Best of April 2008

As usual, my brown ass is late on yet another post haha... but what else is new? I shouldn't really have any excuse. Just gotta get started on my blogging grind. So as promised, here are the best 5 albums and/or mixtapes from April '08. ENJOY!


Atmosphere- When Life Gives You Lemons, Paint That Shit Gold: The duo of Ant and Slug, better known as Atmosphere, drop their 6th studio album. I never really used to listen to Atmosphere until a friend put me on to 'em. From there I listened to "A Tribute to Lisa Bone"t (because I'm a Murs fan), "God Loves Ugly", and "Strictly Leakage", all of which I loved. With that in mind, I knew that "When Life Gives You Lemons" wouldn't disappoint. And it didn't. Check out "Like the Rest of Us", "Dreamer", and "Shoulda Known".

Buckshot & 9th Wonder- The Formula: Following up to 2005's "Chemistry", 9th and the BDI Thug are back at it again with "The Formula". Featuring guest spots from Talib Kweli, Arafat Yates, and Big Chops, the chemistry (no pun intended) between this MC + Producer duo is by far one of the greatest to witness (with your ears of course) in HipHop today. Be sure to check out "Hold It Down", "Whassup With U?", "Intro (The Formula)", and "Ready (Brand New Day)".

The Roots- Rising Down: With joints such as "75 Bars (Black's Reconstruction)", "Get Busy", and "Rising Up" hitting the Internet maybe a month or so ago, the hype for this album was definitely up there. And boy did the 5th Dynasty Crew deliver. Featuring Malik B, Dice Raw, Talib Kweli, Common, Mos Def, Styles P, Porn, Truck North, Saigon, Peedi Peedi and Wale. Besides the above mentioned tracks, be sure to check out "Rising Down", "Criminal", and "I Will Not Apologize."

J Heat & Blu- (So)ul Amazing: Though this is more like a compilation of songs from Blu both pre and post "Below the Heavens", it is somewhat of a good starting point for those who aren't too familiar with one of the underground's heavy hitters whose fanbase is growing exponentially.


Hasan Insane & JayZ- Black Caesar: OH. MY. GOD. This is probably the best American Gangster remix album that I've heard. And I've heard a good 10-15 versions too. Beats are dope, blended verses were perfectly placed... GO CHECK IT OUT!

Other Ish To Listen To:
Jay Electronica - What The F*ck Is A Jay Electronica
W.A.L.E. Collected & Compiled
Andre 3000- Alter Ego The Mixtape (Presented By Trapaholics)
The Cool Kidz- Cool Ass Ninjas
Tapemasters Inc & Lupe Fiasco- Follow the Leader
Ayatollah- Louder

Trakks2ChekOwt:
Nas- Be A Nigger Too
Pacific Division- Taste
Jadakiss- From Now Til Then
Skyzoo & Wale- Lyrically Inclined
Keith Murray- Don't Hate Me Cause I'm Beautiful
CL Smooth & Skyzoo- Perfect Timing
Nas- War Is Necessary
Busta Rhymes & Linkin Park- We Made It

Shoutouts to the good folks over at 2dopeboyz, Onsmash, IllRoots, and PoisonousParagraphs.

-FtK