What up SWAGG? This is my top 5 rap albums of 2010 list! They have finally been decided on – and since this article is from an Australian hip hop head shouting out his favourite albums from around the world last year, I thought it was appropriate I drop it on Australia Day! You might remember that last year we were asking round which albums you thought were the dopest – all taken into consideration too!
Picking a Top 5 in any category is very hard and it must be said that although these were my favourite albums of the year, there were many others that deserve props too. So shouts to the following bangers that almost made our top 5 list: Good Gracious (M-Phazes); Wu Massacre (Method Man, Ghostface Killah & Raekwon); Suite #420 (Devin the Dude); Recovery (Eminem); It’s about that time (Crate Creeps); How I got Over (The Roots); My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (Kanye West); Apollo Kids (Ghostface Killah).
Allow me to reintroduce myself!! I’m a hip hop head originally from Australia, half German (and now living in Berlin, Germany). I was brought up on NY rap… 106 & Park freestyles, BET clips & underground sooth-sayers from around the world. My passion is hip hop – I also make short clips of the artists I meet around the world, spitting rhymes for the camera raw/poetry style, without any studio editing.
So know that we are acquainted, lemme tell you whats on mind! I was chillin’ in Amsterdam at a coffeeshop today, trying to smoke as many different strains of chronic as I could find, when a Luuuuuuda track came on – Hip Hop Quotables. Maybe because I was higher than Everest or maybe because there’s some truth to it, I thought to myself that this has to be one of the funniest tracks I’ve heard. Sure most punchlines are cleverly humourous anyway… but this track is straight comedic fire. Which got me thinking – what are my top 5 tracks with the funniest lyrics in them?
It’s Monday, so at the very least I hope these tracks brighten the starts of your weeks! Lemme know if you agree or disagree and make sure to hit me up with your favourite funny tracks too – add me here: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/profile.php?id=100001623251697
Peace,
LDS
5. Sporty Thievz – No Pigeons. Most of you will know the TLC song that dudes made fun of here – “No Scrubs”. This track was the rebuttal for the fellas…and funny as hell! Sporty Thievz – No Pigeons
4. Biggie – Just Playin’. “I’d prolly go to jail for fuckin Patti Labelle/ ooh Regina Belle, she’d probably do me swell/Jasmine Guy was fly/Mariah’s kinda scary/wait a minute, what about my honey Mary/the jeans they fitting like a glove/I had a crush on you since real love!” ‘Nuff said. Biggie – Just Playin\’
3. The Pharcyde – Ya Mama. Old skool, but still funny as ever, is this track by these hip hop pioneers!
2.Ludacris – Hip Hop Quotables. 2nd overall and this track comes with more punches than a Pacquiao fight. but with an opener like “Hi, my name’s Ludacris and I’m high as giraffe pussy” it has to be the #1 song for funniest first line of a rap song! Surely?! Ludacris – Hip Hop Quotables
1. Afroman – Crazy Rap. One of the funniest tracks I’ve heard and it even has the video to match, this is shit talking at it’s best! Afroman also mentions Australia in it, so he gets mad love back from me. Afroman – Crazy Rap
Ok so i admit it, i might be a hater. It took some heavy soul searching and a look into the innermost me to figure it out but i admit it. I guess i’m a hater because i prefer my hip-hop hardcore and not watered down. I guess i’m a hater because i choose to wear my clothes a lil loose and not tighter than a Wednesday doobie. I guess i’m a hater because i choose substance and originality over cameos and catch phrases. Growing up in New Jerz taught me the true meaning of hip-hop. I feel sorry for the youth of today who’s idea of true hip-hop is how many times the song was played on the radio today. I guess i’m the last of a dying breed, a fan who still thirsts for lyricism, creativity, hard beats, and the ability to construct complete albums, not just itune charted singles . Yeah i guess i am a hater, so what are you???
Right now hiphop has become just as hard to break into as any other major genre, which shows that hiphop is no longer the urban voice of the underground it once was. The money that labels are now willing to throw at artists is stifling, some people however feel like the people spitting the realist music are making the least money. This is true to a certain extent but at the same time who is really to blame. There really arent too many people listening or buying albums with so called ‘real hiphop’ so why would the labels sign these particular types of artists the Talib Kweli like characters.
It is actually sad, but the labels are a business at the end of the day and they have to make a profit. At the same it is partly the labels fault because they have enough money to promote anyone to the world and in essence make them popular a sort of Hanah Montana effect. Fair Enough the hip hop audience is a little harder to convince than a group of tweens but the concept works the same.
Lets look at Souljah Boy had a fairly good product but something that would have never made the money it did without the right guidance, I am one peson who thought souljah Boys first song was absolutely bullshit when I first heard it but after hearing it everywhere I was going I ended developing a certain liking for it . I didnt learn the dance or nothing but i still basically knew the song back to front. Still this gets me thinking is this modern day music industry now able to turn some of us against our own taste.
There is so much money put to back certain projects that they are everywhere and they over shadow some of the quality work that is being put out by relatively unkown artists such as Joell Ortiz, Royce Da 5’9, Jay Electronica, C stone and Moonie just to name a few, But at the same time ther are still some MC’s givin out real quality hiphop who have made a name for themselves like Lupe Fiasco, Common, Jadakiss to name a few these artists still sometimes find it hard to sell big numbers even though judging by their albums they put in a lot more work and a lot more of themselves into the projects they release. The hip hop family however doesent respond to the quality of the work so much anymore but more to what sounds good in the club.
I believe that all artists should not only think about there music because not all quality music is gong to sell especially in todays industry where everybody in the world is in a rush and has no time to go out and find what ‘they’ really lik like. They just kinda get spoon fed the ‘good’ music. So they just kinda take what their given. These people lucky enough to be on the spoon are the artists that eventually become mega millionaire superstars. So I think the trick as a new artist or even artists who have made a name for themselves but seem to be fading ‘packaging’ if you learn how to package youself then you dont need any label to tell you how to present yourself.
But at the end of the day if it wasnt for commercial hip hop I might have never heard hip hop when I did. It spreads hip hop to the world just maybe not the particular part of it we want spread but hey at least its getting to the people around the world.
HIP HOP ISN’T DEAD, I’m blogging to prove it.
As we all know, Hip Hop is not just a musical culture. My focus will be it’s musical as well it’s fashion perspectives.
Is there anything better? I don’t think so.
News is frequently dropping which means I’ll frequently be blogging so stay posted!
