The Best Hip-Hop Songs of 2011: Part 2 (7-1)

7. "Scottie Pippen" - Curren$y ft. Freddie Gibbs: I don't have much to say about this one. Two of the best underground MCs go as hard as they can over a space age Alchemist beat. Gibbs verse is probably the year's most quotable, effortlessly stringing together one-liners/ "I'm trying to make a million dollars fuck a million downloads."

6. "Fulla Shit" - Rittz ft. Big K.R.I.T. & Yelawolf: "Fulla Shit" is as close as Hip-Hop has come to capturing the sound and spirit of the Delta Blues in a long while. Drunken philandering is the subject of many a Robert Johnson song. Rittz and K.R.I.T. take a perverse pleasure in lying to groupies, but Yelawolf takes it to whole other level, going out of his way to confuse his girls, sending them flowers with no petals. He steals the show despite the formidable verses from Krit and Rittz.

5. "Sandwitches" - Tyler, the Creator & Hodgy Beats: "They are them. We are us. Kill them." When Tyler and Hodgy debuted this track on Jimmy Fallon, the internet nearly exploded. Even though "Sandwitches" was edited for primetime, Tyler's primal fury and Hodgy's mischievous glee shone through, and the crowd, and the rest of the world, responded. "Sandwitches" is OF's mission statement, wholly original and brimming with contempt for its perceived enemies, including Nahright, kids with parents and God.

4. "Time Machine" - Big K.R.I.T.: Every once in a while comes a song perfectly tailored for driving through country roads with the high beams and radio on. Joining "Road Runner," by the Modern Lovers, and "In the City," by Chromatics, as one of my favorite night driving anthems is "Time Machine," the best track off Big K.R.I.T.'s Return of 4eva, my favorite Hip-Hop release of 2011. "Time Machine," Krit's ode to his muscle car, sparkles, with twinkling chimes and slinky guitars providing a soulful backing track for his laid back delivery. Krit has always been a better producer than a rapper, but his stuttering flow matches his glossy track, helping "Time Machine" rise a cut above the rest of the outstanding mixtape.

3. "I'm On One" - DJ Khaled ft. Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne: I've got to give DJ Khaled some credit. He knows when he's struck gold. Though he recently has been trying to posit himself front and center in his all-star posse cuts (see "Welcome to My Hood"), he wisely gets out of the way after a short intro in "I'm On One." Ross and Wayne do their thing, but the track belongs to Drake, whose chemistry with 40, the track's producer, shows as he switches from his R&B lothario croon and his impressive rapping.

2. "Yonkers" - Tyler, the Creator: "Yonkers" is the pinnacle of Odd Future's career so far, where all the potential is realized into one four minute slice of pitch black, industrial Hip-Hop. Tyler's lyrics are a bit juvenile, but they hit home, venting his anger about modern pop ("stab Bruno Mars in the motherfucking esophagus") while showing his vulnerability ("I just wanna know if my father would ever like me"). Tyler's gravelly delivery is scary, but the Psycho-esque nails on chalkboard beat is terrifying, and for a few minutes you wonder if Tyler really isn't fucking around.

1. "Absolutely" - Fiend: "Absolutely" is almost aggressively laid back, so chill it hurts. The beat, an aria of chopped up vocals, glistening keys and crisp drums, is richer than anything else released in 2011. Fiend floats over the beautiful instrumental, his booming baritone echoing like the voice of God. "Wine and cheese rap" sounds like a joke, but it's a perfect phrase to describe the lush "Absolutely" and the rest of Fiend's Tennis Shoes and Tuxedos mixtape.

March/April 2011 Rap Playlist

Big K.R.I.T. and Yelawolf, Delta rappers and stars of my new playlist

I haven't checked back here in a while, but there's been a bunch of solid tracks released in the past couple months and I'd love to share them with all three of my loyal readers. My favorite of these is probably "Mystery,"probably Hodgy Beats' best track to date. If Tyler, the Creator is the black heart of Odd Future, then Hodgy Beats is the cackling sidekick, more mischievous than evil, and the haunting Moody Blues sample complements his impish persona.

Enjoy:

1. "Mystery" - Hodgy Beats

2. "ifyouthrowitimacatchit" - OverDoz.

3. "The Heart Part 2" - Kendrick Lamar

4. "American Rapstar" - Big K.R.I.T.

5. "Fulla Shit" - Rittz ft. Big K.R.I.T. & Yelawolf

6. "Shit I Seen" - Yelawolf ft. Trae

7. "Rough" - The Game ft. Yelawolf

8. "Awesome" - XV ft. Pusha T

9. "Everyday's a Weekend" - Red Cafe ft. Curren$y

10. "2 Timez" - Gucci Mane ft. Wiz Khalifa

11. "The Race" - Wiz Khalifa

12. "RetroSuperFuture II" - Rick Ross ft. Wiz Khalifa & Wale

13. "Molasses" - Raekwon ft. Rick Ross & Ghostface Killah

Tyler, the Creator - Yonkers

It seems almost silly to think about it nowadays, when rappers wish airplanes in the night sky are shooting stars, that Hip-Hop, once upon a time, was a shocking and dangerous art form. NWA screamed "Fuck Tha Police" and Public Enemy shouted "Fight the Power," mobilizing and energizing urban and suburban communities in the late 1980s. In 2011, it's a pretty high bar if you're aiming to make listeners uncomfortable. Tyler, The Creator and the rest of the Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All collective have cleared that bar. Odd Future have blown up the internet, mostly for that Kanye tweet and an incendiary appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. By now, everyone reading this page will probably know what these guys are all about: ridiculously obscene rhymes about rape and parental issues over hypnotic lo-fi, industrial beats, made by Tyler. On Tyler's "French," he raps about raping Goldilocks and Mary Mary Quite Contrary. Sure, troubled teens probably respond to Odd Future (and scribble "Wolf Gang" on their notes and school walls) because of their "fuck everything" attitude and jokes about suicide, but rap purists love OFWGKTA because they consciously rebel against the trends and conventions of modern Hip-Hop.

Tyler starts his debut mixtape with a declaration of "Fuck Nahright and 2dopeboyz," assaulting rap blogs that wouldn't play his music. In "Yonkers," he raps about crashing B.o.B.'s airplane and stabbing Bruno Mars "in the motherfucking esophagus." When I hear that, I can't help think about The Clash's famous anti-mainstream declaration of "No Elvis, No Beatles, No Rolling Stones in 1977." Odd Future's brand of Hip-Hop bears a striking resemblance to the Punk movement of the late 70s. Tyler and the rest actively antagonize mainstream artists and make music that will NEVER ever receive radio airplay. Nonetheless, they've developed a rabid following on and off-line. There is a boundless feral energy at their concerts, which are often marked by mosh pits and stage rushes, reminiscent of early Sex Pistols shows. It remains to be seen whether Wolf Gang will have a lasting impact on rap, but kids who worship them will eventually start making music of their own. Wolf Gang looks like they'll be important for a while. Swag.