Four of my favorite 2010 hip hop albums so far.

We are almost halfway through July and we have seen a variety of surprises, letdowns and predictions come to fruition. I have begun to look back and ask myself which hip hop albums released this year have I enjoyed the most? Below I listed my top four. My list is based upon more than just album sales and radio play; I also factored in how well the album met expectations and the level of creativity.

4. Reflection Eternal- Revolutions Per Minute. Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek reunite as the premier rapper/producer duo a decade after their first album Train of Thought hit shelves. An unaware listener may hear the album in its entirety and have no clue that the project was completely produced by Hi-Tek. The beats are fairly diverse allowing Talib to flex his lyrical and storytelling muscles. It was refreshing to see a group of superior lyricist collaborate on one track. "Just Begun" features Kweli alongwside Jay Electronica, J.Cole and Mos Def doing what they do best over a horn driven Hi-Tek production but the album's absolute standout track is "Ballad of the Black Gold", a revelation about the poor conditions made by the oil market in Africa.

3. Little Brother- Letback. The final group album by Little Brother, rappers Rapper Big Pooh and Phonte, exhibits diverse rhymes from the everyday man's perspective. Songs like "What We Are" and "Table for Two" are solid "out with your lady friend" songs about both financial and emotional hardships men in relationships go through. Two of the songs from their previous album, Getback, were given a more adult makeover. "After the Party" and "Two Step Blues" are both remade with a two stepping adult audience in mind. The individuality of both artists shines more than ever before resulting in Leftback gives Little Brother fans a memento of what was and a small indicator of what is to come for both artists.

2. Big Boi- Sir Luscious Left Foot: Son of Chico Dusty. Daddy Fat Sax is back to release his long awaited solo album. Many argue that this is his second solo project, the first being Speakerboxx one half of the acclaimed Outkast double album Speakerboxx/The Love Below. To my Big Boi fans who have yet to hear the album I would advise to come in with an open mind because “Left Foot” is unlike anything Big Boi has done before. This should come as a surprise to no one because it is his Outkast pedigree to do something original and new. On this album the beats he has chosen are uncontainable, the intro is a synthed-out slow instrumental but the next track “Daddy Fat Sax” is an upbeat drum-laden hip hop cut with scratches and furious rhymes to back up the beat. I am in love with two of the albums tracks, General Patton and Shutterbugg (the album’s first single). General Patton fuses heavy bass drums with operatic voice samples to form an excellent beat for Big Boi to stand and declare his stature as general. The only reason this album is number two is its age. This album just came out last week so I do not know if some other tracks will grow on me, if one of the songs becomes a huge radio hit and shifts the tectonic plates of the music scene. The number one album on my list has done just that setting these two apart but only time will tell whether this album will become a commercial success or a diamond in the rough.

1. B.o.B- Adventures of Bobby Ray- Just about every hip hop album out right now has "nothin on" B.o.B's debut album Adventures of Bobby Ray, executive produced by B.o.B himself and producer Jim Jonsin. B.o.B seems to be on an extraterrestrial plain right now. His music is like no one else's and even said himself, "Im ions and ions beyond these peons another human like me there will never be one”.

Mr. Ray takes fans on a journey through the skies, right in the center of his love life and gives them a front row seat to the vivid picture he paints about his hopes and dreams. "Airplanes" featuring Hayley Williams is one of two huge hits promoting the album. The subtle yet optimistic song verbalizes how B.o.B feels about the aspirations he once had to become a famous rapper and what he sees now that he has arrived. The most blaring quality about this record is the unsuppressed creativity. There are clubby pop records (Magic), southern jams (Bet I) and even pop ballads (Ghost in the Machine and Lovelier Than You) all on one artist's compilation. B.o.B showed the world that he is full of talent and ambition with his first album. Despite the radio success his singles have found, this album has yet to snag a plaque of any kind neither platinum nor gold. Hopefully he will have a plaque to hang in his home very soon.

Honorable Mentions:

Eminem definitely did a great job with Recovery putting together another album after Relapse, a project even he seems dissatisfied with. Songs like "Not Afraid" and "Love the Way You Lie" are in the center of a lot of hype quickly putting Eminem on top of pop music. I have heard most of the tracks on Recovery and have a couple I really like. However I was not blown away by what I heard in certain spots. Ultimately I felt that the work Eminem put out was of high quality but did not feel original so it was slighted off of my list.

Drake's Thank Me Later was another good album that the whole world was anticipating. I on the other hand had already heard the whole album before it hit shelves and realized that many of the songs leaking onto the internet were tracks on the album. There are several rap gems on this album like "Over", "Light Up" and "Fireworks". If this were my top five Drake would have that spot but there isn't and there are some albums less celebrated than Thank Me Later that have really captivated me this year.