27. El P - I'll Sleep When You're DeadNew York producer El-Producto will drop his second full length in March 2007. Visit El-P's ISWYD blog for updates on the album's progress.26. Young Buck - Buck the World
Previously slated for December, Buck's sophomore LP will now arrive in February.
25. Eve - Here I AmJust when you thought female rappers were going into extinction, Eve quits her self-titled TV sitcom to reunite with rap. Here I Am promises collaborations with The Neptunes, Swizz Beatz, Timbaland and Dr. Dre.24. Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter III
Birdman jr. returns with his sixth solo album, Tha Carter III The album is slated for release next spring, just enough time for fans to put the Baby-kissing incident behind them.23. Timbaland - Shock Value
Timbaland takes a break from bringing sexy back to create tunes with Elton John, She Wants Revenge, The Hives, Fall Out Boy and Bjork. Let's just hope he saved all the good beats for himself.22. UGK - Underground Kingz
Underground Kingz marks UGK's return as a collective, following Bun B and Pimp C's respective success as solo artists.
21. Papoose - The Nacirema Dream No, it's not the rucksack-looking child-carrier. This Papoose is a revered wordsmith from Brooklyn, who likes to slaughter alphabets for fun. The Nacirema Dream (Nacirema spells American backwards) drops in March 2007.20. Devin the Dude - Waitin' to Inhale
Despite having collaborated with heavyweights like Snoop, Scarface, Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, and Nas, Devin the Dude is still one hit away from commercial success. Waitin' to Inhale, which drops on March 13th, features Lil' Wayne, Bun B, and the Odd Squad.
19. LL Cool J - Todd Smith 2: Back to Cool Back to Cool is the follow-up to the self-titled Todd Smith. This time, LL hooks up with fellow Queens rapper 50 Cent, who will oversee production on Back to Cool.18. Ghostface & MF Doom - Swift & Changeable
This oft-delayed collabo finds Ghost flexing his lyrical muscles over MF Doom's soulsonic playground.17. Saigon - The Greatest Story Never Told
Sai Giddy's debut album has been in the works for about four years, but he swears it'll be in stores before the millennium runs out.16. Sean Price - Jesus Price Superstar
You can probably tell from his Passion of Price DVD and the forthcoming Jesus Price Superstar that Sean Price has a knack for sacrilegious titles. Expect some holy music from Price this January.15. Chamillionaire - Ultimate Victory
Rumor has it that Dr. Dre, Kanye West, and The Runners produced some tracks on Ultimate Victory. Now there's an album worth checking for.14. Little Brother - The Getback
Assuming they don't get kicked off Atlantic by summer, North Carolina's most visible hip-hop group will attempt to add another masterwork to their catalog. Fans' desire to see LB beak out of their comfort zone forced Phonte and Big Pooh to collaborate with outside producers like Illmind, Nottz, and Alchemist on The Getback13. Talib Kweli & Madlib - The Liberation
If "Funny Money" is anything to go by then Liberation will probably be a winner among Okayplayers. The best part is that Kwe-Lib plan to hand the album to fans for FREE. 12. Lupe Fiasco - The Cool
Lupe's highly celebrated debut Food & Liquor featured only one guest emcee. The Cool promises even fewer rappers and more Pink Floyd.11. 50 Cent - Before I Self Destruct
The tentative release date for Fiddy's awesomely-titled third entry is March 20th, so expect Mr. Ferrari to jump-start a feud or two between January and February. The scary part is that 50 has vowed to reveal a 'sensitive thug' side of his image this time. 10. Pharoahe Monch - Desire
Led by the soulful single "Push," Desire is Monch's first album in eight years. The title track was produced by Alchemist.
09. Eminem - TBA Em has orchestrated two sub-par albums in the last two years or so. Usually, that means a potential "comeback" is in place.08. Redman - Red Gone Wild
Red Gone Wild is expected to arrive in March 2007, according to a message on Red's official website, Funkdoc.com. The first single will be produced by Timbaland.07. Rakim - The Seventh Seal
When we caught up with Rakim back in September, he swore The Seventh Seal will be in stores the first quarter of 2007. 06. Talib Kweli - Ear Drum
Led by the K-1-produced single, "Listen!!!," Ear Drum vows to be Kweli's most alluring effort in years. Norah Jones, UGK, and Musiq are on board for the project.05. Joe Budden - The Growth
Budden once threatened to slice his wrist if The Growth didn't make it to the stores by October 2006. Jay-Z swears Budden's album isn't finished. Someone's definitely lying. Regardless, Joey has managed to keep his buzz alive by unleashing lyrics of fury on mixtape after mixtape, like the outstanding Mood Muzik 2 that had the 'Net going nuts for months.04. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II
Now signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath imprint, The Chef is ready to drop the sequel to his 1995 masterpiece Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. 03. Common - Finding Forever
Following up an excellent album is typically a thorny task. Comm's last album, BE, was lauded by critics around the world, not to mention the various accolades he bagged afterwards (including four Grammy nominations). With Kanye West steering the production wheel once again, Forever, shows glimpses of another solid entry by Chicago's finest.02. Kanye West - Graduation
Speaking of Mr. West, now that he's conquered sophomore jinx by following up his College Dropout masterpiece with the equally opulent Late Registration, will third time be the charm? Let's just hope his reputation for generous self-appraisal doesn't precede his, um, Graduation.01. Dr. Dre - Detox
Put it this way: Dr. Dre will dictate the hip-hop soundscape of 2007 (see No. 26, 25, 15, 11, 9, and 4), so he'll have very little time left to devote to
Detox. Regardless, one quick glance at the Doc's history and you're almost bought on the fact that Detox will hit shelves sometime in '07--Dre only releases an album every seven years. Especially now that his artist-molding days are over.
Young_Phonics
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Who wrote this? It kinda sounds like O-dub. Or is it from the NYT? 2007 looks interesting. I wonder if Edan will drop something next year.
peace
h
IMO, The suspect gramelin merit albums that have to be either complete filler or albums that revive carrers, it can go either way. Honestly, I'm curious to hear Little Brother over non 9th beats since I felt dude is holding them back...but at the same time lately The Alchemist and more-so Illmind are just a little bit above mediocre.
Raekwon Sequel? A tall order especially considering the likely hood of rappers delivering heat this late in their careers.
Talib? I'm hoping dude can squeeze out a couple of joints of "Black Star" status just because I woudn't mind hearing a "conscious" dude making some damn good music. Him with Madlib? Maaaaaaan, as much as dude releases shit he might be able to take it back to the short era where he wasn't making an album an hour.
Similar to Madlib, MF Doom might be able to bring it with Ghost acting as a muse.
No Kanye or Common?
Mo ill illi don't like rap
I was being nice with some of those. I wanted to cross-out Sean Price and Saigon, but since I haven't heard Price's solo CD or a lot of Saigon's material i'd figure i'd give 'em the benefit of the doubt.
It also didn't notice SA-RA's album but I also heard they got dropped from GOOD.
Anyone know anything about that?
I never checked "Electric Circus" ask Faux_Rillz for a copy. But "Be" is one of the best albums i heard that year....probally this year to.
but let's not have another debate on that CD.
kanye > all the shit you talk about at the coffee shop
i really want that monch album to be good but i dont think its going to happen.
I can't believe you're surprised by this.
Why would a record label invest any money in that project?
I think 'Ye lost his whole label deal, not just Sa-Ra Creative Fashion Consultants or whatever they're called.
GOOD got dropped from dist and is now in limbo.
And speaking of, I can't WAIT for the Fonzworth Bentley album. Destined to be a classic, no doubt.
Half the work is already done for them that's why. Without the Sony label spending any money those dudes created a huge buzz and got critics/blogger types writing about them. That's more than can be said for a lot of those dollar bin hip-hop acts that get videos, ads, big cameos etc....
I mean look at the buster-ass Gnarls Barkley record, some weird-ass shit and it was one of the biggest projects this year.
Devin the Dude - Waitin' to Inhale for obvious reasons
Ghostface & MF Doom - Swift & Changeable because I celebrate both of their catalogues and I liked that one track they already put out "Tony's Angels" or whatever it was called.
Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II because I WAS skeptical but Rae's been sounding really good on everything he's on recently.
Dr. Dre - Detox again for obvious reasons.
And I'm not really hyped for Common and Kanye but I will listen and probably like some of it.
Dude, I didn't even listen to 17 new albums in 2006.
I actually, in general, like Common (just not lately) and NYT doesn't "know what it's talking about when it comes to rap music"? You think Kelefa Sanneh is that off the mark?
Dude, nobody gives a shit about Sa-Ra.
Gnarls Barkley was one of the biggest projects this year because even if they never sell another record they will be made just off in-store play at places like starbucks & banana republic and shit like ipod commercials.
NYT > Most major news publications when it comes to hip-hop. Try reading the fucking SF Chronicle's review of a hip-hop show.
Ha! No doubt. Anybody else remember back in 1998 when rumors of the 2nd Dre album were spreading? I was just a Junior in high school, and I remember hearing "Yo, that new Dre is dropping next week" at least once a month. Fast forward to mid-1999 and at long last we get...Suge Knight Presents: Chronic 2000. WTF??
Actually I mistaked NYT for Paychecks' homeboy Tom Brewhatshisface and the Village Voice.
There's a lot of suspect "hip-hop" writers in the bay as much as there are some real good ones. Not to go off on a tangent but I find it unintentionally hilarious that a lot of these newspapers who where falling over themselves to write about what dj shadow had for lunch, lyrics born, & "turntablism" while barley even giving a nod to "icky gangster rap music" are now putting folks like EA-Ski & The Frontline on their cover. There's just something awfully patronizing about that.