At this point, we know the supposed story: Napster and the internet in general leveled the playing field for hip-hop. Blogs and message boards helped artists and scenes transcend location and aesthetic; Young Jeezy and Aesop Rock were able to reach national audiences. That was the first half of the ‘00s. By 2006, the dust had settled and everyone was kind of looking around wondering, “now what?”
Hell Hath No Fury, Fishscale, King, and Peak Lil Wayne were the obvious winners, with Doctor’s Advocate and Food & Liquor filling out that year’s A-tier. But beyond that are a slew of pretty-good albums by artists who had set almost impossibly high standards for themselves. TM102 had to follow TM101. The Blue Carpet Treatment established Snoop as the definitive “old rapper who still cares about rapping” but is mostly memorable for the Stevie Wonder feature and the song he made for his son’s Pop Warner team. Release Therapy was just ass. Gucci Mane still felt more like a cryptid from East Atlanta than an actual, terrestrial rapper. 2006 also saw some real duds: the Jurassic 5 album without Cut Chemist, a cynical Dr. Octagon re-boot, the Bubba Sparxxx album with “Ms. New Booty” that made him question his rap career.
Nothing illustrates this more clearly than Kingdom Come. Like a time traveler who failed to consider the movement of the planet, Jay-Z returned from his “retirement” to find himself in a completely different ecosystem than the one he left in 2003, a planet overrun by teenagers in tall tees doing elaborate dance moves that made his back hurt. He had no grill to show, no dreads to shake. Another Mr. Carter had taken his throne. And was that Pharrell… rapping?
Here are ten albums from a confusing year that deserve a second look.
Project Pat, Crook by da Book: The Fed Story
When Project Pat went to jail in 2001 for a gun charge, Three 6 Mafia were extremely popular but not really taken seriously by the coastal rap intelligentsia. When he came home in ‘05, the critical consensus had shifted, “Stay Fly” was one of the biggest songs in the world, and the crew had won an Oscar for their contributions to Hustle & Flow. So maybe Crook was a little slept on given everything going on around him at the time. But “Good Googly Moogly” went platinum on the blogs, “Tell Tell Tell” and “Raised In The Projects” were club staples, and the album is front to back hooks. “Cocaine” and “2 Dollar N----s” are all-timers. The only reason this isn’t a classic is it’s not as good as his other two classic albums. Crook by da Book rules. The haters scream “oh no!”
