2012 Pack: Top Hip Hop Albums

1 - Billy Woods – History Will Absolve Me

Last: #5 in 2010 (Super Chron Flight Bros)

Video: Duck Hunt

Notes: Billy Woods may be today’s greatest MC at painting a world of vivid imagery filled with obscure pop culture references, historical footnotes, and conscious level lyrics.

2 - Sean Price – Mic Tyson

Last: #2 in 2007

Video: STFU Part 2

Notes: The Alchemist produced “STFU Part 2” on continuous loop would be the perfect theme music for a post- midnight session of mailbox baseball.

3 - Dinosaur Burps – Mother Nature Wants You Dead

Last: NA

Video: Oddney Strangerfield (Lungbutter)

Notes: West Virginia based crew blends hard hitting beats with lyrics about “beating off all in my Snuggie” and other gems. Rappers who don’t take themselves too serious, a novel concept in 2012.

4 - Masterminds – Giant Antlers

Last: NA

Video: Suicidal Pigeon

Notes: Alfred’s “some men just want to watch the world burn” quote from The Dark Knight perfectly sets off this gritty NYC crew’s offering, seamlessly blending into “The Invisible World.”

5 - Aesop Rock – Skelethon

Last: #1 in 2007

Video: Zero Dark Thirty

Notes: Hip Hop isn’t dead when you can make a track about a “Homemade Mummy.” “Take the brain out, leave the heart in, major take down, eat the porridge, take the brain out, leave the carcass.”

6 - Dark Time Sunshine – ANX

Last: #1 in 2010

Video: Never Cry Wolf

Notes: I copped a signed physical copy of this release direct from front man (and one of the most underrated MCs in the game) Onry Ozzborn at their Boulder show. An added plus? He’s a Broncos fan.

7 - Oh No – Ohnomite

Last: NA

Video: 3 Dollars f/ MF Doom

Notes: Oh No again comes correct both behind the boards (where the samples from Dolemite set the album’s tone) and in front of the mic. Collabos with MF Doom, Erick Sermon, and more.

8 - Homeboy Sandman – First Of A Living Breed

Last: #2 in 2010

Video: Whatchu Want From Me

Notes: “Not Really” is the anti-swag of 2012: “It occurred to me one show/I’m on stage while used to be in the front row/That’s like a ten foot distance/It’s not a real big difference…”

9 - Gangrene – Vodka And Ayahuasca

Last: NA

Video: Vodka & Ayahuasca

Notes: Oh No and Alchemist team up and get a bit trippy on their second release, featuring heavy guitar loops and heavy beats. Prodigy, Roc Marciano, and Kool G Rap give up solid collabos.

10 - Typical Cats – 3

Last: NA
Video: The Crown
Notes: The Chicago based group returns with their trio of MCs: Qwel, Denizen Kane, and Qwazaar, who flip their tracks in the fashion of the multi-member crews of yesteryear.

Others Receiving Votes:

El-P – Cancer For Cure

Last: #6 in 2007

Video:

Notes: The rat/squirrel puppet on “The Full Retard” video may be the most creative and out the box puppet since the UMC’s Blue Cheese blob. A banner year for El-P headlined by this joint.

Odd Future – The OF Tape Vol 2

Last: NA

Video: Oldie

Notes: Strip away all the hipster, frat boy, and random weirdo fans, and Odd Future puts out quality and on point Hip Hop. Not to be fronted on is Earl Sweatshirt’s epic verse on “Oldie.”

DJ Premier & Bumpy Knuckles - Kolexxxion

Last: NA

Video: More Levels

Notes: Combined 50 years in rap, Primo and Foxxx give exactly what you would expect: straight rhymes and boom bap beats. Bump is out for fake ass rhyming pus*ies, and he ain’t afraid to let em know.

Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music

Last: NA

Video: Big Beast f/ Bun B, TI, and Trouble

Notes: A meticulous mix of El-P’s trademarked production and Killer Mike’s southern flow, this record serves to remind us that the South ain’t all about trap houses and candy paint…but still is.

Roc Marciano – Reloaded

Last: #6 in 2010

Video: 76

Notes: Roc doesn’t need elaborate production or superstar cameos or even over the top marketing. He just gives the listener on point street driven rhymes.

GOING BACK: 2006 Best, 2007 Tops, 2008 Greats, 2009 Bangers, 2010 Damn That's Fresh, 2011 Dayuuuuuum