Str8HipHip

1. Wu Tang Clan – 8 Diagrams: The long awaited return of the Wu was every hardcore Hip Hop head’s fantasy till they heard this whole album… This has to be the most lyrically uninspired Wu Tang Clan album ever and the dude bitching the most about how wack this record was (Raekwon) had the weakest lines of them all on this joint and where was Ol’ Dirty Bastard? I’m sure RZA got some dusty Dirty vocals in the safe somewhere… With conflict stirring within the inner workings of the Clan this record didn’t have the high octane push it needed to fuel people to buy it when it was released. Now it’s just another flop from an old group. 8 Diagrams??? They should have went back to the lab and redid it all and called it 9 The Hardway + 1 and brought Cappadonna back in too.

Wu Tang Clan - Take It Back

Wu-Tang Clan - The Heart Gently Weeps

2. NORE – Noreality: Man… We ain’t even listen to this shit. This nigga fell off 3 years ago when he was making Reggaeton records with Nina Sky.

NORE ft. Tru Life & Peedi Peedi - Eat Pussy

N.O.R.E. ft. Jadakiss & Kurupt - Throw Em Under The Bus

3. Paul Wall – Get Money, Stay True: We didn’t even know Paul Wall had a buzz in 2007. This album came and went and was forgotten. Not one single made a difference in our lives. Overall not  a bad effort, but not what we’d expect from Paul coming off his platinum debut The People’s Champ. We personally would have liked to see a better single connect before putting the record out. Maybe that would have sparked more interest in it.

Paul Wall ft. Jermaine Dupri - I'm Throwed

4. Shop Boyz – Shop Boyz: “Party Like A Rock Star” was cool, but “Totally Dude” wasn’t. Although the entire album wasn’t bad or good. It just was… Well… It was what it was… No one expected to hear anything earth shattering here or anything above and beyond what they heard on the first single… We guess that’s why it flopped.

Da Shop Boyz ft. Lil Wayne, Jim Jones & Chamillionare - Party Like A Rockstar (Remix)

Shop Boyz - Totally Dude

5. Soulja Boy – SouljaBoyTellEm.Com: Soulja Boy is no doubt a talented young man, but there’s a line to be drawn when you talk about making good and bad records. Now all music has its place and we knwo this record is more novelity rather than art. With this being said, this album overall kind of sucked because we  heard it all on MySpace before he even dropped it. Not to mention titles like, “Booty Meat” and “She Thirsty” left little to the imagination and showed the direction this dude was really trying to go on this one. 

Soulja Boy ft. Jermaine Dupri & Short Dawg - Crank Dat Soulja Boy (So So Def Remix)

Soulja Boy - Soulja Girl

Soulja Boy - Booty Meat

6. Birdman – 5 * Stunna: Why does baby (Birdman) even rap? It was cute when Mannie Fresh and him did they “Get Your Roll On” and the “Bling Bling” thing with Lil Wanye, but this shit is another hot mess of an album. It’s like he just does it to do it and we hate it. STOP BIRDMAN!

Birdman & Lil Wayne - Pop Bottles

7. Cassidy – B.A.R.S. (The Barry Adrian Reese Story): It’s no doubt that Cassidy can spit, but on this record he couldn’t save him from himself. His new self righteous attitude and mediocre choice of production left us wondering why he’s even trying to make this work. The album had its highs and many lows and overall was just a mash up of inconsistency on every other track. We think Cass hit his head too hard in that car accident last year.

Cassidy ft. Swizz Beatz, Kanye West & Ne-Yo - My Drink N My 2 Step (Remix)

Cassidy - Innocent Man

Cassidy ft. Krazie Bone & Eve - Cash Rulez

8. Hurricane Chris – 51/50 Ratchet: This album not only flopped; it flopped and burned. Considering he had a smash with the catchy, sing-songy and radio ready  “A Bay Bay” and a hot remix to boot. Chris couldn’t follow up with the same heat he created with the lead single and he suffered sales wise because of it. This album had almost no memorable music on it and considering the way it was rushed out to the market we can see why. It may have been better if release independent, but who knows.

Hurricane Chris ft. The Game, Jadakiss, Lil Boosie, Baby & E-40 - Ay Bay Bay (Remix)

Hurricane Chris - Hand Clap

9. Plies – The Real Testament: We never judge rappers for their skills or concepts on albums, but this shit had no real direction, but downhill. Who gave this dude the right to spit? We’ve never heard more meaningless Hip Hop since they let Kevin Federline rap. Not to say that this album wasn’t well produced and arranged. It just didn’t have heart. Not one bit of blood running through it that could have made the average person say, “that kid was really gettin’ em on that joint.” Plies like a lot of people who get into Hip Hop nowadays had a solid grind that lead to his success, but doesn't really have the artistry to make a great record.

Plies ft. Akon - Hypnotized

Plies - Friday (Produced by J.R. Rotem)

10. T.I. – T.I. VS. T.I.P: T.I. took no time in following up his highly successful 2006 album King, but did it in the unique fashion of creating a concept album for the people. We didn’t know that T.I. & T.I.P. were two different people till he told us so, but we kind of got it after a while… Overall this album’s saving grace was T.I.’s ability to save it from flopping. It wasn’t a bad record, but it wasn’t a great record and for a year where we saw more ringtones than songs ringing bells, it has its place on this list. With a well rounded list of producers and a cast of Hip Hop’s elite (Jay-Z & Eminem) as guests, this album did have some shining moments even though it wasn’t exactly what it was all cracked up to be. Overall it was a noble effort from the self proclaimed “King of the South” and we ain’t mad at it, but it could have been better.

T.I.- Big Shit Poppin' (Produced by Mannie Fresh)