The 199-Day Check In: Music of the Half Year

Cookin' again...

Now that we're 54.5% of the way through calendar year 2007, I thought it was only right that I hit you with my token music-retrospective post commemorating our arrival at (and now, to be honest, passage of) the half-year mark. Below are some loose thoughts about the year's best and worst, so far.

Before we proceed, here's where we left things at the end of last year:
- Songs of the Year
- Albums of the Year

And here are the caveats for the current lists:
- Things may change between now and December 31st.
- My taste, like yours, is not static.
- Songs can get dap for all kinds of reasons
- All lists are ordered alphabetically by artist

Away we go...

45 Best Songs of the First 199:
- Black Milk, "Popular Demand" - Perfect encapsulation of the year's best album. Dude just swims in those soul chops and loops.
- Bone Thugs-N-Harmony ft. The Game and will.i.am, "Streets" - "Across 110th Street"? Are you kidding me? Ill.
- Blu & Exile, "Dancing in the Rain" - The drums hardly match the melody, the hook hardly matches the verses--and it's an engrossing track both because and despite this.
- Cam'ron, "Curtis" - A weak beef record, but it's funny, and it made people talk, at least for a little while.
- Cappadonna, "Growth and Development" - The apotheosis of vagrant rap.
- Cilvaringz, "Wu-Tang Martial Expert" - It's too bad he runs with the Wu and not the Dips, as he seems to traffic in an alternate reality akin to that found uptown. J-j-j-j-j-j-jihad!
- Common ft. Dwele, "The People" - I stand by what I wrote earlier: this track intrigues me because it is another installment in Common's ongoing public psychodrama.
- Craig Mack, "I Heard" - A Craig Mack sighting. Mark it down.
- The Diplomats, "Feelin' Myself" - I have no excuse. I just like the beat and the absurdity.
- DJ Jazzy Jeff ft. J Live, "Practice" - As Bol said, this is Allen Iverson's Jewelz's best song ever.
- Fabolous ft. Ne-Yo and Raekwon, "Make Me Better (Remix)" - See here. Dope song, very well executed.
- Freeway, "Shootouts" - Off the latest State Property mixtape (like anyone really still cares). Freeway is polarizing--you either love his schtick or you hate it. I ride with the former.
- The Game, "Beautiful Life" - Among the songs of the year. We get the best of Game, here: playful, not preoccupied convincing himself that he'll actually kill 50, sincere. And all over some woozy, understated West Coast number. All of those non-album Game songs that have dropped this year would make for a strong EP.
- Guru ft. Common and Bob James, "State of Clarity" - Yay, jazz rap! This is some grown-man shit.
- Havoc, "Leave It Alone" - Lost amid Prodigy's first-quarter quasi-resurgence was this gem. The Jackson 5 sample is right, and Hav's flow is intact.
- Jay Dee, "Crushin' (Yeeeeaah!)" - Just a fun song. And a fine representation of the man's music.
- Joe Budden, "Pop Off" - Distinguished from other generic club songs by the personable Budden flow and the self-imitation Just Blaze makes manifest in the beat.
- Juelz Santana, "The Second Coming" - Admittedly, a song driven by a commercial. But still, an exciting moment in the recent history of the rap-and-basketball nexus.
- Jus Ske, "Jus Ske Shows You How to Hustle" - From the "Em Murdered You on Your Own Shit" Department--nothing like a producer getting pwned by another one on his own song.
- Kanye West, KRS-One, Nas, and Rakim, "Classic" - You know how it's nice to just see KG playing with Kobe and TMac each February, even if it's just an exhibition? Well...
- Kanye West, "Stronger" - Hate away, but the man's got an ear for samples. And this creativity is focused, not directionless, masturbatory bullshit.
- Kinfolk Kia Shine, "Krispy" - Marginally smarter than MIMS, but exponentially more infectious.
- Little Brother, "Good Clothes" - The sun rises in the East; you pay taxes and die; Ohio State is for morons; Phonte amuses.
- Lloyd ft. Andre 3000 and Nas, "I Want You" - Sensitive, smart Andre. A hackneyed choice, I guess, but this is what's been on my iPod, so I suppose it's working.
- MED, "Rhymes with an L" - Minimal electronic hip-hop isn't usually my thing, but this works.
- Nas, "Where Are They Now (Mega Mix)" - Robbie was unimpressed on the whole, I believe, but this shit was entertaining.
- Nature Sounds ft. Pete Rock, Styles P, and Sheek Louch, "914" - Quite a half-year for "UFO," huh?
- Pharoahe Monch ft. Showtime, "Desire" - The best way to wind up on this list is to find a K-Ci sound-alike.
- Polyrhythm Addicts, "Headsense" - Polyrhythm calling itself a "super group" is almost ridiculous enough to get booted from this list, but the energy of this beat wins out.
- Q-Tip, "Move" - Quite the party track.
- R. Kelly ft. T.I. and T-Pain, "I'm a Flirt (Remix)" - The simple piano belies the layers of appeal--Kelly's absurd, superlative libido () once again fully on display; T-Pain doing T-Pain things; the lyrics. If only T.I. didn't do his best to ruin it with his boring, lame rapping.
- Raekwon ft. Smif-N-Wessun, "I Recall" - The flows work so well with the beat, despite its gimmicky sound.
- Raekwon, "My Corner" - Multiple rhyme structures, Rae's nostalgia, the lovely melody--a great track.
- Rhymefest, "Angry Black Man on an Elevator" - My favorite "punch line rapper." I don't get why people don't make a bigger deal about him.
- Rich Boy ft. Every Rapper Ever, "Throw Some D's (Remix)" - The original dropped last year, but the remix was this year, and that's what fueled his already forgotten moment. Andre is good on this; Jim Jones is hilarious, both on purpose and not. Sneeze on a bitch!
- Rihanna ft. Jay-Z and Chris Brown, "Umbrella (Cinderella Remix)" - I liked it better when this track wasn't getting played out in all precincts. And there is something inherently wack about Chris Brown that I can't get past--people cheered when he was killed off in "Stomp the Yard," and somehow that seemed right. But this song is just too catchy to hate on.
- Sean Price ft. Rock, "P-Body" - Gulliest rapper alive.
- Skillz ft. Freeway, "Don't Act Like You Don't Know" - It's the whole Freeway thing again. He's especially Freeway-ish on this.
- Skyzoo ft. Torae, "Click" - Skyzoo can rhyme: the lyrics, the flow--he's beyond competent. And Primo kills this softly, what with the muted yet soaring horns. Plus, I like the nods to the internets that these dudes drop throughout.
- Styles P ft. AZ, "The Hardest" - I've never thought Styles was a great rapper, but he is, in fact, capable of a distinct sort of virtuosity: few are as casually disgruntled and destructive. Over a beat that should probably accompany a b-list cop movie, he sounds pretty good. And AZ is his reliable self.
- T-Pain, "Buy U a Drank" - Um, yeah. Club record of the year. Except for any parts having to do with Yung Joke.
- Talib Kweli ft. Jean Grae, "Say Something" - Talib is quietly among those rappers having a good year (at least, artistically).
- Talib Kweli ft. Candice Anderson, "Happy Home" - As I was saying.
- UGK ft. T.I., "Hit the Block" - I'm still surprised I like this as much as I do. As dumb as Pimp C is, the staccato rhythm of the beat masks some of his inadequacy, and Bun comes through. The beat works for overrated T.I., too, as he drops some math that likely goes over Foxy Brown's head (though I think Nas wrote that verse).
- UGK ft. Outkast, "International Players Anthem" - I am still not in love with this song--I find the waling too lush and sort of overwrought--but the rapping is very solid. Bun B's "entrance," so to speak, is fantastic.

11 Worst Songs of the First 199:
- 50 Cent, "Amusement Park" - THE most boring song of the year, hands down. A slow, cheesy derivative of a derivative.
- Cam'ron, "Suga Dooga" - Speaking of derivatives, this is not nearly as melodic as "Weekend" nor nearly as much the spectacle that a typical Cam venture into relationships might be.
- The Diplomats, "Anniversary" - Max B has no business being near a microphone.
- DJ Khaled ft. T.I., Akon, Birdman, Lil' Wayne, Fat Joe, and Rick Ross, "We Takin' Over" - Most. Annoying. Song. Ever. Maybe not ever, but certainly in a while. Yelling is not music.
- Fabolous ft. Akon, "Change Up" - When will the Akon novelty appeal among the general public wear off? What do people like about him? His voice?!
- MIMS, "This Is Why I'm Hot" - Set aside that his voice sucks and that the beat was boring--this was just an affront to logic, if nothing else.
- N.O.R.E. ft. Three Six Mafia, "That Club Shit" - Also known as "That Loud, Grating Shit, Emphasis on Shit."
- Paul Wall ft. Expensive Taste, "Slidin' on That Oil" - A white man, Paul likely thought that he had to experiment with a Fort Minor sound. That's really the only explanation I can summon for this absolute joke.
- Styles P, "S.P. Ghost (Bonus)" - Was this a Vanilla Ice cover?
- T.I., "We Do This" - T.I. fans insist that he's a really good rapper. Cheesy hooks and boring lines like these, combined with dollar-store production, do little to buttress the assertion.
- U.S.D.A., "White Girl" - I don't even know what to write about Jeezy anymore. After obvious choices like George Bush, he might be the most expendable human on the planet.

Five Artists Who've Won the First 199:
- Andre 3000 - Everyone loves his guest spots; he's rapping again; and the soundtrack from his TV show is a simple, fun record.
- Game - The outtakes from Doctor's Advocate are surprisingly engaging and he sounds like a big boy when he appears on all those remixes and collabos.
- Kanye West - The mixtape knocks, his production ear remains, and he's heavily involved with two of the most anticipated forthcoming releases.
- Raekwon - Again on the periphery of relevance and making quality tracks.
- Talib Kweli - I didn't think I'd ever again care about his studio albums, but the tape with Madlib was pretty good and Ear Drum was better.

Seven Songs I've Kept on the iPod for Most of the First 199:
- Beanie Sigel, "Return of the Bad Guy" - Consider me a stereotypical hip-hop fan, because I pretty much can't get enough of Scarface.
- Crowded House, "World Where You Live" - A completely underrated gem.
- DJ Jazzy Jeff ft. Peedi Peedi, "Brand New Funk 2K7" - Of all the Roc castoffs, Peedi is the one with the greatest potential.
- MF Doom, "Dead Bent" - Isaac Hayes's "Walk on By" is among the great songs.
- The Roots, "Quicksand Millennium" - One of those songs that you can always have on, regardless of what else is happening.
- Stevie Wonder, "Love Light in Flight" - It goes on for too long, but it's got such a plesant tempo.
- Strong Arm Steady ft. Talib Kweli, "One Step" - Better than the average innocuous rap song.

5 Worst Albums of the First 199:
- DJ Khaled, We the Best
- MIMS, Music Is My Savior
- Timbaland, Shock Value
- Tony Parker, Tony Parker
- U.S.D.A., Cold Summer

8 Best Mixtapes of the First 199:
- Altrap, Spam Filters
- The Diplomats, More Than Music, Vol. 2
- Joe Budden, The Album Before the Album
- Kanye West, Can't Tell Me Nothing Mixtape
- Little Brother, And Justus for All
- Mick Boogie, Unbelievable
- Styles P, The Ghost Sessions
- Talib Kweli and Madlib, Liberation

13 Best Albums of the First 199:
- Black Milk, Popular Demand
- Blu & Exile, Below the Heavens
- Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Strength & Loyalty
- Cappadonna, The Cappatalize Project
- Cilvaringz, I
- Devin the Dude, Waitin' to Inhale
- DJ Jazzy Jeff, Return of the Magnificent
- Pharoahe Monch, Desire
- Polyrhythm Addicts, Break Glass
- Prodigy, Return of the Mac
- R. Kelly, Double Up
- Sean Price, Jesus Price Supastar
- Talib Kweli, Ear Drum

Waiting for...
Beanie Sigel
Common This joint is semi-ill.
Dr. Dre
Ghostface and MF Doom
Kanye West
Raekwon