Rolling Stone Names Its 20 Best Hip Hop Albums Of 2013

[kkaniff]

@Horsebot3k Yes, there's no objective way to analyze music but year end lists should, imo, be a a different matter.
Sort of like the Grammy AOTY, it's often less about non-quantifiable/abstract stuff like "critical acclaim"(the fact that one critic thinks an album is 5/5 and another thinks it's barely .13/5, shows that it's extremely variable) and more about readily measured stuff like sales, impact on pop culture, charts etc.
At least, that's what I feel.
...
Also, I care about it because it feels like I'm missing something; I bought NWTS, Yeezus and MMLP2, I've listened to those CDs and all the artist's previous work, if some mag. whose opinions I'm supposed to take seriously thinks differently from me, then I'd like to know the reason why.

[King Lance]

I won

[VINTAGƎ]

I really....

Like -- if we found out years later that Kanye paid off every major media outlet to give positive reviews for Yeezus, or his label did it to save face because it performed poorly for Kanye standards, I wouldn't be surprised. In fact; it would make more sense than what's actually going on.

Do these critics leave the house? Have they heard the reception to Bound 2 and the accompanying video? People are mocking that shit.

Do they know even a considerable amount of Kanye fans admit it's is weakest effort?

Where do these people live? I literally know zero people who are playing this shit or even talked about it being good. Not that MMLP 2 is killing the game, but more people I know listened to it and enjoyed it than Yeezus people. I'm still waiting to meet a person in real life who liked it.

I'm surprised he wasn't named first and second, with Jay being third and fourth for the new rules he laid down upon us and how he changed the course of the game forever.

[kkaniff]

^ This, so much this.
They're claiming it's revolutionary, how can you start a revolution when nobody's listening to you/buying your albums?

[VINTAGƎ]

^ This, so much this.
They're claiming it's revolutionary, how can you start a revolution when nobody's listening to you/buying your albums?

That's what I'm saying. I think the hope is -- they talk about it enough to get people thinking it's revolutionary, but no one is listening to it. To Yeezus or MCHG.

Kanye's and Jay's marketing strategies are great. I'll give them that. They give off the feel that their albums are cinematic events. Historic moments in hip hop history. They're not. They're just albums. As of late, from both of them -- average to sub par albums at that.

For them it's all image. With the experimental beats, the regal/royal looking covers like on WTT and MCHG like they're artists ahead of their time. Bro we know it's you. You were doing Big Pimpin not too long ago. Fuck outta here thinking you're on some high brow artistic shit.

But as I've said many times, they're popular because people want to feel trendy. They want to feel like they're part of that hip, artistically advanced crowd. It's all a marketing ploy. Their fans are not buying albums they're buying the image.

I'm just glad at this late stage of his career, Em is probably working harder on his music than he ever has.

[kkaniff]

Yup.
For example, I remember people, specifically Elliot Wilson, claiming Watch The Throne was one of the most important hip-hop albums of all time.
I kid you not, he really said that.
This Kanye&Jay dickriding has got to stop.

[kkaniff]

Sorry, he said it was THE most important.

[VINTAGƎ]

Yup.
For example, I remember people, specifically Elliot Wilson, claiming Watch The Throne was one of the most important hip-hop albums of all time.
I kid you not, he really said that.
This Kanye&Jay dickriding has got to stop.

Totally agree. When you have to whore yourself around in order to do it, it loses its appeal. It loses its legitimacy. I remember back before Jay "retired" -- no one was calling him the greatest, or even one of the greats. Then he said on Dirt Off Your Shoulders "the best rapper alive nigga ask about me."

That's when I started hearing people consider him a GOAT, couple that with him pretending to leave the game -- the fans hearts grew fonder.

Then he names his comeback album Kingdom Come. Please. And he hasn't stopped with that royal/high status shit. Watch The Throne? Magna Carter...HOLY GRAIL??

It has to be somewhat embarrassing, or annoying to him, that he has to go to these lengths to show people "hey look! I'm like, really popular and stuff!"

And Eminem does none of that, kills the charts, outsells everybody without pulling half the publicity stunts Jay and Kanye do. "Outsold the sellouts" is right.

I do give him props though. Retiring his old image and returning as a classy businessman who makes grown folk music totally took his career to a different level. The pseudo retirement did more for his career and image than anything else. Smartest business move he's ever made. Even if he does take it painfully too far in terms of trying to look cool and stuff. But it's worked for him. His music quality has taken a step back but his respect in the game gets bigger. I said this in another thread, it looked like he put more effort into the commercial for MCHG than the actual album. But that's what he does now. He sells the flash, not the substance. It's cooler to listen to Jay-Z and Kanye than it is to listen to Eminem.

[Troll]

Eminem lost

[classthe_king]

where do u ppl live and who do u hang out with because I've never heard 1 person bump eminem but jay-z and kanye get played all the time

[classthe_king]

tom ford is the second biggest song off the album tho and that's a solo song :kanyeshrug:

[classthe_king]

maybe eminem should get some good production then

[kkaniff]

^ He obviously doesn't need it.
At least, his No 1 single and 2x plat. a WW in a month album seem to say so.

[Solace]

I feel you Horsebot

[kkaniff]

@Vintage do you want to handle that or should I? I'm a lot more, what's the word, insulting.