Top 3 Hip-Hop Albums of 2008
By Nick Manteris · 0 Comments · Leave a Comment
Hip-hop is definitely one of my musical weak points, but not because I don’t like it. It’s just incredibly difficult to find anything that is lyrically good AND musically good. One or the other just doesn’t cut it for me. (This is why I don’t like 50 Cent…his music sounds great, but it’s lyrically vacant.) There are probably dozens and dozens of albums that I didn’t try out when I made this list, but out of the stuff I sampled these are the best three:
3. eLZhi – The Preface
I had never heard of eLZhi before I started testing albums for this list and, surprisingly, The Preface is consistently better than the newest offerings from artists that I’ve liked in the past, like Nas or Ludacris. The standout track is “Motown 25,” but that’s not shocking with references to the Terminator, Urkel and the Punisher and lines like “sharper than Viking hats.”
2. Lil’ Wayne – Tha Carter III
Tha Carter III is probably the most surprising album to be on one of my lists because I usually hate the slur-styled lack of enunciation in the “dirty south.” Lil’ Wayne seems to be slurring on purpose though, and that puts him in a different category than the lyricists that just don’t know how to talk. “3 Peat,” “Mr. Carter” and “Shoot Me Down” are the songs that caught my attention on this album.
1. The Knux – Remind Me in 3 Days…
The Knux are another one of my recent finds and they don’t sound like anything else in the hip-hop world. The music is electronic, laced with guitars and loaded with style, and I guess there are exceptions to every rule…because I like the sound of this album that I’m willing to give them a little extra leeway on the lyrics. The slow groove of “Shine Again” and the manic breakbeats on “Wake the Fuck Up” are two of the moments from opposite sides of the spectrum that showcase what these guys can do.
