(In no particular order - unless you count the alphabet as a particular order.)
Aesop Rock - Spirit World Field Guide (Rhymesayers Entertainment)
Aesop Rock continues to leave a trail of mind-bending wordplay and unparalleled compositions worth digesting and deciphering. But for this quest, he compartmentalized his 2019 world travels into a musical manual for soul-searching – relevant to this earthly plane, and other dimensions. Aesop’s inspired, self-produced exploration covers biting, personal topics like paranoia, isolation, legacy and back pain while soaring through a smorgasbord of electro layers to underscore the virtuoso’s out-of-body imagination.
Standout track: Pizza Alley
Andy Cooper - L.I.S.T.E.N. (Unique Records)
"I made it look easy, because it is to me." -Dres, Black Sheep
Effortless. Natural. No sweat. Andy Cooper’s rapid rapping heart rate is probably calmer than those who experience this smooth salute to lyrical fitness. Turning the classic Hip-Hop formula on its ear - to thump even harder – the Long Beach, CA veteran emcee/producer again delivers lyrical innovation supplying the ear's need. That just so happens to be the album’s acronymic title, comprised of a ten-song wallop tightly packed with warp speed pop culture jabs and humorous haymakers landing right in the kisser.
Standout track: L.I.S.T.E.N.
Damu the Fudgemunk, Archie Shepp & Raw Poetic - Ocean Bridges (ReDefinition Records)
If 2020 was a nightmare, zone out in the pocket of this squealing saxophone fever dream. The abundantly prolific Damu and Raw Poetic united with legendary Jazzman, playwright and professor Archie Shepp for a liberating, bright and celebratory walk across a generation gap full of rich, room-filling swing. It’s hard to tell where the DMV duo’s Hip-Hop techniques bisected the 83 years old Shepp’s Jazz sensibilities, but that’s the fun part. The hard part, though, was pairing down a likely nine hour jam session!
Standout track: Aperture
Deca - Snakes and Birds (Beulah Records)
Rarely is an artist’s work as vibrant visually as it is audibly. One part of the package tends to shine stronger and dictate the focus. Tell that to Deca. You don’t have to try hard to hear tones in his paintings or see colors in his songs. ‘Snakes and Birds’ is a grad level master class in spiritual critical thinking without a wasted syllable or brushstroke. Playing a reliable narrator, Deca spins tales of escaping an allegorical American underbelly that’s almost too real for 2020’s headlines.
Standout track: Snakes and Birds
Googie & Henry Canyons - Hijinx (Backwoodz Studios)
These Brooklynites from the Backwoodz base could have taken friends’ advice earlier. Urged on to work together for years, Googie and Henry Canyons matched energy for a bouncy and breezy album, conceptually tied together by the pair’s collective charismas… plus intriguing rhymes patterns, top-tier lyricism and organically fun storytelling. Their partnership gelled quicker than they traded verses to produce De La Soul-like chemistry. Stay plugged in, dudes!
Standout track: You Could Be
Illogic - Autopilot (Illogistics, LLC)
‘Whatever happened to Illogic?’ is a question heads not paying attention may have asked recently.
The Columbus, Ohio poet and rapper was ubiquitous on the Underground Hip-Hop scene in the early ‘00s, but he never actually went anywhere. He’s just been grinding and returned in a big way with a truly solo project in ‘Autopilot’. Proudly written, produced, recorded and mixed by the man himself, Illogic’s front-to-back effort is packaged proof that some ambitious folks cannot settle within one discipline when they know they have the talents to build on others. Illogic is that dude. Now also a photographer and podcast co-host, he claims to be just hitting his artistic stride. He’s correct; these experimental and spare Industrial booms - accentuated by Illogic’s complex verses and baritone punctuation - will have ‘Autopilot’ on auto-repeat.
Standout track: Ascot
L.Teez - The Index to My Inner Thoughts (Hydrophonik Records)
Earnest and raw, L.Teez is a fresh voice from Montreal who’s left blood, sweat, tears and thoughts across the globe. Aided by a sturdy bass, clean keys and crisp drums, he may as well have used the mic booth (and probably night club stages, basements, public transit rides, etc.) as his confessional in order to arrive at a moment of zen ‘The Index to My Inner Thoughts’ allows. A tidy six-song EP, this album builds to late night clarity with frankness through painstakingly personal, yet completely relatable issues.
Standout track: Pain (feat. Lea Keeley)
Marlowe - Marlowe 2 (Mello Music Group)
Solemn Brigham’s immense vocabulary and sharp pen + L’Orange’s deep crates and sharp chops = the best kind of controlled chaos and one fun cinematic event. Sandwiched between Sci-Fi movie dialogue from a man (or is he?) lost in our reality, this feature presentation is the second in the Marlowe canon. Unfolding via nimble vocals and bold beats, the balance is in Brigham and L’Orange excitable telling of yesterday’s stories tomorrow in an off-kilter fashion that immediately demands full attention.
Standout track: Sawdust Underground
R.A.P. Ferreira - purple moonlight pages (Ruby Yacht)
Rory Allen Philip Ferreira retired his Milo and Scallops Hotel aliases in early 2020 in favor of using his own name. He’s noted maturity as a factor and feels he can finally stand behind his real identity.
The image fits and the initials couldn’t be more appropriate for the precise daydreamer and lucid meanderer. Accompanied by The Jefferson Park Boys (Aaron Carmack, Mike Parvizi and Kenny Segal, the trio's maestro), Rory’s ponderings ascend above Hip-Hop thanks to the lush Free Jazz canvasses. There is so much to be said about the album’s beauty, but simultaneously, an awe-struck smile can be as much justice.
Standout track: Cycles
Sa-Roc - The Sharecropper's Daughter (Rhymesayers Entertainment)
A co-sign and fire guest spot from Black Thought is always a plus, but Sa-Roc more than triumphs on her own. Wrapping centuries of knowledge (and trauma) into a captivating and booming voice, this DC native to ATL transplant addresses the universe at large in looking back by thinking forward. Sa-Roc’s crisp articulation, fiery delivery and elevated lyricism help her songs stretch and soar towards the heavens with poise, despite anything weighing them down.
Standout track: The Sharecropper’s Daughter (feat. Ledisi)
HONORABLE MENTIONS
CJ Fly & Statik Selektah - RUDEBWOY (Pro Era)
Es x Pandamonium - The Connected EP (self-released)
Heath McNease - Notes, Volume 1 (self-released)
Kid Abstrakt & Emapea - Jazzy Vibes (Raw Rhythm / Emapea Music)
Lyric Jones - Closer Than They Appear (EMPIRE)
Oddisee - The Odd Cure (Outer Note Label LLC)
Open Mike Eagle - Anime, Trauma and Divorce (Auto Reverse)
Tiffany Paige & John Robinson- That Magic (Beatvizion Music)
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If you enjoy any of these artists, tune into my radio program - Forces Of Obvious Luck Radio - live from KRBX Radio Boise every Thursday from 9:00 - 11:00 PM MT for more powerfully positive Jazzy Hip-Hop Soul just like this.
And in case you missed it, check out my 2019 Top Ten feature.
Final note: All of my personal friends' albums were disqualified from consideration. Personal bias and whatnot.
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