Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums Of 2006

by B-Easy

10. (Tie) More Fish by Ghostface Killah/Separate But Equal by DJ Drama & Little Brother

10. More Fish by Ghostface Killah

Ghostface dropped two good albums this year, but I liked this one the best because it was arguably his best since Supreme Clientele. Tony Starks proves why he is the most consistent Wu-Gambino to date. He even brings out his son, uh, Sun God on this album, they might need to make a Like Father, Like Son 2.

10. Separate But Equal by DJ Drama & Little Brother

DJ Drama checks in for the first time on the list with Little Brother. This is Little Brother most accessible music for the public with guest appearances by Mos Def & Bun-B. With songs like “Knock Knock”, next time they should put this out before the studio album for better promotion.

9. Release Therapy by Ludacris

Chris Bridges uses his fifth album to aim for the top spot and be taken more seriously, might need use a better first single than “Money Maker” next time. But overall, with songs like “Mouths To Feed” & “Slap” that shows artistic growth, this IS his most serious album. That album cover still is trash though.

8. Game Theory by The Roots

Being overlooked by the buying public is nothing new to The Roots, but still, it’s kinda fucked up. Black Thought sounds fresh as ever on almost the entire album. Songs like "Long Time" feat. Peedi (new member?), "Livin' In A New World", & "Take It There" are remarkable songs to have on any album, but even better to have on your seventh.

7. Murray’s Revenge by Murs & 9th Wonder

Being the most unknown on the list by far, Murs & 9th Wonder deliver a solid indie album. Debuting at #166 on the Billboard 200, Murs shows Little Brother what to really do with 9th Wonder beat. A great alternative to Hip-Hop’s current rappers (gun, drugs, & bitches), this album features songs that relate to the everyday man while still showing humor.

6. Doctor’s Advocate by The Game

A Game album without a Dr. Dre beat? Say it ain’t so! But The Game still delivers a solid album and jumps the sophomore slump. Yea, he still name drops, but you can’t deny the skill. Game brings back the all-star producers (Kanye, Just Blaze, Storch, Hi-Tek, Swizz, etc.), so as always, his beats are bangin’. Check out stand-out tracks: “Compton”, “Remedy”, & “Wouldn’t Get Far” feat. Kanye West.

5. The Inspiration by Young Jeezy

The most drug dealing I’ve ever done in my life, is probably telling someone where the weed man live so the can make a buy. This doesn’t explain why I like hearing Jeezy rap about drugs so much. He’s not the most lyrical, but he has a “Way with words like Alphabet Soup on a triple beam” (What’s up Copywrite!). Basically Thug Motivation 101.1, but when you hear songs like: "What You Talkin' Bout", “Mr. 15”, & “I Luv It”, D-Boy or not, you will go crazy.

4. Dedication 2 by DJ Drama & Lil’ Wayne

How slow is 2006 when we have to resort to putting mixtapes on the list? The iPod King gets with Weezy a second time to make clearly best mixtape of 2006. Lil’ Wayne rides everyone beats from T.I., 2Pac, & Dem Franchise Boyz while giving the fans bangers such as "Dedication 2" & "Cannon (AMG remix)". Dedication 2 is what started Weezy’s stellar year in proving himself one of the best lyricists to date.

3. Hip Hop Is Dead by Nas

Probably the second most anticipated album of the year next to Hov. Hip Hop Is Dead proves exactly why the CD title is oxymoron. The album IS straight Hip Hop with basically no traditional commercial single in sight. High-quality tracks on the album: "Black Republican" feat. Jay-Z, "Not Going Back" feat. Kelis, & "Let There Be Light" feat. Tre Williams. I still hate that “Where They At” was taken off and “The N…” made a bonus UK track.

2. Kingdom Come by Jay-Z

“Complete with real cars, no video ones, you can come and set up a camera, let the video run”. Yep, that’s when I really knew Jay-Z was back. Even though the album received bad reviews, compared to what came out his year, it was at the top of the list. With songs like the quotable “30 Something”, & the retrospection of “Beach Chair”, Jay-Z exposes these young boys and shows why a 37 year old hasn’t been pushed out the game yet.

1. King by T.I.

If you lead the league for the most of the year, you should always win the award, and this album did just that. I always felt King got shorted because when the talk of Hip Hop sucking this year came up, the only thing people said about this album, is that it was the only one to go platinum in ’06. But in actuality T.I. proves why he truly is the “King Of The South” by showing his versatility. The street ("I'm Talkin' To You), the lyrical ("You Know Who"), the commercial ("Why You Wanna"), & the ugly ("Stand Up Guy"). T.I.’s King IS arguably the best Hip-Hop album of the year.

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