CunninLynguists - My Habit (I Haven’t Changed)

Every CunninLynguists album is superb.  They’re definitely the most consistent hip-hop group I’ve ever known.  Their latest album Oneirology (a term meaning the study of dreams) was released last year, and it was one of the better albums of 2011.  It’s very different from every other CunninLynguists album, and a very unique hip-hop album in general.  Oneirology’s whole musical aura is definitely more emotional and abstract in nature, but it still manages to maintain a very structured feel.

I believe Kno was mostly responsible for this dramatic shift in the group’s sound. He produces all of their beats and raps a decent amount on the album as well, so his emotional standpoint obviously has a huge impact on the group’s overall music.  During the time he was making Oneirology and his first solo album Death Is Silent, he was going through an extremely dark time in his life.  He said making the albums kept him going…and kept him “from loosing his mind”.  Both of these albums shifted from the groups generally upbeat and varied style of raps to primarily soft ambient instrumentals laced with very personal and emotional lyrics.  This is an exceptionally artistic album, but it’s actually my least favorite CunninLynguists album.  I’m used to a lot of variation from them, which makes each song sound special in it’s own way.  Unfortunately Oneirology suffers from a lot of the songs seemingly blending together by having similar tempos, beats, and overall feel.  Don’t get me wrong though, this is an outstanding album, but you really need to be in the right mind state to fully enjoy it.

This is my favorite song off of the album.

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My Song Rating: 9.4 out of 10

Dyme Def - Let It Be

Dyme Def is an exceptionally solid group hailing from Seattle, Washington.  From what my Seattle friends tell me, Dyme Def still hand sells their albums at the end of other hip-hop artists’ Seattle concerts.  Honestly, with skill like this these guys definitely deserve a larger following. This is my favorite song off of their way above average album Space Music.  Let It Be is a true hip-hop classic in my book.  It has an amazing beat, outstanding production, and profound lyrics that are heavily laced with emotion.

“See, I got two jobs and I’m still broke
See, I got bad asthma and I still smoke
The doctor tellin’ me that my breathing’s getting worse
And soon I won’t be able to spit a verse, now I’m feeling cursed
No turning to my dad ‘cause he’s too far to look for
So instead I look forward, but I don’t look forward to seeing him
At nights I still have bad dreams of being him
People say, ‘You look just like your dad
You got his laugh, you got his walk, you got his talk.’
But, I don’t got his heart”

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My Song Rating: 10 out of 10

Asher Roth - Hard Times (ft. Kids These Days & Casie Veggies)

This is my second favorite song off of Asher Roth’s 2011 mixtape Pabst & Jazz, which is definitely saying something since I deemed it the best mixtape of 2011. It’s definitely the kind of song that gets better the more you listen to it, and I’ve listened to Hard Times waaay too many times.

I honestly can’t believe how consistent Asher Roth has become. He has definitely sharpened his hip-hop skills, and has been making amazing song after amazing song.  He’s obviously taking a more organic rout and completely against the idea of taking the common/easier path of selling out.  Asher was raised to never sell himself short, as emphasized in the chorus “My mother told me never to sell, and just to get by”.  He could have a bigger fan base if he had more of a hip-pop sound and made more dumbed down songs like I Love College, but he has made his point to never go down that path again.  Pabst & Jazz is really damn intelligent, and has many great features, solid beats, and an overall amazing vibe.  So if you haven’t checked out Pabst & Jazz yet, I highly recommend you do.

“My mama told me grind..”

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My Song Rating: 9.8 out of 10

Atmosphere - Painting

This is from Atmosphere’s outstanding album When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold. Painting’s instrumental is one of my all time favorite beats from Ant, which is definitely saying something.  I heard this on NPR a while ago.  It was one of the instrumentals they used for a transition.  They’ve actually used a few of Ant’s instrumentals for transitions…just one of the many reasons why I love NPR.  As always, Slug’s lyrics are profound and sync up to the beat exceptionally well.

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My Song Rating: 9.0 out of 10

Apollo Brown & O.C. - Prove Me Wrong

I have tons of respect for pretty much every project Apollo Brown has ever done.  His beats are simply phenomenal.  The instrumental for this song is mesmerizingly beautiful, and is one of my favorite Apollo Brown works.  O.C. lays down some steady flow with exceptionally well put together lyrics that really make you think.  Around this time last year Hassaan Mackey & Apollo Brown released an outstanding collab album called Daily Bread, and I deemed it one of the best hip-hop albums of 2011.  It was easily in my top 10 for 2011. 

This is my song from Apollo Brown’s new collab album Trophies, which is also an extremely solid album, but it suffers from the same problem that held back Daily Bread from being a true classic…variety.  Each song has a unique beat, but each beat is approximately the same tempo, and the accompanying flow’s delivery is very straight forward and doesn’t stray far from a constant rhythem.  I feel Trophies suffers from this even more than Daily Bread, but I still deem this album very enjoyable and an overall 8.4 out of 10.  O.C.’s intelligent lyrical content makes up for the mundane flow, and prevents the album from being just another average 2012 release.

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My Song Rating: 9.2 out of 10

Jedi Mind Tricks - Saviorself (ft. Killah Priest)

This is one of my favorite JMT tracks.  It represents their style exceptional well…really raw with a lyrical punch. 

“I paint flows with the feathers from the wings of angels

Red ink from saint blood, nigga, you ain’t thug

Stay high off that dead weed, in the mind is where I plant seeds

To grow fruit, of king’s so brute, of army troops”

This is from their album Legacy Of Blood.

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My Song Rating: 9.4 out of 10