Ho ho ho, it's a Dipset Christmas!
Fa la la la la, it's a Dipset Christmas!
Who better to warm the cockles of your heart this yuletide season than Jim Jones? His A Dipset Xmas just made my year—what can I say? That's right, this year Christmas is BAAAALLIN'! Hard to be mad when you listen to "Dipset Xmas Time" and hear the Dips make December 25 sound like the most banged-out shit since Bangin on Wax.
It's the last full week of the year, you know what that means—it's time to cook up my top-10 list for 2006.
1. The Game, Doctor's Advocate
2. The Clipse, Hell Hath No Fury
3. TI, King
4. Diddy, Press Play
5. Lupe Fiasco, Food & Liquor
6. Ghostface Killah, Fishscale and More
Fish
7. Snoop Dogg, Tha Blue Carpet Treat-
ment
8. J Dilla, Donuts and The Shining
9. The Roots, Game Theory
10. E-40, My Ghetto Report Card
Yes, I cheated on numbers six and eight. Yes, I still really think that Diddy's is a good album; God knows it's hard for me to say that Puff and Game put out two of my favorite LPs of the year. But it's deeper than 10 things, word to my dude Dan Halligan. A few thoughts...
Best single? As good as "We Fly High" and "Tell Me When to Go" are, I'm still not tired of Birdman and Lil Wayne's "Stuntin' Like My Daddy." Oh, you don't agree with me? Like Lil Weezyana says, "Show me my opponents."
Biggest disappointment? I think we all saw Kingdom Come-ing, and boy did it suck... but Jay-Z has arguably dropped a mediocre LP before. Outkast however, has not. Idlewild, sadly, gets the Golden Brick award.
Most racist hook? Snoop Dogg's "Vato" woulda taken that in a landslide if they'd released the OG version with Pharrell doing his worst "ese" impression on the hook, but I gotta give it to Young Dro's "Rubberband Banks." "Tokyo Diamonds/Cho-yoi-yoi-yoing"... wow.
But let's get back to the '06 right quick. There were sold-out shows, but not as much fanfare for local releases. Whether it was hyped up or not, there was a grip of dope local rap put out this year, from the likes of Sonny Bonoho, Neezie Pleaze, Avatar, Mash Hall, Grynch, D.Black, Smoke, and LaRue.
Favorite local debut: Neezie Pleaze's Pleaze Believe.
Hardest local street album: Avatar's RR2: Point Blank. Damn that shit bangs. You better keep your eyes on this kid, I shit you not.
Most slept-on local release: Silas Blak's 1986.
Yo—where is Framework? Anyone?
Lastly...to paraphrase Q-Tip, rap is not grunge—if you call it that, stop. 
