So, the Village Voice’s Pazz and Jop is up today and as usual, it’s fascinating and infuriating and fascinating again when you dig through all the individual ballots and comments and everything. Below’s my ballot, tell me the shit I missed or why the stuff I liked sucks and whatever else. That’s the point of this poll, right?:
1. Ryan Leslie, Ryan Leslie
2. G-Side, Huntsville International
3. Maxwell, BLACKsummers’night
4. James Ferraro, Edward Flex Presents: Do You Believe In Hawaii?
5. Wavves, Wavves
6. Diamond District, In the Ruff
7. DJ Quik & Kurupt, BlaQKout
8. Jay-Z, The Blueprint 3
9. Robert Glasper, Double Booked
10. Ryan Leslie, Transition
Singles
1. DJ Class “I’m the Shit”
2. Bat for Lashes, “Daniel”
3. Keri Hilson (ft. Kanye West & Ne-Yo), “Knock You Down”
4. Gucci Mane, “First Day Out”
5. Girls, “Lust For Life”
6. Emynd, “What About Tomorrow”
7. Mariah Carey, “Obsessed”
8. Cam’ron, “My Job”
9. Soulja Boy Tell Em’, “Turn My Swag On”
10. Raheem DeVaughn (ft. Ludacris), “Bulletproof”
Was also quoted twice in the section “Michael Jackson and Hip-Hop”. On Hip-Hop, not Michael Jackson, who I’m either going to just keep quiet about or write a 10,000 word thesis on the song “Human Nature”. No in-betweens there. But yeah, I got to talk about two of my favorite things: Why Kanye is always interesting and great and the awesome ways rap gets smart and mature and how all of y’all are ignoring it…
“Besides Kanye being right—Beyoncé did have the best video—he more quietly outshined Taylor Swift with his verse on Keri Hilson’s “Knock You Down,” which one-upped Swift’s “You Belong With Me” and its high school love histrionics. In Kanye’s version, high school binaries are broken down—the class clown gets the prom queen—and then it turns sour anyway. Another awkward, awesome bummer from Mr. West.”
“Jay-Z tells you it isn’t cool to carry a strap. The Clipse wanna watch Madagascar with their kids. And Internet rap is no longer indulgent day-glo whatever, whatever, but wizened, worker-bee rap from every region. In short, hip-hop finally answers a lot of its critics—it grows up, it actually matures, and not in a “Ludacris goes on Oprah” way—and everyone’s favorite rap album of 2009 is a facsimile of a 1995 coke-rap blueprint. OK.”
Village Voice’s Pazz & Jop is up. If you love lists, there’s plenty of them here and that’s what makes it so fun to read. Even as the Top 10-ers are fairly predictable–as they should be, the list’s supposed to find common ground–you can view every voter’s list and stumble upon some song or album you dismissed or didn’t know existed. My ballot’s below:
Are You A Serious Comic Book Reader?