2008 was a nutty year. ... Local record stores moved closer to extinction, rap continued its descent into inanity and BET is still the most depressing channel. ... But why dwell on the negative? Here are my picks for the best albums of 2008, in alphabetical order, as always. ... »»
Sometimes albums just fall though the cracks. That's certainly the case with this week's selection, Styles P's Time Is Money. This was an album that I was really looking forward to, but by the time it finally came out, it had been bumped down on my priority listening list—which got it placed on the resolution list.
Once upon a time, I wasn't Styles P's biggest supporter. There was actually a time when he was my third favorite member of The Lox. But after the D-Block/State Property beef, Styles' stock really grew. He was talking reckless and rhyming like crazy. That was when Styles caught my ear; from that point on I was a fan.
Now, the legend behind the album is that Interscope sat on the finished product at the behest of 50 Cent, because of 50's beef with Ja Rule. Y'see, Jadakiss and Ja Rule were on a song together, so 50 went at Jada. Naturally, Styles got involved and Time Is Money was shelved.
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