The following post was written by the homie Geoff McHenry ( Twitter: @Geoff_HAM_Gundy). Big Time New York Ad Executive. Oakland Native. Hater of All Things Memphis Bleek. Great Post. It'd BEHOOVE you (love that word) to pay attention and collect whatever albums on this list you don't have. Now proceed to read Slimes and Slimettes.
It’s that time again. On an annual basis I make a list of what I believe are the top albums of each year. I don’t do it by genre (because frankly I don’t have enough time lol) so basically I compile a list of my top 10 albums across the board based on what I’ve listened to. In all years that I’ve done this I can easily say this has been the most difficult year. In what some have labeled the greatest year of music ever (or as Mr West would say “Of all Time”) I found it extremely difficult to narrow down my list to 10 picks. Needless to say there were albums I was very passionate about that didn’t make the list..but it is what it is. So without further adieu here’s my top 10 picks of 2010.
#lehgo Top 10 (No Particular Order):
1. Bun B “Trill O.G”: Bun Beata aka the King of the Trill came out into 2010 with two guns blazing. One of the most heralded MC’s in the history of southern music dropped arguably the hottest effort of his solo career, receiving 5 mics from The Source along the way. The bass heavy, Drake heavy, effort mixes the Underground King with some of the hottest talent in Hip-Hop who graciously return the favor for Bun B saving many of their albums and mixtapes. 5 mics worthy? No…Great Album? Yes! #sayitlikerawse
Top Joints:
Right Now
Put It Down
Just Like That
2. Cee-Lo “The Lady Killer”: Outside of creating your favorite tune to whistle in front of your boss that they don’t know the words and/or derogatory meaning to, Cee-Lo toned down some of his weirdness to focus on making a phenomenal album. After his stint with DJ Danger Mouse forming the group Gnarls Barkley, Mr. Green became extremely comfortable experimenting with different sounds that fit his hi-pitched voice. In the process he developed into more of a singer, than the fast-spittin, syllable shiftin, rapper he was in the Goodie Mob days. On “The Lady Killer” Cee-lo fully embraces his role as a singer creating a soul shifting masterpiece embarking Nas’s former protégé Salaam Remi & the legendary Philip Bailey from Earth, Wind, & Fire along for the ride.
Top Joints:
Wildflower
Fool For You
Bright Lights, Bigger City
3. Curren$y “Pilot Talk”: To keep it simple Curren$y likes marijuana, beautiful women, and Air Jordans. On his Def Jam debut the hot spitta recycles these three topics alongside some smooth production to create the perfect soundtrack for any “late night session” Finding Ski Beatz was the best thing that could have ever happened to Curren$y’s career and we all have Dame “Bottle Poppin” Dash to thank for that.
Top joints:
Breakfast
Skybourne
Address
4. David Banner & 9th Wonder “Death of a Pop Star”: Proving my theory that you should never make a top album list until the year is completely over, David Banner & 9th Wonder dropped some heat right in time to end the first decade of 2000. Banner has always struggled with whether he wants to be a conscious backpack rapper, or the “Like A Pimp” crunk maniac who encourages girls to “Get down on the floor.” 9th Wonder’s soulful production provides the perfect backdrop for Banner to wear his preacher hat, as the duo collaborate for 10 tracks of excellence.
Top Joints:
Be With You
Silly
Strange
5. Foreign Exchange “Authenticity “: Gotta thank my brotha from anotha Sean Smith for putting me on to Foreign Exchange. The duo of Nicolay & Phonte from Little Brother make the ultimate “zone out music,” meaning you can put on this album & it takes you to another place. Authenticity is equally the weakest of Foreign Exchange’s trio of albums, but considering that it still made my list..what does that say about how talented they are?
Top Joints:
Eyes to the Sky
Fight For Love
Authenticity
6. Freeway & Jake One “Stimulus Package”: It’s not a list of mine if I don’t have a sleeper pick. The funniest part about this pick is I almost slept on the album myself. In a moment of laziness I almost scratched it off my list because I didn’t want to take an hour to relisten to the album. Needless to say I’m glad I revisited this album. Jake One provided 15 pieces of heat for Freeway to yell & rub his beard all over.
Top Joints:
Stimulus Intro
Follow My Moves
Stimulus Outro
7. Kings Of Leon “Come Around Sundown”: Despite producing one of my favorite songs of 2010 “Beach Side” the family band that has mastered mixing the sounds of heavy hitting choruses with haunting guitar bridges has done it again. The band mixes upbeat jams with melancholy ballads seamlessly to form an album that even someone who doesn’t regularly listen to rock music can enjoy.
Top Joints:
The End
The Immortals
Beach Side
8. The Roots “How I Got Over”: Who ever knew that late night TV would be the best thing that could happen to a rap groups career? The truth is the Roots have been doing this for a while now, and their affiliation with Jimmy Fallon has taken them to a level of superstardom that they have never seen before. Thus, providing the perfect launching pad for yet another solid album that arguably should have taken the 5 mic spot from Bun B.
Top Joints:
Doin It Again
The Fire
Radio Daze
9. Drake “Thank Me Later”: This album just made the list..yes as I am typing this. The spot was reserved for Cudi’s Man on the Moon 2. Then I asked a lot of my friends which album they preferred since I couldn’t decide. Well the people have spoken…Jimmy Brooks & Scott Mescudi. Hope Cudi doesn’t jump off a roof once he hears the awful news.
Top Joints:
The Resistance
Miss Me
Light Up
(By the way..has anyone discovered who Cece is and why she has an interlude?)
Now for the moment you’ve been waiting for. My album of the year is…….
Damn Ye..can I finish?
Well anyway you guessed it: Kanye West-My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
I’ve got to say..this was the easiest part of my top 10 album journey. The moment I was welcomed by my baby mother Nicki Minaj’s voice I knew I was in for a ride (get it?) Anyway, Kanye as outdone himself with this album. Blurring the lines of Hip-Hop, Pop, Gospel, African, and various other music genres, Mr. West has truly set an exciting precedent for the sounds hip-hop artists will be able to experiment with in the future. Pardon the interruption..but Kanye may have just made one of the greatest albums of all time!
Top Joints:
Dark Fantasy
Devil in a New Dress
All of the Lights
Honorable Mentions:
1. Eminem “Recovery”: In what was easily the second biggest comeback of the year, Eminem came back with his best piece of work since the critically acclaimed “Marshall Mathers LP”. This actually might be my favorite Eminem album since I enjoy listening to him over a variety of production rather than just Dr. Dre, or heaven forbid his own beats. Album started off strong, he lyrically slays pretty much every track but I felt it trailed off near the end.
2. Kid Cudi “Man on the Moon 2”: As stated before it was between this album and Drizzy’s for my top 10. I really like what Cudi did with this album and it’s one of those albums where it gets better with each listen, unlike his debut which sticks with you after the first time you hear it. Mr. Rager produces an album that is rockin from start to finish although it’s quite unfortunate that “everything he needs hates him”
3. Rick Ross “Teflon Don”: I’m quite upset with Rick Ross. The bawse and self-proclaimed fat mutha**** would have easily made my top 10 if he didn’t decide to release half the album on his Albert Anastasia mixtape. To make matters worst he let the rest of the tracks leak before the album dropped so I had pretty much heard all of Teflon Don before I sat down and listened to it in its entirety. Nonetheless this is the same album that produced Free Mason, Maybach Music III, and the summers anthem “Live Fast, Die Young” Hats off to the fat man.
Well people it’s been real. Until I drop my list of 2010’s top mixtapes, keep listening to that good music.
And if you mad….tell me why you mad:
