Charles Hamilton's The Best of the Hamiltonization Process: A Review

It has been a while since its release, and his discography has grown considerably in the interim (he released his latest mixtape - Well That Isn't Akward - read review, on the same day as five other mixtapes), but the DJ Skee-compiled The Best of the Hamiltonization Process, a compilation of tracks from his 2008 mixtapes, is a good place to start for those unfamiliar with the young Harlem rapper. It not only features some of his best work from 2008, but also some of his best, and most accessible, records produced to date.

Hamilton has had a tendency to craft cohesive bodies of records that work well together, but not necessarily so well as singles. Many of the records on The Best of the Hamiltonization Process, however, do make for strong singles. The standout, and perhaps the single song he is most well-known for is Brooklyn Girls, an ode to the women of that borough. But there are a number of other strong, if less well-known records here. Loser, another record for which a music video was shot, is another well-crafted, if idiosyncratic, record that, like most Charles Hamilton songs, addresses the young rapper's insecurities. Indeed, what sets this collection apart seems to be the accessibility of these records, records like Happy Ending, Lacey Duvalle, which serves as a rather straightforward ode to the porn star, Bermuda Triangle, a posse cut with some skilled underground rappers, Shining, Theories of Wine, or Jeezy Hamilton, which utilizes a sample from Kanye West's Put On, display the youngster's potent knack for punch-lines. The records also highlight the diversity of samples Hamilton, who also generally produces much of his own work, employs, ranging from Philadelphia soul group The Stylistics on Loser; to British rock group The Police on Verbal Vicodin; to Sonic the Hedgehog composer Masato Nakamora on November 10; to the audio file for the shutdown of Windows XP on Windows Media Player. And Hamilton's ability to rap over often complex and atypical beats is quite impressive, as is the level of creativity on display. Listening to this collection, it is no wonder he was on the list of XXL's Freshman Class of 2009.

The Best of The Hamiltonization Process, as a compilation of Hamilton's best work, is a bit overstuffed, and could use both a bit of trimming, and better track sequencing, but it is a gret jumping off point for the casual hip-hop fan.