I fell out of love with Hip Hop early in the decade and only came back to it in the past few years, so the middle of the decade does not feature highly in my top ten, but we have had a good decade of rap, although perhaps not as good as the previous. My top ten is:
10. The Recession (2008) Young Jeezy (Corporate Thugz Entertainment/Def Jam)
9. Food & Liquor (2006) Lupe Fiasco (1st & 15th/Atlantic Records)
8. Quality (2002) Talib Kweli (Rawkus/Universal)
7. The College Dropout (2004) Kanye West (Roc-A-Fella/Island Def Jam)
6. The Fix (2002) Scarface (Def Jam South/Universal Records)
7. Let's Get Free (2000) Dead Prez (Loud Records)
6. The Mouse and the Mask (2005) MF Doom & Danger Mouse (Epitaph Records)
5. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II (2009) Raekwon (Ice H2O/EMI Records)
4. Phrenology (2002) The Roots (Geffen)
3. Stankonia (2000) Outkast (LaFace/Arista)
2. Electric Circus (2002) Common (MCA)
1. Hell Hath No Fury (2006) Clipse (Re-Up/Star Trak/Jive)
I know number 10 is a bit controversial, but I love that album! 2002 was the strongest year by far, three classic albums dropped. Only two NYC MCs made the list, which reflected how the decade went, but 2009 was the comeback year for the home town of Hip Hop and the next decade looks rosy for them.
Damn it I just noticed 2 on there that I missed on my list. I love 'The Mouse and the Mask' and I forgot that 'Stankonia' was out in the 00s.
ReplyDeleteI regret not including 'Train of Thought' by Reflection Eternal on my list, in fact, I might edit it later and replace The Recession (which, the more I think about it, doesn't deserve to be on the list).
ReplyDeleteBut 'Train of thought' was 99 wasn't it?
ReplyDelete