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Top Dawg Entertainment had a banner year in 2013. They capped off 2012 with Kendrick Lamar’s prodigious release and rode the tidal wave of success all the way to a platinum album and even into this year’s Grammy’s. While good kid, m.A.A.d city didn’t earn anything that night other than a sanctimonious text message, the cultural impact of the album helped catapult the whole Black Hippy and TDE squad into the limelight. However, there were plenty of quality releases to come out of Top Dawg’s house prior to October 2012 that deserve to be talked about, as well. With Schoolboy Q’s Oxymoron finally arriving on iTunes (and those big brick and mortar things in the real world), we thought it would be appropriate to take a retrospective on the past releases of the label. Kendrick may be running ahead of the pack, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the label is lagging behind. TDE has been eatin’ for years. [Ed. Note: This list is meant to examine official albums over projects initially given away for free, thus omitting such releases as Kendrick Lamar’s Overly Dedicated and Jay Rock’s Black Friday.]

 9) Setbacks

Schoolboy Q will be the first to tell you he didn’t always dream of becoming a rapper. In fact, he noted that the concept behind Setbacks was to talk about all the reasons why he can’t rap. From drugs to women, Schoolboy had plenty of distractions and rap was only a means to an end. Given this, one would assume the album would more or less suck, but it’s quite impressive, especially considering all the aforementioned circumstances. Q had a long way to go to improve his mic skills, but the material was already in place for a promising career.

8) Longterm Mentality

Ab-Soul said he wanted Longterm Mentality to capture his life and his aspirations in the music business. While his debut was not meant to be a continuation of his Longterm mixtapes, it was still an all-encompassing idea of the themes presented in the previous two works. Songs like “Almost There” demonstrate Ab’s sacrifices and ambition to make it big in the game. While the album was understandably a little raw and underdeveloped, it was clear that Ab-Soul had plenty of potential and a lot more to say.

7) Cilvia Demo

Isaiah Rashad initially planned for Cilvia Demo to be exclusively verses, with each song averaging around 90 seconds. After continued studio time, the project morphed into an official EP (although even that can be debated given its LP length). Rashad seamlessly blends harmonizing, rapping and melodies into a dreamy 14-track sequence. Vices, demons, insecurities and hopes are all explored here, and are mostly handled exclusively by Rashad with minimal features, making for an even more impressive debut.

6) Control System

Ab-Soul may be the “weirdo” of the Black Hippy crew, but he comes alive through his music. His independent sophomore effort demonstrated plenty of growth for one year’s time. While Longterm Mentality focused inward, Ab turned his pen outward on Control System and broadened his subject matter to society and politics. He continued to self-analyze as well, except this time it was with far more polished beats and flows.

5) Habits & Contradictions

A year following Setbacks, Schoolboy Q had grown into a far more confident rapper. He showcased a better understanding of song structure, with a hit record in “Hands on the Wheel,” while demonstrating rarely-seen vulnerability on ‘Blessed.” Furthermore, he became infinitely more menacing and haunting on “Oxy Music” and “Nightmare on Figg Street.” The makings of Oxymoron were already in place here.

4) Oxymoron

After a few false starts, Q’s major label debut arrived to critical praise. The missteps of Setbacks and Habits & Contradictions were mostly absent on Oxymoron and we instead received a focused body of work. Furthering the introspection from his previous album, Q delved deeper into his drugs problems on “Prescription,” easily his most personal record to date. Records like “Gangsta” and “Fuck LA” showcased the aggressive side of Schoolboy that made him a TDE favorite and he even tacked on some crossover potentials such as ‘Studio” for good measure. The South Central spitter also proved he could mostly stand on his own two feet, limiting the Black Hippy features and going for self. While Oxymoron may not have been the crowned jewel of the Top Dawg catalog, it was by far Schoolboy Q’s best body of work.

3) Section.80

Kendrick had been around for a while by the time Section.80 rolled in, but it was this album that put the Compton native on the mainstream map (and caught the ear of Dr. Dre). Kendrick’s penchant for anthemic hooks was fully developed by this point, and he flexed those abilities with tracks like “Fuck Your Ethnicity” and “HiiiPower.” While there were plenty of attention grabbers such as those, it was Kendrick’s heart that kept people listening. “Tammy’s Song” and “Keisha’s Song” showed the depth that the Black Hippy capo had and his potential for crafting timeless music.

2) Follow Me Home

Following Jay Rock home was an exhausting ordeal. The Watts rapper had unsuccessful stints at both Asylum and Warner Records before finally signing to Tech N9ne’s Strange Music in 2010. Rock would then spend a while on the road and deliver his Black Friday mixtape before finally dropping his debut album in July 2011. While Follow Me Home was not a commercial success, it was critically praised for its classic West Coast lyrics and booming production. Songs like “Elbows” and “Just Like Me” demonstrated Rock’s knowledge for the importance of powerful hooks, while “Code Red” and “Bout That” delivered a menacing feel for his core audience. The album bleeds with vintage West Coast gangsterism yet sets itself apart with fresh flows ideas.

1) good kid, m.A.A.d city

No surprise here. When it came out to unanimous critical praise in October 2012, Kendrick Lamar said the only thing keeping good kid, m.A.A.d city from classic status was time. Well, it has been over a year and the album is still as good as ever, if not better. GKMC is a fully-conceived, thought-out story, the likes of which we rarely get in hip-hop. Not only does the album require your full attention in order to understand the narrative, but it also has some jams on there for you to vibe to. “Backseat Freestyle” and “m.A.A.d city” are high octane tracks that demand movement when being played, while “Money Trees” and ‘Poetic Justice” soothe your soul. Add to that moving records like “Sing About Me” and you have the recipe for a masterpiece.

Where does Oxymoron fit in to TDE’s catalog now that its available? Let us know.

The post Ranking TDE’s Albums From Worst to Best appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Soul, never afraid of making his voice heard, comically complains about his set-time and show-money, or lack thereof.

To purchase tickets for the BET Matters Tour, go here:

http://topdawgmusic.com/musicmatters/

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Ab-Soul’s full-length, independent album, Control System, is a new precedent in swag-era hip-hop. It is smart, passionate, empathetic and, above all else, brutally honest. As the self-proclaimed ‘deep thinker’ of TDE, Ab-Soul can’t help but try to align himself with former black leaders of America. That is, discounting Obama, whom Soul calls out on “Terrorist Threats”. Control System is an album about freedom: the lack thereof it, and how to steal it back. Control System is a call to arms.

Unlike Kendrick, who can often be mistaken for the rapper he is channeling – sometimes he sounds a bit too much like Em – Ab-Soul is his own voice. He can be high energy and angry, like a KRS-One, or he can be soulful and full of color, like a DJ Quik. Sometimes you never know what to expect from Soul. He’ll lead you along with a specific flow, and then right when you think the punchline is about to drop, he’ll take a left turn and tail off into the chorus. As ScHoolboy Q likes to remind us, those TDE cats have flows for days.

Album standouts include “Track Two,” “Pineal Gland,” “Mixed Emotions”  and “Beautiful Death.” “Track Two” begins with a familiar intro: Soul begging in-house (or close to house) producer Tae Beast of Digi-Phonics to take it easy on the boards, as “this shit sound like 100 birds under the courts and sheriff’s station.” The vibe intensifies further on “Pineal Gland,” a piano-driven macabre number, that has Soul lecturing as to why he can’t take other rappers seriously: they failed at testing the shapes that crawl behind the sky, more or less. “Mixed Emotions” is a change-up. It is the closest thing on the LP to a party song, yet still has Soul spilling his guts about why he sips lean. Understandably, he dreams of buying out the bar, posting up in the VIP, refusing a drink, and sippin lean for all to see. Soul indicates that he sips lean so that he can say, with much emphasis, “get off my dick.” Finally, “Beautiful Death” comes in near the end of the album to summate what Soul is really trying to say with this project; Something along the lines of: We ought to “break ties from the everyday lies…” and not be “so afraid to die,” all over a scratchy piano sample and steely drums.

Control System, despite its mixtape promotion, is not the kind of album you bootleg, listen to once through, and then forget about until you’re conversing with a fellow hip-hop head and don’t want to sound misinformed. Control System sticks with you.  Ab-Soul, beyond just musical prowess, is a master of rhetoric. After 17 songs he truly has you convinced that freedom is something worth fighting for.

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Ab-Soul returns with yet another music video directed by APLUSFilmz (the previous being for “Pineal Gland”). “Terrorist Threats” features Ab-Soul burning a dollar bill, while he and Danny Brown rap about American society and its ‘control systems’. Jhene Aiko also provides vocals, clad in her TDE hoodie. Enjoy.

The post Music Video: Ab-Soul feat. Danny Brown x Jhene Aiko – “Terrorist Threats” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

The genius of TDE is preparing his entryway into the spotlight after his brothers Kendrick and Q have left the trail blazed.

Andromeda, 2 Chainz’s “Spend It” flow, geometric pattens, three eyes and limitlessness like you’re on NZT all find their way into the deep track. The text juxtaposed with Ab-Soul’s lyrics make listeners focus on his well-written poetry. That Chanel line at 2:50 is the coldest.

Produced by Tae Beast, this track will appear on Soul’s newest project Control System, which drops May 11.

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