10 Azealia Banks Broke With Expensive Tastes The most encouraging thing about 2014 is that Azealia Banks' debut album and D'Angelo's followup to Voodoo actually came out, and were both really freaking good. That gives hope to all the Detoxs and Act IIs floating around the blogoshere. Broke With Expensive Tastes really had the odds stacked against it, though. With Azealia engaging in daily twitter beefs, numerous delays, and the lead single "212" debuting three years ago, there was no real reason to take this album seriously. Hip hop fans have notoriously short attention spans, and when Broke With Expensive Tastes randomly dropped in November, it was treated as her last chance to maintain relevance. But somehow, some way, it all worked out. I still haven't fully wrapped my head around all the sounds on Banks' debut, but her downright ridiculous mixture of house music, trap, Caribbean, (and much more) serve as an indescribably fit soundscape for her personality. It's fun, dense if you want it to be, and Azealia's technical skills are pretty undeniable. Nothing about the album is cohesive, yet it all sounds so damn fitting. And that's exactly what we were waiting for. |
9 Busdriver Perfect Hair With apologies to the Atlanta area, 2014 was run by the West Coast. YG and DJ Mustard brought Los Angeles back to the forefront of the genre, but the Western region has always been home to some of the weirdest fuckers in all of hip hop (I say that with as much respect possible). Enter Busdriver. It's worth noting that no two Driver albums sound similar, but he outdid himself on this one, even by his standards. But that's not the reason it's on this list: anyone can make a weird sounding album if they put their mind to it. No, it's because Busdriver took a career's worth of trial-and-error, and finally perfected it on his latest and best album, Perfect Hair. He's a technical wizard, he sings his ass off, he provides wildly original concepts, and he somehow got a batch of instrumentals that fit his style. There's comedy ("Retirement Ode"), raw emotion ("king cookie faced"), and songs that'll keep even the most devoted backbackers reaching for their dictionaries ("Ego Death"). It's everything west coast rap should be. |
8 Mick Jenkins The Water[s] No need to complicate The Water[s]: Mick Jenkins takes everything interesting about Chicago's music scene and does it well. There's not a single innovation thing about the mixtape, and that's absolutely fine because Mick Jenkins provides one the most entertaining displays of lyricism of the year. I'm not usually one to lose my mind over something that could easily be thrown to the side and categorized as "real hip hop bullshit", but this is an exception. The singles alone ("Jazz", "Martyrs") are impressive enough put Jenkins next in line for greatness. When The Water[s] first dropped, all I saw was people tripping over themselves in an attempt to draw comparisons. Did he sound like Chance, Common, Kendrick, or all of them combined? There's likely influence from all of them, but Jenkins is able to seamlessly blend them into a style that's uniquely his own. It also doesn't hurt that the tape features a set of instrumentals that are better, and more cohesive than nearly every major release of 2014. Not bad for a bunch of real hip hop bullshit. |
7 Open Mike Eagle Dark Comedy Here's the best thing I can say about Dark Comedy: It's an important statement about how we interact with each other, but it doesn't feel like one. No pompous songs, no pretension, just Mike Eagle talking with the listener. He has a knack for making things personal without you even noticing. His most aggressive challenges are melodic refrains. His attention to detail is Mark Kozelek-esque, and when you're finished listening to the album, you'll begin to understand the purpose for the countless anecdotes. No single moment seems all that important, but it all adds up to a bigger picture, one that begins to take shape with repeated listens. What you'll also pick up on with multiple listens is the hints of anger and frustration sprinkled in throughout the atmospheric production. And that tonal complexity is what makes this record so beautiful. The title "Dark Comedy" is the single most fitting title of the year. There are moments of genuine comedy on the album, but all of it operates on the "laugh to keep from crying tip". He comments on technology, economics, and the challenges of finding self-identity. The final product is a bizarre world with fascinating quirks to keep you entertained while you try to ignore the harsh realities. |
6 YG My Krazy Life How crazy is it that the first major label gangsta rap album in years came from YG? With his rapping ability seemingly changing over night, the Compton, California-born rapper made a narrative following in the footsteps of Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d city. His gang affiliation makes up a good chuck of the lyrical material, and even though the album seems fun, he's hardly glorifying the lifestyle. It's a chronological story of how shitty growing up in Compton can be, and what kind of consequences YG, the average kid, faces on a daily basis. But it is fun, and most importantly, it sounds great. YG can thank DJ Mustard from that. I'm not going to act like Mustard's sparse, formulaic party records are what hip hop has been missing, but I'll be damned if its not the perfect instrumentation for YG. He maximizes the minimalism with snarling flows, and a simple narrative that reaches a wide span of the audience, yet remains specific enough to be entertaining. |
5 Madlib / Freddie Gibbs Piñata Freddie Gibbs' flow is overly-technical, and the only way for a rapper with that trait to succeed is if they have the right producer. If the beats are dusty and simple, you'll be cursed for being stuck in the nineties, but mainstream instrumentals run the risk of landing you in limbo. Gibbs has been thrown into each of the last two categories, but he somehow hit the jackpot when he teamed with Southern California legend Madlib. On Piñata, their full-length collaborative effort, the two both get the most out of their respected style, painting an authentic, not so glamorous image of the modern gangster over woozy, nostalgic instrumentals. Much like YG's record, Gibbs seems pissed off, and his lifestyle couldn't be farther from the Godfather-like media image of being a gangster. It's the Goodfellas of hip hop. |
4 clipping. CLPPNG Here's a list of my favorite things about this album: Daveed Diggs doesn't say "I" once on the entire record (which explains the album title), one of the instrumentals revolves around the ticking of an alarm clock, the song "Work Work" features a DJ Mustard style instrumental that's better than any beat on My Krazy Life, and the two most high profile guests are King Tee and Gangsta Boo. I could continue, but that should give you an idea of what you're working with here. Nothing clipping. does makes sense in theory, and they spent a good part of their 2013 debut record working through the failures, but on CLPPNG, their experiments are even more out-there, and miraculously, they work almost every single time. The production is truly impossible to pin down, and its certainly the most creative batch of instrumentals I've heard all year, but the reason the album is such as blazing success is rapper Daveed Diggs. He's vastly improved over the span of a year, and while his technical ability is still ace, it's his uncanny ability to tell his stories with rising intensity that brings him to the next level. Also, there's a reason he never says "I". CLPPNG, at its core, is a psychological examination of the listener. You don't hear Diggs' take on the situation, he merely presents them to you. The whole idea is for the listener to face these scenarios, and deal with them by themselves. You immerse yourself in the record, and that's when it becomes special. |
3 RATKING So It Goes Over the past year, I feel like I've written about this album ten fucking times (only two, apparently), and even though I'm probably regurgitating myself, I seriously can't overstate how great this RATKING album is. In fact, it's gotten better every time I've listened to it, and as I sit here writing this while listening to "Snow Beach'', I'm tempted to move it up a couple slots. But let me contain myself for a few minutes as I attempt to write intelligently about So It Goes. Like I've said, the album breathes new life into the dying "Bring Back New York Hip Hop" movement. Instead of merely reaching back to the nineties for ideas, RATKING takes influences from the best of each era. The best example of this is the genius of "Remove Ya", a track where Sporting Life flips the "Dipset Anthem" and puts it over grimy-as-all-fuck drums while dropping in an audio clip of an NYPD cop using racial slurs. Considering that the album was released in February, the song has only grown more relevant over the past few months, and Wiki's performance is every bit as moving as the protests that shut the city down. These type of performances are sprinkled throughout the album, and even through the album's flaws, RATKING prove why New York's history is worth revisiting. |
2 Flying Lotus You're Dead! The most surprising thing about Flying Lotus' concept album You're Dead! is how little the process of death matters. The idea of dying is covered before the album ever starts, and Steve Ellison's fifth opus is all about what happens after you're dead. Aside from two guest spots from Kendrick Lamar (on "Never Catch Me", which is also the best hip hop song of the year) and Snoop Dogg, Flying Lotus takes us on a journey with his music alone, starting with the frenzied chaos immediately after death to the eventual acceptance of letting go. You're Dead!'s initial frantic pace is accompanied by jazz fusion and hip hop, and goes from there. Some have called it a jazz record, but its way too diverse to be completely categorized. Each exploration of genres seems natural until he album finally ends with the airy synths of "The Protest", a song that screams closure. It's a record no one else could possibly create, a record designed by someone who sees death in a way incomprehensible to the average person. It's freedom. The entire essence of You're Dead! is captured by the video of "Never Catch Me". As the family mourns at the funeral, the two children dance into the sunset, no longer held back by their mortal restrictions. |
1 Run the Jewels Run the Jewels 2 At the end of the day, 2014 is not going to be remembered for it's music. That's not a comment on the state of music, it's a comment on the state of the world in general. 2014 will always be known as the year that racial tensions fucking exploded, and retaliation for the elusive justice became necessary. More than any record this year, Run the Jewels 2 captured all of it. I can talk about how excellent each individual song is, or how El-P may have crafted one of the ten best produced hip hop albums of all time, but I've done that already, and I'd be doing the album an injustice without speaking of it in terms of bigger picture. Anarchy will always be associated with the youth, and it's especially tough to incite revolution when you're on the verge of forty, but El-P and Killer Mike's age gives them a sense of experience that's unmatched by most rappers. They're able to recognize that the problems of 2014, while seeming colossal now, are century old issues that can only be defeated by attacking the core of humanity. On "Lie, Cheat, Steal", Killer Mike isn't raging against Donald Sterling, he's raging against the idea of Donald Sterling, and how the slave-like mentality is something that has remained for centuries. Everything they describe on here sounds shitty, yet it's all recognizable to the average listener. And that's the problem. One of the best, and worst, aspects of J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye is how many people relate with Holden Caulfield. The same goes for Run the Jewels 2. It's impossible to not get fired up when Killer Mike and El-P are rallying against their enemies. In an ideal society, we would be looking at them like they were crazy, not rushing to take their side. But that's not the case, and the fact that so many people have found justice in Run the Jewels 2 makes it the most 2014 album of 2014. - Luke Hardin |
10 PRhyme PRhyme This was a surprising effort from both men involved that turned out to be a short, entertaining project that I've listened to just about every day since it's release. Primo, while obviously not his best, pulls together the most consistently good production I have heard from him in years. Add this to the fact that Royce was spitting absolute fire over the whole album and you have a clear recipe for success. What really makes this album work are the features. Every featured artist has their skills highlighted, and everyone seems to rap above their own skill levels to keep up with NIckel. Not to mention that Jay Electronica may have had the best verse on the entire album. Dope album that lacks an impact that would have it higher on the list. |
9 100s IVRY I'd be lying if I said there was any project this year that got more spins than this one. Easily one of the most fun additions to hip-hop this year, Ivry was an absolute blast. His weird disco style, and pimp persona make him truly an enigma in hip-hop, and when you put together songs like "Fuckin Around", and "Different Type of Love", you are going to entertain. Unfortunately, this 100s persona has been retired by the artist, but I promise there is not a more original piece of work on this list. |
8 Ghostface Killah 36 Seasons Last year Ghostface made a very similar project and it also landed relatively high on my list, so he goes to the well once more and manages to recreate the magic. This album tells an intriguing story that is easy to follow throughout the album, the production is solid, and the features are very good additions. This album isn't any better than 12 Reasons To Die, but it finds itself at eight, because hip-hop wasn't as entertaining this year. You got lucky this time, Ghost. 7 Mick Jenkins The Water[s] If you couldn't already tell(your observation skills clearly need work) I tend to gravitate towards more experimental hip hop. So, try this on for size, a concept album... about water. There's no gimmick to it, Mick Jenkins just wants to make sure everyone is well hydrated. Does it get ridiculous at times? Of course it does, but all of the songs are very well crafted and entertaining, and he manages to hold my attention for the duration of this tape. He went for the home run here with an album about water, and it managed to hit out of the park. Just goes to show if you do anything to step outside of the box, you will often garner more attention, just think about it. |
6 RATKING So It Goes I had never heard of RATKING before this year, but they took the internet by storm. Now touring with Run The Jewels, RATKING put the hip hop world on notice with this album. One of the few projects from early 2014 that I still give the time of day, the song "Snow Beach" alone puts this album somewhere in the top ten, and the song "Puerto Rican Judo"moves it down to the six spot. Entertaining production and rapping dominate this project, and that just makes it plain good. I think this album has a strong appeal to even a casual audience, so give it a listen if you give a shit. |
5 Open Mike Eagle Dark Comedy Mike Eagle is somehow the most entertainingly boring person alive. With an endearing half rap half sing style he talks about events in his life, that no one should care much about. He shows no progression through the album, but rather just talks about what is on his mind right now, and it makes for one of my favorite albums of 2014. There is no good way to explain why Mike Eagle works, but he does. He has an undeniable charm that makes you want to listen to what he has to say. That mixed with real talent as a lyricist, and a good ear for production, and Dark Comedy hits on all cylinders. |
4 clipping. CLPPNG At a point this year, this was easily my number one, but after a while, I had played the songs so many times that they had worn on me, but going back and listening to it now, I remember why I love this album. The minimalist noise production is genius throughout the whole album, and the flow of rapper Daveed Diggs compliments it in the best imaginable way. Diggs shows his depth as an artist through different styles, and social commentary on certain tracks. This is an album that you will want to listen to all the way through every time you play a song(maybe not "Tonight", but we can give them a pass given the Gangsta Boo factor). Creativity and talent come together to perfection on this album. |
3 Busdriver Perfect Hair One word I would use to describe this album is eccentric. This isn't your average run of the mill album that everyone is going to like. I think there are people who will question its involvement in a top ten list, but if this album resonates with you, then you know exactly why I love it as much as I do. From the singing songs like "Upsweep", to the hardcore experimental rap stylings on "Ego Death", this album offers every piece of Driver's artistic ability and distributes it perfectly throughout the album. I have listened to this album around thirty times and it has yet to get old in the slightest. |
2 Run the Jewels Run the Jewels 2 To be completely honest, the only reason this album isn't my number one is because I played the shit out of it. I need to let it breath a little, but for now I can't listen to it, and I think that alone has to keep it from being my number one. That being said, this album is fucking awesome. The intensity brought to each and every track by both rappers is unmatched by any hip hop project this year. This is better than the original album in almost every way. El has stepped his production up to a level where no one in the current rap game can keep up with him, and Mike has evolved so much as a rapper in the last year, that I am not sure anyone in the world can match him on the mic when he is at his best. With Run the Jewels 3 set for next year, expect to see their next effort at the top of my list next year. |
1 Madlib / Freddie Gibbs Piñata While Madlib has long been established as one of the game's best producers, Gangsta Gibbs was floating in the limbo between popularity and irrelevancy. That was until these two styles clashed and created the perfect storm. The more mellow production compliments Gibbs' rapping like no other production has managed to in his career. Every song on this album works to perfection, and it is something you can throw on at any time, and vibe out to. This isn't the perfect album, but it is as perfect as Gibbs will achieve given his limited mic skills. Hats off to the outfit collectively referred to as MadGibs. - Luke Gibson |