Hip Hop recession

[whitewash]

phenomenal releases

Plies - Definition of Real
Young Jeezy - The Resession
Game - LAX

The words 'phenomenal' and  the above albums cannot be used in the same sentence.

Plies? No comment.
Jeezy - A few hot songs/singles does not make a 'phenomenal' release - I dnt think i have replayed this album more than 3 times
Game - see above

I wanted to add weezy but I knw that would cause drama..and thats a whole other thread. I guess he deserves to be there cos of his success..but personally, I dnt like carter 3 as much as everyone, tho it does have some heaters.

Just less "underground" records for the heads.

I disagree..there were plenty of solid underground records (more than commercial ones without a doubt) u just hav to look deeper than billboard top 100 (hence the 'underground' tag)
I cant think of them all but ones that come to mind are:

Reks - Grey Hairs
Elzhi - The Preface
Termanology - Politics as Usual
88 Keys - Death of Adam
Q-Tip - Renaissance (not really hiphop, but if you wanna include 808's and heartbreak..)
Johnson & Jonson

I can't comment on the local ones cos i havent heard any of them

*In my opinion though T.I has the best album of the year hands down.
Luda had a few "wrong turns" in his album.

Yeah i have to agree..Ludas album is dope but T.I's is better.

Ironic that one of the 'wrong turns' on the Luda album is the joint with T.I (in my opinion - one of the worst tracks) LOL!

to be honest i kinda enjoyed love lockdown...especially the remix with kells - fair enough it was far fetched and auto-tune is played out... but it was no travesty! (but u dont like it? u dont like it - na'mean) - further to that i think he did try something a bit different with the concept...as in most of the album - his voice was distorted which was cool....Amazing ft jeezy is fire.

I found 808's and Heartbreak easy to listen to up to 'Love lockdown' but then it gets really hard to listen to after that..i could throw it when a lady is present  - 'music to make love to' i guess...

the joint wit jeezy is dope!

anyways  i agree that the recession has hit because majority of ish was garbage....even from those who produce popular music. To be honest as much as i love Nasir..and loved the lyrics on the "untitled" album.. the beat selection was terrible...On the extreme end.. even those who produce Pop raps like Nelly produced terrible albums - and Nelly is usually consistent. Shiiiit LL should erase that MIC from his arm based on that last album...

Hahaha..yeah those 3 were poor!

[Dpleezy]

I'd have to say that I wasn't impressed by any 'commercial' hip hop release in 2008.

Maybe the whole 'album' format is just plain played-out, or maybe commercial hip hop artists have crossed-over to the extent that they're actually not even making hip pop any more, just straight pop. I mean come on,,, how can a serious grown adult listen to TI and Rihanna - that shit is for pre-teens!... and as for Kanye... pah!

Having said that, there's a lot of amazing music out there if you just turn off all commercial media and dig a bit deeper.

In SA we still don't have enough artists who push the boundaries of commercial music. Our local hip pop is way too derivative to be taken seriously. I'm all for cats attempting to make hits, but let's do it in an original way! I know we have some dope producers in SA, but I feel there's a lack of experimentation. Producers aren't playful enough and seem scared to take the risks that need to be taken in order to establish their own unique sound.

For me, the one stand out hip hop artist in SA is Pro (Kid). He has matured into an excellent performer. Nthini Ngo Pro is my SA hip hop single of the year - it exudes international quality but is proudly South African. It would be a tragedy for SA hip hop if Pro doesn't win a SAMA next year (especially if it goes to Jozi instead).

Talking of SAMAs - did anyone enter the SAMAs for 2009? I know the entry deadline was last week. Who do y'all think should be nominated?

[Deliverence]

Well i cant say that ive been dissapointed this year... it actually turned out better then last year..

Had something to bump every month, from bishop lamont to joe budden to jedi mind tricks (even if its just for the beats) to young jeezy (i need a vacation) to the just released stat quo mixtape bailout.
Shit, i even had the chance to go back to the early 90's and liten to unreleased tracks from 50, em and dre (year of the aftermath mixtape)

So for me it was a cool year for hip hop

[WORDSMITH]

Well i cant say that ive been dissapointed this year... it actually turned out better then last year..

Had something to bump every month, from bishop lamont to joe budden to jedi mind tricks (even if its just for the beats) to young jeezy (i need a vacation) to the just released stat quo mixtape bailout.
Shit, i even had the chance to go back to the early 90's and liten to unreleased tracks from 50, em and dre (year of the aftermath mixtape)

So for me it was a cool year for hip hop

yeah!... sum optimism there...

[rob_one]

CO-sign D. Look beyond the charts and ignore 808s and Heartbreak (which was horrible) and you'll find the '08 was awesome.

Atmosphere dropped a gem, Bliss n Eso nailed it f***ing stone dead with one of the best-produced albums this century. Kashmere from the UK got a whole bunch of five-year-old B-sides and made a phenomenal, crazy record.

EMC? Solid as hell. Roots Manuva, Blak Twang's new set, the DJ Wich album (which I'm bumping right now and which is sounding LOVELY). Lowkey. Zuluboy had a banger, as did Pro (was it released in 08? I forget.) Last Days Fam? Wow.

Oh, and Kids in the Hall - tell me you aren't still bumping Drivin' Down the Block. SKreintax? Red's instrumental record? Crazy.

Put simply, there were some knockdown records produced this year.

[cash]

TI has grown some substance that short prison stint woke him up!

You're clearly not familiar with his catalog
And his list of prison stints

[TATEguru v.2K9]

Respect to the forementioned "underground" releases & the dozens others that were great & true to holding up the hip hop flag this year.
When the average non head thinks of hip hop they don't think of Atmosphere, Kashmere, Elzhi etc.

The reason I singled out the disappointing releases by Common & Kanye is because as someone mentioned earlier these are the artists that traditionally have been hailed as stalwarts of hip hop. When the rest of the non hip hop world speaks of hip hop these are some of the faces that are recognized along with the Weezys, Geezys and Souljah Boys.
In a sea of hip hop pop mediocracy these were some of the lights on the horizon. These are some of the real hip hop amba**adors able to bring attention to the more positive creative aspects of the art.

So when "non-heads" think of 2008 as a hip hop year they consider the Kanye's, 50's & Commons who have all had lacklustre releases. Ergo, "Hip Hop Recession"

[ProVerb]

TI has grown some substance that short prison stint woke him up!

You're clearly not familiar with his catalog
And his list of prison stints

I'm not actually.

[cash]

I know man. It was a joke.

[Trinidad-Hux]

L.A.X is a solid 08 release.

[TATEguru v.2K9]

L.A.X is a solid 08 release.

Too much Stan-ery on L.A.X for me.
Not as big a disappointment as the aforementioned major artists releases but still just average to me.