JPizzle’s Top 10 Albums Of 2009 In No Particular Order

Tame One and Del the Funky Homosapien- Parallel Uni-Verses- My hip hop awakening in the early 90’s heavily revolved around both Hieroglyphics and Artifacts so when it goes without saying that when I saw Tame and Del were making a collaborative album I was excited beyond belief. The album does not disappoint. Both Tame and Del are bugged dudes with bugged out rhyme styles so the chemistry is definitely there and Parallel thought does his thing on beats bringing traditional beats to ground the two mc’s when their stream consciousness rhymes could get away from the listener.

Raekwon- Built Only for Cuban Linx II- The triumphant return of a legend! If anyone doubted Raekwon as one of the nicest in the game or his ability to produce another classic after 95, they were silenced by this beast of an album. Insane production, Rae’s trade mark criminology raps and ridiculous features from Ghostface make this a must in any discerning listener’s top 10 for the 09.

Wu-Tang Chamber Music- Pure uncut Wu greatness! All of the Clan shows up along with guests such as Masta Ace, Cormega, Sean P and AZ to combine over some ill vintage Wu styled production. This one is for the true heads. Plus RZA drops mad knowledge throughout. Bonus!

Cormega- Born and Raised- My favorite MC hands down released his long long awaited new joint and it was beyond worth the wait. Production from legends like DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor, Havoc and DR Period combine with Cormega’s poetic brilliance to create by far one of the nicest albums of the millennium thus far. If you haven’t copped this do so immediately.

Maino- If Tomorrow Comes- Hi Haters! Say what you will about Maino but homie brings mad intensity and emotion to his raps and for an album on a major label, his debut conveyed surprising depth. Yeah I know, he stays squarely within the bounds of traditional thugged out conventions but I think he does it with a style and flair severely lacking. Plus he will cap a mahfucka for disagreeing!

Souls of Mischief- Montezuma’s Revenge- I’ve admitted I’m a Hiero Stan so it’s no surprise so see Souls of Mischief’s Prince Paul assisted new joint on my list. Classic Hiero style is here with that 2K9 twist. Souls once again prove that they have possibly the best chemistry as a group in hip hop. They kill it hard body style without question.

Kurious- II- Call it pure nostalgia, but it brought a tear to my eye to hear Kurious’ new album after his classic (in my book) 93 debut. Kurious definitely still has it with his rhymes and his style and flow is old school in a perfect way and stands out from most other MCs these days. Dope guest appearances from MF Doom and MC Search make this a perfect album for any true school head.

MC Esoteric- Saving Seamus Ryan- To be honest I was never much of an Esoteric fan until this album. This is dope storytelling in the vein of Masta Ace where the whole album forms a cohesive narrative. Unlike many rappers where they aim to make sure you fear them, Esoteric comes off like a cool dude going through the trials and tribulations of the average person. The production is ill and handled by Esoteric so it fits perfectly with his steez.

Slaughterhouse- Slaughterhouse- The super group of Royce Da 5”9, Joe Budden, Crooked I, and Joell Ortiz came with an album of nothing but furiously ill shit talking and witty rhymes. Most of the tracks are non-conceptual battle tracks and boy are they great! The production compliments the group by not drawing too much attention away from the rhymes. And by the way, Crooked I maybe MC of the year based upon his performances on the album. He mutilates the mic every single time.

Foreign Exchange- Leave It All Behind- Not a hip hop album per se, but Leave It All Behind is by far the “romance your girl” album of the year. Phonte of Little Brother dips into his smooth talking R&B persona and combined with Nicolay’s sublime production and dope guest spots produced one of the best albums of the year. It’s definitely a break from the first Foreign Exchange album but one pulled off brilliantly.

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