Not another 'state of hip-hop today' thread

[Kirby]

Originally Posted by Jester

Hip hop is doing fine.

I concur.

Originally Posted by LoathsomePete

Sounded like your typical "Things were so much better back in the day" rants that make me want to puke out my blackened guts. OK I agree with him about the current state of mainstream hip hop but I've always thought like that and so have a lot of people, "Mainstream hip hop is more about self image than lyrics!" ZOMG really!??!?! Even his little pathetic rant on underground hip hop was dumbfounded and had no real substance to it. He couldn't even be kind enough to name a few hip hop groups from this decade. 2009 the death of hip hop? Don't make me laugh, here's a list of hip hop albums from 2009 I have found myself enjoying:

Gift of Gab - Escape 2 Mars
Random - Mega Ran 9
CunninLynguists - Strange Journey Vol. 1 & 2
P.O.S. - Never Better
Bike For Three -More Heart Than Brains
Busdriver - Jhelli Beam
Brother Ali - The Truth Is Here
Sleep (Of Oldominion) - Hesitation Wounds
Classified - Self-Explanatory
DOOM - Born Like This
CYNE - Water For Mars
Cradle Orchestra - Velvet Ballads
Audible Mainframe - Transients
Mos Def -The Ecstatic
mc chris - Part Six Part One
K'Naan - Troubadour
Phrase - Clockwork
True Live - Found Lost
Why? - Eskimo Snow

People really need to be more positive.

To add some to this, (even though I disagree with one or two from your list)

Brother Ali - Us
Felt - Felt 3: A Tribute To Rosie Perez
KiD CuDi - Man On The Moon: The End of Day
Blue Scholars - Oof! EP
Tech N9ne - K.O.D.
Danny! - Where Is Danny?
Zion I - The Takeover
The Grouch & Eligh - Say G&E
BK-One (with Benzilla) - Radio Do Canibal (one of my favorites this year, I REALLY recommend this)
KRS-One & Buckshot - Survival Skills
XV - Everybody's Nobody (Mixtape) (favorite mixtape of the year)
Krizz Kaliko - Genius
Lupe Fiasco - Enemy Of The State: A Love Story (Mixtape)
mc chris - Part Six Part Two
mc chris - Part Six Part Three
Wale - Attention Deficit
Raekwon - OB4CL pt. II
Method Man & Redman - Blackout! 2

And I know I'm forgetting some.