For the past week we’ve seen a bunch of people tackle this album. Writers these days take themselves way too seriously. That or they have these agendas in writing these reviews just to grab a few hits and if they’re lucky maybe a couple of RTs. I’m not a writer. I’m a simple man, I like my beans and rice. We live in a world that is quite simple if you ask me. It’s black, it’s white. It’s good, it’s bad. It’s hot, it’s cold. It’s yes or no. These definitive answers shape who we are.
There is no need to string together a wordy review that only serves as self-indulgent drivel just to deliver one adjective in describing Undun.
We’ve been spoiled for practically two decades now with progression, not regression from The Roots crew. We want Malik B. We miss Len Hub. We want more N.T. collabos. We want more Black Thought verses. We want lengthier tracks and albums; [insert Elaine] yada yada yada.
We’re still a few months away from the year closing out, but we all know the 4th Q is usually for big names, big labels and even bigger releases. This list is about 10 rappers who have been grindin’ for years. True lyricists who each put in work year in year out and still seem to lack the appreciation they rightfully deserve. This isn’t an all-time list, it’s just a group of 10 rappers I feel are currently underrated, unappreciated and warrant the recognition.
Hip-Hop has been good to us these past years. With the emergence of Big K.R.I.T., Danny Brown, Freddie Gibbs, French Montana, Action Bronson, Tyler The Creator, Fashawn, Pill, Mr. Muthafuckin’ Exquire, Blu, Elzhi, G-Side, ASAP Rocky, Curren$y & Roc Marciano just to name a few, we’ve had to double up on our hard drive space.
There are always going to be rappers with strong co-signs, better geographical residency or those who lean on friends and favors for that mass appeal. I wanted to put together a list of 10 active emcees that all deserve your attention and in my opinion are truly underrated.
So without further ado, here are my 10 Most Underrated Emcees of 2011.
Many consider that very album to be a true blue classic with stellar tracks such as Proceed, Silent Treatment, Distortion to Static and The Lesson, but it wasn’t until later in his career that Black Thought truly developed into one of the best all-around emcees in the game. Like vintage wine, he got better with age. It happened to Steven Tyler, Phil Collins to even rappers like Lil Wayne and MF Doom.
Our big bro is back in this bitch with Vol. 13 –Philaflava
T.R.O.Y. Presents – Sounds Like The 90s Vol. 13
1. Freeway & Jake One – Throw Your Hands Up
2. Black Thought – Contract On The World feat. Dice Raw & Porn
3. The LOX – Slow Down (You’re Killin’ Em)
4. Smiley The Ghetto Child – I’m Legend (prod. DJ Premier)
5. Freddie Gibbs – The Ghetto
6. U.G. – Beat Yo Ass
7. Big Noyd – New York Lights
8. Meyhem Lauren – 7000 Thoughts
9. Roc Marciano – Snow
10. Mobb Deep – Whole Lotta Thug (prod. Alchemist)
11. Sadat X – Turn It Up feat. Pete Rock
12. Consequence – Let U Live feat. Pharoahe Monch
13. Ski Beatz – Prowler 2 ft. Jean Grae, Jay Electronica, Joell Ortiz & Mos Def
14. Wu-Massacre – Dangerous
15. U.G. – My Soldiers feat. Steele & Casual
16. Open Mike Eagle – Unapologetic feat. Nocando
17. Planet Asia & Goldchain Military – Organic Food (prod. Large Professor)
18. Tanya Morgan – Cheesesteak
19. Meyhem Lauren – Treat Her Like A Prostitute feat. Thristin Howl III
20. Brotha Lynch Hung – Meat
A few weeks ago I started a new series of mixes called Laskified, the premise was that there are a gang of rap artists that have an amazing collection of music but for one reason or another they cannot put together an album that keeps my attention. The first in the series was the rapper Mos Def who is an insanely talented rapper but might be a glue sniffer because his work is often inconsistent and erratic.Â
The goal of the series was to put on my a&r hat and take the artists collection and cherry pick from it to make a cohesive album, of not necessarily essential tracks but, tracks that would work for a complete album that keeps your interest from front to back. When conceptualizing the idea I came up with a set of rules to follow that included:
1. The music can only come from the artist album catalogue, no collaborations, guest appearances or side projects.
2. The project must flow like an album, which means if the song doesn’t fit, it doesn’t get on, I don’t care if it is their biggest hit nor has a Jay-Z or Kanye guest appearance.
3. It must not be longer than 55 minutes and 14 songs, because no album ever should be.
With today’s artist, The Roots, we went a little over out time limit but still came in at under 1 hour. I have a love hate relationship with The Roots, while I know they are extremely talented and when all things are clicking there are very few groups that can fuck with them at all. Unfortunately that rarely happens outside of their live shows. Where they excel in the live arena they tend to flounder on the studio. The Roots have released 7 studio albums, 8 if you include Organix which I do not, simply because it sucks.  All of the 7 albums contain a few good to great songs and a lot of boring filler shit. The other problem is that every album carries the same format – an intro, a few songs about rap, a few girl songs, one crossover type single that is always awful, a few experimental joints which are always surprisingly good, and a few songs of rapper Black Thought completely demolishing the mic. When it comes to just ripping the shit out of a track few can do it better than Black Thought.  Unfortunately, they get away from that too much because they have this BS formula that sucks the life out of every project. Â
It is very frustrating to see a group that is this talented avoid what they are best at.  At the same time it’s hard to argue with a group that has been releasing music for 17 years, and still remains a relevant force today. I just wish they would put out one album that puts all their strengths together, trims the fat and makes a fucking classic. Until then this will have to do.Â
Tracklist:
1. Act Won (Things Fall Apart)
2. 75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction)
3. Here I Come
4. Act Too (The Love of My Life)
5. Panic!!!
6. The Seed (2.0)
7. Stay Cool
8. Water
9. Clones
10. Living In A New World
11. Distortion to Static
12. Thought @ Work
13. The Web
14. The Lesson, Pt. 1
A few tracks from Radio Do Canibal by BK-One (Brother Ali’s Dj) and Benzilla (namesake of either a monster truck or a specialty cheeseburger). This album features Brazilian themed production and a whole bunch of rappers you probably heard of before. It will be released officially on October 6th.
Here’s the full tracklist:
01 01:37 Ivan Tiririca (Intro)
02 03:36 Gititit Ft. Slug & Brother Ali
03 03:58 Mega Ft. Aceyalone Myka 9 & Abstract Rude
04 00:44 Caetano Veloso (Interlude)
05 02:58 The True & Living Ft. Raekwon & I Slef Devine
06 04:26 Here I Am Ft Phonte Brother Ali & The Grouch
07 03:26 Tema Do Canibal Ft The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble
08 00:39 Ivan Tiririca (Interlude)
09 03:19 Philly Boy Ft. Black Thought
10 01:49 Blood Drive Ft. Slug
11 03:25 A Day’s Work Ft. P.O.S.
12 04:07 Face It Ft. Toki Wright
13 02:46 Love Like That Ft. Aby Wolf
14 00:43 Hyldon (Interlude)
15 02:39 Blue Balls Ft. Blueprint
16 03:01 Eighteen To Twenty-One Ft. Murs
17 03:45 Call To Arms Ft. I Self Devine
18 03:53 American Nightmare Ft. Brother Ali & Scarface
19 00:20 Tom Ze (Outro)
