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.

Electric Relaxation: Lupe Fiasco - Lasers (Album Review)

I should've had this album earlier this year. I've been a Lupe Fiasco fan since I heard murmurings of him when I was about to graduate college. I downloaded several mixtapes in 2006 for the most-talked about MC in ages. I've written this blog saying Lupe's the most complete/versatile MC I've heard since Eminem. I've said The Cool is one of the best hip-hop albums of the last five years and it's still flying over people's heads how deep a metaphor that was and how relevant it is.

So why did I delay listening to Lasers? Why have I kept it in my Amazon wishlist all year without feeling the urge to buy it? Maybe because I heard too much press that this was Lupe's Nastradamus or Encore. Maybe because Lupe himself told people this album was a compromise and punishment for getting the public to protest Atlantic Records not releasing it sooner. Maybe I saw that it was 12 tracks, way shorter than either of his last 2 works.

Despite the brilliance of hearing "Words I Never Said", I also heard "The Show Must Go On" and thought it was "Superstar" Part 2 and Atlantic forcing his hand. I heard "All Black Everything" and I heard him break down what Lasers meant on his Enemy of the State mixtape. But I still waited because of that warning. After reading the XXL feature, I said why support it if Lupe hates it.

Well the wait is over. Thanks to joining Spotify, I finally listened to Lasers risk free. My thoughts are as follows. I blame Atlantic Records for trying to turn the best MC of the last 5 years into B.O.B. (and that's not a diss to Bobby Ray, that's Atlantic being short-sighted in the name of hits).

Four years after The Cool blew my mind and went gold thanks to a pop single in "Superstar", Lupe has an album that's pretty much left-field pop rap. By that I mean, it fits in perfectly with today's climate without totally sounding like Drake or Wayne or anybody else in the mainstream. At the same time, it's not what you expect from a guy who made "Kick, Push", "American Terrorist","Dumb It Down" or "Hip Hop Saved My Life".

The biggest flaw with this album is production. Too much techno, not enough soul to match the fire of Lupe's lyrics. It also wasn't cohesive. "Food and Liquor" and "The Cool" were great listens because the production was consistent and pleasing to the ear. Lasers is the classic case of hip hop's failure in grabbing hot producers to make hits without thinking about a solid sound.

The hooks on some of these are downright awful. The album opener makes me wish B.O.B. took that beat instead of Lupe. "Break the Chain" has some powerful lyrics but that beat sounds like it should be played in a club instead of a sonic force like "Little Weapon" on The Cool. It may grow on me but it's not a perfect fit.

"Out Of My Head" with Trey Songz isn't bad ---- that is, it would be dope if you replaced Trey with a female singer and had another hook/different lyrics. Instead, you just say "yep, Atlantic made him do it" and press next. The always cliche song for the ladies that just doesn't fit.

The worst case is "State-Run Radio", which has a title you'd expect from him but a silly hard-rock beat and a terrible hook that waters down Lupe's rant about Top 40 radio. I dang near cringed when I heard this on Pandora last month and I cringed hearing it again.

(Then again, maybe that's Lupe's point - make an overly pop song with a crappy, anthemic hook to prove how bad Top 40 radio. Yet it doesn't exactly work like DJ Premier making that same statement with Gang Starr's "Mass Appeal" or Radiohead's "My Iron Lung")

At least lyrically, Lupe still shows why he's an elite MC. "The Show Must Go On" grows on you because of the inspiration in his lyrics. The first verse walks you into his shoes and then sets you up for the double-timed 2nd verse before he picks up your spirits in Verse 3. He successfully flows to every beat and rides it as well as a technically gifted lyricist should.

There are two absolute gems on here that are some the best songs of the year. "Words I Never Said" matches a powerful Alex da Kid beat, a haunting chorus from Skylar Grey and some politically charged lyrics to create a sonic, lyrical masterpiece. It's everything I expect from Lupe and you may nitpick the facts, but you can't deny the passion and it fits with his past political songs questioning the government. The video is amazing too.

The second gem is "All Black Everything", one of the best written songs in any genre this year. Lupe reimagines Black history/American history if slaves were never taken from Africa. It's creative and a great story that makes you really wonder. The dream-like beat only reminds you that it's not real and it's a perfect accompaniment.

"Til I Get There" is a decent song that sounds like older Lupe and I liked "Beautiful Lasers." The album closer with John Legend also surprisingly works well.

Earlier, I compared this album to Nas' Nastradamus and Eminem's Encore. Both albums are terrible failures except for a track or two. Come to think of it Lupe's "Out of My Head" might as well be Nas "You Owe Me" and as much as Lupe admires Mr. Jones, he'd be better off studying how Nas rebounded the same way he's trying to by revisiting his classic debut.

Let's consider Lasers a pop compromise despite Lupe winning to put it out. The terrible production/desperate search for singles/bad hooks overshadows his solid lyrics and once again, let's blame Atlantic Records following Industry Rule No. 4,080. I'm honestly disappointed yet resigned to the fact that it may be for the better good.

Am I happy it debuted at No. 1 and has sold 440,000 copies so far? Yes, but only because it means we're getting another album that hopefully will show Lupe returning to form with minimal interference. So while I'm happy for his success, I'm disappointed he had to sell out to hopefully make the music he wants. Doesn't change my views on him, but this album is at best a 6 or 7.

Not a Fiasco - Lupe's Almost Got it All

I'm sitting at the Daily Titan at Cal State Fullerton with my friend, keeping her company as she's doing a project. It's only a few hours added to my long day that included watching a blowout of a football game (final score 76-14 or as someone said to me, a bad basketball score). But for her, it's worth it - ladies shouldn't have to sit alone all night in an office in these times.

On Thursday, I listened to two of Lupe Fiasco's newest freestyles over "All The Way Turnt Up" (originally a terrible song that made my ears bleed) and "Say Something". Just hearing him casually ride each beat with a punchy flow reminded me why I loved his mixtapes in 05-06.

He took that first song and used a simple flow but packed it with so much density that there's no excuse now why these rappers can't do better on synth beats. I played it twice before I went to Sylvan and nearly freaked out.

Then I relistened to another freestyle my girl Daze posted earlier over Jimi Hendrix "Fire" and I heard a hunger that usually you don't hear from rappers on their 3rd album. His wordplay on that made up for a laidback flow that bordered on just tooo easy.

He said that he was upset he got snubbed from the MTV Hottest MC's list and wanted to earn his spot next year by ripping every beat he gets on. So far he has and yt made me wonder. Is Lupe the most complete MC of this era? Granted the bar is so low the past 4 years but just consider the evidence for Lupe.

Content: Nobody can criticize him for not being substantial. "American Terrorist" "Little Weapon" "Fighters" - the "Cool" Album was almost a critical analysis of being cool. Like any good writer, he doesn't waste words and he uses them with a purpose.

Wordplay: Few MC's can match the verbal wizardry of "Theme Music to a Drive By", "Gotta Eat" "Dumb It Down." He uses similes, metaphors, theme and variation.

Storytellling: "He Said, She Said", "The Cool" song, sheesh the whole "Cool" album was an extended metaphor of the life of someone chasing the street dreams until they died trying.

Flow: Tighter than a ball of wax yet adaptable to any beat. Nobody can listen to him and tell me he hasn't mastered it. This is what separates him from the pack in my opinion.

Great Verses: "Hurt Me Soul" Verse 3, "Gold Watch" Verse 2, "The Instrumental" Verse 1...just to name three that standout.

He packs more in a single verse than most do in an entire song. He can do it all. You can argue he doesn't make a club song well but to be honest, if you made a hit out of "Superstar" that's better than most. Just look at his last two albums.

"The Cool" was an extended metaphor that you had to listen to several times to fully get how the story works. It's still one of the most inventive albums I've heard in recent years from hip hop."Food and Liquor" was one of the best debuts in recent memory and showed off his storytelling, wordplay, tight flow. And he did it all without chasing hot producers for everything...still relying mainly his in-house fam.

That's probably my favorite thing about him. He's content with being an individual, not a clone. Just check his We are L.A.S.E.R.S. manifesto - I have no problem saying that I feel like dude is a comet we won't appreciate fully until he stops rapping.

There's no debate that Lupe is the most well-rounded rapper to hit mainstream since Eminem. The only question in my mind is where he'll end up on the greatest of all time list. If this is going to be his last album like he planned, he's already showing off the hunger to make it another phenomenal piece of music.