Artist of the Year: 2 Chainz
Quite simply there was no artist that captured the collective imagination of the public like 2 Chainz. From his numerous guest appearances, to his commericials, and even appearing on First Take to chop it up w/ Skip Bayless (
and give him extra swag), 2 Chainz made sure that he would be unavoidable. You’d even hear his adlibs on tracks he wasn’t even on because they were that iconic. He was so unavoidable, Kanye even let him be unofficially GOOD. 2012 was a long time in the making for 2 Chainz who spent most of his career languishing in the background so it’s good to see him standing on top of the rap world and having his moment in the sun. TRUUUUUUUUUUUUUU.
Producer of the Year: Harry Fraud (followed by Young Chop, Mike Will Made It and Hit-Boy)
Harry Fraud is fucking magic. He has a gift for sampling in that he hits just the right note pretty much all the time. Some producers like to chop shit up beyond recognition, but w/ Fraud simplicity is the key. His greatest ability is his restraint because I really don’t think it’s hard at all to do what he does but he’s so damn consistent with it. Sometimes all you need is a hot sample and some hard drums.
Favorite Songs: WOH, Beleedat, State of Mind, Ozs and Pounds, Mac & Cheese 3 Intro. Too many to name really.
Rookie of the Year: Chief Keef
From the first moment I heard 3Hunna, I knew that Chief Keef would be a force to be reckoned with. With the bombastic beats of Young Chop behind him, Chief Keef became one of the most talked about rappers of the year largely on things that had nothing to do with music. But even still the music mattered. Kanye remixed his song w/o ever even meeting him. Interscope signed him with him still on house arrest having never performed outside of the city. People all over the country talking Chicago slang and they don't even understand it. The music hit people that much. Although his album didn’t sell well, I can’t call it a failure because his audience doesn’t buy music. They just listen to it, and boy did they listen to it because it’s pretty fucking good. Chief Keef was something of a phenomenon in 2012 and I’m excited to see where he takes it in 2013.
Feature Killer of the Year: 2 Chainz
Every year there’s an artist who’s features become the most in-demand. This year it was 2 Chainz. Needed a hot remix? 2 Chainz. Needed a hot verse? 2 Chainz. Needed a high profile feature to grab attention? 2 Chainz. 2 Chainz himself said it best, he "skateboards on a nigga's track." And it’s beautiful.
Biggest Surprise: The Game – Jesus Piece
It’s no secret that I hate Game, so it was really surprising to me that Jesus Piece turned out so well. All the typical shitty Game-isms are still there. The jacked flows, the embarrassing lines, always getting murked by his features. But it really didn’t matter. You can tell that Game put a lot of care and energy into this album. It isn’t my favorite album and it won’t crack my top 10 but I have to tip my cap to him.
Biggest Disappointment: Big KRIT – Live From The Underground
I don’t know what happened, but somewhere between Return of 4Eva and 4EvaNADay, KRIT just lost it. His lyrics fell off, his hooks fell off and his production fell off. I figured he was saving the heat for the album and then Live From The Underground dropped and it just sucked. I still think he’s a good artist and a promising talent but he needs to go back to the drawing board and realize what made people like him. There’s a few good cuts (Rich Dad Poor Dad being the standout), but overall it’s an awful album.
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Honorable Mention Albums/Mixtapes
A$AP Mob – Lords Never Worry | DJ Khaled – Kiss The Ring | Captain Murphy – Duality | Meek Mill – Dreams & Nightmares
GOOD Music – Cruel Summer | Curren$y – Cigarette Boats (Harry Fraud) | Wiz Khalifa – Taylor Allderdice | Big Sean – Detroit
Killer Mike – RAP Music | Lil B – White Flame | Schoolboy Q – Habits N Contradictions | Chief Keef – Finally Rich | The Game - Jesus Piece
and now...THE LIST.
10. 2 Chainz – Based on a TRU Story - 1 point
BoaTS is the most fun rap album I’ve heard…ever? 2 Chainz wields the English language like silly putty, bending it to his will. There’s no better example of that than Crack where he randomly inserts an extra syllable into certain words. At first listen it sounds damn silly but it just works. And basically that seems to be the guiding principle behind BoaTS. It just works. The only missteps come when he actually tries to rap seriously on Stop Me Now and Ghetto Dreams. 2 Chainz is at his best when he’s being the larger than life rapper that he is.
Favorite Songs: Birthday Song, No Lie, Crack, Dope Peddler
9. Curren$y – The Stoned Immaculate - 1 point
Spitta finally hit the majors and he hit a home run. The beats sound beautiful, glossy and expensive, very fitting for the brand of luxury rap he’s pitching. Spitta streamlined his flows & patterns to great effect and made some of the best songs he’s ever made.
Favorite Songs: Chandelier, Showroom, Off That, Lost In The Bossness, What It Look Like
8. Gucci Mane – I’m Up - 1 point
2012 was a spectacular return to form for Gucci Mane after a few off years. The best of his 3 projects being I’m Up. The production is STRONG all the way through featuring some of the best beats I’ve heard from Mike Will, Lex Luger and Young Chop. Gucci does the beats justice dropping quotable after quotable in a way that only Gucci can.
Favorite Songs: Trap Boomin, I’m Up, Kansas, Brought Out Them Racks, Get Lost, Super Cocky
7. Kendrick Lamar – good kid, maad city - 1 point
GKMC is one of the best put together albums I’ve ever heard. The songs are tied together in what’s basically Boyz In The Hood in audio form. But taken individually, the actual songs are about 60/40 quality wise. Real is mindnumbingly annoying. Dying of Thirst and Backseat Freestyle are wack, context be damned. Ultimately I think he would’ve been better served to give a little more care to the individual songs.
Favorite Songs: Maad City, Sing About Me, Black Boy Fly, Poetic Justice
6. Rick Ross – Rich Forever – 2 points
Rich Forever is Rick Ross at his best. It’s really unfortunate that the crown jewel of Rick Ross’ discography is a free mixtape. I personally believe that this was the original GFID for the most part. The songs just fit the title much better. The album starts out hard and rarely lets up, culminating in the now iconic Stay Schemin track where Drake slams the door shut on the album. Well fucking done Ross.
Favorite Songs: Holy Ghost, New Bugatti, I Swear to God, Stay Schemin, Triple Beam Dreams
5. Future – Pluto – 2 points
Pluto was a really interesting album. Pluto is largely a rap/R&B fusion w/ Future autotune crooning over trap production, so I think it’s good that they put some of the harder hits on the album as well. After stumbling out the blocks w/ the R. Kelly track the album rolls pretty well from there.
Favorite Songs: Permanent Scar, Turn Out The Lights, Same Damn Time, Neva End
4. Ab-Soul - Control System – 2 points
2012 was a banner year for TDE and the best of the projects came from the paranoid mind of Ab-Soul. Control System is like looking into the abyss. Ab-Soul explores conspiracy theories, drug use, religious themes, women and the lost of loved ones in the most earnest and heartfelt album of the year. The difference between this and say…a Lupe Fiasco album is that it never feels like Ab-Soul is preaching to you. Ultimately the decision is yours on how you choose to feel about these topics, Ab-Soul is just giving you his world view. Ab-Soul attacks these issues with the lyrical agility much like that of a championship boxer. I’m really impressed by how he puts lines together. This is conscious rap done right.
Favorite Songs: Terrorist Threats, Mixed Emotions, Illuminate, Black Lip Bastard Remix
3. Dom Kennedy – The Yellow Album – 3 points
First things first, Dom doesn’t really rap on this album. He mainly just talks fly over immaculate production. Somehow it ends up being his best project yet though. I have to admit I didn’t like it at all at first though but it grew on me when I started listening to it during a point where I was really down. Basically all Dom wants is peace, happiness, a bad bitch and a better situation for his friends and family. It’s simple but it hit me deep because that’s where I am mentally right now. I also have to throw Kendrick some credit for his best mainstream guest verse yet on We Ball.
Favorite Songs: So Elastic, Been Thuggin, We Ball, 5.0/Conversations
2. French Montana – Mac & Cheese 3 – 3 points
French Montana as he currently exists is a summation of many influences and he wears them all on M&C3 where he successfully transitions from NY rapper to a “star.” He rarely wows lyrically but his flows do the job and he’s got the ability to attack nearly any type of song. He’s also got an incredible knack for making good hooks. The most interesting tracks are the throwbacks (State of Mind & Triple Double) where he repurposes D’Evils and Today Was A Good Day. On paper this shouldn’t work…at all. But French throws his own spin on it. Bad Boy dropped the ball by not releasing Excuse My French this year. I wonder how many songs on here were originally meant for it.
Favorite Songs: Yayo, Water, State Of Mind, Triple Double, Diamonds
1. Chief Keef – Back From The Dead – 4 points
Police sirens, gun shots, DJ MOONDAWG tags, Young Chop on the beat, hi-hat rolls on every track. From the minds of 2 teenagers. It shouldn’t work. It really shouldn’t work. It’s scary that it does. Back From The Dead is the best trap album/mixtape I’ve ever heard. I think what separates this album from other trap music is that it doesn’t sound cartoonish. Instead of yelling like a maniac like Flocka or spitting ridiculous shit like Gucci or 2 Chainz, Keef doesn’t really rap so much as deliver a series of deadpan gang threats recorded to wax. It’s believable. It’s menacing. It’s almost frightening. It scares people. Chief Keef is the cause of all of Chicago’s evil to let the media tell it. Chief Keef was rap’s existential crisis in 2012 and the creator of it’s best piece of work. It made you question where exactly we were headed if an album like Back From The Dead could even exist, let alone be praised. The now classic I Don’t Like captures the spirit of this album better than any song. Keef & Reese spend the better part of 5 minutes talking about all the things they don’t like in a type of structure and brevity that reminds me of Dr. Seuss. Bangbang.
Favorite Songs: Sosa, I Don’t Like, 3Hunna, Everyday (really all of them)
