There has been so many albums released in 2012, I’m positive I’m sleeping on a lot of material. There’s just not enough time to catch up with everything.
But the following albums and the Top 10 are albums I listened to beginning to end.
My Top 10 is based on:
Production
Acclaim
Lyrics
and Replay Value (which I think is the major factor)
Check it out, here are my honorable mentions that didn’t make the Top 10.
Honourable Mentions:
G.O.O.D. Music – Cruel Summer
JJ DOOM (Jneiro Jarel & DOOM) – Keys To The Kuffs
Apollo Brown & Guilty Simpson – Dice Game
Big Sean – Detroit
Roc Marciano – Reloaded
Joey Bada$$ – Rejex
Masta Ace & DOOM: MA_DOOM: The Son Of Ynonne
De La Soul’s Plug 1 & Plug 2 Present… First Serve
Angel Haze – Reservation
K-Nite 13 – According To Plan
Huge shout-out to K-Nite 13 man. This guy is a legend!
Here’s my Top 10.
10. Apollo Brown & O.C. – Trophies
This album caught my attention when HipHopDX highlighted this album as the most slept on album of the year. Going back to it, I can understand why!
O.C. still got it!
Favourite Tracks: None.
9. Dom Kennedy – Yellow Album
Dom Kennedy slowed down his flow a LOT on this mixtape, but it just somehow works. Initially I felt it was top heavy. But as I kept listening, I loved it even more.
Favourite Tracks:We Ball, My Kind Of Party, Been Thuggin’.
8. Killer Mike – R.A.P Music
This album caught my attention when HipHopDX rated this album 4.5/5. And that site rate him highly. So I decided to listen to it and see what’s good and I can see why.
There’s some highlight verses on this album, including his 2nd verse on Reagan.
Favourite Tracks: Big Beast, Reagan.
7. Big K.R.I.T. – 4Eva N A Day
I was advised to listen to Big K.R.I.T. around late 2011. I was expecting just a rapper just rapping over old school beats showing his lyrical skills. But when I started to listen to his mixtapes, starting from K.R.I.T. Wuz Here, I was completely blown away. I listened to that, Return of 4eva and this mixtape, 4eva N A Day, and I’m thinking, why hasn’t this guy blown up yet? I love this mixtape, and I can see myself bumping it in the future.
Favourite Tracks: 4evanaday (Theme), Red Eye, Down & Out, Temptation.
6. Joey Bada$$ – 1999
1999 started to make some noise on my Twitter feed around the time that it came out.
I ignored it initially.
But then a colleague at work asked me if I’ve heard of Joey Bada$$. I said, “yeah I’ve heard of him but I haven’t checked him out yet”. He told me to check him out ASAP.
After listening to it and giving it a lot of replay, this was easily the best mixtape of 2012.
Is there any rappers that can release a quality mixtape like this at the age of 17? The list is very short.
I already knew about Kendrick Lamar, but I had NO idea about his group Black Hippy. It was around this time that I had to do my research to see what’s good with Black Hippy, starting with Schoolboy Q.
Going back to his previous release Setbacks to this album, I realised that I’ve found more gems to add to my music library.
Favourite Tracks: THere He Go, Hands On The Wheel, Blessed, Sexting, Nightmare On Figg St., Druggies Wit Hoes Again, 2 Raw.
4. Big K.R.I.T. – Live From The Underground
So when I was bumping Big K.R.I.T.’s mixtapes, I was eagerly waiting for him to drop his first LP.
On the first and second listen, I didn’t really feel it. But after I starting to bump it more and I starting to love the album.
It follows the same theme from the mixtape he released earlier.
Combining this LP, 4Eva N A Day & his underrated live show he did in August, K.R.I.T. had a fantastic year.
Favourite Tracks: I Got This, Porchlight, Pull Up, Yeah Dats Me, Hydroplaning, Live from the Underground (Reprise).
3. Nas – Life Is Good
Throughout late 2011 and 2012, Nas has been releasing single after single towards his 10th solo LP Life Is Good.
He released Nasty which ended up on the deluxe version of the album. I thought it was alright at first, but then I stopped listening to it. However, the track reminded me of Halftime from his debut album Illmatic.
The Don is a great track, but the track that I instantly loved on the first listen was Daughters:
The first version of the song had explicit lyrics, then Nas quickly edited it to a more radio-friendly version. Which made sense.
There’s 1 track that just wasn’t necessary. Summer On Smash. What Nas should’ve done is collaborate with his rhyme partner AZ. That would’ve been something.
Ab-Soul was the 3rd Black Hippy member that I discovered.
Rob Pursey encouraged me to listen to his previous material Long Term, Long Term 2 & Long Term Mentality.
The 2 latter releases are really good. But Control System?!?!?! Nah. Ab-Soul went in.
It’s not one of those albums that you’ll instantly click on the first listen though. Every track has a meaning.
Now Pineal Gland. I don’t know why Ab-Soul released a video before an mp3 release, but this track got me reloading this track multiple times. So I used some YouTube to MP3 converter so that I listen to it on a regular on my Blackberry.
The whole album is incredible. Please listen to it.
Favourite Tracks: Terrorist Threats, Pineal Gland, SOPA, The Book Of Soul, Black Lip Bastard Remix, Bohemian Grove.
1. Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d city
I can’t believe Kendrick Lamar blew up so fast. I don’t look at album sales at all, but when I saw the projected album sales, I was thinking to myself “damn, Kendrick Lamar has a lot of fans!
To date he has sold 675,000, has been certified gold by the RIAA and has a review average score of 91 on Metacritic (that’s the highest average score since Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy LP in 2010).
It’s also the second highest average score of 2012, falling behind Channel Orange by Frank Ocean. That got 92.
The album itself though. I haven’t enjoyed and played an album like this since Fantastic, Vol. 2 by Slum Village. Or Illmatic by Nas. Or Star Time by James Brown. I’m not afraid to call this album a classic. In a few years time, it’ll most certainly be certified.
I done a remake version of the good kid, m.A.A.d city album using an old photo of me, my 2 sisters, my 2 cousins and my Grandma. Ha.
Every single track flows into each other. Every track fits. It’s one story going into another. Sorta like The Death Of Adam by 88-Keys.
I brought 3 copies of this. 2 CDs (one original, one deluxe) and a deluxe vinyl (Kendrick and his DJ Ali signed it for me).
I can’t lie, I disliked Backseat Freestyle when I first heard it. Then I managed to LOVE it. It’s crazy. When arguably the weakest track on the album is one of your favourite songs, you realise how big this album is.
Crazy I know.
Favourite Tracks: Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe, Backseat Freestyle, Money Trees, Poetic Justice, m.A.A.d city, Swimming Pools (Drank) (Extended), The Recipe.
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