by James Di Fiore

Created on: April 15, 2008

The pickings get slimmer and slimmer as the years go by, and hip hop's cyclical pattern of peaks and valleys remains a constant. In 2007, hip hop began that long climb out the valley and began to produce quality tracks once again. While the commercialization of hip hop remains, the ability to create creative tracks that still hit the mainstream is no easy feat. The following is a list of the best tracks from 2007, taking into consideration a strong lyrical base in combination with a phat beat.

HIP HOP POLICE - CHAMILLIONAIRE ft. SLICK RICK

Some people called Chamillionaire crazy for bringing Slick Rick out of semi-retirement to spit on this throwback single, but 'Hip Hop Police' proved to be an instant hit and an anthem for fans who longed for hip hop to be respected once again. To top it off, the two emcees, both from different generations, managed a call and response style reminiscent of EPMD, playing the role of both police and perpetrator. Hip hop has a plethora of tracks dedicated to the dwindling standards of what makes hip hop 'real', but sometimes artists hit the theme right on that sweet spot.

LISTEN! - TALIB KWELI

Talib Kweli is considered one of the few emcees that have the ability to create real hip hop and still sell records. 'Listen!' is pure hip hop - a lyrical journey through hip hop with a message of hope and fearlessness. The samples still have that feel of coming straight off of wax and the sheer cadence of Talib's flow is hard to match, and near impossible to copy. He's one of few emcees that gets universal respect for his unmatched skills on the mic, forcing even the haters of pure hip hop to simply shut up and Listen.

HE SAY SHE SAY - LUPE FIASCO

The concept of this track deserves its own reward category at the next Hip Hop Awards show. Lupe Fiasco writes each verse from the perspective of a man's estranged family - putting an onus on dead beat dads and asking him "Why?" The track is beyond powerful, emotionally laced and purveying a message of realness and hope for the future. With the first verse coming from the perspective of a wife who is left alone to raise a young boy, and the second verse from the son's perspective, the audience witnesses a reliving of both HURT and HOPE. This track should be played at every inner city youth program in the world, and the discussion about Lupe's message dissected.

THE GAME - COMMON

When you can put out a track where the first thirty seconds of the single is a spoken word piece and the album STILL goes platinum,

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