10 Most Underrated Hip Hop Albums Of The 2010s
8. Son Of Sam - Cinder Hill
This one is kind of a cheat because Son of Sam actually refers to the band who play on Cinder Hill, rather than a single rapper, but this album is just so goddamn good and so woefully underrated that it had to make it onto this list.
Live instrumentation on a hip hop album can be something of a gamble. Sometimes you'll get a gem, like the number of collaborations BADBADNOTGOOD have done in recent years, but a lot of the time live bands and hip hop just don't quite gel. Luckily, Cinder Hill very much falls into the former camp.
The instrumentation ranges from guitar to horn sections to orchestral strings and all the way to harp - a goddamn harp - And it all works so well. The tracks are punchy and funky whilst still paying sonic homage to hip hop's roots, many of the drums are very reminiscent of old school breaks from the 90s.
The rappers. You've got J-Live, John Robinson, Sadat, El Da Sensei, The Black Opera, Fat Ray, Quelle Chris (I swear he's on like...80% of the records on this list), Blaise B, and that isn't even scratching the surface.
Cinder Hill is incredible and there is no way you'll be able to keep still listening to it. It's almost definitely never likely, but please god let them tour this live.