Artists of the Year
1. Nas-
Came back in a big way with Stillmatic, The Lost Tapes, and
God’s Son. Nasir endured beefs with Jay-Z, Havoc, Noreaga,
Funk Flex, and Cam’ron only to end up making peace with all of
them. What a year.
2.
Eminem- Love him or hate him, Em stayed in the
spotlight for most of 2k2. Marshall juggled between MC,
producer, actor, and record executive this past year, and made
a whole lotta cheese along the way.
3.
Ludacris- This cat was everywhere in 2002. Luda had
another multi-platinum album, made a movie, made a commercial,
and had beef with Bill O’Reilly.
4.
Jay-Z- Jigga would have been #1, but a disappointing
Blueprint 2 showed that Jay may have become too complacent
at the top.
5. 50
Cent- 50 had the biggest buzz out of anybody not to
release an album in ’02. 50 went through it all this past
year, capping it all off with an arrest on New Year’s Eve.
Songs of the Year
No order
Clipse-
“Grindin Remix’
Nas-
“Ether”
Khia-
“My Neck, My Back
Sean
Paul- “Gimme The Light”
Clipse-
“When The Last Time”
Albums of the Year
No order
Nas-
Stillmatic
Eminem-
The Eminem Show
Scarface-
The Fix
Styles P
- A Gangsta And A Gentleman
Best Debut
Clipse-
Lord Willin’
Nappy
Roots- Watermelon, Chicken, & Gritz
Top 5 Producers
The
Neptunes- The VA-based duo continued to do their thing in
2k2. Working with everyone from No Doubt to Toni Braxton to
Common, Chad and Pharrell cemented their spot as the top
producers in music today. By far the coolest N.E.R.D’s I’ve
ever heard before.
Kanye
West/Just Blaze- The Roc’s in-house super producers turned
sped up soul loops into club anthems. Besides lacing their
own crew with beats, Kanye and Blaze also produced hits for
the likes of Scarface and Erick Sermon.
Timbaland- Probably the most innovative beat maker on this
list, Timbo the King put it down in ‘02.
Jazze
Pha- ATL’s best producer played a huge part in Cash
Money’s resurgence in ‘02.
7
Aurelius- The man behind the platinum Murder Inc. sound.
Comeback Artists
Cash
Money Records- The whole CMR made a lot of peeps forget
all about Juvenile, B.G., and Turk with a huge year in 2002.
Besides adding several new artists, the biggest move Baby and
Slim made was signing on super producer Jazze Pha.
W.C.-
W.C.’s new deal with Def Jam brought him better promotion and
more notoriety than ever before.
Artists To Watch In 2003
Twista-
Probably the most slept-on MC in the game, check for Twista’s
new joint Kamikaze, and a new allegiance with Roc-a-Fella
y’all.
Kanye
West- Kanye’s dope
behind the boards and ok on the mic, but expect big things
from dude when his solo joint drops.
B.G. &
Juvenile- Even though they’re no longer with Cash Money,
both cats are releasing long-awaited albums in 2k3 on new
labels.
The
D.O.C.- You heard it here first. D.O.C.’s new joint
should be a banger, so you may see him on the Comeback Artist
list next year.
Ms. Jade- Ya,
her debut album was aight, but this Philly chick has skills.
Combine that with Timbo’s beats and she should have a pretty
bright future.
50 Cent-
Those who were not familiar with 50 should know the cat by
know with the success of “Wanksta” from the 8 Mile
Soundtrack. 50’s debut on Shady Records is gonna be a
monster.
Nate@seaspot.com |
