Top Ten Hip-Hop Albums
I’m early. But there isn’t anything of note that will be coming out in the next few weeks that might change this list. Except maybe that new GM Grimm. but I’m only wishing. So, let’s get it on.
This was a slow year for hip-hop. Much of this is indicated by the choices on my list. Outside of OutKast, no one truly made a stand-out album. No breakthroughs. No overwhelming new voices that emerged on the scene. Simply average music making this year. Too bad the young ones are following the 50 Cent model and making mixtapes instead of albums. Which has led to a lot of lyrical hype with very little substance.
Here are my top 10 albums of the year 2003:
01) OutKast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
One average album and one great album in one good package. Andre sings too damn much. And Big Boi raps better live than on tape. The production is top-notch. And The Love Below is why people should make albums. This is no compilation here. This is true album making.
02) Jay-Z - The Black Album
This album survives because of that Kanye West/Just Blaze production punch. Add the Neptunes and you just made yourself a half-listenable album. Sorry, but MC Paul Barman could get radio play with that combination. Jay-Z essentially sleeps through this album. He gives us nothing new. Everything that was done on this album was done better on the Blueprint. But nobody listens to a Jay-Z album for the lyrics anymore. Probably better that he retired.
03) King Geedorah - Take Me To Your Leader
This really isn’t an album. It’s more like several throwaway tracks given to some of Doom’s boys to rap over. The instrumentals were already out there. But that didn’t make this a less enjoyable album. Instead, enjoy the fact that Doom makes something good out of sampling himself. If only the Vaudeville Villain matched this albums level of listenability. Maybe if it had Doom’s own production behind his vocals. And this album might have been better if it had more of Doom’s vocals over his own production. Maybe next go around.
04) Tame One - When Rappers Attack
I like this album because it was short and sweet. I had a problem with its brevity on my first listen. But less is more. Or more than less. There isn’t a song that sucks. And there were several like Slick Talkin that stood out. If anything the album has you wanting more.
05) Jaylib - Champion Sound
Warning. The lyrics suck. The rapping sucks. But the production is nice. If credible rappers had spit over this, it would have ranked higher. But they don’t. The first 9 songs are club bangers. Jay Dee does a better job over Madlib’s beats than Madlib does over anything. Madlib’s beats are dirtier. Heavy is car speaker music. In fact, the entire album is better listened to on a long journey somewhere.
06) Madlib - Shades Of Blue
Madlib creates new instrumentals through the use of old Blue Note songs. Most of the samples are recognizable. Many have been used before in other hip-hop compositions. This adds and subtracts from the enjoyment of this album. You would think if you had the entire Blue Note catalog at your disposal you’d pick samples that have never been used before. Still, many of the songs are put together nice enough to warrant a smile.
07) GangStarr - The Ownerz
What Run-DMC was to the ol’ skool era, Gangstarr is to the Golden Age underground. Plus, Premier brought in the third era of hip-hop with the Return of the Boom-Bap. Underground producers copied his style for years. Now they seem to be coasting on that greatness. Nothing special here. But like Soul Position, better than the rest of the pack. Plus, I still love hearing scratched in samples, and Premier is one of the best DJ/Producers out there.
08) Soul Position - 8 Million Stories
Second of the two good DJ/Rapper collabos. This one falls short of expectations. This should have been the album of the year. Still, a pretty good release featuring standard DJ production and rapper lyricism. The topics range from MC-battling to social commentary. Not a must have like many expected. But better than the rest of the pack.
09) 50 Cent - Get Rich Or Die Tryin’
Sorry dudes. But I like Dr. Dre’s production. And this album survives because of it. 50 by himself is worthless. Just listen to the G-Unit album. But you lace a bunch of Dre-produced singles together with several Eminem sightings and some studio gun-clapping and you have a hit. There’s a reason why folks love In Da Club.
10) Raekwon - The Lex Diamond Story
Too many guest shots by his new Ice Water Family. Not enough Ghostface/Raekwon collabos. Ghostface and Raekwon go together like chocolate and peanut butter. Peanut butter and jelly. Jelly and rolls. Still, a good release with several recognizable samples, and a song structure that didn’t spell “sell-out” like his last album. Definitely wasn’t disappointed like with Gza’s album. And it was better than the average Movement by Inspectah Deck. The Wu-Tang album the average Clan-head won’t hate.
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