#AOTY 2015 10-6; A Niles P. Joint

2015 was a great year in hip hop and of course all good things must come to an end. Before I jump into the new year, it’s time for my installment of WTM’s annual Album of the Year (AOTY)  extravaganza. Going back to my original format, I’m doing a top 10 list. Only LPs are eligible for consideration (check my Best of the Rest list for more great stuff).  Criteria includes lyrics, beats, flow, creativity, uniqueness, and replay value. It’s all about the music for me, always has been and always will be. So let’s get to the list. Ten through six is now, Top Five in a few days.

10.) Pablo Frescobar by Raz Fresco 

Back when this album came out in the summer, I listened to it and said “This will be the number ten album when I make the AOTY list.”  Months later, this proved right. The Toronto wunderkind is part of the talented new wave of young rappers/producers that includes Kirk Knight and Bishop Nehru. The latter has a guest spot on Equinox, which is still as spooky now as it was during the first listen.  Up North is the album’s centerpiece in my opinion, a wonderfully multi-layered anthem for the Canadian hip hop scene. Pablo Frescobar was an ambitious debut at 17 tracks, and young Raz is still finding a balance in sound and guest stars. But you gotta love the fact that he swung for the fences on the first pitch.

9.) Mr. Wonderful by Action Bronson

Bronson had an up and down year. The first half was marked by a great major label debut that saw him successfully experiment with vivid instrumentation, like the 80’s rock of Only In America or foreign guitars turned psychedelic fare of Easy Rider. Couple this with the more traditional hip hop sounds of Falconry or The Rising and you have a stellar album. He took a bit of a PR hit with some ill-advised comments about Ghostface Killah on a Sports Nation appearance, earning him a verbal sonning from Starks himself. He’s kept a low profile the second half of the year. Still, music (generally) trumps all and he did some really good things on Mr. Wonderful. Plus the fact that it came out in the first quarter of ’15 and remained listenable throughout the year says something.

8.) Innocent Country by Quelle Chris

As I mentioned before, creativity & uniqueness play a part in my criteria for this list.  And nobody embodied those traits quite like Quelle Chris did with Innocent Country.  Flanked by his buddy/producer Chris Keys, dude created an album that is avant-garde without any pretentious dickishness.  Songs like We Want It Alive and The Ones To Watch are quite repayable.  As far as incredible concepts, I Asked God has depth most usually wont touch on as the Detroit musical auteur has a conversation with God and also ponders the meaning of life.  This album was pretty short and just made it over the EP threshold to get onto this list.  But it held its own and is unlike anything else you’ll listen to from 2015.

7.) Home Sweet Home by Rapper Big Pooh and Nottz

This is a testament to the strength of the WTM staff as I really got into Home Sweet Home after Zuri wrote a great review on the merits of the album. Having released a collaborative EP with Apollo Brown earlier in the year, Rapper Big Pooh hooks up with Nottz for a collabo LP this time. The entire project perfectly encapsulates the feeling you get whenever you return to your hometown, hence the title. Everything just flows smoothly from start to finish, which makes it hard to pick out standard tracks because everything more so functions as a unit. But it's Big Pooh’s lyricism along with Nottz’ super underrated beat-making ability makes this stupendous project one that cannot be ignored.

6.) Adrian Younge Presents: Twelve Reasons to Die II/ Sour Soul with BADBADNOTGOOD by Ghostface Killah

Ladies and Gentleman, we have a tie.  Ghostface is putting out some of the best work of his career and is showing no signs of slowing down.  Both of the albums he released in 2015 are different yet arguably equally good.  The former sees him collaborate with Adrian Younge and a plethora of other guests for another storytelling album, which is one of his best traits.  The latter is him over a live band that plays his preferred soul instrumentals with real instruments, giving a whole different feel.  Either one would be a good choice on its own but I made it a tie as I couldn’t decide which one I liked better.  I’ve always said that Ghostface has the best and most consistent solo career in hip hop and this just proves it.

Review: Home Sweet Home by @RapperBigPooh & @NottzRaw Written by: @Natural_Nation

Working with Mello Music Group for his second release this year,  Rapper Big Pooh brings us his latest album in the form of a collaboration with Grammy award winning producer Nottz.  As a person with a vivid imagination, this CD was like a godsend.  I’ve always enjoyed albums with concepts and this album stayed true to its title. Home Sweet Home easily joins my list of pleasant surprises for the year. Maybe it’s their Virginia roots that have them in sync but the two blend seamlessly together and without Nottz, I don’t think the duo would have nailed the delivery in way that they did.  So, without further ado let me take you through MY experience of Home Sweet Home...

In the Intro we get a taste of Big Pooh’s lyrical talent. We are presented with a simple beat and hook that are successful at keeping the emcees message at the forefront. The transition to Welcome Home is smooth. It feels exactly what it sounds like, comfortable and warm.  Rapper Big Pooh arrives home where he’s greeted by his family and begins to take in everything that he’s missed.

Preach is like the Sunday after you have a family gathering. All the elders insist that everyone gets together to go to church. Later you will all gather for an early Sunday dinner. This of course always turns into a late dinner because a hymn goes on for 8 verses too long. Whoever you caught a ride with knows everyone at church, so it takes them an hour and a half before they can get out the door. That’s the same person in charge of cooking the meal. Dinner don’t start till 10:00pm.

Jesus! You’ve finally gotten away from your aunties and uncles. Now you get to kick it with your cousins. These are those cousins that never left the area. You’re riding around with them in the passenger seat and they spend their time talking about all the things they’re “finna do”, but all they’ve been doing for the past few years is working the same fulltime job, blowing their money, and smoking cigarettes. (I wrote about 300Z recently and it still holds up and fits in with the flow of the album.) Homemade is like the first time you take that walk by yourself in your old neighborhood. You say "hi" to the people sitting on their porch. You stop at some of the old stores you used to go to, just to see if they’re still the same. You take in everything you used to be. It’s been a while but it’s good to be home.

Alone is that girlfriend you used to date back in the day. She stops by the house because she hears that you're home. She’s still a friend of the family. Everyone loves her and you know she’s a great girl but you know that she's not for you right now. You have too many things you want to do and refuse to be tied down by another person. So, you choose to be alone. During Memory your homies finally come through for the evening. You go up to your room put some music on and smoke as you reminisce about how you guys used to rip and run in the streets. You talk about girls, schools, and old jobs. You laugh, and wonder where the time went.

Prom Season, Home Sweet Home, and I Don’t Know come through and curb stomp all of the warm & fuzzy family vibes felt early throughout this body of work. The lyrics are hard, the beats are hard and so is Pooh’s delivery. It shows the juxtaposing realities in all of our lives, the good and the bad. It’s the reality check, the reminder that as great as our lives are, there are still daily struggles from our past and present that cover up the sunshine and rainbows. Fries brings us back to a lighter feeling. Rapper Big Pooh is spitting game to a couple of women who seem like they could be interested. Pooh’s flow and the instrumental blend perfectly together similar to the other tracks on the album.

The album ends with El Fin. Big Pooh tells a story of a young man going off to school looking for a fresh start. He stumbles upon a girl who he thinks is in to him. In the end she ends up embarrassing him and in his shame he ends up killing himself. Although delivered in a solemn way the overall message is how important it is to love yourself.  I really appreciate the way this album was put together. This is what a conceptual CD sounds like. Although the album ended on a colder note than it began it was still an experience I thoroughly enjoyed. I think it’s always important to remember where you came from and that’s what this album does.
Rating: 4.4 out of 5.                                      

  Take a trip down memory lane and listen to & buy Home Sweet Home.