Þetta er verðlaunin hjá HIPHOPSITE.com fyrir árið 2000…….The 2000 HipHopSite Awards

Watch out now! It's the millennial edition of HipHopSite's yearly best and worst list! Please keep in mind that we do not think that we are a hip-hop bible, nor do we think that every word on this list is bond. We expect you to disagree with half of this list, but that's okay because these our just OUR opinions. If you agree with us, you have good taste. If you disagree with us anywhere on this list, then pat yourself on the back for having an original thought and not blindingly following what we say, just because we are a part of the media. Prepare, as we come with no underwear….

The Best…

20 Best Albums Of The Year - Major Labels - November 30, 1999 to Dec 15, 2000

1. Eminem – “The Marshall Mathers LP” - Interscope
2. Jay-Z - “Vol. 3: The Life And Times Of S. Carter” – Roc-A-Fella
3. Outkast – “Stankonia” - LaFace
4. Ghostface Killah – “Supreme Clientele” – Sony
5. M.O.P. – “Warriorz” – Loud
6. Xzibit – “X” - Loud
7. Common – “Like Water For Chocolate” - MCA
8. Jurassic 5 – “Quality Control” - Interscope
9. Dilated Peoples – “The Platform” – Capitol
10. Prodigy of Mobb Deep – “H.N.I.C.” – Loud
11. Jay-Z – “The Dynasty: Roc La Familia” – Def Jam
12. Black Eyed Peas – “Bridging The Gaps” - Interscope
13. De La Soul – “Art Official Intelligence” – Tommy Boy
14. Jungle Brothers – “V.I.P.” – V2
15. Guru – “Jazzmatazz 3: Street Soul” - Virgin
16. Rah Digga – “Dirty Harriet” – Elektra
17. Canibus – “2000 B.C.” – Universal
18. Beanie Sigel – “The Truth” – Roc-A-Fella
19. Dead Prez – “Let’s Get Free” – Loud
20. Goodie Mob - “World Party” - LaFace

30 Best Albums Of The Year - Indy Labels

1. Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek – “Reflection Eternal” – Rawkus
2. Slum Village – “Fantastic Vol. 2” - Goodvibe
3. Blackalicious - “Nia” – Quannum Projects
4. Freddie Foxxx – “Industry Shakedown” – Kjac
5. Encore – “Self Preservation” – 75 Ark
6. Afu-Ra – “Body Of The Life Force” - Koch
7. Sole – “Bottle Of Humans” – Anticon
8. Bahamadia – “BB Queen” - Goodvibe
9. J-Zone – “Bottle Of Whup Ass” – Old Maid
10. Masters Of Illusion – “Masters Of Illusion” – Threshold
11. Del – “Both Sides Of The Brain” – Hieroglyphics Imperium
12. Big L – “The Big Picture” - Rawkus
13. Jedi Mind Tricks – “Violent By Design” – Superegular
14. Ugly Duckling – “Journey To Anywhere” – 1500 Records
15. Kool Keith – “Matthew” – Funky Ass
16. Planet Asia – “The Last Stand” EP – Mona Hip-Hop
17. Mr. Lif – “Enters The Colossus” EP – Def Jux
18. Quasimoto – “The Unseen” – Stones Throw
19. Spontaneous – “Spur Of The Moment Music” - Goodvibe
20. Akrobtaik – “EP” - Detonator
21. Deltron 3030 - Hiero Imperium
22. Masterminds - “Underground Railroad” - Ground Control
23. Binary Star - “Masters Of Illusion” - Subterraneous
24. A-Team - “Who Framed The A-Team” - Project Blowed
25. Cali Agents - “How The West Was One” - Ground Control
26. Zion I - “Mind Over Matter” - Ground Control
27. Jeru The Damaja - “Heroes For Hire” - Knowsavage
28. Declaime - “Ill Mind Muzik” - Goodvibe
29. Haiku De Tat - Project Blowed
30. Necro - “I Need Drugs” - Psycho+Logical



10 Best Compilation Albums Of 2000

1. Lyricist Lounge 2 – Rawkus
2. DJ Muggs Presents… Soul Assassins 2 – Ruff Nation
3. Creators – “The Weight” – Bad Magic
4. Solesides’ Greatest Bumps – Box Set – Quannum Projects
5. Ninja Cuts – Xen – Box Set - Ninja Tune
6. DJ Spinna – “Beat Suite” – Box Set - Urban Theory
7. Ice-T – “Greatest Hits: The Evidence” – Atomic Pop
8. Ego Trip – “The Big Playback” – Rawkus
9. Battle Axe Warriors – Battle Axe
10. Best Of Kool G. Rap / Best Of Biz Markee – Landspeed



10 Best “Unofficial” Releases Of 2000

1. J-Live – “The Best Part” - LP
2. AZ – “S.O.S.A.” - CD
3. Madlib Remixes - EP
4. Louis Logic – “Music To Drink By: A Collection Of Loosies and Exclusives” - CD
5. Prodigy – “Gun Love” - 12”
6. Eminem & D-12 – “Quitter” - 12“
7. DJ Fashion – “Rollin’ Remix” (Limp Bizkit, Redman, Method Man, & DMX) - 12”
8. Big L / Biggie / 2Pac – “Deadly Combination” - 12“
9. Cut Chemist and DJ Shadow – “Brainfreeze” - CD / LP
10. Ras Kass – “Jack Frost” - 12”
Honorable Mention:
Eminem “Fucking Yzarc” CD - for it's sheer foolishness.


radio won't even play my jam…
50 Best Singles Of The Year

1. Outkast – “Ms. Jackson”
2. De La Soul – “Oooh”
3. Jay-Z – “Big Pimpin’”
4. Eminem – “The Way I Am”
5. Prodigy – “Keep It Thoro”
6. Outkast – “Bombs Over Baghdad”
7. M.O.P. – “Ante Up”
8. Ghostface Killah – “Chez Chez La Ghost”
9. Jay-Z – “Anything”
10. Royce The 5’9 – “Boom”
11. Dr. Dre – “The Next Episode”
12. Eminem – “Stan”
13. Common – “The Sixth Sense”
14. Wu-Tang Clan – “The Jump Off”
15. Xzibit – “X”
16. Busta Rhymes – “Fire”
17. Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek – “Move Something”
18. Jurassic 5 – “Quality Control”
19. Beanie Sigel – “Mac Man”
20. Q-Tip – “Lets Ride”
21. Big Pun – “100 %”
22. Ice Cube - “Hell Low”
23. Dead Prez – “It’s Bigger Than Hip-Hop”
24. Snoop Dogg – “Snoop Dogg”
25. Mos Def, Nate Dogg, Pharaohe – “Oh No”
26. Jay-Z – “I Just Wanna Love Ya”
27. Black Eyed Peas – “Weekends”
28. Sadat X – “X-Man”
29. Redman & Eminem – “Off The Wall”
30. Dilated Peoples – “The Platform”
31. Masta Ase – “Spread It Out”
32. Soul Assassins w/ Kool G. Rap – “Life We Hold”
33. Mos Def, Talib Kweli & Crew - “Hip-Hop For Respect”
34. Slum Village – “Climax”
35. Kardinal Offishal – UR Ghetto
36. J-Live – Them That’s Not
37. Agallah – Crookie Monster
38. Outsidaz – “The Rah Rah”
39. Thirstin Howl – “I Still Live w/ My Moms”
40. Afu-Ra – “D&D Soundclash”
41. Blackalicious – “Don’t Let Money Change You”
42. Capone N Noreaga – “Bang Bang”
43. Rah Digga – Tight Remix w/ Pharoahe Monch & Lord Have Mercy
44. Masters Of Illusion – “We All Over”
45. Missin' Linx - “What It Is”
46. Apathy – “The Smackdown”
47. Louis Logic – “Factotum”
48. D.I.T.C. – “Thick”
49. Jungle Brothers – “V.I.P.”
50. Encore – “Sporadic”

Lyrics
(somebody want lyrics?)

Best Personal Rhyme – Eminem – “Way I Am”
Best Biographical Rhyme – Common – “Song For Assata”
Best Autobiographical Rhyme – Beanie Sigel – “Where Have You Been” (by Jay-Z)
Best Conscious Rhyme – Talib Kweli – “For Women”
Best Battle Rhyme – Royce The 5’9 – “Boom”
Best Braggadocio Rhyme – Prodigy – “Keep It Thoro”
Most Vivid – Eminem – “Stan”
Best Story – Encore – “.084”
Best Gimmick Rhyme – Agallah – “Crookie Monster”
Best Dis Rhyme – Eminem – “I Remember”
Best Double Time / Speed Flow – Busta Rhymes – “Come On All My Niggas, Come On All My Bitches”
Best Gangsta Rap – Dr. Dre – “Hello” (by Ice Cube)
Best Political Rap - Dead Prez - “It's Bigger Than Hip-Hop”
Best Jiggy Rhyme – Jay-Z – “I Just Wanna Love Ya”
Best Humorous Rhyme – Kardinal Offishal – “U R Ghetto”

Fresh Artwork

12“ Singles:

Royce The 5’9 – “Boom”
Dilated Peoples – “No Retreat Remix”
Dilated Peoples – “The Platform” 12”
D-12 – “Shit On You”
Akrobatik – “Internet MC’s”
Beastie Boys – “Alive” 10”
Too Short – “You Nasty” / “Two Bitches”
De La Soul – “Oooh”
MC Paul Barman – “How Hard Is That?”
Jurassic 5 – “Quality Control”
Albums:

Analog Brothers – “Pimp To Eat”
Ego Trip – “The Big Playback”
Beastie Boys – “Sounds Of Science” Box Set
Masters Of Illusion – “Masters Of Illusion”
Blackalicious – “Nia”
Common – “Like Water For Chocolate”
Busta Rhymes – “Anarchy”
Eminem – “Marshall Mathers” LP
De La Soul – “Art Official Intelligence”
Jurassic 5 – “Quality Control Instrumentals”




The Worst…

You played yourself…
The 10 Biggest Bitch Moves Of 2000

1. Lars Vs. Napster - Lars Ulrich seemed to be the main freedom fighter against Napster, dragging the rest of Metallica and Dr. Dre (who share management) into the mix. Not that we really support Napster, as it does hurt record sales, which in turn hurt’s the artist, Lars still went out like such a little bitch, even getting booed at the MTV Awards. Right or wrong, he’s ruined his public image forever. Congrats Lars, you’re our sniveling little bitch of the year!

2. Death Row – “Too Gangsta For T.V.” Video / Snoop – “Dead Man Walking” - Death Row took their beef with Dr. Dre, Eminem, and Snoop Dogg even further this year, by releasing two items that helped fuck with them. The “Two Gangsta For T.V.” video featured directions to both Snoop and Dr. Dre’s homes, among other info that the public really doesn’t need to know. They also pulled the same stunt that they did on Dr. Dre last year, but this time on Snoop. Just as Snoop planned to release “The Last Meal” on No Limit, they released their own Snoop album, “Dead Man Walking” to get in the way. To make matters even worse, 20 days before the release of “The Last Meal”, Death Row offered the “Snoop Dogg Challenge” on their website, offering both albums for download, so that users could compare which was better – yet “Dead Man Walkin’” was in real audio format, and “The Last Meal” was in MP3 format.

3. The Source and Mays’ Men - Here’s to two years of making the list in a row! The Source continued it’s long-standing tradition of favoring a group that they manage, by placing ridiculous three and four page ads throughout the magazine for Hang Men 3 and Made Men albums that nobody is going to buy, no matter how many pages the ads are. They also strategically placed pictures and mentions of these groups all over the magazine throughout the year, and even went as far as sticking order form cards for stylish-yet-hardcore Antonio Ansaldi clothing in the magazine, so readers / herbs would flip right to that page automatically. Even more dispicable, in their latest issue, they included an article explaining to the public why their mic-rating system isn't corrupt, yet still taking no resposibility for outladishly rating Made Men's ”Classic Limited Piece Of Shit“ a 4.5 out of 5 last year. Don't think that we haven't forgotten about that one already.

4. UBO / AKA Fiasco - While this blindingly brilliant idea of throwing millions of dollars into urban based websites has proven to be a big waste of money for just about everyone, and UBO caught the biggest bad one. They poured incredible amounts of money into a company with a “dot net” prefix, in a “dot com” world. The worst part about it was that AKA sold all of their ad revenue to UBO, who not surprisingly went bankrupt. So where does that leave us, the affiliates who have hosted these ads for the last few months? Take a wild guess.

5. Eminem Vs. The Real Ken Kaniff - After ruining any chance of acceptance by dissing Defari on the Wake Up Show in 1999, Aristotle used his highly philosophical mind and came up with an idea that was twice as retarded for Y2K. As many know, Aristotle was the voice of Ken Kaniff on “The Slim Shady LP”. After Slim severed ties with Aristotle, due to the Defari incident, Aristotle decided to reinvent himself as “The Real Ken Kaniff”. He then released an internet album, as the character that Eminem invented, rapping in the Ken Kaniff voice, dissing Slim Shady. At least now we know who the gay rapper is.

6. Master P - “Wild Boyz” - After his audience was lifted from up under him by The Hot Boys, Master P decided to make a dis album against his more successful (and hey, more talented!) southern counterparts. Funny thing is, prior to this, P made a No Limit television commercial, disguised as a public service announcement, urging rappers not to dis each other, because of the tragedies of 2Pac and Biggie. In order not to contradict this, he dubbed the group “Da Wild Boyz”, and released the project on “Go Get Em Records”. Word is that Da Wild Boyz are actually P, Sillk, and C-Murder in masks and sunglasses.

7. Eminem Vs. Mom - Okay, we can understand Ms. Mathers’ frustration with her son, and while we particularly would never file a lawsuit against one of our (future) children, we can see why she filed the $10 million defamation of character lawsuit. But, once again, she took it too far. She slapped him with an additional one million dollar lawsuit, because Eminem made negative comments about her, when speaking about the original $10 million dollar lawsuit she originally filed against him. Huh? Not only that, she has gone the route of Aristotle, releasing a work of foolishness in the form of an internet song calling out to her son, with the group ID-X.

8. Master P featuring Snoop Dogg – “Poppn’ Them Collars” - Those of you who tracked down the bootleg version of Snoop's ”The Last Meal“, may be familiar with a track called ”Pop Ya Collar“, which would have worked very well as a single for the album. But Master P decided that the song would work even better as a single for his new album, ”Ghetto Postage“. ”Pop Ya Collar“ has transformed into a new, unlistenable version of itself, now featuring lots of constipation grunts from Master P, and a horrible new verse where P crowns himself ”The black Slim Shady“. Snoop's vocals are still on the song, and it was great when it was just him. Now, it's just embarrassing. Check Napster for Snoop's original…

9. Wyclef Jean Vs. Lauryn Hill - This whole Fugee thing is really a shame, but Wyclef ended up making himself look like the bad guy in the end. Countless interviews show ‘Clef contradicting himself, when asked what really happened between him and L-Boogie. When he didn’t admit to the disses that are obviously aimed at Lauryn on his new album, “The Ecleftic”, it really made him look like the root of the problem. And his album sucked.

10. Jay-Z’s Album Antics - This one’s a misdemeanor, in comparison to some of these other guilty parties. Bootlegging messed up the intended release for “Vol. 3: The Life and Times Of S. Carter”. While it made it’s way onto store shelves, they purposely pulled one of the greatest songs Jay-Z ever did off the album at the last minute. Why? So “Anything” could be used a selling point for Beanie Sigel’s album, as that’s where it was included, as a bonus track. Unfortunately, this is a good example of what happens when money gets in the way of artistic integrity, as “Vol. 3” could have been a certified 5 @ classic at HipHopSite, if “Anything” was included.

Jay-Z pulled a similar stunt at the end of the year, marketing “The Dynasty” as his new “solo” album, when it was obviously the Roc-A-Fella family album in disguise. Nevertheless, it was still a good album, so we ain’t mad ‘atcha. But if your next album is wack, Jigga, streets is talking.





The 5 Worst Songs By Reputable Artists
1. Last Emperor – “The Jungle”
Let us first preface that we think Last Emperor is a talented emcee, and one of the next generation’s up and comers. Each “Echo Leader”, “Secret Wars” and his Lyricist Lounge 2 (which unforunately was pulled at the last minute) joint were all incredible. We are not trying to ruin any names here. With that said, we all make mistakes, (as this list points out), and “The Jungle” was one of Last Emperor’s. It is probably the most asinine rap song ever created, which is most likely the reason that it never escaped the vaults, only showing up on Napster. While creative, in essence, this is something that really can only be described as a cat-tastrophe. Download it and see what we mean.

2. Jamie Foxx feat. Common & Guru – “Any Given Sunday”
Oh boy, this one was a mistake – a booty-ass smoothed out track, hopeless R&B crooning, and as an added bonus, Jamie Foxx - rapping. As to why Common & Guru got on this one is beyond us. Nevertheless, in all it’s wackness, lyrically Com and Keith were still shinin’. Jamie Foxx on the other hand….stick to making movies, bro. Come to think of it, if ”Bait“ represents your standard for picking scripts, you can quit making movies too.

3. A.G – “Ishims”
Here is a perfect example of what happens when an underground rapper abandons every element of his style that made him famous, and tries to make a song for the commercial audiences. Wanna-be Neptunes production and scary-ass Party Arty proclaiming that he has a new dance for ya’ll just didn’t work. The whole thing just conjures up an awkward picture of thugs tryn’ to glam dance. Not pretty.

4. Method Man and The Rock – “The Rock”
It was hard picking the worst song from the WWF Aggression Soundtrack, as they were all pretty ridiculous. But Method Man’s “The Rock” seemed to be the corniest. Power chord guitars leading up to the worthless hook of “Do you smell what the rock is cookin’?”, which is first said by Meth, then repeated by The Rock himself. We have yet to see the connection here.

5. Big Pun – “Laughing At U”
It’s really too bad that Pun’s album was as disappointing as it was. The apex of bullshit on this album had to be either “My Dick” or “Laughing At You”, but the latter took the cake. With a dork singing on the chorus, while Pun screams, “Ha – Ha – Ha – Ha – Ha” over the top of it. Even worse, goes into the 80’s “Breakfast Club” anthem “Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds, in the middle of the song, making the end result extra booty.




Most Disappointing Albums Of The Year (And Why)
A.G. – “The Dirty Version” - We love Andre The Giant as an emcee, and could care less who’s beats he’s rocking over, Show or no Show. But the problem with this album was one too many extended invitations to his crew. Perhaps if they marketed this as a “Ghetto Dwellas” album, rather than an A.G. SOLO project, we wouldn’t have had our hopes so high.


Big Pun – “Yeah Baby” - The disappointment of this album is as tragic as Pun’s death. With lots of punch-ins, Pun lost some of his breath control, and for whatever reason, the rawness of “Capital Punishment” was hardly found on “Yeah Baby”, save “Watch Those”, “Leatherface” and “New York Giants” w/ M.O.P. While his usual jiggy joints were cool, “100%” and “It’s So Hard”, much of the remainder of the album was unlistenable, especially tracks like “Laughing At U” and “My Dick”. Next to too many guests that we don’t care about, the biggest problem here was the production, which for whatever reason was handled by new jacks that don’t hold a candle next to the all-star line-up of his first album (Beatnuts, Rockwilder, RZA, Showbiz, etc.) Worst of all, this is the last piece of work we’ll ever have from Pun – and because it was thrown together, that’s what he’ll be remembered for. Artists: learn from this. Don’t ever sacrifice anything, and put everything you’ve got into every song you mak– you never know when you’re gonna go.

Sauce Money – “Middle Finger U” - Don’t get it twisted, Sauce can rhyme his ass off, but the switching of labels (MCA to Priority) made this release too late – and by the time it dropped, the outdated tracks featuring people like Puff Daddy & Lil Kim did nothing but embarrass him.

Busta Rhymes – “Anarchy” - After the “Simon Says Remix”, it seemed like Busta was going to kill ‘em all with “Anarchy”, but what we got instead was the usual annual release of half-assed songs from the Shaft co-star. Lazily thrown together, with a few good tracks worth mentioning (“Fire”, “Come On All My Niggas”), but the rest could have been thrown out – and in fact it was, after the label only released two singles from it. Busta: take a year off, get some new producers, record 100+ songs, then pick only the best 15, and release it in 2002. Otherwise, we ain’t checkin’ for you no more.

LL Cool J – “Greatest Of All Time” - “Ill Bomb” gave us a lot of hope. We really thought LL was going to bring it back with this album. Did he? Nope. “G.O.A.T.” was rushed and over-hyped, and it’s cookie cutter format showed mad laziness by the rapper / Fubu spokesperson. We actually put this album to the test to see which was more entertaining - listening to LL Cool J's ”G.O.A.T.“ or renting a goat. The goat was much more entertaining, and a lot more friendly. Sorry L, You just can’t crown yourself the “Greatest Of All Time”, and then drop a shitty album.

Deltron 3030 – (Del, Automator, Kid Koala)
This album wasn’t really that bad, and it did have a few memorable moments. The problem is that it just wasn’t that good, either. The chemistry between Del and Automator was about as explosive as that of a firecracker with no fuse, seeming like the artists were on two different pages when collaborating. Many tried to like this release, painting it up to be another classic because of the names involved, but the truth of the matter is it just wasn’t, as it’s predecessor, Dr. Octagon was.

Wu-Tang Clan – “The W”
Another album that wasn’t bad, but compared to any of their previous releases or even the double disc “Wu-Tang Forver”, this album was about as exciting as our new president's middle initial. It had it’s moments, but all in all was a thrown together piece of work with too many unneeded guests, lacking any kind of continuity or cohesion – a factor that made many of the Clan’s earlier releases certified classics.

De La Soul – “Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump”
Once again, not bad – just not what we expected. De La Soul broke tradition, enlisting a high-profile guest list of producers and emcees for the first installment of the three part “Art Official Intelligence”. This was still one of the best albums of the year, but with so many guests, it lacked direction and focus, sounding more like a mixtape than a De La Soul album.

Dishonerable Mentions: Pharcyde – Plain Rap”, Dice Raw – “Reclaiming The Dead”, Phife Dawg ”Ventilation“, Easy Moe Bee - ”The Odyssey“, Choclair - ”Ice Cold“, Ice Cube - ”War & Peace Vol. 2“, Killah Priest - ”View From Masada“




Top 10 Questionably Gay Lines Of The Year
Hey, there’s nothing wrong with being homosexual, and we really don’t have any problem with what people do behind closed doors. But sometimes some of these so-called straight rappers show their true colors in their rhymes. (Don’t take this too seriously, ya’ll – we don’t really think that these rappers are gay – and if they really are gay, then we told you so! No disrespect meant to any of the following names mentioned, living, dead, or gay.)

1. “In Y2K, niggas gonna feel me, literally” – Problemz on “Hotness”

2. “Matter Fact When You See Me, Give Me Some Brain” – Everlast – “Whitey’s Revenge”
3. “I’m the Queens representative” – Q-Tip on “Let’s Ride”

4. “Ridin’ around in fancy cars, Getting’ head from rock stars” – American Cream Team on Raekwon’s “Power”

5. “P touch niggas like masturbation” – Party Artie on A.G.’ s “Muddslide”

6. “Ask Beavis, I get nuthin’ but head.” – Big L on DITC – “Get Yours”

7. “Don't feed me shit on a spoon nigga, give it to me raw, I can take it, I can taste it, give me some more” – NOTS Click on “Straight Raw”***

8. “Put my foot on the gas and smooth rip a nigga’s ass” – Rasco on Bahamadia’s “Special Forces”

9. “I strip the beat like a Chippendale” – Del on Terracosta’s “Dynasty”

10. “If you thinkin’ I’m a bitch, then I’m fuckin’ you right here!” – Billy Danze of M.O.P. on “Warriorz”

***Also filed under the “what the fuck does that mean” department.




2000 Seasons: Albums That Never Saw The Light Of Day
1. Shabaam Sahdeeq - “3-D” or “Scand’lous” – Rawkus

Shabaam Sahdeeq finally parted ways with Rawkus, after releasing several singles on the label. The Polyrhythm Addict switched the title on the album once or twice, and every year things seemed to look progressively worse for Shabaam, despite an album that boasted (previously released) collaborations with Eminem, Xzibit, Alchemist, Talib Kweli, Sporty Thieves, and Pharoahe Monch. Sahdeeky has now been picked up by Universal for a rumored “ignorant amount of money”. We wish him the best of luck.

2. Run DMC – “Crown Royal” – Profile / Arista

After creating absolutely no buzz for themselves on the Method Man featured “Simmons Incorporated”, as well as its remix, the follow-up, “Queens Day” (w/ Nas & Mobb Deep), also did nothing to respark interest in these one-time kings of Queens. If you caught the depressing ass VH1 “Behind The Music” special on the group, it only made you bow your head in shame, seeing the sad state the group is now in. They hope to save themselves with collaborations with Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock in 2001, but seem to have forgotten that nobody cares.

3. Lord Have Mercy – “The Ungodly Hour” – Elektra

It’s a shame that both Elektra and the Flipmode Squad turned their backs on Lord Have Mercy, because he’s a nasty emcee, and “Wicked Ways” was the sure shot – even if Flex didn’t jump on it. Dropped by both the label and his crew, Lord Have is back out on the corner – but never fear – he may reappear this year under the supervision of producer Nottz – independently, at least. We don’t understand it, the kid could have been another Jordan.

4. Ras Kass – “Van Gogh” or “Dante's Inferno” – Priority

Priority teased us last year with “Oral Sex”, a bangin’ Beatminerz production showing Ras Kass hungrier than ever. After, Ras took it to the next level on “West Coast Mentality”, a wasted track on the “Three Strikes” soundtrack that really should have been a single and could have been huge in Cali. Magazine ads taunted us with “Van Gogh – Coming Soon”, but the year has passed, and still nothing! Hopefully the “Golden State Project” will drop this year, but then again, if it’s gonna hold up the release of this album, we’ll wait ‘til 2002 for Golden State.

5. Pacewon – “The Pacewon Effect” – Ruff Nation

Here’s another mystery – after the underground success of “Step Up” and “I Declare War”, the focus was switched to the Outsidaz’ “Nightlife” EP, and more recently a forthcoming Outsidaz full-length project, “The Bricks”, due out next year. Also, the switching of distribution from Sony (as Ruff House) to Warner / ADA (as Ruff Nation) further complicated things for the label. Sadly, Pace’s album did get out on the internet, but by now he’s probably scrapped that material anyway. If your still thirsty for new material from Pace, check his recent indy 12” “Sunroof Top”.

6. Royal Fam LP & Shyhiem – “Man Child” – Wu-Tang Records

It seems like Wu-Tang cooled their jets this year, after realizing the No Limit approach to releasing albums was only hurting their once flawless rep. It seems like RZA and crew wanted to rethink their plan of attack, only releasing, “The W” this year. Nevertheless, both albums were finished, and both got leaked on the net. It looks like Loud may take over the distribution for Wu-Tang Records in ’01, so there’s a chance we might still see these releases.

7. Tragedy - “Blood Type” – Gee Street

Gee Street folded this year, and Trag’s labelmates, the Jungle Brothers, swung to V2, but he was left out in the cold. His singles “Bing Monsters” and “Blood Type” didn’t do much, except for piss off Noreaga. A few of the singles were white-labeled, including the track with RZA. No word on the intelligent hoodlum’s future –but it’s we bet it’s no thug’s paradise! (Bad pun, sorry.)

8. ‘Clipse – “The Funeral” - Elektra

No buzz killed this one – but that’s your fault – why’d ya’ll front on “The Funeral” – a dope song and a dope video!? Bet you didn’t know that the entire album was produced by The Neptunes, either – (the team behind Mystikal’s “Shake Ya Ass” and Jay-Z’s “I Just Wanna Love Ya”). Magazines dissed the album, which didn’t help the situation – leaving this album at the funeral, for real. What a shame.

9. Blood Of Abraham – “Eye Dollar Tree” – Atomic Pop

Signed to the world’s first – (and last) – internet record label, Blood Of Abraham got out just in time, as the label sadly folded. This is too bad – lots of good material on this album, including collaborations with Black Eyed Peas, Kool Keith, and Divine Styler. Not to mention the “Eyedollartree” video, that they were giving out promotionally, was really fresh – hip-hop meets film noir. Maybe this year it will still happen for these guys – hopefully!

10. Non-Phxion - “The Future Is Now” – Matador

The future is now? Nah, the future is actually sometime other than now. Ill Bill and the crew decided that their album could do better on a different label, and pulled away from Matador. No word how they got out of their contract, but they’re currently shopping a new deal. Kinda makes those “Thug Tunin’” promo 12” singles a hot little E-Bay item, eh? Maybe we’ll see this album sometime this year.




Ya'll won't be around next year…
Falling Down.

Killah Priest - While his debut “Heavy Mental” showed promise with good production and smart lyricism, it’s follow-up, “View From Masada” did the exact opposite, even going as far as emulating the styles of Bone Thugs In Harmony on some tracks. What a mess. It’s doesn’t seem likely that the Four Horsemen project (Ras Kass, Kurupt, Canibus & Priest) will work wonders for KP’s future either.

Sauce Money - Constant delays of Sauce’s debut ended up making the album sound hella outdated when it finally dropped. The breaking away from Roc-A-Fella didn’t help either. And shit, his fuckin’ ass cusses like a motherfucker, which is never good for getting radio play.

Cam’Ron - Sure, that little “Roxxane” sample was kinda fresh, but how much of a shelf life does this guy have left in him? Do people even know/care that he dropped a second album this year?

50 Cent - Dissing everyone on “How To Rob” wasn’t the best way to make friends in the industry, big fella – even if it was all fun and games. When Ghostface Killah, Jay-Z, Ja Rule and Big Pun dis you back, who’s left to take your side? We guess he didn’t know the ledge.

Amil - Word is she either got pregnant and/or dropped out of the Roc-A-Fella family. While nobody was really checking for her anyway, her debut album “All Money Is Legal”, featured a picture of Amil next to a lion, and it was hard to tell the two apart. Sure, she sounds cute an all, but sometimes she sounds like a down-syndrome baby – and who wants to hear one of them rap?

Flipmode Squad - People are starting to care less and less about Busta Rhymes, considering he drops the same album every year. Need proof? Just ask MTV, who even got behind “Fire” for their “Making The Video” show, which still neglected to get Busta the usual amount of radio/video play. Sadly, not many people jumped on the Rah Digga bandwagon either, and the replacing of star running back, Lord Have Mercy, with Roc Marciano hasn’t scored them any points either. Now the legacy is left in the hands of Rampage the Ever-Expanding Boyscout and junior emcee Baby Sham, and let’s face it, he’s no Lil’ Bow Wow. Only the rumored label-switch to Loud can really turn things around at this point. Or maybe a LONS reunion album, for chrissakes.

Terror Squad - The tragic death of Big Pun also took the life of the Terror Squad’s career. While Pun helped respark interest in Fat Joe, his death definitely has taken the spotlight off of TS, and just like Flipmode, labels are starting to realize that nobody gives a leaping leprechaun about Wu-Tang style crews in the first place. Unmemorable singles from Cuban Link aren’t helping the situation either.

Run DMC - Is this the most depressing thing ever? VH1’s “Behind The Music” special on Run DMC displayed rap’s greatest trio ever in shambles. Run was portrayed only as a greedy reverend who wants to reunite for all the wrong reasons, while DMC could care less about the reunion after losing his voice, wanting to do bluegrass rap or something. After a series of remixed remixes and horrible 12” singles, an estimated 4 people are checking for “Crown Royal”, and three of them are in the group. Who ever heard of a Run DMC album getting pushed back for two years?

Swizz Beats - If the Sprite commercials didn’t do it, then the Limp Bizkit remix must have. Seems like absolutely nobody is checking for Swizz, after his little Casio fiasco, not to mention putting listeners of The Lox’s album to sleep. With DMX leaving Ruff Ryders to do his own thing, who’s gonna employ this guy in ’01? Maybe he can do commercials for shoe polish instead.

Noreaga - This guy might have one more album in him, but that last Capone N Noreaga album was only saved by Primo and Alchemist beats. Noreaga’s rhymes have gotten progressively worse, getting to the point where good production can’t cover up his awful lyrics. (“Bone a bitch in her butt, make her say what what”.) Given the rumor that Nore will no longer work with The Neptunes (because they are rumored homosexuals), don’t expect another “Superthug” or “Oh No” anytime soon. And plus his pops just died.


And…

55 Reasons To Live Another Year
Time to move out of the slums! Here’s sixty reasons to not commit suicide or get killed within the next 365 days. This list compiles all of the albums that are rumored to be in production or scheduled to drop this coming year. And don’t get all indignant and shit if some of these don’t come out over the next year, cuz the way labels and artists switch up release dates, half of these won’t drop anyway.
Rakim – “Oh My God” – Aftermath
Method Man – “Tical 0”
Redman – “Where’s Reggie Noble”
DJ Shadow – Untitled - MCA
Last Emperor – Untitled – Rawkus
Jadakiss – “My Name Is Kiss” – Interscope
Mos Def & Talib Kweli – Untitled – MCA
Jack Johnson (Mos Def’s band) – “Black Bastard” (?)
The Roots – Untitled – MCA
Buc Fifty – Untitled – Battle Axe
LMNO – “Leave My Name Out” – Battle Axe
Black Thought – “Masterpiece Theatre” – MCA
D-12 – “Devil’s Night” – Shady Records
Golden State Project (Xzibit, Ras Kass, Saafir) - Untitled – Open Bar
Defari – Untitled – Open Bar
Kool G. Rap – Untitled - Rawkus
Nas – “Stillmatic 2001” or “D.O.A. (Death Of Escobar)” – Columbia
Breakestra – Untitled – Stones Throw
Planet Asia – Untitled – Interscope
Unspoken Heard – “Soon Come” – 7 Heads Ent.
Saukrates – Untitled – Def Jam
Kam - “Kamnesia” - Jcor
Swollen Members – “Bad Dreams” – Battle Axe
Raekwon & Ghostface Killah – “Cuban Links 2” – Loud (?)
Pacewon – “The Pacewon Effect” – Ruff Nation
Royce The 5’9 – Untitled – Game
Executive Lounge (Encore, Turban, Persevere, Architect) – Untitled – 75 Ark
The Coup – Untitled – 75 Ark
E-A-Ski – “Presents IMG” – 75 Ark
Alkaholiks – “X-O” - Loud
Ras Kass – “Van Gogh” – Priority
Aceyalone – “Accepted Eclectic” – Project Blowed
AZ – Untitled – Motown
Smut Peddlers – “Porn Again” – Rawkus
Soundbombing 3 – Rawkus
Poets Of Rhythm – Untitled - Quannum Projects
Lyrics Born – Untitled – Quannum Projects
Ali Vegas – “Generation Gap” – Columbia
Ill Bill – Untitled – Psycho+Logical
Portishead – Untitled – Go! Beat
Hittman – Untitled – Aftermath
King Tee – Untitled – Open Bar
Neptunes – “N.E.R.D.” – Capitol (?)
El-P / Automator – Untitled – 75 Ark / Def Jux
Mr. Len & Prince Paul – “Pity The Fool” – Matador
Arsonists – LP – Matador
J-Live – EP – 7 Heads
Killarmy – LP – Loud
Shyhiem LP – Loud
Big Pun – Tribute Album – Loud
Sean Price aka Ruck of Heltah Skeltah – LP – Duck Down
Sticky Fingaz - “Black Trash: The Autobiography of Kirk Jones” - Universal
Truth Hurts - LP - Aftermath
Grand Agent - “By Design” - Groove Attack
Run DMC - “Crown Royal” - Profile


Pour a little liquor out…
Deaths
Rest in peace to all fallen hip-hop heads.

DJ Rob-One
Big Pun
George Jackson (UBO)
Yusef Afloat (of The Nonce)
Mausberg
DJ Screw
Banky (American Cream Team)
Jack The Rapper
E-Kliptz (Cydal)