It was a good, good year for Hip-Hop, but a quick glance at our Best of 2012 list in the genre reveals an overarching trends worth analysis. Read our thoughts via the links, below.
Our list featured three releases from Top Dawg Entertainment. The independent Los Angeles record label is the home of Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock, otherwise known as the Black Hippy Crew. The collective dominated headlines in hip-hop this year, on the back of three landmark albums from Schoolboy, Ab-Soul and, especially, Kendrick Lamar.
Of course, they weren't the only ones making waves in hip-hop. A New Era of Hip-Hop has dawned, which, given the distance the genre now has from its "Golden Age," is able to both borrow, and distinguish itself from, that time and style.
For more genre lists and analyses, dig into the rest of our Exclaim! Best of 2012 coverage, and don't miss our list of the Most Unappreciated Albums of 2012 — the albums already got passed over once!
Our list featured three releases from Top Dawg Entertainment. The independent Los Angeles record label is the home of Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock, otherwise known as the Black Hippy Crew. The collective dominated headlines in hip-hop this year, on the back of three landmark albums from Schoolboy, Ab-Soul and, especially, Kendrick Lamar.
Of course, they weren't the only ones making waves in hip-hop. A New Era of Hip-Hop has dawned, which, given the distance the genre now has from its "Golden Age," is able to both borrow, and distinguish itself from, that time and style.
For more genre lists and analyses, dig into the rest of our Exclaim! Best of 2012 coverage, and don't miss our list of the Most Unappreciated Albums of 2012 — the albums already got passed over once!
