HIPHOPGAME.COM {TOP 25 OF 2005}

[Dave Shining]

**Disclaimer** this list was made by artists who will blow in 2k5, not artists we like. Certain artists on this list, hhg can not stand, but it is not about who we like, or who’s dope, because if it was like that hip hop wouldn’t be so fucked up now would it? Didn’t think so. So, like b rad says, don’t be hatin!!!

25 copywrite - the columbus, ohio native dropped a crazy mixtape “cruise control volume 1” and with tracks scheduled with just blaze copy will definitely make drew carey proud in 2k5

24 pretty ugly - it could get pretty ugly on red spyda’s new label with pretty ugly runnig things

23 main-o - not really impressing the hhg staff with his rhymes, the brooklyn vet with street cred knows how to create a buzz and is about to sign to a major

22 pottersfield - the supergroup from ny already has tracks recorded with liveson and the heatmakerz, as well as almost inking a deal with jermaine dupri, now we’ll see if they can take the next step and get that major-label deal

21 purple city - after gaining a huge underground following, we’ll see if the dip set affiliates can hold it down on babygrande records

20 chali 2na - after dropping a mixtape of his features, collabs, and unreleased tracks, the verbal herman munster will finally drop his long-awaited, overdue solo lp

19 strong arm steady - xzibit needs to start dropping dope tracks like he did when he first came out, but if he can do that and artists like phil da agony and chace infinite continue to impress, strong arm steady will be the new crew to fuck with from the west coast

18 gravy - reportedly very close to signing a major deal, all the haters will be quick to jump on the gravy train, as the bk mc has already worked with the likes of foxy brown

17 peedi crack - the state prop representer has held it down with the likes of freeway and beans, but the time has come for the philly native to prove he can hold it down on his own or get the fuck out of the game

16 lil brother - despite almost every beat sounding the same and mediocre rhymes, lil’ brother was able to ink a major label deal. Producer 9th wonder has already gotten his name out there, working with jay-z and destiny’s child, so north Carolina’s biggest act will definitely move units with their next release

15 shells - after being dropped from j records, shells has rebounded working on some independent projects and staying in battles

14 jean grae - not only the best female in the game, but arguably one of the best mc’s period, jean grae put out her best album on babygrande this year, and she’s due for one more lp with the label

13 littles - after breaking ties with the mobb, one of qb’s finest will finally be able to concentrate on his own career

12 stimuli - after signing with virgin and working with jay-z’s former a and r lenny s, stimuli has a very good situation for himself, the most interesting thing with this situation is to see if virgin knows how to make stimuli a success or if he gets shelved

11 big noyd - his first album was a huge disappointment, but hopefully noyd, who is a better rapper than both prodigy and havoc, can finally enjoy some commercial success through koch

10 j.r. writer - everyone says he changed his flow because of cam’ron, but koch thought he was good enough to sign so we’ll see if cam’s protégé has what it takes to make it solo
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09 lupe fiasco - chicago’s best mc has a great team behind him, and his first mixtape not only moved units but it was one of the best independent mixtapes released in 2k4
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08 scram jones - he’s already made tracks for heavyweights (literally) fat joe, and had nas and jada both do freestyles over his beats, which sets scram up nicely to become one of the next big producers in the game
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07 immortal technique - after ripping shows everywhere and enjoying success with revolutionary volume two, the harlem revolutionary will release his first major album, the middle passage, through babygrande and viper records.
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06 cory gunz - the son of peter gunz has already proven to tommy mottola that he’s better than his pops, now his challenge will be making an album that can sell while still showcasing his great lyrical ability
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05 liveson - d-block’s main producer has not only made noise producing for jada and styles p, but also inspectah deck, shyheim, remy martin and his album, the liveson files, will definitely wake heads up and introduce rap’s next super-producer
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04 papoose - we all know he can rhyme, but now the true test for papoose now is to see if he can make real songs, something that has hindered mc’s like canibus and craig g
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03 grafh - his name grafh y’all, and we all know that black hand is the label. the jamaica, queens native has the perfect opportunity to be the next big rapper in the game, as he has great charisma, witty lyrics, and dame dash on his team, by the end of 2k5 everyone will be saying bang!
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02 game - carrying the west coast on his back, game got involved in some petty beefs over the summer, but we’ll see if he has what it takes with dre working his album. The west will either rise or fall with the success of game, because no one’s checking for xzibit right now unless their car is fucked up
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01 saigon - not much needs to be said about the future of the game. After serving seven years in jail, Saigon took the rap world by storm with two mixtapes and a street album, now with just blaze, the best producer in the game, executive-producing his album, the yardfather has nowhere to go but up

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also, watch for these artists because they’re nice…why? because we said so…

black mobb - the duo of G.O.D. and flame killa, of infamous mobb fame, have teamed up to drop a classic ny hip hop album featuring production from buckwild and liveson

sly boogy - this left coast MC, HHG artist of the month last year got everything to put the west coast on the map again.

dona - cormega’s artist over at legal hustle shined on mega’s “legal hustle compilation,” but we’ll see if she can hold down an entire album

the longshots - after recording their lp “hunger music” with the beat bandits and receiving a lot of love on college radio, the queens duo looks to make power moves in

liveson gang - working with one of the top producers in the game is definitely a plus for the talented group from the bx

cardiac - the los angeles mc has built a nice underground buzz, with tracks scheduled with j.r. writer and sly boogy, the killahertz mc will take over in 2k5

un - washington heights artist un has worked with high-profile producers like jake one as well as dropping solid mixtapes and having a dope website, hhg’s december artist of the month will be making some power moves in the future

professor ecks - the d.c. native who’s throwing the city on his back has already worked with the likes of krs-one, done shows with david banner and dead prez, and has a mixtape hosted by Royce da 5’9,” 2k5 is the year for new regime records professor ecks

poison pen - holding down n.a. rocks with his high-pitched flow and witty lyrics, stronghold’s poison pen is not just a force to be reckoned with at the buffet

spot - spot has done a lot of ghostwriting and hooks for real heavyweights, so once he focuses on his own career its gonna get ugly

apathy - the demigod from connecticut dropped a dope mixtape but who knows when his album will ever come out

blackout - former unsigned hype and hhg’s artist of the month for march, blackout has already proven he’s got rhymes for days, if he stays focus it could be scary

tribeca - despite being signed to a label that hasn’t done anything in two years, tribeca manages to drop dope tracks and prove he has what it takes to have true success in hip hop

manifest destiny - the newark, nj natives survived a rough summer and are back on their grind working on their follow-up album to their debut “hunger pains”

diabolic - he’s proved he can perform in battles, but after being on showtime’s “the next episode” we haven’t heard much from d, but he does have plans to drop his album in 2k5

Nickel Us F and the Burglars - they're holding richmond down right now and have appeared on countless mixtapes last year so watch out for them.

born unique - we gotta give you a full spectrum of the US and this cat looks to lock down the mid-atlantic hip hop scene, keep an eye on him.


producers to watch for

just blaze - although he's been around for a while, 2005 will be the year of just blaze.

red spyda - straight up, dude is sick, with a lot of big things including his own label, red spyda will definitely make noise in 2k5

now-n-laterz - after producing for Saigon and odb, the ny duo will look to expand their resume and constantly create new street anthems

simon vegas - a relatively unknown producer impressed the hiphopgame staff with his beat cd full of bangers that shows his potential to be next in the game

the heatmakerz - dropping a solo album on koch sometime soon will have everyone and the chipmunks nodding their heads to the diplomats main producers

j.rusch - the long island native has already worked with tragedy, foxy, and blackout, and he’s sure to turn out a lot of hits in the near future

ntelek - the sample-heavy producer has already shown he has what it takes to make bangers, all it takes is one beat for ntelek to blow the fuck up

adios amigo gotta go time:

kanye west - after falling asleep at the wheel and making a hit record about it and jacking jesus walks from another chicago mc, the whole world has heard enough speed up soul songs to last a lifetime

jin - his album was a flop, he’s dropped wack songs, and “senorita” was garbage. The 15 minutes of 106 and park fame has run out

guerilla black - the biggie soundalike and lookalike has caught a lot of heat from listeners as well as magazines. How can this not be publicity?it is obvious Virgin tried to sign the west coast biggie. nice try...

mr. cheeks - the lost boy tried to come back with Ladies & Ghettomen but flopped big time

mase - he tried to make a comeback last year but his album was a flop and he quickly got served by the Diplomats. His credibility as a Minister was also questioned.

are they still rapping?

rakim - the 18th letter was supposed to drop his LP last year under Dre's Aftermath but he left in good terms. since then, no news about Rakim Allah. Ra, we know you still got it so please drop an album already!


pumpkinhead - we haven’t heard anything on the nasty Brooklyn spitter in almost two years, but he did try to sell the rights to an unreleased album at rock steady

percee p - it's been reported that he’s no longer with fat beats, but stones throw is supposed to release his lp “perseverance.” one of the most underrated rappers in the game, we hope percee p can finally get an album out

special ed - attempting a comeback that no one’s really tryin to hear can be tough, but it was a big surprise when we heard one of the legends was re-entering the game

crooked i - what a waste! Crooked is one of the doppest MCs from the West but Death Row kept pushing back his album release. now apparently a free agent, Crooked I needs to drop his long overdue album.

most anticipated

Gza - it's been a while since Gza's dropped an album so 2005 would be the perfect year. Gza has never disapointed is he's one of the most slept on rappers in the game, probably top 5 (yeah, we said it!).

Beanie Sigel - His album 'The B. Coming' has been pushed back again but it's ready. Sigel is currently serving a one year sentence in prison but altough a lot of tracks were recorded a year ago, this album could be a classic.

Raekwon - If all the tracks on 'Only Built For Cuban Links II' are as dope as 'Baggage Handlers', Raekwon could help us forget about the disapointing 'Immobilarity' album.



Hit or Miss

Joe Budden - Joe's been dropping some heat lately, mostly on freestyles. His first album didn't get the proper promotion and production but with his new home, Rocafella, Roc4Life or whatever Damon Dash calls it, Joe Bizzy could be a major problem in the '05. Imagine a Joe Budden album produced by Just Blaze...

Canibus - bis seems more comfortable in the underground world. He recently reunited with Wyclef so we'll see what his next album sounds like.

Ras Kass - Razzy Kazzy was released from jail right on time for 2005. We all know his great potential and we really hope he's gonna hit us with some dope tracks and knowledge.

Lil Wayne - You might be surprised to see him here but if you've listened to his latest material, Lil Wayne has stepped his game up and with a new label, Wayne could cause some major trouble.

Fugees - Reunited by Dave Chapelle for one night, we all dream of a new Fugees album, but will it have the same impact as their first one?

Remy Martin - Terror Squad's lady needs to show that women can still hold it down in this hip hop game.

Geto Boys - Yes they're back one again for their last album together. this could very well be another classic or a flop.

Nore - Last chance for Nore to prove he belongs to the elite. His album 'One Fan A Day' has already been pushed back several times and we know it's not gonna be as grimey as the first CNN album (Mariah Carey, Reggaeton, etc..)



Overdose

Lil Jon - don't get us wrong, Lil Jon is a talented producer but last year his tracks were all over the airwaves.

Lean Back - the joint of the summer needs to lean back, we've had enough!

Tupac leeches - Please leave Pac rest in peace! most of the people who've worked on Pac's latest projects would have been slapped by him if he was still alive.






hip hop websites to watch out for”

haha that’s a joke fuckers

and a big thank you goes out to everyone that still supports hip hop and the site, because without them none of this would be possible…and also a big thanks to the haters who make taking this shit over a lot more fun

R.I.P. ODB

by Brian Kayser and Deejekyll

[_That_Cracka_J]

Interesting list   Props

[Bramsterdam (see ya)]

percee p - it's been reported that he’s no longer with fat beats, but stones throw is supposed to release his lp “perseverance.” one of the most underrated rappers in the game, we hope percee p can finally get an album out

I hope this is true.. I love the rhyme inspector

[TuKer Says: Angeles Records is the truth!!]

Interesting list   Props

[West Coast Veteran]

Can't wait for that Sai-Giddy joint.

[smartass]

immortal technique will never blow. he has one of the worst flows i have ever heard.

lol @ percee p...this nigga is going to be 50 years old and he still wont have an album out...its sad cause he was so far ahead of his time...double time flow and sick lyricist

[davida.b.]

Pumpkinhead appeared on a 12" alongside Block McCloud, Jean Grae and Killah Priest a while back


And Nickel Us F suck

[Sikotic™]

The west will either rise or fall with the success of game, because no one’s checking for xzibit right now unless their car is fucked up

LOL!!!!

That one had me rollin'.

[Dave Shining]

i cant wait till copywrite drops an album

[::Mr. Hahn::]

nice post dude. Interesting. I still hope Jin survives though.

[eS El Duque]

nice post dude. Interesting. I still hope Jin survives though.

I don't 

the dude didn't "run with it"

[Minkaveli]

noyd, who is a better rapper than both prodigy and havoc,-did they hear Havoc on Amerika's Nightmare?  Dude stepped his game up.


Where is Busta Rhymes and Common for most anticipated??  Also, Primo has an album comin out.  So does Guru.  List is average.....at best.

[*Jamal*]

Saigon & Immortal Technique 0wN

[Dip Set Movementarian 4 Life]

Worst article I have ever read...

[Suga Foot]

that's good to hear that Canibus is working with Cleff again