Zach De La Rocha (I feel like I'm spelling that wrong) is still a talentless non-emcee though. Hearing him without the effects on his mic almost sounds like a long lost Beasties sample, until he starts "rapping" and gets his lame all over the track. But Zach aside, what the fuck man?! This shit is crazy good!

(I miss the Beastie Boys. I'm not sure I've had an opportunity to say that yet but I really miss that band)

Though hearing Zach on an otherwise dope as fuckhardcore rap album ruffles my feathers a bit, the rest of the album is SOLID EPIC M**********NG DOPE-ASS SHIT.

My top 5 hiphop records of the year list changes YET AGAIN, because damn. Who could ignore this beast?

I wasn't even that nuts about the first one. It was really good but I stopped playing it a month after it hit and never went back to it.

This one grabs u by the bitchass balls though. My god!

I... actually agree. RTJ2 blew my fucking mind. I don't even know what to think. Up until now Mastermind was my favorite hip hop LP of the year and this just blew it out of the water. It's unreal. It's like... so good that how can it be this good? Fuck.

Hey, just to clarify (forgive me if I'm forgetting something- I've been really forgetful lately) ... Did you ever listen to the new Shabazz Palaces LP from this year, Lese Majesty?

Because when I say RTJ2 is on a completely different level than anything else in hip-hop this year, I'm more or less saying that RTJ2 is somewhere within SPs' orbit. That it's competitive with that album, which is more than I can say for most of what the year has yielded.

But yeah. RTJ2 is instantly up there with Underachievers and Shabazz Palaces as far as vocal hip hop is concerned. I'm am really happy with it. Frankly these records blow Mastermind out of the water as good as that album is.

I also have a and spot for Animal Ambition, the new Jeezy, the new Wiz, and the new Game. I'm goog to have to root through old tangents from this thread in order to remember all the albuns that made it into my constantly changing favorites list this year.

I've got to make an effort not to forget albuns like the new material disc on that Infamous Mobb Deep reissue from earlier in the year, and other early faves like Honest, Piñata, etc.

Really I just want the NEW FUCKING KANYE ALREADY!!!

so the new Future tape is harder and better than Honest, wow.

Tight, downloading now.

Throw Away's second half sent shivers down my spine.

"go fuck that nigga, get it over with"..
i feel like every grown man could relate to this song, Future is so mature now.

new Rick Ross song off his upcoming album Hood Billionaire, produced by Timbaland: https://soundcloud.com/rickyrozaymmg...e-if-they-knew

dope as hell. The Bawse skated over that beat.

not crazy about RTJ2 to be honest. the highs are higher than RTJ1 but the lows are lower. Zach De La Rocha and Travis Barker were unnecessary.

http://www.livemixtapes.com/mixtapes...-savage-3.html

this is what a Keef mixtape would be like if he decided to stop fucking around and just drop a classic.

Wow, I'm surprised he's already hitting us with another LP.

Lotta that's been going on lately, though. I mean: Iggy Azalea's already got a new album, finished and ready to drop. It's only been 7 months since The New Classic dipped, and I think "Fancy" is STILL on the hot 100.

And yeah- Ro$$ (not sure why I always spell his name with dollar signs, but whatever) is had topping another album.
Ought (not rap; Constellation records post-Rocky/math-rocky band who already released one of the year's best indie records) has a new album out....

Oh, and Homeboy Sandman! That ninja pumps shit out like WHAT. Two full length LP's between March and August!! Both really good, btw.

I'm always happy to see 1960's record-output speeds in action again.
Growing up in the '90s and liking artists like Wu-Tang Clan, Nine Inch Nails, Tool (until about '01 at least), and other perennial procrastinators (MBV, Breeders, Modest Mouse, etc, ) who often took so much time between releases that it often felt like they'd broken up was just irritating. I can't help but appreciate it when:

a.) bands make up for that kind of "I'm the new Brian Wilson & my ART speaks through me and it takes years of knob-twisting to perfect.. In other words I am really pretentious, clinically narcissistic, and the polar opposite of punk!" bullshit by spitting out albums at a whiplash inducing pace during a later phase of their career. (As Trent Reznor did during NIN's 2004-2009 period, which yielded the most consistent music of his career)

OR

b.) when new artists show their passion for music making and for their fans by making music and releasing it like it's a job or something (which it is, of course, and if a band isn't making music or touring then they're basically on welfare, and as such they should be required to actively seek work and report to the gov't regularly.

In short, I dig it when the artists I like make music :cool:

I'm not sure if I'm going to be a long term Iggy fan. I haven't listened to her new singles, but I'll bet I know what they sound like.
I was pretty damn impressed with The New Classic when it first hit, and I still think it's a fun listen and a seriously impressive debut.

But I no longer consider it one of the year's finest hip-hop joints. There have been far too many releases that leave "fun" and "impressive" in the dust, crushing expectations and even notions of what hip-hop is/can be, for a fun pop-rap album to be competitive.

I didin't hear Iggy has a new album. She's re-releasing New Classic as like "The Re-Classification" or something. But it's a new tracklisting. Some new songs but missing some songs from the OG album. Kinda dumb.

Oh... Well... Fuck it then. Sounds like an all around dumb idea.
Are you sure it's not a remix album of some kind?

Still, lots of artists are *actually* releasing multiple projects in the same year.

Sorry about the false alarm.

Reclassified is the upcoming reissue of The New Classic (2014). It is scheduled for release on 24 November 2014 by Virgin EMI.[124] Set to be released seven months after its parent album, Reclassified features five newly-recorded songs. Azalea announced its re-release in the caption of an Instagram post of the issue's artwork. Reclassified became available for preorder on 24 October 2014 and its first single, "Beg for It", was made available for digital purchase the same day.[125]



1. "We in This Bitch"
4:10
2. "Work"
Kelly Sims Markous Roberts Pebworth Astasio Shave
1st Down The Invisible Men
3:43
3. "Change Your Life" (featuring T.I.)
Kelly Natalie Sims Raja Kumari Nasri Atweh Adam Messinger Lovy Longomba
The Messengers 3:40
4. "Beg for It" (featuring MØ)
Kelly Charlotte Aitchison
2:58
5. "Black Widow" (featuring Rita Ora)
Tor Erik Hermansen Mikkel Storleer Eriksen Benjamin Levin Katy Perry Sarah Hudson Kelly
Stargate
3:29
6. "Trouble" (featuring Jennifer Hudson)
2:46
7. "Don't Need Y'all"
Turner Jon Mills Shave Pebworth Astasio Kelly
The Invisible Men The Arcade
3:33
8. "Rolex"
Kelly Astasio Pebworth Shave Mckenzie
The Invisible Men The Arcade
3:23
9. "Iggy SZN"
Kelly The Invisible Men Darryl Reid Turner
3:20
10. "Fancy" (featuring Charli XCX)
Kelly Aitchison Astasio Pebworth Shave Mckenzie
The Invisible Men The Arcade
3:19
11. "Heavy Crown" (featuring Ellie Goulding)
3:52
12. "Bounce"
Mark Orabiyi Oladayo Olatunji Sims Kelly Mark Hadfield Mike Di Scala Jochem George Paap
Reeva & Black
2:47

But...but...Iggy sucks. Seriously, that album was just trash. Curse you guys, usually I agree with your reviews, but Iggy was just awful.

Nothing about the new Dizzee Rascal song?

Nods in approval

i don't care for her either.

more interested in Charli XCX' upcoming album if anything.

Rap sucks this year, last year being possibly the single best year for rap and hip hop in 15 years possibly just raised the bar too high

This.