Hip Hop 2009 Year end Review x Andrew Da Silva

1.) Raekwon: Only Built for Cuban Linx 2

Best songs: Kiss the Ring, Broken Safety, New Wu, House of Flying Daggers

Best verses: Rae, Meth, Deck and Ghost’s verses on Flying Daggers, Styles on Broken Safety, Decks verse on Black Mozart. With Wu it’s all about the storytelling, slang, aggressive deliveries, wordplay, and style.

Best beat: 4 way tie... Kiss the Ring, New Wu, House of Flying Daggers, Broken Safety. ***OB4CL2 had such amazing production it was impossible to pick just one beat.

2.) Eminem's "Relapse"

Best songs: Stay wide awake, Medicine Ball, Deja Vu, 3 am

Best verse: Stay wide awake verse 3. *** Em’s psychotic storytelling done in doubletime is one of the years best lyrical achievements. Even if you can’t stomach the track's subject matter, there's no denying the skill set, timing, and breath control it takes to pull off a verse like this.

Best beat: Medicine Ball*** Dre’s beat of horns, claps, and pounding drums was the perfect backdrop for Em to spew his venom over.

3.) Slaughterhouse

Best songs: Cuckoo, Microphone, The One, Cut You Loose

Best verses: With this album being a group project it’s too tough to pick one verse. Crooked I’s verse on Cut You Loose was a standout, as well as Budden and Royce’s verses on Cuckoo and Microphone. Joel Ortiz’s verses on Cuckoo and Lyrical Murderers were exceptional as well.

Best beat: Cuckoo*** This circus sounding beat with pounding drums produced by Dj. Khalil brought out the beast in all mcees and still remains the best cut on the album.

4.) Jay Z : Blueprint 3

Best songs: Thank You, On To The Next One, Empire State of Mind, So Ambitious

Best verses: Jay’s second and third verses on Thank You. *** With a nonchalant delivery, descriptions of good living, and metaphoric destruction to wack mcees, Jay proved he’s still as witty as ever when it comes to writing verses.

5.) Tie: Royce the 5’9:Street Hop/ Clipse:Til the Casket Drops

Best songs: Shake This, New Money, Warriors, On the Run

Best verse: *** For slightly over two minutes Royce manages to sound menacing over a mellow middle Eastern sampled beat. Too many quotables to reference in its two minute duration.

Best beat: Shake this*** Premo comes through with one of the years best beats, complete with a dope drum pattern, strings and horns.

Best songs: Popeyes, Showing Out, Never Will It Stop, Doorman

Best verse: (Pusha T) Freedom*** Pusha gets personal on the album's first cut, spilling his guts over a guitar sample, talking about his relationships with women and music.

Best beat: Popeyes*** the drum pattern and piano are so catchy it’s damn near impossible not to nod your head to this one.

Without question 2009 has been an exceptional year for Hip hop...here's part 1 of my favorite albums of the year, stay tuned for part 2.