Some big names have dropped some big albums so far this year, but you won't see many of them on this list. Most conspicuously absent is Eminem, who released an album that I don't like very much at all, but I'll touch on that another time. First, here are some honorable mentions:
"All Talk" - Kid Cudi - Cudi samples LCD Soundsystem's "Dance Yrself Clean" and Christian Bale's rant to call out his haters.
"The Product" - Freeway - My favorite song from one of my favorite albums of the year so far (The Stimulus Package), but it didn't make the cut.
"Thank God" - Danny Brown - Detroit rapper Danny Brown raps about Bridge Cards and food and various other Michigan-related topics over a intense, guitar-heavy beat.
"Light Up" - Drake ft. Jay-Z - If only the rest of the album had beats like this one - a slick piano intro gives way to droning synths and heavy percussion as Drake goes on about the usual suspects (life of the rich and famous) and a reverb-drenched hook. Lil Wayne apparently shares my enthusiasm for this track, as he contributed a guest verse to the remix over the phone from Rikers Island.
"Stylo (Remix)" - Chiddy Bang - Producer Xaphoon Jones strips Gorillaz' "Stylo" to its essence and and rapper Proto kills it.
"Massive Attack" - Nicki Minaj ft. Sean Garrett - Completely unrelated to the trip-hop group. This is among the most sonically inventive productions released all year, and when it's combined with Nicki's trademark insanity, it creates an irresistible earworm, reminiscent of Missy Elliott's work with Timbaland.
Most Honorable Mention:
"Al Bundy" - Intuition
It was very, very hard for me to leave this song off the list. Intuition is a clever wordsmith, weaving his flow through Dibiase's backing track with a sort of liquid cool, dropping references to Tom Petty, Jim Jones and, especially Married...With Children. Intuition has a style that could easily translate to the mainstream, but it looks like he'd rather remain underground, so he can have the freedom to explore his preferred artistic avenues. More power to him.
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