the end is near...

2007 has wrapped and I most admit it was a good year for me. I finished up school with my Master's, got my first "real" job and moved to the DC area all within a few months. Since I've been up here, I've been lucky enough to see Little Brother, Jay Z, Alicia Keys, Dwele and on Jan. 30 I'll be able to add Lupe to the list. Surely I wouldn't have been able to see them back home. So overall '07 was good to me. But to fully appreciate the "ups", you must have your fair share of "downs". So while '07 had several enjoyable moments, there was certainly no lack of stressful ones as well. While maneuvering through the "ups" and "downs" some of my favorite artist went along for the ride. They may not be the years best but here's a list of songs that kept me sane throughout '07...


Pharrell and the Yessirs (Questlove & co.) - Stay with me Face it, In My Mind sucked. Nothing like I anticipated it to be. After releasing it, apparently Pharrell wasn't satisfied either. Luckily, Questlove came through to save the day. His live instrumentation version was the soundtrack for my summer.


Wale - Waledance - Months before I moved to DC I caught wind of Wale and just feel in love with his style and charisma. His 100 Miles and Runnin Mixtape was easily my most played cd all year. I really hope he blows up.


Jay Z - Roc Boys - Horns. Need I say more?! Black superhero music. Why wasn't this the first single?


Talib Kweli ft. Kanye West- In the Mood - Eardrum was definitely one of the years best but Kanye stole the show here. Surprisingly, this was my fave from Kanye's Can't Tell Me Nothing Mixtape. Personally, I didn't like that mixtape that much. Sorry.


Common ft. Dwele- The People Finding Forever didn't turn out to be the record I wanted it to be but "The People" kept me interested. It had the Be feeling to it. Common proves again that he is one of the greatest EVER.


Kanye West ft. Dwele - Flashing Lights
"Big Brother" was hot and so was "Barry Bonds", but "Flashing Lights" was just incredible. Kanye succeeds in pushing the envelope without going too far into left field.


Robin Thicke - 2 the Sky Yeah I know this was released in late '06 but I was still rocking this well into '07. The Evolution of Robin Thicke was one of the most complete R&B records to be released in recent memory.


Lupe Fiasco - Paris, Tokyo Lupe damn near ethered his own career with Fiascogate. Ironically enough, this ATCQ-esque song is one of The Cool's shining moments. I can't stop listening to it.


Talib Kweli - The Show This was from the Liberation collab mixtape with Madlib. It was released early in '07 so alot of people forgot about it. I didn't. Kweli murdered it. Prelude to Eardrum.


Little Brother - Dreams Dreams definitely don't keep the lights on, so until I figure out how to get paid to do what I love, this song will be my motivation.


Drake ft. Little Brother and Dwele - Don't You Have A Man I really don't understand why dude is still unsigned. I loved this song. If you don't have his Comeback Season mixtape, I suggested you go find it. And if you think dude is weak, check the "Barry Bonds" Freestyle.


And in case you didn't notice, Dwele was featured on three songs from this list. So yeah I really like Dwele!