The 37th Chamber 11.28.09: Preparing For The End

Posted by Patrick Robinson on 11.28.2009

This week, lots of rants on 50 Cent, bringing back Celebrity Death Match, Plies vs. LL Cool J, The Roots' discography and making preparations for the End of the Year!

Ooooh weee I've got one more exam to go and it's going to be a no-brainer so needless to say, I'm cutting loose this weekend and enjoying myself for the first time in about oh, 37 WEEKS since this damn course started.

Anyway, I managed to find time to finish the rest of my assignments, as well as complete our group assignment (for which we got 55% meaning a PASS but I would have been happy with 50% to be honest, so my standards were well below low by this point in time) so now it's time to work on the biggest part of life next year, to actually get a job. Which means quitting my current job at the Pharmacy sadly as I doubt I'd be able to do 5 days a week in Real Estate and 1 day a week in Pharmacy and still be able to move on that one day off!

Reader Feedback

"Pat are you graduating? If so congratulations. I have like 2 1/2 more years myself" - Dav

It's been a long road. 3.5 years in Business Management and now 1 year in Real Estate, but I'm FINALLY there. Believe me, the last few weeks before everything wraps up are the absolute worst because the temptation to just do something else is overwhelming at times hahaha.

Like this weekend. Instead of studying, I'm going to a barbeque Saturday night and a LAN day all day Sunday, probably leaking into the early hours of Monday morning, somehow managing to get to class by 9:30…unlikely though.


One more time for old time's sake…

"I'm gonna enlarge that pic of Soulja Boy, print it out, and make it into a dart board." - Da Lunchbox

Rather good idea that. I might make it into some kind of sticker and attach it to the inside of my toilet so I can crap on him on a daily basis.

"Just some points I want to make:

50 Cent is a hardcore hip-hop artist; hardcore artists talk about the harsh realities of life, so in 50's case gun talk and other gangster activities."

The only thing is when exactly was the last time he had to deal with the harsh realities of life? 2001 perhaps? Since he got discovered by Dre and Eminem, he's been living the high life and I doubt he's had to even look at a gun let alone carry one for protection. He does spend over $1 million on security each year after all.

Look I've got no problem with an artist taking that street style and making raps out of it. D-Block have done it well over the years, Nas offers insightful commentary frequently, Ghostface and Raekwon often talk about inner city crime in their raps, Rae in particular also does the Mafioso raps too. 50 however, rocks up in magazines wearing the following:



And this:



And I think to myself, "Well perhaps the dress code of the streets has changed to include fur coats now".

This is my major problem with 50 Cent and this is coming from someone who pretty much was on the borderline of being a Stan for the man. Running through the list of 50 Cent/G-Unit related things I still own:

- Beg For Mercy
- Get Rich Or Die Tryin'
- Reebok G6's, the first lot of shoes he put out
- Throwback 50 Cent jersey
- Ticket stub after paying $95 to see him perform in Sydney
- And about 40 mixtapes on the computer

From 2003 to about 2005, the man could do no wrong in my eyes. But the moment he kicked Game out of the crew I stepped back and looked again. I realized that he's the kind of guy that will turn a situation public in order to try and make the most out of it commercially. Sure, the whole game knew that Game and 50 were at odds, but that's all we knew – that they weren't getting along. Next thing I know, I'm logging onto some website to see the headline "50 kicks Game out of G-Unit" as opposed to sitting down and talking to him, letting the two sort things out before it got public unnecessarily.

And if you're content with making a song like "Candy Shop" or "Magic Stick" one moment and threatening to kill someone in cold blood the next, it just doesn't flow properly.

"Second of all 50 rose to fame because he is a good song writer and talented MC. He did not make he's career off beef like many think. To sell 12 mill on his first album doesn't happen magically. He put out three underground albums that are considered classics (50 Cent is the future, Power of the dollar, Guess who's back) and then GRODT (that's four consecutive great bodies of work). Hip-hop is considered to be in decline cause 95% artist can't put a body of work together and rather rely on making pop music to make a living."

Well, "good" is debatable. He's got a good ability to flow to a beat and he can certainly write a damn catchy hook, but lyrically, everything after Get Rich Or Die Tryin' just got lazier and lazier. A talented MC shows artistic growth and development across their records. They show an ability to craft a song that resonates on different levels, regardless of the subject matter. A talented MC is constantly searching for ways to improve themselves and their listener's experiences. 50 MAY have been a talented MC when he first started, the man puts on a live show like none other, but when you're four albums deep and I'm listening to Before I Self Destruct and thinking "Wait, what year is this?" because half the songs were easily interchangeable from something off any of his previous albums, that shows a complete lack of growth, but stagnancy instead.

The underground albums are good in their own right, as is GRODT, I certainly don't disagree with you on those points, but 50 IS MAKING POP MUSIC these days. How many of his singles since he came out, that have done WELL mind, have actually been hard core street tracks? "In Da Club", "21 Questions", "Candy Shop", "Just A Lil Bit", "Amusement Freaking Park", "Ayo Technology" and "Baby By Me" (although I appreciate the tongue-in-cheek humor of it) are as pop-rap as you can get.

Also, he essentially blew up because he was feuding with arguably the biggest hip-hop artist at the time, Ja Rule, although he DID hit the peak of his popularity with The Massacre I think.

"BISD was a good album but not the best of the year. The best albums of the year in order were (so far):

1.Slaughterhouse: Slaughterhouse
2.Raekwon: OB4CL2
3.Eminem: Relapse
4.50 Cent: BISD
5.Jay-z: Blueprint 3"

Change Raekwon and Slaughterhouse around, pop Eminem at number 5, bring in Kid Cudi at Number 3 and that's my Top 5 so far, or thereabouts. BISD I found to be extremely good in some points. Had he kept going in the vein of "So Disrespectful" or "Psycho" that would have easily been his best work since GRODT, maybe even his best album to date. But instead, he relied on the same old kind of tracks he's done over and over again without even TRYING to make things sound different. I was looking forward to listening to it, thinking there'd be something exciting considering it's his final Interscope album, but I was disappointed in the end, as I have been every year and every album since 2005.



"Beanie Sigel is very good MC and also underrated. He has still been able to have a huge following in the underground and on the east coast. Jay-Z knows that Beanie Sigel has skills. When Jay-Z had problems with other rappers it was always Beanie who handled it musically. Any real hip-hop fan will know that Beanie Sigel ain't nothing to F*** with."

He's got a fantastic ear for beats too. Only problem is, he started going a little bit pop on his last record after The B. Coming. I'm interested to see what his next album will sound like though because he's got a lot of grievances to air out and it should make for an emotional album hopefully.


In accordance with the Brian Griffin rule…I figure I should be allowed to post Lauren London every now and then when Lil Wayne is mentioned

"Lil Wayne is far from the best MC alive. He can put words together quite well with some originality, but he can't tell a story or write a hook or talk about any subject matter with substance. To be no. 1 you must be able to possess these skills (Jay-Z, Eminem...), this is why no one really puts Carter III as a classic. Also going by the material on the "No Ceilings" mixtape, it looks like he hasn't progressed at all." Real Talk NY

I've begun to find Wayne more and more amusing each year as it is amazing as to just how TERRIBLE some of the songs I've heard can be. In the car today, there was this song so unbelievably cheesy and auto-tune-y and just plain horrific that I had to listen to it twice to ensure I wasn't asleep at the wheel.

Lil Wayne's got his place in hip-hop, but it's certainly not at the top. I just get a kick out of the fact that "Best Rapper Alive" acronyms to BRA.

"Technically, in the Big Brother song, Kanye was saying how Jay was being sketchy during that time. He was smart enough to toe the line and not cross it. Carleen is a chick that is obviously someone's assistant or something, which seems like a good gig from where I'm sitting. She gets front row seats to the crying matches while she gets paid, and doesn't have to deal with the "in the public eye" side of it all. Smart girl."

Hmm, guess I'll have to listen to it again. Jay-Z shows would be good to go to I think. I imagine he puts on a quality performance though anyone who's been to a Jay show in recent times is free to dispute this.

"Oh yeah, and I never thought Beanie Siegel was hot. I always viewed him as the requisite 'fat guy they're trying to build as intimidating' on the label. Still don't get the hype, but oh well." - RED

Hahaha why DO labels end up with an intimidating fat guy from time to time? It's like a WWE stereotype that all monsters must be fed to John Cena at least once a year. That and a contract signing never ends without something going through the table.

Sigel albums ALWAYS have outstanding production, The B. Coming is an excellent example of Sigel's abilities in my opinion.

"12 mil from Get Rich or Die Tryin' was from the Em/Dre rub, plus he was hungry. It's a great album, but his subsequent efforts have been horrid, BISD included."

Exactly! It was that hunger and determination that made it such an engaging listen. He had literally come off the streets and into the booth so all the imminent beat-downs he was going to issue didn't sound forced or fake. These days he'd probably have his security goons do it to avoid scuffing his shoes.



"And he is seriously bitch made for not doing a spot with Game and Dre. If the beef is over, why the fuck not? I'm thinking serious "Renegade" fear here." - spacefight

The fact that he said he's ask Dre to replace Game's verse and "put something better" on is a classic example of someone showing insecurity. How many rappers come out with a track that has a BEYOND SHIT guest verse on it? Obviously "something better" could have been put on, but ever since "Renegade" and the fact that Nas pointed it out on "Ether", everybody in hip-hop has been scared as shit to get another rapper on their track without first busting out old rapper's dictionary and going through a refresher course.

"I seriously doubt 50 would worry about Game outshining him on a Dre song. I mean 3/4 of Games songs are him name dropping other rappers and with Dre on the song he can't use him. He'd prolly suffer writer's block & pull out the song himself." - JBass24

That wouldn't stop Game, believe me hahaha. That or he'd simply do something else. L.A.X. was the least name-droppy album he's done to date and I feel it's his best body of work. I love The Documentary, but it's a different kind of album to L.A.X.. Whereas his debut album felt very much a product of the fact that he was on a major label, L.A.X. feels more an album of his own product (although the ridiculous amount of guests was the main drawback to me) and I enjoyed it more in the end I think.

"In 50's defense...I wouldn't make a song with game either, because Game is bipolar. At one moment the beef is done, and then the next moment he is seen on camera saying "fuck 50". BTW "Strong Enough" had a great line about Game and Buck" - Lawyer

50 would welcome that chance to openly go after Game again. They were the hottest topics in hip-hop from about 2005 to late 2006 as the feud got squashed, opened up again, then squashed, then forgotten, then opened up again and then…

50 would probably turn around and comment on that exact nature of Game and use it to make a better diss track in the end. No I still stand by the fact that 50 doesn't want to see his little world progress as to him, it's a world where he can still sell millions of albums. In reality, the world's changing, and despite him being able to recognize that in interviews and provide quite insightful commentary from a business perspective quite often, rarely does he apply those principles to his own work. And it pisses me off like nothing else.

"If it matters, your articles/reviews are some of the few things I actually look forward to in life. You're really good at what you do. Thanks.
-C" - CD

You know, reading the comments I got on the 50 Cent review made me think that perhaps there's no point in actually writing them. People can't seem to grasp the fact that a review is an opinion and an opinion is neither right nor wrong, it is SOMEONE'S OPINION. It also pisses me off that there are some people out there with their head so far up their asses that they cannot stand to see someone criticize the fact that their favorite rapper has their shoelace untied let alone the fact that they made a less than stellar album. A 6/10 isn't exactly a fail either! Sure, express your opinion but saying I'd rather be reviewing a Black Eyed Peas album? And that's after I even put a disclaimer in (which people actually to appear to have read) saying that I am in no way a "BIG FAN" of Soulja Boy, Cam'Ron, Rick Ross or anyone else that 50 has feuded with over the years (seriously, check out the Cam'Ron and Rick Ross reviews I did, it's RIDICULOUS)!

So it really did matter to me in the end. Last week was one of the most stressful and frustrating due to a number of factors so that comment really, really made my week. Thank you.


Just realized that's a Bart Simpson chain…

"They need to bring back Celebrity Death match. A Soulja Boy vs. Gucci Mane match would make my day." - Da Lunchbox

Oh man, after playing Def Jam: Icon, the possibilities really are endless. Have an OJ Da Juiceman vs. Gucci Mane in a "We sound exactly the same!" match. Paul Wall vs. Mike Jones in a "Who can be more repetitive" match. Mark Henry vs. Rick Ross a.k.a. Mark II in a "Rights to the Mark Henry name" match.

I mean, it's not as if MTV couldn't run a TV show that actually has some relation to music for once.

"I almost thought of picking up the new 50, but I just can't...I know I'll be disappointed. While there are some occasional flashes of what made 'Get Rich..." great, I don't have enough confidence in 50 at this point to buy an album. I even downloaded that War Angel mixtape a few months ago, and just wasn't all that impressed. Stick to Vitamin Water, man. BTW, that Rakim/Maino track was heat...heard it on a mixtape (DJ Ski, maybe?) like 2 days ago. Definite headbanger..." - mr_carpenter1982

I think that when 50 releases his Greatest Hits album that might actually be worth picking up if you're someone who's never listened to him before and want to. He does have a fair number of catchy tracks that are real party starters (if you didn't hear "In Da Club" once during 2003/04 at a party, you may not have been born…or were extremely lucky). Now if he went another route and actually had tracks that weren't singles, but were the tracks that the fans deemed as his best, then you could include "Baltimore Love Thing" and other tracks that will most likely be forgotten compared to the "Candy Shop" and "21 Questions" tracks.

The moment I heard the Rakim/Maino track I said "Holy crap it's one of the Dre tracks!" then checked the notes on Wikipedia and it turns out to be Needlz doing his absolute best Dre impression, and actually doing a good job.

"Don't know if anyone is aware, but they were gonna start N.W.A back up a few years back with Eazy-E's son (Lil E) in his place. Fortunately, someone realized he sucks and now he's invisible again" - RED

Now that you mention it, I DO remember there being rumors of something like that happening. I was actually checking daily for Lil Eazy's album around January whatever year it was meant to be released as he'd put out a track called uh…"Me Against The World" that had verses from Pac and Biggie and a pretty dope beat that I liked. Still, Lil Eazy really can't compare to his Dad sadly.



"Quick question for all...what's the better Ghostface album--Fishscale or Supreme Clientele?" - mr_carpenter1982

Oh man that's a hard one. Supreme Clientele is considered to be the nearest thing to a true Classic album post Wu-Tang Forever. It's also a bit more focused as an album as there are fewer tracks and they are longer in duration. Fishscale had that problem of being 24 tracks deep with a lot of those being skits or really short songs. Short songs can be good, such as on the Madvillainy album and on Mos Def's latest (although a lot of them could have EASILY had another verse) but for the most part, you really get into the groove of the song…then it changes.

I think overall, Supreme Clientele is the better album, but from a PERSONAL standpoint, I enjoy Fishscale a bit better. "Shakey Dog", "The Champ", "Whip You With A Strap", "Underwater" and "Momma" are some of my favorites off the album and any album that manages to incorporate the line "Wintertime bubble goose" and a Spongebob Squarepants reference has to be something really amazing in my opinion.

"I'd definitely eat a light bulb. No Hesitation." - Javier Garcia

Someone asked me the other day in the car if I had the latest Black Eyed Peas track. I told them that I would drive my car into the next tree if they asked that question again and referred to the light bulb eating preference and they didn't ask again.


"Smoking Can Harm Your Unborn Child"

"The difference between LL Cool J and Plies as a "ladies man" is that LL Cool J was a good looking man. Plus he has this little thing called "talent". He was good to both men & women for different reasons. He could spit and be sexy.

Plies songs aren't "sexy" per se just "sex"."

Ah exactly right! It's like, LL uses subtlety and clever word play to woo a woman, Plies just tells her that he's a goon and going to make the bed sheets wet. Although the thought of Plies trying to woo a woman is kind of scary.

"He has a song called Pretty P****. Looking at that pic of him you used that shit had me laughing harder than the Ja Rule pic you used after the whole "Iphizzle" thing." - Jesuszilla son of Godzilla

Hahaha it's definitely more fun to try and find the worst possible pictures of some rappers on the internet for the purposes of this column. Although when I'm trying to find a decent one of someone like Lil Kim, it's probably easier to develop a cure for AIDS with a toothbrush and a capsule of fish oil.

Big BIG disclaimer before this next bit, but some people may not remember a column I did probably in my first year of writing here, when I went through a list of various artists I've never gotten into, or never got around to listening to. The Roots was high up on that list as I've only really listened to Game Theory. Even then I had a migraine (why I was on the computer at all, I cannot remember) and random songs off the other albums so I hope that you won't mind me using this as a guide to get into them in the future. I've heard Black Thought on other tracks, but yeah, as part of The Roots, not so much, so this should be really interesting for me.

"I first heard the Roots when I was in my "conscious rap" days. Things Fall apart was just released and it blew my mind away.

Organix: Some people LOVE this album and it was a lot more relaxed and fun then the later releases. The best part of this album was listening to Questlove spit for the first time. 7.5/10"

Reading Wikipedia, this was originally something they sold at their shows. I actually appreciate this because I was at a bar once and the guy performing was really good but didn't have anything to give me and just gave me a sticker with a website on it instead. I ended up buying the album, but I think it's an easy way to promote yourself if you have a dozen or so copies of the album sitting there with you. People might be more inclined to buy it if they see someone else doing so. I'll give this one a listen first for the sake of chronology.

"Do You Want More: The Roots were still finding themselves and this. I don't have this album anymore but I did like it. 8/10 a really good follow up"

I'll probably check this one out second because it was their first on a major label, and usually it's the first thing everyone else hears so I'll be on essentially the same starting point as other people.

"Illadelph Halflife: Oh my God, for the longest I was calling it a classic but in retrospect I wouldn't go that far. With that being said I love this album. I remember thinking "this is the album that's gonna make them huge". The song with Common was sick. I will say this much I thought the first half of the album was better than the second half. But it's still good and aged very well. 9/10"

The Source gave it 4.5 Mics which, given The Source was still relevant at the time, is pretty impressive. Wow it came out just after Pac's death too, so I'm somewhat not surprised that this really took them off the ground given the anti-gangsta rap sound on the album and the mood at the time. If there's a Common appearance, I'll definitely check it out. Not biased at all hahaha

"Things Fall Apart: One of my favorite Hip Hop albums ever. I knew the album was gonna be amazing when I saw the cover. I call this a forgotten classic because it seems like not many people remember this album. Of course to be fair after this album The Roots did a lot of "mainstream" things (well that's what a friend of mine think I don't) so that probably explains it. 10/10"

Looks like there's more features on this than their previous releases. To be fair, I think that even the most staunch underground artist should be allowed to dabble in mainstream affairs so long as they are comfortable with it. Like if Common announced he was only going to make movies from now on, I'd be pissed off, but I'd accept it because it's his choice. To be fair, we have to allow rappers to do what they want. Which was the cover you saw, I'm checking Wiki and they've got five different ones that were available for a limited time only? Now THAT'S an interesting way of marketing an album.

"Phrenology: After what seemed like forever since their classic, I honestly didn't expect much. Thank God I was wrong. This album was creative, funny, clever and the message still came through without being preachy. Also who doesn't like the hear Kweli and Black Thought go toe-to-toe. I remember replaying The Seed 1000 times it's so catchy yet clever. 9.5/10 I wouldn't give it the full 10 because Quills and Water was kind of wack. Oh almost forgot I didn't even notice Nelly Furtado on Sacrifice."

I remember this one being released and seeing it everywhere in the shops. I think mainly because the cover was so interesting (much like how I got sucked into Electric Circus before any other Common album) and I ended up listening to a couple of tracks from it at some point. This was also Nelly Furtado before the Timbaland influence. I'll probably give this one a listen sooner than some of the others just because I want to see if I remember the songs properly or not that I listened to back in 2002.

"The Tipping Point: With Phrenology apparently they were trying to be more "mainstream" I can kind of see why. 7/10"

It looks like a really different format to their previous albums too. Only one Dice Raw appearance and fewer tracks. I might give this one a miss until later then.

"Game Theory: A solid feature heavy album I never finished listening to (borrowed it and never bought myself a copy) somewhere between 8-8.5/10 from what I heard."

I remember seeing "Peedi Peedi" listed and laughing that perhaps it was Peedi Crakk's idiot cousin or something, only to discover it was actually Peedi Crakk himself hahaha. From what I can determine from my somewhat random ratings on this one in iTunes, I've got it at about 8 as well.

"Rising Down: Concept wise this album is pretty damn dark especially tracks 7-10. Another feature heavy album where EVERYONE did their part. Styles P shocked the hell out of me with his verse. Mos wasn't being lazy on the mic and of course Common did it. My favorite track though is Rising Up. It was my first time hearing Wale and he held his own, and my Chrisette still looking beautiful in the video (why no pics of her on HHH or 37th?) 9/10 it's a great album that's dark so not for everyone"

Hmm, this one flew completely under the radar for me although in my defense, 2008 was a pretty busy year for hip-hop. I think I'll fast track this one over some of the others.

And don't say I never listen to my readers!





"I love that they're on Jimmy Fallon getting more exposure because they deserve it. Ever since then my younger Hip Hop friends who like Wayne, Plies etc have bought a Roots album and liked it.

Black Thought is one of the greatest lyricists ever." - Jesuszilla son of Godzilla

They have such an extensive catalog and reputation and I feel that from what I hear, they're one of the very few artists who manage to make accessible music for a variety of ages without sacrificing another element of their sound. They've got another album in the works at the moment, and it appears they will be using another Cody Chesnutt song (basis of "The Seed" on Phrenology) for the album. Not much more information available at the moment though sorry.

The Mini Rant

So the end of the year is RAPIDLY approaching as my driver's license is set to expire on the 6th, hence me having to schedule an appointment to renew it but more importantly, the Year-End wrap up features are going to be coming fast and furious.

For those that may not have been around for the festivities last year I've done four annual wrap up pieces since I started writing here back in 2007.

- An Open Letter To Santa
- The 37th Chamber Award Show
- The ‘XX Rap-Up
- The New Year's Resolution List

A brief explanation of each, the open letter is meant to be a bit of fun and I take the time to look at some things I'd love to see happen in the year to come, kind of like a wish list to Santa etc. Last year I used a comparison to see what had happened in the 12 months previously and if any of my wishes had come true. I then write a new list and this year, to stretch things out unnecessarily, I might do a comparison of all the lists I've done so far. Reading it now, it's pretty interesting to see what I said about certain things. If you haven't read any of the above features, DON'T JUST YET! Wait until the new ones come out this year, then go back and have a look at them. I'll even be providing links to save you time.

Moving on, the Award Show is really meant to be more fun than a serious Award Show with random awards going out to rappers who have done something remarkably awesome or remarkably stupid…mostly the latter, but finishes up with actual awards such as the "Best Ofs". Since all the writers contribute to the site-wide "Best Ofs" as well as a Top 10 list, I haven't usually put my own Top 10 lists together although, and this the reason for this Week's rant, I MIGHT if you guys would like me to. But more on that in a moment.

The ‘XX Rap-Up, done in true Skillz fashion, is a look at the events of the year past, commenting on them and moving on. It's a more serious piece in comparison to the shenanigans of the previous two basically.

Finally, the New Year's Resolution List, which inevitably gets forgotten by about March is a list of the albums that have been released in the previous year that received a fair amount of attention in the hip-hop community, but for various reasons, I was unable to get around to listening to them. They may also be albums that I simply want to listen to, even if they haven't had as much press as others. One example that comes to mind is Royce's Street Hop. Anyway, the weeks following the NYRL, I usually do a Mini Review in the Rant section as I've done in recent times this year. It's much more informal than my reviews for the site.

Anyway, there have been a couple of mentions in regards to the Year-End columns, so that's the four I'll be focusing on during December and January. However, I'd like to take it to you guys for a poll in regards to a Top 10 feature.

Should I:

- Write my own Top 10 (this list differs from the 411 group list quite significantly, even in the ordering of the hip-hop albums sometimes)
- Poll the readers for a Top 10 list and provide commentary on each entry

So leave your vote in the Comments section, or if you have a different suggestion altogether, I'm happy to hear it (and if people reading the Comments like that suggestion, please feel free to vote for it too) and we'll take it from there next week!

A bit of an explanation though I suppose before we go this week. If I write my own Top 10, I'll comment on people's lists if they present me with them, but naturally, my list will probably differ enormously from other people's. Given my lists ALWAYS features albums I've listened to fully and NEVER albums I haven't listened to (because I don't see the point in including something I haven't actually experienced), I can often miss some very popular releases.

If we go with a Reader Poll, by which I'll be asking you guys to throw out as many suggestions as possible over the next few weeks, and then in the middle of December, get a tally going for our Top 10 to appear in the last week of December, the end list will probably include a number of albums I haven't heard yet, but I'll still be able to give commentary on them from what I've heard/read etc.

The rules are very simple:

- The album has to have been released in 2009, for obvious reasons (although an album being released right at the very end of December 2008 MIGHT get consideration)
- The album has to be a FULL ALBUM, no mixtape albums, street albums, bootlegs or EPs if possible please (but again, rules were made to be broken, present me with a strong enough case and we'll see)
- No re-releases of albums from previous years
- Try and keep it mainly hip-hop, but if there's a R&B album that is BURNING YOU WITH A MIGHTY DESIRE, include it

With that, the Polls are open!

The Signoff

With that, another week has passed, I'm another week closer to full time employment, another week closer to going insane and another week closer to Detox!



And another week closer to developing realistic expectations of my hip-hop icons.

Catch you next week!