What up everyone. It's almost the end of the month and it has been a memorable one. Hip-hop had two major releases in June with Drake's Thank Me Later and Eminem's Recovery. Drake made history as his debut album was the highest selling ever for an MC. It sold over 450,000 copies in its first week, defeating the previous record held by Kanye West's The College Dropout. Eminem was also successful; Recovery peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200, making it his 5th consecutive to do so. Perhaps the most critically acclaimed album though, came from The Roots. They're ninth studio album, How I Got Over, currently holds an 86 rating on Metacritic. That's 8 points better than Thank Me Later and a staggering 24 more than Recovery. How I Got Over also holds the top rating of the month on HipHopDX.com for June.
Hip-hop seems to be picking up steam after a big June, but will it continue into July?
Sir Lucious Left Foot: Son of Chico Dusty
Artist: Big Boi
Label: Def Jam
Release Date: July 6th
- What a way to kick off July. Big Boi, one half of the critically acclaimed duo OutKast, will release his debut solo album, Sir Lucious Left Foot. B.O.B. released a preview of what this album could be like in 2008 with "Royal Flush (ft. Raekwon and Andre 3000)". The song was named by Henry Adaso, hip-hop blogger for about.com, as the top hip-hop track of '08 and was also nominated for the Grammy "Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group". His song "Shine Blockas (ft. Gucci Mane)" was named the 8th best song of 2009 by Adaso as well. That's the only taste of what Big Boi has in store, but it was one that will make any hip-hop lover salivate in envy. Remember, Big Boi is experienced going solo already, since the first section of Speakerboxx and the Love Below was a complete solo effort from him. Just listen to "Ghetto Musik", "I Like the Way You Move", and "Church" from that disc and trust me, you'll be getting the same jitters I'm having in excitement for Sir Lucious Left Foot. It hasn't gotten as much attention, but this could be a potential rap album of the year candidate when the smoke clears.
Pilot Talk
Artist: Curren$y
Label: Def Jam
Release Date: July 13th
We saw the debut album of Drake drop in June, so why not check out another? Curren$y, who has been a rising star in the hip-hop underground, will try to impress listeners with his debut album, Pilot Talk. Curren$y was featured on Wiz Khalifa's last album, Deal or No Deal, and was even featured on the cover of XXL Magazine in February of 2009. He left Young Money in late 2007 to team up with Roc-a-Fella records and Def Jam. Almost the entire album is produced by Ski Beatz, but Mos Def helps out with producing the track "Breakfast". Guest appearances are strong here as you will hear lines from Mos Def, Snoop Dogg, Jay Electronica, and Devin the Dude. It won't sell anywhere near what Drake's did, but it's definitely worth checking out. Curren$y seems to have the right people behind him to make a critically successful debut, its just up to the MC himself to come through.
Heart of a Champion
Artist: Paul Wall
Label: Warner Brothers
Release Date: July 13th
- This was an album that was supposed to be released June 29th but was pushed back two weeks. I didn't spend much time talking about this album in my June preview post, so I won't spend much more here. Wall was unsuccessful sales and critics wise with his 2009 release of Fast Life, so here is his chance to make a rebound. He has some great guest appearances lined up for Heart of a Champion who include: Chamillionaire, Bun B, Jay Electronica, Devin the Dude, and Raekwon. Travis Barker is on the production, as well as The Neptunes so expect the beats at least to be on track. It could be a hit, but it has just as good a chance of flopping as well.
Teflon Don
Artist: Rick Ross
Label: Maybach Music Group
Release Date: July 20th
- If you're looking for star power, look no further than Rick Ross and his newest, Teflon Don. Kanye West, T.I., Jay-Z, Ne-Yo, Raphael Saadiq, and Drake have all been confirmed as appearing on the album already. Kanye is also producing a track, but most of the production is left to J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Lex Luger, and No I.D. "Super High", the album's first single sounds pretty good, at least from a production stand point. Ross has yet to deliver an album of any lyrical significance, and I doubt that this one will do that. However, I'm willing to bet it will be a fun one to cruise to and it will sell very, very well. Who knows, maybe the one they call "The Boss" could surprise critics, myself included, with a good album.
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