Tribute To Ignorance Awards For 2006

Beer gimmick of the year – the Heiny mini-keg!

Best Blog for Obscure Rap Albums: Without a doubt, the crew at Bust The Facts killed it this year with everything from Miami Bass albums to Supreme Nyborn. Sure, I’m not about to kick back with a Heineiken mini-keg and listen to all four of Candyman‘s albums anytime soon, but it’s nice to have the option.

Best Top 10 Posts of 2006 Round-Up: Maybe I’m a little biased, but any list that contains four mentions of Unkut Dot Com material is alright in my book. The cheque’s in the mail, Fresh.

Rap-Related Diorama of the Year: Wu-Peanuts, of course! The perfect compliment to the Grand Royal cardboard Bass Jeep.

Bugged-Out Day At Powerplay Award: From crowning Sean Combs the “King Of All Jigs” to finding the connection between Kelis and Chewy, Dallas Penn Dot Com continued to bring the pain to the lame. Plus it hosted a couple of superb come-upperences courtesy of Combat Jack.

Live Show of the Year: I didn’t bother going to many, but witnessing Lord Finesse rip shit with DJ Roc Raida a few months back was pretty fuckin’ epic. No need for twenty dudes running around – or even a hype man for that matter – as the Funkyman “stepped on stage with authority and confidence”. Highlights included watching him son the soundman and join Raida for a cutting session.

Deluded Message Board Community of the Year: Okayplayer. I’m sure there are some quality posters hanging around there somewhere, but the antics of some of those kids in regards to accusing Bol and noz of “stealing ideas”, not to mention the fall-out to Kool Kim‘s “KRS-One: Hip-Hop Sucks Because of You” post, demonstrated that there are some prize humps amongst their ranks.

Five Reasons Why I’ll Still Be Doing This In 2007:

1. Kenny Parker telling me that he enjoyed Unkut Dot Com and that it was the first time he’d heard “Bait” since Red Alert played it in the 80’s.

2. Getting my first Weed Carrier article in print (now a regular feature in Modern Fix magazine starting this month!) and the huge response to the First Annual Weed Carrier Awards.

3. Having UMC‘s Kool Kim contribute some great articles to the site, even though I’d earlier ragged on his “Blue Cheese” video. Good thing he saw the funny side.

4. Getting the chance to chop it up with everyone from X Clan‘s Brother J to Breeze Brewin, plus a whole bunch that I haven’t even typed out yet.

5. Surviving a week at XXL.com with minimal hating from the peanut gallery and the subsequent mention in the print version. Plus my Willie D post was sheer genius, even if I say so myself.

Most Disheartening Release: Hearing the once-mighty Alkaholiks reclaim their full name but continue the awful slide into hell that the X.O Experience started was really painful. I also refuse to believe that the same E-Swift responsible for “Make Room” is now serving up a sound that can only be called Neptunes-lite.

Album That I Shouldn’t Have Liked, But Did: 7L & Esoteric‘s A New Dope. Who’d have thought that Esoteric rapping over 80’s Nu-Wave would work?

Label of the Year: Traffic Entertainment killed it all year with CD and double vinyl re-prints of some killer material from the vaults of Warlock, Sleeping Bag, Strong City and B-Boy Records. The recent Road To Riches special edition has stepped-up the game even further – here’s hoping we see the same treatment for Long Live The Kane and Goin’ Off this year.

Mixtape Go-To Guy: J-Love. Him and Premier kept things moving this year with some hard-body joints aimed at the gutter. Raekwon‘s Only Built For The Streets II may have been the highlight.

Hopes for 2007: Official albums from Blaq Poet, NYG’z, Milano and Smiley The Ghetto Child, and a couple of new projects from K-Def bode well for the future. I could care less about everything else though.

Be Easy Award: Too much Ghostface? Just about. I know that today’s rap grind involves quantity over quality, but is it too much to want a Ghost album filled with shit like “Gorilla Hood”, “Shakey Dog” and “Murder Goons”?

Best Albums of 2006:

1. K-Def Willie Boo Boo: The Fool (Ghettoman/Redline)
2. Blaq Poet Rewind < < Deja Screw (Screwball/Traffic)
3. Sadat X Black October (Riverside Drive)
4. AZ The Format (Quiet Money/Fast Life)
5. Ghostface Killah Fishscale (Def Jam)
6. The Roots Game Theory (Def Jam)
7. Smiley The Ghetto Child The Antidote (Fat Beats)
8. Brad Strut Legendary-The Official Mixtape (Peruvian Gemz)
9. Juggaknots Use Your Confusion (Amalgam)
10. 7L & Esoteric A New Dope (Babygrande)

Proof that Hip-Hop really did die this year: James Brown passing and the release of that “Buddy” remake with Ja Rule and Fat Joe.

Last Year’s Awards