Welcome to first edition (1 of 3) of The Greatest. It is here where we will list the top…anything. It could music videos, sports teams, rappers, or even video girls. This is the way it works: everyone here at nappyafro makes a list, we combine it and add it based on numbers (if you ranked number 10 you get 1 point, 9 gets 2, 8 gets 3, 7 gets 4, and so forth. So with out further delay…
7. (Tie) Release Therapy by Ludacris/Separate But Equal by DJ Drama & Little Brother
7. Release Therapy by Ludacris
B-Easy: 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.
7. Separate But Equal by DJ Drama & Little Brother
King Jerm: This is probably overall one of the best offerings in the Gangsta Grillz series. This album makes you wonder why they didn’t put some of this heat on their debut to the masses.
6. Doctor’s Advocate by The Game
B-Easy: 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. Like Father, Like Son by Birdman & Lil’ Wayne
Blood: I was torn between making Rick Ross #5 and giving Baby & Weezy honorable mention, but because of the number of just bangin’ ass tracks on Like Father, Like Son, I gave the N.O. duo the nod. With Wayne at the apex of his game, he came through with some of the most memorable bars of the 4th quarter of 2006.
“Army Gunz” – “and around here you are gonna need a chooper/And I’m a need a lawyer, and you gone need a doctor”
4. Dedication 2 by DJ Drama & Lil’ Wayne
B-Easy: 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. The Inspiration by Young Jeezy
Blood: And yes the top album of 2006 came from the “Snowman”. Song for song it was hard to deny Jeezy from the top slot. Some say that he can’t rap BUT Jeezy makes Street Anthems that are some of the best SONGS being made today.
2. Hip Hop Is Dead by Nas
King Jerm: “Retro” Nas on this album. It seems as if he is trying to take it back to the essence again. Nas gives his fans some of his best music. Well, not his best, but best in a while.
1. (Tie) Kingdom Come by Jay-Z/King by T.I.
1. Kingdom Come by Jay-Z
King Jerm: Jay-Hova comes back with his third out of retirement album. This one aimed more at the older crowd that has grown up with him. He isn’t going for the clubs with this one, just the grown and sexy. Might be a little hard for the youngsters to digest.
Blood: It was hard to make S. Carter #2, but when I compared Kingdome Come with the album that I selected as the best from 2006, there were fewer tracks that I skip on the #1 offering of 2006. Jay being the “Pinnacle of Lyricism” made placing him in the silver medal spot a tough decision, but with a couple of tracks that I personally didn’t feel I had to make the “Best Rapper Alive” #2. Sure to become classic tracks: “Lost One”, “Do U Wanna Ride”, “Kingdome Come”, & “Beach Chair”
1. King by T.I.
B-Easy: 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.
Blood: On his 4th album, T.I. proved that he was really just getting started. King proved to be the best yet from the “King of the South” (some might argue for Trap Muzik). On King, T.I. evolved from a lyrical heavy weight to being one of the best song writers in Hip-Hop. Album featured Chart toppers: “What You Know”, “Why You Wanna”, “Live In The Sky”, & “Top Back”