Top Albums/Tracks of 2013

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A L B U M S*

1. Vampire Weekend: Modern Vampires of The City
2. DJ Koze: Amygdala
3. Chance The Rapper: Acid Rap**
4. Autre Ne Veut [Oh-truh Neh Vuh]: Anxiety
5. Disclosure: Settle
6. The National: Trouble Will Find Me 
7. Kanye West: Yeezus
8. Arctic Monkeys: AM
9. Daft Punk: Random Access Memories
10. Drake: Nothing Was The Same

HM. Pusha T: My Name is My Name

T R A C K S***
1. James Blake: "Retrograde"

2. Lorde: "Royals"

3. Drake: "Hold On, We're Going Home"

4. FKA Twigs: "Water Me"

5. Daft Punk: "Lose Yourself To Dance"

6. Chance The Rapper: "Juice"

 7. Disclosure: "White Noise"

8. Autre Ne Veut: "Counting"

9. Pusha T: "Numbers On The Boards"

10. Local Natives: "Heavy Feet"


HM. Vampire Weekend: "Don't Lie"

* HM = Honorable Mention does actually rank at #11 this year
** Technically this is a mixtape, but the quality is the difference
*** Excludes repeated artists (#s 1, 6, 7, HM) for breadth

Chance The Rapper: Acid Rap. Review Sketch

year: 2013 

tones of: lil wayne, anthony hamilton, kanye west, eminem, wyclef jean, the streets, musiq soulchild, john legend, madlib, kid cudi

genre samples: hip hop, jazz, soul, electronica, r&b, gospel

music: warm, chill, smooth, light, relaxed, bouncy, joyous, summerish

lyrics: humorous, fun, light, thoughtful, quirky, therapeutic, playful, witty, real, drug infused

flow: sporadic, versatile, unmetered, spoken word poet, stream of consciousness, scraggly

favs: good ass intro, pusha man, cocoa butter kisses, juice, lost, interlude, acid rap

best guest: noname gypsy (on "lost")

nb: this is one of the most refreshingly varied and non-stereotypical rap offerings of the year (hence the many artists he reminds me of). simply a great mixtape. you can find it on soundcloud here.

score: 8/10