Asaad
#WHITE (LiveMixTapes DL)
1 Even when chomping Kobe steak and puffing A-1 blunts, Asaad’s furious — it’s like he’s pissed at his inability to escape the rap-life pattern. This vitriolic, “good-could-be-better” perspective fueled #WHITE, the best of the North Philadelphian’s three 2012 releases.
Grande Marshall
800 (Soundcloud DL)
2 This elegant debut tape got Grande, a teenager who pretty much came outta nowhere, signed by Fools Gold. He overdosed on A$AP Rocky’s trendy purple poison on previous singles, but with 800’s deep-smoke lyrics and ponderous beats, Grande finally became Grande.
Lushlife
Plateau Vision (Western Vinyl)
3 With the exception of Meek Mill, South Philly’s Lushlife earned more positive national attention than any local rapper this year. A poignant lyricist with cosmopolitan production values, Plateau Vision justified the buzz.
Yikes the Zero
A Kid and His Monsters (Bandcamp DL)
4 Yikes, the eccentric Fishtown rapper, has more in common with underground MCs of yore (Madlib, Kool Keith) than today’s mixtape herd. This debut was a bizarre voyage into the surreal galaxy of a kid trapped inside sci-fi films, comic books and fairy tales.
Jay D & Nelly Nell
The Outline (Soundcloud DL)
5 This soulful collaboration envisioned a world where rap’s still about having fun, not about record deals and Twitter followers. Even when these two young West Philly rappers growled, they did so with pure joy.
Meek Mill
Dreamchasers 2 (DatPiff DL)
6 This tape was superior to Meek’s debut, Dreams & Nightmares. His most exhilarating work this year (“Ready Or Not,” “Flexing,” “Use to Be,” “Amen”) appeared on Dreamchasers 2, eclipsing his highly anticipated “official” album.
Wrecking Crew Presents
Wu-Tang Pulp (Bandcamp DL)
7 Tampering with Wu-Tang Clan songs is blasphemous, but Zilla Rocca, Has-Lo and Curly Castro somehow achieved an idiosyncratically re-imagined homage for their heroes. With its countless Wu references — some obvious, some esoteric — Pulp can easily become a drinking game for Shaolin heads.
Dice Raw
The Greatest Rapper Never Vol. 1 (Soundcloud DL)
8 The Roots associate (most recently appearing on 2011’s Undun) snuck this DJ Drama-produced tape onto the Internet this summer. Even when rapping on a Fiona Apple sample, Dice remains volatile and militant.
Swiper
Stupid Genius (Mediafire DL)
9 Don’t make the mistake of judging this tape by the shitty title. Like Jay D and Nelly Nell (both of whom appear here), the 17-year-old Swiper has fun when he raps. He’s introspective, too, and understands the value of celebrating the ridiculous, which mostly happened on food-related songs (see “Bacon Soda” and “Chicken”).
Slaughter Rico
various songs (DatPiff DL)
10 The virtuosic street rapper Slaughter Rico didn’t release an album this year, so this is cheating. However, a few tracks appeared on a compilation called Philly Goes in for a Cold Winter Grind. Slaughter’s been on hiatus since the mid-2000s, but hopefully this means an album’s coming next year. Dear Slaughter: We’re waiting.
