Well it's not a top 10'er, but it's close for me. I like it. I love the artwork too.

the artwork is great. And I DO get the Outkast vibe - but that's Krit in a nutshell anyway. I don't know. I like half of it but half bores me. It just feels like a good concept for an album but it's like an EP's worth of good shit and then filler. No disrespect. I think the dood is great. I'm just not feeling the LP.

Let it be known:

I do believe these are the most underrated, slept-on hip-hop albums of 2014:

Open Mike Eagle - The Dark Comedy


Black Milk - If There's A Hell Below

There's always way too much muck to trudge through... Good releases are always forgotten. But these two should have been a bigger deal.

Open Mike is clever and absurd, but skilled.
Black Milk never fails, and the fact that this album came out only a few days after I realized it existed means I was paying attention to the wrong shit.

Shit, new D'angelo just drops straight out of nowhere?! Goddamn! Maybe this will make up for Yeezy and Kendrick's MIA albums.

Or, more likely, it will make up for the Frank Ocean joint we've been waiting for since our balls dropped.

yeah I just read the D'Angelo drops this week. Can't wait. Wow.

BTW, sev - I'm gonna plan to do 52 Albums Of The Week in 2015. :)

👍 👍 👍

if you do it, I'll find a reason to keep doing it. Yeah, a lot of people may think that it's worthless to have a list of albums per year that you need to whittle down to a reasonable 50. But I think it's worth something to expose yourself to as much as possible. I'll be less likely to lose heart if you're in it with me.

new D'Angelo is already out on iTunes and it's incredible. i swear it sounds a lot like a Bowie album.. but it's also circus-y, psychedelic and weird at parts too. i can tell D has been listening to Zappa and Beefheart. totally not what i expected from the title "Black Messiah" when i first heard it. wow.

Just picked it up. Huzzah for long lunches. I'm excited and also a little terrified. But your recommendation gives me confidence. Here we go!

Ok I totally get the Bowie thing. Totally. Bowie at the Beeb anyone?

It's only been minutes, but this is a dope record. Might have to dig out my copy of Voodoo, which hansnt been touched by human hands in at least 10 years.

Back in 2012, Wu-Tang Clan's Ghostface Killah and the LOX's Sheek Louch released a collaborative album as Wu Block. Now, they've announced a follow up LP called Hidden Gems. It's out January 20 via Nature Sounds, and features appearances from Wu-Tang/LOX affiliates such as GZA, Jadakiss, Masta Killa, Styles P, Cappadonna, Killah Priest and more.

so re-cap:

36 Seasons - 12/2014
A Better Tomorrow - 12/2014
Wu-Block - 1/2015
Ghostface w/ BBNG - 2/2015

T-Pain has my rap song of the year.

Totally this. When's his album out?

Mine is probably "Lunch Money" :D

Hey louder:

I am really fucking enjoying the new D'Angelo album. It's not even fair that it came out so late in the year! Too late for Rolling Stone or SPIN to even have a chance to include it in their year end lists.

It's not exactly the most market-savvy time to release one's first new album on 14 years. But D'Angelo pretty obviously doesn't give much of a shit about that kind of thing. I, however, will totally be revamping my list to include it.

Also, how are you feeling aboht the new J. Cole? I think it's the first record he's dropped that I genuinely *like*... The previous have basically just been a few likable tracks floating around in an ocean of skippable mediocrity.

But I'm quite surprised about 2014 Forest Hills... It's way better than I ever would have thought possible. Y'know?

don't think it has a release date yet.

yeah, D'Angelo seems too mature to care about those things. i do think it would be great if he promoted the album with some music vids though, as well as TV appearances, interviews, etc. but 100,000 sales first week for a soul record in 2014 is still pretty damn impressive, i suppose. it kinda baffles me that the new Nicki Minaj album (which is, by the way, pretty awful in my opinion) is expected to have higher sales, but oh well.

and yeah Cole finally made a good album.. shocking right? i just wish he didn't sing so much. also i found the last verse on "Fire Squad" pretty cringeworthy. like if you're gonna release an album with no radio singles, don't fucking whine about the grammy's on your record. i don't even disagree with his shots at white artists, but it just made him seem like a crybaby to me.

i truly can't stand how the grammy's don't even respect hip-hop as a music form, yet rappers give them more importance than anyone else.

new D'Angelo is really good. New J. Cole is better than expected. Woah all 3 of us agree on stuff!