Piff Perkins
Veteran
We haven't really gone over everyone's favorite shyt from 2016, figured I'd get it started.
1. Ka - Honor Killed The Samurai
While 2016 included a series of surprises it did also provide one pretty predictable thing: another great Ka album. Since 2012 the brooding producer/rapper has released some of the best rap albums of the year, each filled with dense rhyme patterns and evocative, haunting lyrics. Thematically, Ka explores honor and it's price - from the corner boy to the starving artist.
2. Elucid - Save Yourself
In a year that featured two huge, gospel influenced albums (TLOP, Coloring Book), Elucid chose the perfect time to drop his own religious themed work. But while Kanye and Chance preoccupied themselves with excess and fun, the Queens rapper is more interested in the apocalypse and black bodies. On Blame The Devil he expresses the fear and guilt of seeing his first baptism as a child, "candy money burning a hole in my corduroys." White supremacy takes stage on Bleachwater as Elucid paints a picture of blackness being washed away, while Billy Woods makes a memorable appearance depicting a white man's almost sexual excitement at the prospect of killing a black house invader. Needless to say this is a dark album with no happy endings or solutions. Production wise, the MF DOOM-esque loops are as gloomy as the lyrics, and as dark as much of the black experience in 2016.
3. A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here...Thanks 4 Your Service
When was the last time a legacy band of any genre released a truly great album decades after reaching their prime? In the midst of tragedy and a rapidly changed rap climate, Tribe managed to release an album that you can hold up to their past classics without cringing. Phife's death hangs over the album like a ghost, perhaps climaxing with the touching Lost Somebody. Even still the group still manages to entertain and have fun on a variety of funky tracks. Elton John even makes an appearance, as if there weren't enough surprises in store.
4. Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition
Atrocity Exhibition is Danny Brown's most exhausting and depressing album, and his best since XXX. Much of the production is up beat and frantic, such as the schizophrenic Ain't It Funny. This creates quite a juxtaposition for the dark lyrics and storytelling. Tell Me What I Don't Know is vintage autobiographical Danny Brown as he takes you through his Detroit roots. White Lines, one of the many stunning highlights, sounds like a drug induced nightmare where pleasure and horror become one. Overall while this is a very good record, I feel like Danny Brown almost went too far. This is a nightmare that is exhilarating but one I haven't returned to often, especially when I'm not in the right mood.
5. Ab Soul - DWTW
Like many people I wrote Ab Soul off after the terrible These Days. It was the perfect marriage of weak lyrics, forgettable beats, and puzzling features. I almost didn't even listen to DWTW. Thankfully Ab Soul has returned to what made him an interesting rapper in the first place. Disclaimer: there's no denying that Ab is quite a peddler of "smart dumb" shyt, but if you can get past that it's hard not to be impressed by DWTW's sound. Lyrically Ab introduces his own conspiracy and drug laden take on feminism and god. As with many TDE albums there's a very enticing jazz influence throughout the album's production. The label's in-house producers put on quite a show and this might be the best produced album of 2016 to me. Perhaps the standout is D.R.U.G.S, where a piano loop and 808 provide the canvas for Ab Soul's laments addiction.
6. Schoolboy Q - Blank Face LP
It was a good year for TDE, and Blank Face LP is the album many Q fans had hoped for in 2014. Q takes the listener on a tour of his block and past over energetic production. There's just a...swing to this album. Groovy Tony's drums bang with a purpose while Jadakiss makes arguably the best guest appearance of the year. Alchemist provides a classic Alchemist loop on Know Ya Wrong, and Cardo hands Q a dark trap banger on By Any Means (including an hypnotic Kendrick hook). But the standout for me is John Muir where Q freestyles over superhero blaxploitation horns and bass. This is a gangster rap album, ending with one of my favorite bangers of the year (Tookie Knows II) where Q finds himself at the end of the line but goes out with an anthem.
7. Run The Jewels - RTJ3
Trilogies rarely end on a high note. To be fair they rarely end on a decent note either (see: Godfather III, Back To The Future III). While Jaime & Mike don't match the amazing RTJ2 they still managed to end this trilogy with a good project. RTJ are at their best when they're riding dope beats talking shyt. Due to this I was rather concerned that a year of social upheaval and a contentious election would result in a serious, political album. Thankfully RTJ avoids that predictable pitfall while still managing to mix in some conscious records (Thieves). They also seem to have consciously made a festival record. The production feels perfect for Coachella but the result is very same-y energetic songs white kids can mosh to. There's a consistent atmosphere which doesn't really match the second album, which just punched you in the face out of nowhere. Still it's a good album with another great intro track (Down) and even better Zach De La Rocha feature.
8. Vince Staples - Primma Donna
Vince can do no wrong at this point. Following up the amazing Summertime 06, this EP provides a nice appetizer for whatever height Vince will reach next. DJ Dahi once again provides a variety of weird amalgams of electronic music and trap. Loco finds Vince blazing through the beat with a perfectly acrobatic flow, and on War Ready he finesses through what sounds like a gangsta Castlevania soundscape.
9. Kendrick Lamar - Untitled Unmastered
How do you follow up a masterpiece? It's a question few rappers have answered well. The Compton rapper released a classic album in 2012 and managed to top it three years later. What now? A glimpse into his creative process with Untitled Unmastered, a collection of ideas and leftovers from To Pimp A Butterfly. There is also perhaps a glimpse of the future on the second and seventh tracks which effortlessly mix jazz and trap. On the fourth track, Kendrick and SZA provide a melodic interlude that wouldn't feel out of place on TPAB. Speaking of SZA, I should point out her contributions to this album, Q's album, and Isiah Rashad's album were all dope...so where's her album?! Anyway, UU is a solid effort from the best rapper under 30 - which easily makes it one of the best efforts of the year.
10. Young Thug - Jeffery
Jeffery feels like a big, career shifting album, which makes the fact that it sold so poorly even more interesting. I'm not a Young Thug "fan" but as a fan of rap it's hard not to find his flows and melodies interesting at least. The lack of focus and general "collection of random tracks" feel from previous projects are thankfully absent on this album. Instead he managed to produce a solid body of work...and actual songs. On Future Swag he effortless displays mastery of Future's style. Guwop finds him swimming through an infectious melody over one of my favorite beats of the year, alongside one of Quavo's many dope guest verses of 2016. The album ends with two of Thug's strongest tracks, Pop Man (originally titled Elton John) and Pick Up The Phone. On both he effortlessly seems to conjure melodies from thin air. If you haven't blasted Pick Up The Phone in the whip with your lady friend...you need to do it now. Go, now.
@LinusCaldwell @Ziggiy @biscuitsnbangers @Zero @Deltron @IronFist @JamieFoxxHairline @ThreeLetterAgency @JordanWearinThe45 @Yoda @FreshAIG @Big Mel @The Mask @stomachlines @WEED
So what do you guys fukk with the most last year? Let's go.
1. Ka - Honor Killed The Samurai
While 2016 included a series of surprises it did also provide one pretty predictable thing: another great Ka album. Since 2012 the brooding producer/rapper has released some of the best rap albums of the year, each filled with dense rhyme patterns and evocative, haunting lyrics. Thematically, Ka explores honor and it's price - from the corner boy to the starving artist.
2. Elucid - Save Yourself
In a year that featured two huge, gospel influenced albums (TLOP, Coloring Book), Elucid chose the perfect time to drop his own religious themed work. But while Kanye and Chance preoccupied themselves with excess and fun, the Queens rapper is more interested in the apocalypse and black bodies. On Blame The Devil he expresses the fear and guilt of seeing his first baptism as a child, "candy money burning a hole in my corduroys." White supremacy takes stage on Bleachwater as Elucid paints a picture of blackness being washed away, while Billy Woods makes a memorable appearance depicting a white man's almost sexual excitement at the prospect of killing a black house invader. Needless to say this is a dark album with no happy endings or solutions. Production wise, the MF DOOM-esque loops are as gloomy as the lyrics, and as dark as much of the black experience in 2016.
3. A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here...Thanks 4 Your Service
When was the last time a legacy band of any genre released a truly great album decades after reaching their prime? In the midst of tragedy and a rapidly changed rap climate, Tribe managed to release an album that you can hold up to their past classics without cringing. Phife's death hangs over the album like a ghost, perhaps climaxing with the touching Lost Somebody. Even still the group still manages to entertain and have fun on a variety of funky tracks. Elton John even makes an appearance, as if there weren't enough surprises in store.
4. Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition
Atrocity Exhibition is Danny Brown's most exhausting and depressing album, and his best since XXX. Much of the production is up beat and frantic, such as the schizophrenic Ain't It Funny. This creates quite a juxtaposition for the dark lyrics and storytelling. Tell Me What I Don't Know is vintage autobiographical Danny Brown as he takes you through his Detroit roots. White Lines, one of the many stunning highlights, sounds like a drug induced nightmare where pleasure and horror become one. Overall while this is a very good record, I feel like Danny Brown almost went too far. This is a nightmare that is exhilarating but one I haven't returned to often, especially when I'm not in the right mood.
5. Ab Soul - DWTW
Like many people I wrote Ab Soul off after the terrible These Days. It was the perfect marriage of weak lyrics, forgettable beats, and puzzling features. I almost didn't even listen to DWTW. Thankfully Ab Soul has returned to what made him an interesting rapper in the first place. Disclaimer: there's no denying that Ab is quite a peddler of "smart dumb" shyt, but if you can get past that it's hard not to be impressed by DWTW's sound. Lyrically Ab introduces his own conspiracy and drug laden take on feminism and god. As with many TDE albums there's a very enticing jazz influence throughout the album's production. The label's in-house producers put on quite a show and this might be the best produced album of 2016 to me. Perhaps the standout is D.R.U.G.S, where a piano loop and 808 provide the canvas for Ab Soul's laments addiction.
6. Schoolboy Q - Blank Face LP
It was a good year for TDE, and Blank Face LP is the album many Q fans had hoped for in 2014. Q takes the listener on a tour of his block and past over energetic production. There's just a...swing to this album. Groovy Tony's drums bang with a purpose while Jadakiss makes arguably the best guest appearance of the year. Alchemist provides a classic Alchemist loop on Know Ya Wrong, and Cardo hands Q a dark trap banger on By Any Means (including an hypnotic Kendrick hook). But the standout for me is John Muir where Q freestyles over superhero blaxploitation horns and bass. This is a gangster rap album, ending with one of my favorite bangers of the year (Tookie Knows II) where Q finds himself at the end of the line but goes out with an anthem.
7. Run The Jewels - RTJ3
Trilogies rarely end on a high note. To be fair they rarely end on a decent note either (see: Godfather III, Back To The Future III). While Jaime & Mike don't match the amazing RTJ2 they still managed to end this trilogy with a good project. RTJ are at their best when they're riding dope beats talking shyt. Due to this I was rather concerned that a year of social upheaval and a contentious election would result in a serious, political album. Thankfully RTJ avoids that predictable pitfall while still managing to mix in some conscious records (Thieves). They also seem to have consciously made a festival record. The production feels perfect for Coachella but the result is very same-y energetic songs white kids can mosh to. There's a consistent atmosphere which doesn't really match the second album, which just punched you in the face out of nowhere. Still it's a good album with another great intro track (Down) and even better Zach De La Rocha feature.
8. Vince Staples - Primma Donna
Vince can do no wrong at this point. Following up the amazing Summertime 06, this EP provides a nice appetizer for whatever height Vince will reach next. DJ Dahi once again provides a variety of weird amalgams of electronic music and trap. Loco finds Vince blazing through the beat with a perfectly acrobatic flow, and on War Ready he finesses through what sounds like a gangsta Castlevania soundscape.
9. Kendrick Lamar - Untitled Unmastered
How do you follow up a masterpiece? It's a question few rappers have answered well. The Compton rapper released a classic album in 2012 and managed to top it three years later. What now? A glimpse into his creative process with Untitled Unmastered, a collection of ideas and leftovers from To Pimp A Butterfly. There is also perhaps a glimpse of the future on the second and seventh tracks which effortlessly mix jazz and trap. On the fourth track, Kendrick and SZA provide a melodic interlude that wouldn't feel out of place on TPAB. Speaking of SZA, I should point out her contributions to this album, Q's album, and Isiah Rashad's album were all dope...so where's her album?! Anyway, UU is a solid effort from the best rapper under 30 - which easily makes it one of the best efforts of the year.
10. Young Thug - Jeffery
Jeffery feels like a big, career shifting album, which makes the fact that it sold so poorly even more interesting. I'm not a Young Thug "fan" but as a fan of rap it's hard not to find his flows and melodies interesting at least. The lack of focus and general "collection of random tracks" feel from previous projects are thankfully absent on this album. Instead he managed to produce a solid body of work...and actual songs. On Future Swag he effortless displays mastery of Future's style. Guwop finds him swimming through an infectious melody over one of my favorite beats of the year, alongside one of Quavo's many dope guest verses of 2016. The album ends with two of Thug's strongest tracks, Pop Man (originally titled Elton John) and Pick Up The Phone. On both he effortlessly seems to conjure melodies from thin air. If you haven't blasted Pick Up The Phone in the whip with your lady friend...you need to do it now. Go, now.
@LinusCaldwell @Ziggiy @biscuitsnbangers @Zero @Deltron @IronFist @JamieFoxxHairline @ThreeLetterAgency @JordanWearinThe45 @Yoda @FreshAIG @Big Mel @The Mask @stomachlines @WEED
So what do you guys fukk with the most last year? Let's go.
The list is dropping in about a week.
I'll add your votes to the list beloved
