Originally Posted by duga

17. THEESatisfaction – awE natural

Something I’ve been really interested in recently are the few artists out there proudly holding down the R&B fort. The genre has so much room for innovation, but the lack of interest in it has created a very stagnant genre. Frank Ocean, The Weeknd, and a few others come to mind…but it was THEESatisfaction that most impressed me this year. While the artists I just mentioned have expanded the genre, they still sound like a nostalgia act. THEESatisfaction have transcended that and brought R&B squarely into the 21st century. The songs are generally short, much like the attention spans of most listeners these days but they are somehow fully realized. Now that takes skill. Just try not to enjoy “Existinct”.


16. Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music

As much as I love a smooth rap album (just give me some Tribe and I’m a happy guy), sometimes I like it to be really ghetto. Killer Mike provides that fix and then some. It’s not just aggressive, but really catchy and memorable. There aren’t many instances where I’m inspired to memorize the lyrics to a particular song, but there are few occasions here where I really want to rap along to it and pump my fist. Just try “Go!”. I’ve also noticed a lot of rappers these days going into stuff about Reagan…why is he so popular to talk about now? “Reagan” is the one low-point of the album (but it is still mildly entertaining to hear Reagan being compared to the devil). Aside from that misstep, this is a really great album.