Eleven Rap Albums for 2011

I have enjoyed reading various best-of-2011 book lists online and I’ve found myself wishing I could make one too, but because my comprehensive exam was happening in the fall of 2011, I spent most of last year reading older things. Now that that’s done, I can finally check out The Sisters Brothers, The Devil All the Time, After the Apocalypse, etc.

Meyhem Lauren is hungry

Though I didn’t read many new books in 2011, I did listen to a lot of new rap music. 2011 wasn’t the best year for it. Tha Carter IV was not memorable; Action Bronson, while interesting, doesn’t deserve far more media attention than his Outdoorsmen comrade Meyhem Lauren; XXX grated after a few listens; and Drake is always terrible. Still, good music happened. Here in no special order are eleven rap LPs/mixtapes I liked in 2011 and still like in 2012:

1. Meek Mill: Dreamchaser
2. Main Attrakionz: 808s and Dark Grapes II
3. Starlito & Don Trip: Stepbrothers
4. Jay-Z and Kanye West: Watch the Throne
5. Killa Kyleon: Candy Paint N Texas Plates II
6. Juicy J: Rubba Band Business 2
7. ASAP Rocky: LiveLoveA$AP
8. Shabazz Palaces: Black Up
9. Clams Casino: Instrumental Mixtape
10. 2 Chainz: T.R.U. Realigion
11. Meyhem Lauren: Self-Induced Illness

What are yours? You have to choose eleven.