Madlib (left) and J Dilla (right). Photo Courtesy of Stones Throw Records

For most hip-hop listeners in their late twenties and thirties, it’s quite hard to know what exceptional albums emerged over the past ten years. We recall the glory decade of the 90s, from the gritty east coast to the gangsta west, but what about the 2000s?

Without a doubt, hip-hop continues to run “through my veins like blood, and love.” It’s a genre that I play as much as anything else, it’s a motivating force, it makes my body bounce, and it influences my swagger. It’s funny, because I wonder if I’ll still cherish this music as dearly in 2020 and I wonder how my children will feel about it.

For me and many others, this was the decade of J Dilla and Madlib, two innovative producers whose resumes really exploded in recent years. In early 2006, a rare blood disease ended the life of Dilla, but not before he created a lasting impression on hip-hop and the music industry as a whole. A podcast dedicated to J Dilla (though redundant by now) should be in the cards in coming months, but for now check out the two Dilla tracks (Common and Slum Village) on this mix and Madlib’s two gems (Madvillain and Quasimoto) as well. The rest of the playlist is pretty self-explanatory: The first half are classic underground cuts that personally hit me in a profound way and the second half gets into more mainstream and culturally significant tracks. Let me know what I missed.

The Best Hip-Hop of the Decade [00s] (mp3)

Atmosphere - Guns and Cigarettes
Talib Kweli & DJ Hi Tek (Reflection Eternal) - The Blast
Common - The Light
Slum Village - 2u4u
Madvillain - Accordion
Quasimoto - Basic Instinct
Zion I - Critical (Feat. Planet Asia)
Blackalicious - Make You Feel that Way
Deltron 3030 - Mastermind
Lupe Fiasco - Kick, Push
Kanye West - Flashing Lights
Dead Prez - Hip-Hop
Outkast - So Fresh, So Clean
Jay-Z - Izzo (H.O.V.A.)
Snoop Dogg & Pharell Williams - Drop it Like it’s Hot
Eminem - Drug Ballad
E-40 - Tell Me When To Go
The Roots - Seed 2.0 (Feat. Cody Chestnutt)

 

 Hip-Hop is Dead? The Best Hip-Hop of the Decade [00s]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Categories: Nostalgic commentary, Visine for the ears
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