This 2009 Slept-On list covers the gamut of artists in the Hip-Hop realm. Old G’s from the mid-90s who still got the goods, even if they don’t resonate with the younger crowd. Underground super groups. Young artists on the cusp of breaking through into bigger circles. Southern legends riding out into immortality for the last time.

What ties these albums together is that for whatever reason, they didn’t quite get the love they deserved in 2009. So start off 2010 by loading up on some of the best music 2009 had to offer (for a very reasonable price).

Tanya Morgan – Brooklynati

With the soul and spirit of De La and Tribe, Tanya Mo quietly dropped Brooklynati. Backed by Sir Von Pea’s soulful production, the cast of Tanya Morgan delivered carefree stories of a rap group on the come up which spawned the infectious single “So Damn Down.” Phonte, Blu, Carlitta Durrand and Kay all co-star. Wake up and join the movement!—Landon A.

Cop: Brooklynati

M.O.P. – Foundation

Although seemingly dropping out of nowhere in the middle of September with zero promotional buzz and nary a video to boot, the brutes from Brownsville didn’t treat their undetected product like a contractual obligation. Setting things off over riot-inducing production from DJ Premier, Nottz and Statik Selektah, Foundation’s exterior sounded as rugged as day uno. Time to ante up if you haven’t heard it.—TC

Cop: Foundation

Fashawn – Boy Meets World

Two years after Blu & Exile’s groundbreaking project Below The Heavens shook the underground in 2007, the MPC-toting soulful beatsmith chose Fresno’s own Fashawn to be the second MC he would push onto the masses with their collaborative project Boy Meets World. Ex’s lush production meshes together beautifully with Fashawn’s lyrical tales reflecting his upbringing in the northern part of California that raised him. While the album didn’t reach far within the commerial realm, the critical acclaim and respect he gained as a lyricist in his region of the country makes his freshman outing a success that he can most definitely build on.—K1NG

Cop: Boy Meets World

K’Naan – Troubadour

’09 was a big year for K’Naan. He began the year by receiving the buzzworthy badge from The Man er…MTV and the summer months had him on the road with the Rock the Bells tour. Troubadour was a cocktail of worldly delights mixed with all the familiar elements of Hip-Hop that helped to make a sleeper hit. The guest roster adds flavor to the mix as Adam Levine of Maroon 5, Mos Def, Chubb Rock, Chali 2na and Kirk Hammett of Metalica all make appearances.—Landon A.

Cop: Troubadour

Twista – Category F5

Who said that hurricanes can only hit along the coasts? On his 7th studio album, Twista came out spinning early and often on this one. With songs like “American Gangster,” “Talk To Me,” & the radio friendly “Wetter,” Mr. Mitchell was operating at full strength during the eye of his storm. Although it loses steam near the end when he lends his attention solely to the fairer sex, Category F5 show that Twista hasn’t lost a step during his time served and when focused, is still as lethal as ever.—MZ

Cop: Category F5

Fresh Daily - The Gorgeous Killer In Crimes Of Passion

Fresh Daily is the Hip-Hop you love. An old school delivery with new-age punchlines make The Gorgeous Killer In Crimes Of Passion a joy to listen to. Daily’s bars are laugh out loud funny at times but it’s tracks like “Love Breakdown” and “Crimes of Passion” that allow the New Yorker to show off his more serious side. And try to listen to “Gutterman” or “Untucked Nunchucks” and not get the yuck face. Fresh Daily is a pundit on the mic and more outings like this will guarantee he’ll be a force in the game for a long time.—David D.

Cop: The Gorgeous Killer In Crimes Of Passion

Warren G. – The G. Files

Overshadowed by releases from his other Old G contemporaries, Sir. Griffin proved that G-Funk stays winning well into middle age. Help from a mix of the new Cali crew and some standbys didn’t hurt. Top tracks like the dark, “100 Miles & Runnin’” (poor title though c’mon Warren,) move the album, and even some of the poppy efforts like the Snoop collabo “Swagger Rich” are still enjoyable. Warren’s not consistent or adept enough to label this a new classic, but fans of old school, West Coast Hip-Hop should definitely partake.—Patrick M.

Cop: The G. Files

Donny Goines – The Breakfast Club

Ever wonder what the lyrical equivalent of Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise and crushed red pepper would amount to? If so, Donny Goines served up such a platter with The Breakfast Club. Mixing engaging food for thought (“Sublime”) with light midday meals (“Party Apple”), the free buffet was essentially a compilation seeing that it featured nearly every hot act in today’s blogosphere. Too many calories present to let this dish go cold.—TC

Download: The Breakfast Club

Curren$y – This Ain’t No Mixtape

After flooding the Internet with a massive amount of mixtapes over the span of a year or so, New Orleans’ own Curren$y decided to take a little time to craft an independent album alongside Amalgam Digital. Utilizing his effortless flow to glide over the sonic landscape provided by Monsta Beatz, Spitta crafted an album with enough weed & sneaker references to put Complex to shame. While it didn’t quite break him through to the mainstream audience, it proved to be a worthy project for any rap fan’s collection this year.—K1NG

Cop: This Ain’t No Mixtape

Lushlife – Cassette City

The guy doesn’t look the part and on first glance his name reads like a Twilight character. But 30 seconds of hearing Lushlife spit rhymes and you’ll believe in the product. Still Cassette City was largely ignored by the general public, who may have been turned off by the visuals or just didn’t know any better. That’s a shame, because the album combines introspective rhymes that keep coming with new-age production that keeps to its underground roots.—Patrick M.

Cop: Cassette City

Trife Diesel – Better Late Than Never

Eight years of purgatory doesn’t exactly breed excitement for the release of an album, but in the case of Trife Diesel, his tardiness proved to worth waiting for. Boldly going where NYC hadn’t been in some time, dirtier-than-fishscale parables like “Powerful Minds” and Ghostface-assisted “Respectfully” gave the East some bragging rights to close out the decade. Hopefully they won’t have to wait too long for the sequel.—TC

Cop: Better Late Than Never

Playaz Circle – Flight 360: The Takeoff

Without a breakaway hit à la “Duffle Bag Boy” Tity Boy & Dolla’s flight was a little less crowded this go around. But for those who chose to take a ride were treated to their signature brand of music for in-flight entertainment.  While the OJ Da Juiceman collabo “Stupid” was put into place to appease those hanger on’s from last go around, this DTP duo brought equal parts of style and substance to the table.  If they can continue on their current trajectory, it’ll only be a matter of time before they’ll be shopping for bigger planes.—MZ

Cop: Flight 360: The Takeoff

UGK – 4 Life

This was the final curtain call for one of Hip-Hop’s greatest groups and they went out in the same draped up and dripped out purple Cadillac they rode in on. If you thought this would be a sappy ode to Pimp C, you were sadly mistaken. “Still on the Grind” and “Swishas & Erb” are familiar odes to what made UGK successful while “Steal Your Mind” shows a dream collaboration with Snoop and Too $hort, forming a pimp dream team of outrageous bars. Then there’s Pimp with his insistence on unshaven pubic areas and lines like “I’m tryin to put my dick inside ya mouth/tryin’ to put my dick and nuts inside ya mouth!” Long live the Pimp.—David D.

Cop: 4 Life

RZA – Afro Samurai Resurrection OST

Noticably absent from the multitude of Wu releases for the year, RZA did manage to stay productive in the industry’s frozen tundra, better known as January. The RZA Presents: Afro Samurai Resurrection OST, the eponymous soundtrack for the violent animated movie, incorporated a massive amount of underground talent for the greater good of murder music. It’s like a Hanzo for your iPod.—TC

Cop: The RZA Presents: Afro Samurai Resurrection OST

Donny Goines Live @ A3C from The Smoking Section on Vimeo.

Donny Goines refuses to fail.

Success in Hip-Hop has become increasingly elusive. Whether one aims to attain critical acclaim, 15 minutes of fame or commercial success, it’s no longer as straightforward as it may have once been. Read the rest of this entry »

Donny’s girl >>>

Seriously though: if you still haven’t downloaded The Breakfast Club, and you’re complaining about the lack of good music out there, your opinion is truly worthless.

Previously Posted — TSS Presents Smoking Sessions With Donny Goines | “Bring It Forward” – Review Of Donny Goines’ The Breakfast Club

Never underestimate the power of determination and merits of hard work. In just a little over a year, Donny Goines has made a prominent name for himself, appearing on countless guest verses and radio shows and even releasing his debut album Minute After Midnight last December. If sleep is the cousin of death, it shares no bloodline with Donny for he’s back with his 2nd project, The Breakfast Club in just a matter of months. The oft-entertaining, sometimes bloated endeavor showcases DG improving lyrical repertoire as well as creative depth in terms of record making. Read the rest of this entry »

“If you don’t know my name, I’m not working hard enough” — Donny Goines.

Donny Goines said this to me shortly after I met him for the first time. I’d been given the opportunity to hang with him when he was opening for Talib Kweli’s group Idle Warship, who all were allegedly too busy to come upstairs and hang out with the common folk. Goines, who obviously had access to move about the club at will, never abandoned the guests whom he had brought to the show to go pop his collar with the headliners. Instead, he was gregarious and always willing to talk, taking the time to introduce me to several of his industry peers and ensuring I had all my needs taken care of.

That scene really speaks to the type of person that Goines is. “I’m a man first, artist second” he said at one point during in our interview. Meet him and you’ll never experience a moment where you doubt that. He never drinks or smokes, he never seems to get angry or impatient. His motivation and his artistic hustle are pure and honest. Combine all of those personality traits with his ever-growing talent, and you have one of the most admirable budding artists out there- a man and an artist that are both easy to root for.

A big thanks goes to Donny for his time. He’s always working, so do him a favor and remember his name. I don’t think it’s possible for him to work any harder.

TSS: So how’s everything Donny?

Donny Goines: Everything is good, I’m feeling blessed.

TSS: First and foremost, congratulations on your release of The Breakfast Club. You just had your release party, how did that go?

Donny Goines: Oh it was great man; it was cool vibes and good times, and that’s all I really care about at the end of the day. Everybody that came out had a good time, we ate a bunch of cereal and rocked out.

TSS: Yeah, I saw the pictures of the cereal, that was a nice touch. That was another reason why I was disappointed I missed it because I was hoping to get some Frosted Flakes.

Donny Goines: Yeah, we was missing the Crunch Berries though, but next time.

TSS: That’s your favorite, the Crunch Berries?

Donny Goines: Yeah man, I been eating a box of those for the past three days. I been surviving on Crunch Berries and fat-free milk (Laughs). But yeah, the listening party was a great time. It was the first time I’d performed any of the material off the new album and everybody there seemed real receptive, they were having a good time. Like I said, at the end of the day, all I really care about is good vibes. It was also nice because a lot of the artists that were on the album were able to come out and perform with me so it was a lot of fun.

TSS: Nice. Now, I know you got that quote, “if you don’t know my name I’m not working hard enough.” How did you come about that quote and why do you feel like it fits you so well?

Donny Goines: Funny you asked that because nobody ever asked me that question. I honestly don’t know when or why that quote came to me but I guess one day it just happened to pop up in my head. I don’t really remember why. But I was just like, “You know something? I’m gonna use this as my motto.” and that’s just a motto I’ve been living by ever since. I really feel as if artists always want to blame others for their lack of buzz, or whatever the case may be. It’s always the labels fault or whoever. But, as far as my music goes, if people don’t know my name, then I’m doing something wrong. It’s my fault, it ain’t nobody else’s fault. I really hold myself accountable as far as my promotions and things like that, that’s why I’m very hands on with everything I do. At the same time, I’m one of those kind of people, who I feel like people should be aware of. So, I make sure that every day I wake up, somebody new knows my name.

TSS: I think one of the things that I appreciate most about hearing that is that it’s just a refreshing take on the business. Like you said, a lot of artists do find other factors to blame their failures on. How did you gain that perspective? Is that just you? Have you always been like that? Read the rest of this entry »

It’s funny how the music universe aligns its stars to manifest various degrees of separation. Just this morning, I got my day started to Big Pun’s “Laughing At You” which samples 80′s rock band Simple Mind’s “Don’t You (Forget About Me). The composition was the theme song to the movie The Breakfast Club, whose chorus told me not to forget about Donny Goines brand new album today.

Picking up right where his debut Minute To Midnight left off, Donny recruits nearly half of industry to cook up the eggs and bacon for The Breakfast Club. Proceed for the flapjacks. Read the rest of this entry »

Courtesy Of Don Michaels

Last week we argued about the decline of NYC’s rappers signature sound. And while opinions varied on both sides of the fence, it’s safe to say everybody agreed the best solution was to allow the music to dominate above all other politics. So with that, Donny Goines & Co. have put their best foot forward to shinesome light on the now-underdog East Coast. Read the rest of this entry »