whose nominations?

Honestly, I think The New Classic is a commendable album. It's low on my Top 10 but prob in there anyway. Oxymoron and Blacc Hollywood were both *pretty good*. MMLP2 came out in 2013, so...

the Grammy's.

hope Beyonce wins album of the year though. her album is stunning.

that Beyonce album is great, yeah.

i really like the new J. Cole album man. i woke up this morning and the first thing i did was putting it on, even my mother was vibing to it lol. haven't had this feeling with an album in a while, might even go ahead and buy it. will be my 3rd purchase this year after Piñata and FKA twigs' LP1.

gonna revisit my early favs from this year today and see how they stand in my top 10 of the year now.

Well, I still think Blacc Holywoodwas way above par for that ninja. That album deserves a shout at least. MMLP2 was released in 2013, but the cutoff for the 2014 year starts in October of 2013. It's always been like this. It's irritating but fuck it. So are the Grammys.

But obviously the year's best have been
Underachievers- Cellar Door
Wu Tang Clan - ABT
GHOSTFACE KILLAH - 36 Seasons
Run the Jewels - RTJ2
Shabazz Palaces - Lese Majesty
The Roots - ATYSYC
We The Plug (HS87 & Hit-Boy)
Talib Kweli - GRAVITAS
And fuck whatever else you hear.

Wait, except for IntoXXXicated (SpaceGhostPurrp), Cadillactica (Big KRIT), and a bunch of other shit that I forgot about when I typed this post and forgot to post it (really late last night)

Is this out yet? I haven't heard it.

already leaked, officially drops tomorrow. planning to cop.

well i was exaggerating, over the last few weeks i came to realize MMLP2 doesn't suck. last year i couldn't appreciate it, i was hating. and some of the hooks are still sketchy. but in all honesty, it's probably my 2nd fav Eminem album behind Relapse.

no Piñata? listened to it again and decided it's my pick for album of the year. yes it's pretty "traditional", but it's also everything i love about music.

FUCK I forgot Piñata. Dammit. Ok shut it down. Gotta start over.

You guys aren't going to BELIEVE 36 Seasons. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think it might even be better than 12 Reasons to Die.

The production is unlike anything out there. The soul is real soul... But the beats go hard as fuck when they have to. The lyrics are brolling and the storyline is more complex (still a basic tale of bitches, turncoats & super powered revenge)... But it's less heavy handed than 12 Reasons. It takes its time and the intensity builds and while yes it is technically a sci-fi funk Epic that's ridiculous in more than 12, 24 or even 36 ways, it's also an album that could be played on random and still appeal to old school Wu fans.

I must say it's one of the best albums of the year, in any genre.

Im finnin to check that out

I believe it. Ghostface is one of the few rappers out there who consistently continues to hone is craft and just be the weirdo he is.

Yeah, and he is totally unashamed of being a nerd (which he must be... I mean, I do believe that's the art of John Romita Jr. in the 36 Seasons accompanying graphic novel), and he is absolutely unhindered by hip-hop trends and rules. Does he alienate fans? Sure. The other day someone came into he store looking for A Better Tomorrow I asked him what he thought so far, and if he was looking forward to the new GFK. He said "I don't know.. Not if it's more of that Adrian Younge shit.. If I want that I'll put on the Ropts (sic), when I listen to Wu I wanna get my ass kicked!"
(It was unclear whether he was referring to ABT or 36 Seasons, but he seemed to be talking about Wu-Tang Clan as a whole; skmehow he'd fallen under the misconception that RZA was no longer producing Wu work. I don't think anything in his response referred directly to 12 Reasons or 36 Seasons.)

Anyway, clearly somewhere along the way this guy became disenfranchised with the whole shebang, for reasons that had to do with Adrian Younge's work on 12 Reasons, ostensibly, though it could also be because of his assistance on ABT.

Anyway, the point is Ghostface Killah can work with whoever he wants... Any producer, any situation, and have an end result that sounds completely unique and unlike anything else in mainstream hip hop. He's really more of an experimental artist than he's given credit for, and he drops albums like Catholic mums drop babies in a Monty Python skit.

I did my reader's poll for pitchfork yesterday. I always miss it (well, at least ½ the time I do. I have a love/hate thing going with them) so I just rattled off a draft of my favorite albums of 2014. To my surprise, there wasn't a single rap album present. But I just wanted to score some points for Dub Thompson and Morgan Delt and other highly overlooked artists who rocked the year. But if I'd had time I would have put 36 Seasons in the top 10.

I don't get why everyone hated on Adrian Younge's producing on 12 reasons...I thought it was great.

I'll be hopefully buying GFK's album this weekend. It better be as good as you say, Severian.

oh man the new Ghostface is so good. It's at least AS GOOD as 12 Reasons. That's for sure. Wow.

i hope Lupe's next album will be good. the man who made Food & Liquor and The Cool must still have some talent in him. plus "Tetsuo & Youth" is a such a cool title.