Continuing rounding up 2011 with the second Top 5 chart. Genre of the day: Hip Hop. And Hip Hop had kind of a strange year.
On the one hand, there were some brilliant tracks in the more old school side of the genre, like gangster rap, and on the other hand there was the emergence of the darker blended side, with loads of dubsteppy basslines and even grimier lyrics. Not even to mention the whole College Rap scene (which got its own list, which will be online tomorrow). Anyhow, hip hop moved further along the lines of absurd and experimental, which can only be applauded. A couple of our favorites:
[youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBvngg87998[/youtube]
Kendrick Lamar – Rigamortis
Probably the biggest confirmation/surprise of the year. Everybody knew Kendrick Lamar could rap, but that he could write and rap this well? The only word that comes to mind is a word that shouldn’t be uttered. Let’s just say it starts with an F. ‘Rigamortis’ is not the most well known song of his brilliant album Section. 80, but in the end, when Lamar gets it going, it’s like Madlib got a Gift of Gab shot. And it sounds just totally incredible.
[youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP-vA7KzPjM[/youtube]
Pac Div – Posted
Quite the entrance onto the scene by Pac Div this fall with their first full LP ‘The Div’. The experimental nature of their beats combined with a typical Southern Californian manner of rapping makes them a must listen. Posted was the first single of the album and features this cool Arabian nights -like repetitive vocal in in the beat. Together with guys hiding from their girlfriends in abandoned warehouses, that makes some serious fatness.
[youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GKL_ZoJQjc[/youtube]
Pusha T ft. Tyler the Creator – Trouble On My Mind
Ah, Odd Future, the crazy jumping around buzz of the year. OFWGKTA is like a beast that is made of a Johnny Knoxville morphed with some NWA and took a line of coke while merging. Absolute madness, the 80’s punk version of hip hop. Trouble On My Mind was probably the most visible sign of their craziness. Together with the more gangster likes of Pusha T, Tyler just runs the streets of Troubletown. Oh, and the video is stupendously cool as well.
[youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob3ktDxAjWI[/youtube]
A$ap Rocky – Peso
Named as one of BBC’s ‘Sound of 2012’ recommendations after his mixtape ‘LiveLoveA$AP’, Harlem-born A$ap Rocky should be on everybody’s radar right now. Admitted, he has got some of that purple swag he talks about. His slow Snoop Dogg-like flow and southern beats work well with the Harlem roots and sometimes caribean vibe his tracks bring forward. A$ap rocky just blends it all together as his own. Peso is the commemoration of that.
[youtube width=”400″ height=”200″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci7UF_eHgVw[/youtube]
Atmosphere – The Last To Say
So Atmosphere shouldn’t come as to much of a surprise on most hip hop lists. Ant and Slug have been at it for almost two decades now and have not really shown any signs of slowing down. Their last LP, ‘The Family Sign’, was less raw than their earlier work and the newer stuff is more reflective and mature. The Last To Say is a perfect example of that evolution, it’s an ode to Slug’s storytelling talent. And when Atmosphere tells a story, you listen.
Complimentary MP3:
Honorable mentions: this, this, this and this.
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