Political Hip-Hop

Phattest Political Group

30.4%	The Coup
26.1%	Public Enemy
20.6%	Goodie Mob
12.0%	Outkast
10.9%	Brand Nubian

In last year's awards I noted that both "Public Enemy and the criminally overlooked political stylists, The Coup" were missing from the nominees. I also noted that they were both due to drop albums in 1998, so I expected to see them make some noise.

Indeed they did. This was a race to the wire. It wasn't until the very end that The Coup built any kind of cushion over Public Enemy. Meanwhile Goodie Mob--who has won this award for three years running now--finds themselves in third place, just ahead of labelmates Outkast and Brand Nubian.

Phattest Political Male Rapper

26.0%	Boots of The Coup
24.0%	Chuck D of Public Enemy
19.0%	Cee-Lo of Goodie Mob
19.0%	Talib Kweli of Black Star
9.0%	Dre of Outkast

As with the race for best group, this was a close race for their respective front men. Boots kept a lead, but again it came down to the wire. Goodie Mob returns for third by way of a tie between Cee-Lo and Talib Kweli. Finally, Outkast's Dre put some points on the board.

Phattest Political Female Rapper

59.8%	Lauryn Hill
12.7%	Sarah Jones
11.5%	Erykah Badu
8.0%	Bahamadia
4.6%	Rah Digga
3.4%	Queen Latifah

I'll quote myself from last year: "You know one day a female category is going to be really, really close and we won't know what to do. I, for one, look forward to it."

Still, this race is worthy because of the second place showing of Sarah Jones. Otherwise, it's the expected Lauryn crush.

Phattest Political Rap Single

41.0%	"Me and Jesus the Pimp in a 79 Grenada Last Night" by The Coup
36.0%	"He Got Game" by Public Enemy
21.0%	"They Don't Dance No Mo'" by Goodie Mob

Well, well, well. Once again it's The Coup, PE and Goodie Mob, in that order. This time, though there is no close call. This is The Coup's score all the way...

Phattest Political Rap Album

33.7%	Steal This Album by The Coup
19.5%	Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are... by Black Star
18.5%	Still Standing by Goodie Mob
18.5%	Moment of Truth by Gangstarr
9.8%	He Got Game by Public Enemy

...and the foul! They're going to the line.

The Coup, those criminally underappreciated west coast militant hip hop artists, completely dominate the category. It's about time. Headz should be buying all of their output, from Steal This Album back to Genocide and Juice and Kill My Landlord.

Meanwhile, the originals Public Enemy do well overall, garnering several close calls. We should also note the steady performance of GM representing for the ATL (their label buddies Outkast managed a write-in or two, as well) and a decent album showing for Black Star.

Gangsta Hip-Hop

Phattest Gangsta Group

54.1%	Outkast
43.5%	Wu-Tang Clan
2.4%	South Central Cartel

So, here's the thing. From 1994 - 1997, Wu-Tang Clan has dominated this category. Every year, someone complains to me that they aren't really a gangsta group. What am I supposed to say?

This year Outkast crushes the award. I've already been flamed because they aren't supposed to be a gangsta group either. I give up.

Next year, I predict that Public Enemy will win this one. Then I really won't have anything to say.

Phattest Gangsta Male Rapper

43.5%	Big Punisher
27.0%	Jay Z
24.7%	DMX
2.4%	Daz Dillinger
2.4%	Fat Joe

And Big Pun has his revenge. Last year, as I'm sure you recall, the Big One took a lowly third. But this year, he's well ahead of the pack. The interesting race was for second, between Jay Z and DMX. I think Annie and all her orphans friends got together to give Jay Z the final victory.

Phattest Gangsta Female Rapper

41.5%	Lil Kim
40.0%	Mia X
18.5%	Gangsta Boo

Wow. A female category with an actual race. Who'd've thunk it? Let's just savor the moment, shall we?

Ahhhhh. Suspense.

Well, the numbers tell most of the story. Last year's also-rans take the top spot this year, with votes pretty evenly split among them. Apparently many fans of Jay Z are also fans of Lil Kim, as they seemed to vote together. In the end, this isn't enough to help Jay, but it is enough to give the victory to Kim.

Phattest Gangsta Rap Single

48.8%	"Rough Riders Anthem" by DMX
41.7%	"I Ain't a Player" by Big Punisher
9.5%	"I Dare You" by Black Rob

Hmmmm. DMX has his revenge this time around with a solid--if not commanding-lead over Big Pun.

Phattest Gangsta Rap Album

45.2%	Capital Punishment by Big Punisher
26.2%	In My Lifetime Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life by Jay Z
25.0%	It's Dark And Hell Is Hot by DMX
2.4%	Don Cartega by Fat Joe
1.2%	Retaliation, Revenge and Get Back by Daz Dillinger

Big Pun once again takes the victory, with the most votes, pound for pound. I'm pretty proud of the big guy, as his competition was even more popular, and some of them have skillz, too. Notable write-ins include Kool G Rap's Roots of Evil and Yound Bleed's My Balls and My Word.

And before you ask: no, I am not at all bothered by the fact that Outkast won gangsta group even though they weren't nominated in any other gangsta award. I think that makes perfect sense. If I had time, I'd explain why.

Nasty rap

Phattest Nasty Group

77.0%	Wu-Tang Clan
20.3%	Smut Peddlers
2.7%	HWA

Here's what I said last year: "So, there's this group called Wu-Tang Clan. You might have heard of them. Every year, someone complains to me that they aren't really a nasty group. But they've won every year since 1995 despite this. What am I supposed to say?"

I'm sticking to my story.

Phattest Nasty Male Rapper

57.9%	Eminem
31.6%	Redman
10.5%	Too $hort

Was anybody surprised by this? The ever-popular Slim Shady done good, winning the category hands down.

Phattest Nasty Female Rapper

49.2%	Lil Kim
38.1%	Foxy Brown
12.7%	Funkystyle

Say, this looks familar. This makes three years running that it's come down to Lil Kim and Foxy, with Lil Kim coming out on top each time. This time, though, Kim cannot claim the majority win and Foxxy has closed the gap. With Ms. Brown and Ms. Kim sounding more and more alike, who knows what may happen this year?

Phattest Nasty Rap Single

61.0%	"I Just Don't Give A F*ck" by Eminem
32.9%	"Still Not A Player" by Big Punisher featuring Fat Joe
6.1%	"Cheapskate" by Sporty Thieves

Well, damn. No contest.

Although Big Punisher's no-radio-edit version of "I Ain't A Player" won last year, his follow up did not have the same legs.

Phattest Nasty Rap Album

76.3%	Doc's Da Name 2000 by Redman
18.4%	It's Dark And Hell Is Hot by DMX
5.3%	Shellshocked by Mac

Well, damn again. Redman wins two years straight, each time with an impressive lead over his competition... and he did it without really showing up in any other category. You have to respect that.

Even More Phat Stuff

Phattest Video

35.8%	"What You See Is What You Get" by Xzibit
27.2%	"I'll Be Dat" by Redman
16.0%	"Rosa Parks" by OutKast
12.3%	"Dangerous" by Busta Rhymes
6.2%	"Doo Wop (That Thing)" by Lauryn Hill
2.5%	"Fire It Up" by Busta Rhymes

Hmmm. The competition was fierce this year, and there were many worthy choices (I liked all of these videos, anyway). The winner, though, is Xzibit's Rope-like no-cuts video. Not bad.

Redman's funny effort pulls up a respectable second with everyone else straggling along. I'll admit that I would have expect Lauryn's nicely done split screen effort to fair better, but that's the way the voters voted.

Phattest Hip Hop Video Show

85.3%	BET's Rap City
14.7%	MuchMusic Rap City

Wasn't there one a video show on some small cable music station? Short name? Exclamation marks in the title? Played hip hop sometimes? Didn't they once do well here? Oh, yeah, they were cancelled. Are they back yet? I hope so, 'cause otherwise there's not much point to this award.

Phattest Soundtrack

57.7%	He Got Game by Public Enemy
15.7%	Belly by various artists
13.3%	Slam by various artists
13.3%	Bulworth by various artists

Not once a contest. There was a race, of sorts, for second and Belly took that, but they were so trounced by PE, I'm not really sure how the artists should feel about it.

Best live performance/tour/live album

45.5%	The Goodie Mob/The Roots tour
24.6%	The Lyricist Lounge tour
19.5%	The Smokin Grooves tour
10.4%	The Outkast/Black Eyed Peas tour

You know, I didn't see all of these tours, but I have to admit that I can't imagine anyone putting on a better show than Goodie Mob and the Roots did. They completely re-ignited my faith in hip hop over the course of a couple of hours. If you ever get a chance to see them live, you owe it to yourself to go. Sell the house, the car, the kids, whatever, just make it out there.

Hardest and Ugliest Dis'

54.3%	"2nd Round Knockout" by Canibus
25.9%	"What's Clef Got to Do With It?" by Wyclef Jean
19.8%	"Ripper Strikes Back" by LL Cool J

Hmmm. In last year's awards, Common took this category pretty handily, but the Canibus-LL feud had just gotten started. LL's side beat out Canibus with single digit percentages, getting 9.9% for his "4,3,2,1" verse while Canibus got only 3.7% for his verse on the same song.

This year, I guess the consensus is that Canibus won the Canibus-LL fight. If I had Mike Tyson on my side, I would, too.

Trends in Hip Hop

Leaders of the New School

45.0%	Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are... by Black Star
27.5%	Aquemini by Outkast
14.3%	A Book Of Human Language by Aceyalone
7.7%	The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill
5.5%	Behind the Front by Black Eyed Peas

You know, the purpose of this award is to recognize those artists who are taking hiphop in a new direction. Last year, Common won this one pretty handily, but all the other nominees were notable for being true underground headz.

This year, the underground is in full effect. One may quibble with Outkast, but no one can doubt that Acey is underground. The most commerical of the nominees, Lauryn, also garners some votes, but the day clearly belongs to Mos Def--the most prolific rapper in all of history as far as I can tell--and Talib Kweli, who take the top spot with authority.

Best Comeback

34.3%	Foundation by Brand Nubian
23.7%	Steal This Album for The Coup
17.2%	Soul Survivor by Pete Rock
14.0%	He Got Game by Public Enemy
10.8%	The 18th Letter by Rakim

Although Brand Nubian wins with a bit of a gap, everyone is well represented. Even Rakim's album from the previous year did fairly well.

Best Source of Hip Hop News and Info

30.8%	hiphopsite.com (Web Address)
28.5%	rec.music.hip-hop (USENET group)
25.3%	Hip Hop Mailing List (hiphop-request@isbell.org)
6.6%	XXL (Magazine)
5.5%	The Source (Magazine)
3.3%	Vibe (Magazine)

The HipHopSite wins this for both years that we've had the award. They claim that they are "The Most Complete Source of HipHop Info on the Net." They are followed closely by USENET and the Hip Hop Discussion List. Way down south are the more commerical outlets, and, hey that makes me feel pretty good.

Most Conflicted Rapper

34.0%	Ras Kass
33.0%	Canibus
19.8%	RZA
13.2%	DMX

This is the first time that 2Pac did not win this award. In fact, none of last year's nominees even made the final cut. Still, there are plenty of conflictions to go around, and Ras Kass manages to just barely beat out Canibus.

Most Overplayed Song

46.7%	"Get Jiggy Wit It" by Will Smith
25.0%	"Doo Wop" by Lauryn Hill
18.5%	"Just The Two Of Us" by Will Smith
9.8%	"Get at me Dog" by DMX

Will Smith's total of 65.2% doesn't come close to Puff's 1997 victory at 91.2%, but I'm impressed nonetheless. It would have been perfect had he taken both first and second. Maybe next year, if we're unlucky.

Meanwhile Lauryn's perfectly good, and perfectly overplayed "Doo Wop" comes in a distant second while DMX probably doesn't mind being at the bottom.

Most Overdone Trend

40.4%	No Limit-ism (that is Master P's label's steez)
34.9%	Big Willie-ism and materialism
24.7%	Playas talking about jealously/playa hatin'/etc

Although it never wins, Big Willie-ism always does well. It came very close to taking first for a long time, but then Master P released another album or something, and he got all the votes. I have a feeling we'll be seeing Big Willie-ism next year, though.

What you've been waiting for

Most Unfairly Slept On Album

36.5%	Steal This Album by The Coup
29.4%	A Book Of Human Language by Aceyalone
18.8%	Jurassic 5 LP by Jurassic 5
8.2%	Masquerades and Silhouettes by Lewis Parker
7.1%	Can-I-Bus by Canibus

This was a race until the near the end. Suddenly, The Coup took a lead over Acey, and continued to widened it. As the votes wound down they began to get more votes than everyone else combined.

By the way, I must admit that this jibes with my biases perfectly. The Coup remain one of the best political groups to ever hit the hip hop stage, yet they are unfairly ignored year after year. I think east coast headz are turned off by their west coast production style and the mainstream just does't want to hear what they have to say. Everyone's losing out. I highly recommend them.

I was also impressed by the groundswell of support for Aceyalone. Acey has a loyal fan base, and they've been lobbying the rest of us for years to give him a listen. Mayhap we should take them up on that.

Phattest New Hip Hopster

51.7%	Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are... by Black Star
29.2%	Slim Shady EP by Eminem
11.2%	Behind the Frontby Black Eyed Peas
7.9%	Capital Punishment by Big Punisher

No contest. Ever. Although Eminem did just as well in nominations, he got wiped out at the end of the day. As you can see, Black Star got a solid majority. I suppose that's not too much of a surprise considering how much they've blown up, but the margin of victory is unusually huge.

Now the underground headz among you will say that Black Star isn't a new jack group. This is true (I think Mos Def has been on ever 12" record ever made), but 1998 really marked Mos Def and Talib Kweli's mainstream coming out. So, they deserve the recognition.

Phattest Underground Artist

24.1%	Aceyalone
22.0%	Eminem
22.0%	The Coup
13.2%	Dilated Peoples
8.8%	Danja Mowf
8.8%	Wordsworth
1.1%	Styles of Beyond

Oh, this race is just too close to call. Acey takes it, but on another day I think it could have been either The Coup or Eminem. In fact, the momentum was with both Slim and The Coup.

Once again, though, everyone is worthy. This is our second year doing this particular award, and I got a lot out of the nominations and the votes, including the commentary that some voters included.

Hall of Fame
This is where we honor our best and most significant performers and artists.

Please Note: Public Enemy, Run-DMC, KRS-One/Boogie Down Productions, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Eric B and Rakim, EPMD and A Tribe Called Quest, our 1991-1997 winners, were ineligible this year.

38.9%	De La Soul
17.9%	Afrikka Bambatta
17.9%	DJ Kool Herc
15.8%	Gang Starr
9.5%	LL Cool J

I suppose it's been an interesting career for De La Soul's Trugouy The Dove, Posdnuos and P.A. Pasemaster Mase (and they've gone by other names as well, including Plug One, Plug Two and Plug Three). Their victory this year seems timely.

De La Soul has been sneaking around the edges of this award for a few years now. Headz recognize that they were a major force in the Native Tongue/jazz movement in hiphop in the late 80s and early 90s, paving he way for innovators such as The Roots. Only ATCQ did as much to usher that in. Even so, they were the first of that style to really hit it big, finding crossover success while still remaing innovative and true to the game. Ten years later and they are still hard hitters, most recently scoring points with the edgy Stakes Is High.

Before we leave, we should check out the close race for second. This is usually a good preview of next year's race. Will a real old school head make it next time around?

Album Hall of Fame
This is wear we honor our best and most significant albums.

Note: It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back by Public Enemy, Criminal Minded by Boogie Down Productions, Paid in Full by Eric B & Rakim, and The Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest, our 1994-1997 winners were ineligible this year.

34.7%	3 Feet High and Rising by De La Soul
23.2%	Midnight Marauders by A Tribe Called Quest
22.1%	Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by Wu-Tang Clan
20.0%	Run-DMC by Run-DMC

Another Native Tongue sweep. Not content to let Tribe do a double victory last year, De La answers with a clear victory for their seminal 3 Feet High and Rising.

Once again, note the close race for second. As always Wu-Tang makes a strong showing, but this year Run-DMC made a lot of noise as well. As for Midnight Marauders, will next year mark the first time that a group gets two albums in the hall of fame, or will it be between the kings of rock or the Clan of Hip Hop?

Phattest Rap Single
Phattest single to drop this year. Period.

36.2%	"Definition" by Black Star (Mos Def and Talib Kweli)
25.5%	"Rosa Parks" by Outkast
14.9%	"Me and Jesus the Pimp in a 79 Grenada Last Night" by the Coup
13.8%	"Tru Master" by Pete Rock f/ Inspectah Deck & Kurupt
5.3%	"John Blaze" by Fat Joe f/ Nas, Big Punisher & The Lox
4.3%	"Hard Knock Life" by Jay-Z

No contest. Black Star takes this one to the hoop, winning definitively with their big breakout hit. "Definition" is the phattest single of the year. Period.

The bottom feeders include gangsta/playas Jay-Z and Fat Joe, but both Pete Rock and The Coup handled some business, with the Marxist masters of mayhem winning their battle. In a solid second is Outkast, who really, really tried to catch up near the end, but just couldn't stop the Eastern juggarnaut that is Black Star.

Phattest Rap Album
Phattest album to drop this year. Period.

30.8%	Aquemini by Outkast
17.6%	Moment of Truth by Gang Starr
12.1%	Mos Def and Talib Kweli Are... by Black Star
9.9%	A Book of Human Language by Aceyalone
9.9%	Still Standing by Goodie Mob
8.9%	The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill
7.6%	Steal this Album by the Coup
3.2%	He Got Game by Public Enemy

...but revenge belongs to the dirty south, after all. Outkast wins handily. I think that's a big surprise, this being the first time that the dirty south has taken the top spot. All dap due to my homeboys representin' the SWATS. Outkast joins the small club of non-East Coast artists to take the top award that previoulsy included only The Roots and Ice Cube.

Just as surprising to me is the solid second place showing of Gang Starr. As I said earlier, I had no idea that headz remembered their fine efforts in 1998. I guess I was wrong.

Rounding things out are the ever-present Black Star, Acey and fellow southerners Goodie Mob. Dropping a bit more is grammy winner Lauryn Hill and, sadly, political gadflys The Coup and Public Enemy.

Not bad, overall. Looking back, it looks like last year marks the maturation of the really strong middle between commerical hip hop and way down underground soundz... and headz have responded by giving them their blessings. I like that.

I'll see you in the regular place:

http://www.isbell.org/~isbell/homehiphop.html

I'm outta here like last year.

Peace.