HipHopSite's 2007 Best & Worst List
Here it is - the long-awaited, highly anticipated 2007 best-and-worst list. Why is it posted in the forums? Because we are still re-building HipHopSite.Com from the ground up since the move to digital and *everything* is under-construction. Enjoy, and feel free to tear it apart. - HipHopSite Staff
The 10 Best Major Label Hip-Hop Albums Of The Year
1. Kanye West - “Graduation” (Def Jam)
2. Jay-Z - “American Gangster” (Def Jam)
3. Common - “Finding Forever” (G.O.O.D.)
4. Talib Kweli - “Eardrum” (Warner)
5. Wu-Tang Clan - “The 8 Diagrams” (SRC)
6. Ghostface Killah - “Big Doe Rehab” (Def Jam)
7. U.G.K. - “Underground Kingz” (Jive)
8. Lupe Fiasco - “The Cool” (Atlantic)
9. Redman - “Red Gone Wild” (Def Jam)
10. Timbaland - “Shock Value” (Interscope)
The 10 Best Indie Hip-Hop Albums Of The Year
1. Little Brother - “Get Back” (ABB Records)
2. El-P - “I'll Sleep When You're Dead” (Definitive Jux)
3. Evidence - “The Weatherman” (ABB Records)
4. Blu & Exile - “Below The Heavens” (Sound In Color)
5. Black Milk - “Popular Demand” (Fat Beats)
6. Aesop Rock - “None Shall Pass” (Definitive Jux)
7. DJ Jazzy Jeff - “Return Of The Magnificent” (K7)
8. KRS-One & Marley Marl - “Hip-Hop Lives” (Koch)
9. Sean Price - “Jesus Price Superstar” (Duck Down)
10. Cilvaringz “I” (Babygrande)
Honorable Mention: J. Dilla “Ruff Draft” (Re-Release): This release would have been included on the top albums list, however it was a re-issue.
The 5 Best EP Releases Of The Year
1. J-Live - “Reveal The Secret” (K7)
2. Talib Kweli & Madlib - “Liberation” (Blacksmith)
3. Show & A.G. - “Live Hard” (DITC Records)
4. Dilated Peoples - “Release Party” (Decon)
5. Atmosphere “Sad Clown Bad Fall” (Rhymesayers)
The 10 Best Mixtapes of the Year:
1. DJ Statik Selektah, DJ Premier, Royce Da 5'9 – “The Bar Exam”
2. Mick Boogie, Busta Rhymes, J. Dilla – “Dillagence”
3. Mick Boogie, Little Brother – “And Justus For All”
4. Lil Wayne - “Da Drought 3”
5. DJ Warrior, Black Milk, Bishop Lamont – “Caltroit”
6. Styles Of Beyond, DJ Green Lantern – “Razor Tag”
7. Mick Boogie, Joey Fingaz, Copywrite – “The Jerk Vol. 0”
8. Ill Bill / La Coka Nostra “Black Metal”
9. A-Trak – “Dirty South Dance”
10. Nick Catchdubs, Wale – “100 Miles & Runnin’”
The 10 Best Hip-Hop Alternative LP’s of the Year:
1. Amy Winehouse – “Back To Black” (Universal)
2. Blockhead – “Uncle Tony’s Coloring Book” (Ninja Tune)
3. Mark Ronson – “Version” (Columbia)
4. Sa-Ra Creative Partners – “The Hollywood Recordings” (Babygrande)
5. Kenna – “Make Sure They See My Face” (Star Trak)
6. Chromeo – “Fancy Footwork” (Vice Records)
7. Duran Duran – “Red Carpet Massacre” (Epic)
8. Saul Williams – “The Inevitable Rise & Fall Of Niggy Tardust” (Saul Williams)
9. M.I.A. – “Kala” ( XL)
10. Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings – “100 Days, 100 Nights” (Daptone)
Honorable Mention: Radiohead “In Rainbows”. All of the above records have some connection to hip-hop in one way or another, but Radiohead does not. Regardless, it deserves recognition. Sorry Britney.
The Top 10 Major Label Singles Of The Year
1. Kanye West - “The Good Life” (Def Jam)
2. U.G.K. / Outkast - “International Players Anthem” (Jive)
3. Timbaland - “The Way I Are” (Interscope)
4. 50 Cent “Ayo Technology” (Interscope)
5. Kanye West - “Stronger” (Def Jam)
6. Common - “I Want You” (G.O.O.D.)
7. Jay-Z “Roc Boys” (Def Jam)
8. Talib Kweli “Hot Thing” (Warner)
9. Lupe Fiasco – “Superstar” (Atlantic)
10. T.I. - “U Know What It Is” (Atlantic)
The 10 Worst Guilty Pleasure Rap Songs Of the Year
1. Soulja Boy - “Crank Dat” ( Capitol)
2. Rich Boy - “Throw Some D's (Universal)
3. UNK - “Walk It Out” (Koch)
4. Mims - “This Is Why I'm Hot” (Capitol)
5. Fat Joe - “Make It Rain” (Koch)
6. Lil' Boosie - “Wipe Me Down” (Asylum)
7. Da Shop Boyz - “Party Like A Rockstar” (Universal)
8. DJ Khaled “I'm So Hood” (Koch)
9. Playaz Circle “Duffel Bag Boy” (DTP)
10. Swizz Beatz "Money In The Bank" (Universal)
Top 5 R&B Songs Of The Year
1. Rihanna – “Umbrella” (Def Jam)
2. Keysha Cole – “Let U Go” (Geffen)
3. T-Pain - “Buy You A Drank (Shawty Snappin’)” (Jive)
4. Justin Timberlake – “Summerlove” (Jive)
5. Ne-Yo – “Because Of You” (Def Jam)
10 Best Emcees Of The Year
Oh boy, this one will cause some arguments, but that’s the point of lists, right? The main criteria for selecting these artists was that they must have had at least one full-length album or mixtape (aka “the new album”) this year. So no, as much as we love Rakim, he didn’t make the list this year, because he didn’t release shit. The results are also based on pure skill, not style. So yeah, T.I. is cool-as-a-fan and all, but this is about the written words, not how they are said. Now start arguing.
1. Jay-Z (American Gangster)
2. Common (Finding Forever)
3. Lil’ Wayne (Da Drought 3)
4. Ghostface Killah (Big Doe Rehab, The 8 Diagrams)
5. Royce Da 5’9 (The Bar Exam)
6. Talib Kweli (Eardrum, Liberation)
7. Phonte & Big Pooh of Little Brother (Get Back)
8. Lupe Fiasco (The Cool)
9. Apathy (Baptism By Fire, It's The Bootleg Muthafuckas Vol. 2, No Place Like Chrome)
10. Copywrite (The Jerk Vol. 0)
10 Best Producers Of The Year
The criteria for producers of the year were selected based on having at least one critically acclaimed full-length album produced this year. This isn’t a list based on who had the hottest (or most expensive) beats, so, simply having a hit single or two under your belt doesn’t count. Sorry Swizzy, Pollow.
1. Kanye West (Graduation, Finding Forever)
2. Timbaland/Danja Handz (Shock Value, Red Carpet Massacre)
3. Mark Ronson (Back To Black, Version)
4. El-P (I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead)
5. Blockhead (Uncle Tony’s Coloring Book, None Shall Pass)
6. RZA (The 8 Diagrams)
7. Evidence (The Weatherman)
8. Black Milk (Caltroit, Popular Demand)
9. Exile (Below The Heavens)
10. DJ Jazzy Jeff (Return of The Magnificent)
Honorable Mention: J. Dilla for “Ruff Draft” as only posthumous material was released.
The Top 10 Rookies Of The Year
This list doesn’t necessarily make up the following artists’ “rookie” year, however 2007 was the year that they made enough noise and actually got people paying attention to them. Congratulations and welcome to the music industry guys, it sucks!
1. Amy Winehouse
2. Black Milk
3. Slaine (La Coka Nostra, Special Teamz)
4. Blu
5. Bishop Lamont
6. Wale
7. Pollow Da Don
8. Ralphige
9. Dirt Nasty
10. Chrisette Michelle
The 5 Most Disappointing Albums Of 2007
1. T.I. – “T.I. Vs. T.I.P.”
After “King”, we thought T.I. could do no wrong, but then he delivered the sub-par “T.I. Vs. T.I.P.”. We really tried to find songs on that record to like, and there were a few, but it was a massive let down after his 2006 release.
2. Pharoahe Monch – “Desire”
We guess old Monch wanted to get in on some of that hip-pop, cross-genre Gnarls Barkley money, and the result was “Desire”. Unfortunately, nobody really desired this LP. Sure, it had a few moments that reminded us of why we like Pharoahe in the first place. But songs like his Elvis rendition, “Body Baby”, or the Gospel road-to-nowhere, “Push”, left us scratching our heads.
3. 50 Cent – “Curtis”
Wow, you’d think after all the tough talk 50 was doing prior to the release of this LP, not to mention the stakes being extra high going up against Kanye, he’d deliver us another banger. Not so. The album did have it’s share of hot singles, but so much of the rest of it was filler, overflowing with braggadocio about A) how rich he is now B) how good he is in bed (so seductive!) and C) how big of a gangster he is. Not surprising, but with a title like “Curtis”, we expected a more introspective look at the guy – we guess that’s all there is to him.
4. Will.I.Am – “Songs About Girls”
We had high hopes for Will, after a strong series of hot beats for other people in 2006 (Nas, Game, Justin). Unfortunately, Will’s solo “debut” (this is like his third record, yo) was critically panned thanks to his strange attempts to be one of those cool rapper/singer Cee-Lo/T-Pain/Akon types. It must really suck to have something like “The Donque Song” (note the artistic spelling of “donkey”) as a part of your musical legacy, when in fact the single didn’t do donkey dick.
5. RJD2 – “The Third Hand”
As much as we love ourselves some RJD2, we didn’t love The Third Hand. Make no mistake, RJ’s still got it – just one year earlier he delivered us the superb Things Go Better With RJ and Al LP with Soul Position. Problem was, RJ sang all over this LP. He’s not so bad on vocal chops, but let’s face it, we buy RJ’s records for the beats. A decent record, but you'll still catch us rocking the instrumental version.
Yes, Homo: The Gayest Rap Lyrics Of The Year:
“Come see me in north Philly, I’ll make that ass strip.” – Nox on Scott Storch’s “Built Like That”
“Congratulations cuz your son made a million with his mouth.” – Rich Boy on “The Madness”
"I treat emcees like Dominique Simone." - Kool Keith on "Time For Sex"
"Come here and I'll show you I spit on more than just the mic." - Saigon on "Come On Baby"
"Ball right, brawl right, waiting for a dog fight, so I can give it to you ass-wipe niggas all night." - Edo G "Long Time Comin" (Special Teamz)
"I love the way you make that thing clap, boy I gotta get me some of that." - Trick Daddy on Pitbull's "Dukey Love"
The Top 5 Bitch Moves Of The Year:
1. Tony Yayo Wins Fight With 14 Year Old
Apparently taken the “if you aren’t with me, you’re against me” creed a bit too far, Tony Yayo (allegedly) roughed up 14 year old James Rosemond for (allegedly) wearing a T-shirt with the logo for Czar Entertainment, the management company that (allegedly) represents former G-Unit member, The Game. Rosemond is the son of Jimmy “Henchmen” Rosemond, who also manages Game. Oh, and Tony Yayo is a friend of 50 Cent, who also happens to rap, but it’s likely you have never heard of him, either.
2. Racist Imus Comments Magically Transform Into Hip-Hop Censorship Crusade
Ambulance chasers Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson were right there to milk the Don Imus racist-comment controversy for all it was worth, but in doing so, they were criticized for instead turning a blind eye to the overuse of words like “bitch” and “nigga” in hip-hop music. Turning their focus into a crusade to “clean up” hip-hop (good luck, guys), we felt ultimately they were more concerned with how much press they could get.
On one hand, these words aren’t helping the culture in any positive sense, but on the other hand we definitely aren’t for censorship, which is instead what this boiled down to. Jay-Z put it best – “I missed the part where this stopped being about Imus / what do my lyrics got to do with this shit?”
3. Each Officer Of Atlanta Task Force Awarded Full Collection Of DJ Drama Mixtapes After Warehouse Raid
At the beginning of the year, it became very evident that the music industry was in trouble because of illegal downloading. The solution? To seize the thousands of pieces of illegal contraband (read: mixtapes) created by DJ Drama, Don Cannon, and the Aphilliate deejays! Yes, because we all know that it’s crappy CD-R’s with Xeroxed artwork, bad mixing, explosions, and deejays swearing at you over the music, that is single-handedly crumbling the music industry, not torrents. The only thing that was ultimately accomplished here was the fact that Atlantic finally found a reason to give a release date to DJ Drama’s album. Somewhere, Saigon is brainstorming.
4. Akon Teaches Teenage Fans About Sex, Violence
Wow, Akon has both Tony Yayo and R. Kelly beat with this one. The “singing African” (as Beni B has dubbed him), found himself in trouble in two separate incidents, both of which involve teenage fans, and both of which were broadcast on the internet, thanks the miracle of YouTube. While performing in New York, Akon got himself in trouble for violently tossing a male fan into the crow, who was picked out of the audience by security, after a series of heckles. Then, in Trinidad, Akon was found “simulating sex-acts” on stage with a 14-year old girl. In other news, Akon has just completed work on Michael Jackson’s re-release of “Thriller”. COINCIDENCE?
5. Saigon Gets Shitted On By Atlantic, Again
We’ve heard this story time and again. Saigon, who has seen his share of ups and downs with Atlantic Records finally saw his album release on the horizon, complete with a hot lead single (“Come On Baby”) and accompanying remix featuring Jay-Z, which still wasn’t enough for Atlantic to take a chance and release the record. Saigon was so fed up with the further delays, he even announced his “retirement” on his MySpace blog.
9 Things That Need To Change In The Industry (But Probably Won't) In 2008:
1) Music Industry: Stop Being Such Bitches
Whether it’s declaring ripping music to your computer illegal or slapping a guy like DJ Drama (who ultimately helps your cause) with a federal case, stop being such fucks about the decline of your industry. It’s changed forever now, you major label people need to wake up an accept it. All fighting it does is make you a big bad, faceless enemy; one that the fans just love to screw every time they freeload and steal your music. You want people to buy your music the old fashioned way? Stop the home invasions (as seen in this shocking footage:
). Instead, be more forward thinking, like Radiohead and Saul Williams, offering alternative methods of music distribution, with different options for the fans. Please note however, the healing process may take a while, you sniveling, spineless cunts.
2) Fans: Support The Artists You Like, And Buy Their Albums.
But this goes both ways. Okay, let’s not front. We ALL steal music. But the fate of the music industry – and more importantly, the fate of your favorite artist - is at stake here, and unless you want to see more ringtone rap on your radio and TV all day, support the artists you love. If you downloaded an album illegally, but you rock that shit all the time, buy a copy legally. If you liked them, go back and pay for your free copy of In Rainbows or Niggy Tardust. If your favorite artist is dropping an album on Tuesday, buy it. Speak to the labels with your wallets. Show them what kind of music you are willing to support, and what kind of music you are not.
3) Record Labels: Make Records, Not Ringtones
The number of one-hit wonders this year was astounding: Da Shop Boyz, Rich Boy, Lil’ Boosie, Cupid, Lil’ Mama, and other “artists” got their 15 minutes thanks to disposable songs – most usually with an accompanying dance. The purpose of these gimmicky tracks is not to sell albums, but to sell ringtones, so that when you’re phone rings in-line at Wal-Mart, you and all of the other people that are in-the-know can spontaneously bust out into the Soulja Boy Dance. Or, rather, you can stand there and be embarrassed that everyone in line now knows that you actually paid $3.49 for that ringtone. Plus, everyone knows that Soulja Boy is so not nearly as hot now as Flo Rida.
4) Rappers: Stop Biting Jay-Z’s Adlibs
Speech! If we hear one more rapper tell his producer “you a fool for this one” or say something like “it feels so good”, “it’s so beautiful right now”, we give up. Come guys, you think nobody listens to Jay-Z? Stop re-using his adlibs to help yourself get comfortable in the booth. Bonus points for rappers who stop demanding “I need everybody to report to the dance floor,” that are not named Jermaine Dupri.
5) R&B Singers: No More Talk Box/Vocoder
Roger Troutman is turning in his grave. It’s like, he died, and then the ban on the vocoder was lifted, ready for T-Pain and Akon to beat into the ground. We’ll admit, T-Pain knows how to use the thing scarily well, but when people like Chris Brown, Snoop Dogg, and Lyfe Jennings (who?) start to do it, it’s time for us all to step back, take a deep breath, and remove the tubes from our mouths.
6) Rappers: An Offer You Can't Refuse: Stop Sampling Gangster Flicks
The only pass we’ll give here is Jay-Z’s American Gangster, because it’s actually officially tied to the movie, and Jay brilliantly beat everyone to it by making this happen. Otherwise, for chrissakes, leave The Godfather, Scarface, Goodfellas, The Departed, Carlito's Way, The Sopranos, and all of that shit alone. It’s done. It’s been done; for about ten years now. Maybe instead, you could sample a romantic comedy. Love, Actually, starring Hugh Grant might have some choice samples for you, and we promise you that nobody is on that shit yet.
7) Producers: Don’t Forget Your Roots.
Hey, we’re all for cross-genre music and expanding the definition of what exactly “hip-hop” is, and at the same time, we understand where the big money is, but damn, what happened to hip-hop producers producing for hip-hop artists? Unless your name was 50 Cent, rappers weren’t getting beats from Timbaland or The Neptunes in 2007. Britney, Kenna, and Duran Duran? Different story.
8) R&B Singers: Fire The Dream
We just loved Rihanna and her cute little “Umbrella” (ella, ella, ay, ay, ay) song, penned by The Dream – who Jay-Z referred to in an interview as a “brilliant song-writer”. Really, Jay? Because now, every damn song on the radio-adey-oh-oh-oh sounds like “Umbrella”, thanks to The Dream’s patented stutter-style. The Dream’s sound has infected songs like J. Holiday’s “Bed”, his own “Shawty Is A Ten”, and countless others with it’s deadly, annoying echo. Perhaps the worst part about this is that we all know where The Dream bit his song-writing style from.
9) Rappers: Grow The Fuck Up, You Lil' Bastards
Five years ago, everybody wanted to be "Big", but then "Big" rappers started dying. So, today, every new rapper wants to be "lil" or "yung", making it very hard to separate the men from the boys. Lil' Blacky!?! Really?!!? What the fuck happened to being a man? Why are all these guys happy with being sonned and put in the same catergory as "Lil Romeo" (who has since - ironically - dropped the 'Lil") and Young MC? With the exception of Lil' Wayne (and some will even argue that), adding the prefix of "lil" or "yung" to your name almost guarantees you for one-hit wonder status.
Beef: Rap Battles Of 2007
Some of these battles were wars of words, some wars of lyrics. The winners are picked based on ultimately who emerged looking victorious, versus who looked like a clown after everything was said and done.
1. 50 Cent Vs. Kanye West: Kanye West
2. Cam’ron Vs. 50 Cent: 50 Cent
3. Kanye West Vs. Beanie Sigel: Kanye West
4. Timbaland Vs. Scott Storch: Timbaland
5. Tru Life Vs. Cam’Ron: Draw
50 Reasons To Live Another Year:
Last year, our list was only about 60% accurate, with 40% of the albums listed never dropping. Those mysterious releases have been included on this list once again, such as Dr. Dre’s Detox, which has actually held the number one spot here for about 5 years now. So, expect about the same percentage results this time around.
1. Dr. Dre - “Detox” (Aftermath)
2. Ghostface / MF Doom - “Swift & Changable” (Nature Sounds)
3. Nas - “N***er” (Def Jam)
4. Raekwon - “Only Built For Cuban Linx 2” (Aftermath)
5. Lil Wayne - “The Carter 3” (Cash Money)
6. The Roots – “Rising Down” (Def Jam)
7. Del - “The 11th Hour” (Definitive Jux / Hieroglyphics)
8. Atmosphere - “When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold” (Rhymesayers)
9. T.I. - “Paper Trail” (Atlantic)
10. J-Live - “Then What Happened” (BBE)
11. Papoose – “Papoose - The Nacirema Dream” (?????)
12. The Game - “The D.O.C. (Diary Of Compton)” (Geffen)
13. Skillz - “The Million Dollar Backpack” (Koch)
14. Fat Joe - “The Elephant In The Room (Koch)
15. Rhymefest - “El Che” (J Records)
16. Sa-Ra Creative Partners - “Nuclear Evolution: The Age Of Love” (Ubiquity)
17. 50 Cent - “Before I Self Destruct” (G-Unit)
18. Lupe Fiasco - “L.U.P.End”
19. Busta Rhymes - “Back On My Bullshit” (Aftermath)
20. Kanye West - “A Good Ass Job” (Def Jam)
21. Madlib + MF Doom - Madvillan 2 (Stones Throw)
22. Mos Def - “The Ecstatic” (Downtown Recordings)
23. Stat Quo - “Statlanta” (Shady/Aftermath)
24. J. Dilla - “Jay Love Japan” - ??????
25. KRS-One - “Adventures In Emceein” (Koch)
26. AZ – “Undeniable” (Koch)
27. Foxy Brown - “Brooklyn's Don Diva” (Koch)
28. Kool G. Rap - “Half A Klip” (Koch)
29. Akrobatik - “Absolute Value” (Koch)
30. Ludacris - “Theatre Of The Mind” (Def Jam)
31. Timbaland - “Shock Value II” (Interscope)
32. Saigon - “The Greatest Story Never Told” (?????)
33. Bishop Lamont - “The Reformation” (Aftermath)
34. Royce Da 5'9 - “The Revival” (Babygrande)
35. Andre 3000 Solo LP (LaFace)
36. Big Boi Solo LP (LaFace)
37. Snoop Dogg - “Ego Trippin'” (Geffen)
38. The Cool Kids - “The Bake Sale” (Chocolate Industries)
39. Cesar Comanche - “Die In Your Lap” (Hall Of Justus / ABB)
40. Pete Rock - “NY's Finest” (Nature Sounds)
41. Lil Jon - “Crunk Rock” (TVT)
42. G-Unit – “Shoot To Kill” (G-Unit)
43. Missy Elliot – “The Countdown” (Atlantic)
44. Edgar Allen Floe - "The Streetwise LP" (MCEO Records)
45. Sean Price & Chaundon – “A Tale Of Two Seans” (Duck Down)
46. 9th Wonder & Buckshot – “Chemistry 2” (Duck Down)
47. Rock of Heltah Skeltah – “Shell Shock” (Duck Down)
48. Cee-Lo & Jack Splash “Love Stink” (Counterflow)
49. Gnarls Barkley – Sophomore LP (Downtown Recordings)
50. MF Doom – “Doomposter” (Rhymesayers)
Rest In Peace:
1. Pimp C
2. Big Moe
3. Disco D
4. Stack Bundles
5. DJ Przm
