2009 in Hip Hop

January 1st, 2010 | By shiraz

Looks like 2009 has come to an end, but it was certainly a great year in Hip Hop. As commercial c-Rap continues to deteriorate into more and more mindless garbage, the fundementals of hip hop are alive and well. With some great new Canadian releases and lots of great American hip hop, 2009 had alot to offer! Big props to alot of the members of Wu-Tang on their solo projects this year GZA, Raekwon, Method Man, U-God and Ghostface (I hope I’m not missing any), they all had fairly decent albums, and some of them were really good (GZA and Raekwon’s were unmissable!). The new Wu-Tang album Chamber Music was also a great success.

There was alot of innovative music that came out this year, notably N.A.S.A.’s The Spirit of Apollo and The Black Key’s BlakRoc. If you missed those albums you better check them out soon. Good to see people working to expand the definition of Hip Hop past its conventional boundaries, without resorting to the mainstream gimmicks that many have.

I have to say though, the most impressive release of the year was definitely K’Naan’s Troubadour. With amazing lyrics and extremely tight production, I have no hesitation in calling it the best album of the year. The album also has a quality which makes it easy to listen to over and over again, with a number of tracks that jump out right away as classics (Take a Minute, ABC’s, Bang Bang), but then many others that on the second and third listen through have a quality in which they are “discovered” through listening to the album again. The choice of featured artists was also great. I was happy to hear Damian Marley, Chubb Rock, Mos Def, Chali 2na among others on tracks which they stepped up to the plate and kept the vibe going (except maybe Mos Def who flopped his verse a bit). Even if you listened to the album, I’d reccomend going back and listening to tracks like Somalia, People Like Me and America which you might have missed the first time through. Again have to give props to the production team, who as far as I can gather were the Track and Field team made up of Gerald Eaton and Brian West, because all around the instrumentals on the album were pure genius! Enough on that subject for the time being, but I’m certainly looking forward to what K’Naan will come out with in the coming years (Especially excited to hear what he contributes to Distant Relatives, the new Nas and Damian Marley project scheduled for release in March 2010).

Alot of generally solid albums came out so here’s the break down of the Top 20 Hip Hop Albums of 2009

1. Troubadour- K’Naan
2. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2- Raekwon
3. Ecstatic- Mos Def
4. Fish Outta Water- Chali 2na
5. Survival Skills- KRS-One and Buckshot
6. Takeover- Zion I
7. BlakRoc- The Black Keys and Damon Dash
8. Lost and Found 8.0- Guru and Solar
9. YES!-K-Os
10. CONquest- Madcon
11. Pro Tools- GZA
12. Us- Brother Ali
13. Self Explanatory­- Classified
14. Attention Deficit- Wale
15. Born and Raised- Cormega
16. Jay Stays Paid- Jay Dilla
17. Stay Driven- D.O.A.
18. The Spirit of Apollo- N.A.S.A.
19. The Pulse of the People- DJ Green Lantern and Dead Prez
20. Seventh Seal- Rakim (A bit disappointing, but still a fairly decent album, especially the track Holy Are You)

Thanks to everyone who made Hip Hop listenable in 2009 and look out for these artists and others in 2010.

Most anticipated albums of 2010?

Nas and Damian Marley- Distant Relatives
The Roots- How I Got Over
Reflection Eternal- Revolutions Per Minute

There are more, but those are the major ones…

Happy New Year!

Naturally 7 Concert Review

October 20th, 2009 | By shiraz

On Sunday night (October 18th) I had the pleasure of going to see Naturally 7 at the UVic Auditorium (Thanks CFUV!) I didn’t know too much what to expect, but I was absolutely blown away. Basically what they do is what they call “vocal play,” essentially they re-create an entire band on stage using only their voices. Not only did they flawlessly mimic everything from a full horn section to a distorted guitar, but they also sang in perfect harmony. The “bassist” completely baffled me, I have never in my life heard somebody hit notes that low and replicate the sounds of electric, stand up and slap bass so perfectly (I don’t think I’ve even heard anyone really try). Most of the concert I was sitting there with my mouth open, mouthing “What the f….?” or “How the hell…?” I would love to see some collaborations with some hip hop lyricists (Cormega?), since alot of their sound would lend itself to that well. Overall, they may be Naturally 7, but their performance was a Perfect 10. Never miss a chance to see these guys live!

New Cormega Track Journey

October 9th, 2009 | By shiraz

Check out the new Cormega Album, dropping October 20th. Cop it, show your love for realy hip hop!

KNaanxJ Period-The Messengers

October 8th, 2009 | By shiraz

K’Naan and J Period’s new project The Messengers is an ambitious project undertaken by two obviously capable musicians. Being a huge K’Naan fan I was predisposed to like the mixtape, and although not all of it was my style, there are some great tracks on the tape, and it’s free, so there’s really no reason to complain. The Bob Dylan mixes are especially good. Track recommendations are “Let Me Introduce Me”, “Johnny Was”, “Relationships Lay”, and “Don’t Think Twice.” Download the album at the provided link, click on the picture above! or just click here