Not all hip hop this year was about the joys of smoking weed or stealing the names of infamous drug dealers. When it comes to hip hop, one of the best gifts you could get is a real Quality concept album. And this year we were lucky; two of hip hop's most talented groups released concept albums, and good ones at that.
The Roots - Undun
In one of the year's most anticipated albums, The Roots give us the tale of a life told backwards. From death to birth, we get to hear some really beautiful hip hop, and not less than four bitter sweet classical instrumental pieces, showing off a more mature Roots than ever. And it doesn't only show in the way they utilize their music to convey emotions or situations, it's in the words of Black Thought too.
"It's only human to express the way you really feel/but that same humanity is my Achille's heel", he raps. In it's core Undun is a very human album, mixing life's highs and lows as seen by ourselves in the middle of it. Sometimes triumphing, sometimes mourning, the group find themselves bragging about greatness and acknowledging their flaws all in the same song. They have made a very good job of showing off life in it's ever changing form, and still keeping it all assembled into an album. This is what makes Undun what might be their best album up 'til now. Sure, it doesn't have the same amount of singles as How I Got Over, which had more songs able to stand out all by themselves. But Undun is so much more of an album. It thrives when listened to in it's entirety, and it's a great listen.
The Roots are at their absolute best on tracks Sleep and Make My. Make My feels like a confession, freeing both the listener and the rapper through regretful musings about life in the face of death. Sleep feels so authentic it's frightening, a haunting reminder of the relationship between sleep and death. All together, the tracks form into one of the most listenable albums of the year.
Notable tracks:
The Roots ft. Big K.R.I.T. - Make My
The Roots ft Aaron Livingston - Sleep
And while we're on the subject of sleep, let's present another one of the best hip hop albums of 2011:
Cunninlynguists - Oneirology
Cunninlynguists have returned to what they do best, concept albums, and it's as good as ever. Last time the group played around with a consistent theme, one of my all time favorite albums saw the light of day (can anybody say A Piece of Strange?).This time around the theme is told by the name of the album, Oneirology (the scientific study of dreams). The album is a dark journey through the innermost parts of our minds, with dreamlike, fragile melodies and poetic raps.
Of course Cunninlynguists couldn't keep themselves from throwing in some critical material against society. And they're doing it in very interesting ways. Hard As They Come sounds like typical hip hop braggadocio at first listen, but a closer look at the lyrics unveils Deacon The Villain, Natti, and Freddie Gibbs portraying the three really most dangerous and harmful characters of society: alcohol, cocaine, and AIDS. There's also the smart Murder, contemplating what would make people accept and approve of killing. This through taking the voices of nationalism, murdering in the way of war, and of course religion, and 'holier' ways of killing.
Although the lyrics are on point, Kno is the one stealing the show with the detailed production. Through his beats he is perfectly embodying the complex dreamstates, especially on tracks such as Embers. And with this, they brought some well needed Quality to thirsting hip hop fans.
