The Word Vol. 6 2010-2011

Every year I compile what I believe to be the true voice of the very best that Hip-Hop has to offer over the last 12 months. These aren't necessarily the biggest hits according to Billboard or 106 and Park, but rather the songs that speak to the very heart of what Hip-Hop is all about and the evolution of the culture. The following list is in order of how this year's honorees should be listened to in order to gain the best musical listening experience:

1) Lupe Fiasco, "I'm Beaming"
2) Diddy Dirty Money feat. Rick Ross, "Angels (Remix)"
3) Reflection Eternal (Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek), "In This World"
4) Juvenile feat. Gucci Mane, "Gotta Get It"
5) Yo Gotti feat. Gucci Mane, Trina, and Nicki Minaj, "5 Star Chick (Remix)"
6) Drake, "Over"
7) Wale feat. Gucci Mane, "Pretty Girls"
8) Fat Joe feat. Young Jeezy, "Ha Ha"
9) DJ Khaled feat. T-Pain, Rick Ross, Ludacris, and Snoop Dogg, "All I Do Is Win"
10) Rick Ross feat. Ne-Yo, "Super High"
11) Nicki Minaj feat. Sean Garrett, "Massive Attack"
12) Lloyd Banks feat. Juelz Santana, "Beamer, Benz, and Bentley"
13) Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg, "Kush"
14) Big Boi feat. Vonnegutt, "Follow Us"
15) Lil Wayne feat. Eminem, "Drop The World"
16) Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys, "Empire State of Mind"
17) Wiz Khalifa, "Black and Yellow"
18) Kanye West, "Power"
19) K'naan, "Wavin' Flag"
20) Jay-Z feat. Swizz BEats, "On To The Next One"
21) Cam'Ron feat. Vado, "Speakin' Tongues"
22) Little Brother, "Curtain Call"
23) Snoop Dogg feat. Jay-Z, "I Wanna Rock (Kings G-Mix)"
24) Kanye West feat. Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z and Bon Iver, "Monster"
25) The Roots, "Dear God 2.0"

Keep a look out for the follow-up posts where I discuss each song in depth and the overall year in Hip-Hop. But for now enjoy The Word on the streets!

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Tha Carter IV looks like Tha Carter III.2

Courtesy of HipHopMusicDotCom.com

This photo is whack...it was cool for Tha Carter III but don't recycle concepts, evolve.  If anything the cover should resemble his bout with prison, becoming a mogul as the mastermind behind with the other two hottest hip-hop artists in the game and on his label (Nicki and Drake), as well as the expansion of his label to include the likes of DJ Khaled and T-Pain making Young Money a powerhouse hip-hop label, not to mention how he is evolving as an artist and elevating the entire game.



A couple suggestions:1) black and white photo showing the profile of Wayne looking over a skyline, waiting for his YM helicopter to land on his rooftop helipad; 2) lil wayne painted in graffiti amidst a graffiti-covered wall shot in black light surrounded by a black border; 3) a lineup of 4 usual suspects all different versions of lil wayne through the ages; 4) a psychedelic portrait of lil wayne.

Any one of these would have been better than the one above.