Being that I'm going to be busy each day that week wrapping up what this year had to offer, it leaves me little time to start looking ahead to the next one. So I've decided to take care of this a little earlier than anticipated. It's also the holiday season still, so here's just another reason to be joyful. Call it an early Christmas gift (or a late Chanukah one if that's your preference).
While 2010 had some terrific releases (My Beautiful Twisted Dark Fantasy, Sir Lucious Left Foot, Distant Relatives to name a few), 2011 is looking like it could be an upgrade. There's a lot to be excited for in 2011, so I came up with a list of the eleven things to look for in the upcoming year. I listed each thing in the order of how anxious you should be for it (hence, the #1 thing on this list is the one you should be the most excited for). Before reading the list though, remember that 2010 had a tremendous slate at the start of its year as well (just refer to Lupe's Lasers fiasco). 2011 has a slate as good or better than 2010's, but it will remain to be seen whether everything will hold up. So, without further ado, here are the 11 reasons you should be excited for 2011. . .
11. No More G.O.O.D. Friday's
Hey, I loved this idea when Kanye first introduced them back in August. The weekly releases were always pretty well produced and three of them even ended up on Ye's album. They were a cool thing to look forward to, but unfortunately, they also helped spread the idea of a weekly single to other artists. Artists like Crooked I and Lloyd Banks decided to start their own "G.O.O.D. Friday" knock offs, and the flood gates opened. They may not completely go away, but don't expect the idea to be quite as popular in the coming year. With less singles hitting the hip hop scene, you'll be able to catch up on just about every one you want to hear without feeling overwhelmed next year.
10. Talib Kweli - Gutter Rainbows
Have to say, this has gotta be one of the more creative titles I've seen for an album in a while, but maybe that shouldn't come as a surprise from one of the most creative lyricists around in hip hop. Talib teamed up with producer Hi-Tek this past year and released Reflection Eternal's second album, Revolutions Per Minute. While the album had its ups and downs, Talib was still very, very good when on the mic. Kweli hasn't released a solo album since his 2007 success, Eardrum. If his "Cold Rain" single is any indicator of what Gutter Rainbows should be like, Kweli fans should be making sure their calender has space on January 25th, when the album hits stores.
9. Kanye West & Jay-Z - Watch My Throne
If 2010 proved one thing, it's that 'Ye still has it. What many of called, including myself, his album Dark Fantasy to be his magnum opus, Kanye's return to rap was proved to be long overdue. But don't count out Ye's mentor either. While Hova didn't release an album in 2010, his guest appearances on "Monster", "So Appalled", "Power (remix), and "Light's Out" had some pretty strong verses from the Bronx MC. Originally supposed to be an EP, the two decided to make it a full-length album after their success from their G.O.O.D. Friday collaborations. The album may not be groundbreaking, but it's guaranteed to have some tracks that you'll be playing on repeat after its release. Watch stores around late February for this one.
8. Pharoahe Monch - W.A.R. (We Are Renegades)
Another case of "originally scheduled for one date, pushed back to later date and will definitely be out then. . .then pushed back again". If I had made a list for this year's "most anticipated", Monch's album would've been on it. W.A.R. was supposed to be ready by this past summer, but it got delayed and put down for a fall release. Once the fall season came around though, Monch claimed that the guest appearances weren't completely wrapped up, and so he couldn't release W.A.R. until February. Don't get too discouraged however, because Monch's third studio album will likely be another great one. The Queens artist has Royce Da 5'9" listed as a guest on the 13 tracklist, with production done by Marco Polo, Exile, and Monch himself. With Internal Affairs and Desire on his resume, there should be no reason this one passes you by when it's set to be in stores this February.
7. Damn Good Debuts
What was once the album that usually remained the best in an MC's career (Nas's Illmatic, Biggies Ready To Die, Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt) has become somewhat of a disappointment of late. 2010 saw album debuts from B.o.B., Drake, Big Boi, Curren$y, and Nicki Minaj, most of which were pretty average (excluding Big Boi's). With the not-so-high standards that this year set for debuts, it's natural to think that next year's will be able to surpass them. Before I was pretty sure of this, and now I'm certain when I saw the artists who will make their first album entries for 2011. Just look at these names: Pusha T, J. Cole, Chiddy Bang, and Big Sean. Not to mention Wiz Khalifa's debut album for Atlantic Records, and you've got a pretty good fresh class of MCs to beef up your hip hop sections of your iTune's libraries next year.
6. Andre 3000 - TBA
If there was more details about this album, you can bet this would've been at the top of this list. As of today though, you can only go by Big Boi's word that the other half of one of the greatest hip hop duos ever will be ready to drop his solo album debut. Big Boi has already said he's featured on the album and that it's going to be "special". 'Dre was relatively quiet in 2010, but he did release "I Do", as well as make a great appearance on "Deuces (remix)" and a return to OutKast with "Lookin' 4 Ya (remix)". He's one of the best MC's to grace the mic ever, so if there's even a rumor of a solo album from him, you should be excited. No release date or title has been announced for the album yet, so keep tabs on this one as 2011 goes on.
5. DJ Premier vs. Pete Rock
I think producers everywhere are salivating over this offering that is expected for the new year. In case you don't know who these two already are though, Premier and Rock are considered to be two of the greatest hip hop producers to ever grace the board. About.com's Henry Adaso has them ranked #1 and #2 respectively on his "Greatest Producers of All-Time" list, in case you may need more assurance (listen to anything Gang Starr or "The World is Yours" by Nas to really get some insight on how good the pair is if you're curious). Premier and Rock did a concert "battling" each other this past May in Tokyo and enjoyed it so much, they made it a priority to make an LP together. Premier already has Wu-Tang's lyrical genius, GZA, on his guest list and expect Rock to gather some A-List rappers himself. Just think of Ocean's Eleven or Inception in star power, and you've got what this album is going to offer. There's no release date set for the album for now, but expect for it to get on shelves and to your iPods by the end of the first half of the new year.
4. Nas - The Lost Tapes II/TBA
Hardcore Gucci or Young Money fans may want to skip this section, but for the rest of hip hop lovers, keep on reading. Nas, real name Nasir Jones, dropped the first Lost Tapes over eight years ago and he's ready to give us the sequel in 2011. The Lost Tapes was a collection of select tracks that Nas felt weren't "album worthy" and proved to still be pretty awesome. Songs like "Doo Rags" and "No Idea's Original" that came from the original Lost Tapes have even become considered some of Nas's best. It's obvious Nas thinks that this sequel is going to be as good or better, as he sent a scathing letter earlier this year to his label, Def Jam, that called for the immediate release of Lost Tapes II. This may not be Jones's only album to drop in the new year though. Nas has also stated he is working on a tenth studio album that, in his words, is going to be "magical". There's scheduled production appearances from Kanye, RZA, DJ Premier, and Pete Rock as well (probably enough reason to just buy the album right there). Nas has failed to disappoint of late too, releasing a strong album with Damian Marley, Distant Relatives, in 2010, and arguably his best album of the 2000's with Untitled in 2008. Lost Tapes II will most likely be available by the end of the first quarter of next year, but you'll probably have to wait a little longer for the studio project.
3. Dr. Dre - Detox
Seriously? You're going to put us through another year of this AGAIN Dr. Dre? Oh wait, it actually looks like it might finally be here. If you've followed hip hop at all for the past five to ten years, you'll know as well as I do about the almost perpetual delay of Dr. Dre's third and final studio album. Dre got to releasing a single this past year in "Kush" and it seems he's really serious about getting Detox out. If i didn't know the guest sheet was for an album before, I would've guessed it was for some music convention held once every decade. Hell, I'm not even sure if the President could get this many stars aligned at the same time. Names include: Common, Eminem, Xzibit, Ice Cube, Raekwon, T.I., J. Cole, Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg, Game, Akon, Pharrell, and there's still more! You know that conversation you have with friends when you talk about the albums that were huge during a particular year? Like in 2007 when everybody was bumping to Kanye's Graduation or in 2009 when Blueprint 3 and Man on the Moon were as cool as the other side of the pillow (Courtesy of Stuart Scott)? Well, Detox will no doubt be one of those albums at the end of 2011. Expected release date is sometime in February right now. Don't hold your breath though for that date though, as it's likely to be delayed (again) for a later time in the next year. Just make sure that when it does come out, you get this, because you'll be just so not "in" without it.
2. Lupe Fiasco - Lasers
A lot of people marked this album down as the "most anticipated" for this year, myself included. When Lupe released his single "I'm Beamin'" back in February, hip hop lovers could barely hold in their excitement for this. So it was not a minor, but a major disappointment that Lasers couldn't make it to our homes, dorm rooms, or whatever you live in during 2010. I'm a regular viewer of HBO's new series, Boardwalk Empire, and it's season finale explained the Lasers situation perfectly. When the main mobsters tried to kill each other, nothing got done. Business suffered and no one really benefited. The top guys were making less money by attempting to whack one another than if they would just settle their differences. Lupe and Atlantic Record's feud lasted the first three-fourths of the year, until finally Atlantic caved to Lupe and his petitioners in early October. Fortunately though, for Lupe and all his fans, Lasers seems to be in full motion since the "Victory!" Lupe tweeted on October 7th. Fiasco released "The Show Goes On" as his first official single in late October and it's been very well received so far. The Chi-town MC also showed that he may be hungrier than ever, when he responded to Soulja Boy's dis in November with "S.L.R. (Super Lupe Rap)", a six minute flurry of rhymes that may have been the best set of verses lyrically released all year. An album that could be the most hyped in recent memory will finally see the light of day on March 8th next year. Look for Lasers to be something really, really special.
1. Jay Electronica - Act II
Surprised? Maybe a little, but if you've followed Jay in the past few years, you won't be. Jay Electronica hails from New Orleans, yet sounds like he's another one of the NYC prodigies. Up until this point, he was notorious for making a mixtape that was rapped entirely over the soundtrack of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. His singles "Exhibit A" was very well received and "Exhibit C" was named the top single of 2009 by About.com and he's been a rising star in hip hop for some time. The man is the ripe old age of 34, but don't let that fool you. Maybe the biggest news story in the hip hop world from 2010 was Electronica's signing to Jay-Z's Roc Nation record label on November 13th. Does signing a deal also mean he's ready for an album release? It appears that way as his debut album, Act II, is scheduled for an appearance in 2011. So why again is Electronica's work something to be more excited about than Lupe's Lasers or Nas's Lost Tapes II? Well, imagine your career as an artist comes down to one album. You want to embody everything that you are into just 80 minutes of a record. That's Electronica. Jay may only do one album (his girlfriend Erykah Baduh has even said she didn't think he'd ever do one), but if that's the case, that single set of tracks could possibly join the ranks of the greatest hip hop albums, ever. He's extremely talented and he has some of the best to ever do it behind him. For instance, after Jay produced "Queens Get the Money" for Nas's Untitled in 2008, Nas compared himself to Jay, claiming that Electronica resemble a young Nas because of his incredible drive. HipHopDX.com has even referred to the man as a "myth" or an "urban legend'. No date has been set to this point and it's probable we won't hear of one until the second half of the year. However, once it finally drops, expect the hip hop and music world to hear something mind boggling.
No comments:
Post a Comment