Top 10 Hip-Hop + R&B Albeems of All Time (if all time were just 2010)

Jim's list including lots of ambient and drone stuff made me excited to post that list but its the longest and therefore the most work so its last. So here is the 3rd of my 4 lists: Hip-Hop 'n R&B. Some naysayers are saying that this wasn't a good year for Hip-Hop but I feel like I always hear that. I think there were plenty of good Hip-Hop jamz this year and I wasn't even paying that much attention. Of course many of my choices here were self released or on tiny unknown labels so maybe people are just looking in the wrong place. So in your naysaying face. Beholn!

10. The Globetroddas - The Love (Non-Label)
Do you love raps about being a good dad? Who doesn't?! This is only an EP but I hear full length newness is forthcoming!







 

9. Bop Alloy - Substantial & Marcus D are Bop Alloy (Non-Label)
Substantial is one of my favorite current MCs. He does a lot of sweet guesting on other people's stuff which is usually better than his own Albums (especially when he raps over Nujabes (RIP!) beats. But here he comes correct. I've never heard of Marcus D before but Bop Alloy has some promise for future good times. Plus they call their music "Chillaxation" (which is actually a pretty decent stab at the sound). How could you not be into that?

8. J.R. & PH7 - The Update (Soulspazm Records)
Their first album, The Standard, is one of my favorite recent hip-hop albums. Great beats from these Germans with a host of cool friends (Supastition, Black Milk, Skyzoo, etc...).

Well, now they are back again with a different cast of cool bros (Theory Hazit, Strange Fruit Project, Elzhi, Oddisee, etc...). I just got this cause I didn't know it was out but it seems to be totally great, I'm not sure how it compares with The Standard. After more listens it maybe could also be higher on this list.

7. Tiff the Gift - Cool, Calm, Chill (Digi Crates Records)
Yeah! I wish I listened to more Female MCs but I feel like I don't know that many that I really like a lot. But Tiff the Gift, who I never heard about ever, and totally came out of nowhere for me, is the real deal. Really solid album. Good Rhymes, nice beats. I really like her voice. Gets better with each listen and good all the way through the album.

6. Jazz Addixx - Soul Expansion (Unreleased And Remixes) (Non-Label)
Really good jazzy hip-hop. This is not a proper release but they are coming with one soon and I'm very excited for that. Just really good beats and rhymes. Solid stuff.








 

5. Blee - Cosmos Road (Non-Label)
I first checked this out because Substantial and Supastition (among others) rap on it. But it turns out to be even better than that. First of all, Blee is a Korean beatmaker which is cool for me as I always look for more good Korean music. And second, this is some seriously good jazzy hip-hop, with emphasis on jazzy. This is a really, really, good album that I recommend to all jazz hip-hop fans (which should be all of you). Love the samples. Great beats. Lot's of good guest MCs. Sometimes some serious throwback stuff that makes me feel like I'm in the 90s in a good way. Sometimes gets some of that serious boom bap. Somehow it really manages to sound both very fresh and new and also classic and old. This should probably be higher. Dude's got lots of promise. Also I heard that he's making a mixtape using only Black Jazz Records (the label) samples which is automatically awesome.

4. Aloe Blacc - Good Things (Stones Throw) At first I was torn. On the one hand this is a great album. On the other hand, his last album was amazing and was a kind of R&B that no one else is/was really doing. But, dang, this is a good album, so there is not really any need to worry about that. He's a good singer and this thing is filled to the brim with good old classic vibes. For some people that was a negative, because, I guess, not enough forward thinking or something, but I don' t believe in music as a forced evolution of progress. A sound like this could be repeated and remade forever and it would still be both relevant and a great listen. So there.

(P.S. This is not the cover of the album but I thought it was more awesome.)

3. Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son Of Chico Dusty (Def Jam)
Nothing to really say here. It's Big Boi. Finally. And it's not a horrible failure. Not only that but really great. yep.

2. Black Milk - Album of the Year (Fat Beats)
Black Milk is one of the best beat-makers currently active anywhere. And his albums are always good, but they sometimes felt long or dragged on when I listened to them. But Album of the Year shows he is just getting better and better. This one I can listen to all the way through without getting bored or tired. Congratulations Black Milk, you've really done it now.






 

1. Erykah Badu - New Amerykah: Part Two (Return Of The Ankh) (Universal Motown)
This marks both the first time I admit to liking Erykah Badu and also Eryakah Badu's best moves. "Window Seat" was what really got me but after that I just kept gettin' got. And then I went back and started to love her past too. But serioulsy, top notch good times here. I guess a lot of you won't like this but you should. Or at least download and listen to "Window Seat". On repeat. Forever.






 
Yep, 3 down, 1 to go. Coming eventually soonish, my last and fav list: Top 36ish Drone, Ambient, and Experimental Jamz of 2010