Top 13 Non-2013 Albums of the Year

I have regular segment called Fresh Produce on the MusicVox on Vocalo Public Radio in Chicago every Tuesday. I highlight three to five new albums that are out that week. As such, I listen to at least five and usually closer to ten new releases each week, most of which I never listen to a second time. Even with all of this time I spend keeping up with the torrent of new releases, I still find time to listen to great older albums. To honor some of these older albums that dominated my year, I put together this list of my top non-2013 albums of the year in no particular order. Some are albums I’ve been listening to for years, and others are ones I discovered for the first time in the last twelve months. All of them are excellent.

 #1: Mr. Lif - I Phantom (2002)

Mr. Lif was one of my first favorite rappers. Mo’ Mega and the Emergency Rations EP were so important to me in high school, and Mr. Lif was more instrumental than almost any other rapper in getting me to really plunge into the world of hip-hop, but I didn’t hear I Phantom until a couple of years into college. Spurred on by El-P’s phenomenal work last year, 2013 has found me listening to a ton of Def Jux stuff again, and I Phantom has gotten the most plays from me this year out of that crop of exceptional albums. It’s a great album that follows a loose multi-part concept, and Mr. Lif proves that he is a remarkably talented rapper, especially on tracks like the second half of “Return of the B-Boy.” More than anything, revisiting I Phantom reminded me why I got into hip-hop in the first place. And “Live from the Plantation” helped me get through a lot of drives to a shitty job.

Spray Cans Vol. 008: Fiend - "Big Timer"

Fiend - "Big Timer" (No Limit Records, 1998)

No Limit Records’ late nineties success was so all-consuming and their rise was so rapid that it’s kind of amazing that they aren’t talked about more. The label released its first album, Master P’s lackluster Get Away Clean, in 1991, and developed a regional following around its home base of New Orleans in the years following. Despite becoming Louisiana’s premier hip-hop label, No Limit struggled to break through nationally. Then 1996 rolled around, and Master P’s Ice Cream Man went Platinum. A few months later, Silkk the Shocker’s debut hit #6 on the hip-hop/R&B charts, but the rest of the No Limit stable was still inactive or commercially unsuccessful. 1997 was a marked improvement for the label, as TRU, Steady Mobb’n, Mia X, and Mr. Serv-On released high charting albums on the label. Three major successes toward the end of that year pushed No Limit firmly into the mainstream consciousness. First, No Limit made its first foray into film with I’m Bout It, and the accompanying soundtrack featuring most of the label’s artists debuted at #1 on the Billboard hip-hop/R&B chart and quickly went Platinum. Master P followed this up with Ghetto D. With the singles “I Miss My Homies” and “Make ‘Em Say Uhh!,” the album hit #1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart and went Platinum three times over. Soon after, Mystikal, No Limit’s greatest rapper, put out his debut with the label.

In 1998, No Limit quadrupled their output, putting out twenty-three albums, almost all of which went Gold or Platinum. After his defection from Death Row, Snoop Dogg signed to No Limit that year, bringing further publicity and sales to the suddenly inescapable label. They dropped down to fifteen albums in 1999, but their popularity was so high that even the terminally off-beat Silkk the Shocker was able to debut at #1 with his third album. In spite of this continued success, the seams began showing. I’m Bout It was such an unexpected success that Master P and No Limit tried to expand their empire further into film, toys, books, and sports management. Due to poor business practices and lack of resources, most of these endeavors failed almost immediately.[1] Mystikal’s contract expired in ’99 and he immediately jumped ship to Jive Records. The label’s production team Beats by the Pound had been responsible for nearly every hit single and great album track that the label had released up to that point, but they too left the label amid disputes over money. The label stretched itself too thin and quickly lost its ability to sustain itself. Only five No Limit albums came out in 2000. Outside of Master P, Snoop Dogg was the label’s biggest remaining star, but he fled the sinking ship once he fulfilled his contract that year. P hurriedly signed a bunch of new artists, including future underground stoner rap star Curren$y, but they proved unable to develop new artists. Even novelty hits by P’s son Lil’ Romeo couldn’t save the label, and No Limit quietly folded in 2003.