arts koala image: BEST of 2010 by WALLACE

Hey folks what’s good? Hopefully you had a great Christmas/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah and now it’s that time to look back at the best of the past year and what to look forward to in 2011 so let’s get started.

First is of course the kicks and in a year of several Jordan and Nike releases here’s my top five.

5. AJ 11 Retro Anniversary

4. Air Max 24/7 a cool fusion of the Air Max 95 and 97 with the 360 sole

3. The Cool Grey Jordan 11 a little something that cause a riot in Texas

2. The Laker Jordan 6, hey I am a Laker fan and it’s 3M

#1 the Doernbecher Jordan 3s. This was a very limited but magnificent shoe. A 3M, laser printed, version of the Jordan 3 (which is one of my favorite Jordans along with the 4s and 11s) and did I mention the clear icy sole? Well worth the camp out at Nike Town which was the only place to get them.

Honorable mention goes to the return of the Nike Air Go LWP (it’s about time)

Now what to look forward in 2011. Jordan starts off the year right with the return of the White/Cement Jordan 3s and will continue through the year with more Bin 23 Jordans like the Bin 23 Jordan 5s and promises to end with more rioting with the return of the Concord Jordan 11 at the end of the year.

Release date 01/22/11

Holiday 2011

Now as far as the music side of things is concerned here’s my top 5 of 2010.

5. Method Man/Reakwon/Ghostface Killah’s Wu-Massacre.

4. Nas/Damien Marley’s Distant Relatives.

3. DJ Premier’s Get Used To Us.

2. Eminem’s Recovery

1. Best album of the year (as well as the best free music from the net) Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. This album not only put Ye back in the good graces of Hip Hop heads everywhere ( after losing us with 808s And Heartbreak) but he pushed the envelope with the long musical interludes and production by not just himself but also Rza and others. Pretty incredible, not only that but Kanye blessed us with about 13 or 14 free songs that you could download of the net and most of them was straight heat.

Honorable mention goes to Celph Titled & Buckwild’s Nineteen Ninety Now

Joell Ortiz’s Free Agent

David Banner & 9^th Wonder’s Death Of A Pop Star

The Roots’ How I Got Over

Now what to look forward to, the obvious one has to be Dr. Dre’s long overdue Detox which he promised to come out in February (I’ll believe it when I see it)

but I’m also checking for Lupe Fiasco’s (also overdue) Lasers

Kendrick Lamar’s new project with Dr. Dre on production

As well as Kendrick’s project with his crew Black Hippy (Kendrick, Ab Soul, Jay Rock, and Schoolboy Q)

Slaughterhouse project with Eminem

As for my other interests, comic books, DC actually put it down with Blackest Night.

Best comic of the year, Justice League: Cry For Justice.

On the Marvel side Siege was kind of a disappointment but the work they did with X-Men was pretty good (plus I love the fact that they are bringing mutants back).