Remove whatever's in your system right now and replace it with Monster Maker. Then kick back and enjoy the best 40 minutes of your life. Obvious hyperboles aside, I haven't felt this good about a rap record since Louis Logic unleashed Misery Loves Comedy.

C-Rayz Walz and Sharkey manage to cram some of the fiercest cutting edge hip-hop music of the year into 12 songs. Best of all, the album's brief run time leaves little room for redundancy. So, even if you end up not liking Monster Maker at all (trust me, some of you won't), you would've only wasted 40 minutes, as opposed to, say, the 1.2 hours I squandered on that new Turf Talk album.

Labels: The Listening Session

At everyone's behest, I decided to wriggle out ten good hip-hop albums from an otherwise uneventful first half of '07. In case you missed it earlier, here's my list in order of bias appreciation:

10. Black Milk - Popular Demand
9. Hell Razah - Renaissance Child
8. El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead
7. Joel Ortiz - The Briick: Bodega Chronicles
6. Evidence - Weatherman LP
5. Devin the Dude - Waiting to Inhale
4. Pharoahe Monch - Desire
3. Prodigy - Return of the Mac
2. Sean Price - Jesus Price Superstar
1. Brother Ali - Undisputed Truth
(Full gist)

Bonus List:

Rizoh's Favorite Non-Hip-Hop Albums of 2007
5. Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad (shhh)
4. Jill Scott - Collaborations
3. White Stripes - Icky Thump
2. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
1. Feist - The Reminder

Sidenote: I was looking at Bol's Best 10 yesterday and thought, "Wow, we agree on all but four albums." In fact, two of the albums I briefly considered for my own Top 10--Ear Drum and Hip-Hop Lives--also made his list. (Btw, that Prodigy album is good, please believe.)


What's yours?

Labels: lists, The Listening Session

Just a few albums I care about right now...

10. DJ Babu - The Beat Tape Vol.1
9. Shaman Works - Retrospective: Looking Back to Look Forward
8. DJ Bunty - Hip-Hop Ain't Dead
7. KRS-One & Marley Marl - Hip-Hop Lives
6. Brother Ali - The Undisputed Truth
5. Wise Intelligent - The Talented Timothy Taylor
4. DJ Jazzy Jeff - Return of the Magnificent
3. Blue Scholars - Bayani
2. Ayatollah - Louder
1. Wax Taylor - Hope & Sorrow

What's in your changer right now?

Labels: The Listening Session

Just what I'm diggin' at the moment, Ladies & Gents....

#5.












Soulful and cohesive from start to finish. (Cop this now.)

#4.











You can bump this while cleaning up your house without worrying about skipping a track. (Cop this now.)

#3.











Dope beats, dope rhymes, what more do y'all want? (Cop this on May 15th.)

#2.











Devin's half-sung raps and southern fried grooves can get you through the worst traffic no matter where you're headed in life. (Cop this now.)

#1.











An emotionally honest record laced with a litany of broiling gems. The undisputed best rap album of the first quarter. (Cop this on April 10th.)

Labels: The Listening Session, Top Picks