Best Hip-Hop Album of the Year

[Fox1994]

Still Wu Tang representing! Haha.

[Pitty]

That Kid Kudi shit aint a rap album. Thats some Emo/RnB/Pop music.

Read the thread title you fucking douche. Hip Hop isn't just rap.

[Jax]

Read the thread title you fucking douche. Hip Hop isn't just rap.

Read what he said "fucking douche" "Thats some Emo/RnB/Pop music" Other words Shit

[MvP]

I need to check out that Fashawn album. Don't really get to listen to much underground shit at college.

[BigBucs]

Read the thread title you fucking douche. Hip Hop isn't just rap.

Its ok to be a skinny jean wearing feminine guy but dont classify Cudis album as rap music. Hip Hop is a culture, rap is what rappers do. Get it? Cudi considers himself a rapper therefore his music is supposedly rap. Follow me? He isnt a hip hopper. Got it?

[JrRawlins]

Long as Budden's getting slapped-up by Raekwon, he can't be mentioned as the best at anything. He can't be part of the best group, best album..

what exactly does Raekwon goon slapping Buddens have to do with the Slaughterhouse album being thebest of the year in my view? nothin....

[FedEx227]

I need to check out that Fashawn album. Don't really get to listen to much underground shit at college.

It's pretty awesome.

First off production by Exile. So if you were a fan of Below the Heavens (Blu & Exile) that's one plus.

Secondly, Fashawn is amazing for his age. Kid is just 20.

Here's what XXL said about it:

At a time when the game is dominated by 30-something rappers, we sometimes forget that hip-hop is the music of the youth.

Twenty-year-old Fashawn’s debut album, the Exile-produced Boy Meets World, represents that vital element, telling the story of a young man from Fresno, California, trying to avoid poverty’s pitfalls and rise above his circumstances. On “Intro,” the album’s opening skit, young ’Shawn turns down a chance to hustle for a shot at a rap career, before bragging about his ferocious flow (“I can turn a whole metropolis into a peninsula/Ink-pen emperor, slang remain infinite”) over Exile’s chopped-up organ and swollen bass groove.

Though he’s adept at boasting (see: “Bo Jackson”), Fashawn’s real strength is his ability to articulate the inner struggles of a good kid from a bad place. “Where I’m from, brothers die every day, sunny CA/Learn the ecology on how we behave,” he spits over Exile’s dramatic string sample on “Ecology.”

In sharp contrast to the album’s somber tone is “Hey Young World.” Here we have Fashawn, barely out of adolescence himself, reminding those younger than him that their dreams are within reach. Featuring requisite guest appearances from the likes of Blu (“Samsonite Man”), Evidence (“Our Way”) and Planet Asia (“The Score”), Boy Meets World is a strong debut from such a young MC, and it resonates a lot more than the work of some rappers decades his senior. –TIMMHOTEP AKU

Okayplayer as well:

Boy Meets World is likely to garner a certain amount of attention simply due to the presence of Exile, an established and increasingly well-regarded Californian producer who can now add Fashawn’s debut to his résumé. While it’s true that Exile brings a lot to this album via his distinct instrumental style, it is no less true that the Bay Area MC is up to the challenge, having summoned up a series of equally personal stories and reminiscence that prevent him from being overshadowed by his more-famous friend. A superficial description would make it seem like another retread of classic hip-hop conventions: scratched samples, boom-bap, and stories about childhood. Producer and MC are both sufficiently on top of their creative game to subvert these conventions, imbuing them with the vitality that prevents them from devolving into a cliché, creating material off-kilter enough to be unique but not so much as to alienate conservative listenership.

The entire album feels like a concentrated effort to bring out the best, and it’s reasonable to suggest that there aren’t really any weak tracks. The relative strength of the various songs will be a matter of taste, whether you prefer the energetic bounce of a mission statement like “Freedom,” the breezy reflections of “Father,” or the dark, disjointed soul of “The Score .” Though inspirational and heartfelt, “Stars” also comes across as rather light-hearted given the old-timey jazz ballad setting, an unusual juxtaposition in hip-hop but consistent with the aesthetic that married Glen Campbell to Emanon’s “The Waiting Room.” One of the peaks is surely “When She Calls,” an intense story of suicide that switches narrative form from first to third person during its unfolding. Some plot elements here seem intentionally ambiguous, and as the album’s penultimate track it’s unusually dark. Where so many of Fashawn’s lyrics highlight themes of growth, “When She Calls” is an open-ended and more complex circumstance, underscoring the moments where pain is in danger of getting the better of you. Strings and barely-comprehensible vocal samples make the situation seem dream-like, wonderfully illustrating Fashawn’s description of being caught in your own head.

Any hype accompanying Boy Meets World is probably deserved. Exile continues to make high-quality, well-sequenced albums, and Fashawn has put in the work to make his debut memorable and not just a vehicle for Exile’s productions. Guest appearances from related artists Aloe Blacc, Planet Asia , Blu, and Co$$ (among others) bring additional life and variety.

- Justin Deremo

[FedEx227]

Only choices in my mind, I'll give a slight edge to Fashawn.

Yeah, Brooklynati was my runaway for awhile... but these past few days I've been bumping Fashawn almost non-stop, he's catching up for sure.

[Coach]

My fav 3 are Slaughterhouse, Meth/Red and Raekwon.

Much props to everyone for not mentioning BP3.

Gonna check out some of the albums listed in this thread.

[OnlyOneBeerLeft]

I am a diehard Wu-tang fan, I have Wu tattoos haha But I dont think that Blackout 2 deserves a number one spot here or a mention for that matter, when you stack it up to the other albums I just dont think it is the same, but thats my opinion... now here are my nominations.



MF Doom - Born Like This



Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II



Wu-Tang Clan - Chamber Music



KRS-One Buckshot - Survival Skills



Felt - Felt 3: A tribute to Rosie Perez



Tech N9ne - K.O.D.

[FedEx227]

You liked Felt 3? I honestly couldn't stand it and I'm a huge Murs/Slug fan and loved the other Felt albums. Aesop's production really irritates me.

[OnlyOneBeerLeft]

You liked Felt 3? I honestly couldn't stand it and I'm a huge Murs/Slug fan and loved the other Felt albums. Aesop's production really irritates me.

I liked it because it was out of the box, it was something I didnt liek the first 2 times through, but then it grew on me.

[FedEx227]

That's what I heard from some other people. Guess I'll have to listen a few more times.

[OnlyOneBeerLeft]

That's what I heard from some other people. Guess I'll have to listen a few more times.

trust me the first listen i didnt even want to play it again... then i really listened to each lyric and the production and it is much better then it was at first glance

[DirtySouth12]

da blueprint 3