Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums of 2004: Part 2

Wednesday, December 15th, 2004 @ 5:24 pm | Uncategorized

Day Two. Let’s continue on our journey to what I believe were the tightest hip-hop cds of 2004.

At number 9 is My Own Worst Enemy by Edo G featuring Pete Rock. You know Edo G, that Father to your sperm, dude. I honestly don’t remember anything else relevant this dude has done. But Pete Rock, well, we know, Pete Rock is the draw, why most people would buy this cd. Pete Rock does most of the production on the 10 track album, while Edo plays the C.L. role and just raps (Just do my beats, beyotch and let me do my job, hoe. That’s all you gotta do is my fuckin’ beats). These aren’t Pete Rock’s best beats, and Edo G isn’t one of my favorite rappers. But Edo updates his flow and delivery, and Pete Rock’s average shit is better than most producers’ greatest tracks, which results in creating one of the most impressive releases of the year. Pete Rock should’ve produced the entire album though. All he had to do is produce 10 tracks, instead of 7 he provides (lazy bastard). But the other producers come through, especially on Wishing, where Masta Ace continues to impress this year as elder rap statesman.

At number 8 is the weeded out Leak Brothers with their self-titled debut. The Leak Brothers consist of Cage and Tame One. This cd continues where shit like Nighthawks left off, where Cage joins with another Weatherman Crew member to produce somewhat of a concept album, this time all about extra strength weed. I wondered if the theme would hold up through an entire album, and the truth is, it really doesn’t matter. Because this shit is all about mood and attitude. The first half of the cd is standard rap shit, J-Zone, weed talk, Camu, more weed talk, RJD2, and even more weed talk. But by the second half, this shit goes into full Cage territory, you know, that weird, death, druggie, crazed out type shit, especially on the tight Delerium, and the eerie Dead. Hell, even Tame One channeling Slick Rick on Druggie Fresh comes off far more moody and horrific than the Doug E. Fresh party shit it was based on. And that’s good. If you dig that Necro/Cage white boy horror shit, you’ll definitely’ll be able to get into this.

Now we reach number 7 with Handsome Boy Modeling School and White People. Handsome Boy is Prince Paul, former De La Soul and GraveDiggaz producer, and Automator, producer on Dr. Octagon and Gorillaz. There second album goes more into the rock territory. The singing tracks work better than the rapping tracks. I was suprised that I’d enjoy Jack Johnson and John Oates more than I would Casual and Rza, especially since Jack Johnson sucks almost as much as John Mayer. But suprisingly I dug the white boy shit more than the hood shit. This cd is at its best when it’s in mellow mode, which is most of the time. The only real misstep I noticed was with the Chino Moreno, El-P & Cage collaboration The Hours. Chino’s awful singing ruins an otherwise dope track. The song doesn’t kick into high gear until Cage and El-P break on the scene. Also, the skits aren’t quite as funny as they were on on How’s Your Girl. That Chris Elliot sample is killer. But overall, this shit works. So, go get it.