Icewater — Raekwon Presents Icewater: Polluted Water

If I turn around and look back at the history of hip-hop and go to find the best performers in the genre, each of them, at some point in their career, wanted to launch their own group of friends. Biggie Smalls had Junior MAFIA, 2Pac had Thug Life, Snoop had Eastsidaz, Ice Cube had Lench Mob, Nas had Firm, Jay-Z had State Property, Scarface had Facemob. Weed carriers, for the most part. I could go on and on. Among these great artists, the Wu-Tang Clan stands out, better, bigger and stronger than all. Nine MCs, then dozens of possible affiliate groups, and hundreds of rappers, dreamers, weed carriers. One name encloses them all, together, definitively: «Killa Beez». RZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Ghostface Killah and even U-God have created their own groups over the years, and in 2007, Raekwon tries again.

Curren$y — Collection Agency

Shante "Curren$y" Franklin keeps his fanbase fresh and releases new material soon. His sound darkens with the arrival of the new year, the rhythms are as trap as they're dark and the New Orleans rapper spits bars with his velvety flow on melodic productions made by Trauma Tone, Cameone, DJ Fresh, Harry Fraud, Purps, Heatmakerz and Black Metaphor.

Jared Evan & Statik Selektah — Boom Bap & Blues

Statik Selektah's eleventh studio album, released with rnb singer Jared Evan, from Great Neck, Long Island, on his first album. Entirely produced by Statik, the album features the collaboration of Lil' Fame, Joey Badass, Action Bronson, Wais P, Hoodie Allen and Termanology.

Chuuwee x DirtyDiggs — Dough Networkz Presents: Flair EP

Collaborative project between Sacramento-based rapper Dionte Chuuwee Hunter and Los Angeles-based producers DirtyDiggs.

Two Live Crew — Move Somthin'

Luke Skyywalker and Fresh Kid Ice return with a sophomore that sounds better than the previous one, thanks to a vibrant and quality production that satisfies the listeners — fresh simple and skinny beat with lively and minimal drum machine — boasting numerous samples ranging from the usual James Brown to Kraftwerk, passing by The Kinks and Queen. The lyrics don't revolutionize the game, we remain on the dominant theme of explicit sex that sets off the detractors two years before, but this time the group settles down on better funky rhythms that bring them to the golden certification in seven months. The result is one of the best party albums that the Miami Bass can boast, achieving success in sales, and also managing to give its own influence to future electronic music.

Highlights: "Drop the Bomb", "Move Somethin'", "Mega-Mixx II".

Rating: 6.7/10.

Waterr & DirtyDiggs — Wizard of the Crystal 2 EP

Collaborative EP between Chicago rapper Waterr and Los Angeles producer DirtyDiggs, they're on their sixth and seventeenth efforts respectively in the year.

Sweet Tee — It's Tee Time

Toi "Sweet Tee" Jackson starts a career in music industry as a professional rapper in the eighties, signing with Profile Records. In 1986 she releases her first single, the hit "It's My Beat" featuring DJ Jazzy Joyce. Part of Idol Makers, crew of Hurby Luv Bug, after other singles, Sweet Tee publishes a LP in 1988, entirely produced by Hurby Luv Bug and the Invincibles.

J.V.C. F.O.R.C.E. — Doin' Damage

This hip hop group is formed in Islip, New York, by Curtis "DJ Curt Cazal" Small and the emcees AJ "AJ Rok" Woodson and William "B-Luv" Taylor. The name J.V.C. F.O.R.C.E. doesn't mean anything at all, but later, just to give it a meaning and not leave it as any meaningless group name in rap, but above all to minimize the risk that JVC Electronics would sue the group for stealing their name, their label B-Boy Records advised them to invented a backronym standings for "Justified by Virtue of Creativity For Obvious Reasons Concerning Entertainment".

DJ Muggs & Rome Streetz — Death & the Magician

Collaborative album between Rome Streetz and DJ Muggs, which coincides with the first work of the year for both artists, represented in the cover with the tarot cards. Knowledge and Rigz are the guests of the tape. Lyrically, the rapper stays in his comfort zone and produces another coke rap / crime rap effort, while the producer offers a series of notable beats: he provides sublime and brilliant sound carpets from first to last cut, often jazzy boom baps with tight drums, slow, midtempo, pounding, and excellent samples of horns and strings. Rome Streetz delivers with a dynamic, tight, confident, flowing style, always fit with the rhythms chosen by Muggs, completing one of the best hip-hop projects of the first half. 7.5/10.

AAVV — Colors

Soundtrack of the homonymous movie directed by Dennis Hopper. The tracks are performed by Ice-T, Decadent Dub Team, Salt-N-Pepa, Big Daddy Kane, Eric B. & Rakim, Kool G. Rap, 7A3, Roxanne Shante, M.C. Shan and Rick James. The production credits Afrika Islam, Ice-T, Decadent Dub Team, Dr. Dre, Hurby Luv Bug, Marley Marl, Eric. B & Rakim, Coldcut, Johnny Rivers, Mark Wolfson and Rick James.

AAVV — The First Priority Music Family: Basement Flavor

Compilation by First Priority Music roster. Eleven tracks performed by Alliance, Audio Two, MC Lyte, Positive K, Mitchie Mee, LA Luv, Milk Dee, Barsha, Soul Shock and See-Que. The rhythms are provided by King of Chill, Audio Two, Beat Facory, Alliance and Solid Productions.

Yelawolf & Caskey — Yelawolf Blacksheep

The collaborative tape between Yelawolf and Caskey is the first effort of the year by the Alabama rapper, who returns to publish something after more than a year. On a trap production as tasteless as worthy of an amateur bandcamp work, the two rappers spit bars in back and forth for just under forty minutes, with Cub da Cookup Boss and DJ Paul as the only guests. The tape was created to launch Caskey's career in the mainstream, after a life in the mixtape circuit: the final result sounds very bland and generic, and Caskey doesn't feel at the same level as Yelawolf, which is why the tape never takes off. 4/10.

Jim Jones & Harry Fraud — The Fraud Department

Collaborative album between Bronx rapper Jim Jones and Brooklyn producer Harry Fraud, on their eighth and fifth studio albums respectively. It was practically impossible to think that the leading MC of Dipset, not only would be able to do a record of this level, but would have such a strong comeback in the rap game: over the past three years, Jim Jones has managed to improve and renew himself amid the constant change of hip-hop, showing a condition of enviable form and a precision in the execution worthy of the best performers of the scene. Here he makes no mistake, aided by dozen guests, and practically no one disappoints: personally, "Bada Bing" is the weakest cut, due to a deeply annoying snare drum and a hard-to-pass trap rhythm, but the rest of the record is superb.

AAVV — Rhyme Syndicate Comin' Through

Interesting West Coast compilation from Rhyme $yndicate Records distributed by Warner Bros. Inside Ice-T, Low Profile, The Spin Masters, Everlast, Domination, TDF, Bango, Mixmaster Quick, Toddy Tee, Nat the Cat, Bronx Style Bob and Donald D. Afrika Islam & Ice-T are the main producers, along with Bilal Bashir, TDF, Bango, Daddy-O, Toddy Tee, Donald D, Nat the Cat and Bronx Style Bob.

Tommy Whispers — Tommy Unchained

Tommy Whispers is one of the last rappers to try to get out of the parks and gardens of Staten Island, New York. A forgotten member of the Wu-Tang-affiliated TMF, and also part of the short-lived partnerships Hawk & Kryme and Loudmoufs, the boy packs a dozen songs into what appears to be his first legitimate solo effort. Intro, outro and eleven songs that also boast Inspectah Deck of Wu-Tang Clan and Dom PaChino of Killarmy as guests. Tommy's performance is uninspired and his choice in the selection of beats is a little bit poor, the rhythms are generic and insipid, invented by amateurs. "Hi-Caliber Rap" and "J.A.M.A.L. in N.Y.C." are the songs that stand out from the tracklist, the rest is a forgettable mixtape.

Myalansky — D3: Drastic Measures 3 (St. Valentine Days Massacre)

The boom bap production with midtempo drums, sometimes vibrant and tight, and good melodic jazzy samples, facilitates the slow and smooth delivery of Timothy "Myalansky" Turner, Virginia Beach rapper, Wu-Syndicate member.

Sir Mix-a-Lot — Chief Boot Knocka

Fourth studio album for Seattle rapper Sir Mix-A-Lot, written, produced and mixed by the author. There's an almost decent rhythm to the first track, with poor drum, weak sample, dull hook, and a syncopated delivery, then the record reveals itself in all its poor nature.

Masters of Ceremony — Dynamite

In mid-eighties is formed the hip-hop group Masters of Ceremony from New Rochelle, New York, composed by Clarence "DJ Shabazz" Stanley, Don Baron, Maxwell "Grand Puba" Dixon and his cousin Todd "Dr. Who" Dixon.

Fila Fresh Crew — Tuffest Man Alive

The group Fila Fresh Crew is formed by Fresh K, Cleo "Dr. Rock" Turner and Tracy "Doc-T" Curry. Dr. Rock is a DJ during the World Class Wreckin' Cru period when he knows Dr. Dre, that helped land the group a spot on the compilation "N.W.A. and the Posse" by NWA, released in 1987. The next year the group release a vinyl that stands on the cuts extracted from NWA debut.

MC Shy D — Comin' Correct in 88

Among the efforts most appreciable from the miami bass scene, part of the credit goes to the accessible rhythms provided by DJ Toomp, Shy D himself and DJ Mike Fresh. Overall, it's a fairly quick and accessible, but generic album.

Sparky D featuring Grand Creator K-Wiz — This Is Sparky D's World

Doreen "Sparky D" Broadnax was born in Brooklyn, growing up in Brownsville. In 1983, she joined the local female hip-hop group The Playgirls, which consisted of Lisa "City Slim" Yarborough and Romona "Mo Ski" Luck. The following year, the group released "Our Picture of a Man" on Sutra Records, and it was during this time that Sparky D met rapper Spyder-D.

Big Ghost Ltd. & Conway the Machine — If It Bleeds It Can Be Killed

Fourth studio album for Conway the Machine, the second in collaboration with producer and former comedian blogger Big Ghost Ltd. The title refers to the movie "Predator" (1987), quite appropriate for the dark mood that the two artists bring to the project.

Sir Mix-a-Lot — Mack Daddy

Anthony L Ray from Seattle, Washington, shows up with his third studio album. I never understood why this dog born in '63 was popular under the name of Sir Mix-A-Lot, but his records continued to receive certifications. His third album helps me find the definitive answer, which lies in his one-hit single, "Baby Got Back".

Miami Boyz — Getting Off

In 1988, the Miami duo composed of Amazing B and Icy C came out of the scene of the city that was the founder of the miami bass with this effort which, to be honest, is much better than any head could expect. And that's done with that kind of sound.

L'Trimm — Grab It!

Rachel "Lady Tigra" de Rougemont and Elana "Bunny D" Cager met in high school, become dancers on a TV show, then friends with a shared passion for hip-hop and form the group XTC. Through a mutual acquaintance with local rapper Mighty Rock, the girls meet one day at the studios of the label Hot Productions, where they are noticed by the label's head, who signs them both while still underage, starting to create tracks and choruses around the rhymes written by the girls, that come out of the pregnant Miami scene with some decent Miami Bass.

Sir Mix-a-Lot — Swass

Anthony "Sir Mix-a-Lot" Ray was born in Auburn, Washington, soon becoming a DJ and founding a own label in 1983 with the radio DJ "Nasty" Nes Rodriguez and the businessman Ed Locke.

Statik Selektah — What Goes Around...

Studio album number fourteen for Statik Selektah, sixth album producer, released one year after the last one. In this project, Lawrence's beatmaker collaborates with Lil' Fame, Joey Badass, Freddie Gibbs, Styles P, Talib Kweli, Action Bronson, Royce da 5'9", Black Thought, Snoop Dogg, Wais P, Ransom, Dilated Peoples, Ab-Soul, Jon Connor, Logic, NORE, Termanology, Reks, Sheek Louch, Pharoahe Monch, Crooked I, Heltah Skeltah, B-Real, JFK, Boldy James, Dessy Hinds, Joe Scudda, Bun B, Jared Evan and Posdnuos, among others.

Nice & Smooth — Jewel of the Nile

Nice & Smooth's third album, released three years after the last one. The title is a tribute to the eponymous movie released almost a decade before this effort. The kids don't seem to have any desire here anymore. Greg Nice handles a lot of the production and doesn't do a great job, to say the least. There are two signature beats from Showbiz of DITC, they are both similar and forgettable: they could be a good support for the dynamic style of the duo, also for an attempted hymn to weed in "Blunts", but the guys at the mic somehow mess it up and can't move forward.