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5. Drake’s 6 God EP / Random Songs

Drake is definitely one of the rappers on top right now. Despite dropping his album Nothing Was The Same in 2013, the Canadian rap superstar made sure his music found its way out into the public’s ear.

Throughout the year, Drake has unleashed a slew of hit tracks. Without an album, Drake managed to put out some of the hottest songs of the year. A freestyle over “We Made It,” the horn-filled “Trophies,” the soul-sampling “Draft Day,” and the unforgettable “0 to 100 / The Catch-Up.”

On top of those, Drake dropped an EP of sorts. The project is really just a few tracks Drake said “some hackers had,” but the EP definitely sits up there with one of the most surprising moments in hip-hop this year as one of hip-hop’s elite superstars gave out three songs for free.

The project was dropped on the rapper’s 28th birthday this past October, and is expected to set precedent for the upcoming release by Drake, Views From the Six due out in 2015.

Stream and Download 6 God EP via DJBooth.net.


4. Bobby Shmurda’s Criminal Charges

I could’ve seen this one coming, but hindsight is always 20/20. After blowing up the hip-hop world with his radio hot single, “Hot N****,” New York’s Bobby Shmurda was an overnight sensation. This fame would end rather quickly, however, as in the last few weeks of 2014, the NYPD arrested and indicted Shmurda and his GS9 crew on 69 charges ranging from murder to weapons possessions to drugs and narcotics sales. You can see the whole report of charges over at XXL.

Like I said, it’s really not that surprising when you think about it. The rapper was known to rhyme about violent subjects, but the severity and suddenness of the criminal charges are what makes this situation so surprising. Also, the rise and fall of a young rapper’s career is quite astonishing.

July 25th saw the release of the soon-to-be-viral “Hot N****.” December 17th saw the arrest of Bobby Shmurda and soon-to-be-seen circumstances of the twenty year-old’s future.


 3. El-P & Killer Mike’s Early, Free Release of Run The Jewels 2

I feel we’ll be hard-pressed to find Run The Jewels 2 not on year-end hip-hop lists. The stellar project has already landed #1 on many best-of-the-year lists and has already insinuated its spot as one of this generation’s greatest releases (along with RTJ1).

What makes this release surprising is not how impressive it is, because we expected that from Killer Mike and El-P (aka Run The Jewels). But what was so great about this release was how it was released. We knew it was coming, but we got it a lot sooner than we thought. Due to a leak and subsequent pirating, the hip-hop duo felt they had no feasible option but to squash the leaks by officially releasing the album for free on their own in the middle of the night on October 24th. Talk about #BreakTheInternet.

Run The Jewels 2 arguably exceeded expectations and has garnered much love across the board. Even with the free release, the album sales reached over 12,000 in the first week – not bad for an album that was (and still is) available for free.

Download Run The Jewels 2 via RunTheJewels.net.
Purchase Run The Jewels 2 via iTunes | Amazon.


2. Your Old Droog (Isn’t Nas)

Oh, c’mon! I seriously was one of those people who though Your Old Droog was something of Nas‘ alter-ego. I even watched videos where people sped up Your Old Droog’s songs and it sounded exactly like Nas. I was convinced. But I digress…

No, Your Old Droog is not Nas, just check the video from his first live show here. “(Isn’t Nas)” is in parenthesis in the title though because that’s not the biggest surprise this East-coast lyricist has given us this year. The fact that this dude popped up out of nowhere and became a mysterious, hip-hop wonder is mind-boggling in its own right. With the Internet and other wild technologies in 2014, it may not seem so unbelievable, but you also have to give Droog props for getting Nas comparisons on a seemingly random solo album.

Many people consider Droog’s projects one of the best hip-hop albums of the year, and for good reason. Your Old Droog’s gritty New York style coupled with his rough, rugged and raw rhymes and boom-bap production gave us a nice taste of what a modern emcee can do with old-school vibes. Not that it’s anything innovative, but it certainly is good.

Download Your Old Droog EP via Audiomack.
Purchase Your Old Droog EP via iTunes | Amazon.


1. J. Cole’s 2014 Forest Hills Drive

The whole Beyoncé, no-promotion-before-dropping-an-album tactic is about to be overdone, but not before J. Cole dropped a serious project in the last quarter of this year. The North Carolina native rounded out the year with a stellar project that’s making it’s way onto may year-end lists. J. Cole managed to do what he does best and without any lead singles before dropping his latest album, 2014 Forest Hills Drive.

The album was announced shortly before it was released and managed to sell over 350,000 copies in the first week (albeit then with the support of two singles). For a year that saw only one platinum-selling record by way of Taylor Swift’s 1989, J. Cole’s impressive sales feat needs to be recognized.

J. Cole managed to randomly drop a new record and steal the show for hip-hop 2k14. Many people complained that hip-hop was lacking in the middle of last year, but most of the good surprises on this list, including J. Cole’s album, happened in the second-half of the year. Thanks to J. Cole, the final touches on hip-hop’s output in 2014 can find their place in some of the genre’s greatest moments this decade.

Purchase 2014 Forest Hills Drive via iTunes | Amazon.

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Tags : Ab-SoulBig SeanBirdmanBobby ShmurdaCash Money RecordsEl-PIsaiah RashadJ. ColeJay RockKendrick LamarKiller MikeLil WayneOG MacoRun The JewelsScHoolboy QSZATDEWaka Flocka FlameYour Old Droog
Stone

The author Stone

Stone is a hip-hop enthusiast residing in NJ/PA. As an aspiring hip-hop producer, Stone studies communications and shares his passion for music by letting the world in on the wonderful world of hip-hop.