Well, here we are! Our Top 10 albums from 2018. I literally listened to hundreds of projects this year so giving you a top ten was no easy task considering not only the number of albums but also the quality. And these lists are always prone to spark debate and conversation, but that’s part of the fun, isn’t it? I simply wanted to shine a light on my favorite joints this year and in part give my definitive salute as a fan to these artists and their body of work. Here we go…Enjoy!!
2018 Hip Hop Dependency Artist Of The Year: Recognize Ali
It’s been five years since we actually did and end of the year segment where we lauded particular artists and albums for their efforts. 2018 has felt like the right time and place to bring that back our Artist Of The Year accolade. Recognize Ali embodies the dope movement we saw this past year. He put out five albums, all of which are dope, none of which are identical. They are distinctive in sound and all offer something great to hip-hop fans of all walks. He was also probably featured more times than anyone else this year on projects from others. In short, his immense talent matched an unrelenting work ethic that was matched by few others this year.
It is when talent and work ethic reach such high levels that we feel compelled to do something special to share that unique gift with our audience. So please listen to the man’s music…pass the word along to others and read this interview he so graciously granted us. It’s a great read! We’ve also included a few of our favorite Recognize Ali cutz for your listening pleasure at the end. Enjoy!
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2018: Best EPs
So here is a list of my favorite EPs from 2018. I easily could have extended this list to 25 projects and been really comfortable about that. However, I really wanted to showcase what I consider to be the best projects in a year where there was so much greatness to consider. In the end, there were no votes, judges, or etcetera. This was simply a matter of personal preference. I hope you enjoy these projects as much as I did.
RedRum – Pitchfork (Video)
This is evidentially a new project that Red Eye has been working on with fellow emcee Ruff Da Rude, and I couldn’t let the video single for the track Pitchfork pass. It’s too nasty not to share.
Rasheed Chappell – Aiding & Abetting (ft. Daniel Son x Crimeapple) (Video)
Here’s a great track from Rasheed Chappell’s fantastic album, First Brick. This track features another two artists that have been making big waves in 2018, Daniel Son and Crimeapple. There is no stopping this lineup over the production from Kenny Dope.
You need First Brick in your life!
Weekly Recommendation: NapsNdreds x Nottz – Trouble & a Pair of Dice (2018)
Artist: NapsNdreds x Nottz
Album: Trouble & a Pair of Dice
Tracklisting:
1. Trouble! (skit)
2. Black Spiders
3. Blind Folds (ft. Neenah)
4. They Wanna Know (ft. Vinnie Paz)
5. Spilled Milk
6. Sauce 4 Da Floss (ft. Fred the Godson)
7. Highly Rated (ft. Cormega)
8. Black Suns (ft. Andi-Ites)
9. Thats Him! (Skit)
10.Waitin’ (ft. Murdoc)
11.Pair of Dice
12.Indicisiveness (Skit)
13.Hornets
Notes:
Quite a few dope projects made their way to digital shelves last week but I can’t let this one slide by, so out of all the projects, this is the one that I feel deserved the feature.
Nottz has crafted brilliance at least FOUR times this year providing the soundscape for albums from Blu, Bad Seed, Bumpy Knuckles and now NapsNdreds. He just has an incredible ear and gift for what he does.
And I have a few other projects from NapsNdreds but none as complete as Trouble & a Pair of Dice. His flow, wordplay, and content all shine impeccable on this project. There are a few dope features on this album, but none of them take the limelight off of NapsNdreds. He holds it down on all levels.
This is another must-have for your listening pleasure in 2018. Don’t let it pass you by! Here are my two favorite tracks from the project:
Single You Out: WateRR – If I Never Meet You
Here’s yet ANOTHER dope joint from WateRR and this one goes deep on a meaningful lyrical level particularly on the second sixteen. WateRR continues to flex that as an emcee there is not a beat that he can not spit bars upon properly. RiotOne infuses a piano based, jazzy rhythm, and WateRR executes it perfectly…closing out his 2018 as strongly as he entered it.
Single You Out: Pounds – Get To It
Pounds just released The Blue Gardenia project a few days ago, and it’s probably my favorite from him thus far. It’s only five tracks deep, but it’s a damn good five tracks. It’s got a very aggressive vibe to it which I like to hear Pounds rock over. Speaking of ‘rockin’ over’, the track Get To It is my favorite from the project, produced Chukk James with that rock element of which I speak. The track is going to make you get after your day!
Single You Out: Pay$o – Love Of The Game (prod. by Nicholas Craven)
I was a little incredulous by the cover, but hey, Nicholas Craven produced the project, Ralph Wears Jordan, so I was going to give it a shot. I am glad I did because it’s a dope EP. Pay$o has a nice flow about him and enjoyed listening to him over these Craven beats that do not disappoint. Love Of The Game is my favorite track from the project. I hope you are feeling it too.
Single You Out: NapsNdreds – Black Spider (prod. by Nottz)
Man, I will NOT let this release pass you by! NapsNdreds connected with Nottz to create the album, Trouble & A Pair Of Dice. And if I was to simply tell you it was dope, I would be deeply understating things. The project is a complete one filled with depth of lyricism, creativity, and of course beats. On the track Black Spider, Nottz outdoes himself. This is brilliant. The rock/trippy fused rhythm is so unique and NapsNDreds really bonds himself to the rhythm. He has quite a few rewindable moments here.
You should love this!
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