Here at Philadelphia Slick, we’re not only developers of hip hop, we’re also avid consumers and critics.  While the 00s weren’t as diverse as the 90s, (a decade that started with old school boom bap sampling and ended with the neo-soul movement) or as groundbreaking as the 80s for rap music – there was still a slew of brilliant releases.  Below are three top ten lists: the first from myself, Emcee Noesis; the second from bassist Mike Polinsky; the third from friend of the band Zachary Dietrich-Black.

#10 – Madvillany by MF DOOM and Madlib

If you didn’t know Doom from KMD or Doomsday fame, you knew his name after this album.  Several songs on this album have gotten the repeat treatment since it was released in 2004: Curls, All Caps, my personal favorite – Fancy Clown, Figaro, Meat Grinder, Money Folder – the whole album perhaps?  While some may tire of Doom’s wandering, at times nonsensical rhyme style, no one can deny that this was MF at his finest.

#9 – Rip the Jacker by Canibus

Any surprise that Canibus’ best album of all time was produced by Stoupe from Jedi Mind Tricks?  Word is that Bis recorded his lyrics to a click track and let Stoupe handle the rest – and how refreshing was it to hear the man’s production under someone else besides Vinnie Paz.  Poet Laureate II is still, perhaps, Canibus’ best verse/song ever (with his Beast From the East verse coming in at 1B).  My personal favorite section: “One million page dissertation written on paper / Cheap label from Pitney Bowes’ tree curator / My purification process is greater but thinly tapered – verbatim / My album is equal to over fifty acres”

#8 – All of the Above by J-Live

Great sophomore effort from J.  Every song has a definitive meaning and/or lyrical device.  One for the Griot plays with the art of storytelling; Satisfied is a manifesto for America in the new millenium; All in Together Now is, well, a Premier track – so you can’t hate.  Best part of the album – the lead in to A Charmed Life from Travelling Music.

#7 – Let’s Get Free by Dead Prez

Remember this one from early in the decade?  It certainly put Dead Prez on the map – too bad they couldn’t stay there.  Funny how artists who hate on their labels while they’re signed end up having less than successful careers… hmm…  Animal in Man is a great 1984 parable, Be Healthy is a terrific ode to good food and living well, and of course, It’s Bigger Than… what?

#6 Shadows on the Sun by Brother Ali

What’s that?  Ant is producing for an artist that isn’t a whiny, depressed, overly-poetic emcee?  Yes, Brother Ali is everything that Atmosphere left you wanting for – namely – lyrics that relate and are creative without being, well, nasal and crass.  Shadows on the Sun is a magnificent album – like he pointed out at his shows – the Brother put in over seventy minutes – eighteen tracks of blood, sweat, and tears.  Perhaps the best new hip hop artist of the decade.

#5 – Donuts by Jay Dee

What more can I say about Donuts?  A fantastic fifty minute DJ mix through beats and vocal samples.  He introduced a whole new generation to Raymond Scott, and gave artists for the next 5+ years beats to rock on their albums.  Dilla, Rest In Peace.

#4 – Like Water for Chocolate by Common

Sneaking in on the early side of the decade, Like Water For Chocolate was just the type of album you’d expect from Common, ?uestlove, and Jay Dee (let’s not discount Premier as well).  Perhaps, the best produced hip hop album of all time?  Still from the era of rap where artists were making 70 min. album (see: Capital Punishment), this is Common at his best – before Kanye, before The Roots got really big (and before they had a guitar player), before thirty minute albums made a comeback.

#3 – Labor Days by Aesop Rock

I started listening to Aesop Rock shortly before Labor Days was released and fell in love with the emcee’s raw lyricism.  On Labor Days, Aes really refined his rapping to a degree where songs came together with production to produce an album that could be beloved by a widespread audience.  From Big Bang to Daylight to Battery, and of course No Regrets, Aesop proved that lyricism could be widely popular.

#2 – Dead Ringer – RJD2

The man who pretty much redefined rap production and instrumentals.  Of course break-beats and chopping existed before RJD2, but rarely have we seen the work that’s been put into one song that RJ does.  Sections, bridges, breaks, there’s no one that can listen to Dead Ringer and then proclaim sampling an unc—reative act.  Oh yeah, have you seen the man perform live?  Kind of puts 98.9% of other DJs to shame.  How many emcees have written albums to Dead Ringer?

#1 – Supreme Clientele – Ghostface

No surprises, right?  ONE!  Another one of those seventy minute albums we’ve been talking about.  Supreme Clientele has bangers for days and all the Ghost-isms we’ve grown to love over the year including “ravioli bags,” and “swing the John McEnroe.”  The world can’t touch Ghost’s purple tape or Supreme Clientele. Wu-Tang.

Mike Polinsky’s Top Ten

10 – Speakerboxx / The Love Below by Outkast
9 – Deadringer by RJD2
8 – Revolutionary Vol 1 by Immortal Technique
7 – Vespucci’s Ransom by Foul Mouth Jerk (GFE)
6 – Donuts by Jay Dee
5 – Take Me To Your Leader by King Geedorah (Doom)
4 – Rip the Jacker by Canibus
3 – Rhizomatic by Noesis
2 – Labor Days by Aesop Rock
1 – Tru3 Magic by Mos Def

Zach DB’s List

10 – Stillmatic by Nas
9 – Bazooka Tooth by Aesop Rock
8 – All of the Above by J Live
7 – Revolutionary Vol 2 by Immortal Technique
6 – Electric Circus by Common
5 – Supreme Clientele by Ghostface
4 – Train of Thought by Talib Kweli
3 – Rip the Jacker by Canibus
2 – The Cool by Lupe Fiasco
1 – Vaudeville Villian – Viktor Vaughn (Doom)