The 11s: (3) My Favorite Projects...

11:55 am - Mon, Dec 26, 2011: 2 notes

The 11s: (3) My Favorite Projects…

Not the “best” just a list of the 11 projects I enjoyed most this year.

Who am I kidding with that bullshit. I think these were the best rap albums I listened to all year, for the simple fact that I kept listening to them over and over again. If that ain’t proof of what I consider “the best” then I don’t know what is. Fuck acknowledging some shit’s excellence if I had no desire to bump it on the regular.

I’m keeping this one a little briefer than usual because fuckass Google Chrome crashed on me twice and cost me beaucoup words and y’all don’t pay me for this mess:

Freddie Gibbs - Cold Day In Hell: I don’t think I should write about this project anymore. I’ve devoted serious ink to Gangsta Gibbs and it’s all worth it. The man just does gangsta rap the right way and NEVER fucks up. If you don’t fuck with him, I probably don’t fuck with you. *shrug*
Young Jeezy - TM103: Worth the wait? Probably not. But it’s classic Jeezy with a few new tricks and a ton of guests. I’m not mad at that. Matter of fact, I kinda love it. #SNOW!
Kendrick Lamar - Section 80: he’s going to be around for a while. I took me a minute to get on board, but he’s the real deal and I for one welcome our new peasy headed rap overlord.
Saigon - The Greatest Story Never Told: Yeah, we all forgot about this shit. But it was dope, thanks to Just Blaze and Saigon brought it too. Surprisingly well rounded project.
Curren$y - Covert Coup/Verde Terrace: Yep, I’m cheating with two selections here, but the man puts out some much music it’s impossible for me to settle on one selection. Covert Coup was a triumph, probably because it’s damn near impossible to fuck up on Alchemist beats, but I think Verde Terrace was even better because it fit Spitta’s aesthetic more closely and served as the soundtrack to many quiet, late night rides.
Raekwon - Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang: In retrospect, I kinda feel as if this album is better than OB4CL2. Yeah, sue me. Outside of the shitty ‘Rock N Roll’ song with Jim Jones, this shit is excellent and devoid of filler unlike that other album, which seemed to garner a ton of praise just because we were all relieved that it wasn’t awful. Solid step into the new rap world for the Chef.
50 Cent - The Big 10: Honestly, 50 Cent released some of the best music of the year even before he dropped this shit in December. He just didn’t put it on a project and as he said on the intro of this shit (and I’m paraphrasing here) “he’s given you what you want from him, but you’ve seen him win too much so you don’t fuck with him anymore.” He’s right. The quality returned post-‘Curtis’ and he’s been solid since the mixtape run leading up to ‘Before I Self Destruct’. He bats .900 on this shit.
Willie The Kid - The Fly 2: The first of his three efforts this year is also the best, but not by much (The Cure 2 is also really good, but The Fly 2 gets the edge because he had more room for error by making 5 more tracks and didn’t fuck up at all - impressive). High school level GZA put in darts on this shit and he has a pretty ill rolodex to match his consistently gully production. A little light on hooks though.
Juicy J & Lex Luger - Rubbaband Business 2: The soundtrack to many debauched nights for me. Juiceman is just the worst role model ever and I was more than happy to hang around with him all year. At 28 tracks, there’s definitely filler, but the gems are so damn worth it. This shit will help you bring out your inner ratchetness in the best way possible. TRIPPYMANE!!!
J.Cole - Cole World: Call this a triumph of lowered expectations. Well all know that Cole can rap, but my concern was that he was incapable of making singles good enough to allow him to meet the expectations his label had of him. He’s always been a bit limited outside of making his beats and just rhyming well about shit the average Joe can relate to. So I wasn’t expecting much when I listened to the album. He definitely surprised me. Funny enough, the few times I’ve heard Cole on the radio or in the barbershop, it’s been that awful ‘Workout’ song. I’m glad it got him a release date, but we all know it sucks. It’ll still grow on you though.
Joell Ortiz - Free Agent: Still not sure on when this dropped (I’ve had it since December 2010), but it remains excellent. It’s the exact kind of album new NY rappers seem incapable of making in this climate. It really has something for everyone, despite Ortiz’s reputation as a lyrically intense, yet limited MC. He covered every base on this shit and made a great album. Top marks.

So there’s that. I’m not sure I’ll be able to crank out 11 of these lists, but I’ll try damn it. I do this for the culture and all that. Oh and here are some honorable mentions in this category: