List of the Day: 7 Hip-Hop Acts to Watch in 2011

2010 saw the release of some of the most interesting and boundary-pushing hip-hop that has been seen in years. Curren$y and Ski Beatz released two cohesive and virtuosic Pilot Talk records, OFWGKTA tried to offend everyone (they succeeded in alienating me), Big Boi finally got around to compiling his southern rap opus, and Kanye West was more entertaining, more interesting and and just better, than everyone. A month and a half into 2011, there are a number of things to get excited about all over again.

7 Hip-Hop Acts to Watch in 2011

7. Mos Def
In 2009's when The Ecstatic was released, expectations were not very high for the Brooklyn MC's fourth solo album. After the overrated Black on Both Sides, which was followed up by two more mediocre records, any excitement lingering from the outstanding Black Star record with Talib Kweli had been almost entirely smothered. But creatively global production and previously absent level of excitement from the rapper let to a return to popularity and relevance. Now that he has allied himself with Kanye West, it will be exciting to see what he does in the coming year. It is also interesting to note that Mos Def has been seen supporting the young Odd Future collective on multiple occasions.

6. Pusha T
In his two verses on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, and in his five other GOOD Friday appearances, the younger half of Clipse asserted himself as Kanye's second in-command. While no album release dates are set, it seems doubtful that Pusha T will stay silent for all of 2011.

5. Wiz Khalifa
With the unsurprisingly named Rolling Papers due out on March 29, it will be interesting to see if Wiz can keep up with the sudden popularity Black and Yellow has brought him.

4. Pulled Over By The Cops
This group announced their presence less than 24 hours ago, but their potential to make noise this year is immense. The group consists of The Cool Kids, Freddie Gibbs, and Chip Tha Ripper, with occasional appearances by Bun B. Production on their first project will reportedly be handled by The Blended Babies.
This group was first seen on "Oil Money" off of Freddie Gibbs' Str8 Killa record. This collective seems to work well together despite making very little sense on paper. The lineup sounds like a hip-hop head's unrealistic "what-if?" daydream but does make some amount of geographic sense. With the exception of southern vet Bun B, everyone involved with the project hails from the Midwest (different parts of the Midwest, but still the Midwest). Gibbs and Chip are both solid rappers but their records have suffered from a lack of variability. Gibbs' flows and cadences are remarkable, but impressive technical skill alone can still produce a boring album. Similarly, Chip has a reliably clever and weirdly melodic flow that wears on the listener after a few tracks. In a group setting, these styles can potentially work with one another to result in a cohesive and well formed project.

3. Jay Electronica
This hip-hop journeyman's lack of a proper release (or perhaps because of it), has caused the formation of a Jay Electronica mythology. Maybe his recent signing to Jay-Z's Roc Nation label will finally inspire him release a more complete representation of his immense talents.

2. Curren$y
Along with Khalifa, Mac Miller, Yelawolf and host of other young rappers, Curren$y first made his talents known by way of a number of free mixtapes. Unlike these other rappers, Curren$y is almost 30. A relative veteran among his peers, the New Orleans native has already released a mixtape in 2011 and has three more projects in the works. On March 15, Muscle Car Chronicles will feature the rapper on nine tracks of live instrumentation, and an Alchemist-produced EP is rumored for a late April release. As if that wasn't enough, Pilot Talk 3, the follow up to Curren$y's two amazing 2010 records is also in the works.

1. Kanye West
West dominated 2010, it was almost impossible to go on the internet or go to the record store without learning some new fact or rumor about the artist. He became the biggest thing in hip-hop while transcending the genre. On March 1 his collaborative effort with Jay-Z, Watch the Throne will come out, and he has unbelievably tweeted that a solo follow up to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy could come in the summer of 2011. However, West's twitter feed has also boasted of the addition of the kazoo and bassoon to his production repertoire. The addition of these instruments is most likely just an entertaining fact, but there is a slim chance that they might be an early sign that West's unbelievable arrogance is negatively impacting his art for the first time.