39. Breakestra- Hit The Floor

Hip hop most of the time for me goes limp on the musical aspects, as sampling and slow paced electronic backing are the only ingredients and on that small basis often fail to impress me. Breakestra have been able to combine the fury of hip hop with a ten piece live-band approach to sampling and backing, incorporating a whole bag of influences- funk, soul, jazzy breaks and R&B. It sounds like Jurassic Five being backed by a freestyle James Brown-band or the James Taylor Quartet. Some of the raps could be sharper but a funkier record than this one I haven't found this year.