2009 Album of the Year: Drake - So Far Gone (mixtape)

"Dropped a mixtape, that shit sounded like an album, who'd a thought a countrywide tour would be the outcome?" - Drake on "Forever"

"The industry got to get it in gear, cause it's bad when a mixtape is really the album of the year" - Skillz speaking about So Far Gone on his "2009 Rap Up"

I have a friend who thinks "Houstatlantavegas" is an actual city. No really, I do, and I don't know who's to blame. Either the Toronto District Schoolboard really fucked up, or Drake's mixtape So Far Gone had a much bigger impact on her than grade 9 geography.

You can say all you want about the state of Toronto's public school system (how's my grammar?), but So Far Gone is dope. It's the dopest in fact, and in my humble opinion, Drake's third official release is the year's best hip-hop album, even though it's technically very much a mixtape. But that's just one of the many reasons why it deserves 2009's crown. For example:

- It made R&B rap cool.

- It made me enjoy R&B again.

- It made Trey Songz relevant.

- It introduced me to Lykke Li.

- It made me buy the Peter Bjorn and John album because of "Let's Call it Off".

- It made me not give up on Wayne.

- It made me proud(er) to be Canadian.

- It made me wonder how good 808s and Heartbreak could've been if Kanye decided to just produce instead of sing.

- It made me excited for the direction mainstream hip-hop is headed in.

- And ask yourself this: how many casual hip-hop fans ever download a mixtape? Do you really think that the girl down the street has 50 Cent is the Future or any of the We Got it 4 Cheap mixtapes in her iPod? She doesn't, but she probably has So Far Gone.

In the end however, Drake's mixtape proved that quality songwriting is king. It's great if you can rap for days and days, but when it comes down to it, people remember songs.

Hip-hop album of the year, hands down. Hate all you want.

Runners-up (in no particular order):

Clipse - Til the Casket Drops

Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II

Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon: The End of Day

Brother Ali - US

The Black Keys - Blakroc

Song of the year:

Jay Electronica - Exhibit C

Nardwuar takes on Kid Cudi

Nardwuar is always entertaining and informative.

Video: Timbaland featuring Drake - Say Something

You know who really kills this beat? Lupe Fiasco. Click here for his Enemy of the State mixtape.

Kardinal Offishall - We Gon’ Go

Toronto pronto.

Kardinal Offishall - We Gon’ Go

Nicki Minaj Interview with Honey Mag

Obligatory Young Money post.

Here's their new single, if you're into that sort of thing.

Young Money feat. Lloyd - Bed Rock

J. Period & K’Naan - The Messengers (Mixtape)

40 tracks of epic music.

Do yourself a favor a click the link below to get this excellent mixtape from JPeriod.com:

J. Period & K’Naan - The Messengers (Mixtape)

Drake Interview with Big Tigger

Drake talks with Tigger about his surgery, building home studios and the politics of sample clearing in relation to his So Far Gone EP that dropped yesterday.

Why no "November 18th" Drake?

Video: Swollen Members - Warrior

If you're Canadian, you definitely remember these West Coast characters.

Mad Child wildin'.

Mad Child's Addiction VLOG Part 1

As I mentioned in August, Mad Child from the group Swollen Members battled a serious addiction to prescription pain meds and he's now been clean for two months. In order to let the people know exactly what happened to him and why he's been off the radar for so long, he also created a VLOG to explain his situation.

Check out part 1 of Mad Child's three-part VLOG series detailing his descent into drug addiction

PART 1

Lil Wayne feat. Drake - My Darlin’ Baby

I really have to go on a Drake/Wayne blog post detox and hit you guys up with some underground shit real soon.

I'm sorry Kai.

Lil Wayne feat. Drake - My Darlin’ Baby

Drake - Fear

Meh.

Drake - Fear

In other Aubrey news, he had surgery yesterday in Toronto after shooting videos for both "Forever" and "Money 2 Blow" down in Miami while simultaneously appearing in a GQ photo shoot with Wale and CuDi.

Damn, I guess he really does know G4 pilots on a first name basis.


The "Money 2 Blow" shoot.

Kardinal Offishall - Clear

Kardi and Akon hit up Dubai and it looks like they had a good time.

I used to want to visit Dubai, and then I saw this documentary about that fake palm tree island thing that they built and I feel like that place is going to sink into the center of the earth for fucking with nature. But that's just me.

Here's Kardi's new joint from his new album.

Support Toronto Hip-Hop!!!

Kardinal Offishall - Clear

Classified - Up All Night

Halifax has been all over the place today. Scroll down a few for the new Skratch Bastid tape.

Swollen Members - Warrior

I always wondered what happened to these guys and then out of nowhere, their new track and an explanation of their whereabouts pops up in my inbox. Mad Child sounds like he went through some hell.

In his words:

"It's been a crazy few years for not only me, but also Swollen. I was in a very bad state for the last three years; drugs and an abusive lifestyle had gotten the best of me. I was severely addicted to Oxycontin, doing just over twenty 80mg pills a day, which equals the strength of about 320 Percocet pills. I became public enemy #1 with the cops due to my association with Hell's Angels and other clubs and was under constant surveillance with wire taps, etc. There was a time when I couldn't leave my house without being confronted by the cops. At least 3 or 4 police vehicles would show up every time I left the house," says Mad Child. "And with a diet of two quarts of ice cream a night, I gained a lot of weight and slipped into a very dark place. I was basically living in my theater room for the last two years and spent over half a million dollars on pills. I wasn't paying attention to my business affairs either so I lost two million dollars over the course of my addiction. I went from living the high life with girls, money and parties to watching movies in my theatre and being a zombie with only my dogs to keep me company. What I now realize is that I put the lives of many people on hold during my addiction. There are a lot of people that count on me and I know I let them down. Thank God I have a studio in my house and an amazing group who never abandoned me. The only good thing that came out of the last three years is the album we are about to drop."

Swollen Members - Warrior

Their new album Armed to the Teeth drops on October 13th.

I suggest you check it out.

Skratch Bastid - 110 % (mixtape)

Halifax, stand the fuck up!

Get this.

Get it now.

Donate.

Go see him live.

Do it!

Skratch Bastid - 110 % (mixtape)

"Best I Ever Had" Original Sample

You can accuse me of Drake overkill if you want.

Drake Speaks about Being Back in Toronto

MTV Shows

Drake says he's finally made peace with Toronto. I think he means peace with Toronto as a superstar, and not as a citizen, but peace nonetheless.

As someone who just moved to Toronto after a four year absence, making peace with the greatest city on earth is a very good thing to do.

Nothing like your hometown.

Video: Drake featuring Trey Songz - Successful (Live In Toronto)

Hometown hero.

Drake Makes an Appearance w/ Wayne in Toronto

I live in Toronto and I had the opportunity to go to this show, but once I heard that Drake had broke himself I remembered that Soulja Boy was also on the bill, and the prospect of seeing him and a legion of his fans was too much for me. I'm soft.

From what I heard, Drake's appearance was the highlight of the night.

Rock the Bells in Vancouver

Here's some video footage of Nas, Damian Marley, Common and Talib Kweli at the Rock the Bells show in Canada's 2nd greatest city.

Check out Common:

And Talib, lyrics stick to your ribs: