With my Top 30 Albums of the Year behind us, I have to shout out the albums that didn't make the final list but were each in the running during the decision making process. There were so many albums to consider and so many that I hadn't even managed to get round to listening to. However, of the ones that I did, here are a few that I would be doing a disservice by not mentioning. In no particular order...

• Tierra Whack - Whack World
• Twenty One Pilots - Trench 
• Phony Ppl - mō'zā-ik
• Chloe x Halle - The Kids Are Alright 
• JMSN - Velvet
• Sons Of Kemet - Your Queen Is A Reptile 
• Aminé - ONEPOINTFIVE
• Boy Azooga - 1, 2, Kung Fu!
• Jorja Smith - Lost & Found 
• Zilo - The Nature Of The Beast
• Rejjie Snow - Dear Annie 
• August Greene - August Greene
• Ex:Re - Ex:Re
• YG - STAY DANGEROUS 
• Earl Sweatshirt - Some Rap Songs
• Now, Now - Saved
• Snail Mail - Lush
• Patrick Paige II - Letters Of Irrelevance
• Kelela - TAKE ME A_PART, THE REMIXES
• Joy Postell - Diaspora
• Can't Swim - This Too Won't Pass
• Kendrick Lamar - Black Panther The Album
• Kasey Musgraves - Golden Hour
• Django Django - Marble Skies
• serpentwithfeet - soil

Well, that's it for this year's top albums but along the way there was a whole heap of unbelievable music released. Tonnes more contenders and a bunch of records that I didn't even get to listen to that may have been able to make the cut had I gotten round to it. Not all can be mentioned, but here is a list of this year's most notable honourable mentions in no particular order.

• Bicep - Bicep
• Feist - Pleasure
• Bonobo - Migration 
• Declan McKenna - What Do You Think About The Car?
• BROCKHAMPTON - SATURATION I & III
• Can't Swim - Fail You Again
• Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes - Modern Ruin 
• Wolf Alice - Visions Of A Life 
• J HUS - Common Sense
• Jordan Rakei - Wallflower
• Marika Hackman - I'm Not Your Man
• Meg Mac - Low Blows 
• King Krule - The OOZ
• Sylvan Esso - What Now 
• Foo Fighters - Concrete And Gold 
• Ibeyi - Ash 
• Mount Kimbie - Love What Survives
• Sinead Harnett - Chapter One
• Miguel - War & Leisure
• Kweku Collins - grey 
• Jaden Smith - SYRE
• Haim - Something To Tell You
• Charlotte OC - Careless People
• Mr Jukes - God First 
• N.E.R.D - NO ONE EVER REALLY DIES
• Smino - blkswn
• The National - Sleep Well Beast
• Khalid - American Teen
• Toro y Moi - Boo Boo

Check out a favourite track from each of these albums (+ a couple extras) on a handy playlist here. 

I hadn't seen De La Soul since Glastonbury three years ago and just as I was then, I was equally as, if not more excited for their headline set. I have to say, because I was going to the Birmingham show, I wasn't really expecting the biggest turn out - it's not often that I get to meet many "hip hop heads" in this area and as the show didn't sell out I was expecting a fairly sparse crowd... WRONG. Before long the floor was packed out with every kind of person you could imagine and I guess I should've known because it's not out of the ordinary for De La to draw in diverse crowds with their energy. Either way, it was a welcomed surprise.

First up on stage was UK trio Jungle Brown. I'd not heard any of their material prior but I was expecting something lyrically great if they were to warm us up for De La Soul and I'd definitely say that lyrically they were engaging and true to their style as musicians. However, I felt like on some songs, their beats overshadowed their performance, the beat was the reason for the movement and had it been an acapella performance, the level of attention would have dropped significantly. Despite the issues I had with their abilities on the night, they definitely showed potential (which may be more obvious on their studio material), their sax player was a very slick addition, and they definitely managed to heighten vibes and crack a few smiles before De La graced the stage.

As I mentioned, De La Soul know best how to draw in a crowd and put on a show. I was of course expecting them to play the classics like "Me, Myself and I" and "Feel Good Inc." but I was most interested in what they were going to play from this latest record. When I first listened to it I enjoyed it but I remember thinking that a lot of the songs that I expected to like the most after reading the track list, ended up taking a back seat to ones that hadn't necessarily caught my eye initially. Again my guesses were off on what would appear on the set list, but once again De La showed me why they've been so good for so long. As the night went on and energy was on what I thought was a pretty perfect level, De La graced us with a guest appearance. Dres from Black Sheep bounded on stage with that flow and ease that we knew so well and it was as if he was with them the entire show. Energy levels shot up again for that last portion of the show and by the end of the night my shoulder was aching from all the arm waving, my face was aching from all the smiling and singing, but it was well worth it. I feel like they would've benefited from a bigger production (budget permitting) but with or without, they filled the room, and brought their all, what more could you ask for really?

Overall Rating - 7.5/10 


Here are some pictures from the night... 

We have A Tribe Called Quest with We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service - the tribe's sixth and final album. What a blessing. I never thought this day would come, and I definitely wasn't expecting anything new to come about after we lost Phife earlier this year but here we are.

It's so beautiful to hear Phife's voice on something new even after he's passed - he left us with a hell of an album, and more than that, a legacy of game-changing hip-hop. I've often said that ATCQ are my favourite hip-hop collective - without them, the genre would've meant something completely different to me today. Having them back with that classic Tribe flow, accompanied by some of the today's current greats, it's exactly the way I'd have expected them return and it maybe even turned out better than I'd hoped.

Immediate stand outs from me were of course "Dis Generation", "We The People..." and "Conrad Tokyo (feat. Kendrick Lamar)". I've got to say that these three tracks might just have to be in the top ten instrumentals of the year for me (if I were making that list). These tracks go off! The first time to listened to "We The People..." I actually had to take it back to the beginning after 30 seconds. It ws too much - Q-Tip has most certainly not lost his touch with his bars or his beats.

Aside from this album, all I've had to listen to from Tribe was released either before I was actually born or before I could even remember anything - I've been listening to them for over 20 years and even now their new material stands out to me just as much as their old. Talk about ahead of their time! I can only hope that this record is something that, like me, future generations will be listening to as if it only just came out. Visionaries; every one of them, and they've left us with a beautiful piece of work. Really and truly, thank you 4 your service A Tribe Called Quest.

In this generation, there are tonnes of London based producers and sound engineers, and the numbers just seem to be increasing. However, as the numbers are growing so is the amount of amateurs and beginners trying to get their music out there. That's why it was so refreshing to stumble on King Kel's soundcloud and find a wide range of quality tracks.

King Kel's last release - The Prelude - was a really easy listen. I loved the second track "The Prophet". All in all, this record just shows such huge potential and in time this could become a big brand.

Often collaborating with Sykes Beats and Mr. Roneo; King Kel is also a part of the UK hip hop collective - UKMAMA with Herbivore the MediC and Benjamin Saint. The creators are busy putting out new mixtapes, EPs and tracks for download regularly and each at a "name your price" value. It's super refreshing just to see people doing it for the music and not simply for what they might gain. That's not to say that they're the only ones, but it's always good to see!

King Kel and Herbivore the MediC are currently working together under the name WZRDZ and have a new album coming out at the end of April. Have a listen to the first single from the record - "A King And His Horse" below...