…In well respected Kevin Nottingham‘s mind. I promise you this will be the last “Top 2008” list! Damn third, this proves that DJ Premier in this century is still hot as hell and not felt off like some of the people think. We didn’t see “A Man of Few Words” or a fully produced Preem album, but still 2008 was without a doubt a busy year for premo with 27 songs (excl. “Beats That Collected Dust“)! I’m glad he still get recognized, 2009 will go hard in Brooklyn!
Rank:
10. Jake One
09. Alchemist
08. 9th Wonder
07. Khrysis
06. Illmind
05. Notzz
04. Nicolay
03. DJ Premier
It’s a little unfair to have premier here, but he’s pretty much a perennial candidate on this list every year. It’s just a matter of where he will land. 2008 has been a strong year for the legend, but a quietly strong and busy year. Handling a majority of production for the Big Shug album and dealing a lot with Blaq Poet, Preemo still found time to drop bombs on us like “That White” and “Society is Brainwashed.” His joint with Kool G Rap was long overdue and “M.V.P” with Ludacris is easily the album’s standout. He reconnected with KRS One to re-up “Criminal Minded” (for that whole Smirnoff campaign) and dropped another stand out on the remarkable Reks album. The catalog keeps growing for him, as he added two more remixes to his resume (Maroon 5, Mark Ronson).
02. Statik Selektah
01. Black Milk
You can always swap names, but you can’t swap the top 3 can you? No Pete Rock, no Kanye West!
