1. Action Bronson – One of the few bright spots for NYC Hip-Hop in 2011 was this Queens native’s Ghostface-meets-G-Rap delivery.  He’s dropped a ton of dope material in less than a year and has collaborated with a wide range of artists and DJ’s to prove he’s as versatile as he is brutal.

2. A$AP Rocky – The leader of the A$AP Mob dropped “LiveLoveA$AP” on Halloween and never looked back as “Peso” went from cryptic late-night soundtrack to heavy rotation.

3. Big K.R.I.T. – This southern rapper recently signed to Def Jam to help the world hear what heads in the Dirty South have known for years, that K.R.I.T. is 100% legit and 100% serious about putting thoughtful southern music back in the national spotlight.

4. Danny Brown – Two mixtapes and one collaborative album with Black Milk took Danny Brown from obscurity to the top of most “Cool Guy” end-of-the-year lists.  The Detroit spitter is so different (look, sound, voice, subject matter, etc.) that it’s hard to categorize him properly except to say that he’s absolutely “Next To Blow.”

5. Fred The Godson – Fred’s been holding NYC down for a minute and now with a few successful mixtapes under his belt and co-sign from Diddy, the sky truly is the limit.

6. Freddie Gibbs – The first national artist to break out of Gary Indiana since Michael Jackson is poised to take the national stage with the kind of brutal reality rhymes not heard since the early 90’s hey day of “Gangsta” Rap.  Also,  signing on to Jeezy’s CTE label and a rumored collaborative album with The Snow Man himself won’t hurt.

7. Kembe X – This 17 year-old from Chicago just dropped his “Self Rule” mixtape and already sounds wise beyond his years.  Definitely look for him and his squad of up-and-coming producers to turn a lot of heads throughout 2012.

8. Kendrick Lamar – After releasing one of the best albums of 2011 (“Section 80”) and getting votes of confidence from every significant West Coast MC, it’s hard to see a future where we are not all talking about Kendrick Lamar.

9. Machine Gun Kelly – This kid started a huge movement out of Cleveland, Ohio (not a hotspot since BONE dropped in the mid 90’s), signed to Bad Boy and toured with Tech N9ne, combine all that with the undeniable “Wild Boy” (ft. Waka Flaka) and you have the perfect recipe for one of 2012’s best and brightest.

10. Mic Savvy – Between dropping and album (“Year of the Dragon”), performing countless live shows with More Rhythm and leading the entire Raleigh Hip-Hop scene, Mic Savvy is definitely ready to expose the world to some of the Dirty South’s best kept secrets.

Check the TakeoverNJ archives for album/mixtape reviews on many of these artists.

-Angelo (Twitter: @Mr5thround)

We’ve been following the countdown all month in both Takeover locations, here’s our take on this year’s list:

10: Wale

Wale is a well-known sneakerhead which automatically makes him a favorite with the TKR$ crew, plus our girls all love “Lotus Flower Bomb” so that’s def an added bonus.  Signing with MMG was huge for the previously slept-on MC and allowed him to rise like a phoenix after the misfire of 2009’s “Attention Deficit.”  However, considering his album didn’t drop until the fourth quarter and his only pre-fall hit (“No Hands”) wasn’t his record, his place on this list may be a little pre-mature.  Comeback Rapper of the  Year? Definitely.  Top 10 Hottest Rapper Of The Year? Maybe.

9. Wiz Khalifa

Sold a million albums, sells out arenas, no famous cosign, went from virturally unknown outside of Hip-Hop circles in late 2010 to a household name by the end of 2011, and had a massive impact on fashion (snapbacks, extra medium hoodies, Starter Jackets, Chuck Taylors).  The Taylor Gang leader should have probably been higher on the list.

8. Big Sean

Released a solid debut album with four legit singles (a ton by today’s standards) and has somehow stood out on tracks with Kanye, Chris Brown and Nicki Minaj.  The only thing that would keep Sean off this list is the fact that he’s yet to have a true “solo” hit, but it’s hard to argue Big Sean didn’t make a Big Impact.

7. Meek Mill

Nobody had a bigger impact this year without an album than Philadelphia’s Meek Mill.  The former battle  rapper signed with Rick Ross’s Maybach Music Group and immediately made the most of his time in the spotlight by releasing well-received mixtapes and a handful of club bangers that took the party to the next level.  Meek’s debut album will most likely be the next project to drop from MMG and if it lives up to his potential look for him to be even higher on next year’s list.

6. Jay-Z

Looking at 2011 as a year where all Jay-Z did is drop a collaborative album, a few videos and a short tour would seem like a quiet year for the “God MC.”  However, when you step back and realize the album was a monster that shut down Twitter, the videos were groundbreaking and the tour was Hip-Hop as high-art, it becomes easier to see  how S. Carter earned his position on this list.

5. Lil’ Wayne

The Pop/MTV crowd can’t get enough Weezy, but Hip-Hop Heads may be moving on.  Wayne deserves mad credit for the YMCMB Movement and bringing Nicki Minaj & Drake to the national spotlight, but last year was not one of his best. Considering the lukewarm response to “Tha Carter 4,”  the fact that its’ biggest hit (“How To Love”) contained no rapping, and that his choice of pants gets more people talking than his rhymes you could easily argue that Wayne is too high on this list.

4. Nicki Minaj

She performed at The Super Bowl and The Grammy’s during the same week and made America fall in love with somebody named “Minaj” … Any questions as to why she’s on the list or if she deserves it?

3. Kanye West

The first half of 2011 was dominated by “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” (released Nov. 2010), the second half of the year was dominated by “Watch The Throne.”  Kanye rubs a lot people the wrong way, but when he says things like “I am the voice of my generation” or “I’m the most critically and commercially successful artist of my time” it’s hard to argue with him.

2. Drake

R&B cat that can really spit? MC that can carry a tune? Who knows?  The bottom line is Drake continues to make hits that appeal to multiple demograhics and with the release of “Take Care” it’s pretty obvious it’s not gonna stop anytime soon.

1. Rick Ross

After making everybody feel like Big Meech and/or Larry Hoover (and forget his previous occupation), Ricky Rozay doubled down and came back with Wale, Meek Mill & Pill to take his movement to the next level.  After a successful group album (“Self Made Vol. 1”),  a string of major hits, a few high profile callabos, shutting down Hot 97’s Summer Jam and having one of the most eagerly anticipated albums of 2012, apparently he really is the “BAWSE.”

Glaring Omissions

Tyler The Creator: Odd Future isn’t turing out to be the next Wu-Tang, but MTV has a lot invested in this collective since they gave Tyler “Best New Artist” at the VMA’s.

Eminem: Dropped the hugely successful “Bad Meets Evil” album with Royce and jumpstarted the careers of Yelawolf and Slaughterhouse.

J. Cole: Made it to Top 40 Radio Heavy Rotation with “Real Hip-Hop.” That alone should put him on the list.

Check back to TakeoverNJ tomorrow for a list of 10 MC’s to look out for on next year’s list.

-Angelo (Twitter: @Mr5thround)

AVAILABLE NOW

Check out Celebrity Designer / Adidas Collaborator Jeremy Scott and NYC’s hottest young rapper A$AP Rocky on the cover of this month’s Complex Magazine.

Also, in case you forgot, TakeoverNJ was mad early on the A$AP Movement, we reviewed “LiveLoveA$AP” all the way back in November…

http://takeovernj.com/main/2011/11/07/aap-rocky-liveloveaap/

-Angelo (Twitter: @Mr5thround)

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