The Ransom Report VI: #AOTY18 (words by Charles Ransom Polk)

Good evening my friends and (mostly) haters! 2019 is here already! Time really does fly. We’re all one year older, and we move one year closer to the end of Mr. Spray-tan-man’s Presidency (Fingers crossed). This is the time for those good old New Years resolutions. What are yours? Mine are to have my Bank account balance, relationship with God and my knowledge all increase in 2019.

2018 was quite the year in music. With that being said, I’ve listed my top five albums. We'll start with some honorable mentions mixed in there for you all to hate and disagree with me on. Here we go, the Dr. Is IN:

Honorable mentions (these albums were iight but not john blaze s**t) J. Cole KOD, Lil Wayne Carter V, Lil Baby & Gunna - Drip Harder (There you go Ron), Conway Blakk Tape

Ok now to the top five albums of 2018.

5) Jay Rock - Redemption

A lot of y’all may have slept on this album. Well I’m the alarm clock. I’ve been a fan ever since I first heard him on Money Trees from GKMC (you know, Kendrick’s BEST ALBUM BY FAR?). I’m a big comeback/redemption (no pun intended) story guy so when I heard he was in a really bad accident and almost died I was even more interested to hear his new joint. He’s always sounded battle-hardened, but on this album he gives the term a whole new meaning. Whether it’s alongside Future on King's Dead or Absolutely holding his own with K Dot on Wow Freestyle. The man can rock with the best. Also, GO LISTEN to the title track, Redemption with SZA. If it doesn’t hit you square in the chest, you the tin man. PERIOD. If you need a amp- up song for the gym/whatever, look NO further than Win. Round of applause, Jay.

4) Cardi B - Invasion of Privacy

Not gonna lie, for some mysterious reason or another I LOVE CARDI, and it’s not because I find her attractive (quite the opposite). Personally she’s WAYYYYY too ratchet for my taste. Still I LOVE her, she’s the type of chick I’d love to hit the bar/booty club with after. She seems like a ton of fun to act up with, and she’s REAL. She’s been the exact same way since she first popped up on Love and Hip Hop. Gotta respect that. To be honest I didn’t mind the album. I was loving that old school 3-6 sample on Bickenhead (and y’all know I LOVE me some old 3-6 mafia/Project Pat). I was getting my bachata on all summer to I Like It that song was FUEGO to me. Be Careful sounded like a super ratchet Mary J. Bilge ladies anthem in 2018. This wasn’t an all time great album but to be honest it was very well produced and sequenced, and it was a great mix of her strengths. Keep up the good work Bardi.

3) Pusha T - Daytona

There’s an old saying “less is more." In the era of bloated album tracklists on streaming services to inflate sales, the quality/quantity ratio is at an all time low. With that being said, King Push delivered a lean, mean killing-machine of an album. It’s brevity is matched only by its viscerally. He attacked with sharp lyrics and the best Kanye West aka the modern day Uncle Tom’s production in YEARS. That’s the ONLY props you’ll see me give him, and you all know why. From If You Know You Know to What Would Meek Do, Pusha Ton puts on a clinic. Then there’s Infared the track that proves that beef is chess NOT checkers to Push. To Aubrey, it was obviously the other way around. I’ll always want Push on Pharrell/Neptunes beats, but this s**t was extremely hot. In a different year it might have been my favorite album.

2) Nipsey Hussle - Victory Lap

Another album that you may have slept on since it dropped very early in 2018. I’ve been a Nipsey fan for almost a decade (since the Bullets Ain’t Got No Name series). He’s the rare case of an artist consistently making forward progress on his albums. This was his debut album, and that’s because he TOOK HIS TIME AND DID IT HIS WAY. He waited until he got the right deal with a major label (people don’t know but he’s a very sharp business man). He carefully selected the producers, engineers and artists for his album.That process results in a ultra hi-def cinematic representation of his life and times. From his West coast version of Hate Me Now on Rap N****s to the soulful Million While You Young to the Hard Knock life sampling Hussle and Motivate, Neighborhood Nip achieved a rare feat: an album that was worth the long wait and then some.

1) Meek Mill - Championships

I don’t think there’s been an artist worthy of back-to-back album of the year distinction since Joe Camel made The Dynasty then the Blueprint in ‘00-‘01. It’s SUPER tough to do. But cot dammit Meek did it. He had the album of the year in ‘18 with Wins and Losses. Coming off a prison stint with his future in the balance and the spotlight squarely on him, he absolutely nails it again. My last Ransom Review was about this album so I won’t say the same stuff again, but the bottom line is this project was great on all 3 levels of album grading: Sound, Content and Lyrics. Just go listen to the album if you haven't already. Sure there were one or two misfires on there, but no artist is perfect. Hey @Carretta24, to think I once called meek “Basura!" You were right. Very rarely am I wrong about an artist, and even more rarely am I happy I was wrong about an artist. No album was better overall in 2018. Dassit

There you have it, my musical class of 2018. I can feel the hate and disagreements from all the way up here at the top. Like the Emperor in Return of the Jedi said “Good! let the hate flow through you!” until next time, I wish (most of you) all a happy and blessed 2019!

Mr. Ransom

Listen: Drug Dealers Anonymous - @PUSHA_T feat. @S_C_; A Niles P. Joint

Instead of digging into a potentially epic piece of steak, sometimes it’s better to savor it.  Same thing goes for new songs.  When Pusha T released Drug Dealers Anonymous featuring Jay Z a few days ago, everybody and their mom’s blog tripped over each other to dissect every punchline.  I decided to wait awhile and give it some more spins to avoid the initial hype wave. And holy shit, this one hits a dinger to lead off the summer.  While Pusha and Jigga will spit coke raps for anybody (if you invited them over now, you’d hear stories of kilograms and rubber bands) there’s no denying that they're the best at this subgenre.  Their creativity never gets boring, no matter the prevalence of the subject matter.

The instrumental is as minatory as they come, as Push has thrived in darkness through his group and solo careers.  Lines like “America’s nightmare's in Flint/ Children of a lesser God when your melanin’s got a tint/ And I can’t even mention what I sent or what I spent/ Cause my name in 18 wheelers is evidence” showcases a baroque way of bringing up bricks.  And Jay steps out of executive mode to remind people about how he got here.  Partially a response to right wing news anchor Tomi Lahren, Jigga is spry in his lyrical acrobatics as he takes the long way through his illustrious cocaine trafficking history.  There are too many pleasant surprises in his stanzas to pick one that stands out.  Look out for a “Damn Daniel” reference that outlives the now played out viral video.

While it’s since been posted and eradicated from both AudioMack and Soundcloud, you can find Drug Dealers Anonymous as a Tidal exclusive if you click here.  Look out for Pusha T’s new album King Push coming soon, along with WTM’s review.

Listen: Rolling - @iamPure

It's been a long time since I've heard anything from Pure.

If you're from Jersey you probably remember his hit Let Your Body Talk that was killer in the club scene back in 2010. It's been a long time since then and the Newark product has definitely developed into a complete artist since then. In 2013 he dropped his tape of the same name garnering features from DJ Frosty and even Pusha T. Fast forward to now and he's gearing up for another run. Listen to his latest offering, Rolling after the break.

Watch: Maybe - @TeyanaTaylor featuring @Pusha_T & @YoGottiKOM

Yesterday you got the Preview of Teyana Taylor's first solo project, VII.

We also posted a stream of her new single, Do Not Disturb featuring Chris Brown. Today you get to see one of her videos and singles, Maybe, which features Pusha T and Yo Gotti. Nuff Said. Peep after the break.

#AOTY 2013 Honorable Mentions

This year's voting was so difficult we had to include a list of Honorable Mentions that were not far off from making the countdown. In fact some of them missed out by one or two deciding votes from the panel. This group includes some of my favorites but favorites doesn't make the list now does it (sorry to Pusha T Mac Miller & Big Sean). Here's a list of the albums in no particular order:

Childish Gambino's Because the Internet:
Perhaps this album could have gotten a higher spot on the list if it had dropped earlier in the year. The December 10th date gave him just about two weeks of time to listen and review it. He put more feeling into this album and it shows. He dropped the chip on his shoulder rap and just gave you everything he had. Less geeky but same clever punchline rapping with the accompaniment of his own singing. Possibly my favorite album this past year, Ramsey Rating Scale gives this 3.6 of 5 Stars.

Jean Grae's Gotham Down:
This album is without a doubt the most underrated project that is and will be mentioned on all of these lists point blank. Because I'm sure you didn't listen its on her bandcamp. Maybe one day female emcees will just be known as emcees, especially when they have the skills she does. I enjoyed listening to Kill Screen and Before the Summer Broke. This was one of the best projects in all of music this year and thats word to Niles Cavanaugh. Ramsey Rating Scale gives The Phoenix 3.2 of 5 Stars.

Earl Sweatshirt's Doris:
I understand that many people aren't into his monotone flow or the fact that he is plain odd. Regardless this album was pure dopeness (Yes it is a word, because I added it to the dictionary of Microsoft Word on my cpu). Hive with Vince Staples and Chum were my favorite cuts on this album. I had a hard time keeping it off the top 5. The Odd Future member got 3 out of 5 stars on the Ramsey Rating Scale.

Kid Cudi's Indicud:
He drops an album then a week later leaves G.O.O.D Music. This was one of my favorite albums this year. I've always admired how musical the production on Kid Cudi's albums were. That didn't cease on this album. Unf*ckwittable, Solo Dolo Part II feat. Kendrick Lamar, and Girls feat. Too Short. Indicud received 3.4 stars on the Ramsey Rating Scale.

Wale's The Gifted:
Before I start I would like to apologize to the emcee personally in hopes he doesn't spazz on me the same way he did to Complex Magazine on their Top 50 album of 2013 list (You have to listen to this) (All jokes, look forward to interviewing you one day and enjoyed when you came to WPUNJ). The Gifted was awesome, I enjoyed it personally but it was a Top 10 album this year, not top five. His choice of singles were great with LoveHate Thing with Sam Drew and Bad feat. Tiara Thomas. I also enjoyed the remix with Rihanna and Tired of Dreaming featuring Ne-Yo & Rick Ross. This album got 3.8 of 5 stars on the Ramsey Rating Scale.