Counting down the 25 best local rap albums of ANY year is less than easy. Counting them down for this year, the most energetic, frenzied year for Houston rap since 2005, it is more than impossible. Rather: WAS more than impossible.
After countless at-length conversations with those that know better, a complicated mathematics-based computer program that nearly buckled NASA and the death of an IHOP waitress, it is done.
For this, there are no rules. There are no pre-qualifiers. There are categories. This isn't the These Are The Best Mixtapes list or the These Are The Best LPs list or the These Are The Best EPs list. Fuck that. Competition is one of the cornerstones of rap. Every piece of (rap) music that came out in Houston this year was eligible for inclusion here.
These are it.
This is them.
These are The 25 Best Rap Albums From Houston's Glorious 2011. It gets no better.
The Bubble:
30. Lil O, Grind Hard, Pray Harder
Remember when this tape dropped? Everyone was in the "Yo, LIL O IS STILL MAKING MUSIC!?" mode hardcore, crazy surprised. Download it. Then favorite "Betcha Can't Do It" and "I'm What Dat Iz," the tape's standout tracks. It's pretty much time to start considering Lil' O ageless, right?
29. E.S.G., Owner's Manual
E.S.G. is as sturdy as oak and as underappreciated as something that's really underappreciated. His loyalists will no doubt argue this tape deserves to be higher on the list. And that's perfectly understandable.
28. One Hunnidt, Legacy of a Legend
Legacy of a Legend is driven (mostly) by the loss of One Hunnidt's brother. Even if the sort-of poetic cadence isn't how you prefer your rap music, this tape is nearly always interesting, and does well to neither marginalize nor exploit the situation.
27. Chane, Samplified Successor
Written almost as therapy session to help Chane release his feelings about watching his father pass away, SS possesses some absolutely heartbreaking moments (Papa Chane recorded hours upon hours of audio of himself talking to his son, pieces of which are interspersed here). Curious to see what happens from here.
