The People Vs. (Universal Motown, 2005) by Trick Trick

Trick Trick's debut album is descent.  "Welcome 2 Detroit," a collaboration with Eminem, is by far the album's standout.  Other highlights include the Proof and Eminem assisted "No More to Say" and the Jazze Pha produced "Attitude Adjustment."  However, some of the albums low points, most notably "My Name is Trick Trick," do weigh the album down a bit.  Overall, this is an average album that shows potential.  Fortunately he lived up to it, and Trick Trick showed noticeable improvement on his 2008 follow up, The Villian.

Age Ain't Nothing but a Number (Blackground, 1994) by Aaliyah

The controversy surrounding R.Kelly's marriage to Aaliyah seemed to overshadow the album itself.  However, the album is very good.  It blended hip hop and R&B very well.  And even if Mary held the title of the queen of hip hop soul, Aaliyah had the youthful attitude and swagger that provided her an identity all her own.  "Back and Forth" still holds up almost twenty years later and the title track still bangs too.  The video is bittersweet though.  It has Aaliyah, of course, and Proof.  Two artists whose lives were tragically cut short.  Fortunately, through music, they will never be forgotten and will always be appreciated.

Recovery (Aftermath, 2010) by Eminem

This album was vital to Eminem's legacy and it did not disappoint.  In my opinion, it is his best album since The Eminem Show.  The material on the album balanced the clever, "just don't give a fuck" attitude ("Cold Wind Blows") with strong substance ("Talkin' 2 Myself").  Lyrically, Eminem proves again that he is one of the best writers ever.  And in perhaps his most emotional record since "Mockingbird", atop a sample from "The Lost Boys" and production from Just Blaze, Eminem pays homage to Proof with "You're Never Over."  Dr. Dre's only track "So Bad" is decent, but Just Blaze and DJ Khalil are the album's star producers.  Taken as a whole, Recovery was Eminem's return to glory professionally and evidence that he was able to make music that grew with him personally.

D12 World (Shady, 2004) by D12

The album starts off with an incredible rapid-fire verse from Eminem which sets the tone and momentum for the entire project.  It isn't quite as dark as Devil's Night, and that makes for a well-rounded release.  from the humorous "My Band" to the serious "Good Die Young," D12 World finds the six Detroit emcees in top form.  Overall, Eminem outperforms the other five.  However, on "Get My Gun" and "40 Oz.," the late, great Proof reigns supreme.  Production-wise, the sounds are varied.  Among others, producers include Red Spyda, Hi-Tek, and Dr. Dre.  The album shows growth from their debut, and since the group is now seemingly disbanded- I feel that D12 proved themselves as what they set out to be: shocking and skilled emcees.

Searching for Jerry Garcia (Iron Fist, 2005) by Proof

"I put my soul through the ink/Bless a path with thoughts at my thoughts, before I grow extinct/My back-bone disowned by zone,Why roam? called home/But now on I'm all alone/Just Proof, no shine, no friends, just fans/No wonder my hands, tight where the Internet ends/I take back, most of the flack/The stress smokes, press me close to the crack/Like my pops, the ghost of my past/Thyme and Mudd, Jay Dee and Stuckey/Lately I'm lucky, I don't hate me to touch me/Maybe I'm ugly inside, but smiling to make it/I love y'all dawg, and that's how ever you take it/The fame is an illusion, I'm still losing/In this game, with the rules and../I feel clueless, the streets with the hills blue less/Cops knocking at the door, got me looking real foolish/But I still do this, like I love it, even though I thug it/Keep flossing lights in public, the subject y'all don't know/Stars won't grow, who would dream that scars would show?/Minus the MTV videos with slim/"Up in Smoke" D-12, and many shows with Em/It's still me dawg, no change for change/It's strange, when it pours it rains/I take it back.."

-Proof, "Kurt Kobain"