Soul Khan-Aknowledgement

I think when all is said and done, 2011 will go down as the year of the white rapper. Grieves, Slug, Mad Child and Mac Lethal all dropped their best projects this year; Esoteric, D-Sisive, Copywrite, Beastie Boys and Kno all offered up solid joints as well. Throw in Sadistik's two expected projects and R.A.'s double album, and Caucasians seem to be doing superb this year. However, the white rapper of the year may not be any of the MCs listed above; Soul Khan would be my pick in that category. As an MC in hip hop's most exciting collective (Brown Bag All-Stars), Khan already has one of the best mixtapes on the year to his name; on Acknowledgement he drops not only the best EP on the year, but possibly of all time.
Production-wise, this album is pretty much flawless. Even though this is DJ Element's debut, it's pretty hard to tell from the masterful ways he mixes horns, sped-up jazz samples, and hard drum kicks to create an upbeat sound not unlike Kanye on Be or 'Get By'. However, the most important thing he accomplishes is being interesting without taking attention away from Soul Khan's lyrics, which deserve every neuron of brain activity to appreciate.
Khan's lyrical preference here is not to go for originality, but rather to preach the same messages 'conscious' hip hop has been spreading for years, only more interestingly. Just as Talib Kweli's appeal comes not from his individuality of message, but rather from his lyrical prowess and innovative ways of stringing words together, so too does Khan prefer to showcase a dope rhyme scheme and creative lyricism than go for unorthodoxy.
And when it comes down to rhyme schemes, almost no one can touch Brown Bag's best:

I've been in that tunnel where the lights stop

Stomach in a tight knot

Wondering if got a second chance

I bit the bullet like i'm Taimak

So when they put me in a pine box

They can say i was a better man

 Usually when a battle MC as good as Soul Khan puts out a record, it's the same sort of punchline-heavy stuff that got him recognition in the first place (NoCanDo, I'm looking right at you). Here, however, Khan goes the route of Esoteric and reinvents himself as a storyteller rather than a battler. Which is totally great.
Really, the only flaw here is length (comes in at under 16 minutes). However, I'll take 6 amazing tracks over 15 good ones any day, so this album is still a classic, and would still make my Top 5 on the year right now.
Rating: 10/10
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By Crakpot
http://crakpothiphop.blogspot.com/