OC & AG represented DITC to the fullest on their debut joint album "Oasis."  Over production courtesy of Statik Selektah, E Blaze, Showbiz and Lord Finesse, the duo gave younger cats a run for their money.

MC Ren went the independent route, releasing his latest album, "Renincarnation" on his own Villain Entertainment label.  The pioneering west coast emcee spit the hardcore as only he can over g-funk laced beats.

Souls Of Mischief made a return to the scene with none other than Prince Paul in their corner.  The resulting album, "Montezuma's Revenge", put wack emcee's in their place with the greatest of ease.

Guru continued his solo reign with producer Solar at his side.  The album "8.0 Lost & Found" found Guru once again bringing forth true lyricism, continuing to shine after so many years in the game.

Del The Funky Homosapien and Tame One teamed up on "Parallel Uni-Verses," produced entirely by Parallel Thought.  Between the two of them, Del and Tame One pushed creative boundaries in the name of hip hop.

R.A. The Rugged Man only officially released his debut album in 2004 but he's been rocking mics since the early 90's.  "Legendary Classics Volume 1" compiles some of his early work and hard to find tracks, including material with The Notorious B.I.G., Sadat X, Akinyele and Havoc of Mobb Deep.

Grandmaster Flash released "The Bridge", his first official album since 1988.  Guest spots on the project included Big Daddy Kane, Q-Tip, KRS-One and Busta Rhymes.  A true legend on the wheels of steel, showing us all how it can and should be done.

Camp Lo teamed up with original "Uptown Saturday Night" producer Ski for their latest, "Another Heist."  While the album got off to a slow start, the magic came back for the majority of the tracks as Sonny Cheeba and Geechi Suede did their thing.

DJ Quik and Kurupt represented on the heavy funk laced "Blaqkout."  These two left coast generals put it down and put in work for the westside.

Grand Puba stepped back into the spotlight as a solo artist on "Retroactive."  The thirteen track album from the Brand Nubian emcee found him collaborating with Lord Jamar, Large Professor and Q-Tip.

B-Real hooked up with Duck Down Records in 09 for his debut solo album "Smoke n Mirrors."  While production from DJ Muggs was sorely missed, B-Real actually surprised on many tracks with thought-provoking subject matter.

Paris presents "Hard Truth Soldiers Volume 2" was a compilation of tracks from the Guerrilla Funk roster of artists.  The project featured new material from Paris, Uno The Prophet, T-KASH, Truth Universal, NYOil and The Conscious Daughters.

Method Man & Redman teamed up again for "Blackout 2", the sequel to their 1999 debut album.  Meth and Red traded verses with a blunted hunger as only they can, locking it down once again.

Kurious has been missed and he brought it back full circle after all these years with "II".  A fantastic return to lyrical form, Kurious put it down with some nice guest spots from MC Serch and MF Doom.

Raekwon put out "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt II" and the album was a triumph.  While the subject matter was nothing new, Rae crafted his street tales over production from a who's who of hip hop royalty including the late, great J Dilla, Pete Rock, Marley Marl, The RZA, Dr.Dre and Erick Sermon.

- Flatline for HIPHOPGODS.com