Reviews: The BEST 5 Hip-Hop Albums And Or Mixtapes Of 2010 So Far

We know the hip-hop world seemingly is engulfed with what kind of numbers Drake is doing. We hope he succeeds buuuuuut... Is his album the best of 2010 so far?

Alright, on what feels like only three days ago, we've already gone through over hal of 2010 in a breeze. This year went by quicker than hot molasses (as my grandpa usta always say) and zillz asked the writers and I to pick our Top 5 albums/mixtapes you should have or should be getting right now. That's tough because there has been a lot of good music released in the past 6 months, but each of us made the sacrifice and chose 5 total!

MsMusiclover

Rick Ross - The Albert Anastasia EP
Rick Ross has truly deserved the "Most Improved" award since he came on the scene in 2005. Each album/mixtape he drops, he becoming lyrically better IMO. For the prequel to his upcoming album Teflon Don, Ross drops The Albert Anastasia EP and has destroyed car stereos from repeat play and giving cats more verses to quote on their Facebook and Twitter pages (me included *guilty*). From the heavy bass production from producers like Lex Luger and DJ Clark Kent, a Master P remake in "300 Soldiers" and having a GOAT track called "MC Hammer," this mixtape is clearly one of the best out right now.

Don Cannon & Young Jeezy - Trap Or Die 2: By Any Means Necessary
*inserts random Jeezy ad-libs* We have been waiting on a Young Jeezy mixtape for the streets for a hot minute. I mean, how can you NOT still play Trap or Die mixtape to this day? That joint still bumps like new. In April, Trap or Die 2 dropped and did not disappoint at all. As usual, Jeezy delivers on the dope production and gives us confidence that we can push the white ourselves with ease. "Ill'in" featuring Clipse has to be my favorite track.

Currensy & Don Cannon - Smokee Robinson
I've been checking for Curren$y ever since his Young Money days with Lil Wayne and knew he would be a problem. He dropped This Ain't No Mixtape last year and it was clearly one of the best albums of 2009. In anticipation for his upcoming album Pilot Talk released on Roc-a-fella Records/Def Jam, Curren$y gave the streets Smokee Robinson: The Mixtape with DJ Don Cannon aka 22 track of pure piff (pun intended). Not alot of guest appearances but a whole lot of lyrical fire. Check out "I Don't Fucks With Em" featuring Nippsy Hustle and Wiz Khalifa and "Invinsible Jets."

Method Man, Ghostface Killah & Raekwon - Wu-Massacre
I have to admit, I am a serious Wu fan...wait, let me add to that and REALLY say that I am a serious Ghostface stan. I will repeat that statement all the time and wear a sticker on my shirt with pride. I'm not ashamed b. No biased, but in the year so far where mixtapes have clearly out shined albums, Wu-Massacre is definitely one of the best albums out this year so far. Anyone who misses the gritty, complex wordplay from East Coast hip hop will not be disappointed with this album. Highlights include "Our Dreams" and "Miranda."

Reflection Eternal - Revolutions Per Minute
Talib Kweli + Hi-Tek = extraordinary music. We haven't heard an album from these two since 2000 with Train of Thought. That classic album put Reflection Eternal on the mainstream scope, especially with "The Blast." A decade later, Talib and Hi-Tek are back together with Revolutions Per Minute, and they definitely have not missed a beat. Hi-Tek produced the whole album with rich, soulful jazzy beats; perfect backdrop for Talib's quick fire delivery and conscious lyricism. You will not find the latest dance track or catchy hook on this album, and for that I love them.





CornellDaGr8

Big Krit - K.R.I.T. Wuz Here
One week listeners were given a small spoonful of Big K.R.I.T. on Wiz Khalifa's Kush n OJ then given the full meal with his album, K.R.I.T. Wuz Here. And fans could not be nothing more than satisfied with what they were given. He has been seen as the second coming of Pimp C but I see that K.R.I.T has much more to offer with doing his own production and his subject matter.

B.o.B.- The Adventures of Bobby Ray
B.o.B.'s The Adventures of Bobby Ray is my major release of my list. And B.o.B. definitely gets "most improved" for me as going from the cliche' track "Haters Everywhere We Go" to the inspirational track "The Kids." I don't know what changed in his life (other than his name) but it was a changed for the greater good. He made a solid debut album and I expect to hear much more from B.O.B. or Bobby Ray in the future.

Wiz Khalifa - Kush & OJ
Kush & OJ is my "everybody loves this guy" pick on my list. Wiz Khalifa might be the most praised artist when it comes to the internet, but it is for obvious reason. He makes great music no matter if its about weed, women, or his world. It all gels well together with the talent in his producer and his style of music.

DOM Kennedy - From Westside, With Love
Dom Kennedy has been the most consistent rapper to date. If you look at any of his releases, they will all end up in a true hip hop fans top ten by the end of the year. If they don't, something is not clicking in their brain. But with From Westside, With Love you are taken through a smooth journey throughout the West Coast as Dom Kennedy brings all the songs together nicely.

Cookin' Soul - Teddy Pendergrass Tribute
Teddy Pendergrass passed away in January of this year and we lost another music legend. But it was only right for the Cookin' Soul to put together a tape to acknowledge what Teddy Pendergrass has done for music over his career. It had a nice balance of instrumentals using samples of Teddy Pendergrass' famous hits and some interpretations of his classics done by the help of Joell Ortiz, Curren$y and Jadakis just to name a few.






Woody Black

KIDA - The Endemic
Bluntly speaking, this dude must've had his blunt laced with all kinds of PCP and meth to release such a dope album for FREE! Wack artists be releasing all of their wack artists' albums and expect us to pay $12.99 plus tax. KIDA must've made a grave mistake by leaking his own album out. Either that or he has such an undying support for the hip-hop heads, that he's willing to happily share his offering with the entire world. Giving with rare expectations of receiving anything back (speaking monetarily). With that said, there's no excuse for you to NOT own this album! Bootleg it and spread it around, he ENCOURAGES you to! It's rare that people can drop good albums beyond 15 tracks these days and this dude got 22 of 'em! Shame on you and consider your blog visiting privileges revoked if you haven't d/l this on yet. (You can always visit here though ;))

Homeboy Sandman - The Good Sun
I admit, I slept on this dude back in 2008. Those who were wide awake dug deeply underground and were blessed to find pure lyrical gold in this gold rush - 49ers. But after this album dropped, my eyes now remain blinkless (Is that a word? Aw well...). You ever peer into the mind of a music nerd to find very vivid imaginations and unexplainable thoughts that can't be put into words? Well, Homeboy Sandman did the job of finding the words easily and he had me going from "Aw yeah!" to "Say what?!" to "How he thought of that?" to "I just had a conversation about that two hours ago." Yeah, what I'm saying may not make total sense, but this record makes perfect sense. Not music that goes over your head, but music that crams right into it.

Oddisee - Odd Winter/Odd Spring
KIDA and Oddisee must've been blazing together in the herbal circle, because I'm STILL NOT CONVINCED that Odd Winter and Odd Spirng are free-P (free EP) releases. One thing I like about Odd is that he explores all types of music and carefully mixes the genres and styles in a blender 'til it goes down smooth to your eardrums. From boom-bap to jazzy to bass booming to whatever you think of, Oddisee got it all. And you better have those free-Ps' on your hard disk or I'll question your love of music.

Nas & Damian Marley - Distant Relatives
It's no secret that after Illmatic (God's Son for some), Nas has suffered from a horrible condition called producimus mediocritus. It's not that most of the beats he chooses for his album are wack, but most of the beats lagged behind while Nas went through finish line. That's not the case for this record though. It seems like Nas & Damian Marley are indeed "Distant Relatives" because they worked perfectly off of each other. You can tell they put so much into it without much effort. In other words, it doesn't seem like they forced each other to make an album together due to the label's suggestion, it just worked naturally.

Focus... - The Avant Garde Project
There's rarely anything more I can add here than what I've already put in my review. If you haven't heard it yet, go hear it NOW! It's on iTunes and Amazon and you on the innanet so you can't be like, "Well, I can't find it!" Phonte sure was right when he state that the record is "everything Timbaland's Shock Value SHOULD HAVE been." Take the record and enjoy it for the way it are.






zillz

Homeboy Sandman - The Good Sun
The incomparable rhyme style. The Fluid flow. There's so much that can be said about the album. The Good Sun is FANTASTIC! And is possibly the first FANTASTIC album of the year. There is NO ARTIST like Homeboy Sandman today. But fans already know that. Check "Not Pop", "Table Cloth", and "Strange Planet."

KIDA - The Endemic
This just might be KIDA's year. He attacked the first half of 2010 with The Endemic, The Endemic: Ladies Edition, Who Is KIDA? and Chairman Of The Board. And they were ALL bangin'. How do you compete with that? With Focus... by his side, they will be hard to keep up with for years to come. If KIDA is giving this away for free, what will happen when he asks for the fee?


Tabi Bonney & Mick Boogie - A Place Called Stardom
A Place Called Stardom is probably getting the most spins in the whip right now. Tabi Bonney's first mixtape is a great one. The original rhymes of cool and high life are lined with the freshness that only Bonney can accurately display. Yes we have a lot of rappers who try similar, but we don't believe them. Tabi's the one. Check "Nuthin' But A Hero," "Radio" (feat. Curren$y), "The Great," "Fever" (feat. Raheem Devaughn) and "The Come Up."

Big Krit - K.R.I.T. Wuz Here
Sha Money XL (Def Jam's Sr VP Of A&R) sent an email around the other day praising Big KRIT as the next new big thing. We believe him! Big KRIT's Big K.R.I.T. Wuz Here is ridiculous and gets lots of spin in the iTunes. The combination of KRIT's explicit storytelling style, Mississippi twang and complementary beat choices makes the album an easy choice for the first half of 2010. We're anxious to see what's in store for the 2nd half.

Cee-Lo Green & Greg Street - Stray Bullets
Stray Bullets is awesome. But if you have expected anything different from Cee-Lo Green, then you've been slippin' for awhile. Actually I believe Stray Bullets may be the sleeper because it wasn't released with a lot of promo. It pretty much appeared out of the "crowded void" that is the innanet. Trippy, soulful, and chill Greg Street and Cee-Lo create one of the best mixtapes of the first half of the 2010. I wouldn't doubt that it ends up being one of my favorites for the entire year.

We'll do another 6 months in December and then afterwards a drop for the entire year.

But for now, did we get it right? Wrong? What are your BEST 5 hip-hop albums/mixtapes of 2010 so far?