Top 10 Rap Albums for May 2012

Pay attention because this is a wee bit tricky. A few years ago, Statik Selektah (producer) and Termanology (rapper) came together and formed a group. They named it after their birth year, 1982. In 2010, 1982 released a self-titled album extolling the virtues of 90s hip-hop. This month, the pair returns as 1982, updating the dusty 90s sound they initiated on a new album titled 2012. Got all that? Awesome. You're awesome.
Features: Bun B, Mac Miller, Lil Fame, Freddie Gibbs, Roc Marciano, Havoc
Release Date: May 22, 2012

Think of Chino XL is as a hip-hop superhero. He definitely takes a vigilante approach to the proverbial rap game, pounding his chest, touting his skills. The man could rap an IKEA manual and make it sound like a thriller. He's not going to do Drake numbers but you'll never question his pedigree.
Release Date: May 1, 2012

Oh No + Dolemite = Ohnomite. Album is based on samples from 1975 blaxploitation flick, Dolemite. Features: (MF) DOOM, Evidence, Alchemist, MED, Guilty Simpson, Roc C, Damani, Prozack Turner, Ea$y Money, Pok Dog, LMNO, Phife Dawg, DJ Romes, Chino XL, Erick Sermon, Rapper Pooh, Phil the Agony, Jose James, Frank Nitt, Wildchild, Sticky Fingaz, Termanology, and Roc Marciano.
Release Date: May 8, 2012

Sixteen tracks that aim to merge New School (beat maker Apollo Brown) and True School (rap veteran O.C.) hip-hop. It's hard to know how Omar Credle has managed to stay hungry for 20 years.
Features: None
Release Date: May 1, 2012

Drums blare like the residents of a deserted town. Synthesizers wheeze like zombies in an inferno. On hand to add fuel to the destruction is Krizz Kaliko and his octane flow. And while he calls on a star-studded cast of co-conspirators (Twista, Chamillionaire, et al), Kaliko's real desire is to flaunt his biceps. Exhibit A: All the videos released from the project (thus far) end before his guests get a chance to weigh in. Watch him "Kill Sh!t" at Twista's expense. While you're at it, check out the hilarious video for "Dixie Cup" in which a middle-aged white dude mouths Kaliko's lyrics.
Features: Twista, Tech N9ne, Chamillionaire, T-Pain
Release Date: May 15, 2012

More bigwig collaborations, more hook-driven tunes, enough syrupy songs to rot your teeth. Surely, Bobby Ray has been down this path before. You'll sail along not because of curiosity but because you prefer your coffee black with six packs of sugar. Every. Single. Time.
Features: Taylor Swift, Chris Brown, T.I., Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Trey Songz
Release Date: May 1, 2012

You just get the feeling that Church Clothes is going to be one of those mixtapes that ends up on many year-end lists. It boasts production from 9th Wonder, Boi-1da, and Street Symphony.
Features: No Malice (pka Malice), Dee-1
Release Date: May 10, 2012

Stick your ear to the Twitterverse and you'll hear the massive cheers greeting the arrival of this duet. It's an orgy, I tell ya. Produced by El-P, Rap Music is the underground muso's version of Watch the Throne -- an unexpected clashing of titans guaranteed to cause seismic shifts across the Atlantic. Come off it. But, yes Rap Music is one of the most exciting projects out this quarter for many reasons, least of which isn't the proven record of its masterminds. Don't sleep.
Features: Bun B, T.I., El-P
Release Date: May 15, 2012

Cadence Weapon is Rollie Pemberton, and Rollie Pemberton is an Edmonton visionary with no regard for convention. Never heard of Cadence? Stop reading, minimize this window, and go grab a copy of Breaking Kayfabe from iTunes. It's one of the most important hip-hop albums ever released. Back for the first time in three or four years, Rollie rolls on with plan to revolutionize rap. For Hope in Dirty City, he starts out with samples, plays the samples live, then builds the entire album on the sample-based live recordings. Here's a sample.

Release Date: May 29, 2012

El Producto has been laying low for a minute, like a hibernating bear. And now the beast has been awakened. Or something. Among his recent activity: a collaborative album with Killer Mike (see #3), a Coachella reunion with seminal rap crew Company Flow, a 2-month U.S. tour and, of course, his 5th solo album and this month's #1 rap release, Cancer4Cure. C4C promises more of El-P's brand of personal/political confusion, replete with vestiges of I'll Sleep When You're Dead. The guy is a model of consistency.
Release Date: May 22, 2012
Features: Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire, Danny Brown, Killer Mike, Despot, Nick Diamonds
Bonus: $4 Vic Lyrics.