Watts Up
03:00PM ET December 31, 2009
Contributor: Branden J. Peters
A Rocky Williform Company
West Coast underground king Glasses Malone has been heating up the streets of California for awhile since dropping his classic street album White Lightnin... Sticks. The Blu Division CEO has been through one deal and bounced back even stronger signing with Cash Money Records. His long awaited debut Beach Cruiser is set for a 2010 release. In the meantime Glasses is keeping the streets lit by consistently releasing material via whoisgmalone.com.
Here is Malone's non-political Top 10 album of the decade.
1. Jay Z –The Blueprint - The Best Rap Album Ever.
2. Scarface – Made - Face made his grand return to the mic and put out what I believed to be an unappreciated classic.
3. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter - Lil Wayne finally stepped into a true grown man's world with this album.
4. 50 Cent - Get Rich or Die Tryin' - Gangsta Rap returned to the mainstream in a big way.
5. The Game - The Documentary - The West Coast is Back...Did you miss us?
6. Young Jeezy - Thug Motivation 101 - D Boy music like never before!
7. Rick Ross - Deeper Than Rap - Don't front ni**a... this album is ridiculous. A couple less b**ch songs and it's a bonafied classic.
8. Rick Ross – Trilla – Yeah, so what, I like 2 Ross albums, not to mention Justice League's production.
9. Shawty Lo - Units in the City - Can't explain my attachment to this album. But man, it ain't a real street nigga breathing that didn't knock it.
10. Kanye West - Late Registration - Sophomore Jinx my ass, Mr. West came back retarded. Proper ass lyricism and even better production. This album also has one of my top 5 favorite songs of all time.... "We Major" which coincidently has my favorite Nas verse on it. Not to mention Lupe's verse from Touch the Sky!
Next Up
12:00PM ET December 31, 2009
Contributor: Hip Hop Blog Staff
A Rocky Williform Company
Dow Jones and Henny make up the production duo Tha Bizness. If you are not familiar with their name you should be. The Seattle natives made two of the most popular singles to be released in 2009. The minds behind Young Money's "Every Girl" and Young Jeezy's "My President" pretty much head locked the clubs and the street this year.
The Bizness is working on upcoming projects by Lil Wayne, T-Pain and Gucci Mane as well. They took time out from the studio to share their favorite albums of the last 10 years and an honorable mention. West, west ya'll.
Eminem - Marshall Mathers LP - This album took Em to the next level.
Jay-Z - Black Album - Grand opening, grand closing... or so we thought. This is as close as one can get to a perfect album.
Game - The Documentary - The feeling on the West Coast when this album hit the streets was incredible.
50 Cent - Get Rich or Die Trying - This is possible the best debut album ever! He had like 15 singles on this album.
Big Tymers - I Got That Work - The number 1 stunnas also had a lot of dope songs that kept clubs on fire.
Lil Wayne – Tha Carter Trilogy - Weezy decided to take the game over and he was not gonna be out worked by anybody and showed he could do it all on his own.
Kanye West - Graduation - One of the best produced albums. You could listen to the beats on repeat forever.
T.I. - Urban Legend - This album was the transition from Tip to the King of the South
Clipse - Lord Willin' - They shook the whole world up with their distinct sound and cocaine flows that were dope but had wide stream appeal at the same time!
Busta Rhymes - Big Bang - One of the most slept on albums of the decade... this was by far one of the greatest produced albums and Busta showed he could change lanes and give substance, style, and growth and do more than just party songs. He is one of the most consistent rappers ever and always able to stay relevant.
Honorable Mention:
Mac Dre - Genie of the Lamp - One of the games real tragedies. Dre was truly one of kind and complied some of his best raps on this one... gone too soon. Reality rap and fool with wordplay and his own version of storytelling.
The New South
12:00PM ET December 31, 2009
Contributor: Branden J. Peters
A Rocky Williform Company
Chalie Boy is one of the few rappers to make it out of Texas that is not from Dallas or Houston. The small town rapper /singer had been grinding for years with the Dirty 3rd crew, releasing a slew of popular mixtapes before he hit big with the single "I Look Good." Now signed to Battery/Jive Chalie Boy is working on his upcoming album.
Check out his 10 favorite albums of the decade.
T.I. - Urban Legend - Tip really came into his own on this album. "Bring Em Out," "ASAP," "You Don't Know Me," and "Motivation" were all bangers.
Rick Ross - Port of Miami - Ross came out with Hustlin' and it was a wrap.
Dr. Dre - Chronic 2001 - Really goes without explanation. Great production, Eminem and Snoop rhyming with Dre. (Editor Note: This album was actually released in 1999)
Eminem - Marshall Mathers LP - Em was just sick on this album. Subject matter was crazy, and his rhyme schemes, patterns and cadences were so unique.
UGK - Underground Kingz - Last album before Pimp C passed away. RIP Pimp C. UGK made it possible for me to be where I am today.
Young Jeezy - Thug Motivation - Jeezy hit the scene, he changed the whole vibe of rap music. Everybody started trappin after this album hit.
Kanye West - College Dropout - Kanye was just so unique with his subject matter and the production was crazy.
Jamie Foxx - Unpredictable - He made everybody forget that he was a comedian.
Anthony Hamilton - Coming From Where I'm From - He had such a unique sound and his music embodied so many different influences.
50 Cent - Get Rich or Die Tryin - 50 came in the game and took over. From beginning to end this is a classic album.
Got The Internet Going Nuts
12:00PM ET December 29, 2009
Contributor: Branden J. Peters
A Rocky Williform Company
With the decade rapidly coming to a close, HHB reached out to a few hip hop figures to see what music moved them most in the 2000's. The only criteria is the album had to be released from 2000-2009.
The People's Champ Paul Wall's list appears in no particular order. There are some expected selections (Paul and Chamillionaire's debut for instance) and a couple that will have you doing some research. Paul definitely knows his music and as you will see from the list he is Texas to the bone.
Paul Wall & Chamillionaire Get Ya Mind Correct
This was me and Koopa's 1st album. We really showed our skillz to our critics, our fans, and ourselves. This put us in the record books
T.I. Trap Music
So many hits on this album. With A-list features and production Tip really held it down on one of my favorite albums of all time
Z-ro Cracc
Man Z-ro is so underrated. This was our theme music for the entire year of 2008. The album was just like the title- CRACK
The Jacka Tear Gas
As an underground icon in the Bay, this album was highly anticipated and definitely worth the wait. Straight gangsta music.
Eminem The Marshall Mathers LP
It sold 1.76 million copies the 1st week with hits like "Stan" and "The Real Slim Shady". The production was incredible, and the lyrics were unbeatable. Em is one of the greatest to ever touch the M.I.C.
Lil Wayne Tha Carter
Go DJ was one of my favorite songs to play when I used to DJ at the clubs in Houston and Dallas. And when I heard "I Miss My Dawgs" it made me go back and buy all of the Hot Boys CD's all over again.
Young Jeezy "Thug Motivation 101"
Everybody in every hood in America knew 100% of all the lyrics on this album. "Standing Ovation", "My Hood", "Trap Star" and Snowman even had Jay-Z with him making the "dope boyz go crazy". 19 tracks of fire, without a doubt the best album of the decade
Jay-Z The Blueprint
My favorite Jay-Z album ever. I love "Song Cry", "Heart of The City", and "Renedade" with Eminem. The Production was game changing, with Kanye West, Just Blaze, Timbaland, and Bink. This was a great album.
Kanye West Late Registration
I love K-Dub's ode to boppers "Gold Digger" and "Drive Slow" was already a jam before I was on there (Editors Note: Wall appeared on the official remix to the song). "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" changed a lot of people's perspective on blood diamonds and shed a lot of light on the conflict.
The Game The Documentary
The Game came with it on here. "How We Do" was a serious club banger. "Hate It Or Love It" was another one that features my favorite 50cent verse of all time. "Dreams" was another one that stayed on repeat.
Crew Love
03:00PM ET December 23, 2009
Contributor: Mathis Bauchner
A Rocky Williform Company
It is truly rare for someone to possess enough cultural influence to make those around them famous. We're talking presidential fame. But if any hip hop artist, perhaps any artist period could do it, it would be Lil' Wayne.
Over the past few years, as he's risen from Hollygrove's finest to mainstream icon, Weezy's signing a plethora of artists to his Young Money label, mostly notably Drake, raps latest superstar. The YM umburella includes the veteran Jae Millz, from Harlem, Compton-native Tyga, Nicki Minaj, and the label's current president Mack Maine among others. With the introductory album, We Are Young Money, the crew attempts to introduce and in some cases reintroduce themselves to the world.
Unfortunately, with the exception of Drake, none are nearly as talented or as interesting as Wayne himself, but they do have a lot of sex. Starting with the hit single "Every Girl," the escapades of Weezy's boys take over the album thematically. To quick summarize: "Every Girl" is about fucking, well, every girl. The next track, "Ms. Parker," is about fucking Ms. Parker from the movie "Friday." Following that is "Wife Beater," which is about fucking one girl all day long. These songs have there moments. Mack Maine's line from "Every Girl, "In about three years holla at me Miley Cyrus," is brilliant, but overall they overdo it.
The rapping from everyone, excluding Drake, is mediocre, and Drizzy himself doesn't appear nearly often enough. He's on only 5 of 15 tracks, most notably "Pass The Dutch," which is a bit less sex-crazed than the rest of the album. The song features recent Young Money signee Short Dawg, and on his one appearance on the album he makes an impression. He's got a ton of swag and his verse is packed with enough witty metaphors and similes to make any Weezy aficionado proud.
Every Young Money artist, more or less, has adopted Lil' Wayne's taste for comparison-overkill. But while Weezy can giggle his way through verses likening himself to anything from a Martian to a cat, his costars stumble awkwardly with their wordplay. Hearing Mack Maine rhyme "parker," with "parka," with "park...UH" is painful.
But the production is solid, with two standout tracks from Chase N. Cashe, "Pass The Dutch" and "New Shit." The biggest name producer is David Banner, who turns in a wild horn-filled beat for "Streets Is Watchin,'" an otherwise pretty pedestrian track.
The biggest problem with the album is Young Money's lack of any feasible chemistry. Weezy appears on every track, providing the choruses for most, and his crewmembers pop in for verses. They attempt to standout as individuals, but their routine lyrics just end up blending together. If nothing else, the album reaffirms Drake's standout ability and Wayne's creative insanity. The rest of the squad has their moments, but they've got a lot of catching up to do.
