This is my top 40 albums. I wrote a mini review for each one, but if you want the straight list no chaser you can check that out on my Tumblr.
1. G-Side - THE ONE…COHESIVE
This album is amazing. Powerful music. G-Side raps truly inspiring raps about struggle and grind and triumph over production by Block Beattaz and other like-minded producers is EPIC production and moving as hell. G-Side actually put out two albums this year, The One…Cohesive and November’s iSLAND. I like both, but Cohesive is definetly the better of the two. If you want more of my thoughts on G-Side, and on iSLAND check out my post on Mishka’s Bloglin.
Something odd about THE ONE…COHESIVE is that there are a number of songs with these almost “top 40” or “bubblegum” style hooks but they DON'T SUCK. These tracks are concentrated near the end of the album Nat Geo, Moneyintheskyii and How Far have guest-sung hooks that could be on the radio. I usually totally hate shit that sounds like the hooks on those tracks. But, G-Side makes it work I think by truly pouring their heart into those songs. What makes bubblegum/top 40 shit not work is that it isn’t creative and has no heart. But G-Side has creativity and heart in abundance.
Also, it’s important to note that the ONE…COHESIVE track Pictures uses a slightly remixed version of Clams Casino’s Numb beat which A$AP Rocky recently used for his song Demons.
G-Side’s “Pictures” is a song about a girl sending naked pictures “she got no panties on…” while Rocky’s version is about overcoming obstacles. That’s just kind of funny. Rocky did the typical G-Side subject matter on that beat, while G-Side did the unexpected and made the pensive, meditative Clams beat into a sex song.
Speaking of that….
2. Clams Casino – Beat Tape/ Rainforest EP
Clams Casino does not make typical hip hop beats. At all. Like many the first Clams-produced track I heard was Lil B’s “I’m God.” That is a beautiful fucking song. Clams can effortlessly create this deep, beautiful soundscapes that, interestingly, you can rap over.
His “Beat Tape” isn’t exactly an original album since it is all instrumentals he gave to rappers, but with or without lyrics, the beats are intense. Not intense in a Lex Luger intense way, but kind of the opposite. Luger beats are equally deep and complex, but they’re angry. Clams makes music that’s sad but not depressed. Just check out "Natural" off Rainforest and you'll see what I mean:
Also, to keep comparing dude to Lex Luger, many people can imitate Lex’s sound (but none can do beats EXACTLY like he can…) but I have seen ZERO Clams imitators. I’m sure producers would love to copy that sound especially since it showed up all over A$AP Rocky’s super successful "Live.Love.ASAP" mixtape, but I don’t think anyone can even COME CLOSE to making a Clams beat.
3. Frank Ocean – Nostalgia/Ultra
For a while, The-Dream was the only guy doing something “different” with R&B. R&B is probably the most commercial and bland music around. Dream reinvigorated it by daring to be vulgar and ridiculous and creative. Frank Ocean definitely would not exist without Dream, but also not without Odd Future.
Frank was supposed to have a Def Jam deal, but after that fell through, he linked with Tyler and OF and took the DIY route. My friend Spencer first told me about Nostalgia/Ultra, calling Frank “Odd Future’s The-Dream” my thought was “What? How can they have an R&B singer in the group?” But, Frank’s unorthodox songwriting “I’ve been wating to fuck you in the forest,” his unique swag and his totally original personality make him VERY Odd Future.
Frank is a great storyteller “I went to see Jigga she went to see Z-Trip” and also a great singer in the sense that he can put so much emotion into songs it’s really powerful. “Swim Good” and “We All Try” are moving and there’s real emotion on there. And, rework Coldplay with “Strawberry Swing” and his Eagles rework “American Wedding” take pretty crappy songs and inject them with life and color. His voice is also pretty damn beautiful no homo.
It’s ironic that Frank got two guest spots on Watch The Throne since Jay and Kanye are very “Def Jam.” Those guest spots are almost a return to Def Jam, a return that he got to through the Odd Future, Do It Yourself path. Music is changing. Labels are getting less and less necessary and that really shows it.
4. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up
The funkiness of Digible Planets brought into 2011, Shabazz Palaces make futuristic soul music a.k.a "experimental hip hop" with driving beats and sometimes weird singing. Ishmael Butler who used to be Digible Planets' Butterfly spits abstract lyrics with the same oldschool energy he had when he first started rapping. Despite hard to follow lyrics there is always and easy hook to follow on these songs which keeps them funky. For example, check out "Swerve...The Reaping Of All That Is Worthwhile (Noir Notwithstanding)"
"Swerve" is super catchy but also pretty damn strange. It's stuttering beat is great but definetly unlike anything else. And, Butler says these weird, stream-of-consciousness idiosyncratic things that can be even more out there than Doom. T
The song titles are all that absurd, too. "Swerve" isn't even the longest song title on this album. Most are longer for example: "Endeavors For The Never (The Last Time We Spoke You Said You Weren't Here. I Saw You Though)" his album has some of the best hip hop beats in a while but it's too bad a lot of people slept on it. WAKE UP.
5. Fucked Up - David Comes To Life
I am not this huge fan of hardcore, but Fucked Up do it in this unique way where it's really beautiful music.
Damian Abraham is less of a hardcore screamer vocalist and almost more of a spoken word artist. On David Comes To Life he tells stories and gives this like inspirational advice almost in his screaming. This is not just "I hate my life!!! Fuck you!!!" screaming.
Plus, the music is so damn epic. David Comes To Life isn't just a concept album, it's a rock opera. Now, I don't understand the story they're telling at all. But, that doesn't make this album suck.
They pull off their Rock Opera so well that it works as just plain awesome music regardless of whether you're invested in the story or not. I've heard from people who did figure out the story that it's complicated and really great, I just haven't been able to understand it myself. And That's not Fucked Up's fault. It's mine.
6. WU LYF - Go Tell Fire To The Mountain
WU LYF's singer Ellery James Roberts sings with the voice of a goblin who barely learned english. You cannot understand what he grunts. And, with song titles like Cave Song and We Bros these dudes sound like they emerged from the underground out into the fields of England and wanted to make punk music or something.
However, despite the "primal" nature of this band, their music is incredibly beautiful. Check out the album's single Heavy Pop very orc/goblin title right? It's misleading. This shit is neither pop nor is it heavy. It's this slow-building triumphant song. Pretty damn amazing. If they are goblin people perhaps when they first came out the cave the sun blinded them and when they recovered their vision the world was incredible...Or something.
WU LYF's name stands for "World United Lucifer Youth Foundation" but for devil worshippers this is lovely shit.
7. James Blake
Prior to his self titled album, James Blake put out a bunch of experimental dubstep stuff that was great, but very different from the stuff on James Blake. Blake's self-titled album is R&B to me. It's definitely in the same realm of spacey, dark R&B like How To Dress well or Active Child.
Blake's use of silence on this album is impressive. This is the best use of "negative space" in music I've ever heard. For example, check out "I Never Learnt To Share":
This song is both a dark and meditative track AND it's funky. That's true for the whole album. Blake's Feist cover Limit To Your Love is incredibly soulful and the album's last track Measurements too. "Measurements" is almost like a gospel song. Well, it's got the soul of gospel. It's not religious, of course.
8. Tune-Yards - W H O K I L L
Smith College Alum Merrill Garbus makes crazy music. The drums bang with these carribean rythms and her voice is this wild chanting no other human but she can make. If you haven’t heard Tune-Yards, that makes it sound like her music is like tribal “go to war” shit (and she actually wears war paint at her live shows. I’ve seen it) But it’s not war music. W H O K I L L is actually really playful and over the drums and the booming voice she has playful saxophone and bass lines bop around.
W H O K I L L is truly a one of a kind album. This is experimental music you can dance to. Check out the "experimental dancing" in the "Bizness" video:
9. Kanye West & Jay-Z – Watch The Throne
When “H.A.M” came out I thought: “Okay, Watch The Throne is gonna suck.” “H.A.M” isn’t awful, but it tries kind of too hard. I can see why they tried so hard with that track. Kanye and Hov over a Lex Luger beat has a ton of expectations. And, while “H.A.M” is kinda fun, it also isn’t really good.
I expected a whole album of “H.A.M” like stupidity from Watch The Throne, but that turned out not to be the direction they went. In fact, “H.A.M” is a bonus track and not even on the main album. Last year, Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was my #1 album. And, I’m glad they took a Dark Twisted Fantasy approach to Watch The Throne rather than the “H.A.M” approach.
Watch The Throne is definitely epic, but not in an overdone way. These are two of hip hop’s biggest dudes, and they show us why. When they brag on Watch The Throne (“Otis,” “Who Gon Stop Me,” “That’s My Bitch” “Gotta Have It”) they swag it out completely. When they’re introspective (“New Day,” “Murder To Excellence” “No Church In The Wild” “Welcome To The Jungle”) they both actually have something to say that we care about. And, of course, when they’re triumphant (“Lift Off,” “Made In America,” “Why I Love You”) It’s like the biggest fucking celebration ever.
Why I Love You may be my favorite track actually. Ron once pointed out to me how Jay-Z frequently talks about how he’s supported people only for them to fuck him over and “Why I Love You” is another of those songs. But, it doesn’t feel like “Just another Hov complaining song.” He isn’t whiny on this (and Jay-Z never “Whines” but complain can get old…) he’s got this super righteous presence on the track and paints himself as a warrior as a superhero who’s rising above the bullshit and who now forgives his enemies. Plus, Mr. Hudson’s hook is amazing. I have not liked ANYTHING Hudson did previous to this. And that goes back to what I said earlier about pop/bubblegum singing on songs.
Hudson was always tryna reach for a club hit or something and it sucked. But, the “Why I Love You” hook is so purely joyous and powerful you can’t help but like it. I find Hudson’s voice annoying, but on “Why I Love you” Kanye wisely threw this intense echo/vocal transformation on Hudson to make it work. I love Kanye and Jay-Z, I always have. And I am so glad they’re team-up album is good. And not only good, it’s great.
10. AraabMuzik - Electronic Dream
Horror movie anthem maker a.k.a MPC Genius a.k.a Dipset producer Araabmuzik surprised us in the Spring with an album of all House music remixes. But, it is DOPE. This man's drums alone are something all the young Dubstep makers could learn something from.11. The Weeknd - House Of Balloons and Thursday
Drake's homie the complex R&B singer Abel a.k.a The Weeknd put out two mixtapes of incredible, game-chaning R&B this year. I like his first tape "House Of Balloons" better than "Thursday," but they are both this depressing party music that is really quite beautiful shit.12. A Band Called Roots - Undun
I actually wrote a shitload about this album. It's in another post on Ronblog, though.13. DJ Quik - The Book Of David
Veteran west coast beatmaker/rapper DJ quik put out his best album yet this spring. Quik branched out from the G-funk sound he made his name producing and got more experimental with his beats.He branched out into the electronic and he used unusual samples, too. Songs like Babylon and Hydromatic are very far from Quik's original sound but are excellent.
14. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes
Lykke Li improved MUCHO on her first album Youth Novels. This album brings darker beats and more interesting lyrics to the table. With a title like "Wounded Rhymes" you'd expect the album to be super emo, but Lykke keeps a sense of humor "sadness is my boyfriend" and made a really great pop album here. For years "Pop" was a negative word to me. But, with this album (and with Cults' album which I'll get to later...) there may be this "underground pop" emerging. Like, shit that's not on the top 40. But, maybe should be?15. Kendrick Lamar - Section 80
The massively talented Kendrick Lamar is easy to sleep on. Section 80 is an incredible album and almost is like the good version of CAMP I think. If you want a rapper who's witty and observant and can entertain AND have something to say you need to wake up to Lamar. And to his whole Black Hippy crew (Kendrick, Ab-Soul, Jay Rock and Schoolboy Q)Just check out "Riggamortis" and you'll see what I mean:
This dude is like the reincarnation of Gift Of Gab. Well, only if it's possible to have a reincarnation when you're still alive...
16. Drake - Take Care
I expected "Take Care" to suck. There was just so much hype. And, it took a while for Headlines to grow on me, too.Drake stepped shit UP after Thank Me Later. His first album was good, but not great. It had some jams. Drake is beyond just making "jams" now though. Every song on Take Care is well thought-out and he pours his fucking heart and soul out on this album. Even the clubby track with Minaj Make Me Proud is more than just a club song.
I also love that, by naming this "Take Care" and sampling Gil Scott-Heron on the album's title track, Drake has also made this a kind of tribute to Gil Scott-Heron who died this year.
Drake also covers Back That Azz Up near Take Care's end which is just amazing.
17. Main Attrakionz - 808s And Dark Grapes II, Chandelier and Blackberry Ku$H
Main Attrakionz Squadda B and Mondre M.A.N definetly work hard to stay relevent. These dudes are PROLIFIC almost to Based God levels. These three releases I've got on this list aren't even the only shit they put out this year. But, they're my favorite.
Both Attrakionz have these near whiny flows that they really make work. They have so much to say "If I don't don't cry cuz I ain't live that wrong" and have this wild production behind them. When they linked with Julian Wass and L.W.H for the Chandelier EP they basically rap over these oldschool videogame music soundscapes for example.
Main Attrakionz are refreshingly creative and honest dudes and are making some of the most interesting music around right now let alone the most interesting hip hop.
18. Big K.R.I.T - Return Of 4Eva
I'm not sure if I like last year's K.R.I.T Wuz Here or this year's Return Of 4Eva better. Both K.R.I.T mixtapes are high quality Southern hip hop.
David Banner's appearance on the Return Of 4Eva track Sookie Now is an excellent team-up for K.R.I.T not only because both guys are from Mississippi but both rappers can move effortlessly from conscious talk to ignorant bragging. I'm not saying K.R.I.T and Banner are exactly the same, but they are both much more than they seem at first. If you just heard Banner's hilariously explicit sex jam Play or K.R.I.T's triumphant southern rap anthem "Country Shit" you'd think both of them didn't have a conscious bone in their body.
However, more of K.R.I.T's Return Of 4Eva is actually introspective and conscious rather than the oposite. On songs like My Sub or Rotatin My Tires K.R.I.T's car talk actually shifts into more meditative thoughts on his life "leave my worries behind. Pretend that I'm paid"
K.R.I.T is a conscious rapper, but he's unafraid to admit he likes nice cars and girls and drugs as much as the next man. He's also unafraid to be conscious and talk about deep things like how he calls out the music industry on American Rapstar or how he (in one of the album's most bold moments) sings vulerably about a dead friend on the powerful Vent. Last time I watched the Vent video the top comment was "this dude raps like a person" meaning he's real. He's down to earth. That's such a great way to put how K.R.I.T is I had to quote it.
On K.R.I.T Wuz Here, Big K.R.I.T said "yeah I'm country as a motherfucker but my lyrical content is crazy! And I make my own beats!" as a dismissal to haters. I think that statement really puts K.R.I.T in a nutshell. That's exactly why he's so damn awesome.
I mentioned "Country Shit" earlier and that song returns at the end of Return of 4EVa in remixed form featured two of the biggest southern rappers ever: Bun B and Ludacris. As a real student of the southern rap scene, K.R.I.T must've been honored those guys jumped on his song.
I saw Bun B tweet recently (on the anniversary of Pimp C's death) "Pimp C would've killed Otis and Country Shit." That's because Big K.R.I.T can create that southern sound incredibly well. Big K.R.I.T is bringing back the classic southern hip hop, but he's also moving hip hop forward.
19. Bon Iver
This is Bon Iver's second album, but odly their first self titled one. The first album is called For Emma, Forever Ago and Bon Iver definetly changed their sound up from that.
While the first album (and the Bloodbank EP) were pretty routed in folk, the self titled second album is more like ambient music. The album is like a bunch of beautiful sounds floating around that's sometimes hard to take because it's pretty damn powerful shit.
You can't even understand the lyrics. Justin Vernon's voice really becomes just another instrument in the weird, but amazing heavenly atmospheres the band created with this album.
20. Tyler, The Creator - Goblin
It's funny Odd Future is so popular not only beacuse they're so awesomely abrasive with their music and rowdiness, but also because their music (especially Tyler's) is fucking WEIRD.
Goblin is even stranger than Tyler's debut Bastard and actually more angry/emotionally intense. I love this album, but I think some people had a hard time with it because it is sort of experimental and VERY aggressive. I love that, even when Tyler makes a song about shooting his friends, it doesn't get contrived or stupid. Tyler is this interesting guy who, in person, is fun-loving and goofy, but who makes such intense and gruesome music. Maybe that's why it works. Somehow.
21. Danny Brown - XXX
Danny Brown's XXX is pretty insane shit. The beats sound like robot's post-apocalypse hearing Lex Luger beats they dug up and trying to re-create them. Danny attacks those beats spitting crazy ass statements about excessive drug use and giving girls head. Among other things.The album is completely ridiculous and entertaining, but also has a seriousness under that. Danny Brown has a sense of humor, but he is opening up to us in his own strange way. And that's VERY apparent on the album opener "Scrap Or Die" where he uses his normal voice (instead of the high pitched, nasal voice he normally raps with) and tells a very honest story about robbing abandoned houses with his uncle.
22. Lil B - I'm Gay
Earlier I called Main Attrakionz "prolific," but Lil B invented prolific internet rapping. I have no idea the number of mixtapes dude released in 2011. I could count but I won't. My favorite Based God release is his actual album I'm Gay which I love for it's awesome title as well as it's songs which are some of Lil B's best shit.
This is not Lil B's "swag music" (he only says swag once on the album) but rather his weirdo introspective stuff. It's great and the production is top notch most notably on the Clams-produced Unchain Me, The Keyboard Kid-Produced I Hate Myself and the BigBoyTraks-produced I Seen That Light
Thank You, Based God.
23. Cities Aviv - Digital Lows
There's been a lot of great spacey hip hop this year maybe because as the world gets more and more fucked up we get more trippy. Some of us get Juicy J trippy and fuck strippers and ride on our enemies. Some of us get Cities Aviv and Main Attrakionz trippy and we contemplate our lives.
I originally thought Aviv was from L.A since he reminds me a lot of Living Legends era stuff. But, he's from Memphis. While much of the south is very similar in their hip hop sound, Cities Aviv has taken a non-regional approach. His music is unique and his voice echoes over jazzy, bright beats. You can hear the fun Aviv is having over every beat, but despite being an overall playful album, Cities Aviv isn't just having fun.
On the album opener Black Box he says "Babies Killing babies with their finger on the trigger" and he has another song where the hook is Come On Let's All Die Young (which has a great 80s beat) and another where the hook is Fuck Everybody Here. and another is "SixSixSixes" where he spits "I see the devil in the details / I see the devil in these females" over a beat that sounds like an orchestral Mobb Deep track. So, it's not all fun and games here.
Hands down, the best track on Digital Lows is Meet Me On Montrose (For Ex-Lovers Only) The beat flips an excellent sample and Cities Aviv meditates on an old relationship in a very real way, something we don't hear in modern hip hop at all. Recently, Aviv released a new song (that's not on Digital Lows) called W E T D R E A M that uses the same sample, but slows it down which is definetly worth checking out, too.
Cities Aviv sounds like he doesnt' listen to any other hip hop and just listens to Jazz. Or maybe just Gangstarr or something. He doesn't care what other people are making he's just being himself. And that's refreshing.
I also have to note that the last track on Digital Lows is a hip hop version of Modest Mouse's Float On. But, it is not the gigantic, top 40 crap anthem Lupe Fiasco made. This is a simple, foggy version of Float On, something I think Modest Mouse would be much happier with. Something the corporate radio would never play.
24. Terius Nash - 1977
Terius Nash a.k.a The-Dream got pissed at his label and gave us this straight up GEM of an album FOR FREE at the end of August. 1977 is more creative R&B from the guy who made the genre creative for the first time in a while.This album has a "man scorned" feel for the most part since Nash obviously had a rough break up. But, rather than whine and bitch about the break up (something no one wants to hear) he keeps a sense of humor "I hate to have to crash your wedding with this shit." But, even when Nash jokes around he still is putting real emotion into these songs.
Also, Pharrell spits a ridiculous double time verse on This Shit Real which is a technically great rap as well as a lyrically hilarious thing too. So, I had to note that.
25. A$AP Rocky - Live.Love.ASAP
Rocky kind of came out of nowhere and got a 3 million dollar record deal. He has a lot of hype, but he is a very talented rapper and works with a lot of great producers. Rocky's lyrics aren't really what makes him that interesting, but rather his presence on songs which is super cool and charismatic.
Rocky also has a knack for coming up with unique and different ways to flow on beats. I guarantee dudes are gonna try to copy the "Bone Thugs" sound now that Rocky has done it on two tracks on Live.Love.ASAP. Rocky also completely MURDERS the experimental beat for Brand New Guy which features the always turnt-up Schoolboy Q and both of them rap in these very strange rhythms on that beat which are worth checking out.
I guess I can't not mention the south's influence on this young Harlem dude's music. I've always been a fan of southern hip hop and Rocky really pays homage to a lot of the classic southern shit on Live.Love.ASAP especially UGK and DJ Screw. He's not biting that stuff, but rather re-introducing it to the swag generation I think.
26. Curren$y - Coverte Coupe, Weekend At Bernie's and Verde Terrace
Curren$y and the Jets continue to put out quality, jazzy weed rap. He linked with veteran producer Alchemist for the 4/20 release Covert Coupe and changed up the typical Curren$y style a bit over some dark, East Coast Winter style production.
Curren$y collaborating with Freddie Gibbs and Prodigy is not something I expected, but it happens on Covert Coupe. Both Gibbs and Prodigy have this intense, gangster sound while Curren$y is laid back and tells stories on those beats. However, both the Gibbs-featuring Scottie Pippens and the Prodigy-featuring The Type work VERY well.
The "Verde Terrace" mixtape and the Weekend At Bernie's album are both also solid Curren$y releases. The standout track on "Terrace" is definitely the chill Dom Kennedy collaboration Hennessy Beach and the standout on Bernies is She Don't Want A Man which is one of the few songs where Curren$y sticks to one theme the whole time and also it has an almost Block Beattaz type beat (a.k.a it sounds like they sampled Enya).
27. Action Bronson - Dr. Lecter and Well Done
Action Bronson has so much fun rapping it's really hard not to have fun listening to him.
The fact that he's "a chef rapper who's a white guy who sounds like Ghostface" could be a real gimmick he could run with, but really that was never Bronson's mission. That was just what us Bloggers kept labeling him as.
Action Bronson does indeed rap about food a lot, but he has a very different vocabulary and presence on songs than many other rappers even than Ghostface whom we compare him to all the damn time.
I like Dr. Lecter more than the Statik Selektah collaboartion Well Done, mostly because Dr. Lecter has different production. Party Supplies' near big band beats suit Bronson perfectly. Bronson is good over over the Statik Selektah jazzy beats, but I think the more up tempo stuff on Dr. Lecter brings out the best from him.
28. Juicy J - Rubbaband Business (1 & 2) and Blue Dream And Lean
Juicy J put out three excellent mixtapes about (to quote J) "popping pills and fucking strippers" this is amazingly produced ignorant rap and Juicy working with Lex Luger on the first two Rubbaband Business makes total sense since I feel like Lex's whole style was influenced by Three Six's Most Known Unknown album.
I love both Rubbaband Business tapes (although I like 2 more than the first), and Blue Dream is actually Juicy's best release this year in my opinion. You can check out my Blue Dream & Lean review over at Mishka.
29. Balam Acab - Wander / Wonder
This is some beautiful electronic music. I originally thought Balam Acab was another of these generic "witch house" producers who popped up all over the damn internet last year. But, he doesn't make witch house. He makes experimental music that is floaty yet beat driven at the same time.
I could see Balam producing for guys like Rocky or Main Attrakioz or Lil B actually. But, Wander/Wonder isn't hip hoppy really. It's hard to pin this stuff to a genre, but it's amazing and even more amazing when you're on one.
Balam Acab is also an incredibly awkward person in interviews.
30. Cults
Doo-Wop influced pop group Cults created an album that's really just fun but genuinely fun. Like unadulterated fun. I guess that's another way to describe this idea I have about "pop that doesn't suck" Or maybe "pop not poop"
Their singer Madeline has a perfect voice for duplicating that old Doo-Wop sound and a perfect swag for it, too (she's also really hot). Cults remind me of the Ramones songs or the Misfits songs those guys did that were randomly Doo-Wop. Every Cults song is like that. Every Cults song is also kinda like the random She & Him tracks that are Doo-Wop (the only good She & Him tracks...)
They also add this weird edge to their "pop" sound by throwing in samples from Cult leaders occasionally. Yes, that is a gimmick, but having samples helps keep them a notch away from totally innocuous which I like.
31. Wolves In The Throne Room - Celestial Lineage
I am not a metal fan. But, this album is beautiful music. My homie Spencer told me to check this album out since he's FAR more into metal than I am. Wolves In The Throne Room create intense music spaces that definitely gets at something more than metal.
This album is ambient, orchestral and weird in a pretty powerful way. I think the song title Astral Blood really sums up this album. The music is kind of colorful and...well, celestial, but also has a real nasty earthy darkness to it at the same time. I am trying to like metal more since I do recognize metal musicians are some of music's most technical and talented players.
If you're like Nick Vogt and you want to give metal a chance when you haven't' in the past this album is a great start especially if you like weird and interesting shit.
32. Freddie Gibbs - Cold Day In Hell
Freddie Gibbs is one of the few up and coming rappers I actually would classify as "gangster." He is like a thug Kendrick Lamar in how funky and inventive he can flow on a beat.
The "Cold Day In Hell" mixtape is Gibbs' first release after linking up with Young Jeezy's label CTE. The best thing that could've happened to Jeezy was the corporate industry NOT supporting him. Jeezy's music got much more creative the more he had to struggle to get it heard. Gibbs has always been hungry on the mic and while I think Jeezy isn't as talented as Gibbs, there is something similar about their music. On Twos And Fews they make a pretty great rap team.
Speaking of Team-ups, This mixtape has a lot of high profile guest spots (Juicy J, Freeway, Dom Kennedy) but the guests never overshadow Gibbs. They just work VERY well together.
33. Oneohtrix Point Never - Replica and Ford & Lopatin - Channel Pressure
Oneohtrix Point never has been making trill ambient music for a while now, but Replica is his best work by far. Many of the songs on the album are made from samples from 80s commercials and it really is crazy what Oneohtrix was able to do with that. The single Sleep Dealer is a very good example of the kind of strange, immersing music on this album.
This dude is definitely a music genius and he put out not only one album this year, but two. The second is a team-up with Joel Ford from Tigercity. Channel Pressure is a very different sound than Replica. With Ford, Lopatin created an album of 80s style dance music that's bright and really just fun shit. Channel Pressure is what I wish chill wave sounded like.
34. Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact
This album (and this band) is weird as hell. In the best way. Eye Contact is a series of creepy yet danceable music that sounds like it was made by some cult who worship a giant, psychedelic snake. And, maybe they do.
Mindkilla is definitely the album's best track although the bizarre, 11 minute intro Glass Jar is a runner up for that.
35. Spaceghost Purp - Blackland Radio 66.6
Speaking of cults and worshiping weird shit, Spaceghost Purp introduced himself to the internet with this strange ass mixtape. Spaceghost comes off as this demon man. Like if the devil wanted to make a mainstream trap album (but he played a lot of Mortal Kombat and liked Godzilla a lot, too) his album would be "Blackland Radio."
Spaceghost's voice changes throughout the mixtape in these weird ways, too. The mixtape's first two tracks really show how he can go from intense and devilish with Possessed to more playful (though not too playful) with the ridiculous Suck A Dick For 2011. The mixtape's incredibly low quality production adds to how satanic it is. It feels like listening to some kind of haunted mixtape you never were supposed to hear and now it'll unleash H.P Lovecraft monsters onto the world...or something. But, it's also fun, too. Which is weird. But, That's probably why I love the mixtape so much.
Main Attrakionz and Sortahuman show up at the mixtape's end for the 8 MINUTE Lex Luger beat (except Spaceghost made the beat) posse cut Stoner Gang which is incredibly entertaining and goofy "Listening To Underground Shit Playing Mario / Call Of Duty Black Ops!", but also a legitimate fight song, too.
36. m83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming
This album will probably be most peoples' number 1. I like M83 a lot and I think this is definitely his best release. Also, if I were to make a "best songs" list (which I won't attempt since this list was enough work...) Midnight City would be number 1. But, the reason it's not higher on my list is because I like the album but I wish more tracks stood out.
A lot of the songs blend together into this beautiful, epic soundscape but only really the Zola-Jesus featuring Intro the aforementioned Midnight City and the awesomely strange Raconte Me Une Histoire - where a little girl tells a story about psychedelic frogs over a video game beat--truly stand out for me. "Histoire" is definetly the most successful M83 spoken word song since in the past they've all been pretty lackluster (Car Chase Terror for example)
This is the most solid M83 album as one unit, but I want more huge tracks since EPIC is what M83 does best. The last M83 albums have all had some pretty damn lame songs (Kim and Jessie) and some truly excellent ones (Coleurs , Skin Of The Night , Lower Your Eyelids To Die With The Sun). And that makes me have to compare the two albums.
As a whole, consistent album Hurry Up, We're Dreaming is M83s best, but only really "Midnight City" can compete with some of the best songs from M83's past. I guess I wanted a whole album of "Coleurs" level songs. That's too much to ask probably. This is not a negative mini review at all. This is the best M83 album by a landslide.
37. Com Truise - Galactic Melt
Despite a kind of stupidly goofy name, Com Truise makes great music. His stuff is groovy and futuristic in a really playful way. Galactic Melt is not a post apocalpytic future, but a bright one. All of Com Truise's music reminds me of the future they thought of back in the 80s. Maybe that's because of this video I'm not sure.
His music also really reminds me of Kratfwerk, their sound just updated for the 2011 world where saying "Computer Love" means a far less sci fi thing than it did for Kraftwerk. Galactic Melt's song Flightwave especially reminds me of that.
A couple albums that came out this year did chillwave "right." Well, maybe a better way to put that is they used chillwave elements right. Chillwave's playful synthiness is definetly present on Com Truise's stuff, but his drums bang in a very different way than the lackluster crap of Washed Out or Toro Y Moi. Com Truise almost has AraabMuzik drums on his songs. They're just a bit less intense.
I've seen Com Truise live, and for as futuristic and lazery his music is, you'd expect him to be a nerdy guy. But, it's sort of funny because he's this huge bald guy.
38. Zola Jesus - Conatus
Two years ago if I made a list of "Best Album Covers" (which I've never done and probably never will do, but bear with me...) Zola Jesus' Stiridulum EP would've won. Her face dripping with black goop is incredibly strange and kinda disturbing and it fit that EP's music perfectly.
Zola Jesus makes these sort of electronic music dirges. Slow-moving dark shit that kinda flows along just like that goop (turns out the "goop" on the Stiridulum cover is chocolate syrup). Conatus isn't a new sound from Zola, but it is kind of a slightly evolved sound from her previous stuff. She definetly experimented more with different synth noises and different drum beats and many of these tracks are more triumphant than her past songs. If it's possible for dark, gothy music to get triumphant it does on Conatus.
As a singer, Zola Jesus is truly one of those people I'd say "her voice is an instrument" because she chants almost monk-style on songs. I usually can't figure out what she's saying. And that's alright. She is this tiny person with this booming, gregorian monk voice which is pretty funny. And cool. For a great example of the "monk voice" check out Seekir where the beat litterally has a loop of Zola chanting on it.
39. Mr. Muthafukin eXquire - Lost In Translation
Mr. Muthafukin eXquire sort of came out of nowhere with his "Lost In Translation" mixtape. It had a little buzz online and then suddenly he had a remix of Huzzah (the tape's best track) featuring HUGE people. Das Racist, El-P, DANNY BROWN and the RETURN of Despot?
With "Lost In Translatio"n (and the Huzzah Remix especially) eXquire may have singlehandedly brought back Def Jux and the years that label was prevalent in hip hop. Or, ushered in a new era of Def Jux. Or something. Lost In Translation uses a lot of classic El-P beats and Huzzah is produced by Necro, a dude I haven't heard from in some time.
Lyrically eXquire is totally grimy. He has a ton in common with Danny Brown since he talks a lot about drugs and drinking (he drinks more than Brown) and the shitty condition of his neighborhood. But, also like Mr. Brown, eXquire is more than just a drug-listing rapper.
On songs like Maltese Falcon part 1 and 2, eXquire tells a ridiculous (and awesome!) story that reminds me of Blackalicious' classic Cliff Hanger (that's the second time I've mentioned Blackalicious in this post which is interesting). On "Nuthin Even Matters", eXquire describes depression not in a whiny way but in a unique and detail-focused way "Jimmy Neutron's on / This is my favorite episode / the one where he goes through a time warp to meet himself when he is old / and he ain't shit / I guess that I relate"
Unfortunatly, eXquire does have some lame tracks on the mixtape where he does get whiney. On "Lovesponge" and "Build A Bitch" he loses his sense of humor and complains about girls not in a totally annoying way, but in a way that's unlike the other songs on "Lost In Translation." But, those two tracks are really the only low point.
40. Phonte - Charity Starts At Home
Rap wiseman Phonte finally put out a propper solo album post-Little Brother this year. After three R&B style albums with Nicolay as Foreign Exchange (two which were all singing albums) Phonte's Charity Starts At Home is a pretty serious rap album.
Phonte has always been very witty and definitely hasn't lost that. Hearing him trade bars and talk shit with Median on the Charity Starts At Home track Eternally is awesome, but he's not just a punchline rapper or a battle rapper. Much of this album has a message and while the Foreign Exchange albums were largely about celebrating love and were positive, Charity Starts At Home has many tracks about struggling against the difficulties of life and struggling against unhappiness.
The Good Fight, for example, has a hook that goes "Pushing me all to the brink / A stagger in my footsteps and I don't even drink" and Ball And Chain is (as the name suggests) about feeling trapped in a relationship. On Sending My Love Phonte has to talk himself out of chasing girls and cheating on his wife.
Big K.R.I.T and Evidence appear on the album's most triumphant and hater-dismissing song Life Of Kings But it isn't this huge, epic song. It's chill and understated in the way the best K.R.I.T and the best Little Brother songs are. The whole album is laid back and soulful, but that doesn't mean it lacks substance. At all.
I also need to note that Phonte shouts out Lil B not once, but TWICE on Charity. The first time is on the album intro Dance In The Reign where he says "Let that boy saute'!" and the second time is on the aforementioned Eternally where Based God is the last dude he mentions during the song's outro shoutouts "Lil B that's my mans and them"
* * *
Honourable Mentions:
(in no particular order)
CunninLynguists - Oneirology
Dom Kennedy - Original Dom Kennedy and From The Westside With Love II
9th Wonder - The Wonder Years
Actual Proof - Still Hotter Than July
Neon Indian - Era Extrana
Rapsody - Return of The B Girl and Thank H.E.R Now
Ski Beatz - 24 Hour Karate School 2
Tabbi Bonney - The Summer Years
Murs - Love And Rockets
Mckenzie Eddy - Young Platinum
The U.N (Cam’Ron & Vado) - Gunz n Butta
Sepelcure
Smith Westerns - Dye It Blonde
Speak! - Inside Out Boy
Zomby - Dedication and Nothing EP
Casey Veggies - Sleeping In Class
Jamie xx and Gil Scott Heron - We’re New Here
Evidence - Cats & Dogs
Das Racist - Relax
Lakutis - I’m In The Forest
SBTRKT
Youth Lagoon - The Year Of Hibernation
Cut Copy - Zonoscope
Katy B - On A Mission
Burial - Street Halo
The Field - Looping State Of Mind
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath, 1972
Dopehead - Plaid Palm Trees
Chip$ - Couch Potato
Blu - Jesus, Open and God Is Good
Fatima Al Qadiri - Genre Specific Xperience
Grimes - Geidi Primes
Ice Age- New Brigade
Ab-Soul - Longterm Mentality
The Black Keys - El Camino
Young Bleed - Preserved
Waka Flocka Flame - DuFlocka Rant, Lebron Flocka James 3 and Twin Towerz 2 (with Slim Dunkin) and
Gucci Mane - Writings On The Wall II and Ferrari Boyz (with Waka Flocka)
Llyod Banks - Cold Corner 2
PJ Harvey - Let England Shake
EMA - Past Life Martyred Saints
Fabolous - The S.O.U.L Tape
Active Child - You Are All I See
John Maus - We Must Become The Pitiless Censors Of Ourselves
Nicolas Jaar - Space Is Only Noise
Panda Bear - Tomboy
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