Album Of The Year

There were many candidates for this esteemed award, from the critical darlings from These New Puritans to the hipster-despised Oasis (Dig Out Your Soul being a work of psych-disoriented brilliance) amongst many others. While it has been somewhat of a lean year in terms of monumental releases, one that has gone seemingly unnoticed in the indie press is the latest from political rapper Immortal Technique.

Already a confirmed fan of the incendiary one, The 3rd World was high in my expectations throughout the year. However, I didn't dream that it would reach my top 10, never mind the top of my list. I can only think that its strange format (album + mixtape) has hindered its end of year appreciation, because listened from start to finish its manifesto-like properties are breathtaking in execution - fulfilling the promise of Revolutionary Vols 1+2 and ending any lingering questions about Tech's (admittedly, at times) long-winded flow. Linking the corporate world's exploitation of the third world with its stranglehold over the Hip Hop industry, The 3rd World is both Tech's most vicious and most eloquent, (as well as mostly blackly comical) exemplified by passages like: "Now you know this ain't a trend or a fashion/This is my life and my passion/Fuck trying to cash in/I need more than advancements and a record mansion/So while you little house niggas are singin' and dancin'/I'll kill you and take your land like an Israeli expansion."

Setting this record apart from the rest was its format, (the mixtape structure loose enough for the large conceptual scope to be explored from various angles) its connection with the audience and fans, (sorry, Tech doesn't have those, he has "soldier supporters") catchy, adaptable beats, and most importantly, Tech's piercingly intelligent lyrics. "Open Your Eyes" is a discourse-like treatise against privatisation and corporate control of people and resources - and its lyrics are so engrossing, its subject matter so vital, it almost made The 3rd World my album of the year single-handed. All hail the Harlem Chavismo!