However some late arrivals saved us all from the drought of June 2012.
There were a couple of albums that showed a great deal of potential but didn't meet my discriminating tastes.
For example, the album Satellite Kite by the group Beautiful Eulogy is sonically a masterpiece but as you know by now if you have been a follower of this blog that I am very particular about rhyming skills.
Flow and word play may not be as important to you and therefore you might actually enjoy this album so I would encourage you to check it out but I can't big up this album.
I think that Satellite Kite rates a 10 for music and a 2 for the emcees but feel free to judge for yourself you might find it appealing.
If you need some background music to nod your head to in the car or in the crib you'll love the album Beats for Brothels, Vol. 2 by The Doppelgangaz. They bang those old school hip hop beats with a contemporary twist but there is a fatal flaw with the album.
Of the 18 tracks there are only 4 songs with rapping, the rest are instrumentals. Had they put the same quality of rapping on three more tracks this would have been my choice for the rap album of the month. I can't honestly state that Beats for Brothels, Vol. 2 is the best rap album this month with very little rapping going on but I do have put it in my playlist so take that as a resounding endorsement of the album.
Special shout out to the young group Brothers From Another with their solid EP Taco Tuesday. These cats from Seattle are this generations Souls of Mischief in my humble opinion and will be a force to reckon with in the future in the hip hop game. This is one for the collection.
Following up last years collaboration album the Maybach Music Group added Omarion to the group for the new album and my top album MMG Present: Self Made, Vol. 2.
I must admit I had, for some reason, disdain for Rick Ross. Maybe it was the three hundred pounder's need to perform shirtless or the subject matter of his songs which seemed to glorify the most base elements of the black community I don't know. I dismissed him and all his albums until I realized that I can't honestly review rap albums if I refuse to listen to artists that I may not like personally.
I can admit now that this flaw in my character has prevented me from listening to some of the dopest hip hop of the past five years and I mean in particular Rick Ross albums.
I am no more co-signing drug selling, drug use and prostitution by listening to Rick Ross anymore than I'd be condoning selling drugs and murder because I watch the Sopranos. Both use criminality as a device to tell stories about life in very creative and artistic ways. Now, I honestly can't go a single day without listening to my Rick Ross playlist. Sonically the music is incredible whether you like him or not.
Rick Ross has honed his craft and used everything he has learned to create the album MMG Present: Self Made, Vol. 2 and with the help of Wale, Stalley, Meek Mill and Omarion cranked out a great album but not one without flaws.
As you may or may not know I really dig Stalley. His solo album Lincoln Way Nights was my choice of rap album of the month for November 2011. On the new MMG album Stalley's flow seems a little forced when attempting to keep his cadence up to the pace of music tailor made for Ricky Rozay and he never hits his stride the way he did on his single Chevys and Space Ships.
Omarion really did nothing for me either but he didn't necessarily hurt anything.
Although Wale and Meek Mill turned in solid work Rick Ross is the star of this album and he shines like new money when he hits his mark. His flow is crazy right now and he has learned to keep the whooping and barking to a minimum.
Beats for Brothels, Vol. 2 by The Doppelgangaz was a close second to this album and could easily have won had there been more vocals and Shabazz 3's late release Where We From... almost caught them too but I can say with all confidence that: The Best Rap Album of June 2012 - MMG Present: Self Made, Vol. 2 by Maybach Music Group.
