Nominees for Independent/Underground Album of the Year...

[RuffDraft]

^^^ I've slept on this release, I'm taking it P.O.S. never released anything this year as a solo though?

Another one:

eLZhi - eLmatic

eLZhi, Slum Village's former member, released a dedication mix tape to the 1994 classic album, Illmatic. The release, that was later published officially as a pressed CD, was entirely produced by Will Sessions and featured live instrumentation. With two videos stemming from the project and a third to follow, eLZhi struck over 500,000 views on YouTube. The project has been greatly received by fans and critics alike and somewhat overshadows Fashawn's dedication tape, Ode II Illmatic; no easy feat given Fashawn's talents on the mic. Overall, this tape was great for the vivid imagery that eLZhi was able to generate as well as the live instrumentation, which took the release to another level. As eLZhi's popularity continues to grow, 2012 looks to be another positive year for Detroit's Best Kept Secret.

[video=youtube;38HmE7fuE1w]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38HmE7fuE1w[/video]

[video=youtube;vcKzOZ6Yc78]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcKzOZ6Yc78[/video]

[video=youtube;M65LovobUtc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M65LovobUtc[/video]

 

[Lou Cypher]

Man i think all of these albums should win! this thread is gonna piss me off on Dec 31st lol.

 

[RuffDraft]

Man i think all of these albums should win! this thread is gonna piss me off on Dec 31st lol.

Lol. We'll be upping all the threads on the 14th so that all decisions have been made come the 31st. We'll be doing a Playlist of the Year thread too, which is my favourite thread of the year.

 

[a.mann]

joints I copped that's getting heavy replay:

Rashad & Confidence - 'The Element Of Surprise'

http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/rashad-confidence-the-element-of-surprise/IAR002CD/

Rashad & Confidence, two longtime students of the game, finally drop their long-awaited debut album "The Element of Surprise". This up-and-coming MC/producer duo, hailing from Brooklyn and Philly, merged to create a record with a timeless sound reminiscent of hip-hop's golden era but with a fresh, updated feel. With no guest appearances or other producers involved, Rashad & Confidence embody the sound real hip-hop heads yearn to hear, going back to the times of Gang Starr and Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth.

The soulful hitting and sample-based boom bap beats courtesy of Confidence capture the pure essence of classic hip-hop production while Rashad's deep and conscious lyrics slice through each track with topics ranging from various life issues to relationships or just raw lyrical display.

Push the play button and get taken back to a time when hip-hop only produced classic albums

 

[a.mann]

Epidemic (HexOne + Tek-Nition) w/ 5th Element - 'Illin Spree'

http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/epidemic-illin-spree/EPD11ISCD/

Epidemic, a group that consists of 2 MC's (Hex One & Tek-Nition) and a producer (5th Element) have put their mind and heart together to put out this classic, boom bap sounding album (ILLIN' SPREE). The delivery of this project is to bring back or reunite 90s era style hip hop. Seeing that a lot of the true art is fazing out, these artists' mission is to help re-install real hip hop in the present and future to come. There is word Hex One and 5th Element are working on a new project up for release early next year. Stay posted for that, we will keep you updated!

Along with the album release are 3 music videos, SHIT IS REAL, LIVIN' PROOF, and SET IT OFF, for you to experience a visual of the art. Enjoy the multi-syllable flows over hard-hitting beats.

 

[a.mann]

DTMD (Dunc + Toine) - 'Makin' Dollas "

http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/dtmd-makin-dollas/MMG020CD/

Prince Georges County, Maryland duo DTMD represents the youth movement among DMV hip hop. With Dunc on the beats and Toine on the mic, the moniker Dunc and Toine Makin' Dollas is a nod to the classic East Coast act EPMD, a duo that first hit stardom before Dunc and Toine were even born, but also serves as a strong indicator of their craft-striving to produce fresh and innovative music while maintaining a deep reverence for the pioneers who preceded them.

Dunc's rich, full-bodied production serves as a natural backdrop to Toine's technically astute rhymes, layered deep with smooth instrumentation evocative of such luminaries as J. Dilla, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and Pete Rock, each of whom shaped the classic hip hop sounds of Dunc's childhood. Toine's energy and bright delivery belie wisdom beyond his years, inspiring deep reflection as easily as sharp battle fare and complex rhyme schemes. Maintaining a close working relationship with PG neighbor Oddisee and assuming a strong presence in the collective atmosphere of the DMV's hip hop scene, DTMD appeared separately on MMG's "Helpless Dreamer" compilation, Toine rhyming on "Different Now" and Dunc producing Stik Figa's "From the Top." Now, the debut album Makin' Dollas has arrived.

 

[a.mann]

Rasheed Chappell & Kenny Dope - 'Future Before Nostalgia'

http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/rasheed-chappell-kenny-dope-future-before-nostalgia/KD03CD/

Rasheed Chappell is a true MC. master with superb intelligent lyrical word play. Along side Kenny's master mind production skills, this album has all the tools to be a classic. With the added touches of DJ Scratch and DJ Mell Starr, they kept it real to the true essence of Hip Hop. making sure all four elements where packed in there.

Kenny Dope is critically acclaimed as a four time Grammy nominated solo producer as well as being the founder and one half of masters at work. Kenny has been producing for 20 years... he is a true veterian in the game. He has also remixed for the likes of Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Kanye West to name only a few of thousands.

In his current works in the Hip Hop and R&B game Kenny has produced songs for Raheem Devaughn, including 11 tracks on this years Grammy nomintaed R&B album of the year "Love & War Masterpeace". He also produced tracks for the legendary Raekwon the Chef, Brooklyn bred Joell Ortiz featuring the talented Royce the 5'9.

Kenny Dope has produced all genres from House, Latin Jazz, to Funk n Soul. It was Rasheed Chappell that made Kenny go back to his Hip Hop roots. Kenny states "Rasheed Chappell is the artist I have waited my whole career to work with". "Future Before Nostalgia" will give Hip Hop heads the boom bap they want to hear, reminding them why they fell in love with Hip Hop in the first place. Rasheed Chappell and Kenny Dope collaberated allowing their listeners to know that "real" Hip Hop is not dead.

 

[JuJu87]

Serge Severe- Back On My Rhymes

If Serge ever needs an elevator pitch to sum himself up he can lift it straight from one of his track titles: "Classic But So New".

With his latest album Back On My Rhymes, Portland emcee Serge Severe has achieved an admirable feat in delivering a collection of songs that manage to capture hip hop’s golden age without sounding stale or superfluous. If Serge ever needs an elevator pitch to sum himself up he can lift it straight from one of his track titles: “Classic But So New”.

Severe comes from a place where hip hop heads convene around a Street Fighter arcade game while the sounds of The Chronic (on cassette!) can be heard coming from every pair of headphones. Right away in the album’s opener “Here Comes The Man” Serge lets his audience know that while he may have one foot planted firmly in the vintage hip hop of his youth - he is “smooth like Slick Rick’s vocal tone” - the other is pushing forward - “like a GPS around the city I roam.”

Serge’s rhymes aren’t weighed down by abstract cosmic references or a cataloging of model names and numbers of high-tech weaponry. Rather, Severe prefers wordplay that is efficient, sharp and strikes close, essentially mirroring the machetes, shovels, box blades and chokeholds that work their way into his metaphors.

In “Prepare for Sergery” Severe states, “Button pushing DJ’s, that’s just hypocrisy.” Thankfully Universal DJ Sect along with the rest of album’s producers have accepted the challenge as Back on My Rhyme’s beats steer clear of contradicting that anti-button pushing ethos. Production-wise there is no foot dragging when it comes to turning back the clock from the age of the MP3 to the MPC and the album’s lo-fi chunky instrumentation is one of the big reasons Serge’s rhyme schemes feel organic instead of forced. Jimmy Spicer and Pete Rock records are cut up for hooks and the samples themselves help make the case that current hip hop could use a little more of the “less is more.” The upright basses are allowed to rattle, the snares aren’t quantized and the the pops haven’t been polished out of the Hammonds.

So if some hip hop newbie ends up throwing down the gauntlet and asks for an album made this year that captures some of the same magic that excited veteran fans 20 years earlier with albums like Paul’s Boutique or Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde, grabbing Serge Severe’s Back On My Rhymes off the shelf is a move that can be made with complete confidence.