LA Times: The Quarterly Report–The Best Rap Albums of the First Quarter of 2009
Not much to add that the title doesn’t explain. All in all, a fair quarter for rap albums: two great ones (UGK 4 Life, Born Like This), one great mixtape (Superbad), and a half dozen solid to very good efforts. For better or worse, contemporary hip-hop is about keeping up. Product is increasingly disposable. It’s hard to care. I get it. But if you dig, it’s out there, the onus is just on you (I do what I can, but time + outside interests are a motherfucker.)
Yes, I wish that the names Rick Ross and Asher Roth conjured jello-eating, high-waisted, Floridean retirees, rather than the two biggest names you’re supposed to like. And yes, I often spend days like yesterday–flashing back to ‘93 Yo! MTV Raps and the video for Da Youngstaz’s ‘”Crewz Pop.” But I’m going to Coachella today, and for once, not in any mood to complain–now off to cop a Hadley’s Date Shake.
LA Times: The Quarterly Report–The Best Rap Albums of the First Quarter of 2009
Download:
MP3: DOOM-”That’s That”
MP3: UGK-”Swishas and Erb”
ZIP: Boosie-Superbad: The Return of Mr. Wipe Down (Left-Click)
MP3: Camp Lo-”Gotcha”
MP3: Exile-”The Sound is God”
MP3: Finale-”One Man Show” (prod. by Black Milk)
MP3: Blu-”Amnesia”
MP3: Del-”Get It Right Now”
ZIP: Tiron-Ketchup (Left-Click)
MP3: Harmonic 313 ft. Elzhi & Phat Kat-”Battlestar”
Stumble It!
April 16th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
I thought other than the opening track, the new Del borderline sucked.
April 16th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
I realize that last comment plus the fact that I am writing a positive review for the new Asher Roth album as we speak makes me dangerously close to being Tray but I’ll chance it.
April 16th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
is the camp lo album a mixtape?
April 16th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Maybe I’m in the minority here, but can I just say that it appears to me that anyone who is hastily bashing Danger Doom either didn’t get it or just plain didn’t listen to it? It was FAR better than the recent DOOM outing in terms of playability and beats, and even if you can’t get past the Adult Swim theme, there is no way you can deny the space age medieval linguistics that is “The Mask” or the buoyant charm of “Space Hoes”. Oh well..
April 16th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Mr. Weiss,
What’s your opinion on Dalek’s Gutter Tactics?
I’m feelin Magic Heart Genie’s Heartifact and I’m sure you’ve heard Douglas Martin and Zilla Rocca’s 5 O’Clock Shadowboxers…lovin’ that!
April 16th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
I need to check that Camp Lo record. Didn’t even know it had dropped.
Re:Danger Doom, I’m gonna have to agree with Max. Some of this ‘This is too cheesy’ ‘Doom sold out’ or ‘Doom ruined the mystery behind his persona with a cartoon show affiliation’ criticism seems misplaced. It was another dimension and a fun detour, much like other Doom albums. Plus for a guy who’s continued to cloak himself with layer after layer of cartoonish myth, this was a pretty sensible transition. Aside from the obvious Cartoon network promotion, there’s nothing that separates it from a typical Doom album. I mean, what’s the difference, mining cartoon network references and storylines as opposed to comic book ones? Don’t all his records blend fact and fiction in a similar way? Hate to use a cliche, but with his lyricism remaining uncompromised, DangerDoom was clearly more about cashing in than selling out.
And in a flossy, coke rap environment, a decent cartoon-themed album honestly seemed like someone flipping the script.
“Everybody talkin ’bout pistols, gats is borin’
He came with a new topic to flip you, vats of urine
All pro, check the stats, his style scorin’
While you at it, double check that Cristal you’re pourin”
April 16th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
Indeed Max, Dangerdoom kicks mucho ass. I really don’t understand where all the hate comes from.
What’s the problem with the Adult Swim theme anyway? DOOM is basically a living cartoon character…
April 16th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
@ Zeus–Yeah, it’s not great, but Del at his worst is still pretty decent. By his standards, it’s subpar, but it’s a free mixtape so I can’t really complain.
@Curt–Y’know, I loved Abandoned Language, but haven’t given the new one the time it deserves. I need to. The Shadowboxers album is phenomenal, I’ll surely be bludgeoning people with it when the time comes.
About the Lo, this is a pretty good interview explaining more.
http://www.hiphopgame.com/index2.php3?page=camplo
Dudes have the worst PR in the game.
There is no amount of weed that can make me like anything Adult Swim-related. Trust me, I have tried. It wasn’t a bad album by any means, but it wasn’t up to par with the rest of his catalogue.
April 17th, 2009 at 12:09 am
“Some of this ‘This is too cheesy’ ‘Doom sold out’ or ‘Doom ruined the mystery behind his persona with a cartoon show affiliation’ criticism seems misplaced. It was another dimension and a fun detour, much like other Doom albums…”
Not all dimensions are good dimensions. That to me was, like, his gimmicky “let’s sell out to the people-who-read-free-hipster-weeklies crowd and work with a famous but not very good producer who makes these superficially quirky but way too clean and uninteresting beats” dimension. I don’t really mind the corporate affiliation so much as the music itself. The song with Ghost is alright though.
April 17th, 2009 at 4:54 am
Personally,I think DangerDoom was pretty awesome. I like it better than the new album, actually. The song with Talib was nuts. I don’t get the criticism, either. What’s exactly the philosophical difference between having Aqua Teen Hunger Force characters appear on his album and flipping the Scooby Doo theme? Besides, I don’t think you can sell out promoting a network that roughly has 5 regular viewers.
Considering I love pretty much everything that was on Adult Swim when I was in college also helps. Master Shake could read the phone back and I would laugh. And I don’t even smoke weed… regularly.
April 17th, 2009 at 6:35 am
I think comparing the original Madlib version of Space Hoes with the Dangermouse version says all there is to say about that project.
And that’s not knocking DM either, he’s done great work before and since and I thought the project would be a genuinely good idea based on the Gorillaz collabo and that Zero 7 (remember them?) remix they did together but the whole thing was just too bright and poppy for its own good.
April 17th, 2009 at 8:27 am
“That to me was, like, his gimmicky “let’s sell out to the people-who-read-free-hipster-weeklies crowd and work with a famous but not very good producer who makes these superficially quirky but way too clean and uninteresting beats” dimension.I don’t really mind the corporate affiliation so much as the music itself.”
I’m fine with the criticism around the music. Fair enough. Danger Mouse is in my good books for his work on the Gorillaz album, but I’ll agree that DangerDoom wasn’t his shining moment. Still fun though. Also like I mentioned earlier, Doom is still on point, and he seems to have lightened up in a much more obvious way on this record. I think Danger’s production might have a little something to do with that.
Again, like Doc mentioned, I don’t know if you can call an Adult Swim endorsement a sell-out move coz a)Its not like the adult swim demographic is this huge mainstream market that provides great exposure b) I doubt its an endorsement pays that well financially, if at all.
I agree it might be gimmicky to a certain extent, and maybe specifically looking to leverage the attention of a certain type of crowd, but so is anyone doing a song with Wayne or Akon or T-Pain right now, anyone releasing 90s style boom bap record now etc etc. Everyone’s catering to a certain extent. Pick your poison.
Even if he did get tons of moolah for the record or if he attracted the wrong type of fans, a cartoon themed alliance that makes perfect sense in Doom’s case.
Like basketball players promoting sneakers, or R Kelly selling statutory rape whistles. Duh.
April 17th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
I mean, I don’t give a fuck about selling out, not really, the whole thing’s overrated (by which I mean underrated). Nor should it matter if you have the “wrong” type of fans. But it just felt on that record like, besides his production, which went from legitimately amazing (at times) on Op. Doomsday and Madvillainy to generically quirky on the album we’re not really arguing about, he started emphasizing the more gimmicky quirkinesses of his persona, like his mask and such, and got away from the purity of something like Dead Bent or the rawness of, uh, Fancy Clown. And I guess where the audience is relevant to whether the album’s actually good is that it did seem to be, by design, a project for people who think they’re too smart for rap but will listen to this alterna-rap when it’s endorsed by the right publications and people, so some of the rough edges of previous projects just aren’t there. It’s not the end of the world though.
April 17th, 2009 at 11:31 pm
3 words people.
LONELY
FUCKING
ISLAND.
And I take it no one else likes POS????
April 18th, 2009 at 10:16 am
like the review
cosign on the Tiron release
and you got me downloading Boosie
but I am interested to hear/read what is your take on Drake’s So Far Gone mixtape?
imo the best thing i’ve heard in a damn long while
April 18th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
I have to add P.O.S.’s Never Better LP to this list. For me, it is the first great rap album of 2009.
I don’t call it emo-rap. I call it like I hear it — pure unadulterated beats and rhymes. There’s lots of introspection (lyrically) and sound exploration (musically) on that album that no rapper is doing today. Some of it is hit or miss, but you have to give P.O.S. an “A” for effort.
April 19th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Defly don’t have an opinion on the rap game in ‘09 but i just tried a date shake at Hadley’s for the first time and i was quite pleased. Can’t say the same about their ostridge burger.
April 20th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
[…] The always great Mr. Weis offers the best rap albums of the first 25% of 2009. Do we all really have to start making lists this soon?!? And the afore-mentioned Del is one of them. addthis_url = ‘http%3A%2F%2Fwww.berkeleyplaceblog.com%2F2009%2F04%2F20%2Fpicture-of-the-day-140%2F’; addthis_title = ‘PICTURE+OF+THE+DAY’; addthis_pub = ‘ekko’; Filed under: Uncategorized […]