Since the steady flow of quality hip-hop music has trickled off a bit in the past couple months, and since the bunch of new CDs I’ve ordered from the US have been taking forever to get here to NZ, I will use my first couple submissions to NZsnowboard.com to look back on what has been good thus far in the ’06…



Top Major Label Albums

1. Ghostface Killah - Fishscale

Named after the purest form of cocaine coming into the ports of NY, the title served as a metaphor for the type of Hip-Hop Ghost offered us on his latest LP. Just as can be expected, Fishscale was the most critically acclaimed rap album to come out since, well, at least OutKast’s Stankonia in 2001 and, as a testament to the watered-down nature of popular music, didn’t manage to move ¼ the units it would’ve back in ‘94.

Ghost spits those poison Wu darts over 24 tracks of pure, uncut dope. “Shakey Dog” gives life to the “best storyteller in hip-hop” argument as Ghost describes every little detail in a robbery gone bad while he just spits straight darts over a Just Blaze beat on “The Champ”. Even the few commercial reaches, such as “Back Like That” feat. NeYo, are straight Ghostface, no additives. Peep it fa sho.

If you can’t find it in NZ, get your ass on amazon.com right now. Ghost needs your help. This is his second straight masterpiece, yet commercial dud at his new home, Def Jam. How many more will it take for President Jay-Z to throw his ass out the door?






2. T.I. – King


Isn’t it ironic that the two best hip-hop albums so far this year were released on the same day? March 28th began with the one of most satisfying trips to Best Buy I have ever had. Few musical experiences are as euphoric as hearing “What You Know” bump out of a set of some nice, large speakers.

The slow, hypnotic composition of the synth and bass line coupled with the bouncy drum pattern, at one point, almost led me to declare this as one of the greatest songs in the history of hip-hop. But, fuck it, “What You Know” is one of the best songs in the history of recorded music. As ubiquitous as it is – I can remember several different instances where it was playing on more than one channel at the same time – I will never grow tired of this song.

The rest of the album is dope on top of that. The opener, “King Back,” kicks things off on some Jay-Z boss style type ish with a Gladiator-ish sample declaring T.I. king before amped horns lead into a slow Just Blaze beat with an old, ‘70s horror-flick style sample. “Ride With Me” is in the same vein of “What You Know”; equally as dope, Pharell Williams lends his trademark falsetto to the hook of “Good Life”, and “Why You Wanna” is one of the best “for the ladies” joints in a minute.

Only a one or two weaker tracks held this album back from being the best of the year. However, the strength of “What You Know” almost made me put it ahead of Fishscale.




3. Juvenile – Reality Check

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans last August, Juvenile, whose home turf, the Magnolia Projects, had been devastated, delayed the release of his latest album to address the greatest fuck-up in the history of American Government.

At first, I was expecting Juvenile to get on some straight Public Enemy type shit and make something truly special, but then my expectations came back down to earth. What we did get was classic Juvenile, just a little angrier in several spots. The only direct reference to Katrina is the track “Get Your Hustle On,” an unconventional response to the tragedy which insults NO’s mayor and FEMA and, ultimately, tells the victims that they are doomed if they believe that the government will help them get back on their feet. For this, he offers one simple solution: use your FEMA checks to score some coke, chop it up, and sell it. Did I say unconventional?

Whether it represents his true feelings or not is insignificant; few politically charged songs have ever been able to express the anger and desperation of a group of people as well as this. The rest of the album varies from good to average while Juvenile proves that he is still on top of his game and is still an underrated lyricist after over a decade in the game.




Honorable Mentions:

E-40 – My Ghetto Report Card

I’m not really into the whole Hyphy movement of the Bay Area in Cali, but I can respect it for what it is. 40 possesses one of the most unique flows in the game and he keeps consistent after over 15 years doin’ it.



Mobb Deep – Blood Money

Mobb Deep with G-Unit = Kinda wack compared to past Mobb / Alright compared to most of the other hip-hop on MTV and BET.



Busta Rhymes – The Big Bang

Actually haven’t heard it yet, but I hear its pretty dope although I’m not sure how I feel about the new thugged-out version of Bussa Bus. Dr. Dre as executive producer = Good enough for me.





There’s probably more that I can’t think of. Stay tuned for the top Independent Label and Non Hip-Hop albums coming soon…


- A.J. Henriques