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Brown Sugar Top 5 Albums of 2012<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Follow me on twitter and you\u2019ll realize I LOVE music. I listen to it as often as possible. Just one problem most of my favorite music was made prior to 2000 \u00a0 however every very now and then I\u2019ll discover a new artist or an old favorite will bring out a project that instantly becomes a part of my life\u2019s soundtrack. So why a top 5 and not a top 10?\u00a0 Eh I just wanted to be different lol<\/em><\/strong>! Alright let\u2019s get to it\u2026<\/p>\n

# 5 (a tie) – Elle Varner -Perfectly Imperfect & Miguel- Kaleidoscope Dream<\/strong>–\u00a0 These two very different artists both hit the scene with major hits in recent years and followed them up with solid projects. Varner\u2019s debut deals with everything from positive self-image (\u201cSo Fly\u201d) to wishing for her version of home and family (\u201cWelcome Home\u201d). Her writing is thoughtful and her raspy yet sweet tone makes this an album I can play all day. I purchased Miguel\u2019s Kaleidoscope Dream off the strength of the single \u201cAdorn\u201d! That song alone makes the album list worthy. Luckily \u201cAdorn\u201d is not the only dope track on the record.\u00a0 Miguel explores love, lust and everything in between in a way not seen since John Legend\u2019s debut project. On songs like \u201cArch and Point\u201d he describes exactly how he wants his partner to *ahem* perform, while on \u201cCandles in the Sun\u201d he takes a Marvin Gaye-sque look at our world with a nod to the late notorious B.I.G. Kaleidoscope Dream takes the listener on an extremely sensual journey. I\u2019ll take that ride over and over again Miguel!<\/p>\n

# 4- Jon Bibbs- Ode to Ode Flames- <\/strong>Dr. Jon Bibbs 4^{th<\/sup> studio album is most definitely one that belongs in your musical library. The album features soaring musical moments that transport you visually through the journey of loving and losing love. Bibbs toured the east coast this summer (with live band)\u00a0 to audiences sheer delight. My favorite track on the VA native\u2019s project is \u201cGone\u201d featuring Ms. Conya Doss. Other appearances include Derek 32Zero, Skillz, and the beautiful Alison Carney. Bibbs\u2019\u00a0 \u201cOde to Old Flames\u201d feels like 1960, like a night by the fireplace, like the after burn left in that place where your heart used to be. His voice soars multiple octaves over jazz and soul tracks. If you haven\u2019t hit iTunes yet just pause reading and go do that now.<\/p>\n}

# 3- Robert Glasper- Black Radio- <\/strong>Music so good it gets released twice in one year? Yep that happened! Glasper followed up the amazing success of \u201cBlack Radio\u201d, released in February, with Black Radio: Recovered released in October.\u00a0 The Recovered EP features remixes, new cuts, and some yummy doses of Dilla (Fresh in Peace J Dilla)! \u201cBlack Radio\u201d has something for jazz lovers as well as hip hop, soul and r&b fans alike. I play \u201cBlack Radio\u201d and get lost in the intricate compositions of the covers as much as I do the original pieces.\u00a0 The February release appearances from everyone from Yasiin Bey to Chrisette Michelle, it is definitely the most bang for your musical buck. The Recovered EP features additions from J Dilla, Pete Rock, Phonte, Bilal and Black Milk (I mean seriously that line up is CRAZY). Also featured on production and instrumentation is Questlove!\u00a0 His track features Solange on vocals, and their \u201c?uestlove\u2019s Twice Baked Remix\u201d is so good it made me a Solange fan real quick.<\/p>\n

#2- Nas- Life is Good- <\/strong>When I heard Nas had an album coming out I was just glad that his name was in headlines and not followed by personal drama or hip hop beef, but about the MUSIC.\u00a0 Whew the music! As hip hop ages many emcees seem stuck, as if they\u2019ve run out of things to say, or as if their fans won\u2019t accept new material from them. Nas held a middle finger up to alladat and put out a project so thorough and so diverse lyrically that it was an instant classic in my book. After his nasty divorce Nas showed that there was also heartbreak from losing his life partner on \u201cBye Baby\u201d, he showed he was not bitter but was willing to love again on my fave \u201cCherry Wine\u201d which features the late Amy Winehouse. <~~~~ (Literally my fave I play on repeat A LOT) Then keeping to his Queens roots we got tough joints like \u201cBack When\u201d and \u201cA Queens Story\u201d and \u201cAccident Murderers\u201d (although I skip the Ross verse each time, I just can\u2019t\u2026). \u201cLife is Good\u201d was not only the right album for Nas to make it was the album he had <\/em>to make! A declaration that he was still here and that he was still the same dope storyteller we met on \u201cIllmatic\u201d in \u201994.\u00a0 I own the deluxe version and it\u2019s 19 tracks of straight hip hop, grown hip hop for the 30 plus crowd, and that\u2019s fine with me.
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