Top 10 Hip Hop Albums of the Year

It took me awhile to catch up with what I missed this Spring, but I have listened to everything I wanted (and you forced me) to hear in 2010. With that being said, here is WhiskeyTeeth's Top 10 Hip Hop Albums of the Year list. The winner receives that beautiful award pictured above, which is presented to you by Big Lots.

10. Shad- TSOL (Black Box Recordings- May 25th [Canada]/October 5th [USA])

Thoughts: Canadian hip hop gets a bad wrap (mostly because a lot of it is bad rap), but Shad has proven himself more than worthy to the snarky and pretentious United States hip hop elite, especially with his acclaimed 2010 release, TSOL.  Seamless, conceptual, intelligent, and full of humor-- Shad somehow topped 2007's The Old Prince and gave underground hip hop fans a canuck to pull for.

#9-1 on the flip side!

9. Moe Pope- Life After God (Brick Records- July 27th)

Thoughts: If WhiskeyTeeth had a Top 10 Underrated Albums of the Year category, you can bet your ass Moe Pope and Rain's project would top that list. After numerous overlooked collaborations with Electric, Headnodic, Project Move, and Mission that never went the distance, Moe Pope has found his comfort zone and an emerging producer he can flourish with. I'm hoping that this wasn't a one and done.

8. Atmosphere- To All My Friends, Blood Makes the Blade Holy (Rhymesayers- September 7th)
Thoughts: Am I the only one that thinks Atmosphere has only gotten better with time? From Seven's Travels and on, my love for Slug and Ant has grown exponentially and their 2010 double EP has me loving them even more. Over a pool of classic rock guitars, organ stabs, and crisp drums, Slug slangs slurred grown man raps that a lot of hip hop heads in their late twenties/early thirties will connect with.

7. Kokayi- Robots & Dinosaurs (QN5-August 28th)

Thoughts: The official follow-up to 2008’s Mass Instructions, Robots & Dinosaurs is a self-produced tour de force that showcases the Grammy-nominated artist’s varied talents on every track. With lush layers of live instrumentation, soulfully expressive sung-vocals and wordplay galore, Kokayi has managed to create a work that highlights the spaces between the extremes of modern pop, rock & hip hop and subsequently deletes them. One of the most exciting and unexpected independent releases of 2010-- why aren't more people excited about this?

6. Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasty (Roc-A-Fella Records- November 22nd)

Thoughts: Out of the ten, this is the one that I have sat with the least and the only record that affected me outside of the music that it contained. Accidental genius or not, Kanye knows how to grab this generation's attention and keep it. Even though I think his media theatrics, ego, 30 minute film school reject video, and live performances are comedy skits, I think any lunatic artist that can control this generation like he does deserves a round of applause. Plus his shit sounds good.

5. Ceschi Ramos- The One Man Band Broke Up (Equinox- June 28th)

Thoughts: Ceschi is a genius. I became a huge fan after listening to the self titled Toca album (I would give my life savings to members of Toca if it would help them pull off another album), which made me dig into Ceschi's solo catalog. His third solo album is without a doubt his magnum opus and one of 2010's must hear albums. It is definitely an album you have to sit with, absorb, and give multiple listens, but the reward is well worth the efforts. Combining hip hop, folk, and psychadelic rock, The One Man Band Broke Up tells the story of a well-traveled musician at odds with the industry and himself. Ceschi speaks through the character of Julius & the Bearded Saviour as he weaves narratives about the perils of the road, failure and self-destruction.

4. Big Boi- Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty (Purple Ribbon- July 5th)
Thoughts: Bangarang.

3. Open Mike Eagle- Unapologetic Art Rap (Mush Records- May 11th)
Thoughts: Yes, in my world, Open Mike Eagle's debut solo album ranks above both Big Boi and Kanye West at the end of the year. If I wasn't a big enough Swim Team/OME fan boy before, Unapologetic Art Rap put the scoop of hummus on top and made me one for life. The self proclaimed 'nutcase displaying an obvious what the fuck face' will grab your attention with his untouchable rhyme schemes, playful concepts, and intelligent humor and make your blunt smoke smile and sway to his weird wordplay and infectious hooks. But you have to have enough patience to catch all that he throws at you.
It took awhile for internet nerds and blogosphere bums to take to Homeboy Sandman, so it's only a matter of time before more people catch on to Open Mike's genius-- a genius that, in my opinion, will take him further than any Blowedian has ever gone before. You can see what I mean in the I Rock (For the Unemployed) Remix and Haircut.

2. Intuition- Girls Like Me (Hellfyre Club- February 9th)
Thoughts: For a first quarter release in the middle of the ADD generation, Intuition's sophomore album held up extremely well. Not only did this album feature some of the best production of 2010 (courtesy of emerging Los Angeles beatsmith Equilibrum), but it was a 15-track clinic on the long lost art of song sequencing. Combine these two vital components with Intuition's easy to digest style and well penned tales of a directionless man in his mid 20's that's prone to complacency, womanizing, and debauchery, you got yourself the go to album for any 18-33 year old white boy for years to come. Asher Roth who?
On top with having a lot of emotional connections to Intuition's lyrics ("Don't Try" plays when I walk down the street), Girls Like Me allowed me to musically connect with a lot of special ladies in my life that would have never listened (or given a chance) to this type of music. You can't say that for many new  artists or albums. I think this says a lot about what Intuition and Equalibrum accomplished and what they will accomplish in the future.

1. The Roots- How I Got Over (Def Jam- June 22nd)
Thoughts: They did it again and no one should be surprised.