Tis the season to make lists and thank god for that because there is nothing going on in the music business and I’d be left reviewing Jingle Ball again in anticipation of next years where I think we will finally be getting Katy Perry. Or Taylor Swift. Or most likely both because they owe us for the disastrous 2013.
I don’t know how many lists I can write while keeping to the same basic conclusion: 2013 was a disappointing year. Oh, it had its moments, 1983 had its moments, and it was so wide a year that if you looked long and hard enough you could find some wonderful music. I can’t even imagine how much stuff passed me by.
Anyway, here are the top 5 hip hop albums of 2013:
1. Yeezus – Kanye West – “My Mama was raised in the era when, clean water was only served to the fairer skinned…” And so begins one of the most devastating critiques of racism in pop music history, “New Slaves”. When West claims he is a genius maybe he means that he includes the anthemic “There are leaders and there are followers, but I’d rather be a dick than a swallower moments later. “ moments after. This is a raging roaring masterpiece of a song and it leads the way on one of hip hops finest moments. Plus, he killed it live.
2. Beyonce – Beyonce – It isn’t as extreme as Kanye, but in its own way it balances pop and art with a lot more dexterity than West. I give jer 7 of 14 as first tier modern hip hop, and only four questionable songs out of the lot. Though “Blue” is so bad you might consider it two.
3. The Marshall Mathers EP – Eminem- great sound, great flow, his rapping is excellent and his rhymin’ is very good, but his subject matter is dated, he needs to get out more, and his nastiness can be a bore or at least it can’t be a shock.
4. Old – Danny Brown – There are guest stars and there are guest stars. Brown has Freddie Gibb, PurityRing, A$AP Rocky, Schoolboy Q and… er, Charlie XCX!!!All so Brown can tell some of the most horrifying stories, and, apparently, they are old true. There was nothing else like this in 2013.
5. Nothing Was The Same – Drake – What’s the old joke? Angels are crying in heaven, they must be listening to Drake. He sucked live but hey this is almost as good as the last one. PS Vampire Weekend hit the stage to “Worst Behavior” last week.