Welcome back! It’s the second day as we count down the Top 25 Rap Albums & Mixtapes of 2012.
To recap:
25. Troy Ave’s Bricks in My Backpack 3 & Yo Gotti’s CM7
24. Big Boi’s Vicious Lies & Dangerous Rumors
23. Chief Keef’s Back From The Dead/Finally Rich
22. Childish Gambino’s Royalty
Now, as we enter the Midrise level generic cialis 5mg of the Pinnacle let’s remember that all these albums or mixtapes were well put together, a few bangers but more than a few songs to skip, the expectations were on the borderline of “met” or not and the replay value and impact was low. With no further or due.
20.
Wale’s Folarin
Mixtape Rank: 10
The youngest project on the list (released on Christmas Eve), the DC-native and MMG artist combines his mixture of club rattling jams (“Get Me Doe”), songs for the ladies (“Bad”) and his impeccable wordplay tracks (“Fa We We”) to create Folarin. Wale is actually a gem in the rap game today. Not too many rappers can do all of those three things and do it well. Where he falls off is that, the sequencing is off terribly and the project is about 5-6 tracks too long. Wale gave his fans a little more than they can handle and Folarin pays the price for it. Hey. It happens. His third album is to be released in 2013. Sidenote: Mixtape About Nothing turns 5 years old in May 2013. Time is moving.
19. Rick Ross’ Rich Forever
Mixtape Rank: 9
From Reebok to courtside at Miami Heat games, MMG’s Commander-in-Chief, Ricky Rozay was everywhere in 2012. To start the year he gave us this gem of a mixtape on January 6, Rich Forever. With so much hype and buzz leading up to it, I expected it to be more than what it was. Jampacked with 19 features, Ross went overboard and he is faulted for it. His beat selection is Grade A as usual but the entire mixtape missed a flow type feel to it. Rich Forever just felt like a lot of songs crammed together and not meshing sonically like previous works. Ross later released God Forgives, I Don’t in the summer and is sure to make a splash the countdown. Without Rich Forever, we don’t have the best verse of the year, Drake on Stay Schemin’. Thanks, Rozay!
18. Big K.R.I.T.’s Live From The Underground/4Eva N A Day
Album Rank: 10
When looking at 2011, aside from Kendrick Lamar, no other underground artist had a bigger buzz than Big K.R.I.T. Coming off the well crafted Return of 4Eva, I expected more from the Mississippi native. First he released 4Eva N A Day which was well put together, but just sounded very similar compared to the previous mixtape. Then released, the album which had the same vibe, same content and same feel as the previous mixtapes. I don’t know if it was the self-produced music, the expectations or maybe K.R.I.T. just gave us too much music in such a little time frame (54 songs in a 15-month span and that’s not included the enormous amounts of features). Hey, who knows. I know K.R.I.T. can and will do better in 2013 though.
Download 4Eva N A Day + Buy Live From The Underground
17. Future’s Pluto 3D & 2Chainz’s Based on a T.R.U. Story
Album Rank: 9
Atlanta’s two breakout stars share the 17 spot and for good reason. Not only are both from the A and notably new to the big stage of hip-hop, but both provide us with the ever essential club banger. Whether its Future’s “Same Damn Time” or “Tony Montana” or 2Chainz’s “No Lie” or “Birthday Girl”, the two do their job well. 2Chainz took the buzz from his 2011 release, T.R.U. Realigion, and formed it into a deal with Def Jam and a co-sign from Kanye West into the G.O.O.D. Music family. Not too bad. Album is full of songs where he gets outshined by the features but it does its job and give us cri-nack. As for Future, following his Astronaut Status mixtape, Epic Records re-released his debut album, Pluto, with Pluto 3D. Which gave listeners more bangers and better remixes from his initial songs. Sure, Future’s album lacks flow throughout and 2Chainz’s album has one too many skipped tracks for me. Nonetheless, both are an acquired taste but a taste all club goers love to get lost in.
Buy Pluto 3D + Based on a T.R.U. Story
16. Mac Miller’s Macadelic
Mixtape Rank: 8
If you read my Best Mixtapes of 2012 column, I had Mac Miller’s Macadelic in the Top 5 (So was 4Eva N A Day). Pretty amazing drop if you ask but it just shows how many good albums (wasn’t considered at the time) and mixtapes came out after the halfway point. Nonetheless, Pittsburgh’s other favorite rapper gave us a trippy ride past the disappointment of his debut album, Blue Slide Park. In Macadelic, Miller shows off his more drug-friendly side and uses his features well by calling Cam’ron, Lil Wayne and Juicy J (who all gave Grade A performances) for assistance. Overall, the mixtape is a pretty damn good. Good beat selection, song concept and smooth wordplay make Mac Miller’s mixtape a strong comeback for him in 2012. Only thing keeping this mixtape from being at a higher level is that, it didn’t have the impact like I thought it would. Not too many people were ripping and raving about it. To each is own though. Keep the good music coming, Mac.
That’s it for today. Be sure to check back tomorrow for Part III of the Top 25 Rap Albums & Mixtapes of 2012. Peace.
Follow the writer: @commenturry on Twitter
Follow the graphic designer @Mars_green on Twitter
