Music games either make it or not depending on their music library and Def Jam Rapstar looks to have a promising lineup so far. With They Reminisce, Gold Digger,  Nuthin’ But A G Thang, Live Your Life, and Put On shown above, the lineup already looks pretty solid. I mean Def Jam has an expansive library to choose from and I think they are the only ones that could make a game like this. They also just released a teaser trailer for the game and I spotted Donnis and Just Blaze in there. If they got the support of Just Blaze, this game has to be decent at the very least. This should drop sometime in 2010 and we should be getting plenty of more info before it drops.

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Now that 2009 is coming to a close, I have selected my 10 favorite albums from 2009. This was one of the best years for hip hop with Eminem, Raekwon, and Jay coming back but also newcomers like Wale and Kid Cudi had stellar debut albums. I will be making more of these top 10 lists with other areas like mixtapes and songs over the next week, but here is my list for the Top 10 albums of 2009.

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1. The Blueprint 3 – Jay-Z

The Blueprint 3 barely edged out Wale’s debut album, but I cannot think of a more complete album that dropped this year. There are a couple bad tracks and it is disappointing to hear what Timbaland had to offer, but No ID, kanYe, and The Neptunes saved the rest of the album. KanYe and No ID had been saying all year that the album was going to be a classic and there was a lot of hype building up to the September release date. When I saw the tracklist with J. Cole, Kid Cudi, kanYe West, Alicia Keys, Swizz Beats, Mr. Hudson, and Young Jeezy, I thought there were way too many features, but I think each artist added a nice touch to the album. As soon as I had hear Thank You and Already Home, I knew the album has lived up to the hype.

Listen to: Thank You, Already Home, So Ambitious

2. Attention Deficit – Wale

Wale had the best debut album of 2009[sorry Cudi] and has become one of my favorite rappers. There are so many songs on here that I enjoy and I rarely skip over a track. With Mark Ronson as executive producer, some tracks bring a new sound to hip-hop while the other tracks exemplify that classic hip-hop sound. I honestly have no idea why Wale doesn’t get airtime on the radio because Pretty Girls is my favorite song of 2009 and I think its an ideal single with the Gucci Mane feature. Wale’s raps are easy to relate to and I think everyone should give his album a listen.

Listen to: Pretty Girls, World Tour, Beautiful Bliss, Mama Told Me

3. KiD CuDi – Man on the Moon: The End of Day

Man on the Moon has to be one of the most creative albums let alone debut albums ever. Cudi mashed all kinds of sounds for his album and brought in everyone from Common to MGMT as features. This album has some of the catchiest songs and you find yourself singing along Cudi on the hooks. Cudi worked with a lot of the people who did 808s & Heartbreak, but I found this album to be much better. Cudi’s rapping on this album seemed to take a backseat to the excellent production as I think Cudi rapped much better on his mixtape. I’ve been following Cudi since his mixtape and it was exciting to see him become successful this year.

Listen to: CuDi Zone, Up Up & Away, Alive

4. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II

People have been waiting a good majority of their life for this album and Raekwon definitely delivered a classic rap album this year. This is that raw Wu-tang rap that a lot of people grew up with and this album did not disappoint. It is nice listening to some of that new stuff from artists like Cudi, but sometimes you just need that Wu-Tang music. If you want that 90s rap sound, look no further, but definitely listen to the first one before giving this a listen.

Listen to: 10 Bricks, Broken Safety, Catalina

5. Mos Def – The Ecstatic

It is always a treat when Mos Def puts together a complete album, and I think this is one of his best yet. Although some of the songs are a bit short, Dante still gets his verses in. The Talib Kweli and Slick Rick features were dope and the Dilla beats were crazy. Mos Def’s flow is hard to describe and sometimes you can’t even understand what he is saying, but it makes for some really good hip-hop.

Listen to: History, Casa Bey, Supermagic, Auditorium

6. Til the Casket Drops – Clipse

The Thorton brothers are past their label issues and they seem to be much happier on their Neptunes produced album. They gathered a lot of buzz with their kanYe collabo Kinda Like A Big Deal and followed up with the feel good track I’m Good. Pusha and Malice also brought Cam’Ron in for one of my favorites Popular Demand. The Neptunes showed why they are among the best producers in the game and these beats seemed to be their rawest yet. DJ Khalil also produced some bangers and it is good to see the Thorton brothers back.

Listen to: Kinda Like A Big Deal, I’m Good, Popular Demand, Life Change

7. The Salvation – Skyzoo

It is not easy to get into the rap game these days, but it definitely helps to have 9th Wonder executive produce your debut studio album. Besides 9th, Skyzoo also has Just Blaze, Illmind, Nottz, Eric G, Needlz, Cyrus the Great, and Best Kept Secret on the production. I am a big fan of 9th Wonder’s production, thus this album made my top 10, but my favorite track on the album did not come from him. My Interpretation from DC producers Best Kept Secret is my favorite off of the track and they have become favorites of mine as well for their work with Wale. With excellent production and good rapping, Skyzoo definitely dropped a great album this year.

Listen to: My Interpretation, Metal Hearts, For What It’s Worth, Return of the Real

8. Music Castle – DJ Deckstream

This is definitely the surprise album on my list. I am pretty sure most of you never even have heard of this album, but the album is a great smooth jazz album. DJ Deckstream has covered a bunch of songs from artists like Stevie Wonder, Malcom Mclaren, and A Tribe Called Quest. I happen to stumble upon this album in Japan, and have not be able to stop listening to it since. It may be hard to find this as it is not on iTunes, but a quick Google search should point you in the direction of a [free] download. I skip over two tracks, but the rest of the songs I have listened to dozens of times and you should too.

Listen to: Tripping Out, Georgy Porgy, Don’t You Worry ’bout A Thing, Get on Down

9. Born and Raised – Cormega

The only other album that I know of with Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Large Professor, and LES on the production is Nas’ Illmatic. With that said, you should know the production on the album is dope. I mean this album sounds straight out of the 90s and Cory brings that NYC street rap to his album. The only thing that I think holds this album back is it sounds like Cormega used a really cheap microphone. Something about the the vocals doesn’t seem to be as high of quality as the beats. It doesn’t ruin the album but it is noticeable.

Listen to: Live and Learn, Journey, Rapture, Dirty Game

10. Relapse – Eminem

Marshall came back in 09 after a brief hiatus and now he is sober. Some like his rapping better when he was on drugs, but he still put together a great album. Of course he brought Dre and 50 with him and he balanced off the album with serious and funny songs. I don’t think this is Em’s best album, but is still better than most artists’ albums and is definitely worth a listen. Em will be back in 2010 with Relapse 2 and from what I have heard you will want to be on the lookout for it.

Listen to: Beautiful, Old Times Sake, 3 AM

Wale had one of the dopest freestyles over Jay’s Roc Boys beat and now he has done his thing on Thank You. This is one of my favorite beats from 2009 and I am glad Lupe and now Wale freestyled over it. Lupe’s freestyles were nice, but way too short. Wale on the other hand has been delivering song length freestyles that are more fulfilling. Hopefully Wale will continue these weekly freestyles as I always enjoy new music from him.

[Download]

Nas jumped on his buddy’s track Help Somebody and added a nice verse at the end. While we are on the topic of Nas, what happened to his Distant Relatives album with Damien Marley? Last I heard it will be dropping in early 2010, but I thought it would have been out by now.

[Download]

This doesn’t confirm they are making a song together, but Dot Da Genius has tweeted that he is in the studio with Cudi and Lupe. I mean this could be one of the biggest songs with two of my favorite artists. I would settle for a song with Cudi on the hook and Lupe on the verses, but Cudi deserves to get a verse as well. If Dot can produce a song of Day N Nite caliber again, then we might have another classic from Cudi in 2010.

[Twitter]

Even if you hate Gucci Mane, you have to like this song for Pharrell and the Neptunes production. I will be looking forward to the tagless version of this song and I think it is pretty nice. Pharrell is dope on the hook and Gucci does he gibberish on the verses.

[Download]

The Next 48 Hours With Wale follows the rapper during his “Attention Deficit” album release week. Part 2: The Album Release Day, features a ‘Fuse TV’ interview, performances on MTV’s ‘It’s On With Alexa Chung’ a Radio Phoner with Hot 97’s Angie Martinez and an appearance on ‘Late Night With Jimmy Fallon’ followed by a desperate attempt to catch a late train back to his hometown of D.C.

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With two of my favorite brands coming together, I thought it would be a perfect collaboration. Well I cannot say I am pleased with the final product. I am sure there is a reason why they chose leather for the fitted, but it looks pretty bad. I kind of wish they put their logos together like the Major collabo, rather than choosing to go with Greed. The tee is pretty nice, but I don’t think I will be copping any of this when it drops next week.

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The biggest song of the year is here in full CDQ. The song is available on iTunes and you really need to buy it and it is worth it since you get the instrumental. You’ve probably heard the song before and it seems like Just Blaze sped up the song when he played it on the radio. Still sounds dope, but it just might sound different if you’ve listened to the radio-rip over 50 times like I have.

[Download]

Another unreleased track from Wale that didn’t make the final cut of Attention Deficit. Once again Wale shows why he is one of the best freshmen rappers of 2009 and this is a nice feel good track. This might have been the Bonus Track if you purchased the album from the Zune Store, but I’m not 100% sure.

[Download]

Here is more proof that these guys don’t hate each other and that Relapse 2 will be dope. Em goes in on this track like on Forever and his flow seems to be at a high right now. This is off of Rebirth but once again I have to say this sounds more like rap than rock.

[Download]

MAXPREME is officially on Twitter now. I have had the posts beeing tweeted on to my personal twitter account, but I figured it would be better to have a separate one. So you can now follow MAXPREME on twitter at twitter.com/MAXPREME.

Follow on [Twitter]

One of the best produced tracks I have heard in a while. I just posted a Madlib track earlier today, but this one is dope. Especially with Phonte on the track, who has to be one of my favorite emcees and singers. Strong Arm Steady just dropped their album on their website and the album will be available next month on iTunes and in-store.

[Download]

Another track from Slum Village, that was produced by Madlib, off of their Villa Manifesto EP, which is a little preview for their album next year.

[Download]

Wale spits a dope freestyle over Timbo and Drake’s Say Something. Hopefully we will get more music from Wale in 2010.

[Download]

In this episode Maestro visits downtown LA to link up with Mr. Cartoon & take a ride in his ‘62 Impala. Cartoon tells his LA story and Maestro recalls the Juxtapoz 15th anniversary & Mr. Cartoon G-Shock launch event.

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This is my least favorite song from Lupe/Japanese Cartoon and I am not liking the Twilight connection, but here is the new video for Solar Midnite.

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AllHipHop.com followed Wale around during the release of his album for 48 hours and here is part one of the documentary. You see how much work Wale put in to promote his album, which is my favorite album of the year. Attention Deficit was the most well rounded album of the year and if you haven’t got your copy yet, go to iTunes now.

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By now you have probably seen the sneakers Black Scale worked on with Android Homme, but here is the half-zip satin jacket that will be dropping alongside it. This weekend the collection will drop at the Flagship store in SF and the Concept store in LA. I really like the jacket and hopefully I will be able to get my hands on it.

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For those who do not know what Lockerz is, it is a website where you answer a question everyday and receive points. With these points you can redeem them for everything from iPods to PS3s to the latest video games. Everything is free, since all you have to do is answer each question each day. This is not a scam or anything, as people I know have already received new games like NBA 2k10. The only way to get in though is through an invite from a current member. Luckily for you, I am a current member and have plenty of invites to send out. All you have to do is leave a comment here with your email address, and I will send one your way.

In this episode Maestro kicks off season 3 with his friend 9th Wonder in North Carolina. 9th speaks on Fruity Loops, good music, teaching an upcoming course at Duke University and cooks up a beat for Maestro’s new intro. I swear Maestro can like read my mind, because I had hoped that he would be showcasing 9th Wonder and sure enough here he is in the third season.

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Nice way to end my birthday with a new Cudi video. This video is dope. That’s the only way to describe it and it much better than I had imagined. Drake and Consequence makes some cameos and the video has a nice vibe to it. Hopefully the video will become popular and Cudi will have another hit on his hands.

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When it comes to sneaker websites, Niketalk has to be the most infamous one[named best sneaker website by Playboy Magazine]. It has  been around since 1999 and for their 10th Anniversary they will be releasing four limited edition tees. For the past couple of years, they have been releasing new tees, but I think this year is their best ones yet. The tees may not make sense if you aren’t a NT’er so just move along if you have no idea what I am talking about. I’ve been on Niketalk since 2003 and will be looking to cop the NT Knows tee. NT may not be as resourceful as it once was, but you gotta love the comedy in the General section.

I think I broke NT Rule #1 with this post

Buy at [Niketalk]

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Luckily in the Bay Area, we have the flagship Black Scale location in San Francisco, but the Southern Cali folks have not been so lucky. Until Black Friday, when Black Scale opened their concept shop on the upper floor of Hall of Fame on Fairfax. The concept store will be open until 2010, so you have less than a month to stop by and check out Black Scale’s latest offerings. It will be worth the trip so head out to Fairfax as soon as possible.

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You may have seen most of this collection already in my other posts, but here is the official lookbook for Black Scale and their Winter offerings. The way things look, I will be having to make another trip up their flagship store in San Francisco. I copped a couple tees and a beanie my last time there, but I already see more tees and a hoody that I want. The collection should be available now so check your closest BS dealer or head out the one of Black Scale’s locations.

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