A Few of Many

A few albums of the past I have enjoyed...

Below The Heavens-Blu & Exile

Relatively unknown, yet incredibly written and produced, MC Blu and D.J. Exile’s merger on Beneath The Heavens is a hip-hop hidden treasure. Blu tells all over Exiles tasteful beats, which are reminiscent of old-school television series theme songs like Shaft and Charlie’s angles. Throughout the course of the album, Exile keeps your head bobbing while Blu keeps your mind thinking with his lyrical depth and perception. Blu & Exile on Beneath the Heavens is a match made in heaven.

• Track of Choice: Dancing in the Rain

The Chronic/The Chronic 2001- Dr. Dre

Few to none can release just two albums their extensive multi-decade career and still be considered legendary in their craft. Much like the Chronic, which introduced the world to Snoop Dog & Easy E, The Chronic 2001 introduced the world to Marshall Mathers more properly known as Eminem. Beyond the MC by-products of 'The Chronics', Dr. Dre, in both his premier and sophomore releases, has shown the uncanny ability to not only adapt to the current times, but he has successfully reinvented himself to several generations of listeners. Not only does he boast a PhD in the game, he is a respected godfather, and an undisputed innovator.

• Tracks of Choice: Forgot about Dre & Nothin’ but a G thang

Futures-Jimmy Eat World

Sure the genre is a sinking ship, but Jimmy Eat World still remains a float in my book. Maybe its because they play a little better than the majority of ‘drive-thru’ sounding bands or maybe its because they didn’t really succumb to the whimpering and whining that became the staple of the genre. Either way, Futures, is a dynamic album that finishes as strong as it starts and is quite nostalgic of younger years.

• Track of Choice: 23

Graduation-Kanye West

This is the album that separated Kanye from the rest of the mainstream rap/hip-hop world. It is a successful merger of techo- synth laden tracks with his trade-mark soulful Chi-town flow. Graduation is a studio masterpiece that arguably pushed hip-hop/ rap past the era of big bass & tall tees into the more fashionably conscious, spacey- electro dream wave sound that is indicative of many artist, albums, and singles that grace the airways today.

• Track of Choice: Flashing Lights

Heart Breaker-Ryan Adams

Simplicity & earnestness at its best. Adams is Lyrically profound and exhibits a humble ease of delivery. The latter, perhaps, indicates one thing: Heartbreaker is, in fact, a pure product of the heart.

• Track of Choice: Sweet Carolina

Morning View-Incubus

This was the first album I thought of when I started this list. Morning View was and still is well beyond its time. There are no holes in Morning View nor in Incubus, for that matter. The Brandon Boyd/ Mike Enzinger combination creates a fusion of sounds that touches bases on almost every category of musical critique. Boyd Is a poet with words and Enzinger showcases crafty wizardry on guitar. From beginning to end there is no note, phrase, pattern, or beat played in vain.

• Track of Choice: Just A Phase

Musicology- Prince

Funk for a new generation. My mom introduced me to Prince when I was 16, and I’ve been a fan ever since. While Prince is globally renown, it can still be said that his artistic and musical abilities are highly underrated. Prince boast pitch perfect vocals, an expansive vocal range, and elite skill at guitar, bass, and several other instruments; all of which follow suit throughout his extensive and successful discography. It is even rumored that Prince recorded every instrument on Musicology. Even the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson, said, some time before his death, that he took Propofol, the sedation drug that ultimately caused his death, in order to channel song ideas via ‘dreams’ before Prince thought of them first~an inadvertent compliment coming from one of the greatest artist to ever live.

• Track of Choice: What Do You Want Me To Do

Room for Squares-John Mayer

Call it what you want, but to this day, Mayer’s fame & success are still deeply rooted in Room For Squares. It is one of the few debut albums that successfully established a relationship between an artist’s identity and his or her corresponding sound. Mayer succeeds in attaching relevant and catchy hooks to well thought out verses, amidst several styles including: folk, jazz, pop rock, etc.

• Track of Choice: Neon

Parachutes-Coldplay

Pop mastery, plain and simple. It isn’t too often that a band is able to equally establish their dominance on multiple continents. Parachutes is lyrically intriguing and boast shimmering studio production. Chris Martin's voice is as subtlety captivating as is the overall quality of this album.

• Track of Choice: Sparks

Rejoicing In The Hands-Devendra Banhart

Devendra is a mastermind of words. His delivery is as unique as his name. His uniqueness, however, does not diminish nor detract from the basic beauty of Rejoicing In The Hands. Primarily an acoustic album, Banhart sings proverbially, throughout RITH, as he guides listeners through his fruitful fields of thought.

• Track of Choice: The Body Breaks