One year into the new administration, J-Live predicted, “By the time Bush is done, you won’t know what time it is.” Well, J-Live, it’s 2009, Bush is done in more ways than one, and his successor isn’t probably quite as you would’ve imagined him back in 2002. Nevertheless, you certainly were right to project that the world would look different once these people were allowed to force their ideas upon it. But going back to Satisfied? I also suspect that you’re a little bit sceptical about Obamania. Just like we can’t blame Bush for everything bad that happened in the last eight years, Obama isn’t going to make everything right, especially with the current economic outlook.

Rap music as usual had a lot of things to say in 2008, it even managed to stretch its vocal cords with a little helper called Auto-Tune, but it wasn’t quite the strong voice it could be (and once was). Rap may have again become a force less to be reckoned with, but that didn’t prevent it from being highly relevant to individuals in very different ways. While the album’s fate is uncertain and the ringtone business isn’t exactly what it was cranked up to be, the song remains the format that is able to grab us instantly and at the same time allows us to develop a long-term relationship with it. RapReviews readers may remember this is the place where yours truly has the staff compile exceptional indie songs that they encountered over the year while covering material for the site. It is where we collectively remember how vital hip-hop still is. With this I give you…

The 2008 Virtual RapReviews.com Year End Compilation

“Looongawaited” – Invincible – from “Shapeshifters”
“Squeeze” – Dumhi & Haj f. Reef the Lost Cauze – from “Yoga at Home Volume 1”
“Street Cred Need Me” – Z-Man – from “Machete Vox Presents Sneak Preview”
“Sniper Challengers” – 9th Prince f. Islord – from “Prince of New York”
“Like This” – D-Sisive – from “Like This (Plus Three)”
“Jerk Chicken” – Kenny Segal f. Dr. Ooop – from “Ken Can Cook”
“The Club” – Moochy C f. Slug – from “I Know What I’m Worth”
“Ragtime Gal” – Animal Farm – from “The Unknown”
“Lobby Room” – Kalri$$ian – from “Bomb Hip-Hop Compilation, Vol. 2”
“Card in Sleeves” – Gripp – from “As Knowledge Kills Beauty”
“Hip Hop Classic” – Grip Grand – from “Brokelore”
“30 More Years” – Timid – from “No Time for the Jibba Jabba”