Will Timbaland end his streak of disappointing beats on Shock Value II? Will Wale's Attention Defiict live up to the hype? Will Rakim's Seventh Seal make a late run for Album of the Year? B-boys and b-girls, I give you November's Top 10 New Rap Albums.
10. Glasses Malone - 'Beach Cruiser'
Beach Cruiser is the debut album by deep-voiced west coast rapper Glasses Malone. Malone reportedly signed a $1.7 million deal with Sony Urban after impressing A&R head Mike Lynn with his street-honed raps.
Street Date: November 23, 2009
Street Date: November 23, 2009
9. Kid Sister - 'Ultraviolet'
After several false starts and title changes, I was starting to wonder if Kid Sister's debut album will ever see the light of day. Well, it seems likely that the album, which has been repackaged as Ultra Violet will finally hit the streets via a joint venture between Downtown Records and Universal Republic. Ultra Violet includes production by A-Trak, Rusko, Steve Angello & Sebastian Ingrosso, Sinden, XXXChange, and Brian Kennedy.
Street Date: November 17, 2009
Street Date: November 17, 2009
8. Gift of Gab - 'Escape 2 Mars'
Blackalicious’ chief mic rocker Gift of Gab is back to save you suckas with a sophomore album. Escape 2 Mars is the MC's first solo album in five years, following 2004's 4th Dimensional Rocketships Going Up. Bay Area’s own DNAE BEATS produced a bulk of the songs, while Hednodic laced a few cuts. Escape 2 Mars features the Mighty Underdogs, Del the Funky Homosapien, Brother Ali, Lateef The Truthspeaker, and Honeycut’s vocalist Bart Davenport.
7. Felt (Murs & Slug) - 'Felt 3: A Tribute to Rosie Perez'
Slug (Atmosphere) and Murs (Living Legends) reunite for the third installment of their Felt series. This time, they enlisted the services of Aesop Rock on the boards. The duo teamed up with The Grouch for their 2002 debut, A Tribute to Christina Ricci, while producer Ant oversaw production on 2005's A Tribute to Lisa Bonet. In case you're wondering, the album titles stemmed from Murs and Slug's debate over actresses who warm their hearts. Street Date: November 17, 2009
6. Masta Ace & Edo G - 'Arts & Entertainment'
Masta Ace & EDO. G are the latest MCs to merge their firepower for the sheer purpose of resuscitating lyricism in hip-hop. The two combined to form a duo dubbed A&E and they're wasting no time in releasing their first collaborative album, Arts & Entertainment. Arts & Entertainment features guest appearances from Large Professor, KRS-One, Posdonus (De La Soul), DOITALL(Lords Of The Underground), Chester French & Marsha Ambrosious, production by Double O (Kidz In The Hall), M-Phazes & DJ Spinna. The lead song, "Little Young," finds them taking aim at Lil’ Young rappers.
5. BlakRoc - BlakRoc
Dame Dash was wondering what the Black Keys’ would sound like on a hip-hop record. He rounded up some of his favorite MCs, started a new label, and the BlakRoc project was born. The album features some odd pairings, like the lead single, “Ain’t Nothin’ Like You (Hoochie Coo),” which has Mos Def singing and Jim Jones spitting rhymes so emo you’d swear they were ghostwritten by Joe Budden. BlakRoc the album sports collaborations with RZA, Raekwon, MOP’s Billy Danze, Pharoahe Monch, Q-Tip, and ODB.
Street Date: November 27, 2009
Street Date: November 27, 2009
4. Timbaland - 'Shock Value II'
Shock Value II is the follow-up to 2007's Shock Value. Judging by Timbaland's recent work for other artists, including his mediocre turn on The Blueprint III, it's easy to dismiss his new album. Let's just hope he's been saving all the good beats for himself. Shock Value II's guest list includes: Jay-Z, Drake, Keri Hilson.
3. Wale - 'Attention Deficit'
Don't you just hate when an album drops and you find that earlier versions of the songs have been radically altered because some knucklehead decided to sabotage the sampling and copyright process? Wale hates that, too. The newcomer held off release of Attention Deficit to sort out sample and clearance issues. Here's hoping the final product was worth the wait. Collaborators include: Pharrell, John Mayer, Lady GaGa, and Mark Ronson.
Street Date: November 10, 2009
Street Date: November 10, 2009
2. Rakim - 'The Seventh Seal'
There's no question that Rakim's Seventh Seal is one of the most anticipated hip-hop albums of the last 5 years. What hip-hop fans want to know, however, is this: "Which Rakim will show up on Seventh Seal -- the vintage lyricist or an entirely different MC with a new school flavor?" Here's what we know for sure: None of the material from Ra's Dre-produced album, Oh My God, is expected to make the cut.
Street Date: November 17, 2009
Street Date: November 17, 2009
1. 50 Cent - 'Before I Self Destruct'
Even if 50 Cent never sells another CD in his lifetime, he'll still have no trouble making his mortgage payments. After all, he's the richest rapper alive. That said, 50 has watched his and G-Unit's popularity decline over the years. Before I Self Destruct, the Queens, NY MC's 4th solo outing, gives him ample opportunity to win back some admiration from hip-hop heads.
Street Date: November 27, 2009
Street Date: November 27, 2009
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