Top Hip-Hop Albums

Best of 2012

"Ka - Cold Facts"

Grief Pedigree is my favorite album of this past year. It's not accessible music; it's dense, dark and painfully raw. It is also highly emotive -- a throwback without sounding dated. Brownsville MC Ka did something similar to what Roc Marciano did with Marcberg in 2010. He created an album that peeked into the psyche of the run of the mill hustler-turned-rapper persona. But while his partner in rhyme was a bit flashier, Ka seemed weathered and vulnerable. Every single track on the LP is fantastic, full of lines rife with meaning and references that hint at an artist that takes his craft dead serious. Hip-hop is at its best when you can believe the artist. If an MC can make you feel as though they are speaking in confidence and only to you, that is a mark of greatness.

"Kendrick Lamar - Money Trees Ft. Jay Rock"

Even though I'm a contrarian, hating would-be iconoclast, I won't cut off my nose to spite my face. If any so-called hip-hop head tries to tell you Kendrick's debut was wack or anything less than impressive, they deserve further questioning. The Compton MC was seen by many as the mainstream MC that could bring substance back to the masses. I don't know about all that, but the boy can rhyme, and he put together a hell of an album. good kid, m.A.A.d city was able to teeter the fine line of being different enough but still within the confines of the modern mainstream, and within those very limited parameters Kendrick was able to deliver something that still felt very much human. With a rhyme style that owes much to Andre 3000, Kendrick refreshed the hood as a setting in hip-hop. From the introspective to the somber to the turnt, Kendrick did his thing. Plus who else do you know that is calling MC Eiht in 2012 to get on a major label album?

"Nas - The Don"

Nas will never be Nasty Nas of the early 90s, who had a chipped tooth and got his first piece of ass smoking blunts with hash. He is nearing 40, he's a business man, and at some point we're going to have to accept that. Life Is Good was a reminder that even living in a lightly populated tax bracket, Nas is still capable of delivering strong hip-hop. I'm not listening to Nas in 2012 with the same mind and ear that I'm listening to Ka or Blu. In 2012, Nas' peers are more folks like Rick Ross and Jay-Z. Life Is Good was extremely high production; it was glossy and flashy, but it was also enthralling, exciting and interesting. Nas was a bit sharper with the pen than in recent years, and he was tackling songs with a creative edge I hadn't heard since Stillmatic.

"Sean Price - Bar-Barian"

Sean Carter is nice, but Sean Price is the best. The Brownsville Bomber (that makes two MCs from the 'Ville that made this list) delivered Mic Tyson after promising the LP for the better part of three years. The wait was worth it; I think it's his best solo LP yet. This album is strictly for the die-hards. You cannot be a casual rap fan and enjoy Sean Price on all levels. He doesn't deviate from his specialties, but boy does he do them well: inflicting physical harm unto you and others, hating rap and rappers, how good he can rap and occasionally sprinkle a line about selling drugs or his family. There is a magic in the way Sean P delivers his verses, in the honesty and vulnerability he shows through his work. You never take him completely serious, but you also don't take him lightly. A grown man who is still effectively making hardcore hip-hop music for grown folk deserves a golf clap.

"House Shoes - Dirt Ft. Oh No, Alchemist, Roc Marciano"

House Shoes has spent the better part of his life and pretty much the entirety of his professional career helping dudes get on. Finally, after building a waterfront condo on the backburner, Shoes did his motherfucking thing and dropped that full-length he had been talking about for so many years. Let It Go started out as an instrumental record, evolved into something with a few guest spots, and eventually blossomed into an 18-track LP with over a dozen vocalists and interludes, completely self-produced. As a friend, it was awesome to see Shoes produce something that so accurately reflected how much of a curmudgeon, sweetheart and music nerd he is.

"Thee Satisfaction - Queens"

For whatever reason, I never got into Shabazz Palaces, but I'm damn glad I got into THEESatisfaction. These two fly young ladies created a wonderfully varied effort for their debut LP, Awe Naturale. Self-produced, these young women sang and rapped their assess off on tracks that ranged from feel-good to ominous to cerebral, often times a mix of all three. They made it look easy.

"Blu & Exile - Seasons"

Well, duh. I've followed both of these talented crazies' careers closely in the past several years, so this LP got tons of rotation this year. It's great. Blu's back on his melancholy poetic ish that so many of you have asked him to go back to, and Exile has evolved as a producer in the short five or six years since Below The Heavens.

"Roc Marciano - Nine Spray Ft. Ka"

Roc Marc is the man. He made heads pay attention with Marcberg a few years ago, and his sophomore effort Reloaded seemed to hit the right buttons for 2012. Old heads, jaded fans and throwback aficionados were thrilled to find a cat that brought the feeling of mid-90s grimy East Coast rap to the now. Why so low on this list then? While Reloaded boasts some of the most oddly intricate and immaculate bars this side of MF DOOM, it doesn't have the cohesion and direction of Marcberg. His debut LP had songs with themes, structures and all that jazz, while Reloaded sounds to me like Roc showing off how nice he is. I ain't mad.

"Main Attrakionz - Bossalinis & Fooliyones Pt. 2"

I was kinda salty that this young North Oakland duo's "proper" debut LP this year did not live up to the bar they set in with 808's & Dark Grapes II. Since the latter came out on vinyl in 2012, and since I've banged it a ton this year, I still consider 808's one of the best hip-hop LPs of this year.

"Knxwledge - mysunshine."

This dude is nuts, and he releases way too much shit, so there's no way I could have picked just one project. Dig through and enjoy.