BRL's 2012 Year in Review

It's almost the end of February, which can only mean one thing: It's time for the BRL year-end wrap up. Continuing the long-standing BRL tradition of releasing a top albums list nearly 2 months later than every other blog, we are back again to unleash the vast amount of brilliant music that you should've been listening all year.

Now usually I would make a huge, muli-post countdown with a paragraph explaining why each album made the list, but I'm getting older and too tired to do that shit. Last year was a very odd one for me, as I went through a few major life changes, so I missed a few albums along the way (a lot of albums that came out from May-August got lost in the mix of job hunts, graduation, working a shitty job, and dwelling on the fact that I was 22 and living with my parents). So this list isn't nearly as comprehensive as my 2011 list - where I obsessively listened to every album that would potentially make a top albums list. But 2012 was a phenomenal year for both hip hop and "indie" rock, so without further adieu here are the top albums of the year (and here is my super-detailed Best Hip Hop Albums List I did for RapReviews.com):

2012: The year young Kendrick dominated. Granted you knew that two months ago.

1. Kendrick Lamar - "good kid, m.A.A.d. city" (Score: 95)
2. The xx - "Coexist" (Score: 92)
3. Passion Pit - "Gossamer" (Score: 90)
4. El-P - "Cancer4Cure" (Score: 89.5)
5. Nas - "Life is Good" (Score: 88.5 - Tie Breaker Advantage)
6. fun. - "Some Nights" (Score 88.5)
7. Killer Mike - "R.A.P. Music" (Score: 88)
8. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - "The Heist" (Score: 87)
9. Lana Del Rey - "Born to Die" (Score: 84.5 - Tie Breaker Advantage)
10. Cloud Nothings - "Attack on Memory" (Score: 84.5 - Tie Breaker Advantage)
11. Fiona Apple - "The Idler Wheel..." (Score: 84.5)
12. Beach House - "Bloom" (Score: 84 - Tie Breaker Advantage)
13. Big Boi - "Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors" (Score: 84 - Tie Breaker Advantage)
14. Jack White - "Blunderbuss" (Score: 84)
15. Frank Ocean - "channel:ORANGE" (Score: 83.5)
16. Brother Ali - "Mourning in America, Dreaming in Color" (Score: 83)
17. Ab-Soul - "Control System" (Score: 82.5)
18. Jens Lekman - "I Know What Love Isn't" (Score: 82.5)
19. Oddisee - "People Hear What They See" (Score: 82)
20. Danny! - "Payback (2.0)" (Score: 81.5)
21. Of Monsters and Men - "My Head is an Animal" (Score: 81)
22. Peter Anthony Red (aka Tonedeff) - "The Projectionist" (Score: 80.5)
23. Mac Lethal - "Irish Celebration" (released 12/31/11) (Score: 80)
24. Murs & Fashawn - "This Generation" (Score: 79)
25. Benjamin Gibbard - "Former Lives" (Score: 79)
26. Big K.R.I.T. - "4 eva n a Day" (Score: 79)
27. Andrew Bird - "Break It Yourself" (Score: 78.5)
28. Alabama Shakes - "Boys & Girls" (Score: 77)
29. Justin Townes Earl - "Nothing's Gonna Change How You Feel About Me Now" (Score: 77)
30. Mumford & Sons - "Babel" (Score: 77)
31. The Coup - "Sorry to Bother You" (Score: 76)
32. Best Coast - "The Only Place" (Score: 76)
33. Rapsody - "The Idea of Beautiful" (Score: 75.5)
34. Bat for Lashes - "The Haunted Man" (Score: 75.5)
35. P.O.S. - "We Don't Even Live Here" (Score: 75)
36. Aesop Rock - "Skelethon" (Score: 75)
37. Blu & Exile - "Give Me My Flowers While I Can Still Smell Them" (Score: 75)
38. Substantial - "Home is Where the Art is" (Score: 74)
39. Brother Ali - "The Bite-Marked Heart" (Score: 74)
40. Perfume Genius - "Put Ur Back N 2 It" (Score: 73)

Rhymes: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - "Make The Money"

Finally!!!! After years of watching (and listening to a Youtube rip on my iPod) the video above, my favorite Macklemore song has been released.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO SONG, EMBEDDING NOT WORKING

The piano driven track plays more like a mission statement than a song. And Macklemore is as personal and honest as ever, and Ryan Lewis adds a brilliant instrument-based beat. I'm assuming this along with "Can't Hold Us" "Wings" and hopefully "My Oh My" will appear on the duo's upcoming album, which they hope will be released before the year's end. Obviously it will be one of the best albums of 2011 if it does get a Q4 release.

Macklemore & Ryan recently announced a new tour and again they will be hitting up The Blind Pig in Ann Arbor once again. The last time Macklemore was in Ann Arbor, he put on the most incredible show I've ever seen, without a DJ because RyLew was in Ireland.

Rhymes: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - "Otherside (Remix)" Music Video

The Otherside Remix Music Video was filmed in various locations for about a year and a half throughout 2010-2011. It is the duo's second video collaboration with long time friend and director Jason Koenig (My Oh My).

One of BRL's favorite emcees/producer combos are back, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis riding their wave of success from their recent "Can't Hold Us" single and "Wings" music video. Off of their VS EP redux that come out last November.

Rhymes: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - "Wings" Music Video

After months of filming, editing, and raising money on Kickstarter, the boys Macklemore & Ryan Lewis have finally released their music video for their up-coming album's lead-single, "Wings."It is currently on the front page of XXL's website which is impressive, and hopefully will get them more exposure. This video is as powerful as the song, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis continue to impress me more and more. Word is they are about to released a new track from their album soon.

Rhymes: Macklemore - "My Oh My" (Live Performance)

It was November 2009 when Macklemore & Ryan Lewis first performed on KEXP, a radio station in their home town of Seattle. Up until that point, I had heard Macklemore on a great CunninLynguists track and a song called "Otherside." The track sampled the Red Hot Chili Peppers song of the same name. After watching their performance of the song on KEXP, I instantly became a believer.

This performance of "My Oh My," a tribute to Seattle Mariners' legendary play-by-play man, Dave Niehaus, gives me flashbacks of his "Otherside" performance nearly a year and a half earlier. This is the type of track that has an extremely specific topic, but his brilliant songwriting ability and passion he has for the subject is so powerful, you don't even have to be a baseball fan to feel this track.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis have embarked on their first national tour, and judging by their Twitter and Facebook updates, it seems to be going very well. I wish them all the best, and I cannot wait for March 29 to see them perform with Blueprint in Ann Arbor.


Here's a little bonus video:



Macklemore interviewing his alter-ego, Sir Ravin Bowie, best known for his classic song "And We Danced," which always fills the dance floors of Troup and Reed house parties.

Rhymes: Macklemore - "Wings" / Donation for Music Video

So I posted the live version of this song about a year ago (it was called "Nikes" back then), and have since been eagerly awaiting the studio version of the song. It wasnt an easy wait. Reading twitter posts and facebook updates about the track made me extremely eager to hear the final product of the song. Finally it came out last week, and to my surprise vastly exceeded my expectations (usually when I fall in love with a live version of a song before I hear a studio version, I end up preferring the original live version of the song, ie: Nas & Damian Marley's "Africa Must Wake Up").

The children's choir straight gives me chills, and Macklemore delivers his rhymes in that same passionate-conversational tone that has made him one of my favorite up and coming emcees as the live performance. And Ryan Lewis does a brilliant job of not overpowering Macklemore's verses with a lush instrumental, rather a sparse backdrop to compliment the originally a capella piece, that beautifully builds to the aforementioned chorus sung by a children's choir.

But anyway the reason I'm ranting on about this brilliant track is that Mack and Ryan are trying to film a video and they are asking for our support. I only have $27 in my bank account (it's hard out here for a pimp), but i still managed to send $5 of it to support great music, and I encourage all of my BRL Loyalists to do the same.

Watch the video below for more details, or just to see them speak and give some interesting commentary on the track itself.







Link

Rhymes: Macklemore - "My Oh My" & "Irish Celebration" (Music Videos)

Here's Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's tribute to Dave Niehaus, the famous Seattle Mariners broadcaster. Hopefully this song isn't just a random track, hopefully it will appear on the two's yet-to-be-titled album that should be released this year.


And here's the long-awaited, "Irish Celebration" music video. I really don't know how they keep making these awesome videos on such a low budget. These music videos>>>>>> your favorite mainstream rapper's videos. It just goes to show, you really don't need a big label to make good music, or even a good video.

Life: Fake Empire (Dir: Ryan Lewis)

A Film by Ryan Lewis (production from Macklemore and Symmetry). This is a brilliant short film about consumerism in America. Starring Macklemore.