It’s that time of the year again, folks. The time when every critic and/or blogger tries to give you the definitive answer to that all important question: “What was good in 2011?”
These ‘end year lists’ come in many different forms, and cover almost any cultural or creative output imaginable, from best movies to best literary works. For one month the entire web is hell-bent on educating the masses on what they should be reading, watching or listening to. And it usually results in quite an interesting, if not, very entertaining read.
In the past four years I’ve contributed to this tradition by making a yearly Top 100 list of my favorite songs. Each year I would write a series of ten blogs, in which I would discuss ten songs per blog (counting down from a hundred).
This year’s “Soundtrack of 2011” series represents a collection of songs that piqued my interest over the past eleven and a half months. The reason for their inclusion in this list can be attributed to a number of things namely, lyrical content, musicality and sentimental value.
The list will cover a wide range of musical genres, but at the end of the day its main focus is on black music. Hip hop, soul, jazz and R&B are all very well represented in this list.
So, without any further ado……let the countdown commence!
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60. “Zij” – Wudstik
This is the very first song in the Dutch language to ever make it on my list. I’m serious! Wudstik’s second solo album was a risky undertaking, seeing as most people know him as a rapper. For “Vind” (the album’s title, which means ‘to find’) however, he decided to explore his singing ability. And my god can this man sing! Taking notes from various American R&B/Soul singers Wudstik has crafted a very elegant, meaningful and smooth R&B record.
The thing that struck me the most about this project is the level of maturity in the writing. Unlike most R&B albums, this has a sense of honesty about it. All the fronting and posing that is usually associated with this type of sound is gone. What remains is a beautifully sincere and heartfelt record filled with love songs.
59. “Beautiful Fight” – Kenton Dunson
This tune is catchy as fuck! I must have spent weeks on end with that beat stuck in my head. Someone sent me Kenton Dunson’s ep during the summer. Having no clue who this cat was, I let the ep rest comfortably in my mailbox. It wasn’t until I heard the song through a 2dopeboyz stream that I went back and downloaded it for myself. While I didn’t really like the ep that much, this song made me go back to it repeatedly.
Contributing to the infectious beat (with its funky car sounds and bouncy drums) is the equally catchy hook, which you will find yourself uncontrollably singing along to. After only a single listen.
Hook:
“So I said when the bell starts ringing
If I get knocked down I will stand up swinging
And all of a sudden it just came together
I will fight for a minute so you remember my name forever
Whenever I get there I hope the sight is beautiful
So I can sit back and say this fight was beautiful”
58. “She Said Its OK” – Blu & Exile
And out of nowhere Blu & Exile release a follow-up to their modern classic Below The Heavens. The new album “Give Me Flowers While I Can Smell Them” is a 15-track LP that was recorded back in 2009. And as expected, they deliver the goods on this record as well. But buyers should be aware that this is an ‘unfinished’ product. The mastering and mixing has yet to be completed. But even then this is worth every penny.
Exile is a beast on the board. Just like on “Below The Heavens”, he provides a beautiful soulful backdrop with lots of flipped samples. When listening to “Flowers” you’ll immediately hear a kinship with their first album “Below The Heavens”. Blu’s trademark combo of detailed storytelling and intricate wordplay is another reason why you should definitely check this project. “She Said Its OK” is one of my favorite cuts on the new release.
57. “Rise and Shine” – J. Cole
I was really looking forward to J. Cole’s debut “Cole World: The Sideline Story”. Honestly, I really was. But for some reason I just wasn’t feeling this project. For me, his debut doesn’t reflect his full potential. It’s inconsistent and at lacks focus. Not all the time, but a lot of the tracks just felt ‘light’ to me. I enjoyed his previous mixtapes a whole lot more. But even thou I was let down by this release, there are still enough glimpses of greatness to make me believe that J. Cole will eventually deliver a ‘classic’ someday.
My favorite tracks on “Cole World” are this and the heartfelt “Breakdown”. When making this list I always try to limit myself to one (and in some cases two) song(s) per album.
Therefore I had a really hard time choosing between these two great songs. I eventually picked “Rise and Shine”. The main reason being: Cole’s rapid flow and compelling wordplay.
56. “Shake It Out” (The Weeknd Remix) – Florence and The Machine
Depending on your opinion towards Canadian R&B sensation The Weeknd, you’ll either hate of love the remix. As you can see, I fall into the latter category. This slick, downbeat version, in which Florence Welch’s voice is presented through several filters, is much darker than the original. But still manages to exude a sense of sensuality and/or sexiness. The Weeknd transformed the original into a moody piece with layered vocals and raw emotions.
People who fell in love with the original probably won’t like it. But if you judge this remix on its own merits you’ll find that it’s actually a sublime piece of work. It’s also the only remix that made it onto my top 100 list. And that’s saying something.
55. “Postcard” – David Dallas
The Rose Tint by David Dallas is one of my favorite albums of 2011. I must have played that record to death over the past several months. I love how Dallas mixed a certain pop sensibility into his songs, without losing the balance. His accent, his flow, his skill, there’s all noteworthy. But the thing I like most about this project is the way this young rapper has found exactly which production-sound fits his persona.
There are so many great tracks on here. It was really hard trying to pick just one. Postcard is the winner for me. First off, any song sampling bits of dialogue from the motion picture Good Will Hunting is okay in my book. And second, I love the message and emotion instilled into the track.
The Rose Tint was offered as a free download through the net. If you don’t have it, be sure to download it here.
54. “Seijun Suzuki” – Blue Scholars
OMG, that beat!!!! I wasn’t feeling the latest release by the Blue Scholars all that much. But this cut just wouldn’t let go of me. Every time I’d hear it my hand would uncontrollably go to the volume button. And that shit would get cranked up. That’s until the neighbors started complaining of course.
Sabzi did a great job production-wise. I’m still looking for an instrumental of this beat. So if anyone’s got it, please hit me up.
It’s a shame really that dj’s nowadays only play what is known. I would have loved to hear this track while out clubbing. But where dj’s used to bridge the gap between underground and commercial, now they just play whatever’s popular in the charts. Doesn’t matter thou, hip-hop has a large core fan-base. And tracks as mint as this one will always get airtime with them.
53. “Stars Shine Brightest” (In The Darkest Of Night) – Cunninlynguists
“Oneirology” was another favorite of mine this year. The Cunninlynguists made an album around the concept of dreams, and the end result is an ambitiously gripping and dreamy record that pulls you in and never lets you go. While some people needed to hear the record a couple of times, before they really started enjoying it. I was hooked the very first time I heard it.
“The album is a journey, taking on a new face with each listen. It plays like the collective unconsciousness of the group, dreaming through the night, the flame of the symbiosis finally fading to “Embers”. On the closing track, Kno explains the road we took through their world. “All my images are morgues and moons, and every fork in the road moves through Freud and Jung/In the darkness, no orchard blooms, a state so dark, sparks from torches consumed/It’s like I live in a fortress of doom, in the forest where the blood pours with force from my wounds/My body aches with this lobotomy, a part of me shakes/Open my eyes and awake.” Their dreams certainly seem haunted, but all the better for their music.” — (excerpt from the lifessweetbreath.com review)
“Stars Shine Brightest” is a great hook-driven song (Oneirology is filled with beauties like this). Absolutely love Kno’s production on this track. But that goes for almost any track on this album.
52. “Nasty” – Nas
The first time I heard “Nasty” I immediately jumped on twitter and posted how much this song reminded me of “Made You Look”. And it’s true, it still does! “Nasty” is classic Nas, and I don’t know anyone on this planet that isn’t down with an ol’ skool Nas. My hopes for the album are high; even thou I usually get disappointed (at least where his more recent releases are concerned).
The beat for “Nasty” is amazing. But no matter how great the production, it’s actually Nas and his high level of lyrical ability that made me listen to this like 20 times in a row. I once read an article where the writer argued that Nas wasn’t a really complicated rapper per se. His content, delivery and flow, have more of a philosophical swagger. I have to agree with that assessment. Dope-ass song!
Verse 3:
“For the hustlers, thick as yellow bitches for the suck of it
Got a bunch of niggas in prison braggin’, sayin’ “It was Nas I used to hustle wit’”
I display fashions while my lungs engage hashes, guns on my waist past his
Since I’m cakin’ up, put funds in my safe, laughin’
And joining the niggas passin’ you niggas was straight assin’
Excuse the vulgarity, I’m still not fully adjusted
Or used to the new fans hearin’ me spit rapidly
I never see the whips niggas be claimin’ they drivin’
I guess entertainment means blatantly lyin’
Fake it ’til you make it, I’ve driven those toys
Been in the wars, in the streets, cops kickin’ in doors
For my deen niggas, your flow cheap as limousine liquor
I’m no fake rap CD listener, sit back and roll a mean swisher
For my Gs, tell these clowns make room for the king, nigga”
51. “Motivation” – Clams Casino
Proof that some of the best music being offered today is actually free! Clams Casino’s Instrumental mixtape was distributed through Mediafire by the producer himself. Slowly but surely the mixtape found an audience. And from there his career sky-rocketed into orbit. But the productions on the Instrumental mixtape weren’t the only thing that got Clams Casino noticed this year. His contribution on stellar releases like the A$AP Rocky album also upped his profile. “Motivation” is probably my favorite cut on the mixtape. It’s really heavy and hazy, but that’s part of the charm.
“Clams Casino has trimmed the fat from hip-hop’s jiggling booty. The boom-bap of bass and snare provides the album’s spine, but its heart owes more to the glitch and hiss and ghostly vocals of Burial or Tri Angle stablemate, Balam Acab. But where Burial conjures rain and chill; here, soaring synths radiate a slow glow that seems to light these tracks from below.” – (excerpt from undertherader.co.nz)
And that was it for part five. You can download these ten songs in the link below, that’s if you liked what you heard of course:
Dowload Link: The Soundtrack of 2011 Part 5, 60-51
Feedback is always welcome. And because I’m always curious to find out what people have been listening to this part year, please feel free to share your favorite songs from 2011 in de comment box below.
