Honorable Mention: 

                    ERYKAH BADU: NEW AMERYKAH PART II: RETURN OF THE ANKH

        Holding her position as one of the most visionary and creative artists of our generation, Ms. Badu was back with another musical voyage of an album.  New Amerykah II was packed with her unique funky-groove with old samples and new soul, as well as a solid amount of deep, love songs.  ”Window Seat” was one of the absolute best tracks and enjoyable shocking videos to drop in 2010, the game wouldn’t have been the same without this release.

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                                        5. RICK ROSS: TEFLON DON

I’m certain we all heard, or perhaps even wild out to “BlowinMoneyFast” this summer, which took over the bass systems and radio airwaves by storm, but what was most impressive about Ross’s Teflon Don album, was the versatility and the layout of the tracks.  The album started out with impressive lyricism and rich content with the “Free Mason” track featuring Jay-Z.  Next up, “Tears of Joy” & “Maybach Music III” show the soulful side of the self-proclaimed Miami boss, leading us into the smoother tracks like “Live Fast, Die Young”, “Super High”, and “Number 1”. “BMF, and “MC Hammer” were 2 of the most hard hitting tracks (which coincidentally seemed to have the same beat), but then Ross took it full circle by adding “Aston Martin Music” and “All the Money in the World” to close out the album. Versatility and layout, Ross gets those elements right.  

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                             4. SLUM VILLAGE: VILLA MANIFESTO

J. Dilla (R.I.P.), T3, Baatin(R.I.P.), and Elzhi. My all time favorite hip hop group literally resurrected new beats, new flows and the same SV vibe this summer when Villa Manifesto dropped.  I think it was profoundly important that the group went back to the studios after the tragic losses that they have endured.  As a true SV fan, it provided me with an enormous sense of hope, that music is a continuous birth of renewal. Production was done largey by Black Milk and the late J. Dilla.  

     “Dope Man”-was a hard hitting track proving the groups resiliency and ability to adapt to the changing musical times.  Songs like “Scheming” and “Don’t Fight the Feeling” brought back the classic Fantstic Vol.2 feel.  My pick of the album: “Faster” feat Colin Monroe, was simply outstanding.  An amazing closeout to the album with the song: “We’ll Show You” had tangible emotion and dedication to the craft.  I felt every line in this song. incredible vocals by Ab. The album was a very well thought out project and fusion of new & classic SV sounds, great work. 

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                     3. KANYE WEST: MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY

Is Kanye’s latest album a classic? I don’t know.  What I DO KNOW is that MBDTF is entirely relevant to his progression and vision as a producer, an MC, a negatively portrayed celebrity and misunderstood individual.  What I liked most about this album, was the 30 minute visual project that he used to promote and deepen the listener’s experience.   The vision of the album and of the film was epic.  What I liked least was that the album was only 12 songs long, and several of them had already been released with his never-before-seen G.O.O.D. Friday releases.  The year wouldn’t have been the same whatsoever without Kanye. He is continuously growing as a game-changer. 

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                                     2. DRAKE: THANK ME LATER

Let’s admit, Drake repeats the same: Young Money, we-go-hard, mixed with the: Emotional, I-promise-not-to-let-this-life-change-me medley of songs on his album that he did with the So Far Gone mixtape.  What I enjoyed more about the mixtape was that the transition from song to song was fluid, you could listen to the project end to end without feeling chopped up.  As much as the layout of song choice bothered me relentlessly with this album, the songs were quality. 

-“Fireworks” feat. Alicia Keys, dropped the same weekend as Memorial Day, this particular song set the tone for summer to take off, leaving the colder seasons behind us.  -“Karoake”- Drake hits home with the sentimental value of this particular track, while ”Show Me A Good Time” had the smoothest piano and laid back feel of any song on the album.  Plus, no one will forget when they first heard the beat switch up on -“Fancy”, we all have to Thank Swizz Beatz Later for that one. Then, “Unforgettable” Another song about not being forgotten, not being swallowed up by the constant pressure and lights of fame, with Young Jeezy on the track it creates a different feel, but Drake’s content is still about breakups, the lifestyle and his vows to not change.  The album scores number 2 because of the impact that the songs played in my life in 2010, even when it came to the harder songs like: “Up All Night”, and shouting the lyrics to Nikki Minaj’s verse in the club with my girlfriends, (not kidding). Although he scored high with this album, I’m left wondering if the talent comes from Drake or the featured artists and producers. 2011 should give us some new sides of Drake, (hopefully). 

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                          1. THE ROOTS: HOW I GOT OVER

     Oh, my God.  What this album did for me during 2010 is truly un-describable, however, I will try my best:  

     This was the quintessential music for facing challenge, growing along a righteous path, and getting over for the year, maybe for the next 5 years.  This album was a masterpiece, what I like to refer to as: Life Music, that touches on all of the real subjects and emotions, plus inner and outer struggles of any adult.  Brought to tears by some tracks (Dear God 2.0, Now or Never), and renowned inspiration from others (The Day, The Fire), the songs of How I Got Over were immpeccably placed together and carried out the theme cohesively. The only critisism I have was the selection of the  final *Bonus track: Husta, no dice!. Congrats to The Roots for being my number 1 album pick of 2010!  

     As I noted the date today, August 15th, I looked back on all of the music that got released this summer.  There is no doubt that the summer is always the season of music and blockbuster releases, that’s why I thought it was important to take a minute and look back on those releases and projects that remained on my playlist the most throughout the last three years of my love affair with music.