Tag Archives: RJD2

Hip Hop Site is one of the larger online Underground Rap retailers. What makes them a little different from their competitors is that HHS has managed to keep their non-retail content a centerpoint and respected. And every year some Columbus groups make the list, for better or worse. I have cut and pasted the lists Columbus artists made this year.

10 Best Emcees Of The Year

Oh boy, this one will cause some arguments, but that’s the point of lists, right? The main criteria for selecting these artists was that they must have had at least one full-length album or mixtape (aka “the new album”) this year. So no, as much as we love Rakim, he didn’t make the list this year, because he didn’t release shit. The results are also based on pure skill, not style. So yeah, T.I. is cool-as-a-fan and all, but this is about the written words, not how they are said. Now start arguing.

1. Jay-Z (American Gangster)
2. Common (Finding Forever)
3. Lil’ Wayne (Da Drought 3)
4. Ghostface Killah (Big Doe Rehab, The 8 Diagrams)
5. Royce Da 5’9 (The Bar Exam)
6. Talib Kweli (Eardrum, Liberation)
7. Phonte & Big Pooh of Little Brother (Get Back)
8. Lupe Fiasco (The Cool)
9. Apathy (Baptism By Fire, It’s The Bootleg Muthafuckas Vol. 2, No Place Like Chrome)
10. Copywrite (The Jerk Vol. 0)

The 5 Most Disappointing Albums Of 2007

1. T.I. – “T.I. Vs. T.I.P.”
After “King”, we thought T.I. could do no wrong, but then he delivered the sub-par “T.I. Vs. T.I.P.”. We really tried to find songs on that record to like, and there were a few, but it was a massive let down after his 2006 release.

2. Pharoahe Monch – “Desire”
We guess old Monch wanted to get in on some of that hip-pop, cross-genre Gnarls Barkley money, and the result was “Desire”. Unfortunately, nobody really desired this LP. Sure, it had a few moments that reminded us of why we like Pharoahe in the first place. But songs like his Elvis rendition, “Body Baby”, or the Gospel road-to-nowhere, “Push”, left us scratching our heads.

3. 50 Cent – “Curtis”
Wow, you’d think after all the tough talk 50 was doing prior to the release of this LP, not to mention the stakes being extra high going up against Kanye, he’d deliver us another banger. Not so. The album did have it’s share of hot singles, but so much of the rest of it was filler, overflowing with braggadocio about A) how rich he is now B) how good he is in bed (so seductive!) and C) how big of a gangster he is. Not surprising, but with a title like “Curtis”, we expected a more introspective look at the guy – we guess that’s all there is to him.

4. Will.I.Am – “Songs About Girls”
We had high hopes for Will, after a strong series of hot beats for other people in 2006 (Nas, Game, Justin). Unfortunately, Will’s solo “debut” (this is like his third record, yo) was critically panned thanks to his strange attempts to be one of those cool rapper/singer Cee-Lo/T-Pain/Akon types. It must really suck to have something like “The Donque Song” (note the artistic spelling of “donkey”) as a part of your musical legacy, when in fact the single didn’t do donkey dick.  

5. RJD2 – “The Third Hand”
As much as we love ourselves some RJD2, we didn’t love The Third Hand. Make no mistake, RJ’s still got it – just one year earlier he delivered us the superb Things Go Better With RJ and Al LP with Soul Position. Problem was, RJ sang all over this LP. He’s not so bad on vocal chops, but let’s face it, we buy RJ’s records for the beats. A decent record, but you’ll still catch us rocking the instrumental version. 

Rest In Peace:

1. Pimp C
2. Big Moe
3. Disco D 
4. Stack Bundles
5. DJ Przm

The rest of Hip Hop Site’s List.