Sigh! The 10 Most Disappointing Rappers of 2011
10.
The Rapper: Dr. Dre
The Disappointment: Not doing anything to change where he stood last year this time when he was also No. 10 on our "Most Disappointing" list. Like, it's one thing to not release Detox—trust us: we weren't surprised!—but it's a whole other thing to come out in November and say that you're taking a break from music. A break? From doing what? Not releasing Detox? C'mon, man. Just say you're not gonna release it and we'll go about living our lives, okay?
How 2012 Can Be Better: Either release Detox—or tell the world once and for all that it's never coming out. Anything short of doing one of those two things will land you right back on this list next year.
9.
The Rapper: Canibus
The Disappointment: After J. Cole tried to give 'Bis props in early December, LL Cool J's former foe came out and released a diss record about him. Then, a few days later, he released a video with an apology aimed at Cole. Um, what the hell?
How 2012 Can Be Better: Disappear. Seriously. We used to rock with you, dude. But you've become the king of spontaneously dissing other rappers for no reason. And, frankly, it got old a long time ago. The good news, though, is that if you just disappear, we'll forget all about you. And then you'll never end up on one of these lists again. Sounds good, right?
8.
The Rapper: Soulja Boy
The Disappointment: DeAndre Way had fail after fail after fail after fail this year. He released a song called "Let's Be Real" in September—just in time for 9/11—that earned SB a ban by the U.S. military. He got arrested in October after police found five ounces of weed in a car in which he was traveling. He reportedly got evicted from his Atlanta mansion. And, who can forget all those reports stating that SB had purchased a private jet for himself for his 21st birthday? (not surprisingly, the report turned out to be false) This was not SB's best year.
How 2012 Can Be Better: Make your next album, Promise, better than The DeAndre Way. We hate to say it, SB, but you're not getting any younger and you're not going to get many more chances if your albums keep bricking. Bring the heat this time around. Or else...
7.
The Rapper: Lil' Kim
The Disappointment: In February, Kim continued her tired beef with Nicki Minaj by putting her mixtape, Black Friday, up for sale for 10 dollars through PayPal.
How 2012 Can Be Better: Refer to the Canibus write-up for details. Or, if you're too busy to do that, here's the gist of it: Quit, Kim. Your time is up. And you're only making yourself look foolish/silly/ridiculous/desparate/disappointing these days when you go at Nicki. It's her time to shine right now. And if you're not cool with that? Well, then it's time for you to go.
6.
The Rapper: Lupe Fiasco
The Disappointment: Lupe finally released Lasers! So, there's no way he deserves a spot on this list, right? WRONG. Lasers was—how do we put this?—"eh." So was his recent mixtape, Friend of the People. And Lupe spent most of 2011 making headlines for the wrong reasons. Like when he called President Obama and the United States of America the biggest terrorists in the world in June 2011. We saw this year going way differently for you, Lu. What happened?
How 2012 Can Be Better: Get back to making good music. And instead of blaming your record label, the rap blogs, and whoever else you blamed for Lasers, blame yourself for putting out a crappy product and do something about it. Step it up, son.
5.
The Rapper: Juelz Santana
The Disappointment: How come the only time we hear about 'Elz is when he gets arrested? We get on so many other rappers for taking long breaks between their albums. But, has anyone realized it's been more than six years since Juelz dropped an album? PUT OUT SOME NEW MUSIC, JUELZ!
How 2012 Can Be Better: Let us say it again: Put out some new music! How does this guy get away without putting out a new album or, hell, a new mixtape for six years? Is he trying to break Dr. Dre's Detox streak or something?
4.
The Rapper: Webbie
The Disappointment: The Baton Rogue rapper got banned from BET's 106 & Park—forever!—for making some inappropriate comments to Rocsi.
How 2012 Can Be Better: Apologize to that girl. We know Webbie is on some other ish these days. But you're not a little kid anymore, dude. Act your act, grow up, all that stuff, and say you're sorry to Rocsi. A 106 ban is not to be taken lightly these days. And your recent actions have turned some people off so much that Savage Life 3 completely got overlooked. If you're trying to sabotage your own career, you're doing a good job. But that's not what you really want to be remembered for, is it?
3.
The Rapper: Consequence
The Disappointment: In May 2011, Cons announced that he was dissolving his relationship with Kanye West and G.O.O.D. Music—and then proceeded to spend the next four months dissing 'Ye and other folks on the G.O.O.D. roster. He reportedly patched things with Kanye in September. But, uh, we're guessing that it was too little, too late for his career.
How 2012 Can Be Better: We're a little confused on this one. Cons has continued to release new product. But it seems like no one cares. Keep trying, we guess? Or, get Kanye to work with you again? We dunno, dude. This is why burning bridges is never a good idea. Especially when your new situation isn't anywhere as "good" as your old one.
2.
The Rapper: Lil Boosie
The Disappointment: Already in prison on murder charges, Boosie got sentenced to eight years in state prison in November after pleading guilty to drug charges and admitting that he snuck codeine into jail during his bid.
How 2012 Can Be Better: Let us make this perfectly clear: Your 2012 is gonna suck. Jail sucks. Courtrooms suck. And everything about your situation sucks. But, please: Stop doing drugs! That's the first step towards somewhat repairing your life and getting yourself in order. We're sorry that's all you've got to look forward to. But, hey, at least it's something, right?
1.
The Rapper: Gucci Mane
The Disappointment: When Gucci Mane wasn't in jail this year (anyone manage to keep a count of how many times he went in and out this year?) he was recording below-avaerage projects like Ferrari Boyz with Waka Flocka Flame and the crinegworthy BAYTL with V-Nasty.
How 2012 Can Be Better: We'd say, "Stay out of jail," but at this point, is that really feasible? Seriously, Gooch. We fear that you're all out of chances. That heat you had on you a couple of years ago? Gone. All that potential? Wasted. And the excitement around your projects? Er, BAYTL is sitting in trash cans around the country right now. Sorry, dude, but you blew your chance to be rap's next big thing. It's so disappointing.
