I know. There are clearly 10 albums listed below. Hopefully my "logic" will clear up this discrepancy. Anyway, these are my top picks of 2011. You probably won't completely agree, but the more I think about it, the purpose of this post is really two-fold: to not only incite some friendly debate but also to put you on to an album or two you may not have checked out this year. I hope this is effective on both fronts. Well without further ado, and in no particular order:
Cole World: The Sideline Story
September 27th

I was wrong. I openly and willingly declare that I was wrong. I told several people, many of whom are probably reading this post, that J. Cole's debut album would not hold a candle to his highly praised mixtapes. Can you blame me though? The Warm Up and Friday Night Lights hold their own against the most popular studio albums of recent day. And with Sean Carter as the label head, all bets were off. I staunchly believed that Cole signing with Hov was not a good look. It would appear, as things develop, that I'm headed towards 0 for 2 on J. Cole predictions. Cole World was a very solid debut album. We all know Cole is lyrically gifted, but the excellent production seemed tailor-made for his style. This probably stems from the fact that he produced 12 of the 16 tracks on the album. That Kanyean-style feat puts him in a league separate of his contemporaries. Production, content, lyricism - Cole gave us a jewel this year.
Wale
Ambition
November 1st
I was really impressed with Wale this go ‘round. 2009's
Attention Deficit? Not so much. It wasn't a bad album, it just never settled in with me. Between
AD and
Ambition, Wale did 3 things that helped him make a giant leap in relevance: Dropped the epic mixtape
More About Nothing, signed with Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group, and got a feature on virtually any track he could get on. Signing with Officer Ricky was far and away the best of those moves. That smooth "Maybach music" sound that Ross has made his niche meshes seamlessly with Wale's style. Ambition is fun, smooth, and lyrically underrated. And here I was questioning whether MMG was the right fit for Wale. Shame on me.
Adele
21
January 24th
What can I say about this album that hasn't already been said by virtually everyone? Many of you may have been turned off by the throwback style of "Rolling in the Deep." I won't hold that against you. But if "Turning Tables" or lost love anthem "Someone Like You" don't move you in some way, assemble a search party for your soul as it is obviously missing. In a music industry flagrantly void of substance with sexed-up cacophony as the encouraged norm, Adele gave us more than just a breath of fresh air. With 21, she gave us a 48 minute escape to a place where honest feelings supersede the emotionless status quo. And it felt so good.
Bad Meets Evil
Hell: The Sequel
June 14th
Most can probably agree that Eminem's last solo offering, Recovery, was his best collective work since 2002's The Eminem Show. Most would also admit that '02 was the last time they listened to a complete Royce da 5'9" album - making the reaching assumption that they've ever listened to one at all. Anyway, 2011 saw Marshall and Ryan restore the duo Bad Meets Evil and drop the fire that is Hell: The Sequel. Em is in rare form, Nickel is holding his own and the production is as gritty and dark as you'd expect on an album titled Hell. This album is definitely one of my sleepers of the year and lays a sturdy foundation for the resurgence of Shady Records.
Fabolous
The S.O.U.L. Tape
April 21st
Curren$y
Covert Coup
April 20th
I consider these albums a 2-for1. Besides being released the same week, I rarely spin one without immediately following it with the other. The soulful, laid back feel of these two discs gives them their allure. Though many a Twitter debate has been forged over which album is better, I argue that each stands tall on its own merit. Fabolous, though his studio albums tend to leave something to be desired, obviously has this mixtape thing figured out. The ability to forgo concept for a limitless supply of punchlines plays to Fab's strengths. Curren$y who, with the exception of ‘06's major label single "
Where Da Cash At," has created an underground career - and subsequent cult following - off of mixtapes, gives us an Alchemist-produced studio version of a street album. Most would look for more polish from an LP but Tha Hot Spitta knows where his bread is buttered.
The S.O.U.L. Tape and
Covert Coup were the soundtracks I chilled to for most of 2011.
Jay-Z and Kanye West
Watch The Throne
August 8th

I have argued the merit of this album time and time again. Production, top notch. Lyrical content, first rate. Hov and Mr. West could've very easily given us some rushed, poorly composed 15 track assortment of feature-riddled radio tunes. The album still would've gone platinum and the tour still would've broken records. But Jay and ‘Ye didn't short change the people. They gave us an album with depth. They gave us an album that exuded the fun they appear to have had making it. Finally, and most importantly, they gave us an album that was far better than the first single "OTIS" indicated it would be. I was told by some that the production on the album was too "different." To quote the homie Phonte' Coleman, in response to someone calling his own album different, "that's the point." I was told that the album wasn't as good as the previous Jay-Z collaborative effort, Best of Both Worlds. I think the variety achievable when merging a rapper and a singer makes a comparison to Watch The Throne unfair. Jay and Kanye did their thing on this album…and they didn't really have to. You're welcome.
Big K.R.I.T.
Return of 4eva
March 28th

We now appear to be waist deep in the era of "the mixtape that is basically a studio album." As the concept of the mixtape evolves and its impact more prominent, artists are now putting studio album effort into the street tape. Such was the case with J. Cole's Friday Night Lights, and so goes K.R.I.T.'s Return of 4eva. K.R.I.T. brought us back to good ‘ol southern hip-hop - ridin' clean, speakers quakin', holl'in at guls, all that jazz. This album couldn't be more southern if you deep fried it. At the same time, K.R.I.T. gave us a depth that is all but missing in today's rap from below the Mason-Dixon. And that's what makes it so damn good. Reminiscent of OutKast or Goodie Mob, K.R.I.T. oozed southern urban culture while managing to all but eliminate rap's customary body count. The "King Remembered In Time" certainly got my attention and dropped what's arguably the best album from the South this year - and yes, I have not forgotten Tha Carter IV came out in this summer.
Drake
Take Care
November 15th
Yeah, yeah, I know. Drake is softer than a goose down duvet. And if you'd rather your rap artists reach through your headphones and rob you at gunpoint, Waka Flocka Flame still has a record deal. But if, in a world of studio gangsters with not so much as a speeding ticket on their record, you seek sincerity, Drake gives you just that. Drake is a conflicted, troubled dude and historically, the conflicted and troubled give us the most intriguing product. No one, including myself, thought Drake's sophomore album would be softer than the debut. We were wrong. Drake has decided to save most of the "happy rap" for guest features and YMCMB collabos. With Take Care, Drake takes those "soft" songs on Thank Me Later a step further, this time more transparent - a sign that he's more comfortable with his audience. The gripes from the masses are rooted in Drake's affinity for less-than-traditional rap subject matter. Get over it. Having hurt feelings or openly regretting past mistakes should not be topics confined to the radio frequencies of R&B and classic soul stations. Musically, Take Care is delightful, at some points equal parts infectious and haunting. Drake's "open book" approach has in many ways given us rap's version of Adele's 21. And I'm not even sure you can call Take Care a "rap" album, but what I am sure of is this: it doesn't even matter. Dope.
Frank Ocean
nostalgia, Ultra
February 18th
As soon as I can put my finger on why I'm so drawn to this album, I'll let you know. I had seen Frank's name floating around and knew that he was affiliated with Odd Future, and therefore with Tyler, The Creator. And therefore I was understandably leery. I mean, seriously, have you listened to Goblin? I haven't been so mortified since the last Faces of Death movie I watched. But Frank has a vibe much less morbid. Luther Vandross or Teddy Pendergrass, he is not. Vocals aren't necessarily what one might call Frank's strong suit. But he stays in his lane, never doing too much and it works for him. Nostalgia's strength is Frank's songwriting which tends to handle the typical fodder of RnB - make up, break up, heartache, love - with raw and sometimes disturbing results. The production is enjoyable at best and while I'm not sure anything on this album is great, I still keep it in the heaviest of rotations.
Let me take a moment to address the Louisiana-sized elephant in the room that is the omission of Tha Carter IV from my list. The album just didn't vibe with me. That's not to say that it didn't certainly have its moments - "Blunt Blowin" goes hard - but overall I felt Wayne didn't bring it. I felt the album as a whole was lazy and probably not fit to be part of the Tha Carter series. Honestly, I wasn't a huge fan of Tha Carter III, but I respect the fact that Wayne seemed to put a lot of effort into that album and I fully understand that simply because I don't like something doesn't make it bad. Even though the tracks on the Carter IV are probably more my speed - with the exception of that God-awful "How To Love" - I contest that IV is the worst of the Carter albums. Wayne nation can now feel free to stone me for my treason.