Akira's top 5 albums of the year.
5. Nas-Street's Disciple
Don't let the relatively low appearance on this list fool you, the fact that this album came out last week and has already established itself as one of the 5 best albums of this year should tell you something. Olu Dara's firstborn steps to the plate with a double disc. Some will complain that there are only 10 minutes of music that couldn't fit onto a single disc, and therefore this album should've been cut down to make a single disc miss the point. The reason for two discs is because they are thematicly different. Disc one deals with the world around min and his community; the problems, how he feels about them and how to fix them. The second disc focuses on Nas growing up as a man. Embracing his role as a father and looking forward to leaving his old life behind and being a devoted husband ("say hello to the man, goodby to the gigalo") . A must own album.
4. Ghostface Killa-The Pretty Toney Album
God damn this boy makes some good albums! Not my favorite lyricist out of the Wu (that will forever be The GZA/Genius), but Ghostface somehow managed to be the most insanely consistant member of the group. Every album he has released has been a classic or near-classic. Nine years later, it is apparent who really was the star of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. Ghost toned down his usual mysterious slang filled verses for an album full of old-fashioned hip-hop, heavy on the samples, but no one will complain.
3. MURS & 9th Wonder-MURS 3:16 The 9th Edition
Finally! That was the word that came to my mind after listening to this disc the first time. Finally MURS found a producer he could vibe with 100%; and finally 9th Wonder proves to me that all the hype surrounding him was warented (God's Stepson and "The Threat" didn't do it for me). Easily the most soulful hip-hop album of the year, which is obvious if you are familiar with the individuals involved. MURS opens up his childhood, regrets and his love life for public examination, and 9th provides the perfect musical backdrop.
If you aren't familiar with them, this album could be described as The College Dropout only, you know, good. Everyone who praised Kanye West for being so "different" needs to sit down, listen to this album and realize what the rest of us already do. Kanye is a decent producer, who should never rap again in his life.
2. RJD2-Since We Last Spoke
Critics be damned, Ramble Jon Kron went ahead and made the follow up to his classic Deadringer LP. And it decidedly wasn't more of the same. Straying away from the soul and blues based samples of his first album, RJ decided to make more of a rock album. Electric guitars, crashing cymbol and vocoders show-up on here and make an entirely different yet equally tasty platter for starving fans. Kudos to RJ for refusing to play it safe, and in the process proveing that he can do no wrong.
1. Leak Brothers (Cage & Tame*One)-Waterworld
The best album of the year is a 14 track odyssey through a PCP-based theme park. No, that isn't a clever metaphore for the album; rather that is an acurate description of the theme of this "concept album".
This is Cage's second concept album in 2 years, and his latest attempt to fulfill his contractual obligations to E.C. Records before jumping ship to El-P's Def Jux juggernaut. And like a professional athlete in a contract year, he's going all out and delivers what is arguably his best performance to date. Tame*One is quickly proving himself among the elite rhyme spitters in the game.
Flanked from end to end by some of the year's best production (provided by El-P, RJD2, Camu Tao, Mighty Mi and others) Cage and Tame rhyme non-stop about thier love of PCP and what it inspires them to do("A mortal with water/ I'm borderline, Just bought a nine/
I'm painting pop-art with a bucket of fucking corporate minds/").
Like a dusted night on the town, words cannot accurately describe this album. Just listen to it and hear the best album of 2004 for yourself.
Honorable Mention
Handsome Boy Modeling School-White People
Nas-Illmatic 10th Anniversary
Modest Mouse-Good News For People Who Love Bad News
J-Zone-A Job Ain't Nuthin But Work
5. Nas-Street's Disciple
Don't let the relatively low appearance on this list fool you, the fact that this album came out last week and has already established itself as one of the 5 best albums of this year should tell you something. Olu Dara's firstborn steps to the plate with a double disc. Some will complain that there are only 10 minutes of music that couldn't fit onto a single disc, and therefore this album should've been cut down to make a single disc miss the point. The reason for two discs is because they are thematicly different. Disc one deals with the world around min and his community; the problems, how he feels about them and how to fix them. The second disc focuses on Nas growing up as a man. Embracing his role as a father and looking forward to leaving his old life behind and being a devoted husband ("say hello to the man, goodby to the gigalo") . A must own album.
4. Ghostface Killa-The Pretty Toney Album
God damn this boy makes some good albums! Not my favorite lyricist out of the Wu (that will forever be The GZA/Genius), but Ghostface somehow managed to be the most insanely consistant member of the group. Every album he has released has been a classic or near-classic. Nine years later, it is apparent who really was the star of Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. Ghost toned down his usual mysterious slang filled verses for an album full of old-fashioned hip-hop, heavy on the samples, but no one will complain.
3. MURS & 9th Wonder-MURS 3:16 The 9th Edition
Finally! That was the word that came to my mind after listening to this disc the first time. Finally MURS found a producer he could vibe with 100%; and finally 9th Wonder proves to me that all the hype surrounding him was warented (God's Stepson and "The Threat" didn't do it for me). Easily the most soulful hip-hop album of the year, which is obvious if you are familiar with the individuals involved. MURS opens up his childhood, regrets and his love life for public examination, and 9th provides the perfect musical backdrop.
If you aren't familiar with them, this album could be described as The College Dropout only, you know, good. Everyone who praised Kanye West for being so "different" needs to sit down, listen to this album and realize what the rest of us already do. Kanye is a decent producer, who should never rap again in his life.
2. RJD2-Since We Last Spoke
Critics be damned, Ramble Jon Kron went ahead and made the follow up to his classic Deadringer LP. And it decidedly wasn't more of the same. Straying away from the soul and blues based samples of his first album, RJ decided to make more of a rock album. Electric guitars, crashing cymbol and vocoders show-up on here and make an entirely different yet equally tasty platter for starving fans. Kudos to RJ for refusing to play it safe, and in the process proveing that he can do no wrong.
1. Leak Brothers (Cage & Tame*One)-Waterworld
The best album of the year is a 14 track odyssey through a PCP-based theme park. No, that isn't a clever metaphore for the album; rather that is an acurate description of the theme of this "concept album".
This is Cage's second concept album in 2 years, and his latest attempt to fulfill his contractual obligations to E.C. Records before jumping ship to El-P's Def Jux juggernaut. And like a professional athlete in a contract year, he's going all out and delivers what is arguably his best performance to date. Tame*One is quickly proving himself among the elite rhyme spitters in the game.
Flanked from end to end by some of the year's best production (provided by El-P, RJD2, Camu Tao, Mighty Mi and others) Cage and Tame rhyme non-stop about thier love of PCP and what it inspires them to do("A mortal with water/ I'm borderline, Just bought a nine/
I'm painting pop-art with a bucket of fucking corporate minds/").
Like a dusted night on the town, words cannot accurately describe this album. Just listen to it and hear the best album of 2004 for yourself.
Honorable Mention
Handsome Boy Modeling School-White People
Nas-Illmatic 10th Anniversary
Modest Mouse-Good News For People Who Love Bad News
J-Zone-A Job Ain't Nuthin But Work
VIEW 15 of 15 COMMENTS
I'm going to spend most of tomorrow burning CDs for Christmas, playing Knights of the Old Republic II and reading Daredevil.