The Unheard Thoughts

The Year In Review: The Best of 2011

Every year, probably thousands of albums are released by hip hop artists. Some of them are good, some of them are bad, and some of them are great. 2010 and 2011 have been two of the best years for hip hop that I can remember in a long, long while. Now that the year is wrapping up, far quicker than I expected (once again), it’s that time that people are going to start putting together their “Best of 2011” lists. That being said, here are the ten albums and 5 honorable mentions that I think everyone should hear from this year. I only chose from the albums that were released before the thirteenth of December, so Common and Young Jeezy don’t get nods on here, as I haven’t heard them yet.

First off, here are the honorable mentions. They don’t get a write up, these are just some of the albums that I feel as though were very good representations of where hip hop is (or should be) in 2011, but aren’t quite good enough to make it into the top ten.

Honorable Mentions (in no particular order)

Jay Rock - Follow Me Home

Wale – Ambition

Atmosphere – Family Sign

CunninLynguists – Oneirology

Nappy Roots – NappyDotCom

And now, starting with number 10, the top ten hip hop albums of the year (obviously in my opinion).

10. Pac Div- The Div

Pac Div exploded onto the California hip hop scene a few years back, and they’ve been on a relentless grind ever since. Four mixtapes  and an EP have led us to their debut album, The Div. On the twelve track album, the Pacific Division cover a range of topics over enjoyable production. The album is perfect for just hanging around, going on a late night summer drive, or partying like it’s 2011. All of the rappers are very talented individuals, and as a group the chemistry is incredible. Best song: The Greatness. The No I.D. production and the lyrics combine for a standout on the album, and also a standout for the year.

9. Evidence- Cats & Dogs

Evidence, of Dilated Peoples fame, has always been one of my go to rappers on sunny days when I’m driving around, despite his constant rain metaphors. The bass knocks, and Mr. Slow Flow drops lyrics covering a surprising range of topics on the album. DJ Premeire blesses the excellent You, and The Red Carpet featuring Rass Kass & Raekwon has Ev holding his own next to two greats on a thumping, New York sounding beat. In fact, I’ve never heard such a California sounding hip hop album that still sounds so much like New York as well. Hats off to Ev for delivering on the promise shown on his debut solo LP.

8. Murs & Ski Beatz – Love and Rockets, Vol 1: The Transformation

Murs has always been one of my favorite rappers, so it’s no surprise that I loved this album. But he’s always been one of my favorite rappers because he’s one of the best and most consistent hip hop artists in the game, and this album only strengthens that legacy. Murs gets real on Animal Style, flexes his story telling chops on 67 Cutless, has some fun talking about hip hop and love on the appropriately titled Hip Hop and Love with Tabi Bonney, and talks that relationship shit on Remember 2 Forget that he’s become so well known for. All of this, and I haven’t even mentioned how dope the beats that Ski Beatz serves up are. This whole one rapper/one producer thing has been making a solid return, and these two do it as well as anybody in the game.

7. Pharaohe Monch – War

Pharoahe Monch is something of an enigma in hip hop. Being part of Organized Konfusion in the late 90’s and dropping two dope albums set Monch up to be a successful solo artist, but with Internal Affairs being shelved due to sample clearance issues, and Desire taking a solid 7 years to come out, his talents were clearly underutilized. War changed that though, as the album is a bold statement about the industry, the state of the country, and the state of hip hop in general. The production serves its purpose well, as the beats are cinematic soundscapes that are perfect for Monch to show off his lyrical dexterity and large vocabulary. From the militaristic sounds of W.A.R. with Immortal Technique and Vernon Reid to the soul on Black Hand Side with Styles P and Phonte, Monch crafted an album that speaks volumes about some major topics. Not to mention that the video for Clap is one of the best videos to come out this year.

6. Action Bronson – Dr. Lecter/Well Done

This is slightly unfair, as it is both of his albums that dropped this year, but I wanted to put both of them on the list, and as the writer, if I choose to cheat, so be it. Action Bronson has done something that isn’t done very often in hip hop anymore: he made two tremendously enjoyable hip hop albums that harken back to the golden age of New York hip hop without trying or setting out to do so. The food references, vivid imagery, flow, and production on both albums makes for some of the best east coast hip hop that’s come out in long while. Sure, the Ghostface comparisons are somewhat valid, as they both have similar vocal inflections and flows, but Bronson’s rhymes are clearly his own and after digging a little deeper, it becomes clear that the similarities stop there.

5. The Roots – Undun

The Roots have been in hip hop for more than 20 years, and they have put out dope album after dope album. This is their 13^th studio album and it’s just another artistic leap in The Roots’ incredible catalogue. This is their first stab at doing a concept record and they do it very well. The beats are typical ?uestlove dopeness, and Black Thought further solidifies his spot as the most underrated emcee to come out of the East Coast. The story isn’t a particularly compelling one, but the examination of the protagonist’s psyche is what makes this album lyrically stand out a cut above the rest. Black Thought can really write the fuck out of an idea, and that shows throughout every one of the veteran emcee’s verses.

4. Kanye & Jay-Z – Watch The Throne

What more can really be said about this album? Two of hip hop’s colossal heavyweights combine for an album that could have happened several years ago, but finally blessed our iPods this year. Kanye is clearly at the top of his game for this album, as he generally outshines Hov; however, Hov is not much of a slacker either. They both come correct on nearly every track, and the production only enhances the greatness of the album. Combine all of that with two features from Odd Future singer/songwriter Frank Ocean and we have what is not the best album in either of their catalogues, but what is a damn good album and clearly one of the best to drop this year.

3. Saigon – The Greatest Story Never Told

This is kind of an unfair pick because it was scheduled to drop in 2005, and anybody that has an additional six years to work on their debut should make one very dope album. And normally I wouldn’t include something like this, but Saigon didn’t just drop a very dope album. He took the time with it and, with Just Blaze at the helm on the production tip, dropped one of the best modern east coast hip hop albums of the past few years. The production throughout is classic Just Blaze, and Saigon rips through beats with a thug’s passion that is seldom heard in today’s estrogeneration (word to Big Ghostfase) of hip hop artists.

2. Tiron & Ayomari – A Sucker For Pumps

Unfortunately in hip hop, sometimes an artist goes overlooked despite continuously dropping dope project after dope project. TiRon and Ayomari happen to both fall into this category, but they are working hard to change that. A Sucker For Pumps is a concept album about women, and it is one of the best and most interesting hip hop albums I’ve ever heard. The production is very, very smooth and is perfect listening for almost any situation. Lyrically, TiRon and Ayomari are similar enough that the chemistry is strong yet different enough that they are easily distinguished on any track. The lyrics are clever, the concepts are strong, and the feelings are easy to relate to. If you don’t support any new hip hop artists this year, at least buy this cd. You won’t be disappointed.

1. Kendrick Lamar – Section 80

And that brings us to the best album to drop this year, Kendrick Lamar’s Section 80. Kendrick Lamar is a special rapper, the likes of which I don’t believe we’ve seen since Tupac, and the Kendrick we get on this album is a direct descendent of Tupac’s lyrical lineage. Few rappers can switch from social commentary as poignant as on “Keisha’s Song” to a straight battle rapping lyrical barrage on “The Spiteful Chant” with as much skill as K-Dot can. No Make Up is a song encouraging women that are victims of domestic violence to get help, and it’s extremely dope on top of that. The beat by J. Cole on HiiiPower is phenomenal, and Kendrick rips it in a way that few rappers would be able to. All of that being said and I haven’t even touched on the fact that Kendrick Lamar currently has one of the top 5 flows in hip hop. Add the dope features and amazing production to the mix, and what we are blessed with here is a classic hip hop album. People aren’t saying the things that need to be said, and Kendrick isn’t afraid to be the one that says it. I’m really hoping that he continues to get the backing that he deserves, because K Dot’s only going to get better, and let’s face it: Hip hop needs him.