Midnight marauders, illmatic and the infamous are prob my top three ny albums

Yeah, same. It's all gotten quite pathetic at this point. I truly believe that Wayne had his moment, and that he was probably the best in the game for a bit. But somehow he got the idea that he was like... something the world would never be able to live without. Seriously, I think that happened because he just won't stop trying to be Mr. Hip-Hop, even though it's obvious to everyone but him that the game has changed so much that nobody even expects anything from him anymore.

He made a few really good albums, one great album, a few good to great tapes, and some unforgettable guest spots.

The only thing that separates Wayne from any other rapper who briefly held the title is that Wayne went ahead and released 20 albums full of absolute shit, while most of the other folks realize their time is up and either fade into cult-level obscurity to fiddle with their formula, or they just fucking give up!

His battle with Birdman/Ca$h Money (which nobody cares about) is just a way to stay in the headlines. Nobody cares about The Carter 5. Nobody cares about freeing Weezy. He needs to accept that he is not a high artist of hip hop. He never really had that in him. He's more of a personality and a presence and a brand.

Which is fine! That's what Snoop Dogg is, and Snoop's made it work. He has a few straight classics, but he's mostly just a cartoon character. Wayne needs to just accept that that's where his career and his decisions have taken him. At least Snoop seems to understand that Kendrick Lamar is the real deal now. I look at the cover of No Ceilings 2 and I just want to laugh at how utterly out of touch Wayne actually is with the current hip hop landscape.

For what it's worth, I think Jeezy is aging with more grace than Wayne.

Fuck it.

I watched a making of Late Registration vid the other day.. and Kanye looked so passionate while he was recording it at the studio. Beautiful!

the fucked up thing - in hindsight - is that Rebirth is the album that everyone hated when it came out. (Well, not me). But if you look at it in his discography now, it's the last time he really took a chance and did something interesting and ballsy. We can debate how successful it was - but at least he was trying TRYING to do something different.

I'll contend there's good stuff post Carter-III... IANAHB, Carter IV, even the first Young Money album, No Ceilings... but I mean, he's put out a harddrive full of material since and so much of it was on autopilot "I aleady proved myself so why bother trying?" mode.

Ultimately he created a body of work so vast that the bad has outweighed the good which is totally unfortunate considering how good the good was.

Yo I just realized Madvillainy was heavily influenced by Beefheart (& maybe Zappa as well?), even Pinata to an extent. I googled it and found out Madlib is a fan of both. That's so fucking sick.

Yeah.. Wayne is pretty much a nostalgia artist at this point, it's sad. At last Tha Carter 2 will always remain a fucking classic though.

Zappa is sampled on Madviallainy.

I wasn't aware!! Haha, I'm so excited to know that Beefheart and Zappa inspired two of my fav musicians from the last 10-20 years: Madlib and D'Angelo.

By the way, I'm a huge Beefheart fan but I don't know much about Zappa's work. The only album I've heard from him is "We're Only in It for the Money" which I really liked. Can y'all put me on?

"the jar is under the bed"

What you guys think of the Vigilant Citizen's take on Kendrick Lamar's latest album? http://vigilantcitizen.com/musicbusi...imp-butterfly/

this was really interesting. Thanks!

I know I've talked about it before, right? But TPABF is such a weird album. It is one of the most important albums of the year I think. And at the same time, not one I enjoy listening to.

I know that sounds confusing. But what I mean is that it's really deep, and there's all these layers to pick at lyrically. It is probably deeper than Good Kid even. But the funny thing is I've probably spent more time this year READING ABOUT this album than listening to it.

On the flip, the album is super important to me because it led me to a bunch of other albums that have meant a lot to me. If I never heard this album then I would not have investigated Kamasi Washington's THE EPIC. Or Robert Glasper Trio's COVERED. Or The Young Jazz Giants' s/t album.

The craziest thing about this album to me is that what should be the defining hip hop album of 2015 instead just led me deeper into the rabbit hole of discovering recent jazz albums I might have overlooked.

So while I feel like TPABF is this really important record that all rap fans need to hear... I feel contradictory stating that there's a bunch of other rap albums this year I put above it purely based on my own listening habits.

I haven't read that article yet.. I just wanna say that TPAB is easily my album of the year, as well as one of my favorite albums of all time.

I love the Coltrane influence on This Free? Interlude, the way he used his voice to flow like an instrument. The robotic vocals effect on You Ain't Gotta Lie's hook. The hard ass drums on How Much a Dollar Cost. Kendrick's scream at the beginning of "u". Rapsody's verse on Complexion is the best female MC verse of the decade (much better than Nicki on Monster)..

There are just so many layers to it and each one of them is so great, whether it's the production, lyrics or very high level of technical rapping. I can really go on and on about how much I love every song. Such an incredible album.

"I know if I'm generous at heart, I don't need recognition
The way I'm rewarded, well, that's God's decision."

I love how Kendrick is getting praised by pretty much every legendary black music artist/pioneer out there nowadays.

George Clinton called him the funkiest man in the world. Prince said Alright is in his playlist and added (something along the lines of..), "when this song comes on, no one can stop me!" (can imagine him jamming along to it, awesome), D'Angelo and Stevie showed him love, etc..

Wow, heavy praise from Prince!

NR: I know we've talked about the labyrinthine complexity of TPAB before, likening it to. "Ulysses of hip-hop albums" and whatnot, so I get where you're coming from.
But at the same time, I've never actually been in a position where I couldn't listen to songs from the album and experience extreme joy and satisfaction. Tackling the whole thing can be a bit of a chore, but honestly ... That album is the definition of "fire."
Not since MBDTF has such an elevated hip-hop statement been made. Every song is a gem, and the overall effect of the album is hard to dispute. I hope eventually you come to a point where you can get some genuine joy out of listening to it, because I think it's worth it.

Best/most enjoyable rap album since MBDTF? I can agree.

I'm sure I will get there. But I'm not yet.

Dark Twisted never felt like work to me. But Good Kid, Acid Rap - those actually were albums that took me time to enjoy. And I loved them after a while.

"u" is probably the only song I need to be in the mood to enjoy.. maybe Mortal Man as well.

Rolling Stone's top 5 albums of the year:

1. Kendrick Lamar "To Pimp a Butterfly"
2. Adele "25"
3. Drake "IYRTITL"
4. D'Angelo and the Vanguard "Black Messiah"
5. The Weeknd "Beauty Behind the Madness"

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/li...-2015-20151201


Drake's tape and Adele over Black Messiah (which technically came out last year, but whatever)?..

Rolling Stone eats shit.

Sorry, but that is one lame ass top 5. Clearly Kendrick belongs there, but if they're going to include Black Messiah, then there's no way Kendrick should be #1. BM was from last year anyway.

What the hell? Why does Adele's brand new album get thrown in with an album that is literally 12 months older? Fuck all that. That's a bitchass list. No balls. (yes, I do own and enjoy 4 of those 5 albums... but still - bitch ass list)

Agreed.

I'd rank Black Messiah above TPAB as well.

Sad that none of the "top 5" are rock music. it's dead. been dead. Poor Rolling Stone.

P_green: who exactly are you referring to with the "new crop of popular rappers" comment? Just curious.

Because I think as far as most of the world is concerned, Future and Young Thug fit that description best, even though Future isn't new and Young Thug is crap, and also not new.

I'm afraid Kanye is in his own world right now. He's never waited this long between albums. Drake is just continuing to be Drake, which means yeah, he's popular, but he's also one of the most targeted rappers in the world. He's very "love him or hate him", moreso than Kanye. Kanye's debut is 11 years old, and he's always been kind of a "love him AND hate him" figure. That's because he's objectively brilliant musically, but tends to be a bit of a damn fool.

Kendrick is the only rapper out there who's got everyone in his corner. Sadly, even Kendrick was overthrown by the willful ignorance of the Young Thug hype machine.

But yeah, I'm totally glad it's not about Wayne and Em anymore.

But I think Kanye needs to make the wait worth it, and drop his new joint at the PERFECT time in order to avoid the "bricking" that pitchfork predicted.

The new Pusha-T is happening, and it's probably going to be some insane Kanye produced shit.

Oh, and Quentin Tarantino *may* have purchased Once Upon a Time in Shaolin for untold millions of dollars.

May he share it with the world. If the world doesn't hear that album, ima start hating Rza actively. Never thought I'd say that, but what a fucking bunch of bullshit that was.

You actually nailed it dude. Young Thug has a cult fanbase. Future is pretty big, but nowhere near the rappers you've mentioned.

Drake, J. Cole, Kendrick are the most popular out of the "new generation" right now (sold like 3x more than Future's album) and it's beautiful to see. Kanye is way more important to hip-hop (and music in general) than Jay-Z, Eminem and Wayne. Revenge of the nerds, huh. :) Great post.

Hate to burst the bubble about Wu-Tang's secret album, but I came to realize it's all a marketing ploy. Read here: https://reddit.com/r/hiphopheads/com..._wutang_album/

Oh by the way, J. Cole and Kendrick are setting up to release a collab album in February.

the Wu-Tang thing is beyond stupid. I lost a lot of respect for RZA over this. (Not as a producer/musician/rapper - but as a businessman/brand). If anything I feel like this stupid publicity stunt has only highlighted how out of touch he is w/ the rap world.

Well, I'm not sure what to believe. You never know anymore. What I do know is that over the past 2 years, my opinion of RZA and the Clan in general has absolutely plummeted. For nearly 20 years, I've been a loyal Wu fan, and as recently as 2013 they were still my favorite hip hop act of all time (a position I believe I've made more than clear on this forum). But the infighting and bullshit surrounding ABT looked bad for everyone involved, and that album was fine and all, but it was neither familiar nor different enough to be worth the wait and the non-stop crap that surrounded its release in the media.

I don't care who produced the album. If it's a bomb ass record featuring the entire Clan, that's all that matters. But all this shit about high art can suck a dick. If the album gets released, I will totally buy it and listen to it. As long as it stays stuck in this hip-hop Da Vinci Code melodrama, and nobody gets to hear it, I'm gonna be pissed at everyone involved.

If that Reddit story is accurate, I actually feel bad for Cilvaringz. And I also feel white hot anger toward every member of Wu who knew that this was going on but didn't bother to divulge any helpful details in any of their countless public tirade's against RZA. If Method Man and Rae were so pissed off, why the fuck didn't they say something about what was really going on behind the album?

I'm serious: I feel sick about the entire way in which these guys have conducted themselves over the past few years.

While their first 4 albums, and many of their solo records still rank among my favorites, and even though Wu-Tang is still one of my favorite groups of all time, I no longer feel that undying sense of loyalty that I once did. Death of a fanboy, I guess.

That sounds so much more interesting than Future & Drake. Wow.

(No offense, I still rock Drake all the time, but he's just corny as hell and that "mixtape" sucked)

I was just curious, making sure I understood you correctly.

I think Summertime '06 might be a better album than TPAB. Not more important or whatever. Just better. More enjoyable.

I also still really dig B4.DA.$$ and Tetsuo & Youth and If You're Reading This... But I'm guessing my top 2 rap albs will be Summertime and Butterfly.

Can't help but notice that Hudson Mohawke isn't showing up on any year end lists (Stereogum, Rolling Stone), and I find myself wondering if people were just, uhh, really high all year or something? How is Lantern getting passed over? Fuck that shit.

Disagree strongly man.

Word, well.. Cole can rap and produce, but my issue with him is he lacks creativity and often comes off as fake deep and a try-hard. As long as Kendrick is the driving force behind that project, it could be so good.

I def enjoy Summertime 06 more than TPAB.

I think it's a better hip-hop album, even if TPAB is a better album-album. That probably makes very little sense, but it's kinda where I'm at with the whole thing. TPAB is not the kind of album you put on when you want to bob your head and sing along. Likewise, Summertime '06 isn't really a genre bender or game changer. It's just an explosive album from the year's most formidable new voice in hip-hop.

Kendrick is already transcending the hip hop genre, much like Kanye did with Late Registration. But while LR was kind of like hip-hop's answer to George Martin and Rubber Soul-era Beatles, TPAB is more like hip-hop's Electric Ladyland. Both are destined to be classics in a more general way. Summertime '06 is hip-hop through and through, and it's excellent.

I gotta say I've not listened to At.Long.Last.A$AP in quite a while. For a while it was my pick, but time has just exposed its weaknesses to me. It's like half as good as Long.Live. Which is a bummer.

Lots of disappointments this year actually. I can't tell if it's the immediately disposable nature of our current collective ADD approach to music, or if it's because some of these highly anticipated albums just weren't as good as we wanted them to be. But it's aggravating, and I want Kanye to drop a joint and get shit back on track.

I feel you on TPAB/Summer/etc. 100%.

I feel like a broken record, but TPAB is the better album. It's "better." But I'd much rather listen to Summertime.

For me, each year has this one album that just defines the year for me for hip hop. Good Kid, Long Live A$AP, My Krazy Life and now Summertime 06. It's like this clear lineage to me of these 'new' guys coming out and dropping insane records.

ALLA is really good though. I feel like it's a bit slept on because frankly it doesn't sound quite like Live.Love or Long.Live or even the other shit that A$AP Mob was dropping. It is a really unique record. I mean, something like "LSD" - who expected that song from Rocky? Not me. But it's dope.

I just think Rocky is exploring things right now. And to be fair, Yams' passing was probably very disruptive to the creative process to the whole Mob.

I do think that ALLA is better than anyone realizes right now. I think that is a serious grow-er record. It's a slowburn. But it's quality.

The biggest problem that Rocky & the Mob has is that they are severe perfectionists. Why do you think we still have no group album, nor Rocky's instrumental record that was supposed to drop over a year ago? This is both good and bad of course. It means that we get really solid albums, but it also means long passages of nothing. And the public is fickle and out of sight = out of mind for many.

It was a weird year tho. Most of my favorite albums were jazz. But if we're talking hip hop, well the year's not over but I feel full so let's go...

Action Bronson and Joey Bada$$ dropped excellent albums this year. And I loved that Welcome To Los Santos comp. I thought Drake's "mixtape" was damn good.

But I mean damn. This was a year where Lil Wayne, Ghostface and The Game each dropped 2 or 3 albums... and I couldn't seem to get into any of them. WTF?

Hahaha, I guess I get why it's so difficult for y'all to enjoy TPAB, but I just don't feel the same way.