The Music Minds Present: Best of 2015 (Part 1)

2015 turned out to be a very eventful year socially, politically, and there were a number of poignant issues that stood out culturally. The Black Lives Matter movement stepped to the forefront of the minds of many people worldwide along with continued awareness of issues dealing with minorities and relations with the law. The world of entertainment was most certainly affected by this as we noticed many artists step up and make their voices heard whether is was in song or by making a physical stand in protest of injustice. However, at the time this article is being published we've been shown that work is far from over as rulings in the cases of Tamir Rice, Freddie Gray, and countless others has proved that injustice still exists and it's going to take a continued, diligent effort to keep pushing for real justice.

Now with that out of the way let's move onto our 2015 Year In Review, This year has been very strong across genres as we've seen a resurgence of dope artists from yesteryear and some surprises layered in as well. Putting together a list of only 10 top releases this year was admittedly tough so if you see an album listed as an honorable mention please believe the placement was a tough call and we'd STRONGLY recommend checking out all the releases mentioned.

Part 1 will include our Honorable Mentions and spots #10 - 6 of our Top 10 with the Top 5 to be released before the year end.

Honorable Mentions (listed in no particular order):
Logic - The Incredible True Story
Hiatus Kaiyote - Choose Your Weapon
Dr.Dre - C.O.M.P.T.O.N.
Joey Badass - B4DA$$
Drake - If You're Reading This it's Too Late
Bilal - In Another Life
Lupe Fiasco - Tetsuo & Youth
Ty Dolla $ign - Free T.C.
Adrian Younge & Ghostface Killah - Twelve Reasons to Die II
Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment - Surf
Pusha T - M.F.T.R.

#10 Tyler, The Creator - Cherry Bomb

This project saw an even harder edge from Tyler than we saw on Wolf as it seemed he channeled some of his energy from Bastard and meshed that with his older more experienced persona. A very strong project all around as we've come to expect from the Odd Future front man.

Top tracks: Buffalo, Find Your Wings, F***ing Young/Perfect, Smuckers

#9 Big Sean - Dark Sky Paradise

To say this album was a pleasant surprise would be an understatement. Following the disappointing Hall Of Fame it was important for the Detroit MC to get back on the right track and he did so exceptionally well. The label clearly had his back with this release as evidenced by the wealth of videos we've seen from some of the albums strongest tracks. The best thing here is that while the album was commercially successful Sean earned every bit of clout he may have lost from the last  album back with his witty lines, strong overall production, and the desire to not be outclassed by his guest features. Definitely an album you can start let play through with very minimal need to skip songs.

Top tracks: Blessings, All Your Fault, Play No Games, One Man Can Change The World

#8 The Game - Documentary 2/2.5

Bucking the usual trend of the disappointment that usually comes with numbered sequel albums (Blueprint 2 I'm looking at ya) The Game continued to prove that his stance as one of the West Coast's all-time greats is well deserved. For all intents and purposes this would have likely ranked in the Top 5 if he'd been able to eliminate some of the filler cuts on each half of the project to create an even better single album. Nonetheless this album showed the importance of track-by-track sequencing as each song seamlessly flowed into the next.

Top tracks: On Me, Standing on Ferrari's, Made In America, Circles, 100, Crenshaw/80s and Cocaine, Up On The Wall, Life

#7 A$AP Rocky - At.Long.Last.A$AP

After taking a hiatus from Solo releases since dropping his debut in early 2013 to help build up the rest of the A$AP Mob, we saw Rocky return more focused and motivated to one up his prior effort. Following the loss of A$AP Yams (Rest In Peace and Power Yamborghini) Rocky came with it delivering a well sequenced album with some dope features from Kanye, Future, Mos Def., Bones, and more. Rocky should no longer just be described as a "Swag" rapper who only talks fashion and drugs as he's shown much more range on this project. Definitely a strong follow up. 

Top tracks - Canal St., Fine Whine, L$D, Electric Body, Jukebox Joints, Back Home

#6 Miguel - Wildheart

This entire project is audio superiority with Miguel seeming to channel a Prince-esque vibe on a number of tracks on this CD. It was very tough choosing between this and another yet to be listed (Part 2 is coming just wait on it) R&B album this year for what should take top honors in this years class of quality R&B releases. Saying that this is the 2nd best R&B album of 2015 is not a slight to Miguel in any way as this may be the best in his strong catalog of albums up to this point. This is an outstanding sonic experience to throw on some powerful headphones and just vibe out to. The album has a ton of replay-ability the lack of numerous features is very refreshing with only Kurupt and Lenny Kravitz popping up to lend their talents to the project. I'd recommend those who haven't already given this a spin to spring for the deluxe copy as the bonus tracks really flesh out the overall experience.

Top tracks: a beautiful exit, Coffee, N.W.A., gfg, destinado a morir, Hollywood Dreams

Stay tuned for the Final 5 of our 2015 Year In Review list very shortly!