2011 Year in Review: Music

The mainstream was very weak in terms of quality albums. There weren’t too many quirky hits like Cee-Lo's “F You” or funky dance jams like Big Boi's “Shutterbugg.” I had to suffer through "Party Rock Anthem" and tried to love it by hating it even more. But hey, every year has novelty acts. Today’s LMFAO is yesterday’s Afro Man.

But I found a lot to enjoy this year. I had to dig harder and trust folks’ judgment and I found greater joy in my own choices. Especially when SoCal produced some great music.  So 2011 will be remembered for more than just a British songbird who made us all connect with her pain. It’s the year the West Coast finally found a new rap voice to pick up where Game left off.

Best Albums

Kendrick Lamar – Section.80 (The Finest West Coast album since Below the Heavens or Documentary – my #1 album this year)

Phonte – Charity Starts at Home (Tigallo finally went solo and dropped a gem)

Big K.R.I.T. – Return of 4eva (Too many words to describe this – soulful, dope, well produced)

Adele – 21 (The most unlikeliest blockbuster pop album in ages? Well deserved)

The Roots – Undun (A powerful statement that will be listened to for years)

Frank Ocean – Nostalgia, Ultra (The Best R&B album this year hands down despite being a mixtape)

Elzhi – Elmatic (Elzhi’s tribute to Illmatic – my favorite HH album – set a high standard for future tributes)

Black Keys – El Camino (Loved the bare bones, straight forward rock sound. Consistently great)

Foster the People – Torches (Fun, fun, fun.)

Game – R.E.D. Album (Say what you will about Game but he has NEVER dropped a bad album)

Yelawolf – Radioactive (Didn’t expect much from it so maybe that’s why it surprised me)

Best Songs (Besides My Top 5 and not in any order)

Kendrick Lamar – HiiiiPower

Big K.R.I.T. – Hi’s and Lows, Country Ish (f. Ludacris and Bun B)

The Roots f. Big K.R.I.T.  – Make My (KRIT gets the Roots stamp of approval and they and Dice Raw make an elegy for their hero)

Elzhi – Memory Lane

Adele – Turning Tables

Frank Ocean – Strawberry Swing, American Wedding (very well written)

Foster the People – Helena Beat (A dead ringer for MGMT but I LOVE it)

Black Keys – Lonely Boy

Cee Lo/Melanie Fiona – Fool For You (yeah it’s 2010 but the remix is 2011. Saw em debut it live too)

Jay-Z/Kanye West – Negroes in Paris, Murder to Excellence

Game – Ricky, Born In the Trap

Lupe Fiasco - All Black Everything (a genius song, GENIUS), Lightworks

Common f. Nas – Ghetto Dreams

Tyler the Creator/Hodgy Beats - Sandwitches (struggled with putting this here, but you'll see why)

Pusha T f. Tyler the Creator - Trouble On My Mind

Nas – Nasty
M83 - Midnight City (an overwhelming beat with a killer sax solo straight out of the 80's)

Rise Against – Help Is On The Way

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie

Social Distortion – California (The OG’s of the punk scene still make great music)

Incubus – Adolescents (The album bored me but this song was amazing)

Talib Kweli – Friends and Family

Sublime With Rome – Panic, PCH

DJ Khaled – I’m On One [I hate to put this one on here but that beat is mesmerizing]

How do I top the memory of seeing Big Boi and Cee-Lo on Valentine’s Day, a great show at least with Big Boi’s set? Seeing the Purple One himself for 2 hours rocking out the old jams. Prince was still as energetic as he was in his prime and to see an entire arena go nuts? Best concert ever.

The best musical innovation this year? Hands down Spotify. Not only was I able to listen to full albums that I’ve always wanted to here but it combined the best of Real Player, iTunes and Pandora and allowed you to create music playlists for FREE. I still value buying albums but it allows you to hear a lot of older artists as well as preview new albums.

Phonte reunited with 9^th Wonder and they both sounded great together. Not to be outdone, Rapper Big Pooh held his own on his solo joint. I'm perfectly okay with all 3 of them doing their own thing and reminding me why I loved Little Brother last decade. And you noticed I couldn't pick a favorite Phonte song? That's cause they all were incredible.

Rock music came back with strong singles and established acts reclaimed their throne but to me, it was the new kids from SoCal who brought some energy. Foster the People and Rome Ramirez with the reunited Sublime made rock radio have an LA feel once again.

In regards to Kendrick Lamar’s album this year, the reason I really loved it is because content wise, Lamar was a 23 year old who was speaking to and for his generation. I respect writers and figures who can do that without sounding preachy. Whether it’s speaking on drug effects, racial harmony, girls turning lesbian after bad experiences, he rapped with conviction and passion and the West Coast needed it. That’s why I loved Section.80 to death.

Mainstream hip hop was disappointing but hip hop was still fresh. There were great albums and mixtapes that showed potential. So I won’t cry about the wack music on the radio as much, I just think hip hop is in a better place away from the stream.

*Yet, R&B felt dead to me. Frank Ocean was a revelation because he showed he can write as well as he can sing. Nostalgia, Ultra felt like a departure from what I expected since he was affiliated with Odd Future but even as his star grew this year, his voice sounded great on hip hop or R&B jams. Besides him, Ne-Yo and Maxwell need to drop their next album soon.

Lupe Fiasco was a big story of 2011. After label drama he finally realized his 3^rd album, Lasers. Needless to say, I hated it and blamed Atlantic for compromising him. But after hearing his Friend of the People mixtape, I believe that right now Lupe is where Nas was in 1999 – lyrically on point but has a bad ear for beats drifting from his usual production team and his work is suffering. He still spits gems when he wants to but right now, the jury is out until F+L 2 and if "American Terrorist 3" is any indication, he hasn’t lost it

Odd Future captivated music heads and Southern California. They and Kendrick Lamar gave my city much needed buzz after all that jerkin and skinny jeans craze. Tyler, the Creator and Hodgy Beats had the performance of the year with their show on Jimmy Fallon (along with Lupe on the BET Awards). Free Earl became the chant of the year - despite yall knowing how I feel about Freeing rappers.

In one year, they went from an unknown crew to heroes of the underground making moves. Yonkers for me was a fantasticly, disturbing video.  Will I be buying their albums? No, since I can't consciously see myself hearing them on and on without feeling conflicted or needing to purify my ears. Plus, besides Tyler, Hodgy and the currently gone Earl Sweatshirt, none of them dudes are great rappers.

In the end, 2011 will be all about an old soul at 23. The beautiful, British songbird Adele blessed us with her album of pain and rich soul. In a year that reminded me of Alicia Keys dominating in 2001 or Usher in 2004, Adele made hits that didn’t sound poppy but rich with the pain of a breakup. It didn’t always appeal to my ears and my mood but she wrote them well and if she wins a load of Grammys, so be it. 

I love her honesty, her no frills approach, her lack of gimmicks. She just sings and it may be boring to some, but right now it’s refreshing. It’s a shock that her album sold as well as it did but it’s a shock I’ll be happy with. In a year where you had to look hard to find great stuff, Adele was right there doing her thing without caring about sale or image. Just raw singing and rich emotion. 

I never thought I'd see somebody sell that many records again. And honestly, Adele might be in the Top 10 for albums sold in 2012 after she gets her Grammy boost. Congrats. 

2011 Year In Review: Top 5 Songs

Welcome to 2012!!! I'll be doing a few years in review pieces like I always do but I'm taking it different this year. I'm starting off explaining my Top 5 songs of the year, then doing my annual music year in review then finishing it off with my regular year in review. If I can pull it off, I'll leave some final reflections in a 4th blog. 

I believe the journey is just as important as anything. In looking ahead, you have to look at where you came. So without further adieu, these are my 5 Favorite songs of 2011 picked for various reasons as explained below. You'll see the rest of my list when I do my music blog (favorite albums, singles, stories).

I didn’t listen to Kendrick Lamar until I heard his verse of Game’s “The City” and I didn’t want him to stop rapping even after the track cut off.  But over the year, I realized he became the most talked about MC out of LA since Game or Blu. Word came out that Snoop and Dre passed the torch to him at a show. So I finally listened to Section.80 in November after the West Coast edition of this hip hop podcast I was on.

I’ll have more on the album in my top albums post. But this song stuck out to me in so many ways. A song about one of the two main characters on his album, it reminded me of “Brenda’s Got a Baby” with a twist. How many times have I wished for a song that rapped about the struggles women face instead of tell them to dance.

This song moved me to tears one night. A vivid tale about Keisha being doomed as a prostitute with a sad ending. A haunting beat that sets an ominous mood. Kendrick raps each word with so much passion and then the final verse he unloads with energy almost similar to what Nas did on “One Mic”.

Kendrick made this song as a warning to his little sister. It’s a song young women need to hear just as a reminder that life isn’t about shaking your booty, but making wise choices.

What makes Big K.R.I.T. such a dope MC? He captures the best of the South – beats that knock, beats that have soul, songs repping his home, the club and uplifting tracks. When I think of the South, that’s what I imagine the best of the region to sound like.

“The Vent” showed K.R.I.T. at his most soulful where his balance of rapping and crooning meshed perfectly with a mesmerizing, self-produced beat. Similar to Keisha’s Song, the atmosphere is set for K.R.I.T. to preach but instead, he bares witness to his pain and his own thoughts on life, the radio, Kurt Cobain’s suicide and more as he struggles to deal with the death of a friend.

I felt every word of this song and being able to listen to this in Mississippi when I was on my road trip made me feel even more connected to it. K.R.I.T. has passion in his voice and when he said “The radio don’t play the ish I used to love…or maybe I’m just growing up. “ I felt that completely.

This song set the mood for many nights of writing/reflecting. One man’s vent that let into his pain and reminded you of what you’ve overcome too.

Let’s forget that all of you maybe heard this song to death along with some great remixes of it as well as covers (John Legend's is amazing). Let’s forget that this is the Billboard No. 1 song of the Year or that Karaoke TV (Idol, X Factor, The Voice) will no doubt see this performed often. Just remember how great this was when you first heard it and why you liked it.

Adele’s gift is her old soul voice and the way she makes you feel her words despite her coming across as stiff live. So enter some 60’s soul for her background, some backup harmonies and a soaring hook that overpowers you like you were in church.

The first verse is a great crescendo. Simple guitar lick in the first 4 bars as the verse starts “There’s a fire starting in my heart…” then add some drums for the 4 bars, then more instruments and then let it go. Each word adds to the energy and her voice rises to the music so when that hook comes, it’s like the voice of an angel scorned.

Pain didn’t sound anymore beautiful and soulful on the pop charts than it did here. I love how old school this song feels. I could imagine Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, or any soul legend in the 60’s take this song and elevate it.  Adele made it her own and when it ends, you feel like you were taken on a trip you want to relive.

I’m shocked this song was such a huge pop hit. It doesn’t sound like anything on radio and it’s wonderful. The lyrics are sad just like most of the album yet that music uplifts you.

The minute I heard this song in January, I knew it was one of the best songs I had heard in a while. It had me amped for Lasers and while the album disappointed me, this song was an incredible piece of work that said Lupe hadn’t gone soft with his political content.

(I couldn't choose between this or All Black Everything, which I feel is one of the finest songs Lupe has written. But since I wrote about both of them already, I'll go with the single which is this)

Soon as Skylar Grey sings the first words and that beat drops and Lupe jumps in saying “I really think the war on terror is a bunch of bull ish”, you know this song means business. The music is as powerful as Lupe’s words and it reminds you of “American Terrorist”.

It’s the most politically charged rap single I’ve heard in years. Maybe since Killer Mike and Ice Cube released “Pressure” but that didn’t make the radio. At a time when rap has gotten safe, Lupe said that we need to question what we see and what we’ve been sold and test a few conspiracy theories that hip hop used to discuss all the time.

I love the 2^nd verse but it’s that 3^rd verse where Lupe shines by pretty much saying “I’m tired of people holding back, I’m tired of being afraid of my thoughts scaring people, I know it’s not easy but if I get my thoughts out, maybe you’ll do the same.”  

Sometimes a song comes out of nowhere and kills you softly. A song that just makes you feel good because it sounds so fun and simple. No song did that for me like Pumped Up Kicks from the new princes of L.A. rock.

It was a toss up between this and Black Keys’ ”Lonely Boy” for my favorite rock song. Heck, it was a toss up between this and “Helena Beat” for my favorite on Torches. When I made my decision, I chose the song that stuck with me longer and reminded me of the summer and SoCal cool.

The lyrics are deceptively shocking as they discuss a robbery spree but they mask it behind a smooth drum beat and great synths. Mark Foster’s airy voice reminds you of a backup singer for MGMT but you can’t help but dig every minute of it.

This song was joy in simplicity. A great sound from my city.

Grammy Noms 2011: Low Bars = Weak Results

Anyone who listened to music in 2011 can tell you that the mainstream was utter crap. 2011 was one of the worst years in terms of popular music and while rock music had a great comeback in my opinion, this was a bad year for pop and rap.

Adele's success is mostly a byproduct of her overwhelming talent, great songwriting and the fact she had little competition. Adele is a talented singer well beyond her years and her success shows that people were yearning for something real. That's why she sold 4 million here and that's why she'll be cleaning house at the Grammys - in a year of mostly crap, she rose to the top like her rich voice soars over those tracks. 

I'm disappointed she only had six nominations. I expected 10. But she'll be winning nearly all of them. Album and Song of the Year are practically giftwrapped for her

AOTY Field is: Foo Fighters, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga and Rihanna. Just stop with that noise. Stop!! This is proof 2011 was terrible. Bruno Mars' joint is over a year old. Rihanna??? Almost a travesty as putting Katy Perry here last year.

I am SHOCKED Kanye West didn't get nominated for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Yes I said that album barely got a listen from me but with all of its accolades, I'm shocked he didn't get a nod. Almost like they said "Hey Kanye, we'll give you the most nominations, just don't hate us for not giving you a 4th time to be screwed for AOTY"

Speaking of Katy, who voted her weak singing behind for Record of the Year? Really??? C'mon son.

Kanye got love for Song of the Year for "All of the Lights" but again, outside of Adele, who really deserves this? "Grenade" has more sap in it than a maple tree and I like Bruno Mars and his talent, but that song was pure cheese.

Who listens to Bon Iver away from MBDTF??? Not this guy.

As for Mumford & Sons, I listened to "The Cave" and liked its simplicity. Decent song but if a year old song is worthy to be on the list, that doesn't say much for competition. They are another British act who is getting mucho praise for doing American music. 

But I know what y'all are waiting for. Me to bury the Rap Categories with that typical Virgo anger. Let's go and dive into this garbage.

Is it a sad year for hip hop that Chris Brown had a song in the category? Yes Busta Rhymes destroyed that verse but cmon. Chris Brown is not a rapper. NOT a rapper. Guess he really is amping like Bobby Brown. 

It's no surprise that the most hyped artists got recognized. Watch The Throne was gonna get love. "Otis" got way too much love for a poorly chopped sample and Jay-Z's boring cadence. Nicki Minaj got her love but I'm so disappointed she couldn't rap the words to the most famous hook in rap history when LL passed her the mic.

No love for "Ghetto Dreams" - a brilliant song with Common and Nas traded back lines like it's 1994 but still fresh. Same with Nasir's "Nasty" or The Roots "Make My" from what's shaping to be an instant classic album.

And yes, I'm not surprised Lupe Fiasco got love for Lasers. It's an inconsistent album as I've said but you know they won't going to give "Words I Never Said" a Grammy nomination. Even though that's one of the hardest singles in recent memory.

Rap was so weak that the best albums included mixtapes. Grammy wasn't going to reward Kendrick Lamar, Phonte or any of the other guys who crafted great albums. It's a terrible nomination year and it shows why the mainstream was disappointing. J. Cole should be getting props for getting nominated for Best New Artist but his album was such a bore.

Congrats to Foster the People (who somehow didn't get a Best New Artist nod). Congrats to the amazing duet between Cee-Lo and Melanie Fiona, Marsha Ambrosius and "All of the Lights" dominating most of the rap categories. But you gotta admit it, wouldn't it have been funny to see Tyler, the Creator get nominated just to see how wild Odd Future would've acted up there?

(Speaking of which: I'm surprised Frank Ocean didn't nominated in the R&B category for "Novocaine" - as good as any R&B song I heard in the mainstream.)

Once again, though. The Grammy nominations will continue to be warped with this eligibility period (October of the previous year to September of the current year). This hurts albums released in the last quarter of the year - typically when most good albums are released to roll into Christmas sales. If they aren't honored the year of their release, they'll most likely either be forgotten in the next year or get honored ahead of something more deserving.

This is why I've said the Grammy eligibility period should be from January 1 to early December. Start sending out ballots in November and host the Grammy concert in late January. It'd push the ceremony back to February but so what. If they care about being legitimate, let's speed the voting process up since it'd force people to start thinking in advance. 

Also, let more music critics vote instead of just award winners. The committee consistently is out of touch with them, let alone catering too hard to the public. That's just simple changes besides Grammy cutting down a bunch of categories. 

But the star of the show will be Adele. In a year where I haven't seen anyone dominate like her since Usher in 2004, she deserves everything she gets. I hope she finds good things to write about for her next album so it's not all depressing but the way she sings her pain is endearing. She soared above the mediocrity this year and she should be honored as such even with mediocre company in the nominees.

Get that voice right, Ms. Adkins. You got a Grammy performance and award speeches to get ready for. You blew me away a few years ago on the stage and now I'm happy to see you do it again.