The Beat Bully
Beat Bully productions are as identifiable and easy to spot as anything from, say, Lex Luger, but there’s a crucial difference in how the beats work. Where Luger beats can often swallow and overwhelm the MC, taking on a life of their own, Beat Bully’s work often drives the song from within – there is a powerful and melodic, if not quite understated, engine. His two signature productions – “House Party” and “Stay Schemin’” – are perfect examples. On the former, Meek Mill is energized by the insistent, excitable beat, and it’s the source of the song’s irresistible energy. On the latter, his ascending keyboard notes give a narcotic, paranoid song an underpinning of triumph. –Jordan Sargent

Cardo
Cardo first gained name recognition with the rise of Wiz Khalifa, but despite being a key contributor to Wiz’s best material — he produced “Mesmerized” from Kush & OJ — he hasn’t quite had the same meteoric rise, instead working a steady grind for artists like Curren$y, Dom Kennedy and Killa Kyleon. Despite getting his start with Pittsburgh artists — some of his earliest work was for Kev the Hustla — he’s mentioned numerous times that some of his biggest influences were West Coast rap producers; he singled out DJ Quik in particular, even releasing “Cardo’s Groove”, a solo instrumental in the “Quik’s Groove” vein. Perhaps his best work this year was throughout Freddie Gibbs’ Cold Day in Hell, which perfectly exemplified how his style is first and foremost about creating a mood, leaving auteur-like self indulgence that plagues so many other producers as an afterthough. –David Drake

Chuck Inglish
I’ll be the first to admit that the Cool Kids were not for me when they first appeared on the scene. The production had a novel style, but it seemed, lost in the waves of hype, somewhat amateurish and not quite fully developed. It’s been four years in the interim, and while Chuck and Sir Michael Rocks may not have the same shock-of-the-new appeal, it’s become readily apparent that they’re committed musicians with an ear for music. As a producer, Chuck is a particularly unique artist, from his work on Boldy James’ debut to his solo beat tape WRKNG to his highest profile placement to date, “Party Heart” on Rick Ross’ titanic Rich Forever. Chuck has proven himself as a genuinely creative producer with an ear for novelty now matched by craftsmanship. His feel for space and stop-start rhythms give his tracks a unique groove that recalls not just the instrumentation of an earlier era, but a rhythmic style that had been seemingly left behind as well. –David Drake

Doe Pesci
Lloyd Banks ‘Cold Corner 2′ was an unheralded release in 2011. The production throughout was first-rate, but it’s the middle section (“Make It Stack” through “Jokes On You”) that really pushes the record into stand-out territory. Those four tracks were produced by G-Unit producer/engineer Doe Pesci, and they do a good job showcasing his talents. His staccato’d drum patterns are the first thing you’ll notice; they have a restrained feel that evokes a dirtier version of mid-period Aftermath-era Dr. Dre. He uses keys/synths in a fresh-yet-familiar fashion, with simple menacing riffs that come in and out, lending just the right amount of melody to an otherwise sparse template. He’s definitely a follower of the ‘less is more’ train of thought. Doe’s approach gives the G-Unit sound an eerie quality, while retaining its sonic pallet. –Scott M.

FKi
To start 2012 off on an interesting foot, Fki have released a mixtape through Diplo’s label Mad Decent. For those unfamiliar with the duo’s work, the first single “I Think She Ready” — which is produced by FKi, Dereck Allen, Diplo, and Hereos and Villains, and includes a verse with Iggy Azalea — might not inspire too much confidence in the tape. But knowing about the group’s catalog should allay any concerns. FKi has worked primarily with Travis Porter, and are responsible for the Porter Boys biggest hits, “Make It Rain” and “Bring It Back”. These songs are great dance-first minimalist productions, that, even with Lex Luger sounds ruling Atlanta, will always have a home at clubs and dance parties. But if you’re looking for variety, then give a quick listen to the few tracks they produced for Soulja Boy and Young L’s recent mixtape Mario & Domo vs. The World. “Ones” and “Im Good” sound like 8-Bit remixes of the Dem Franchize Boys’ “White Tee”, with a healthy amount of 808 drums thrown in for good measure. –D. Turner

Harry Fraud
In trying to come up with a way to aptly describe Harry Fraud’s sound and appeal as a producer, one word comes to mind – EPIC. Everything about Fraud’s sound is larger than life. From the anticipation-building “La Music De Harry Fraud” drop to his hard-knocking drums, he is a master of the art of the anthemic rap beat. A lot of this can be credited to his choice in samples – stadium rock tunes, western soundtracks, and classic soul make up the unconventional Harry Fraud sonic palette. One of his best beats so far, French Montana’s “We Run New York,” is a prime example of his aesthetic – the classic NY sample-based sound turned up to 11, with a massive recurring KRS sample, hard rock guitars and walloping drums. His partnership with French Montana is also one of the most exiciting rapper-producer team in rap at the moment. –Tyrone Palmer

J-Green
Last year, J-Green released two mixtapes (Codeine Dreams & Da Caper 2) that slipped under a lot of rap blogger radars, despite the revival of Memphis rap sounds. As a producer, J-Green certainly wouldn’t exist without old Memphis tapes. He heavily samples from classic Three 6 Mafia songs and rebuilds them into scary Franken-songs encompassing about 2 decades of a city’s rap music, often in just one track. Green has expressed interest in working with Waka Flocka Flame, and while it would be great to hear Waka over songs like “Weed, Pills, and Promethazine” or “Smokin’ Blunts,” Green has another approach that is even more promising. “Cocky” by DJ Paul is a far more interesting side for J-Green, one that DJ Paul has named “Dub-Hop”. It’s a fusion of dubstep and classic Memphis fight music that sounds weird on paper, but makes for a strangely logical combination of hyper-aggressive musics, and is a very promising movement for J-Green to attach his name to. –D. Turner

Mike Will
In Mike Will’s take on the trap rap sound, the difference is in the details. While everyone else chased Lex Luger, Mike Will took his cues from Drumma Boy, crafting atmospheric, multi-layered trap bangers. Take, for instance, his beat for Rick Ross’ “King Of Diamonds.” On the surface, it sounds like your average post-Luger trap beat, with blaring horns and drum rolls. Underneath that, though, there’s a propulsive, atonal symphony going on that acts as a counterpoint to the trap horns. It’s these small sonic details that really set him apart. It is telling that his recent mixtape Mike Will Made It Est 1989 contains verses from all of the hottest rappers right now – 2Chainz, Future, Jeezy, Gucci, etc. – yet Will outshines all of them. And at just 22 years old, there’s still room for growth and improvement. Clearly, he is going to be one of the defining producers of the next few years. –Tyrone Palmer

Rashad
Stalley’s Lincoln Way Nights didn’t strike me immediately; if it wasn’t for the understated production work of Columbus, Ohio native Rashad, I’m not sure I would have come back to it. Stalley is a serviceable rapper who is coming into his own, but it was the mid-tempo boom and sheen of the beats that really elevated the record. Rashad, a self-proclaimed kid prodigy, signed a record deal as an R&B singer at a young age (he even contributes vocals on a few Lincoln Way Nights tracks). Lincoln Way Nights was easily one of the best *sounding* releases in 2011; the bass was perfectly clear and refined, he’ll often add a tuba stab to the bass kick, an unusual twist. As a producer, he cites DJ Quik, Premier and Organized Noize as a few of his influences, and it’s easy to see the subtle mixture of those artists alongside his R&B roots. He has a knack for strong melody like Quik, a penchant for perfectly-timed horn stabs over dusty breaks like Premier, and the overall vision of Organized Noize. Most importantly, he has the attention to detail common to all three. For this reason, you’d have a hard time pinning his style to any zip code; it lives in a world of its own. –Scott M.

Supa Villain
Rich Boy may still be looking for that next hit after the classic “Throw Some Ds,” as Polow Da Don continues to work with the upper crust of Rap and R&B. But luckily, he found a more-than-acceptable replacement in Supa Villain, whose dreamy trunk-rattling production has resulted in some of Rich Boy’s best work. “All I Know” slows up the usual production elements, allowing the listener to better appreciate the powerful keyboard melody and subtle drum programming; “Gwap (Remix)” evokes a similar late-night mood, with a solo guitar line that perfectly soundtracks a long solo ride home at night. Earlier this year, with DJ Burn One, Supa Villain released a new mixtape entitled 40 Acres and a Muller, which continued his string of strong-quality mixtapes. Last year, Juvenile hopped on “Stop Traffic,” and through Twitter Supa Villain has made some cross country connection with Cousin Fik, so hopefully his production can start to spread beyond small regional rap blogs and Gulfport, Mississippi. –D. Turner

Tree
Tree may seem to have risen from nowhere, but he has in fact been creating music with Project Mayhem for several years. The Cabrini Green-raised rapper/producer considers himself a rapper first and foremost, and thus far has taken one of the more unconventional paths into the rap industry; he’s worked with rappers from Illinois to Florida, releasing EPs with friends and solo that offer just hints of what his organic, lo-fi masterpieces can really do. Everything from his rap style to his hustle to his methodology to his sample sources seem to go against the grain. It’s hard to argue that Tree is anything other than a genuine original, as adept at channeling emotion as creating truly unique art with a highly personalized sensibility. –David Drake

Willie B
The Black Hippy crew have got a good thing going. All four members had solid-to-great releases in 2011 and they are quickly building a loyal, deep-rooted fan base. They seem to be wrangling fans from all sides of hip-hop. They have engulfed themselves in a unique aesthetic by hiring a stellar in-house production team. These producers all have their own varied stylistic lanes, but when the tracks are placed next to each other in an album format, there is a comforting uniformity to their sound. Producer Willie B is one of the standout beatmakers on the team. A few of his best tracks include Kendrick Lamar’s “Rigamortous” and “Ignorance Is Bliss,” Jay Rock’s “No Joke” and “I’m Thuggin,” and ScHoolboy Q’s “Kamikaze.” The wide variation within that sample set of songs alone shows his extensive range; he can go from a beat fit for a mid-90s Westside Connection record to a melancholy, jazz-sampling soulquarians-esque slow jam, and anything in between. His beats seem to rise and fall, to swing rather than dip. –Scott M.

Not only was the latter list linked by the New York Times, but it became the inspiration for the initial list we did of Gucci’s Top 30 songs of 2008. Once it seemed like Gucci was destroying every guest verse he recorded, it seemed evident he was following Bun’s formula — identified by Dylan four years previous — of getting on any track he could and wrecking it. What Gucci added to the formula, of course, was recording tons of full songs, too; he wasn’t just the rapper, but a songwriter. He came up with the hooks & slight variations for each song concept (“gorgeous”! “wonderful”! “wasted”!), which allowed him the freedom to record so many unique tracks; he could flood the market with full-on songs, without running out of ideas. As a result, we shifted the list to cover songs rather than verses.*

At any rate, when we switched to wordpress, a bunch of the original URLs were messed up, so I figured we’d just link to all the major Gucci list content on one post, now that it’s been approximately three years since it seemed like the only discussion of his work existed on facebook fan pages. While there are definitely some song choices I would swap in and out from this list, I think the overarching arguments Jordan & I made about his work stand up under scrutiny today.

The 30 Best Gucci Mane Tracks of 2008 – Intro
The 30 Best Gucci mane Tracks of 2008 – 30-26
The 30 Best Gucci Mane Tracks of 2008 – 25-21
A Quick Note about the Gucci List
The 30 Best Gucci Mane Tracks of 2008 – 20-16
The 30 Best Gucci Mane Tracks of 2008 – 15-11
The 30 Best Gucci Mane Tracks of 2008 – 10-6
The 30 Best Gucci Mane Tracks of 2008 – 5-1
The Top 50 Gucci Mane Tracks of 2008
Gucci Funk Era
30 Inches Remix f. Project Pat and Gucci Mane
Gucciwatch ’09 Continued
Best Gucci Verses of 2009 (Intro / #Shots)
Gucci’s Top 25 Verses 2009 pt 1: 25-11
Gucci’s Top 25 Verses 2009 pt 2: 10-1

*You would have to ask him for confirmation, but if I were a gambling man, I’d guess that Sean Fennessy’s list of 77 Lil Wayne verses for Vibe was also inspired by Dylan’s initial post for governmentnames.

Download: David’s Top 50 Rap Traxx 2011.zip

Two Obvious Songs I Liked But Felt No Need To Remind You Of (Mainstream & Internet Hype editions, respectively):
DJ Khaled – “I’m On One” f. Drake, Rick Ross and Lil Wayne
A$AP Rocky – “Peso”

50. San Quinn & Tuf Luv – Drunk in San Francisco f. B-legit Prod. by DexBeats. (From A Hustler’s Hope)
It’s the “Dos Factotum” rule, songs that simultaneously capture the celebratory and shameful nature of alcoholism tend to kick ass. Would love to say I discovered this via Done because he’s the only other person I’ve seen talk about it, but I found this one on my own.

49. Game – I’m the King (Remix f. Mistah FAB and The Jacka) (Prod. by 1500 or Nothin)
Game is at low ebb of respectability, but this song was hella memorable and as ‘regular guy rap’ gains annoying levels of attention I’ve begun preferring mythos-building hip-hop from rappers with likely personality disorders.

48. N.O.R.E. – N.O.R.E. Shot Somebody (Prod. by Scram Jones)
This video has some of the best acting in rap video history at the beginning.

47. Slim Thug – Can’t Stop f. Dre Day and Curren$y (Prod. by GL Productions, BDON & G_Luck)
I have nothing to say about this; a hot song is a hot song.

46. Freddie Gibbs – B.A.N.ned (Prod. By Cardo)
This was a big year for Cardo and this Sade flip was one of his best tracks. Been good to see some breadth from Gibbs as well.

45. CyHi The Prynce – Woopty Doo f. Big Sean (Prod. By No I.D. And Kanye)
I don’t love either of these dudes as rappers but the occasional anti-materialist message is nice in small quantities and, OK, this beat is just incredible. Jesus. Someone get Ross or Puffy to swipe No I.D. from Kanye, because thinking of all these incredible beats being wasted on Pusha, CyHi and Big Sean when they could have laced the French Montana record instead is depressing. (Found via Tyrone)

44. Yo Gotti – Ashamed (Prod. by Shawty Redd)
Shawty Redd is incredible. Yo Gotti’s output can seem same-y and is fairly uneven (flood-the-market marketing necessitates it – he had a really consistent record on TVT) but he’s got some great songs out there.

43. Calicoe The Champ and Janelle – Talk 2 Me (Prod. By KLC)
[insert Drake diss here]

42. Young Bleed – Holla at Uh Dog
Young Bleed finally releasing new music was one of my favorite things this year and while I know the response to the record was somewhat subdued it was pretty much exactly what I was expecting so I wasn’t disappointed and I hope that his Strange Music alliance means a Brotha Lynch Hung level of productivity.

41. Dusty McFly – Peaceful f. GLC (Prod. by No Speakerz)
Sometimes a serene beat makes everything OK. Dusty’s tape has a handful of great-ass songs on it. Found via GLC’s awesome blog.

40. Juicy J – Smoke That Bitch f. VABP (Prod. by Lex Luger)
Juicy J’s output was extraordinarily spotty this year and he has less dimension than Yo Gotti, but condensed to a 12 track LP he would have had a solid release. This was the best Luger beat of the year.

39. Sir Michael Rocks – Coochie Crook (Prod. by Ski)
I was not a fan of the Cool Kids in their earlier hyped incarnation; while I recognize that they had a unique style, to me there was something that just felt amateur about their recorded output that I found off-putting. But between Chuck’s (great) work on Boldy’s record – he’s turning into, like, an ’80s 808 version of the DJ Quik-style production head? – and Michael Rocks’ biggest tracks this year, I think both of these guys have serious careers in them. Anyway, this has to be one of the best Ski beats in recent memory. And since we’re on the topic, someone needs to introduce me to the girl from the “Too Short Back” video.

38. Foxx – Get The Fuck
Relationship drama can make for some great-ass rap music. The beat is fairly conventional but makes interesting use of space, implying connections that your ears make on their own, as if they made a full beat and then just snipped parts of it away.

37. Sly Polaroid – The Bad Guy (Prod. by Emmaculate)
Sly has an ruthlessly callous confidence that I find kind of scary, which keeps in line with the theme of this song, as well as its parent track, Bump J’s “Bad Influence.”

36. Kreayshawn – Gucci Gucci (Prod. by Two Stacks)
I like this song. Fuck you.

35. Boldy James – I Sold Dope All My Life (Prod. by The Plug)
He opened his show with this in October and everyone knew the words.

34. Future – Itchin (Prod. by Mike Will)
Future is a great pop songwriter, but not really a rapper. This was probably my personal favorite track in the wake of “Tony Montana”. Between “Itchin” and his work for Jeezy, this was a breakout year for Mike Will.

33. Fat Trel – Respect with the Teck (Prod. by Lex Luger)
Fat Trel has such a huge personality and sense for songwriting that he transforms a generic Lex Luger beat into a 2011 highlight.

32. Rich Boy – All I Know (Prod. by Supa Villain)
Although I enjoyed Supavillain’s recent solo tape – he’s a good rapper – I like that Supa has built a respectable career working as a collaborator for a more rapper-ish rapper with Rich Boy. It’s nice to hear reasonably talented MCs who have executive producer-types who can make great songs happen for them. #TeamWorkMakeTheDreamWork

31. Bo Deal – Safe Sex f. Mello G Blanca (Prod. by Don Lee)
NY Times beat Bo Deal to covering this phenomenon by a few months. Bo Deal’s version is more entertaining, though.

30. Gucci Mane – 2 Timez f. Wiz Khalifa (Prod. by Drumma Boy)
Drumma Boy is a genius. He’s the only one who really gets great performances from Gucci any more. The emotional production lets you read more into lines like “I really don’t care the game’s unfair” than Gucci probably even intended, but given the state of his career and life in general, it’s particularly poignant.

29. Tity Boi – Feelin’ You (Prod. by Wonder)
His momma named him Tity Boi, I’ma call him Tity Boi. Tity Boi’s strength in my opinion is afterparty jams like this and 2010′s “Up in Smoke” and “Between Me and You.”

28. Stickup Kiddz – We Can Do
Stickup Kiddz are rappers in the NhT Boyz vein (and in fact the two groups did another great song together earlier this year), typically, but I like this atypical track; it’s got a sweet sincerity and some nicely understated, almost ambient production.

27. Young Jeezy – Sittin Low f. Scrilla and Freddie Gibbs (Prod. by Mike Will)
I like this more than anything I heard on Jeezy’s album (which is solid, but). Great beat from Mike Will that is just on the correct side of the song/atmosphere divide.

26. 50 Cent – Wait Until Tonight (Prod. by Scoop Deville)
When I hear “Marvin’s Room” on the radio and not this, I really start to wonder about the next generation of songs-for-the-ladies listeners. Because, what the fuck?

25. YP – The Come Up (Prod. by Jeff Wallace)
Boolumaster, one of my favorite Chicago DJs, used to spin house music and old school regularly on Power 92, one of the big hip-hop stations in the Chicago region (this practice was ended a couple of years ago). One of the big tracks he would drop with some regularity was a house edit of Bill Withers’ “Harlem.” (At one point, I think I managed to track down who was responsible for it, but I’ve since forgotten and on Boolu’s website it’s just listed as “Sunday Morning (Harlem rmx)”); he would also drop borderline-house old school joints like James Brown’s “Doing It To Death.” Jeff Wallace’s incredible James Brown chop here is like the platonic ideal of what those worlds — old school dance music & contemporary rap — meshing could sound like. YP (who is currently working with Alchemist and Q-Tip in L.A.) used Chi slang & an East Coast-style bar-filling flow that gave the song a blacksploitation swag. One of the most Chicago-sounding rap songs I heard all year.

24. Joe Blow – Couldn’t Be a Better Player f. Lil Rue and The Jacka (Prod. by DJ Fresh)
DJ Fresh on his Jam and Lewis shit with a double-time verse from Jacka, a bo’d out verse from Lil Rue and a most-improved verse from Joe Blow? I like what someone said when I posted this to Fader, that it “sounds like Space Jam.”

23. Slim Dunkin and Waka Flocka – Koolin It f. YG Hootie and Kebo Gotti (Prod. by Lex Luger)
Considering all the same-y stoner production this year, this track was a way more interesting take on bleary intoxication. Plus it injected a paranoid edge into the mix. RIP Slim Dunkin.

22. Kendrick Lamar – A.D.H.D. (Prod. By Digiphonics)
Song is undeniable.

21. Bulu – Pussy and Weed f. Devin the Dude
Sometimes rap music is best when it’s about cutting through the bullshit. I guarantee that if you download all the songs in this list, this might not be the one you talk about a lot but it’ll get played more often than the others.

20. A-Mafia – Shine On Em
My favorite New York rapper right now; the beat sounds like the kind of shit that would be on some NY mixtapes back in ’99 fully smothered in DJ Clue shouts and Posta Boy freestyles. He’s also equally comfortable over NY classics and Luger-style contemporary tracks.

19. Kevin Gates – No Regrets
I’ve been seeing Kevin Gates’ name on N.O. to the B.R. comps so long I was really starting to wonder why he wasn’t getting more national love, but it seems like now that he’s fresh off a two-year bid there’s started to be some more noise out there on his behalf. Anyway I love this kind of expressive and honest confessional rap when it comes from the rare talent that can pull it off.

18. Trouble – Bussin’
Trouble is one of the few dudes out there who looks exactly like his music suggests he should, neck veins bulging from his wiry, wifebeater-clad physique and bags under sleepless, piercing eyes. His rap style sounds like it could spazz in any direction at any moment, which is pretty much how he appears in the video for “Bussin.’”

17. Wooh Da Kid, Waka Flocka, Frenchie, Bo Deal, YG Hootie, P Smurf – Everything Brick Squad
This was as good as statement of purpose as any while Brick Squad flooded the market in 2011. Nice and anthemic. Everyone noted the Frenchie-KRS resemblance last year, but his tendency to drop random gems of positivity (“Real estate can be a fortune in wealth! / Got to believe in yourself!”) amongst bars about gat-popping, body-dropping and pillow-smothering was starting to make me suspicious, until I heard that terrible KRS track TheMartorialist unearthed.

16. Travis Porter – My Team Winnin f. Wale (Prod. by KB)
How great are those Timbo-esque orchestral parts that crop up leading into the chorus?

15. EMP Dasme – Party Like Her (Remix) f. King Louie (Prod. by C-Sick)
This song could have been a big internet crossover jam, not sure what happened. Dope beat, catchy-ass hook, big name guest spot, video with a great look. My friends went to Columbia in Chicago so the “lakeshore livin” ethos makes me think of the hi-rise parties we used to have at 1212 S. Michigan. (Discovered via Andrew from FSD).

14. Slick Pulla – Pushin Pillows (Prod. by Knucklehead and Beat Those Drums)
Due to mis-tagged mp3s (someone really dropped the ball on that one) this track was mis-credited to (also-talented) producer Fate Eastwood; instead, credit goes to the twin production team of Knucklehead and Beat Those Drums (both of whose production drops can be heard in the intro) for this sumptuous beast. As I don’t push pillows myself I have repurposed this hook in my own life to indicate that I’m tired. See also: Pac Man’s “duffle bags under my eyes from no sleep-money” lyric from the L.E.P. Bogus Boys’ “Street Money.” (Discovered via DGB)

13. Webbie – What’s Happenin f. Lil Phat
I know there’s a complicated rap relationship w/ Webbie because he gets really high and says dumb albeit entertaining shit in public and white people think racist things about it, but otoh, he can rap (check his bars on Boosie’s “Long Journey” for one of my favorite Webbie flows) and Mouse (?) totally killed it with the 2011 Baton Rouge version of G-Funk.

12. King Louie – Band Nation (Prod. by NezAndRio)
Hella slept on because it only leaked out in a tagged-up version on We Affiliated 3 but it’s one of the best tracks from Dope & Shrimp. I know the DJ tags are loud but turn this one up anyway. Not sure if it’s still on that LP, which is supposed to drop early 2012.

11. Wooh Da Kid – I Prefer (Prod. by Southside)
His output this year doesn’t touch Black Out which remains one of the best of all Brick Squad releases, but “I Prefer” was perfect. His growled adlib is also a nicely streamlined version of DMX’s. Found via TheMartorialist.

10. Gucci Mane – Recently f. 50 Cent (Prod. by Drumma Boy)
This beat is so incredible and Drumma Boy is a genius. I love how the different interlocking parts of the beat seem so carefully intricate but it all congeals into a perfect song; it’s the kind of low-key genius that doesn’t draw attention to itself and puts the quality of the song above the ego. It was an off-year for Gucci, but this was one of a few scattered tracks that I outright-loved without reservation. (See also: “Up My Alley” which sounds like it was recorded in 2009).

9. E-40 – Rear View Mirror f. B-Legit and Stressmatic (Prod. by Droop-E)
This was the catchiest and most jamming track off E-40′s releases this year, with some of his funniest lyrics (lol “FILF”). I don’t have a car (city kid) but I did have an opportunity earlier this year to confirm that this track was a proven rear view mirror-shaker in field tests.

8. Shady Nate – Send It Overnight (Prod. by AK47)
I have a weakness for emotional, immediate ’80s production values, what can I say. Shady Nate is a great rapper too.

7. Tree f. GLC – Texas Tea (Prod. By Tree)
Tree is releasing some incredible music, both as a producer and rapper, and this was an easy standout from everything he’s released. Tree’s verse is one of my favorite verses all year (VIVA LA CHICAGO!) and GLC’s been on a role with guest appearances lately, and his grinning Pimp philosopher steez is possibly the most likeable Pimp archetype since Suga Free.

6. Sess 4-5 and Keedy Black – I Luv Dat Boy (Prod. by Blaqnmild)
Exuberant and immediate pop music. Incredible song.

5. Big K.R.I.T. – Money on the Floor f. 8ball, MJG and 2Chainz (Prod. by Big K.R.I.T.)
I wrote about K.R.I.T. really early on, just before the hype kicked into gear, and I was really into The Last King. But it was definitely one of those artists that I thought needed some time to grow, and the kneejerk press reaction to anoint him the next Pimp C and a genius of southern rap music was kind of gross to behold. Artists need time to develop. But with this track, an incredibly-produced approximation of Suave House, and a few other beats this year, it started to feel like K.R.I.T. is really just now hitting his stride.

4. King Louie – Man Up Band Up Remix (Get Money) (Prod. by LoKey)
This was the song that completely converted me on King Louie and I feel like I’m rediscovering how great it is every time I listen. Purple potion cause slow motion plus we chokin smokin potent.

3. Husalah – Da Mob
What would a somanyshrimp track list be without Husalah? Stompin hard while your boyfriend tiptoe.

2. Meek Mill – Middle of the Summer f. Mel Love (Prod. by Tone Beats)
This is the kind of song that made me fall in love with rap music when I was a kid. I can’t think of many artists who can make this kind of pathos-enducing rap music like Meek right now.

1. Schoolboy Q – Fantasy f. Jhene Aiko (Prod. by Tommy Black)
[insert Drake diss here]

50. San Quinn & Tuf Luv – Drunk in San Francisco f. B-legit Prod. by DexBeats. (From A Hustler’s Hope)
49. Game – I’m the King (Remix f. Mistah FAB and The Jacka) (Prod. by 1500 or Nothin)
48. N.O.R.E. – N.O.R.E. Shot Somebody (Prod. by Scram Jones)
47. Slim Thug – Can’t Stop f. Dre Day and Curren$y (Prod. by GL Productions)
46. Freddie Gibbs – B.A.N.ned (Prod. By Cardo)
45. CyHi The Prynce – Woopty Doo f. Big Sean (Prod. By No I.D. And Kanye)
44. Yo Gotti – Ashamed (Prod. by Shawty Redd)
43. Calicoe The Champ and Janelle – Talk 2 Me (Prod. By KLC)
42. Young Bleed – Holla at Uh Dog
41. Dusty McFly – Peaceful f. GLC (Prod. by No Speakerz)
40. Juicy J – Smoke That Bitch f. VABP (Prod. by Lex Luger)
39. Sir Michael Rocks – Coochie Crook (Prod. by Ski)
38. Foxx – Get The Fuck
37. Sly Polaroid – The Bad Guy (Prod. by Emmaculate)
36. Kreayshawn – Gucci Gucci (Prod. by Two Stacks)
35. Boldy James – I Sold Dope All My Life (Prod. by The Plug)
34. Future – Itchin (Prod. by Mike Will)
33. Fat Trel – Respect with the Teck (Prod. by Lex Luger)
32. Rich Boy – All I Know (Prod. by Supa Villain)
31. Bo Deal – Safe Sex f. Mello G Blanca (Prod. by Don Lee)
30. Gucci Mane – 2 Timez f. Wiz Khalifa (Prod. by Drumma Boy)
29. Tity Boi – Feelin’ You (Prod. by Wonder)
28. Stickup Kiddz – We Can Do
27. Young Jeezy – Sittin Low f. Scrilla and Freddie Gibbs (Prod. by Mike Will)
26. 50 Cent – Wait Until Tonight (Prod. by Scoop Deville)
25. YP – The Come Up (Prod. by Jeff Wallace)
24. Joe Blow – Couldn’t Be a Better Player f. Lil Rue and The Jacka (Prod. by DJ Fresh)
23. Slim Dunkin and Waka Flocka – Koolin It f. YG Hootie and Kebo Gotti (Prod. by Lex Luger)
22. Kendrick Lamar – A.D.H.D. (Prod. By Digiphonics)
21. Bulu – Pussy and Weed f. Devin the Dude
20. A-Mafia – Shine On Em
19. Kevin Gates – No Regrets
18. Trouble – Bussin’
17. Wooh Da Kid, Waka Flocka, Frenchie, Bo Deal, YG Hootie, P Smurf – Everything Brick Squad
16. Travis Porter – My Team Winnin f. Wale (Prod. by KB)
15. EMP Dasme – Party Like Her (Remix) f. King Louie (Prod. by C-Sick)
14. Slick Pulla – Pushin Pillows (Prod. by Knucklehead and Beat Those Drums)
13. Webbie – What’s Happenin f. Lil Phat
12. King Louie – Band Nation (Prod. by NezAndRio)
11. Wooh Da Kid – I Prefer (Prod. by Southside)
10. Gucci Mane – Recently f. 50 Cent (Prod. by Drumma Boy)
9. E-40 – Rear View Mirror f. B-Legit and Stressmatic (Prod. by Droop-E)
8. Shady Nate – Send It Overnight (Prod. by AK47)
7. Tree f. GLC – Texas Tea (Prod. By Tree)
6. Sess 4-5 and Keedy Black – I Luv Dat Boy (Prod. by Blaqnmild)
5. Big K.R.I.T. – Money on the Floor f. 8ball, MJG and 2Chainz (Prod. by Big K.R.I.T.)
4. King Louie – Man Up Band Up Remix (Get Money) (Prod. by LoKey)
3. Husalah – Da Mob
2. Meek Mill – Middle of the Summer f. Mel Love (Prod. by Tone Beats)
1. Schoolboy Q – Fantasy f. Jhene Aiko (Prod. by Tommy Black)

You may have noticed that here at Somanyshrimp, we run on an ancient historical calender that believes the beginning of the year starts sometime around February, or whenever we get around to it. Thus a year end ’09 mix arriving in Feb. 2010, and our last actual Gucci feature post, the 30 Best Gucci Mane Tracks of 2008, turned up in early Feb. ’09.

Since we made that post, a bunch of shit has changed when folks talk about Gucci Mane. I.E., they actually talk about him — choice quote from our ’08 roundup — “Id just like to be having any serious discussion at all.” The amount of discussion about dude skyrocketed — and it helped that he dropped what Noz pointed out was a Tribe Called Quest career’s worth of music in a few short months, never mind a major label record, a series of videos, several major charting singles as both primary & guest artist.

At the level of internet rap nerd discourse, there was a bunch of talk about him too. An ugly common-sense consensus emerged: Gucci Mane was being hyped by blogs, his buzz blown out of proportion to his regional popularity in the southeast, aided by ironic white hipsters with racially suspect motivations overwriting overdone thinkpieces to blow up an at-best nominally talented “lowest common denominator” rapper on some offensive Wesley Willis-style mocking condescension. Psuedo intellectuals doing mental backflips to prop up the critical profile of a rudimentary short bus remedial rapper that was doing nothing better than degrading the public profile of African Americans.

To be absolutely clear — what the black community has to say about Gucci Mane’s impact on their public perception is not something I purport to have any authority or input on, at least as it relates to the internal dialogue of the community. My purpose is not to inveigh on the significance of gangster rap in the undoubtedly negative imagery it propagandizes at some level.

I can speak only to why I bothered even listening to his shit in the first place, & ask that you take my motivations at my word, just out of respect for real actual discourse: there is no ‘laughing at’ going on, there is no condescension, Gucci is funny in an intentional, ironic (meaning HE is being ironic — i.e. “I THINK I LUV HER!!” — not that my appreciation is ironic) and worthwhile way. The idea that I’m riding for dude because he sounds “retarded,” on some sub-Kells racial caricaturization, is simply incorrect (& in fact, there is an uncomfortable tendency from his haters to bring the ‘retarded’ epithet with alarming frequency). Of course he’s got a ‘dumb’ flow — an artistic stylistic performance/affect, though, not an evaluation of the ‘outsider genius’ or some other such bullshit.

Anyway, at this point I’m probably preaching to the converted with this, and if you’ve heard me argue in a cocaine blunts comments section then you’ve heard this before. So Im done defending my own motives. But I think its instructive to look at the mythic level to which folks have blown up the mysterious group of ironic white Gucci promoters supposedly behind his huge blog buzz. This supposed conspiratorial gang is mostly po-mo overwriting music critics, although the only Gucci boosters in the Pazz & Jop poll this year were basically the 1st-wave rap bloggers — myself, Al Shipley from Governmentnames, Noz of course, plus Jordan (from this blog) & some dude from Cokemachineglow I think who voted for a Gucci tape that actually dropped in 2008. Sean Fennessy linked to this blog & gave general appreciation for Gucci’s work, but ranked him behind Drake & well outside of his own top ten. Then you had Tom Breihan (a reader of this blog), who also wrote the Gucci review for pitchfork — an appreciably even-handed account of a divisive artist. Pitchfork’s year-end list, “surprisingly Gucci Mane free” as Byron put it, suggested even further that the supposed huge blog-hype around Gucci Mane was nothing more than a fiction — other than “Shine Blockas,” which has negligable Gucci contributions (is that even in his top 50 verses this year?) and was an Outkast collab with a soul sample folks inexplicably kept comparing to “International Players Anthem,” Pitchfork only voted (after considerable boosterism from myself & Tom) for “Wasted,” a top 40 hit that barely scraped Pitchfork’s top 100. So much for that conspiracy.

So who exactly is this mysterious cabal of ironic Gucci boosters? Maybe we should look at Diplo, whose self-helmed tape of remixes attempted to cross the rapper over to the hip white kid crowd with less than successful results. A casual browse through the Low Bee forum of post-Hollertronix fan-DJs suggests pretty much negligable appreciation for anything that doesnt qualify as some degree of nu-rave remix when it comes to Gucci Mane, and basically no discussion about why his rapping is worthwhile.

Meanwhile, the bigger names in blogging were either posting Gucci up because they knew it developed hits (NahRight or whatever other aggregator sites), or you had media personalities like Miss Info backhandidly comparing him to Master P (“You couldn’t deny the temperature…!”) or Combat Jack observing that, hey, these guys (Gucci & OJ) kinda have some chemistry together, despite being mostly garbage! You had the dudes at Fat Lace trying to pull some the-emperor-has-no-clothes shit by saying come on, no one really thinks Gucci is any good now that his album “bombed” (in soundscans). (They also have the temerity to pull a “white kids appreciating gangster rap they cant understand!” before turning around and offering the alternative — young jeezy?? who also received the same kind of delayed canonical appreciation when he arrived.)

Anyway, enough of this bullshit. The point is, Gucci Mane wasn’t just some personality, & he certainly wasn’t being pushed primarily by blogs. In 2009, much like in 2008, he was rap’s biggest & most notable talent, flooded the streets with music for a 2nd year in a row, dropped a gang of rewindable, memorable, smart raps that had me trying to memorize entire verses for the first time since I was like 20 yrs old. They do fly by you at first — a friend couldn’t believe the “no 20s in my denim” & “can’t bring older yeller back” lines once he realized what was going on in “Lemonade” — but the kind of sociocultural power moves at play, the demonizing of a phantom bunch of white hipsters, it all pointed to yet another popular gangster rapper making rap worthwhile for folks who aren’t convinced by a real top-down media blitz like, say, Drake the GOAT. (fwiw, Drake the pop/R&B artist is a different story).

So what is so fresh about Gucci’s lyrical style? It’s the way he’s managed to figure out a method of writing so many verses by doing minor variations on a narrow slice of themes to keep things vibrant. If you imagine a Gucci archetype — a track about ice, and cars, and girls, where he says “burr” and the basic Gucci lines like “higher than an owl,” you might think “yeah this guy is generic.” If you listen to more than that, you get this feeling that his is the art of endless variety — that there are a thousand ways to play with “higher than an…” (eagle on california reefer) (mountain lion) (pelican) (skyscraper) (giraffe pussy) (do you see the trees??). Or “press the button, roof turn into nothin” “eazy e drop top, call the car roofless,” “panoramic roof clearer than a cup of water.” He cycles through all these different lyrical themes w/ endless possibility for variety. His ‘dumb flow’ is just panache, letting these kinds of clever lyrics in without having turn his flow into some super-technical overwritten Slaughterhouse-style garbage (mea culpa — I’m a Royce/Crooked I fan). His verses are really tight, & his best ones avoid unneccessary verbiage — his ‘dumb’ delivery actually lets him get away with say more, since he can fit more ideas into a shorter amount of space. & the way this style works almost improvisationally has really upped the bar in terms of productivity for other rappers (poor Gorilla Zoe). So Gucci can release so much material, and have it all be entirely listenable.

When a track — like say the real-talk written verses of “Frowney Face” — breaks the mold entirely, it makes the songs sound even more refreshing than they would otherwise. Like when he goes for a story track on “Timothy.” And sometimes his best verses don’t look quite as great on paper, but sound amazing when actually rapped, like his later “Beat It Up” verse: “Freakin partners probly never bother with a second option.” That kind of syllable play is some gold mine shit.

No doubt (word count: 1410 & counting) some haterz are gonna use this as yet another example of ‘overwriting’ about a retard (sigh) who totally doesnt deserve this. Oh well. You’ll figure it out some day.

List tomorrow.

And the less said about the rapping the better; Minaj somehow acquits herself the best, or sounds more like a star at any rate, and I used to like Mack Maine! But the constant underlining of punchlines is just unbearable. Since when did rap fans want to hear each average punchline accompanied by a jab to the ribs?

Real talk the rap record you should be listening to in the first quarter of 2010 is by J Stalin:

He can write, he has energy and personality and a cocky, youthful approach. Never particularly concerned with wordplay, just directness and a strong appreciation of the art of rapping, the kind of vibrancy missing from most rappers right now. He’s been killing it for a few years — 808 bangs pretty hard & you get a chance to see some big-name cosigns in the video, and Paint the Town was a bona fide post-hyphy anthem. Other than two pretty mediocre ladies tracks (“Get Off Me” and “G In Me” — although dont get the wrong impression, he has some solid 4theladies tracks as well) Prenuptial Agreement is Stalin’s best record yet, topping Gas Nation.

The new bay music has created an interesting way out from the kind of boring local scene b.s. that has made entire metropolises worthless for rap in other parts of the states. It helps that the bay has always been kind of isolated and insular in some ways, and aside from the awkward period of brief media infatuation circa hyphy, artists like the mob figaz and J Stalin’s livewire crew, along with production from guys like the mecanix, dj fresh and traxamillion, have added another chapter to the long tradition of yay area mob music dating way back. But what makes this shit feel so vital & worthwhile right now — and the reason it’s become my favorite scene at the moment — is a little more complicated.

The scene seems to mainly surround a few key figures — mob figaz Jacka & Husalah and Livewire’s J-Stalin and Shady Nate seem to be the most inspired behind the mic. Jacka’s persona in particular seems to carry gravitas that could put him on the level with bigger national rappers; his innovation was incorporating east coast mafia rap style (he even bears a sorta-resemblance to jadakiss) with a laconic west coast swagger. There are of course hundreds of other guys out there of varying levels of ability, and aside from the above exceptions, this scene doesn’t feel particularly personality driven. If you want to catch up on everything J-Stalin’s been on for the past year, you’re downloading not just his pre-leak tape and the album, but the Livewire compilations, DJ Fresh’s The Real World, and countless other records from other bay area artists where the guy is featured. The bay has always had a rep for churning out product, but in this economic climate, where the entire region seems to constantly be dropping material, most artists rely on everyone else to help pad out their albums, keeping up a consistent stream of new releases.

But what keeps this system interesting is that bay area rap music is most reminiscent to me of that late 1990s/early 2000s period in New York, where hardcore new york street rap was at once uncompromisingly rap, while remaining unapologetically pop. I’m talking about late 90s Jay-Z circa “Can I Get A….”, The Lox on “Ryde or Die Bitch,” Big Pun’s “Still Not a Playa,” even Ja Rule jacking Stevie for “Livin It Up.” I think the last big anthem I remember like this that still felt like a part of this movement was Ja’s “New York New York” with Jada and Fat Joe. Basically, that moment in the wake of Bad Boy’s big string of number one hits, where each glossy chorus was OK because the raps were hard & the vibe was hood.

Aside from guys like Jacka and J-Stalin, a lot of the albums in this scene are incredibly inconsistent — in fact, the brand new Jacka tape is mostly dull (although “We Mafia” is a must hear for the kind of sunny-day mafia rap vibe that basically cant exist in gothic new york), and even his solo album was worse than it should have been (the street album he dropped before it is incredible, though). It’s a sign that Jacka and DJ Fresh should both realize — as cool as it is to hear Fresh work with Kool G Rap, or Jacka with Freeway, it really breaks the illusion that these guys are working within their own universe, and the music so far just hasn’t been good when they break out. A stiff rapper like Berner records better tracks with Jacka than Freeway does:

In 2009, popular rap is moving in two directions; mainstream gangster throughout is in a lo-fi tinny vein more comparable to early 90s NY than most early 90s NY fans probably even realize, and aside from an occasional crossover soulja boy/KE single, is pulling further than ever from the pop charts. Then the biggest pop hits tend to be more R&B than rap, as if they’re apologizing for even letting Gucci or Drake bother anyone for 30 seconds of non-singing. A huge part of the appeal of the bay stuff is how high-production-value it sounds in comparison to a lot of southern shit, just as a refreshing contrast. But more than that, it’s about this angling for a kind of unpopular ‘pop,’ this sort of imaginary audience that craves hooks & style and a certain musicality & suaveness within rap. It’s not that they want to be listening to another genre, like Flo Rida fans who secretly just want to be at 80s night, to have a chorus to sing along with. This is rap music for fans of real talk & kush smoking, street music etc., but with an appreciation of songcraft & musical sensibilities, an appreciation of the lush rap production of the music’s popular peak.

As a result, beats tend to be rooted in an 80s R&B and pop tradition not unlike the Trackmasters (certainly progenitors of the late 90s pop-rap NY movement), the same smooth synthesizers and electro-R&B instrumentals that gave us “I Love the Dough” & “I’ll Be”. DJ Fresh, in particular, seems to revel in this sort of thing. Although the Mecanix do too, particularly on the highlights of Prenuptial Agreement; take Money on the Way for a kind of Miami Vice / 80s cop movie vibe. Or the album’s closing track, “Show Me”:

This isn’t to say that this shit is pop in a way that’s going to storm the billboard charts; quite the opposite, in fact. A part of the appeal to this is that it’s captured an intangible pop vibe that used to exist, but doesn’t really any more on a wide scale, perhaps the natural outcome of a rap scene existing in such an insular space for so long. It requires a lot of work to follow, or at least a lot of hard drive space; I basically end up flipping through mixtapes pretty quickly, pulling out great tracks and moving on. It’s like looking for variation, for unexpected moves, the ultimate search for novelty — you know you’re getting bored when you start hearing tracks that all sound too similar, but just then you’ll find Husalah rapping over a beat like this or J-Stalin doing an inspired hollering-at-the-ladies pop rap single like this. It also requires giving each track a chance to work on its own terms, rather than following a couple key rapping auteurs or figureheads. It’s a really healthy scene that relies on constant surprise and has an amazingly high hit rate.

This Big K.R.I.T. tape has become one of my favorite mixtapes in awhile. There’s a huge space in rap right now, and a lot of places for audiences to go, so it’s like a sort of arms race while folks figure out who they’re backing while rappers who came up in the late 90s & early 00s hit the ends of their creative arcs. And of course having Gucci, T.I., Wayne & Boosie all in jail at the same time is like imagining that BIG, Pac, Snoop & Scarface were all incarcerated at the same time in ’96. There’s a huge space for up-and-coming artists to fill, especially now that dudes like Gucci and, to a lesser extent, Gotti have moved on to the upper tiers of rap stardom.

But, if you could even determine such a thing, which rapper was the most important in this decade? Lil Wayne’s shit, as great as it could be, is so creatively disconnected from the actual functional craft rappers partake in, so loosely based around working as a rapper, that his influence is one-dimensional. To sound like Lil Wayne, you just … sound like Lil Wayne (Drake anyone? Please). Or take a whole bunch of drugs. Jeezy is a great rap artist with some classic LPs, but as rappers go he’s only solid. Gucci rose too late and too gradually to have any impact this decade. Boosie broke too late as well, his peak impact hitting probably around the time of that ’07 Trill Ent. compilation, plus now he’s doing four years. Z-Ro? An incredible rapper no doubt, both soul-baring artist & skilled craftsman, but his lack of interest — on a musical level at least — of even coming within a stone’s throw of pop charts means its hard to make a case for a dude satisfied with rapping to the choir. I’m not sure who NY dudes would like to push for this decade (hmm… Jadakiss? haaa!). Jay-Z’s probably Tip’s only real competition, a rapper with truly national influence. But his biggest accomplishments as a rapper occurred in the late ’90s; once the new decade hit he still had some shit to say (for two years anyway) but had ceased to develop much as a stylist. His voice had already made its impact. For all the worshipful attention his more intricate Reasonable Doubt verses have gotten, it was Jay’s slowed, pop-friendly Life and Times of S. Carter style that Lil Wayne built on. Of course, Jay’s impact definitely carried over, but spitting on the “Ha” remix & getting UGK on “Big Pimpin” was a baton pass to the south, whether he realized it or not. Plus, WE DONT BUMP THE BLUEPRINT THREE.

I’m gonna go ahead and say that T.I. is the most important rapper of the 00s, bar none. The guy basically reinvented gangster rap for the decade, down to the label; Trap Muzik was the blueprint for how rapping developed, thematically and stylistically. T.I. moved away from New York’s staid & stiff enunciated style & shifted towards the smooth, drawl-inflected southern flow. He retained the kind of Tupac & Scarface-derived thematic focus on real talk, bringing moral & ethical lessons learned on the streets to the forefront, writing as a multi-dimensional human being who bares his soul on record. And T.I. was, at the same time, a lyricist, a guy who wrote raps in great detail & with all that structural nerd-rap shit we love, internal rhymes & double-time flows and nimble tongue-twister shit he probably got from T-Rock. Then, drawing on these separate strains, he made great songs that hit on a breadth of subject matter and showed exactly how to be a major street rapper with popular success, without sacrificing what made your work great. He also did it his own way, with his own producers — a harsh lesson learned from the under-performance of his debut record no doubt. Even when King hit, he ducked when they expected him to weave, hitting his popular stride while dropping a record with technically-proficient raps over Just Blaze beats. (Of course, there were guys earlier than him drawing on all these influences with similar styles — I think an argument — a less solid one — could be made for Juvenile as well. But T.I.’s career success was perfectly positioned, which gave him a chance to fill a void when crunk was coming up for a lyrical rapper; Juve the Great is an incredible, underrated LP, but his popular impact & rapping innovations had already passed).

Back to Big K.R.I.T.: I don’t think he’s the next T.I., the next anything really — at this point, he’s early in a career, as far as the world is concerned, an unproven developing talent who just released a really fucking strong mixtape. T.I. is an obvious influence on dude’s style, and — unlike the influence of Lil Wayne — I think that provides a really good springboard for showcasing who dude is in a real way. He’s got a great ability to switch up through a variety of flows, spits over a diverse bunch of instrumentals and has the right kind of thematic breadth for a rapper you should be feeling in 2009 2010.

His ferocity on “Don’t Lose Count” makes it sound like he slept with “ASAP.mp3″ on loop for most of ’05. One of the weirder moments was realizing he was rapping over the “Can’t Stop the Prophet” Jeru sample on his incredible “I Ain’t Gon Play Witem” freestyle. That track is virtuosic, although in parts it sounds like he’s too concerned with enunciating (a Gucci fan would say that right??) to let his flow just roll off like it should. One of T.I.’s serious drawbacks, though, were pimping raps — he was always too genuine, too much of a ladies man kinda rapper. K.R.I.T.’s innovation is to draw on Pimp’s style in those situations; he does a great Pimp C-style verse on “Get Up Off Me”: “black on black lac, batmobile /wrist out the window chrome lips on wheels / tell her pucker up, buckle up, yeah we goin places / to the telly with a yella-belly, swappin fuck faces.” That Pimp C influence also shows up on a reversion of “Take it Off.” Then you’ve got tracks like “Like Rhonda,” where he almost seems to balance it all, & sounds simply like himself.

Best of all, this tape is perfectly sequenced; the shit kicks off with a huge amount of momentum, barreling through beats and switching up styles before you could possibly get bored, trading off with Big Sant (from K.R.I.T.’s group Alumni) intermittently to spice it up. Then for the final section of the record, things start to space out a bit, more mid-tempo and introspective raps, like the incredible “Players Ball” freestyle (Youtube’d below).

Despite all this talk of influence, what makes this all work is that K.R.I.T. sounds like he’s actually begun to transcend them. It’s a tape that succeeds as much because you’re watching a rapper develop as it is about how great he could one day be. There’s no critical injustice that he’s not well known yet, no forgotten dropped-from-his-label drama narrative to hang on to, no over-reliance on gangster styles of the past. Instead I get the feeling that he’s channeling his favorite rappers to become one of mine.

Now you 808 heartbroken, goin crazy
confused about yo life cuz you ain’t felt the same lately
as you did when you did it for the love
recordin in the closet, play it back for yo cuz
writin about the truth and the way that it is,
to be a n**** from the minors on the way to the bigs.

Did I mention he also makes beats??

Download this shit now thru Traps N Trunks.

THE GOOD:
TIME TO EAT!

The Porsche porcelain
the rims are gorgeous
the earth went skrrt
it got so many horses
an all-white chain same color yo forces
an ounce a what i smoke cost double your mortgage
so icey entertainment
ima explain it
see when we come in niggas tuck in they chain, and
- i lost my train of thought bitches callin me brainless
i cant buy a burger cuz im too fuckin famous
my whip on a donk, give my chevy a facelift
my 28 ashantis make it look like a spaceship
my rims look big like the lips on fantasia
my paint drips wet like activator
you playin with yaself you a masturbator
ya play with so icey i have to spray ya
dont waste all ya life bein a couch potato
after awhile crocodile see ya later, hater
its guc-ci

Classic verse, classic chorus. This shit knocks, & I gotta say Project Pat’s done a pretty good job of keeping up his quality control lately. Altho i dont really agree w/ Tom that Real Recognize Real is arguably his best record (never mind that the best Project Pat record would only be a 7.7 wtf), I do think hes been doing some consistent shit these days. “Stacks will rise or somebody gonna pay the piper / I just want the stash, dont make me put you in a diaper!”

Another thing Gucci does better than most folks is these trade-off traxx with female rappers like Nikki Minaj & Mac Breezy … this is old but the final version of “White Girl” with Esther Dean leaked recently & its funny and the Polow beat is nicely minimal & grimey instead of going for flatline-pop (take a hint Nitti). Esther Dean also sounds fuckin rough in the best way, like her voice gets this real grating quality towards the end of her last verse. There’s something real great about the humor & originality in this track (esp. considering the generic-as-fuck name for it). I dig that Gucci’s never too cool to play the guy getting fucked over in his own tracks, even if it is a double entendre for cocaina “I think I love her!” “My name is Suzyyyy and Gucci think I love him / that sucker think im loyal but I fucks with all the hustlers.”

Gucci’s last verse is classic:

Two jobs, she get cheese, her dates are my treat
how neat! she loves to eat! we eat! bon appetit!

The 30 Best Gucci Mane tracks of 2008

New Gucci mixtape & there are some A+ exclusives on this joint — also a few tracks that already leaked. A few quick notes on some traxx so u dont think Gucciwatch ends with ’08 roundups:

Crush On You prod. by Warren G

—Probably my favorite joint on here so far, Im assuming this id tag is correct & Warren G produced this. It’s one of those relaxed Gucci tracks where he’s being playful & almost tongue-in-cheek gentle. The beat is like the soundtrack to Home Alone, creeping pizzicato strings & nursery rhyme/nutcracker bells & cats feet hi-hats; the effect is perfect for Gucci’s clowning chorus, “Gucci got a crush on you. I ain’t trynna put a rush on you!” Per usual a Gucci 4theladiez track is so much more, not feeling corny or like some kind of obligation; its just another chance for him to be funny & lyrical, goofing about how he thinks she thinks hes handsome, borderline faux-naif teenager fantasizing about how he’ll sweep his crush off her feet (but with a dose of irony peaking from behind the curtain). “What city we in? don’t really matter baby cuz I’m flyin you in.” “It’s gravy, be my old lady, prada every day baby, no Old Navy.”

Fa Sho
—”I blow my nose with money, bitch I keep snot on my knot / i keep that pistol cocked back, and my fork in the pot / my money fallin’ out my safe when i open my lock”

Obnoxious
—This has been out a lil while but I love how dude flips hating into an embrace of all his ‘bad’ qualities — ‘they say i’m obnoxious, but bitches be jocking,’ another play off that ‘might cant dance but my rims can’ self-deprecation.

Get It Big
—this is driving me nuts, what beat is this?

all that OJ shit
I dig OJ but I’m still repeating the first half of the mixtape so I haven’t had time for it. Quick 1-listen review: “Benjamin Franklins” and “VVS” and the joint with Bohagan are hot though, Cam’ron remix makes the song feel kinda cheesy, I still dont like the “Bricks” remix & the last two tracks were on the album that came out a couple weeks ago.

5. Gucci Mane & Yo Gotti – Mo Money

David:
“‘Who got mo money?’ ‘I got mo money,’ ‘naw!’” Gucci trading verses with OJ was some great chemistry but OJ is too much on some Gucci jr. shit, still establishing himself, very much in Gucci’s shadow. Yo Gotti is the only rapper that really balances, with pure Memphis trap swagger and thick rounded flow. They dropped a gang of tracks together this year & bounced off each other so well it’s depressing to think the two will never drop a real album together. Listening to them argue about who got more money over this chorus is one of the most intimidating supergroup collabs of the year, a towering beat, Gucci’s “stash house funky from them stankin’ ass hundreds” while Gotti counts “one, comma zero zero comma zero whew, zero’s still goin, my hood still snowin.” Definitely check other joints like the string-laced “Julius” but nothing caught the weight of two trap superstars sharing the stage like “Mo Money,” Gucci a loose cannon, Gotti the controlled force.

4. Gucci Mane – Laughin’

David:
Gucci’s comedic edge is a huge reason he’s split from the crowd, all morbid humor & maniacal swagger. Off the classic Gucci Sosa, “Laughin” capture the fractured Gucci humor like nothing else; carnivalesque carousel beat is appropriately loopy & ridiculous for Gucci, who spits like Batman’s Joker, a schizophrenic criminal giddy on the pile of cash outta Dark Knight but with the more manic personality of Mark Hamill’s performance in the animated series, a disturbed rapper spitting like hes “smellin laughing gas.” “Laughin mane! I’m laughin, ha-ha-ha ch-ching I just cashed in,” that disturbing fake chuckle in the chorus, & rapping w/ singular self-deprecation, “Funny money, funky junkies ugly as a mu’fucker — ‘summbitch you ugly too!’ I know but bet my money cute.”

3. Gucci Mane feat. Yo Gotti – Light Show

2. Gucci Mane – Colors

Jordan:
As a lyricist, Gucci’s been improving at a rapid rate since he first hit with “So Icey,” and in 2008 there weren’t better examples than on the DJ Speedy produced “Light Show” and “Colors.”

The “Light Show” beat is like nothing else Gucci rapped over last year: wah-wah guitar, major piano keys straight out of the scary Mario levels, synths that sound like scalding water hitting the bathtub floor. It’s a beat that’s obsessed with sounds, but the most important thing it does is provide for Gucci ample open space to spookily slur his best verse of the year:

I jumped in the rap game, I didn’t have a name yet
But I had a stupid chain and a fruity bracelet
Blue and yellow Jacob
I’m Gucci Mane the Glacier
Higher than a martian cuz I roll here round a spaceship
Yup, the dawg’s so goddamn purty
Stones same color Michael Jackson after surgery, heard me?
That my watch is gorgeous, all the diamonds flawless
My jewelry box retarded
That’s how you know I’m ballin’
My bracelet humongous, go up to my armpit
Diamond watchers watch us so we turned on the light switch

“Colors” is equally sinister, and it finds Gucci treading on Young Dro’s well-established car-talk territory over swooping, melodramatic strings: “Paint like Play-Doh/ The Alfredo Lambo/ The shrimp scampi Chevy/ and the guts look like egg yolk.” But where Young Dro always sounds thrilled to be showing off how he can let words tangle and sentences eat themselves, Gucci raps these (incredible) similes in a sedated, solemn way, like he’s a. incredibly stoned and b. not even remotely impressed by his own work. His demeanor, in a way, is like that of a serial killer: going through the motions maybe, but it’s still murder.

1. Gucci Mane – My Rims Dancin’

David:
“My Rims Dancin’” captures the uncut, hard-as-fuck “Ridin Spinners” vibe like nothing 3-6 has done since that time. It’s by miles my most replayed Gucci joint in ’08, especially the version that opened up Bigga Rankin’s From Zone 6 to Duval, not-so-coincidentally the best Gucci mixtape I heard all last year. (Best sequenced, best selection, most diverse, most comprehensive w/out ditching songs for verses. We actually did some affirmative action on this list so it wasn’t dominated by joints Rankin had picked [RIP "On Deck," "Body Language"]).

My Rims Dancin: Rankin drops those reggae air horns, gun shots & sirens, restarts the track & repeats the raw unapologetic opening line, emphasizing the stabbing cyclical “Like Whoa” strings & thumping triplet bassline, Gucci dropping that “I might be ugly but my car handsome, I might can’t dance but my rims can!!” sideways-grinning self-awareness, combined with that dont-give-a-fuck menacing ruggedness, combined with his 50 Cent-like ear for a perfect hook. But he’s not just ridin spinners, cuz its Gucci; all unique imagery, his rims dance like go-go dancers, one forward & one backward, it might be hood but its still foreign, “place ya hand down there & chop ya damn hands off!!!”

Yo for real if you dont think this is Gucci track of the year I dont give a fuck. Download this shit & figure it out for yourself, he only released a million joints this year:

Best Gucci Mixtapes ’08
1. Bigga Rankin – Zone 6 to Duval
2. DJ Scream – Gucci Sosa
3. DJ Ace – Mr. Perfect
4. DJ Drama – Gangsta Grillz: The Movie
5. Any of the Wilt Chamberlain joints, esp. the first three.