Top Ten Albums 2010:

6.  Big Boi – Sir Luscious Left Foot: Son of Chico Dusty

A good friend of mine, Proctor Anderson, tweeted about a month ago that if you don’t have Big Boi’s Sir Luscious on your top ten list, you might as well not even make the list.  I really couldn’t say it any better. And shit, I fought really hard with myself about not putting it in the top five. This record has skills.

There have been very few hip hop albums in the last few years that have knocked me on my ass at first listen (other than Raekwon’s Built for Cuban Linx 2 and a handful of others). But Big Boi’s newest adventure is definitely something that hits you hard with a well-built and confident hip hop palette, taking you on a trip with a number of sincere (but still over the top) explorations into the mind of a thug. And strangely enough, Son of Chico Dusty is not a good example of thug or gansta rap, but more a demonstration of how the established base of the greatest hip duo in American history can survive through sheer force, through sheer will and strength.

And yes, I mean that when I say that Big Boi is the base of Outkast. Anyone who has watched the ATL wunderkinds can see through the glitz and show to the root of what has made Outkast an unstoppable act in the 2000’s. And this album just reaffirms it. Big Boi has the hip hop equivalent of The Situation’s abs. From start to finish, Chico Dusty contains the most incredible amount of flexing I’ve ever seen on modern recording. From General Patton (Video above), with its aggressive, and borderline fascist, blasts to a number of just plain sexy R&B influenced grooves that are featured prominently in the back section of the record, the listener can rest assured that they are getting what they paid for.

I think that may be the important thing to point about this new Big Boi record. In a world that rewards artists for rushing through their new content and focusing on the instant gratification that most Americans desire 90% of the time, this considerate musician waited and gave his audience a piece of work that is worthy of respect and admiration. That cannot be said for half the entertainers on the level of Big Boi.

For this, I respect him.

And that respect has laid the foundation for deep appreciation that I will not soon forget.

Consider this #6 spot a symbol of solidarity and sign that for Big Boi, a #1 spot is waiting for him sometime in the very near future.