Every year these lists get picked apart and analyzed but this year was especially easy to scrutinize when it came to hip hop. I would have guessed that with the site's music-crush on Clipse, at least one track from Til The Casket Drops would have snuck on the list. What about Mos Def? They gave his album a great review but you're trying to tell me that he didn't have one list-worthy track on there? No Wale? No DOOM? No CUDI? At the very least, I would have put one or two more songs from Raekwon's album on there but maybe that would be too much for them to take from one of their top ten albums of 2009.
In addition to the lack of selections, the six cuts that actually made the list raise a question or two as well. I like Cam'ron as much as the next guy and I actually really enjoy "I Hate My Job" but I find it hard to believe that it's the 5th best rap song of the year. I would argue that "Wasted" is a better song. And without naming anything in specific, with the vast number of albums, singles, mix tapes and remixes out there, I'm sure I could come up with at least ten tracks that are better.
I admit that rap had somewhat of a down year, mainstream and underground alike, so I'm not saying that Pitchfork should have searched out rap songs to fill the list. In general, the site's entire 2009 coverage seemed more indie rock and pop-leaning than in recent years. Maybe that can be chalked up to a refocusing of the site's content or maybe it's just a sign that hip hop/rap needs to step it up a bit. It's hard to say for sure, but as someone who enjoys listening to and reading about music, this is something worth keeping an eye on.
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