Dart Adams’ 25 Most Slept On Hip-Hop Albums Of 2012

We’ve finally reached the end of 2012 and there have been quite a few excellent Hip-Hop/Rap albums released throughout the past 365 days that both the listening audience and music journalists might have possibly missed. Given that multiple indie Rap albums drop every Tuesday and it’s pretty hard to keep up with everything that dropped in this era of Bandcamp and iTunes releases, there are several projects that drop each year the fans tend to miss.

Luckily for you Hip-Hop Wired readers, the editors of this site don’t need to assemble a brain trust or ask multiple writers for their picks, all they need to do is hit me up and I have them covered. [Editor’s Note: Be sure to check Dart Adams on the tweets or at Bastard Swordsman.]

In conclusion, you need not worry because I’ve listed, in no particular order, 25 under-appreciated gems from the past 52 weeks that may have gone overlooked by most Hip-Hop fans and Hip-Hop journalists alike. Don’t sleep…

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Photo: YouTube

AWAR – The Laws Of Nature

AWAR’s criminally slept on project The Laws Of Nature features production by The Alchemist, Jake One, Sid Roams, Nottz, M-Phazes, Sebb Bash & Vanderslice of Brutal Music. AWAR takes full advantage of this veritable producers Murderer’s Row over 15 tracks with assistance from MURS, Evidence, Joe Budden, Nottz, Stat Quo & Has-Lo. Why don’t you own this album again?

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Apollo Brown x Guilty Simpson –  Dice Game

Contender for Producer Of The Year Apollo Brown had his hands in two of the best Rap albums to drop all year long, this one featured the lyrical beast Guilty Simpson and he bodied all 16 slaps he was provided. Standout tracks include “Dear Jane”, the Torae featured “Potatoes” and the Planet Asia collaboration “Nasty”. Life is like a dice game, but this pair of dice rolled a hard seven.

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Bambu – One Rifle Per Family

Bambu of Beatrock Music has always made much needed rebel music throughout his career in an era where Hip-Hop needs it most. His latest album, One Rifle Per Family, is no exception, featuring contributions from Killer Mike, Prometheus Brown, Sick Jacken and Rocky Rivera.

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Billy Woods – History Will Absolve Me

Billy Woods of Backwoodz Studios’ new album History Will Absolve Me will probably be completely overlooked and unmentioned by 95% of Hip-Hop blogs, Rap publications and sites. Dart Adams doesn’t write for them, though…

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The Black Opera – Libretto: Of King Legend

A Side Worldwide teamed up with indie Hip-Hop juggernaut label Mello Music Group to release one of the best albums of 2012, The Black Opera’s incredible Libretto: Of King Legend. Produced entirely by Astronote, it blended social commentary and consciousness with superior lyricism and brilliant production.

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Blu x Exile – Give Me My Flowers While I Can Smell Them

The last time Blu teamed up with Exile they made a classic. This time Blu teamed up with Exile and made an album that you should definitely own if you claim to love Hip-Hop. So…do you?

Casual x J.Rawls – Respect Game Or Expect Flames

I respected game and this album was flames. Unfortunately, it fell on deaf ears with much of the audience at large. There’s still time to rectify that.

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Chino XL – Ricanstruction: The Black Rosary

What else can you ask for from an album other than top flight production, incredible bars, high minded but well executed concepts and more music for your money (35 tracks)? Chino XL’s long awaited opus Ricanstruction: The Black Rosary not only met expectations but it far exceeded them. Why it isn’t on more end of the year lists is mind boggling to say the least…

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Clear Soul Forces – Detroit Revolution(s)

The four man crew from Detroit spits fire over Ilajide and NAMELESS production while letting us know that the future of Hip-Hop is in good hands.

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Danny! – Payback

My homie Danny Swain somehow wrangled co-signs from Questlove & Jay-Z then found a way to get everyone from Joi, Erykah Badu, Questlove, Kay Slay, El-P, Phonte, Amber Tamblyn and more to guest appear on his album. Not only that, but this release resurrected Okayplayer Records. Why don’t you own this album? It’s dope. It’s Payback…

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Gangrene – Vodka & Ayahuasca

You take The Alchemist and Oh No, two of the best MC/producers of the past 15 years and give them a sophomore album with features from Kool G Rap, Prodigy, Roc Marciano, Evidence & Roc C over some raw beats they both crafted and what do you have? One of the best albums of 2012, that’s what!

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Gensu Dean – Lo-Fi Fingahz

Lo-Fi Fingahz boasts a line up of features that includes Brand Nubian, Large Professor, Roc Marciano, Count Bass D, David Banner and DMC among others all over raw slaps Gensu Dean made with his trusty SP1200. It’s criminal how cats slept on this project…

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Honors English – State Of The Art

New Jersey product Honors English partnered with his mentor Needlz and what resulted was an album that featured bars and production so bananas it’s hard to believ they offered it for a free download. This jawn is sickening.

House Shoes – Let It Go

Detroit Hip-Hop ambassador and crusader for quality Hip-Hop period, DJ House Shoes, released his long awaited debut album and it’s incredible. Let It Go is perfectly executed on every imaginable level. Production. Sequencing. The hand picked features that include Nottz, Gangrene, Roc Marciano, Guilty Simpson, MED, Black Milk, Quelle Chris, Chali 2Na, Danny Brown, Black Spade and many more only pound home the fact that more people should buy this project. The instrumentals are available as well.

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Journalist 103 – Reporting Live

I told you all that The Left’s (Apollo Brown x DJ Soko x Journalist 103) 2011 LP Gas Mask was a classic before it even dropped. I was right, by the way. The group’s mouthpiece released his debut solo project on Babygrande this year and it banged from beginning to end. And you slept on it. I didn’t (because I know better) but you did. Fix that, B.

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KA – Grief Pedigree

KA’s Grief Pedigree is arguably the Album Of The Year. I’ve personally advocated for this project since I heard it in full and I’ve gone on record calling it a classic. Years from now when enough Rap journalists grow the balls and gain the intestinal fortitude to finally agree with me you’ll all say that this album is, in fact, a classic release. Buy it now so you can say you owned it then. Self produced, self distributed & marketed plus KA directed his own videos for each song. Own it.

Large Professor – Professor @ Large

Large Pro came back with my favorite LP album since 1st Class and the official re-release of The LP dropped. He definitely proved he still has it in the beats & rhymes department.

OC x Apollo Brown Trophies

OC (D.I.T.C.) and Apollo Brown provided us with yet another contender for Album Of The Year. OC hasn’t sounded this good on a full project since Jewelz and D.I.T.C.’s Worldwide. Apollo Brown would be my pick for Producer Of The Year if it weren’t for the fact that The Alchemist pretty much bodied this entire leap year.

Oh No Ohnomite

Oh No made an album loaded with top flight features using the music and scores from Rudy Ray Moore (Dolemite) films solely as source material. The end result was one of the best projects of 2012 that was almost one of the most slept on. Damn shame, too…

Planet Asia – Black Belt Theatre & Rapsody – The Idea Of Beautiful (tie)

It’s a tie! Planet Asia’s overlooked album Black Belt Theatre and the First Lady Of Jamla’s opus The Idea Of Beautiful both deserve your attention, Hip-Hop listeners. Do the right thing.

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REKS x Numonics – REBELutionary 

You want bars? You want beats? You want consciousness? You crave some social commentary in your Hip-Hop? You love rebel music? You want some you can bang in your whip or your iPod Touch? Cop REBELutionary then. You’re welcome.

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Sean Born – Behind The Scale

Sean Born of Low Budget Crew made the 2012 version of “The Purple Tape” if the setting was the back roads of Baltimore in the late 90’s as opposed to late 80’s era Gotham. Once you hear Behind The Scale you’ll want to kick your own A$$ for sleeping on it. Salute to Kev Brown, Kenwood, Oddisee, Quartermaine and Dunc for providing the sonics.

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Sene – Brooklyknight

Brooklyknight is one of those albums that you hear and rewind again and again with your head nodding sporting a look of exasperation on your face like “HOW DID HEADS SLEEP ON THIS JAWN?”. I think that every time I play it on my iPhone 3GS or my MacBook and it blares out of my headphones. Go see what I’m talking about for yourselves.

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7evenThirty – Heaven’s Computer

Mississippi rookie MC 7evenThirty dropped an ambitious debut concept album that y’all really need to be checking for. There’s more emcees in Mississippi than David Banner, Kamikaze and Big K.R.I.T., folks. Get familiar…

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Skyzoo – A Dream Deferred

Skyzoo’s official sophomore effort exhibited that the homie has entered the exact opposite of a slump. A Dream Deferred ended up on my shortlist of Album Of The Year contenders  alongside Nas, Kendrick Lamar, House Shoes, KA, Roc Marciano, OC x Apollo Brown, etc. Skyzoo slayed production provided by 9th Wonder, Black Milk, DJ Khalil, !llmind, Focus…, Eric G, Jahlil Beats, Tall Black Guy and more then gave us gem upon gem. If you missed it when it dropped, cop it now. No late passes necessary because classic material is timeless. Word life.

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