Best Hip-Hop of 2012

Alright, first off I want to introduce you all to this new girl. Her name’s is Lana Shea and she came into my life just in time. Now that I broke up with Dessa Darling because she left Phoenix off of her tour stop list, I needed to find someone a little closer to home. The long-distance thing just wasn't working. She only lives one state away and she hangs out with the Living Legends. Just check this out and you’ll see how awesome she is….

Just kidding Dessa, I still love you... call me.

11. Homeboy Sandman - First of a Living Breed

This is the Homeboy Sandman’s 4^th release and it took me by surprise. I saw him open for Brother Ali earlier this year. It’s rare to see someone with that much energy on stage and this album has some great material to support that energy. He was a full time high school teacher before he started rapping (I’m guessing he taught English) and his toned down and sometimes silly style is probably a reflection of the type of patience and poise necessary to perform that job. His single “Couple Bars” is a goofy yet sweet story of him perusing a girl and “Not Really” is about how little his life has changed as a result of his new success. This type of honesty is exactly what mainstream rap is missing. I would also suggest you check out his blog hosted by The Huffington Post at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/homeboy-sandman/.

Words of Note: “Knicks down, listening to ODB. But for the mix down, this is what an OD be. I’m like the dude in commercials for Dos Equis. Or Duran Duran, or Durant from OKC.” From “Sputnik”

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10. Action Bronson - Blue Chips

Action Bronson’s style and voice both have an uncanny resemblance to Wu-Tang’s Ghostface Killah. There, I said it… even though in his song “Ron Simmons” he specifically asked me not to: “Don’t ever say my fucking music sounds like Ghost’ shit…” I think he was talking to me personally. His is a true rough-neck flow of the style and substance that you are likely to only find on the east coast. It’s not a knock on him to point out the similarities. Ghostface is one of the greatest rappers alive and Blue Chips is a great glimpse at a new sound created by a generation that grew up listening to Wu-Tang’s sound for the past two decades.

Words of note: “Demons on the doorstep, lungs that feel constricted. Or maybe I should see a shrink and get prescripted. Or take the hand of God, but shit I think I’ll keep my distance. I think I’m frightened and I didn’t even know it. But yo, that was a thought and I’m subconsciously a poet…” from “9-24-11”

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9. Brother Ali - Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color

Brother Ail has previously released two albums that would make my top 5 of pretty much any year. This tells me two things. First it means that this release, although very good is ultimately a disappointment. Second, it means that although a disappointment, this record is an improvement over his last release “Us”. In the end, I love him as an artist and I see now as somewhat of transitional period of his career and I’m encouraged at the prospect of falling in love with his future efforts in the same way that I loved “Shadows on the Sun” and “The Undisputed Truth”. But let’s not lose perspective. I don’t want to say a bunch of negative stuff about an album I've chosen to make my ‘best of’ list. I would say that this record is only about 8 or 9 times better than anything you will find on the FM dial. What makes this release better than his last is that his writing has returned to being personal again.

Words of note: “What does it mean to be American? I think the struggle to be free is our inheritance. And if we say it how it really is, we know our lily skin still give us privilege.” from "Letter to my Countrymen

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8. El-P - Cancer for Cure

I’ve always considered El-P to be a great producer but I've never really cared for him as a lyricist until this release. This is his 4^th solo album and probably his best yet. He brings his trademark crass and angst that make some of his lyrics almost as filthy as his beats. I don’t have a lot to say about it. If you’re familiar with his previous work, you’ll defiantly like this one and if you’re not, this would be a great one to start with. I would also mention that he works as a great concept album artist. This is not the type of record that you should be skipping through to find the tracks that you like…. Just let it play,  the whole is greater than the sum of all parts.

Words of note: “Fuck your droid noise, void boys noid ploy. Oi oi, I’ll rugby kick the shit out your groin boy, Oi vey…” from “The Full Retard”

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7. Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music

El-P has had a pretty busy year. He also produced this record by Atlanta hip-hop veteran Killer Mike. I haven’t listened to very much by this artist previous to this release. The only thing I really knew him from before was as a guest vocalist on an Outkast song about 10 years ago. To be honest, the only reason I picked this one up was so I could familiarize myself with his music before I saw him open up for GZA earlier this year. I’m glad I did. He has an amazing flow accented by a deep and distinct southern drawl that gives his delivery a charm that’s very hard to find these days. It’s important for me to throw some stuff like this in the rotation once and a while. I have to remind myself that just because it’s not the ‘backpack rap’ I more closely associate myself with; it’s still independent music made by very talented artist.

Words of note: “Shumalumadumalumashmalumaduma even when I ain’t sayin’ shit. Got AK word play might put a pause in your life just like a comma bitch!” from “Go!”

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6. Luckyiam - Time to get Lucky

Luckyiam has always been one of my favorite members of the Living Legends. I love that he has the courage to wear his heart on his sleeve and rap about subject matter that most recording artists would consider embarrassing. I also think that he has one of the great and underrated flows in hip-hop. He’s been doing this for quite some time and you can tell that it comes naturally to him. This release is probably not his best to date but it is quite solid throughout and he delivers exactly what you would expect from him. As a bonus, you will also find a verse by my new girlfriend Lana Shea on his song “Bang Bang”.

Words of note: “We gon wake up the late thugs, recording. They Lebron James but I came up on Jordan’s” from “Bang Bang”

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5. Adeem and DJ MF Shalem - Made in New Hampshire

I've been an Adeem fan for a while now. He put out an album on Syntax records about ten years ago called “Sweet Talkin’ Your Brain” that I think I’m the only one that liked. Most that know of him, know him as a freestyle artist, and for good reason. A youtube search for him will bring up primarily hand held video from small cameras and cell phones capturing battles and usually winning. This album is by far the most complete in his repertoire. I’m a sucker for fast rap and complex lyricism and this record is full of both. He even throws in an a cappella song about what it’s like to grow up a suburban white boy that primarily identifies with hip-hop culture.

Words of note: “Public Enemy wouldn't remember me, but I knew every word that Chuck D said to me. All things my race had done. I figured every Uzi weighed a ton and by the time I got to Arizona, I suspected everyone.” – from “Got Me Good”

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4. P.O.S. - We Don't Even Live Here

I think that as I look back over the years, I won’t be able to find a hip-hop collective that has released great stuff as a group or as solo acts as consistently as Minnesota’s Doomtree. The camaraderie that each member feels for each other comes through in their music in an amazing way. This record is no exception. His last release, “Never Better” is one of my top 5 favorite albums to be released in the past decade or so. I don’t think this one is quite that good but there really is nothing wrong with it. I can even deal with the little splash of autotune. His earlier LP’s, “Audition” and “Ipecac Neat” were full of angst and sensitivity. I would say some of his sensitivity has turned into a passionate growl. This manifests itself in songs like “Fuck Your Stuff” and “Lock-Picks, Knives, Bricks & Bats.”

Words of note: “Hoping you feel this. And these rhymes ain’t tight they are terrorish. And that girl’s not white, she’s an anarchist. And we float like kites through your turbulence.” From “Weird Friends”

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3. Mike Mictlan - SNAXXX!

Speaking of Doomtree members…. Mike Mictlan is flat out one of the most underrated lyricist making music today. He reminds us that poetry is not just an attempt to be profound, but rather it is born of a love of language itself. He strings words together that quite simply don’t just roll off the tongue. And he does this habitually and in a seemingly effortless manner. “I’m butter brattock death chuck gutter baby kickboxin’ my walker right off of my red dwarf jump man dimensions Iomega zip line three point zip ties defying your whole culture Genghis Kahn mongoloid….” What the hell is he talking about…? I have no idea but it sounds great.

Words of note: “Buried in bones with very little marrow now I’m wearin’ em. Swimming in many women, need a condom filled aquarium….” From Hella Frreal

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2. Urthboy - Smokey's Haunt

A Google search for “Australian mellowhop” results in absolutely nothing relevant to this post… (until now) which I believe means that I just coined the phrase. Urthboy is a founding member of Australia’s independent hip-hop group, The Herd. This is his 4^th solo effort but it’s the first one I've ever encountered. It’s a bit strange that I responded so well to this one. It’s much more poppy and mellow than the stuff that I usually go for. At over 5 minutes long, “The Big Sleep” is by far the slowest song on the album. It’s also one of the best tracks featuring opening and closing spoken word verses and a chorus sung by Alex Burnett. And “Knee Length Socks” is far too catchy a song for me to like it right?... Well, I really dig the whole thing. It strikes a great blend between socially/politically charged lyrics in songs like “On Your Shoulders” and “Empire Tags” with other songs that are just about growing up a little differently than everyone else like “Knee Length Socks” and “Orphan Rocker”. It’s a very well produced album with a lot of crescendo as well.

Words of note: “You gotta ask yourself: ‘what’s the priority?’ The change you wanna see or who you wanna be seen to be…” from “On Your Shoulders”

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1. Aesop Rock - Skelethon

As with most of my favorite records, I was a bit reluctant to fall for this one. I've always been a big Aesop Rock fan but it had been a while since he put out a solo album and this time with a new label (Rhymesayers). This album has a little bit of everything. “ZZZ Top” is an epic tale of three separate graffiti artists. “Fryerstarter” gives us some great advice if we are looking for doughnuts in the San Francisco area. We can even learn how to make a “Homemade Mummy”. Like the previously mentioned Mictlan, this is an artist that has a knack for stringing words together that usually wouldn’t appear in the same sentence. If you have been a fan of his previous work, you will probably dig this release as well. I think this is his most experimental release since “Bazooka Tooth”. At first, I only liked about three tracks off of the entire album. But in the past six months, I've grown to appreciate pretty much every track. The complexities of his descriptions lend very well to repeated listening and that’s why I think I’ll still be listening to this one for many years to come.

Words of note: “Literally bite down once and my tongue get a flooding from my uninvited guts. Pointed finger plug a hole in the dam. Ma notice, ‘Ok gross, dinner’s over, go spit’, pop call ‘bullshit’. Both my brothers break in, like ‘he’s on his Davie Hogan no mistaken’ by the way….” From “Grace”

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And One Final Word:......... I promise.

Check these two videos out and answer the poll question at the top of the page.... ppppleaseee! 

1. Mike Mictlan - "Spicy Peen"

2. El-P - "The Full Retard"