When did the state of Hip Hop get so bad? For those of you who aren’t fans of the genre I can understand your dislike as the music we’re exposed to now is of such poor quality it’s embarrassing. Yes, I am embarrassed to say I like Hip Hop and I have to reword it by saying - “oh I like concious Hip Hop, not that gangsta rap you hear now…” And doesn’t that sound pretentious?

Was there a better year for Hip Hop than 1999? The year of release of the mighty, Mos Def’s, first solo album Black On Both Sides. Mos is yet to eclipse the heights of that album. This is the year we also saw the release of Q-Tip’s first solo effort following the split of A Tribe Called Quest. Many wondered whether he could recapture the sound of Tribe and he didn’t let his fans down. Also in 99, Common was in the studio adding the finishing touches to his finest ever album, Like Water for Chocolate. Who could forget ‘The Light’ released just a year later? The Roots also join the class of ‘99 with arguably their greatest album to date, Things Fall Apart.

You can blame the mainstream for destroying Hip Hop and whilst I continue to enjoy the work of the artists listed above, you can’t help to yearn that they would return with albums not just to equal their 1999 work but to eclipse it. With The Roots, Mos Def and Q-Tip all set to release albums this year, 2008 could be the year that Hip Hop was saved. Some nine years after it was in it’s glory.

Raphael Saadiq feat. Q-Tip - Get Involved