeway)
Obie Trice has a classic, freeway doesn’t!
^song for song only slaughterhouse member coming close is royce 5’9′ thats real talk
check it out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW_K6dVqabw
Jay-z
Reasonable doubt—–Classic
Blueprint—-Classic
Black Album—-Good
Vol. 3——Good
American Gangster—Good
The rest are all trash!!!!!!!!!!!
And tell Jay-z to stop hanging around kanye west, let’s see how far he goes.
Hangin with kanye. Lmao. These niggaz. First off Jay is the one person who made yeezy releavent to real hip hop heads. If jigga wasnt around, yae be off somewhere making R&B love songs with pianos and synthesiezers, while using jame brown samples. Jay gave kanye his swag, taught him how to word play. He’s jay’s protege’ not the other way around…..Man I swear these niggas is prioner of the moment. Get real hipsters.
So bluprint 2 isn’t a classic?…#GetTheFuckOuttaHere
The black album was just good? Your kidding right?
Ill give you BP3 & Kingdome Come + R. Kelly stuff, But all the rest are at the least very good.
+ Reasonable Doubt – Classic (Top 50 all time)
+ Vol 1 – GARBAGE
+ Vol 2 – GARBAGE
+ Vol 3 – 4/5, very good
+ The Dynasty – 4/5, very good
+ The Blueprint – Classic? Not quite in my eyes, more like 4.5/5 (but def better than Stillmatic for what it’s worth)
+ Blueprint 2 – GARBAGE (yeah there’s some hot shit but not even one cd’s worth never mind 2)
+ The Black Album – Classic? It’s better than the Blueprint so it’s gotta be
+ Kingdom Come – 3/5, this shit’s better than some of his other shit that you idiots call classics but it’s really not good either.
+ American Gangster – GARBAGE
+ Blueprint3 – GARBAGE
So your saying Kingdome Come is better than BP3, BP2, American Gangsta, vol. 1 & vol. 2 ur bold for that. Your clearly into Jay’s swag and not so much his lyrics.
Yes, that’s what i’m saying. No, I’m not into anyone’s ‘swag,’ I’m a grown, straight man so I don’t even know anyone that would say that word.
Kingdom Come has about 5 good songs on it and that is more than that are on those other albums. Simple as that.
that’s your opinion, i can respect that (your opinion) but imo, i think kingdome come is the worst of those listed, but as a stand alone album it isn’t bad by any stretch. Kingdome come is his most poppy (pop music) album tho. that’s why i say it’s more his swag than lyrics. maybe swag is the wrong word. maybe “style” or “showman-ship” fits better.
I feel ya homey
Reasonable Doubt > Any Eminem Album ever, and that’s gospel universally
Top Ten Mc’s Dead or Alive:
1. Notorious B.I.G.
2. 2Pac
3. Jay-Z
4. Nas
5. Rakim
6. KRS-ONE
7. Posdnous (De La Soul)
8. Ghostface Killah
9. Common
10.Eminem
(b4 eminem made Relaspe, Recovery, Encore & Hell the Sequal he was rated #7 in my book but those albums are soooo bad it’s tainted his legacy & doesn’t hurt that he produced some pretty shytty beats on some of those albums too)
@Hood_Guy.
Reasonable doubt is damn nothing compared to MMLP. You can’t Even compare Brooklyn’s Finest to Renegade….Renegade is 100x better(Complex Mag wrote an article about these two songs)
Besides Can I Live, Politics as usuaal, Dead Prez, Ain’t no nigga, and maybe Feeling it, no other song on reasonable doubt is a 10/10 or 9/10
Stan is Better than every song on reasonable doubt. Stan is the definition of Gospel universal….Which song on Reasonable doubt reach a cultural Milestone ?
MMLP>>>>Any Jay album, any day.
Top 5
1. Em
2. Pac
3. Nas
4. Jay
5. BIG
I don’t rate base on recent music. neither of these MCs above are still making classic music. BIG and Pac is dead. Nas can’t rap anymore, Em has gone soft, Jay fell off, and so on. But they have nothing else to prove, they already proved it.
Hod_Guy – Where’s Scarface?
Um.: What about D’Evils? Jay’s best song and one of Preemo’s best beats. I’ll put that up against any song by anyone.
^ yall straight disrespectful Posdnous from De La Soul has made 3 good album in 3 different decades, Consistency and longevity need to be rewarded when judging legends, Biggie is well Biggie, Pac could inspire people and move the hearts of men & women which is why he was assassinated, Jay-Z carried the torch for years and w/o Jay-Z alot of albums & careers wouldn’t exist. Nas is well Nas one word “Illmatic” the greatest hip-hop album of all-time. Ghostface is the face of the wu-tang clan and his body of work speaks for itself. KRS-ONE is hip-hop, Rakim changed lyricism forever and w/o em a crucial evolution in hip-hop that allowed the culture to progress would have never occured. Common has a nice body of work too, espeacially with his new album, he’s so underrated and has 3 classics under his belt in my opinion. He’s the best rapper not from new York. EMINEM WOULD PERSONAlly tell from his own mouth he’s not better than any of those guys, which is the funny thing about the whole discussion. Stop disrespecting our culture by overrating eminem, there’s more to hip-hop culture than eminem. Go buy De La Soul- Stake is High, Common- Resurrection, Ghostface- Supreme, Clientele, Rakim- paid in full, KRS-ONE- RETURN OF THE BOOM BAP, Nas- Illmatic, Jay-z-‘s Reasonable Doubt, Pac’s- Me Against the World, and Biggie’s Ready to Die, lock yourself in a basement for a week and form some reasonable opinions.
@Hod_Guy
Sorry, but your little comment has no credibility and totally disqualified. How is more lyrical can Em among the people you mentioned ? Huh ? Go buy SSLP, MMLP and TES, lock yourself in a basement for a week and form some reasonable opinions
Who is more lyrical than Em ? Jay ? Nigga what ? Nas ? Bitch please. Common ? Fuck off.
Hod_Guy: I again ask you, where’s Scarface? The Fix and The Diary are classics. No weak albums (and he’s put out 10+). Great albums in the 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s. Made southern rap relevant (with the Geto Boys).
I respect your list but ‘Face has to be there.
^those guy mentioned above make better hip-hop music than eminem, and what does em talk about except how depressed his life is and celebrity gossip
Scarface isn’t better than Andre 3000, or GZA. he’d be 13 on my list
Maybe not, but he is better than Jay, Nas, Posdnous, Common and Eminem.
So is Ice Cube.
Good argument though and overall I do like your list.
^too each it’s own, hood dudes love scarface, i’m from the hood but thats not my mentality…… in hopes that i can change your perspective on things click the link below and take a hard listen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdJgVf4l1A0
Word. Classic Kass def his best work.
Face might be a bit on the old school tip, he’s evolved and adapted but his style is still 1989 so if you ain’t 30+ I can see not feeling him as much as i do.
Keep it real homey.
I’LL START, PURP N PATRON JUST MIGHT CRACK MY TOP 5 MIXTAPES OF THE YEAR
no question
Mac miller – best day ever
Yo, That One Be Lo album was fuckin fire too!! Yall put PackFM in here, right?? You betta have.
Gutter Rainbows was better than a lot of these albums… Hip Hop DX forgot about Talib Kweli.
You left out Atmosphere’s “The Family Sign.”
all i can say is,,,,throw that currensy lp back & add sims-bad time zoo
I’m just glad Tha Carter 4 ain’t on this list.
Yelawolf underatted album of the year. I couldnt stand him for shit. I decided to just buy the album off the shelf. I was like let me see why shady signed him. I swear it shocked me only about 4 joints i dont listen to rest of the album is crack. Slumerica
Yo…peeps, Stop responding to the Fag from chicago(Chicago Rilla).
You kip saying the same over and over again.
Em isn’t doing shit now, But WTF is Jay doing ???????? Care to answer the question ?
Ok, we should get off Em dick, but Jay’s dick is right in your ass!
Oh, you think your medieval comments will automatically reverse was into Jay fans ? Come on, son, act matured.
^ No you’re the fag hip-hop music is black culture I’m, not acknowledging that someone is the great rapper alive if he’s made 4 questionalbe album, I judge artist off their catalogs yes MMLP & SSHLP were classic, I bumped stan the day it came out 20 times sitting on the porch back 2 back to back. i like Eminem as a rapper, but to say eminem is better then jay when eminem show is 4/5, encore is 3.5/5, relapse is 3/5, recovery is 3/5 & Hell the sequal is 3.5/5 is simply appalling. I’m not gonna let you idiots(die hard Eminem fans) with bad taste soil our culture because you can’t acknowledge that while Eminem is a great talent his catalog sucks & he’s under achieved. Nas and Jay-Z kill that man. Watch the Throne Kills bads meets evil off beats alone. “The Joy” from Watch the thrown absolutely shyts on anything Eminem has down in the last ten years.Pete Rock produced the Joy and to me Jay-Z ear for beats and his ability to still connect with black people makes him better than eminem right now at the point.
Jay-Z- Reasonable Doubt- 5/5
Jay-Z- In My Lifetime Vol. 1 3.5/5
Jay-Z- Hardknock Life Vol. 2 4/5
Jay-Z- In My Lifetime Vol. 3 4/5
Jay-z- Da Dynasty: Roc La Familia 4/5
Jay-Z- The Blueprint 5/5
Jay-Z- The Blueprint 2 4/5
Jay-Z- The Black Album 4.5/5
Jay-Z- Kingdom Come- 4/5
Jay-Z- American Gangster 4.5/5
Jay-Z- Blueprint 3 4/5
SSLP-5/5
MMLP-5/5
TES-5/5(His best album, idiot.
Encore-3.5/5
Relapse-3/5
Recovery 3.5/5
HTS-4/5
Jay-z
Reasonable doubt-4.5/5
Vol 1-2/5
Vol 2-2/5
Vol 3- 4/5
Dynasty-4/5
Blueprint-4.5/5
BP2-3/5
Black Album-4/5
Kingdom Come-2/5
American Gangster-4/5
TB3-2.5/5
WTT-3.5
^ now we’re done talking how the fuck eminem show 5/5, thats where he starting getting lazy. It’s obvious you don’t know hip-hop. Please go listen to A Tribe called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan or De La Soul so you can get a better understand of what real hip-hop is. I think the last truly clasic hip-hop album was Common’s Be. Eminem isn’t even the best rapper from Detroit right now, Elzhi is. Elzhi- The Preface kills every thing eminem’s made sine “The Eminem Show” & so would Elmatic too.
The rapping on BMEis 10x>>>>>>>>>>the rapping on WTT. Em’s under achieved ??? Did you just say did ? Or because u hate ? He ranked higher than Jay-z on about 90% of any greatest artist of all time publication. Is that why you’re mad? I feel your pain, nigga. It’s hard, but just try to live with it.
This whole Argument is pointless, cause 2 nigga are sitting behind computers in different parts of the world, defending their fav. Just fuck off!
Chicago u way too nice on those Jay album scores Jay has a whole bunch of 3/5 on his catalog..and eminem show is 4/5 could be more and BME is easily a 4/5 u fool …how the fuck u give blueprint 2 a 4!! u must be kidding and Blueprint 3 a 4?? and worst of all Kingdom Come a 4!!?? Man u either like slow easy rhymes or are A JayZ Dickrider
@Chicago Rilla
for you: http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/1948-02a.htm
^irrelevant alot of those publications specialty isn’t hip-hop
but u just said jay is more acclaimed than Em ?
If American Gangster had another name, like Brooklyn Hustler or The Power of Marcy, no one would like that shit. I’ve never seen a worse album be defended so vehemently. I don’t even think this shit is arguable. In fact, if Kingdom Come were called American Gangster I bet that shit would be regarded as one of his better albums instead of his worst.
How come BME have a higher user score than WTT@Chicago homo ?
BME–Editor’s rating=4/5. User rating=4.45/5
WTT–Editor’s Rating=4/5. User rating=3.66/5
because kkkrackers vote for their great white hope
I’m black, and i voted for Em.
^ house nigga then
Fools still playing the RACE CARD with Em damn man just stop this dude has proven time and time again hes a flawless MC with amazing rhyme skills over a decade now
Chicago Rilla:
You are obviously within your early 20’s. A matured dude won’t continue replying every comment just because someone prefers another rapper to your favorite.
FINE !!!! Kanye West 100x>>>>>>Jay-z. All Yezzy’s albums are classics. Kanye is the GOAT
Happy Now, Kid ?
You judge based on catalogs, i judge based on Skills, and Eminem Kills Jay-z any day.
Em got better flow than Jay
More Technical than Jay
Uses more complex rhymes schemes, not ABC like Jay.
Tell Jay to do a BET cipher next year…We can test his skills from that. Eminem did it and killed it 2 years in a row.
I’m not a kid and I’ve been listening to Hip-Hop almost from day one. Eminem is a great MC but Jay Z is better period.
Anonymous, you’re stupid as FUCK, if you think Jay Z is better than Eminem. You obviously don’t know shit.
^stfu kkkracker
jay is way too big for be cypher ….. not because he’s d best lyrically , he’s just bigggg man
@novakhane
Jay is too big for a Cipher ? Hahahahahahahahaha…..Or Jay can’t do a cipher without choking ? Which of them ? Too Big or Choking ?
Kanye did it and he choked. He was damn the weakest, Even Big Sean bodied him.
Face it, Jay can’t cipher. He freestyles his verses, but ask yourself how long he spends in the studio on one track.
And talking about too big, u are a fool, Em is a bigger artist then Jay(On a generally music scale). You knows Jay outside U.S ? Em is an Icon, Jay isn’t.
Ice Cube, Rev Run, Eminem, Busta Rhymes, Kanye, Common, Black thoughts..etc all did ciphers, Jay should do his!
Agree 100 percent,,this guy said Jay too big for a cypher HAHA EM is bigger then jay bro in the Rap World it might be a arugement but outside of it Em is way bigger ..Jay cant touch Em on the Mic and im a jay fan..just watch them perform renegade on the rooftop on the david letterman show..EM is flawless while jay stumbles amd fucks up his words..please guys just stop
And for you info, The Eminem Show is Eminem’s best work. Wanna know why ?
MMLP had flaws. The D12 collab(Under the influence) was weak cause those neither of the d12 members verse was even half close to Em’s verse.
The Bizarre spot was weak besides Em’s verses. Bizarre ruined it.
But on TES, you can deny that When the music stops is better than under the influence. The only weak spot on the Eminem show was the Dr dre assisted track because of dre’s weak verse and mediocre beat.
eminem show was one big flaw stop talking about hip-hop, i told you what album to lock yourself in the room with, it’s up to you. you seem like more of a rap fan than a hip-hop fan anyway, whats next you gonna tell me d12 world was classic. Mosh off eminem show was horrible for starters.White America sucks, When the music stops is not all that good could have done w/o d12, My Dads Gone Crazy Sucks,and lastly Soilder is not that good either, kinda boring.
JESUS CHRIST !!!!!!!!
U Just flushed the last bit of credibility you had down the drain…..Now, nobody should take u serious anymore.
First off, Mosh isn’t on TES, fag. MOSH is on the Encore.
My Dad Gone Crazy sucks ????
White America Sucks ????
Solider ??? The best Song off TES sucks ????
When the music stops is not all that Good ?
Look here, son, when u listen to your fav, u listen with excitement, but when u listen to an artists who is not ur fav, u keep on looking for faults…It’s that simple.
You just called the best songs of Eminem Show mediocre, sooner or later, you will call Kill You, Stan, Square Dance mediocre as well, i won’t be surprise either.
If i’m to front black album, Change Cloths was trash. Allure was garbage. Justify my thug was horrible. My first song was plain mediocre.
On Blueprint, Jigga that nigga was mediocre. Hola Hovito was kinda Lame. Is that Simple. As long as an artist is not ur fav, u will definitely look for faults, and give your fav all the benefits of doubt.
Like i said B4, you judge base on Good tracks or Catalog, i Judge base on skills. Em’s Renegade verse kills any Jay-z written or yet to be written. Jay-z had renegade with Em’s verse already laid on it and still couldn’t top Em’s verse. Is like going to write an Exam that you have seen the questions already and still fail.
Em’s rhyme scheme and wordplay comes second to none(Not Even BIG is Close).
The Only Jay can do better than Em is doing business and making money. Peace !
^on em’s cock a lil too tight let it breath
Chicag or w.e u call yourself stop talking your hating on Em isnt even making sense fool…dude up there said the truth and thats a fact
omg this guy actually said solider was boring??? are u fucking serious just stop dog forreal..The Eminem Show is a classic rap album..wtf are u thinking u clown.oh by the way learn how to spell solider u fool
Solider is boring, wth u talking about
Wow @ the first 3 posts
(refering to first post)-Under the influence>When the music stops, easily
(refering to second post)-TEM is outstanding
-Soldier was one of the best songs on there and wasn’t boring at all…
-The other songs you said sucked were pretty good
(refering to 3rd post)- Allure is possibly Jay-Z’s best song….
-My first song was great
-Change Clothes & Justify my Thug were very good too
-The rapping on BP is overrated but still very good..
Alright enough with jay-z and eminem shit already. Both albums were disappointing. So far these joint lps haven’t been that good. Hopefully the few will. Because I’m looking foward to kool g/necro, the wu block album, and the nas/Mobb deep album Fa sho
WTT was disappointing??? LOL! Wow son, stop talking.
for the eminem fans I find it funny that dx’s staff rated the likes of Wale higher than your beloved Em/Royce album. RANDOX AXE with regressing veteran’s Black Milk & Sean Price got more love too, haha real recognize real, i’m glad they dogged his album for the sake of the culture.
WTT was Garbage
Good Songs
1. Otis
2. Niggas In paris
3. New Day
4. Murder To Excellence
5. Who Gon Stop Me
5. HAM(Bonus)
6. Gotta Have it.
That’s all for me, and most of the songs up there ain’t that good lyrically, just dope beats.
u sure do like alot of songs on the short 12 ablum cd. so i think “garbage” isnt the right word for the album. plus if u dont like primetime, but like HAM u shouldnt have an opinion
^ if “the joy” isn’t a song you like, your opinion is invalid
Yo Chicag wtf are u taking about Hell the Sequel got great reviews and ratings from every rap website and magazine..DX had nothing but good shit to say and reason its not here is because its an EP…Ems rhymes and flow were on point idk wtf your beef is with Eminem but hes a legend whos still got it at 40 so please stop hating
I never sd he wasn’t a legend and I’m not hating, I’m being objective. I loved sslp & mmlp (classics in my humble opinion). I even own Encore in the eminem show (legal copies of all 4) but like I said earlier record sales & money don’t make the man, Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer were to of the richest & wackest emcee’s ever.
Replay value: Jay Z,Lil Wayne and Drake WIN.
It is what it is.
Aside from Jay and Ye, this is the “Please listen to my demo” list. Look at me I have bars but I can’t make good music for shit!
Yea son Wtt was disappointing, them niggas did better solo they join forces and that was the best they could do? Really. It was cool but they could’ve gave us a better album than that.
100 Ways To Save Hip Hop
Stop playing the same 5 songs on the radio.
Stop listening to radio stations that play the same 5 songs.
Stop blaming Diddy.
Stop Diddy.
Stop dubbing every new jack the next great this and that.
Stop charging body parts for shows.
Stop fabricating feuds to sell records.
Stop putting Lil Wayne on every song.
Stop saying hip-hop is dead.
Stop hating Kanye for being weird.
More battles, less beef.
Stop biting Jay-Zs flow.
Stop biting Biggies ad libs.
Stop putting weed carriers on your album.
Stop trying to please everyone.
Stop leaking entire albums song by song.
Stop making posthumous collaborations.
Stop getting arrested for dumb things.
Stop being homophobic.
Stop blaming record labels.
Stop whining about how much you miss the golden age of hip-hop.
Stop cluttering albums with corny skits, unless youre Prince Paul.
Support creativity with your wallet.
Stop making 50-song albums with 90% filler.
Stop faking the funk.
Stop calling people who disagree with you haters.
Stop hating.
Stop kissing ass for favors.
Stop saying you miss real hip-hop.
Stop hating Jay-Z.
Stop saying youre carrying ___ city on your back. Thats not even possible.
Stop acting too cool for school at concerts.
Stop rapping about the same three topics.
Stop rapping about UFOs.
Stop promoting sexual violence under the guise of hood reportage.
Stop defending misogyny.
Stop being a Twitter groupie.
Stop taking contrarian views for the sake of being different.
Stop hating people who disagree with you.
Stop dissing Soulja Boy.
Stop Soulja Boy.
Stop dissing people who make dance-tastic rap. Its been around forever.
Support innovative DJs.
Actually make the effort to move the crowd.
Stop radio payola.
Stop blog payola.
Push the envelope.
Stop biting.
Stop yelling on mixtapes.
Stop blaming bloggers.
Make meaningful music.
Stop obsessing over airplay (or lack thereof).
Stop showering undeserving veterans with blind praise.
Stop sleeping on unsigned talent.
Stop hopping on trends.
Stop making everything a race issue.
Stop being so gimmicky.
Stop calling everything a concept album.
Stop making tinkerbell beats.
Stop blaming skinny jeans.
Stop blaming hipsters.
Stop explaining your art.
Let your music speak for itself.
Stop playing it safe.
Invest in better artwork and packaging.
Stop promoting ignorance.
Stop burning bridges over stupid things.
Stop bragging about sales.
Stop showing up six hours late to your own shows.
Stop blaming the South.
Stop putting people in a box.
Stop tossing classic around.
Stop congratulating yourself on every other song.
Stop trying to sell the same album twice.
Stop looking for the next 50 Cent.
Stop hating people who color outside the lines.
More rapping, less singing.
Stop wasting your budget on video hos.
Do tell me, how do you get in those jeans.
Stop getting murdered by Eminem on your songs.
Stop telling me to bring that sh-t back!
More improvised freestyles, less written freestyles.
More originality, less biting.
More RZA, less Bobby Digital.
More effort, less ghostwriting.
More albums, less mixtapes.
Stop using auto-tune to mask a lack of singing talent.
Stop making contrived girl songs.
Stop wearing obnoxious gold chains.
Stop calling everything a movement. Civil Rights = movement; Bugatti Boys = not a movement.
Stop shooting up the clubs.
Stop wearing jackets that look like LV handbags.
Stop nominating idiots for Hip-Hop Honors.
Stop handing out awards to the same 5 people every year.
Stop sending impostors to your show (Im looking at you, DOOM).
Ban Diddy from Twitter.
Stop putting baby pictures on your album cover.
Be aware that the roof is not literally on fire.
Retire the word swag.
Stop trying to save hip-hop. It doesnt need saving.
You gotta lotta fuckin time on your hands. Literally…
You’re are real funny kid. You stole this article from about.com.
The only interesting line here is “Stop Getting Murdered by Em on your songs”
^all em’s good for these days guest verses, him album are awful
rap.about.com>>>>>>>>>HHDX
Em only murders Lil Wayne, Rihanna,…etc. Got murdered by Royce everytime they have ever been on a track together.
Hahaha….Em killed royce’s on..
A kiss
Take From Me
Welcome To Hell
I’m On Everything
Royce Kill Em on
Above The law
Lighters
The Reunion
Fastlane was even
Joe Budden and Crooked I kill loud Noises
And For u to say royce kills Em whenever they do a track is funny. Renegade was originally for Royce, remember ?
Bad Meets Evil on SSLP ? Em’s first line kills everything royce’s wrote.
WHERE IS APATHY????
where the FUCK is the Apathy album?????????
WHY THE FUCK IS APATHY’S ALBUM NOT ON HERE?!?!?!?!?!?!? That shit should be on here just for the track “Check To Check”! You people are all fuckin stupid!!
Apathy’s, “Honkey Kong” is not on here and is not mentioned anywhere. Not in “you like, we didn’t, or “we liked, you didn’t”. WTF are yall smokin DX? What is wrong with you? The only possible conclusion I can come up with is that you simply forgot about that album. The fuck is going on here?? Pac Div album better than Honkey Kong? Greneberg, Currensy, Random Axe better than Honkey Kong? I don’t even think Evidence’s album is as good as Ap’s album. I actually think Ev’s first album is better than the new one. WTF DX.
Here is the problem with Apathy’s album. The same problem alot of artists had this year. The album was tight, and all 16 tracks were good, but there were only 5 gems on the album (Check to Check, I Dedicate This to You, Never Say Never, Army of the Godz, and 1:52am) i gave it a rating of 6.6 out of 10. I really like the album, but it just didn’t have enough bangers to compete with other albums this year.
P.S. i don’t just throw a number out there like every other publication. i actually have a calculated formula that i use to evaluate the albums that i listen to, and the 10 point scale is just a generic figure of the real number.
ok…so where is “Success is Certain” at??
Success is Certain had 8 gems out of 13 tracks (Legendary, Writer’s Block, I aint coming down, Security, Second Place, My own planet, I’ve been up I’ve been down, and writer’s block remix) i gave it a rating of 7.3 which is not bad. It still made the list of albums to buy, just not top 25.
P.S. I have my own calculated formula in determining the actual buy value of an album, and the 10 point scale is just a generic version of the actual figure.
Here comes my “Stan” comment; How are they going to have Watch the Throne and not BME?
Co-Sign 101%
Because Eminem is washed up. Royce carried that whole album. While Royce is way better than Jay Z and Kanye, Em drags Royce down so much.
Did u just say Royce carried the whole album ??? Nigga What.
@cinavenom:
Em drags Royce down ? Bitch please.
I’m pretty sure the match up of who did better on the tracks between Royce and Eminem are even. He’s not washed up, you fucking clown. I’m pretty sure he’s better than Kanye and Jay Z, too. Royce definitely held his own and even bodied Em on a few tracks, but Eminem did the same shit. You’re a douche bag, cinavenom
^ Eminem needs to fix his vocal inflection, he screams too much for me, he’s annoying. he can’t pick good beats either. he could stand to improve subject matter too.
Chicago rilla
Your suggestions and opinions are irrelevant. Sorry! From SSLP-Recovery, Em never attacked a touchy subject matter. He’s a battle rapper, idiot. What do you mean he can’t pick good beats ? Are u a fan of beats or lyricism ? If u love beats so much, go listen to Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Drake or Kanye west.
you sound so fucking stupid, all I’m trying to say is less screaming relapse style and more rhyming, innovation & progression like on sslp & mmlp. Em hasn’t battled any one in years not since they all ganged up on easy targets *Jermaine Dupri & Ja Rule* (should that even count) you sound dumb as hell, you not a fan of real hip-hop you can’t even offer constructive criticism like i’ve been doing. real talk how old are you? if you think he can pick good beats then defend your statement with some intelligence, instead of insulting me like the idiot you are. When you give this dude eminem a pass for being lazy you insulting everything the dudes who came b4 him fought for. When Kool G Rap, Foxy Brown & LL Cool J got lazy people criticized them regardless of airplay or record sales. LL COOL J’S “HUSH” & “FATTY GIRL” WERE PLAYED NON STOP BUT CRITICS LET THAT MAN HAVE IT. People give the guy a pass, why because he whites? and if so that pretty racist. Listen right now Little Brother and the Roots are my favorite groups but I’m man enough to say “The Tipping Point” and “Left Back” were hot garbage because I’m objective. Yall dudes need to love hip-hop and not the artist so much, appreciate it when an artist takes pride in their craft and thats all I’m gonna say to the idiot who respond with insults yall are retards. my God even Wu-Tang has Garbage albums, but it doesn’t stop them from being legendary. When it’s your time, it’s your time to go.
How the fuck is Em washed up?? i guess when u the biggest rapper in the world the haters are gonna hate..but the flow and rhymes on Hell the Sequel are some of his best in years..he ripped many tracks on Recovery and even if u dont care for sales Recovery tore up the charts ..not to mention bringing lyrics back with Shady 2.0 signing slaughterhouse so washed up??? come on homie
This dude just said Eminem “can’t pick beats…” HAHAHA WTF? He has had Dr. Fuckin Dre producing for goddamn everything except his latest album, dummy! R U retarded?
Chicago rilla is a mad hater….All i can do is laugh..Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
Go check out some the criticism for Hell: The Sequel. http://www.metacritic.com/music/hell-the-sequel-ep/critic-reviews
Em is still killing it, boy. Don’t let ur hate and anger blind you.
no he actually produced most of his last 4 albums dre took a back seat so chicago is correct, and the man did say commentors would respond with insults and here you guys go lol and dr. dre has been spotty beat wise since the “Documentary”
huh?? Em produced most of his last 4 albums ? He produced half of Encore. Dre produced all of relapse(Besides Beautiful). Recovery featured various producers. What u talking about ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eminem_production_discography
Mind you most of the beats he had anything to do with are horrible
well most after renegade
Tragedy khadafis album, mega raw forever and sparta should’ve made the list.
This page is stupid,you seem lyk a bunch of haters u cant exclude weezy n drizzy n include kanye n jigga.evribdy knwz dat tha carter 4 n take care were the best album of 2011 n nt takin anythin away 4rm jigga n kanye.
Tech N9ne “All 6’s And 7’s” is A CLASSIC album!
Where do i begin, let me just say that i am a fan of Techn9ne. I’m from the westside of Chicago, the home of the fast rappers (Twista, Do or Die, Psycho Drama, Crucial Conflict, and Ludacris)so i can respect his style. What hurt Techn9ne in my book with this album were the 3 filler tracks (He’s a mental giant, F**k food, and You owe like pookie)they took away from the flow of the album, but he did have 9 gems. I gave all 6’s and 7’s a 6.6 rating. I own this album, and those are the only 3 songs i skip.
P.S. i don’t just come up with a number out of thin air like alot of publications do. There is a method to this madness, and the 10 point scale is a generic figure of the actual number.
HUH?? “He’s a mental giant” was one of the best tracks on that album, the fuck is you talkin about?!?!
I’m talking about ( Am i a psycho, I love music, Strangeland, The Boogieman, Cult Leader, Delusional, So lonely, Love me tomorrow and Promiseland)He’s a mental giant isn’t even on the same level as those tracks i just mentioned. I mean the track is okay, but i guess it’s not as bad as YOU OWE LIKE POKIE!
Its a very very good album (from the 10ish tracks I’ve heard) but to be a classic it needs to have done something not done before. It seems like typical tech n9ne, just slightly better.
Rap Music/Hip Hop Real Top 25 Albums of 2011
1.Median (The Sender) 9.2
2.Reks (R.E.K.S.) 8.8
3.Cunninlynguists (Oneirology) 8.8
4.Doomtree (No Kings) 8.8
5.Ab Soul (Longterm Mentality) 8.6
6.Kooley High (David Thompson) 8.6
7.Big Krit (Return of 4eva) 8.5
8.Asap Rocky (Live, Love, Asap) 8.4
9.Styles P. (Master of Ceremonies) 8.3
10.Young Jeezy (Thug Motivation 103) 8.3
11.Common (The Dreamer/The Believer) 8.2
12.Stalley (Lincoln Way Nights) 8.2
13.Bad Meets Evil (Hell: The Sequel) 8.2
14.Saigon (The Greatest Story Never Told)8.1
15.Raekwon (Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang) 8.1
16.Trae The Truth (Street King) 8.0
17.Evidence (Cats and Dogs) 8.0
18.Childish Gambino (Camp) 7.9
19.Vast Aire (Ox2010) 7.9
20.Kendrick Lamar (Section 80) 7.9
21.The Roots (Undun) 7.9
22.Ill Bill & Vinny Paz (Heavy Metal
Kings) 7.8
23.Locksmith (Embedded) 7.7
24.Rapper Big Pooh (Dirty Pretty Things)7.7
25.Staik Selektah & Action Bronson
(Well Done) 7.7
P.S. and i’ve listened to over 200 rap albums this year…
Yo man….you really think all of those albums are better than Honkey Kong?? U serious? C’mon son. No way. No way at all…
…And How many of those albums have you purchased? just asking…..
ASAP rocky is wack. No way was I impressed with that Houston wanna be ass niggas album.
But, you were impressed with Tragedy Khadafi’s album…6 out of 10 tracks were gems (Ill-uminous flow, Gorilla warfare status, The Wake Up, Still Breathin, Outstanding, and Best of Both Coast) You are absolutely correct, i actually gave Thug Matrix 3 a 7.5 rating. It missed my top 25 but it did make a list of albums to buy.
P.S. and i don’t just throw a number out there like every other publication, i actually have a calculated formula that i use to evaluate each album, and the 10point scale is just a generic figure of the actual number.
this is how i kno niggas is hating…WTT cant be garbage..it might not be what you’d prefer, but that album is far from garbage…rolling papers is garbage, get that currency shit out of here..take care is garbage, carter 4 is garbage…i had this nigga tell me WTT is garbage, he only like 6 songs on the album, 1 of the 6 songs is HAM!!!!! really???if u diggin half the album its not garbage, its not the best cd ever, but its for damn sure not garbage..stop the hate people…please..
happy new year
Man, HAM actually is one of the best tracks on WTT. That other shit was fuckin sad. At first, I fuckin hated HAM, then when I heard the album, I thought it was the best track on there. HA.
i guess its all opinion based. but if you really listen to this album from the production to the lyrics you’ll understand why this is one of the best albums this year. i also really like undun and section .80(this shit was damn near genius)
WTT was production only, 1986. Nothing spectacular about the lyrics. How can u say WTT is near genius ? Or Even half close to Section. 80 ? The Rapping on WTT ain’t even half close to the rapping on Bad Meets Evil, Come on. I love WTT, but i just love the beats….Thats All.
Lift Off–Major Garbage
Welcome to d Jungle—Major Garbage
That’s My Bitch—Major Garbage
Those are some major flaws on WTT
@ I doubt, I said section .80 was damn near genius… And personally “that’s my bitch” reminds me of an ol school, rooftop whoop dance track.. And welcome to the jungle is not garbage..sure, swizz beats screaming on the track is pretty lame, but if u listen to jay’s verse, it could easily be taken as a witty diss towards lil Wayne…”my tears is tatted, my rag in my pocket…”he’s saying these rappers won’t make it in the hip hop jungle.. It died in Vegas, though it fought so hard, I knew it wouldn’t make it(PAC died in Vegas)….I’m still big pimpin(RIP pimp c)…all those witty lines are explaining how rappers die in the jungle but jay is still here… Try to at least understand the concept of the song.. And lift off was made for concerts, I attended the show and lift off damn near tore the arena roof off. But that’s my opinion
@ 1986 why even respond to morons who love emninem & think ham is the best track on wtt. WTT is a 4 outta 5 barely, I like it not love it. Production is off the chain with the likes of the rza, Pete Rock and no i.d. Contributing. My favorite track is “The Joy” my least favorite track is “Ham”.
@Chicago Rilla:
What do u mean morons who love Eminem ? I’m not even an Eminem fan. That only reflects one thing, your hate for Em…So fuck off cause i don’t support hate. And btw, Eminem is a better rapper than Jay, even though i’m not a huge fan
I was referring to bizzalls , u brainwashed bastard
This clown Chicago mad cus Em is bigger , better and a more respected MC then Jay..Come on Jay knows he cant touch EM on the Mic…are u too slow to keep up with Hell the Sequel or just hating on the White Boy seems like a bit of both..either way they both top 5 of all time in my opinion so fuck it
@Annoy
You are Damn right. I figured out that people who hate HTS are does who are to slow and can’t keep up with Em and Royce. Wise words right there.
^ kill yoself for thinking em is the best thing since slice bred. I’ve realized that all young niggas think eminem is god and all his material is classic, I’m sorry you weren’t around for Mobb Deep’s The Infamous, Nas’s Illmatic, Jay-z’s Reasonalble Doubt, Raekwon- Only Built for Cuban Linx, Fugees- The Score, A Tribe Called Quest’s Midnight Marauders, Biggies’s Ready to Die, & De La Soul’s Stakes is High back in 94 or 95. Yall were just born in the wrong era………. Man! I got told encore was classic by multiple people in the last 4 days, I just feel sorry you guys cant experience the essence of what real hip-hop is & yall get this watered down bullshit. I’m not even upset anymore. but I will say I love hip-hop dx for not pushing bullshit like Bad Meets Evil onto the masses. I love that they gave Common, Saigon, Phonte & the Roots great ratings because they rapped about socially relevant topics that affected the youth. With these artist they just don’t focus on random metaphors, battle raps & freestyle (em’s specialties)…….. They are more well rounded. So of the topic these rapper write about em could never touch because he’s not as layered as them personality wise. I’m About to bump Gangstarr- Moment of Truth and yall have a great day
R.I.P. Kieth Elam if yall even know who that is, youngins
so im the one who wrote that comment if your too slow to keep up with Em and Royce..and im not sure what Chicago is talking about..Most Em fans i know arent youngins more like people 25 and up who remember when he first came up ..most teens have awful taste in Rap like wayne,drake,wiz ,gucci and shit like that..not sure how u can love real lyrical rap and hate on Em so much but w.e to each is own..doesnt stop him from being not only the biggest rapper but the most respected for his lyrical ability
and all those albums written up there are all great and ive heard them all.. cant understand the problem with Em ..he is as well rounded MC as anyone
so do you honestly think encore is a classic or near classic? be honest not biased
Chicago those are all great albums – arguably classic, but have you heard SSLP, MMLP, or TEM? Those 3 albums are incredible too. Also can’t believe you heard people saying Encore was a classic, thats hilarious. That album sucked, and this is coming from a huge fan.
the fuck! I agree with dude down there, where the fuck is Apathy’s Honkey Kong album at?????? DX must have somethin against him, I don’t get it. I went back and listened to the album today and that shit is pure fire. Maybe like 2 or 3 tracks where the beats coulda been a little better. Then I look up at the top 25 up there. Ain’t even in the top 25?? Sheeeetttt, dat shit is in my top 5 for this year!! The fuck is wrong wit these muthafuckas?!
ummmm aright lemme get one thing straight,
Where
the
fuck
is
Shabaaz Palaces
Doomtree(No Kings) was better, I couldn’t even listen to the whole Black up album…I got one for you, what about Vast Aire’s (Ox2010)
With no Lil Wayne Carter 4 i aint buying your list HX, No Take Care i aint buying… you can front all you want but i only listened to Drake and Lil Wayne albums, and i will NEVER STOP!!!! Nice try with hating though
wayne was dissapointing, drake was okay just too much singing
Wow so u like bad Low IQ hip hop huh? get off this site then
Its funny how you guys claimed to not have like J Coles Album, but put him on the Album of the year list. Take him the F**k down.
R.E.D. Album, Cole World and Weekend at Burnies’s House?
What is this based off user ratings? Yall said yourselves that Cole World wasn’t top album potential.
I downloaded most of these albums….only kept The roots, Kendrik, Rae, Beastie Boys, and Joell// The other either I didnt like or I could find on my fav torrent website…:D shit, I aint wasting money on hip hop now a days. If I do spend money on music in the future it’ll be to replace my Illmatic LP that got scratched
2011 was a great year for rap music. you mentioned the Beastie Boys and Joell, but what about albums by artists such as (Vast Aire, Ab Soul, REKS, Cunninlynguists, Big Krit, Saigon, Evidence, Ill Bill & Vinny Paz, Locksmith, Kooley High, Rapper Big Pooh, Phonte, Median, Skyzoo, Action Bronson, Pharoahe Monche, MOP, Royce da 5’9, Outerspace, Murs, Random Axe, Bronze Nazareth, Kool G. Rap, Techn9ne, and Jay Rock. This was a great year!
^ agreed 2011 was the best year in hip-hop since 2006, There were at least 45 to 50 listenable album/mixtapes that dropped this year.
*couldn’t
couldn’t find…
^no one is flawless house nigga
THIS LIST JUST GOES TO SHOW OF MUCH HHDX IS NOT AN EQUALLY DRIVEN HIP HOP SITE… I NOT A HUGE FAN OF LIL WAYNE OR DRAKE BUT YOU CAN NOT BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY IF YOU EXCLUDE THEIR ALBUMS BASED ON A GENERAL STAND…. YA’LL MAKE IT SEEM LIKE HHDX IS ONE PERSON OR PERSONS IDEA….. #WACKESTPOSTOF2012
damn “backpackers” get on my fuckin nerves
Wtf where is the JimmyJames album Golden Mic have you checked the wordplay & production skills on that album every track is phat.
Man, yU’s “the earn?” cmon son!! Shit is garbage just like his beat tape!!
pretty poor list. no mykah 9, no twisted insane no g-macc (not even a review for those 3, which is totally ignorant and embarassing)no brotha lynch no yelawolf, no bad meets evil ??? that’s really ridiculous. at least you finally recognized tech & kendrick. but waaaaaaay too late. tech putting out dope shit since over a decade and kendrick since about 3-4 years. but it needed a co-sign from wayne/dre that you finally noticed them. i’m afraid there are working many clueless little boys and girls at your site. i hope they educate themselves a little more in the future. it’s never too late though!
THIS LIST SOME STRAIGHT BULLSHIT…CURRENCY ON HERE BUT WAYNE NOT
this list is wack!!
nigga please
so lame as j-cole is on here, but Bad Meets Evil aint?? the fuckkk
Because bad Meets Evil was kind of disappointing, but it’s okay though. Every time someone from shady record doesn’t make a list how come you stans come on here whining? Like for instance people whining about yelawolf & slaughterhouse like they are rakim & wu-tang clan, come one gimme a break
Bad Meets Evil was dissapointing? That was the best of them both in years… beats coulda been better though.
@the other person, BME didn’t make it because its an EP.
^it didn’t make the list because it sucked, damn just be honest
Finally Famous, Rolling Papers, Carter IV should have a mention.
No Camp or Hell the Sequa? Those were the only two albums I could listen completely through.
Hell: The Sequel is an EP, and what Tane said ROFL
You have missed three of the albums of the year
Yelawolf- radioactive
Jay-rock- follow me home
Tech n9ne- welcome to strangeland
WTF
Royce da 59 had the best album of 2011 success is certain. Not even a ?
At least you remembered tech n9ne, but you missed welcome to strangeland which I think was a better album overall than 6’s and 7’s if you had to pick one.
DJ QUIK??!?! CANT BELIEVE YALL LEFT THAT OFF