Twenty Ten bitches! New year, new decade. I peeped how every other site and they mam's (no typo) had a best of the decade list. That's cool. I'm too lazy busy for all that going back ten years and such. As much as we like to decry the demise of cRap music, claiming the artform is dead, last year, in my opinion, was a great year for music. Meaning there was a whole lotta albums I dug over the long twelve month season. I might be late with this list, but I'm biting off the homie Ian from Notes From A Different Kitchen who loves to post his top ten or whatever lists in the new year, just because he's lazy too busy like that. Plus, I like looking back to see what so and so critic liked what, just so's I can either catch up on missed music or peep how wack said critic is. Note: This is my own personal list, not no professional analysis of cRap music and what not. So if you feel a kind of ways about my list, kick rocks bitch please feel free to add your own one two.

10. 'Ghostdini: The Wizard Of Poetry In Emerald City' - Ghostface Killah: My esteemed colleague Byron Crawford only got it half right when he claimed 'Supreme Clientele' was greater than 'The Blueprint'. As I see it, Tony Starks might have the claim to being best rapper of the last decade. Still, as much as Starks put in the game during these past ten years, his last album was kind of a curve ball, a record designed to tap into r&b love for the chicks. Not necessarily my thing, but Mr. Coles pulled it off. Let's put it like this, as much as he spit fires on this concept album, wifey loved the shit outta The Wizard Of Poetry.

9. 'Deeper Than Rap' - Rick Ross: You might already know how Officer Ricky ain't never been in any of my top anythings, still and all, the quality of the man's music on this last piece was undeniable. Production, raps, story, vibe, dude came off more believable than most. On them fine summer nights, Deeper Than Rap got mad play up in my system, especially when me and my house guests was up sipping on some wines, and burning up some leaves. The kind of music I need when I needed to get my Robb Report type of motivation in action.

8. 'Gone Fishing' - The Cool Kids: These cats always been kind of meh to me. I downloaded this mixtape on a whim. Holy effin mackerels! Talk about dope beats. The production was so fires on this joint that I didn't even care what dudes was spitting. Alls I knows is they delivery kept it 100 with their old school flow. If you haven't, please cop. Now. It ain't too late.

7. 'So Far Gone' - Drake: I know, Drake is such an easy target, what with all the over hype, him running with Weezy and Young Money and his image being cornier than that dude Alfonso Ribeiro. Still, way before it was trendy to ride this goofy Canadien's knutts, I wrote about how dope his album mixtape was before it was dropped again as an album. Raps, metaphors, plus the fact that he could sing his own hooks, Drake is dope. So Far Gone was the album '808 and Heartbreaks' wanted to be. Eff it if I catch flack, but I stand by my opinion. Hopefully, once all the extraneous shit dies down, we can expect full debut dope album from dude. Hopefully.

6. 'Blueprint 3' - Jay-Z: Everybody wanted to shit on old man Hov. 'Cause of how he dropped an Old Man rap album. Tell you the truth, I was mad disappointed upon first listen to's of BP3. Still, the more I listened, the better it got. This wasn't Jigga of old, that dude that most rappers wouldn't test on their best day, this was Jay-Z at his most pop. And damn if wasn't a hip pop album. Raps sounding stiff, but dude knew how to pick them singles. BP3 still gets mad play in my cipher. Plus the kids love it. As much as some may wanna throw stones, remember, this whole music thing ain't nothing but entertainment, and this album continues to entertain me.

5. 'Loso's Way' - Fabolous: Another album that caught mad hate last year. Like cats forgot that Fab could rap. Not a Fab fan, but after recognizing how good of a rapper he was from years back, Loso's Way was the Fab album I've been waiting for. Like Deeper Than Rap, Loso's Way was nothing less than dope production and great raps. Like Ross' album, Fab laid the whole drug rapper schtick a lil too thick for some, but damn did this piece knock in the system, and on the radio. Almost everything on this was single worthy. And I can't ever be mad at that.

4. 'Born Like This' - Doom: Dumile stays being unorthodox. One of my current favorite rappers. Born Like This wasn't rife with radio singles like some of my other top discs, but I don't ever want to hear radio singles from dude. Dusty, weird, gutteral, a different chamber from all the rest, Doom had me replaying cuts just so I could be certain he said the raps I thought he said. I stay needing rap like this. Never ever cRap in my book. So what if he don't show up at his own shows?

3. 'Crime Pays' - Cam'ron: Upon my first listen to, I shit on Crime Pays, Cameron Giles was too deep in his own lane. And my ears was too eff'd up with all that other basura that I had gotten accustomed to. Still, after a couple of days, I felt like the album was calling me back, like a ghost haunting white folk. With no pressure and nothing to lose, I eventually found myself lost in the cloudy haze that this album was. Murky beats, ignorance at it's best. It don't even make sense for me to try to argue how dope Cam is to those that don't feel him, feel his music. Years down the line, I'm certain Cam will be recognized for the rhyme genius that he is. Crime Pays was one of 2009's most slept on albums. And that is a crime.

2. 'Only Built For Cuban Linx 2' - Raekwon: This here was a twofer. Old Man Cocaine rap for the win. Admit it, most of us believed the Chef was blowing smoke up our asses [||] all them years he was promising us this. But like most cats from the old school, dude kept his word and dropped an effin classic. OB4CL2 was so dope that it was a no brainer that most rap fans hated BP3, especially since they both leaked dropped the same week, a day apart. Truth be told, I wanted nothing to do with BP3 after my first listen too. As far as I'm concerned, this was the best album that dropped in '09. That is until...

1. 'Til The Casket Drops' - Clipse: You already know. Delete three cuts from this and Til The Casket Drops is a no brainer. Brothers Thornton spitting conscious crack rap at it's best. Neptunes sounding brand new. As dope as OB4CL2 is, this one was more John Blaze than that. In my opinion. Adding dope guest features with Kanye West, Cam'ron, and Rick Ross, Til The Casket Drops captured what ruled in 2009. Crack rap ain't sound this good in  long effin time. So dope alls I can say is “eeeeeeeuuuuuuuuccccccckkkkkkkkk!"

So there you have it, the shit that kept your boy amped this past year. Lemme know what kept you fiending for '09. And with that, let's hope 2010 will bless us with more heat. cRap music ain't never died!

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