The Raw Addict 12.06.09: My Best Of 2000-2009, Part 1

Posted by Phil Watts, Jr on 12.06.2009

My Favorite Hip-Hop albums of the decade, Part 1 (#100-56)!!



It's almost the end of the year, so everybody is getting ready to do their best and worst lists of 2009. Me? I decided to jump ahead and make a list chronicling my favorite albums of the decade. The reason why is simple: In case you didn't notice from my decreasing output that I haven't really written much during 2009 because 1) Outside shit like my job situation and all that foolishness, 2) I was (and still am) too broke to go out and buy records like I used to, and 3) There's not much about this year that makes me want to jump on the keyboard with enthusiasm and write about it. You had the sudden deaths of Michael Jackson and Baatin of the Slum Village, and there were a few albums of interest this year (some of which I included in the TOP 100). There's some little controversies which don't concern me (most of which involves G-Unit, which I stopped caring about years ago). If I could care less about your music, then whatever controversy you drum up means NOTHING to me.

So with all that said…On with the list.

Those of you that remember my last list years ago, and have held on this long (through all the rushed columns and all the times I've been inactive), 1) I salute you, and 2) you know the deal with how my lists go. For those that don't, here's the deal:

This is NOT an ALL-TIME GREATEST list.

This is NOT a list of albums that have made an impact on the industry.

This is a list of albums that have made an impact on ME.

That's right. Just like the last list, I am not going to pretend to know what other people think. I'm not going pretend that what I think is what the current Hip-Hop fans think. I can only speak for me and that is what this list is based on. I also went through the effort of pulling up a few songs for each entry, so that if there are some albums that you don't know about, you can check them out at your leisure.

…and now, ON WITH THE COUNTDOWN!

100. Splash, THE RIPPLE EFFECT

It's sad that I have yet to find anything about him…or heard from him since (other than the fact that Supastition shut down his career with the diss-record "Dead Weight"). Still, he made a pretty decent effort, thanks partly to the help of 9th Wonder & Khrysis, who helped out on the production tip.

"Right On Time"

99. Hieroglyphics, FULL CIRCLE

Not as memorable as their first group outing (3rd EYE VISION), but still a good second effort from the Hiero conglomerate.

"Shift Shape" and "Make Your Move"



98. J-Dilla, WELCOME TO DETROIT

Once Jay Dee got some buzz off of Slum Village's FANTASTIC VOL 2 and his work on Common's LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE, he dropped his first compilation, featuring some neat covers, instrumentals, and some guest spots from his various Detroit affiliates. This a part of BBE Record's Beat Generator series.

"Come Get It" with Elzhi

97. Wildchild, JACK OF ALL TRADES

It's been 11 years since The Lootpack dropped their debut album, SOUNDPIECE, and I'm still waiting for a sophomore effort from them. The Wildchild solo's (which features Madlib producing a decent chunk of it most of the time) is the closest we'll get to new Lootpack material. And because they love us so much, they include an instrumental version as well.

"The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen" with Special Ed, Percee P, Masta Ace, and MC Lyte.

96. Chaundon, LIVE FROM THE 718

For this list, I've decided to include mixtapes as well as official releases. Mixtapes have become more like unofficial albums than actual mixtapes, and in many cases, the unofficial albums wind up 10 times better than the official releases…like in the case of the Justus League's Chaundon. LIVE FROM THE 718 features some material with his deceased stickman Mike Smooth (not to be confused with Lord Finesse's DJ) and lots of goodies with 9th Wonder & Khrysis.

"Let's Go"

95. Madlib, WLIB AM: KING OF THE WIGFLIP

Another release from BBE's Beat Generator series. You just know that Madlib was going to take part in this one, as he cranks out another in a long list of compilation albums that he's been serving up for over a decade.

"Gamble On Ya Boy" with Defariand "The Plan", with Georgia Anne Muldrow

94. K-Hill, STAMPS OF APPROVAL

"No matter what you do in life, you always need somebody's stamp of approval. Anyone who says otherwise is lying to your ass!" Truer words were never spoken.

"Top Prospect"

93. Show & AG, LIVE HARD

In a time where many classic MC/DJ duos were going splitsville (Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Gangstarr), it's good to see at least one of them sticking together. Not nearly as good as their 90's efforts, but still solid.

"Land Of The Free" with OC on hook duties.

92. De La Soul, THE GRIND DATE

I have never really cared for their AOI series of albums, which makes me wish they'd call up Prince Paul again. While nothing compares to the impact of their first three albums, De La can still make some good music on their own. This in my opinion is their best since STAKES IS HIGH.



91. Del, BOTH SIDES OF THE BRAIN

The shelved FUTURE DEVELOPMENT was supposed to be the siege-way between NO NEED FOR ALARM and this. Without, many (myself included) were put off with the sharp shift in musical direction from the battle-ready ALARM to the abstract BOTH SIDES. However, after further listens, there's plenty to like here. After all, how many MC's have made songs about how Sony dropped the ball with their butchered version of X-MEN vs. STREET FIGHTER while giving big-ups to GAMEFAN Magazine?

"Protoculture", "Press Rewind"



90. Kanye West, THE COLLEGE DROPOUT

There was once a time when I routed for this man. Way before his MALE DIVA antics turned me off, I was checking for him and his beats. After all, it was because of his and Just Blaze's work on BLUEPRINT that got me to like Jigga.

"Two Words"

89. Madlib, BEAT KONDUCTA 5&6

This instrumental album is Madlib's tribute to J-Dilla, as he tries to replicate the production style and techniques of his late CHAMPION SOUND collaborator.

"Sacrifice", "All Love"

88. The Thyrday, THE PERFECTION EXPERIMENT

Here's another group of newcomers whose music I bought off the strength of 9th Wonder & Khrysis' buzz. Group member K-Slack made some beats on here, too. Yeah, they do the usual "The Hip-Hop Game is fucked up" spiel through most of it, but it's still nice.

"Good Music", "The Rutherford Affair"

87. KRS & Marley, HIP-HOP LIVES

In light of Mr. Magic's death, it's good that KRS made peace with all the people he went to war against over 20 years ago. Even though Marley is nowhere near the beast he was in the mid 80's-to-early 90's, he did recover from that MEH-worthy RE-ENTRY album years ago, which is good enough.

"Kill A Rapper", "The Victory" with Blaq Poet

86. Sean Boog (The Away Team), THE GREAT ADVENTURES OF SEAN WAYNE

While this is billed as a Sean Boog solo project, it's mostly Boog & Khrysis (collectively The Away Team). If only NATIONAL ANTHEM and TRAINING DAY were anywhere near as dope is this 'mixtape'.

The Outcome", "Dreams"

85. J-Dilla, JAY STAY PAID

Pete Rock helps bring together more lost J-Dilla recordings, and even brings along Lil' Fame, Havoc, Reakwon, and Black Thought for the ride.

"Reality Check"



84. Dr. Dre, CHRONIC 2001

This was pretty much the final appearance of the old Dr. Dre, before he became the bland-ass go-to pop producer we're not supposed to say anything bad about. Sorry, people--when I think of Dre, I think of the old sinister gangsta beats and the West Coast Funk from the late 80's -to-mid 90's. Unless he returns to that, DETOX could stay shelved as far as I'm concerned.

"What's The Difference", "L.A. Niggaz"



83. Screwball, Y2K

Solo, Hostyle, Blaq Poet and the Late KL have bonded together to bring back Queensbridge and KILL RUDY GIULIANI!!

"Seen It All", "Who Shot RUDY?", "FUCK ALL Y'ALL BITCH ASS NIGGAZ!!!!"

82. Kweli & Madlib, LIBERATION

After years of mediocrity (and going on magazines shitting on his own fans for not liking it), Kweli finally started making some good music again. On the very same week that Mos Def dropped the shit sandwich called TRUE MAGIC, Kweli and Madlib posted a downloadable version of this album on New Years day (and a disc version a few months later).

"Funny Money", "Happy Home"

81. Lone Catalyst, HIP-HOP

After being introduced to the talent of J. Rawls via Black Star's "Brown Skin Lady", I had to cop anything that had his name in the credits. Yeah, some purchases were better than others (3582), but Ralws works best as ½ of the Lone Catalysts with J Sands.

"Due Process" with Kweli, "Lone Catalysts"

80. Quasimoto, THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF LORD QUAS

I always look forward to a lot of the things that Madlib puts out, but I look forward to The Lord Quas project the most. One notable track (which I can't find on the Tube) is their parody of Show & AG's "Fat Pockets", entitled "Fat Backs".

"Another Demo Tape", "Closer" w/ MF DOOM



79. EL-P, I'LL SLEEP WHEN YOU'RE DEAD

El-Producto returns with more of his brand of futuristic Boom-Bap. I do wish he would get the whole Co-Flow gang back together for another one, but this can hang.

"Drive", "EVERYTHING MUST GO!!!", "Flyentology"

78. Sean Price, JESUS PRICE SUPERSTAR

One of the interesting things that happened these past ten years is Sean Price was coming into his own as a solo star after years of being ½ of Heltah Skeltah.

"King Kong", "Mess U Made"

77. Little Brother, CHITLIN' CIRCUIT 1 & 1.5

To get the people ready for THE MISTRELL SHOW, LB dropped a series of ‘mixtapes' called THE CHITLIN' CIRCUIT. This series consists of lots of outtakes, some B-side material, and a few remixes as well.

From vol. 1: "On The Way, "Shake It"
From vol. 1.5: "War", "Doin' Me", "Flash & Flare"

76. Smitty, VOICE OF THE GHETTO

I had to give a spot to this Scarface-protégé--for "Into You" alone (one of the illest uses of a Peabo Bryson song, courtesy of HiTek). Sadly, I can't find it anywhere and it pisses me off. Well, here a few other songs I liked from it…

"It's Alright", "Ghetto" w/ Scarface

75. Madlib, MINDFUSION, Part 4

MINDFUSION is Madlib's 5-part mixtape series which is a mixtape in a true sense of the word--a huge mix of not just his Hip-Hop material (including remixes and outtakes) but also a huge variety of jazz recordings from all around the world. However, if I were to recommend you only get ONE of them, I pick would be #4, which not only had tons of remixes (a set of Nas/Jigga remixes--including a gutter remix to a Nas song that everyone was afraid to touch--"Zone Out"), a hot remix to Bean's "Wanted", and lots of his material from his years on his father's Crate Digger's Palace Records, way before joining Stones Throw.

Jigger's "Moment of Clarity" remix, CDP Archives--Part 1 and Part 2

74. Kankick, FROM ARTZ UNKNOWN

Kankick (a.k.a. Kanzulu) has been rollin' with Madlib and the gang since their days with CDP Records, and has grown into a crafty beatmaker in his own right, as this album shows.

"Live As It Gets" w/ MED & Oh No, "On The Lookout" w/ Wild child & Kombo

73. Big L, THE BIG PICTURE

"THROW YOUR L'S UP!!!!" Big L was building himself up for a spot on the Rocafella roster and had big plans for stardom…before he was murdered on the same street he stood on his LIFESTYLEZ OV DA POOR & DANGEROUS album (a murder that is still unsolved. Surprised?)

"Who You Slidin' Wit'", "Platinum Plus" w/ Big Daddy Kane



72. O.C., STARCHILD

After a failed attempt at making radio-friendly shit with BON APPITITE, OC goes back to square one with STARCHILD. Sadly, this was a limited release because of some uncleared samples.

"What Am I Supposed To Do", "The Professional", "Getaway"

71. Dres The of Black Sheep, THE SURESHOT REDEMPTION

Years after the vastly overHATED sophomore album, NON-FICTION (by the way, FUCK YOU ALL--that album was a CLASSIC!), Dres embarked on a solo career, most of the time performing under the name Dres THE Black Sheep. Though he's no longer with Mr. Laugne, he did bring in some of his old friends along, like The Legion and Chi-Ali (shortly before taking his permanent Up-North trip).

"Never Say" w/ The Legion, "Pardon Me", "Sky's The Limit" w/ the Legion & Chi Ali

70. Median, MEDIAN'S RELIEF

A lot of Justus League fans have been feinding for a Median album since "Comfortable". After years of red tape and pushbacks, Justus League member Median finally dropped his solid debut.

"How Big Is Your World", "Collage"

69. Madlib, BEAT KONDUCTA--IN INDIA 3&4

With producers like Timbaland using lots of Indian influences in their beats, it was only a matter of time until Madlib would get in the act, too. "Breaks…Disco…Rock ‘N' Roll!!"



68. The Boot Camp Clik, THE LAST STAND

Third times the charm, as the saying goes. The first BCC comp was a complete mess, the second suffered with some so-so material and the absence of Heltah Skeltah's Rock (though it helped Sean P step up). Now everyone's back together, with some big name producers like Pete Rock, 9th, and BCC mainstays the Beatminerz to make it solid.

"Here We Come", "…but The Game Is Still The Same"

67. Alchemist, CHEMICAL WARFARE

ALC continues to be one of this decade's biggest workhorses with compilations like this one. This has a wide variety of guests, from the usual gang of collaborators (Prodigy, Evidence) as well as some legends (Kool G Rap and KRS One) and some chart-toppers (Eminem, Snoop & The DPG, Juvenile & The Oscar Winners Three-Six Mafia).

"That'll Work", "Therapy"

66. 9th Wonder's BLACK IS BACK

9th Wonder realized he created a monster. After setting off the album-remixing craze with his revamp of Nas' GOD'S SON (entitled GOD'S STEPSON, with the poorly photoshopped cover), Jigga gave him a spot on the BLACK ALBUM, via the song "Threat". However, just as he was about to drop his BLACK ALBUM remix, everybody and their momma was dropping BLACK ALBUM remixes! 9th had to back off and put his out last. Me? I rolling with 9th's…even though he chickened out on "Change Clothes and Go"!

"Dirt Off Your Shoulder", "Threat" #2, "My 1st Song"

65. J-Dilla, RUFF DRAFT

After taking part in that debacle known as Common's ELECTRIC CIRCUS, J-Dilla took no time at all to reestablish himself, this time with a harder, edgier sound…starting with this album here.

"Intro/Take It Back", "Make ‘em NV"

64. Pete Rock, NY'S FINEST

This is Pete's third compilation album, his 5th if you count both versions of PETESTRUMENTALS. Nothing more to say---Pete's still one of the best producers ever.

"Til I Retire & Best Believe", "The PJ's" w/ Raekwon & Masta Killa, "Questions" w/ Royal Flush

63. The Boss Hog Barbarians (J-Zone & Celph Titled), EVERY DOG HAS ITS DAY

J-Zone hooks up with Celph Titled to give us some of that ign'ant-ass rap shit that makes your parents hate it! Yeah, there's plenty of ign'ant Hip-Hop these days, but few that have any personality.

"Celph Destruction", "$teady $mobbin'"

62. Mr. Launge Long of Black Sheep, CLASS OF 89

It's good to know that the other half of Black Sheep put in some work as well. Mr. Long actually got a little better on the mic and despite veering away from the old jazz records, is still just as good behind the boards as he was over a decade ago. Here's hoping both he and Dres get back together real soon.

Sadly, no whole songs, but you can preview and order it here.

61. Chris Lowe, THE BLACK LIFE

I first heard of this album through the long-dead-and buried HipHopInfinity site, where they took various lyrics from the album and shitted on it. Apparently, since Chris Lowe wasn't Sage Francis enough for them, they just dismissed him as another garbage rapper. Whatever. Chris Lowe never claimed to be no lyricist, so fuck 'em. Chris is actually a vet and has been around since EPMD was on Sleeping Bag Records and even dug up the "Skull Snaps" record for Stezo!

""Unkut Action" w/ Large Pro, "Treacherous 3" w/ Sadat X & Dinco D of the Leaders of the New School (!!!)

60. D.I.T.C., WORLDWIDE

The almighty DITC crew all decided to unite for their first ever compilation album on the heels of Big L's untimely murder. Yeah, it would've been great if they'd have done this during the height of their creativity (the early to mid 90's), but still a pretty decent outing for them.

"Day One, "Thick", and a tribute to Big L

59. Dilated Peoples, THE PLATFORM

After they blew up in the indy scene with "Work The Angles", everybody was trying to get beats and guest verses from these guys. Dilated (who many mistakenly call DIALATED) Peoples was on a roll during early 2000.

"Work The Angles", "The Platform", "Annihilation"

58. Common, LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE

After years working on Relativity Records with No I.D. making classics, Common made the jump to the majors and with the help of The Roots, Premier, and The Slum Village, he got his first plaque. While I liked the Relativity stuff better, I was cool with this.

"6th Sense", "Nag Champa", "Stolen Moments 4 Payback is a Grandmother"

57. Afu Ra, BODY OF THE LIFE FORCE

After trading rhymes with Jeru, Afu got his first crack at a solo record. Yeah, Afu doesn't have the vocal presence that Jeru had, but fuck it--Jeru was acting like a butt-hole at the time (HEROEZ 4 HIRE, anyone?!), so I took what I could get.

"Mic Stance" [ORIGINAL], "Defeat"

56. Nas, GOD'S SON

I've always had a love/hate relationship with Nas. Sometimes, he'll make some brilliant shit…sometimes he'll make some shit that will make me pop him upside his head. This is the first Nas album in years that I've actually enjoyed.

"Get Down", "Book Of Rhymes"



...and I'm going to end it on that note!
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NEXT TIME: My best of 2000-2009, part 2, #55-11!!