15. TESSA ROSE JACKSON-The Pretender (Foo Fighters cover)
Wow. Is this better than the original? Maybe.
14. KAMAU-Hey Ya (Outkast)
Kamau calls this an “interpretation” of Outkast’s mega-hit, which it is. It calls out another Andre 3000 song from the same album, it has an original break, and it sounds very little like the original. There have been hundreds of covers of this song, but this one is definitely one of the best.
13. KATIE PHILLIPS AND MARK TARLTON-The Killer EP
Simple bluesy country music — the way it ought to be. Damn fine stuff. And free!
12. FATHER JOHN MISTY-The Suburbs (Arcade Fire)
Perfect.
11. SEMI HENDRIX-Breakfast at Banksy’s
“Who tryin’ to fuck me on Twitter? Your mama is.” Loogies, just one of many gems on “Breakfast at Banksy’s,” is a throwback to the days of boastful, hilarious raps, featuring Ras Kass sounding better than he has in many, many years. The album itself is a funky, hard-driving collection of songs produced by Jack Splash with vocals mostly by Ras, but with guest spots by veterans like Cee-Lo, Kurupt, and Raheem DeVaughn and new comers like Coast Contra and Alice Russel. Ras Kass had been around forever, but he continues to mostly be known only by true heads, fans of underground rap, and it’s kept him hungry and raw. In a year where Dr. Dre finally dropped The Chronic 2—as a soundtrack to the movie about his life—Ras Kass is the one who gave the West Coast its strongest voice.
Frankly, every other rap veteran who came out with an album this year ought to be embarassed. (Except for The Game—see my next post in this series.)
