Best Hip Hip Albums of 2006

[DudeAsInCool]

Louis over at IGuessImFloating has put together a top 10 of The Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2006, along with some sample mp3s to download:

"Daaaamn it’s been a long year! Pretty early in 2006 I was thinking that things were kinda shaky for rap music. T.I.’s King and Ghostface Killah’s Fishscale, though they didn’t suck at all, were the only two albums I remember being talked about. There was this commercial at the movies I saw describing the state of hip hop as this Sin City-esque hell-hole in need of salvation (starring the Black Eyed Peas, of course!), and one of rap’s most unique artists, J Dilla, unfortunately lost his life. But with the bad came the good, and looking back there’s no doubt in my mind this was a good year.

I’d say the music of 2006 was really consistent: it seemed to me that some of the big name artists, like Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg, were more lyrically conscious than I’ve known them to be. Also, the quality of gangsta & other more-commercialized music was much higher, especially with E-40, Keak Da Sneak, and the rest of the hyphy crew here in the Bay Area, yadadamean? (all biases aside haha) And hey, to top it all off yours truly joined this sexy blog, so it was a pretty tight year in my mind.

To celebrate, I’ve made all you IGIF lovers a list of my favorite rap albums of 2006. Some of them came out way earlier in the year, and some I just recently discovered. The artists are from all over the place and their commercial popularity varies, as does the critical acclaim/disdain each album received. It’s too late to stuff these in your stocking, but no worries, the after-Christmas sale shopping orgy will soon ensue:

DJ Shadow - The Outsider

The Roots - Game Theory

Jay-Z - Kingdom Come

Cunninlynguists - A Piece Of Strange

E-40 - My Ghetto Report Card

Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury

Ghostface Killah - Fishscale

Zion I & The Grouch - Heroes In The City Of Dope

Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor

Nas - Hip Hop Is Dead

Shoutouts also go to Outkast, Snoop Dogg, and Jedi Mind Tricks. I liked each of their albums as well, but simply didn’t have any more room to fit them in. If you’re a fan of rap, or even if you’re not, I hope you are able to give these albums a listen. Happy holidays to everyone, and rest in peace James Brown: your influence transcends music. And if it weren’t for your brilliant work, rap music would not sound like it does today, simple as that. Thanks for reading everyone!"

Source: I Guess Im Floating

[Shawn]

List addict.