5. Less Arrests
Seems like rappers still love to hang around with guns and drugs, as T.I. is in federal custody and Lil’ Wayne is about to do a one-year bid from a gun charge. Hell, it seems like DMX is getting arrested every other month. With all the limelight and money making these guys targets, rappers need to show that they’re collectively smarter than what we’ve demonstrated over the years. And if you have to indulge in your guns and drugs, at least have your posse member handle them. As shallow as this sounds, I’d rather have the sidekick catch the charge than the artist; I don’t see the sidekick’s name in my iPod.
4. Summer Concert Series
Specifically, the Paid Dues and Rock the Bells shows. Paid Dues showcases the best that the underground has to offer, and Rock the Bells brings the legends. It’s always a big guessing game every time spring rolls around and the lineup gets announced. Rumors get tossed around (like the rumor that Outkast would headline last year, only to have Big Boi be one of the featured acts) and people begin visualizing their dream lineup. Allow me to use this forum to cast my idea: Dr. Dre headlining. Ice Cube did last year at the San Bernardino show, you should have the album done by then. Right? Right?
2010 is going to be an extremely interesting year for debuts. Among the rappers slated to drop debut LPs in 2010 are Drake, Crooked I, J.Cole, and Nipsey Hussle. Drake’s debut has been one of the most-anticipated releases in recent memory, as he’s made quite a name for himself through his signing to Lil’ Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment. Crooked I, finally gets his solo debut after enduring a decade of shelved albums, numerous mixtapes, and the Slaughterhouse album. Nipsey and J.Cole both represent new beginnings, as Nipsey seeks to resurrect the West and J.Cole is the flagship artist for Jay-Z’s new Roc Nation label.
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This is one of my absolute favorite things about hip-hop: every year an album comes out by an artist that I’d never heard of and manages to become one of my favorites. Examples from past years include Blu & Exile’s Below the Heavens and Common Market’s Tobacco Road. I’m positive that 2010 will be no exception.
A predictable number 1 choice, but it has to be done. Dr. Dre is running out of excuses for not releasing it, as Relapse, Relapse: The Refill, and Before I Self-Destruct have all been released and Relapse 2 is not far behind. All the signs are there: his headphones are being heavily marketed, he’s in Dr. Pepper commercials playing a song that will presumably be the lead single from Detox, and reference tracks for Dr. Dre to rap over are floating around the internet. The bar has been set impossibly high due to the constant delays, but the early word from artists who have worked on the project all rave that the album is going to be something special. Patience has worn thin, and Dre needs a classic to win back any naysayers. Lucky for him, he knows exactly what needs to be done to make a classic, and the anticipation of that alone makes me that much more excited for this album.
By: Freddie C
