Maurice Cottman's Top 5 Albums of the Decade
Maurice Cottman is an up-and-coming rapper based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West (2010)
Quite possibly the best rap album ever created. Not just this decade - but possibly ever. This is Kanye West at his full powers blending strong lyricism with brash bravado and fucking orchestra symphonies. This album is jam packed with features but it doesn’t feel like overkill, it feels like a movie of Godfather proportions. Everyone plays their part, no one is out of line, and Kanye is the Louis Vuitton Don pulling the production strings like Geppetto. It’s raunchy, it’s witty and it changed the face of rap music. No two songs sound alike on this album, but each song is necessary to tell the story of a mad genius. This album is a collision of a broken man and laser-like focus, and the results are a classic record. There is musical royalty through this entire body of work but we always want more of Mr. West no matter who shares the throne with him on this effort.
Random Access Memories - Daft Punk (2013)
I credit this album with changing EDM, pop, and everything in between. Legends for decades but never really being household names until RAM was released catapulted Daft Punk into iconic status. Did Pharrell give them their biggest hits or did they turn Pharrell into a mega star? Dealers Choice. But one thing is certain: this album bent, distorted, and abolished what I thought electronic music was. This was the first time in my lifetime that EDM was palatable to the masses within one body of work. Nearly every song could have been a hit if released as a single. Not to mention the album is full of some of the greatest music minds in the industry to produce a product that is shiny but not too polished, which is the beauty of this record. You can workout to this album, sleep to this album, dance to this album & with each listen a new sound is discovered.
÷ - Ed Sheeran (2017)
How could any list like this be complete without the red headed Irish wonder from across the pond? Divide holds possibly the biggest hit of this decade in “Shape Of You” but this isn’t just a pop album - this a complete journey of the heart. From lust, to love, to torment, this album will fill you up and knock you down. In my opinion, Ed writes and produces one of the saddest songs this decade in “Supermarket Flowers” which forces all of us to face the mortality of the ones we love the most. Listening to this album makes me feel like I grew up in England and lost more love than I’ve found. Only great pieces of art can paint vivid pictures of things you never experienced but still hold those false memories dear. This could be the best pop album of this decade or any decade - that’s how good it is. Depending on the project, Ed’s music can at times feel redundant but this album shatters that mold with the international subject matter and instrumentation.
good kid, m.A.A.d city - Kendrick Lamar (2012)
The album that forever changed rap music and sent a future Pulitzer Prize winning artist into legendary status. If you ever wondered how it was to spend a lifetime in one of the most notorious neighborhoods in the world buckle up and let Kenny narrate your journey. This album flows like a Scorsese film but instead of Italian Mobsters we have Black Gangbangers and production by Dr. Dre. It’s hard to explain the bad decisions we make as people in this world but highlighting the circumstances some of us face will make the criminal a human and that’s what Kendrick did here. We are not in control of our lives the way we hope or pretend to be but what will you do when your back is against the wall? And did I mention the rapping ability on this album is higher than pretty much anything you’ll hear in your lifetime?
Father of the Bride by Vampire Weekend (2019)
This is the latest album on my list and I already believe it’s one of the greatest albums I’ve ever heard. The morbid lyrics blended with the love bridges makes for one complete spectrum of emotions. This album gives me hope for rock music which is something I haven’t had much hope for over the past couple of years. This may honestly be a perfect album because of the song writing and balance of subject matter. One thing that VW doesn’t get enough credit for is their impeccable instrumentation. This is as good of a musical album as any that you will hear this year or next year or the year after.
Honorable mentions:
1989 - Taylor Swift
Meat and Candy - Old Dominion
Expectations - Wild Child
Days of Gold - Jake Owen
Morning Phase - Beck