Top 10 Best Hip-Hop Albums/Mixtapes of 2009

Last year, when melophobe contributors voted on their top albums of the year, not a single hip-hop release made the list. It was shameful. To make matters worse, certified hot releases like Bake Sale EP and Tronic appeared on nearly none of the year end ballots. Perhaps the hip-hop heads are in the minority here at melophobe, but we aren’t going down without a fight! Two days ahead of melophobe’s Top 10 Best Albums of the Year, we present our choices for the top 10 hip-hop releases of 2009.

In assembling a top ten hip hop list, mixtapes are caught in the crossfire. Do they count as full releases? Should they be cast aside like rap’s illegitimate children? Wale’s Back To The Feature muddles that debate even more, sounding more like an “official” album than dashed-off scribbles over stolen beats. Yes, it’s bloated. Yes, the tone is casual. But more importantly, it’s downright slick. 9th Wonder’s beats are lighthearted and creative. The album’s best songs could easily pass for singles. And Wale’s flow is conversational but packed with killer lines. The mixtape is sneaky—come in expecting the usual filler and you’ll get hit hard upside the head. Perhaps explaining why Back To The Feature outshines the proper release Attention Deficit, Wale leaves nothing in the tank on this mixtape, going full-blast, full-time. He shares the spotlight plenty (there are 35 features credited on the back cover) but in the end, he steals the show. - Chris Barth

On his sophomore album, Troubadour, K’Naan nimbly treads over a rich tapestry of polished funk-, reggae-, and pop-inspired beats. Nevermind the dreary big-name guests (Adam Levine, Kirk Hammett); K’Naan’s lyrics are filled with images and stories from his Somali childhood: “So we struggling, fighting to eat and / We wondering when we’ll be free”; “It can’t be healthy just to live with such steep emotion / And when I try to sleep, I see coffins closin’.” K’Naan delivers his lines with such conviction that it’s hard not to be drawn into his world. - Joshua Bean

One of the year’s top mixtapes comes to you from two college kids from Philly. Chidera “Proto” Anamege and Xaphoon Jones have turned their “many boring trips on the Chinatown bus” into an indie/hip-hop gem, both fun and original. Proto raps with an effortless flow that is beyond his years. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Xaphoon has sliced and synthed up an allstar batch of indie pop (Sufjan Stevens, MGMT, Passion Pit, Belle & Sebastion) as the foundation for many of the tracks. Sound awesome? It is. And I haven’t even mentioned the brilliant use of Desmond Dekker & The Aces’ “Israelites” on the opening track. - Joshua Bean

Any rapper who produces a mixtape called Tanya Morgan Is A Rap Group must have a sense of humor. This smirk lasts the whole way through Tanya Morgan’s solid sophomore disk. Brooklynati is a hybrid city fully realized on the album and on the fascinating chamber of commerce web site. The town comes complete with an awful Oynx-styled rap cover band, “The Hardcore Gentlemen,” that’s an outrageous crack on all the awful thug-styled rap of the past decade. Yet, it is a disservice to focus on Tanya Morgan’s clowning alone. The Brooklynati conceit frames tight, horn-tinged beats that narrate awkward love encounters on “Bang & Boogie,” or a soulful swing with “Morgan Blu.” No skips through 16 tracks; it’s a perfect album to save hip hop. Or, at least, inject some needed levity into 2009’s Young Money playlists. - Ian Doreian

It’s easy to try and deride Drake. I mean he used to be on Degrassi, he’s getting more buzz than Obama with a peace prize, and dammit, people just love to hate the popular kids. But if we really stop and think about it, why do people like Drake? Sure, girls might dig the sensitive angle he plays on “Best I Ever Had” and “Successful,” but if you want my honest opinion, it’s because Drake’s style feels personal. This isn’t Hov lounging untouchable on a yacht, this is your friend sharing his vision of what a lottery win would be like. Most of his dreams fit to his age, but even the most materialistic/sexual of urges is counterbalanced by tracks like “Say What’s Real,” in which you see that there is a layer of insecurity behind the posturing. This is what makes him real, and real is something you can relate to. Add in bangers like the Santigold-sampling “Unstoppable,” the hipster catnip of his faux-duet with Lykke Li on “Little Bit,” and the street-cred building guest spots by the likes of Lil Wayne and Bun B and you’ve got a mixtape that hits all the sweet spots. Rookie of the Year. - Colin McLaughlin

P.O.S.’ third Rhymesayers album is aptly named. P.O.S. continues his ascent as one of hip-hop’s strongest voices. With a vision forged in punk rock, Never Better’s fifteen tracks are filled with political and social commentary, autobiography, and heartfelt storytelling. While he may have the soul of a punk, P.O.S. is clearly a gifted MC—he can twist his delivery to match even the most frantic beat. Vicious drums drive much of Never Better’s production (P.O.S. produced 8 of the tracks himself), which along with P.O.S.’ rapidfire raps, challenges the listener to keep up. It may take a few listens to appreciate Never Better’s complexity. It is worth it. - Joshua Bean

I continue to maintain that Mos Def is the rapper I would most like to hang out with in real life. We’d hang out, go for walks in the park, and he would tell hilarious stories about MF Doom and Talib Kweli. I have it all planned out in my head. So when The Ecstatic came out and showed a return to form for Mos Def, can you blame me for feeling a hell of a lot like an old friend just came home? More specifically, it felt like an old friend came home and brought a dope new record chronicling his travels with him. Middle Eastern influence from Madlib and his brother Oh No on “Wahid” and “Supermagic” mix with Spanish flavors on “Casa Bey,” “Pistola,” and “No Hay Nada Mas” to serve as a slideshow of what Mos has been pondering in his time off. Ever a fan of worldly themes, he condenses them concisely and coherently, presenting an album full of quick pops and delicious tidbits that sound just a little bit more experienced than most hip hop out there. It’s diverse without being scattered, nuanced without being boring, and bombastic without being brash. Saying The Ecstatic isn’t the pinnacle of Mos Def’s career is like saying grilled cheese isn’t the best meal in the world—despite the truth to those statements, both subjects are equally comforting. - Chris Barth

Nevermind the the irony of selecting an album from 1995 as best of 2009. The LP is a boom-bap time-machine, right to when Queens was delivering hit after hit. Here’s that rap you remember, and love. Large Professor got lost on the Geffen label in the mid-nineties, and this was his never-produced hidden treasure. LP’s marks on hip-hop are undeniably great, secured by his friendship and production on Nas’s Illmatic. Yet, for the past decade he mostly operated as a beat scientist for the underground. For someone so respected for his work behind the glass, Large Pro surprises with lyrical acumen. It has the mixture of positive ("We must change our ways/And use all the resources that life has to offer/Strong will survive, weak will get softer"), slight gangsta Emcee braggadocio, and nonchalant enjambment ("Tasteful like guava/unravel and break down a tec and solve a/Problem") that were the hallmarks of all those Tribe, Roots, and De La Soul albums from 15 years ago. Kick back and enjoy. - Ian Doreian

“House of Flying Daggers” opens Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...Pt II like a lyrical katana strike, and that’s exactly what us Wu-Tang fans needed after our long wait between classics. Sure, we had Ghostface holding down the fort, but where was the Chef? In the lab creating a monster. Now back in all his glory, Raekwon has put our fears to rest and reclaimed the title of supreme storyteller; crafting a grimy landscape in which his words can flourish. And they do, packing our ears with imagery so intense that you can almost smell the smoke rising off the barrel. Crime tales, claustrophobic soul beats, and fresh RZA tracks; this is throwback, golden era, “I’m in love with hip hop” material, and from the relentless approach that Ghostface and Method Man injected into their guest spots, everyone knew this one was going to be a trip back above the bar. - Colin McLaughlin

In a hip-hop year dominated by rising stars and returning vets, Brother Ali was the rare rapper who broke through to the mainstream after years of underground success. Hot on the heels of the impressive Truth is Here EP, Ali’s fourth(ish) full-length builds on previous releases, somehow managing to mesh his fierce, biting flow with his inspirational and uplifting outlook. Built on beats crafted by Atmosphere’s Ant, Us sounds more like a live revival than a studio rap album; it’s no coincidence that Ali has been called a street preacher. Brother Ali plays a lot of parts on the album, though—he doesn’t solely rock the clergy collar. There are love songs, hate songs, drug songs, and straight songs. He takes a shot at signifying on “Bad Mufucker Pt. 2.” And for the first time, really, he branches out from first person narratives to spin stories and create worlds. From start to finish, the album is surprising and satisfying. In a year—or maybe even an age?—full of rappers busy posturing about their flow and rhymes, it’s nice to have someone show rather than just tell. - Chris Barth

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