2011 was probably one of the best years for music releases. Particularly for hip hop, R&B and alternative sounds. One of the most anticipated rap collabos of 2011 was probably Jay-Z/Kanye West’s Watch The Throne. Though it had plenty of spins on my laptop, neo soul songstress Jill Scott’s The Light of the Sun had way more. Former New Edition singer Johnny Gill brought us Still Winning; Joe gave The Good, The Bad, The Sexy. Lenny Kravitz delivered Black and White in America; many DJs and producers dropped albums as well. Safe to say, it was a win-win kind of year. 


That said, English superstar Adele once again topped the charts and many lists with the lovely 21, as did Roc Nation-signee J.Cole’s debut Cole World: The Sideline Story. Admittedly, compiling this list was tough, some were obvious additions (Adele, Jill Scott), while others completely caught me off guard (read: Shabazz Palaces’ Black Up). Thus I chose 13 albums because, one, it’s my most favorite number and two, it really was hard to narrow it down to a “Top 10″ or even a “Top 8″ list. Without further adieu…

Drake, Take Care – Drake tapped into his emotional and “sweet” side on this sophomore LP (Honestly, I can’t imagine a dude listening to this album on repeat, but I know they do!) Anyway, my main plays are “Cameras” and “The Ride”.

Holy Ghost!, Holy Ghost! - Brooklyn electro duo gives heavy doses of well, um, electro. Imagine…Chromeo marrying Holy Ghost! Favorite spins: “Say My Name” and “Hold On”.

J. Cole, Cole World: The Sideline Story - It took well over a year for me to get into the hype of this North Carolina-emcee. Once I did, I could appreciate his cool yet intelligent storytelling abilities. Aside from “Can’t Get Enough”, “Mr. Nice Watch” and “Nobody’s Perfect” got the most play.


Jill Scott, The Light of the Sun - One of my most anticipated releases of the year. The R&B-neo soul goddess returned with signature flow, style and sex appeal.

J*DaVeY, New Designer Drug - Been following this L.A. duo since 2009. They always seem to release genre-defying music. A must have. Order at www.jdaveybaby.com 

Mayer Hawthorne, How Do You Do – Mayer’s covers EP Impressions made my list of Top EPs and Mixtapes of 2011; How Do You Do is in the same vein: classic take on 60′s & 70′s soul.


Miguel Migs, Outside the Skyline – Migs is one of my top house/deep house DJs. On his latest venture he pairs up with some of my favorite artists: R&B icon Evelyn “Champagne” King; singer-songwriter and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello, & his apparent muse, Lisa Shaw. 

Theophilus London, Timez Are Weird These Dayz - new wave hip hop out of Ft. Greene, Brooklyn; what’s not to like??