10. Musicology, Prince (2004)
Prince’s best album in more than 10 years. When he released this, all I could think was “music is back!” Then again, I probably would not have picked it up if they hadn’t been passing it out at his concerts. The big revelation was that he was ready to come back full force – for a long time he had been in an extended “see what I can do” phase, where it was like he was trying to come up with the least memorable music of his career. In the years after Musicology, he’s released a bunch of new music that has been at a similar high level.

9. Sam’s Town, The Killers (2006)
After I heard “When You Were Young” while playing Rock Band on the XBOX, I was really impressed with the songwriting, so I downloaded the Killers album, not knowing what their music sounded like. But the album was like whooosh! Maybe it’s because I actively avoided radio rock music since I accidentally heard Nickelback and was traumatized. The weird thing was, I read a lot of stuff online about how Sam’s Town was a big letdown after their first album, but for my money, this is the album that defines their sound. Their musical execution in the studio is phenomenal, the guitar solos are lyrical, and the songwriting from beginning to end is as poetic as can be. (I’m of the opinion that rock songs tend to have the worst lyrics of any genre.)

Anyway, I know I’m a nerd. So what.

8. Greatest Hits, Foundation Movement (2006)
I used to see these brothers like every other week, but I guess it’s normal that as you get older and stuff, you tend to lose touch with folks here and there. Regardless, there’s no way I could forget to put one of the finest hip hop acts to ever come out of Boston on my decade-end list. Speaking of Boston hip hop, Edo G guested on “Movement” with an inspired verse that makes me nostalgic even now three years later – and he’s just one of several high-profile collaborators on here. I think the fact that world famous cats were itching to jump on a track with FM reminds us that sometimes the best stuff in the world is being made right next door. Don’t stop checking for it.

7. Supreme Clientele, Ghostface Killah (2000)
This was released almost exactly ten years ago, but it still looms large in my memory. I think Ghost kinda defined the split that was gonna play itself out in hip hop music over the next several. The first song on the disc – the bugged out “Nutmeg” – was the first I can remember to force a listener to understand its concept primarily from elements other than its lyrics. Ghost had always done a little roundabout stuff in his songs, but it was consistent throughout this entire album, and he went on the show it would be consistent for the rest of his career, pitting him in sharp contrast to rappers like Plies or MIMS or the Ying Yang Twinz who made songs that had no real meaning at all.

Something about Ghost’s raps on this album reminds me of ziti.

6. Blue Scholars, Blue Scholars (2004)
I first met Geologic in like 2000 or so, when he wasn’t yet a world-famous rapper. We were both doing a little writing workshop with the homie Jojo Gaon working in a high school in Seattle. Afterward, the cats brought me to see Bruce Lee’s grave, and I think we probably ate pho somewhere. Anyway, I had no idea he was also honing his craft as an emcee, and would deliver some of the most meaningful and memorable verses of the new millennium in the space of a few years.

Sometimes the 1 MC + 1 DJ formula works out perfectly – and Sabzi and Geo might be the most perfectly-matched pair since Pete Rock and CL Smooth.

5. Exact Change, Bambu (2008)
I guess there is such a thing as a flawless album. Bam does everything right on this. Each flow is perfectly matched to each beat, and each concept is straight from the heart. This release started to really push dude into the limelight, and he deserves it as much as anyone. Keep watching…

4. The Black Album, Jay-Z (2003)
I was a Jay fan in the mid-90s, then got kinda tired of him in the late-90s. After I had stopped paying attention, he slowly took over the world and became, you know, what he is. By the time The Black Album came out, it was impossible to not be paying attention. I know many folks are kinda whatever about him, but I was so impressed with how versatile his flow had become since I last cared. Some of the beats were a little over the top, but I don’t think anyone had ever made such an aggressive grab at the “Greatest Rapper Alive” trophy for all the world to see. Gutsy.

3. Writes of Passage: Portraits of a Son Rising, Kiwi (2003)
I first heard this album from the homie Tony Nguyen (aka Papa T aka DJ T. Oh-no!) and I’m trying to think back if I’ve ever heard a song that affected me so strongly and immediately as “Imagine” did. But more than that, the album has a consistent voice throughout, like he’e really talking to you the whole way. At this time, I had yet to meet the brother, so when finally we did link up, I swear I felt I knew him.

There’s been a lot of dope independent hip hop from API artists – shoot, just check out this list – but in my mind, this will always be the standard.

2. Kamaal/The Abstract, Q-Tip (2009, but originally leaked in 2001)
I had no idea – no idea – that Tip was capable of doing anything like this when I first heard it. I admit that I always kinda thought he was overrated and that Phife was underrated when it came to Tribe – but I didn’t know that he was actually the musical mastermind behind all their work – and so if I had any clue, I wouldn’t have been so surprised by this joint. Anyway, the point is, this album was way ahead of its time and was way farther outside the box than The Love Below from Andre 3000, which got all the mainstream attention as the most creative hip hop album in years. Gotta respect the brother’s artistry.

Sadly, its official release was delayed until 2009 (see: Record Industry Rule #4080), and I wonder if it had come out on schedule, how much more dope and hoenstly experimental music would be right now.

1. Be, Common (2005)
There is one major drawback on this album: Kanye’s voice. I wish someone would go through this album and edit him out Jar Jar Binks style.

Despite that, I probably listened to this CD more than any other in the last ten years because the lyrics and grooves are so on point. Of course, I was a Common fan from the beginning, and most impressive about Be was that he grew up in front of our eyes from album to album. here’s no way the Common of Can I Borrow a Dollar? could have made this masterpiece – but there’s no way he could have gotten to that level if he hadn’t started where he did.

That’s the lesson. Just because we present ourselves to the world at one stage in our life, doesn’t mean we stay in that stage forever. The world still turns.

Tags: music

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