2009 in hip-hop

This article summarizes the events, album releases, and album release dates in hip-hop for the year 2009.

Events

January

• Eminem, 50 Cent and Dr. Dre's new song "Crack a Bottle" has leaked on the internet. The song will be featured on Eminem's Relapse as a track not a single. It later reached number one.
• Jermaine Dupri has split from Def Jam.
• Bun B stated there would be one last album by UGK titled 4 Life. Bun B stated that the album would have 12 tracks and no guest appearances.
• Lupe Fiasco, last year stated he would be retiring and ending his career with a 3 disc album entitled LupE.N.D but now he said he is not going to retire instead, he's planning to release three albums over the next year and a half. ^[1]

February

• Soulja Boy and Bow Wow start a small feud. They both release diss tracks, but later end it.
• 50 Cent and Rick Ross began trading insults on various diss tracks. ^[2]
• For the first time in four years, The Game says he sides with 50 Cent in a beef; continuing to state that Rick Ross needs to ring him so he can help Ross out of the career ending mess he has become involved in with 50 Cent.
• Lil Wayne won four Grammy Awards at the 2009 Grammy Awards, followed by Kanye West winning two awards and Jay-Z and T.I. winning one each.
• Deonta Cummings is filing a suit against Jim Jones and E1 Records alleging that his artist, Ivory Keys, was not given proper compensation or credit for his contribution to the album Jim Jones & Skull Gang Present A Tribute To Bad Santa Starring Mike Epps . ^[3]
• Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III sold 3 million copies.
• Lil Wayne sued for $1.3 Million caused by canceling New York shows.
• Flo Rida breaks a digital sales record, by selling over 630,000 digital units of his single "Right Round" in one week.
• Eminem sues Universal Music over digital royalties.
• Upcoming rap artist Drake comes out with mixtape named So Far Gone spawning the six hit singles Best I Ever Had, Say Something, Brand New, Houstatlantavegas, Forever, and Uptown.

March

• Snoop Dogg joins the Nation of Islam. ^[4]
• Eminem plans to release two albums in this year.
• 50 Cent also plans to release two albums this year and joins Fall Out Boy in their tour.
• Rapper B.o.B changes his stage name to Bobby Ray. ^[5]
• R.O.O.T.S. the second album from Flo Rida leaks onto the internet on March 24.
• T.I. is sentenced to go to jail for 1 year and a day for gun possessions. He will go to federal prison sometime after May 19 for trying to purchase machine guns, ammunition, and silencers in October 2007. ^[6]
• New Jack City II the last album from Bow Wow leaks onto the internet.
• Cam'ron says there will not be a Dipset reunion. ^[7]

April

• Jadakiss releases his third studio album, The Last Kiss .
• Cash Money Records are suing mixtape DJs including DJ Drama ^[8]
• Bone Thugs-n-Harmony member Flesh-n-Bone got picked up on gun possession charges in Santa Clarita, California according to TMZ.
• Ludacris signed rapper Lil Scrappy to his Disturbing tha Peace imprint.
• Jim Jones was arrested in New Jersey, on an outstanding warrant, all while giving followers on his Twitter page updates during the incident. ^[9]
• Eminem releases his first official single in 2 years, "We Made You" off his highly anticipated album Relapse .
• Cam'ron says he and Jim Jones are done on Hot 97. ^[10]
• Bow Wow announces that he is dismissing himself from the rap game, because he feels there is no more to be done on the music side. ^[11]
• Asher Roth's Asleep in the Bread Aisle & Rick Ross' Deeper Than Rap leaked onto the internet before their official release. ^[12]

May

• The Smoking Gun a website that posts legal documents, arrest records, and police mugshots on a daily basis, exposes Cedric "Alfamega" Zellars, as his last job being a DEA informant. ^[13]
• T.I. drops Alfamega from Grand Hustle Records. ^{[14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]}
• DMX is released from prison in Arizona.
• Jermaine Dupri, Nelly, Usher, Bryan-Michael Cox, Johntá Austin, Trey Songz & Tyrone Davis form a Hip-Hop/R&B Supergroup, known as Ocean's 7.
• Method Man and Joe Budden start beefing. ^[20]
• Rapper/producer Swizz Beatz admitted to having a relationship with Alicia Keys. ^[21]
• Atlanta-based rapper Dolla was shot dead at the Beverly Center on May 18. ^[22]
• Jay-Z officially leaves Def Jam Records. ^[23]
• T.I. checked into a federal prison in Forrest City, Arkansas on Tuesday (May 26). The rapper is serving a 366-day federal prison sentence for attempting to buy illegal machine guns and silencers from undercover agents in October 2007. ^[24]
• Eminem becomes the highest selling artist of 2009 so far with the release of Relapse . ^[25]
• Rapper Tega, known for being a member of Nelly's St. Lunatics crew, died May 27 from injuries he sustained after being shot on May 16. ^{[26] [27]}
• Rapper DJ Paul releases his first solo album in 7 years. Guests includes Lord Infamous

June

• Jay-Z announces he will release The Blueprint³ September 11, 2009. ^[28]
• 50 Cent releases a mixtape called War Angel LP and says "it's the best body of work I put out in the mixtape circuit". ^[29]
• Plies throws $50,000 into the concert crowd at the 107.9 FM Birthday Bash at Philips Arena to promote his single "Plenty Money". ^[30]
• Legendary graffiti artist Iz the Wiz dies. ^[31]
• Michael Jackson dies at the age of 50.
• Daz Dillinger disses Jermaine Dupri, Suge Knight and Alan Grumblatt. ^[32]
• The Game ends beef with 50 Cent on Michael Jackson tribute song Better on the Other Side . ^[33]

July

• The Game apologizes to 50 Cent and Interscope. ^[34]
• Alfamega announces he is still signed to Grand Hustle. His manager Reek Walker says "We never received any documentation. Technically, Alfa is still a member of Grand Hustle. T.I. can denounce him all he wants, but as long as that contract is in [place], he's still there." ^{[35] [36]}
• BET has expressed remorse over a performance by Lil Wayne, Drake and Young Money Entertainment that involved underage girls during songs "Best I Ever Had" and "Every Girl". ^[37]
• The death of Michael Jackson inspires Mase's return to music. ^[38]
• Jay-Z becomes hip hop's biggest earner topping the 2009 Forbes Hip-Hop Cash Kings List. ^[39]
• Red City Entertainment sues Lil Wayne for not appearing at a concert in the Bahamas, which they paid $432,000 up front for him to appear. ^[40]
• The Game leaks out a diss track aiming at Jay-Z.
• Soulja Boy Tell Em attempts to end beef with New Boyz
• Rakim makes an official comeback and releases his first single, "Holy Are You", off his upcoming third solo studio album The Seventh Seal ; ten years after his 1999 album The Master .
• Monkey: Journey to the West english rapper, it's an animated movie similar to gorillaz singer and songwriter.
• Fabolous's fifth studio album Loso's Way leaks onto the internet a week before its official release.
• Jermaine Dupri and Janet Jackson split up after a seven-year relationship
• Pitbull launches a new website blog at planetpit.com.
• Eminem leaks a diss track aimed at Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon in response to Mariah Carey's "Obsessed".
• Fat Joe announces on Twitter that his album Jealous Ones Still Envy 2 (J.O.S.E. 2) will be released on October 6, 2009. He comes out with a second single for the album, Aloha.
• The final Big Pun recordings are announced to be released in September, with the DVD release of Big Pun: The Legacy. ^[41]
• Young Jeezy disses DJ Drama in XXL Magazine; Drama responds on Twitter. ^[42]
• Cam'ron announces that he will expand his record label under the new company U.N., and will launch Dipset West. ^[43]
• The company who created the Auto-Tune, Antares Audio Technologies, said that since the release of Jay-Z's single D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune), the Auto-tune sales have increased. ^[44]
• Baatin of Slum Village dies, July 31, 2009.

August

• Hell Rell blames Jim Jones for Dipset falling apart. ^[45]
• The Game and others are sued by Robert Kirkwood, for fighting at a family funeral.
• Chamillionaire releases the final mixtape in the Mixtape Messiah Series, Mixtape Messiah 7. ^[46]
• Joe Budden attacked by Raekwon and his crew.
• C-Murder sentenced to life in prison for murder.
• Bow Wow signs with Cash Money Records. ^[47]
• Pitbull received the key to his home-city of Miami. ^[48]
• Adam Goldstein a club disc jockey better known as DJ AM died of an accidental drug overdose August 28.

September

• Harlem-based rapper Max B was sentenced to 75 years in prison September 3 for his role in a botched robbery that led to a double murder in a Fort Lee, New Jersey hotel. ^[49]
• On September 8, 50 Cent & Robert Greene released their book "The 50th Law".
• On September 13, 2009, while Taylor Swift presented her speech in winning Best Female Video at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Kanye West interrupted her speech and stated that Beyoncé had a better video. His outburst received negative reaction from the audience and he was removed from the award show. He later apologized.
• Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performed "Empire State of Mind" at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. Towards the end of performing, Lil Mama jumped onstage.
• Rapper/producer Kia Shine stated he co-wrote "Best I Ever Had" with Drake and has of 25% ownership of the song, at the BMI awards; ^[50] but Drake later denied this on his blog. ^[51]
• DJ, turntablist & producer, Roc Raida died on September 19. ^[52]
• Rapper Lil Boosie was sentenced to two years in prison for gun and marijuana possession. He could serve as little as one year depending on his behavior in prison.
• Charles Hamilton was released from Interscope Records on September 19. ^[53]
• New York-based rapper N.O.R.E. releases a video blog saying he doesn't support S.O.R.E. , an album that hit stores on September 15 that was supposedly released by him. ^[54]
• Chamillionaire announces his third studio album, Venom , to be released on February 2, 2010 ^[55]

October

• DJ, Mr. Magic dies of a heart attack. ^[56]
• Wu-Tang Clan's Method Man, was arrested October 5 for tax evasion. ^[57]
• Jim Jones pleaded guilty on October 5 in a New York courtroom to a misdemeanor assault charge – a result of an altercation involving a member of singer Ne-Yo's entourage last December. ^[58]
• Chamillionaire released the first single, "Good Morning", from his upcoming album on iTunes ^[59]
• Lil Wayne pleads guilty to gun charges from his 2007 arrest and could face up 8 months to 1 year in prison.
• Rapper Jamal "Shyne" Barrow was released from prison after serving almost nine years for his role in a violent nightclub shooting in 1999 involving Bad Boy mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs and his ex-girlfriend, Jennifer Lopez. He was deported to Belize the next day. ^[60]

November

• Gucci Mane is sentenced to 12 months in jail for violating probation. ^[61]
• Lil Boosie has his sentence doubled to 4 years for marijuana and gun charges.
• Beanie Sigel as well as 50 Cent, has ignited a beef with Jay-Z.

December

• Young Jeezy has squashed his beef with DJ Drama as well as Gucci Mane. ^[62]
• Jim Jones leaves Columbia Records and stays at E1. ^[63]
• Long-awaited Lil Wayne album, Rebirth leaks 2 months before release.
• Billboard names The Neptunes "Producers Of Decade". ^[64]
• Entertainment Weekly named Kid Cudi's Man on the Moon: The End of Day the best Hip-Hop Album of 2009. ^[65]
• T.I. was released three months early from prison and was admitted into a halfway house in his hometown of Atlanta. ^[66]
• Following the burglary in his St. Louis mansion, Nelly offers a cash reward for information leading to the arrest of the housebreaker. ^[67]
• Trina made an appearance at Minnesota Vikings tackle Bryant McKinnie's birthday party and while on stage took shots at rapper Khia. ^[68]

Albums

Release Date	Artist	Album	Notes
January 13	Various artists	Notorious	Debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 Jay-Z & Jadakiss have tracks on the album
January 27	OJ Da Juiceman	The Otha Side of the Trap	Failed to Debut on Billboard 200, but debuts at No. 9 on Billboard Rap Albums Singles: "Im Gettin' Money", "Make Tha Trap Say Aye"
	Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes	Eye Legacy	Failed to chart on Billboard 200, but peaked at No. 44 on Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Singles: "Crank It", "Let's Just Do It", "Block Party" This was Lisa Lopes' first posthumously released album, after her death in 2002.
	X Clan	Mainstream Outlawz
February 17	Zion I	The Takeover
February 24	B-Real	Smoke N Mirrors	Debuted at No. 143 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Fire"
	Grandmaster Flash	The Bridge - Concept Of A Culture	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Swagger"
	Havoc	Hidden Files	Singles: "Watch Me", "Heart of the Grind"
	Joe Budden	Padded Room	Debuted at No. 42 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "The Future", "In My Sleep"
	Project Pat	Real Recognize Real	Debuted at No. 70 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Keep It Hood"
February 27	O.S.T.R.	O.c.b.	Debuted at No. 2 on the OLiS
March 3	Romeo	Get Low	Debuted at No. 149 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Get Low wit it"
March 17	Gorilla Zoe	Don't Feed Da Animals	Debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Lost", "What It Is", "Echo"
	Capone-N-Noreaga	Channel 10	Debuted at No. 136 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Rotate", "Talk To Me Big Time" Their first album in nine years
	Twiztid	W.I.C.K.E.D. (Wish I Could Kill Every Day)
March 23	Noah23 & Madadam	Crab Nebula
March 24	MF DOOM	Born Like This
	Jim Jones	Pray IV Reign	Debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Pop Champagne", "Na Na Nana Na Na", "Blow the Bank" Major label debut
	Slim Thug	Boss of All Bosses	Debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "I Run"
	Hell Rell	Get In Line or Get Lined Up	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Shoot 'em Up"
March 31	Bow Wow	New Jack City II	Debuted at No. 16 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "You Can Get It All"
	Flo Rida	R.O.O.T.S.	Debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Right Round", "Shone", "Sugar" The album spawned his second #1 single; "Right Round"
	Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind	Decalogue
	UGK	UGK 4 Life	Debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Da Game Been Good to Me"
April 7	Classified	Self Explanatory	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200, but debuted at No. 25 on the Canadian Albums Chart [69] Singles: "Anybody Listening"
	Del the Funky Homosapien	Funk Man (The Stimulus Package)
	Jadakiss	The Last Kiss	Debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "By My Side", "Can't Stop Me", "Death Wish", "Who's Real" The last album title to contain the word "kiss".
	Mims	Guilt	Debuted at No. 53 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Move (If You Wanna)", "Love Rollercoaster"
April 14	k-os	Yes!	Singles: "4, 3, 2, 1"
April 20	Asher Roth	Asleep in the Bread Aisle	Debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "I Love College", "Lark on My Go-Kart", "Be by Myself"
April 21	Rick Ross	Deeper Than Rap	Debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Mafia Music", "Magnificent", All I Really Want", "Maybach Music 2"
	X-Raided	The Eternally Unforgiven Project	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200
April 28	Hell Rell	Hard as Hell	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200
	Mike Jones	The Voice	Debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Drop & Gimme 50", "Cuddy Buddy", "Next To You", "Swagg Thru The Roof"
	Tech N9ne	Sickology 101	Debuted at No. 19 on the Billboard 200 [70] Singles: "Red Nose", "Sickology 101", "Nothin'"
	Violent J	The Shining	Debuted at No. 48 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Jealousy"
May 5	Skull Gang	Skull Gang	Debuted at No. 142 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "I am the Club", "Aggy"
	DJ Paul	Scale-A-Ton	Debuted at No. 157 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Jus Like Dat", "You Don't Want It"
	Gucci Mane	Murder Was The Case	Debuted at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Stoopid"
May 12	Cam'ron	Crime Pays	Debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "My Job", "Get it in Ohio"
	Haystak	The Natural II	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200
	Paul Wall	Fast Life	Debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Bizzy Body"
May 19	Eminem	Relapse	Debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Crack a Bottle", "We Made You", "3 a.m.", "Old Time's Sake", "Beautiful" Certified Platinum
	Busta Rhymes	Back on My B.S.	Debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Arab Money", "Hustler's Anthem '09", "Respect My Conglomerate", "World Go Round"
	Method Man & Redman	Blackout! 2	Debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "A Yo", "Mrs. International"
	DJ Drama	Gangsta Grillz: The Album (Vol. 2)	Debuted at No. 26 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Day Dreaming", "Ridiculous"
	Sheek Louch	Life on D-Block [71]	Debuted at No. 122 on the Billboard 200 [72] Singles: "In the Rain"
	Freeway	Philadelphia Freeway 2 [73]	Debuted at No. 99 on the Billboard 200 [74] Singles: "Finally Free"
	Guru	Guru 8.0: Lost and Found	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Divine Rule", "Fastlane", "Ride", "After Time & "No Gimmick Sh*t"
May 26	Lil' Flip & Gudda Gudda	Certified	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200
June 2	J Dilla	Jay Stay Paid [75]	Debuted at No. 96 on the Billboard 200 [76] Singles: "Reality Check"
	AZ	Legendary [77]	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200, but debuted at No. 54 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums [78] and at No. 24 on the Top Rap Albums [79] Singles: "Get Money"
June 9	Pastor Troy	Ready For War	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200, but debuted at No. 52 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums [80] and at No. 25 on the Top Rap Albums [80] Singles: "PT"
	D-Block	No Security [75]	Debuted at No. 40 on the Billboard 200 [81] Singles: "Get That Paper"
	Mos Def	The Ecstatic [75]	Debuts at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 [82] Singles: "Life in Marvelous Times", "Quiet Dog Bite Hard", "Casa Bey"
	Kurupt & DJ Quik	BlaQKout [75]	Debuted at No. 61 on the Billboard 200 [83] Singles: "BlaQKout"
	Busdriver	Jhelli Beam [75]	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Me – Time"
June 12	Hilltop Hoods	State of the Art	Debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums Singles: "Chase That Feeling", "Still Standing", "The Light You Burned"
June 16	Hussein Fatal	Born Legendary [75]	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Wut You Talkin Bout"
	Juicy J	Hustle Till I Die [75]	Debuted at No. 106 on the Billboard 200
	L.E.G.A.C.Y.	Suicide Music [75]	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200
	Street Sweeper Social Club	Street Sweeper Social Club [75]	Debuted at No. 37 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "100 Little Curses"
June 23	Fast Life Yungstaz	Jamboree	Debuted at No. 109 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Swag Surfin'"
	Dead Prez & DJ Green Lantern	Pulse Of The People	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200, but debuted at No. 81 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums [84]
	Playaz Circle	Flight 360: The Takeoff	Debuted at No. 74 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Stupid", "Hold Up", "Can't Remember"
	Willy Northpole	Tha Connect	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200, but debuted at No. 47 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums [84] and at No. 21 on the Top Rap Albums [85] Singles: "Body Marked Up", "Hood Dreamer", "#1 Side Chick"
	Soul Assassins	Intermission	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Classical", "Gangsta Shit"
	U-God	Dopium	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200, but debuted at No. 93 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums [84] Singles: "Train Trussle"
	Grand Puba	Retroactive	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200, but debuted at No. 97 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums [84]
	Sa-Ra Creative Partners	Nuclear Evolution: The Age of Love	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200
June 30	Maino	If Tomorrow Comes...	Debuted at No. 25 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Hi Hater", "All the Above", "Hood Love", "Million Bucks"
	Ace Hood	Ruthless	Debuted at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Overtime", "Loco Wit the Cake", "Champion"
	Blaq Poet	Tha Blaqprint
July 7	The Alchemist	Chemical Warfare	Singles: "Lose Your Life", "Smile"
July 14	Krizz Kaliko	Genius	Debuted at No. 85 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Misunderstood"
	La Coka Nostra	A Brand You Can Trust	Debuted at No. 84 on the Billboard 200
	Twista	Category F5	Debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Wetter", "Birthday"
	Yukmouth	The West Coast Don	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200
	Hell Rell	Hell Up In the Bronx	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200
	Chico DeBarge	Chico DeBarge
July 21	Eyedea & Abilities	By the Throat
July 28	Fabolous	Loso's Way	Debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Throw It in the Bag", "My Time", "Everything, Everyday, Everywhere" First album from Fabolous to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200
	Lord Infamous, T-Rock & II Tone	Blood Money	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200
August 4	Dorrough	Dorrough Music	Debuted at No. 36 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Walk That Walk","Ice Cream Paint Job"
August 11	Slaughterhouse	Slaughterhouse	Debuted at No. 26 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "The One"
August 21	Plague Language (Noah23, Baracuda, Livestock, The Main, Lord Kufu & Madadam)	Plague Language Compilation
August 25	Lil Wyte	The Bad Influence	Debuted at No. 104 on the Billboard 200
August 31	Pitbull	Rebelution	Debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Krazy", "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)", "Hotel Room Service", "Shut It Down"
	Killer Mike	Underground Atlanta	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200, but debuted at No. 34 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and at No. 10 on the Top Rap Albums [86] Singles: "Imma Fool Wit It"
September 1	Beanie Sigel	The Broad Street Bully
	Insane Clown Posse	Bang! Pow! Boom!	Debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200
September 8	JAY Z	The Blueprint 3	Debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)", "Run This Town", "Empire State of Mind", "On to the Next One", "Young Forever" Certified Platinum 11th album from Jay-Z to debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (9th album as a solo artist).
	Raekwon	Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II	Debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "New Wu", "House Of Flying Daggers"
September 10	Tede	Note2	Debuts at No. 3 on the OLiS Certified Gold in Poland
September 15	Big Scoob	Monsterifik
	Kid Cudi	Man on the Moon: The End of Day	Debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Day 'n' Nite", "Make Her Say", "Pursuit of Happiness" Certified Gold
	KRS-One & Buckshot	Survival Skills	Debuted at No. 200 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Robot"
	Lil Boosie	Superbad: The Return of Boosie Bad Azz	Debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Better Believe It"
	N.O.R.E.	S.O.R.E.	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Move"
	New Boyz	Skinny Jeans and a Mic	Debuted at No. 56 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "You're a Jerk", "Tie Me Down"
	Trick Daddy	Finally Famous: Born a Thug, Still a Thug	Debuted at No. 34 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Why They Jock"
September 21	Dizzee Rascal	Tongue n' Cheek	Certified Platinum in the UK Singles: "Dance Wiv Me", "Bonkers", "Holiday", "Dirtee Cash"
September 22	CRUNK23 (Noah23 & Crunk Chris)	Spare Ribs for the Eve of Destruction
	Esoteric	Saving Seamus Ryan
	Famous Playaz (Noah23 & DS)	Feature Presentation
	X-Raided	The Unforgiven Vol. 1: In The Beginning	Failed to debut on the Billboard 200
September 25	Del the Funky Homosapien	Automatik Statik
September 29	Mack 10	Soft White	Debuted at No. 141 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Big Balla", "So Sharp", "Mirror, Mirror"
	Ghostface Killah	Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City	Debuted at No. 28 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Baby", "Forever", "Let's Stop Playin'", "Guest House"
	Warren G	The G Files	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Ringtone", "Crush"
	Skyzoo	The Salvation	Debuted at No. 126 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "The Beautiful Decay", "Popularity"
	Stevie Stone	New Kid Comin	Failed to debut on Billboard 200
October 6	Fat Joe	J.O.S.E. 2	Debuted at No. 73 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "One", "Aloha"
	Jim Jones & Webstar	The Rooftop	Failed to debut on Billboard 200 Singles: "Dancin on Me", "She Can Get It"
October 12	Chipmunk	I Am Chipmunk	Singles: "Beast", "Chip Diddy Chip", "Diamond Rings", "Oopsy Daisy", "Look for Me"
October 13	Kottonmouth Kings	Hidden Stash 420	Failed to debut on Billboard 200 Singles: "Tangerine Sky"
October 20	Royce da 5'9"	Street Hop
October 26 [87]	Tech N9ne	K.O.D.	Debuted at No. 14 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Leave Me Alone", "Show Me A God", "Strange Music Box"
October 27	Hopsin	Gazing at the Moonlight
	Mike Epps	Funny Bidness – Da Album	Failed to debut on Billboard 200 Singles: "Big Girls", "Trying to Be a Gangsta", "Ain't Chu You"
	Triple C's	Custom Cars & Cycles	Debuted at No. 120 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Go", "Errday"
	Swollen Members	Armed to the Teeth	Debuted at No. 146 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Warrior", "Red Dragon", "Bollywood Chick", "Porn Star"
November 3	Hell Rell	Live From Hell	Failed to debut on Billboard 200
	Ol' Dirty Bastard	Message to the Other Side	Failed to debut on Billboard 200
November 10	Wale	Attention Deficit	Debuted at No. 21 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Chillin'", "World Tour", "Pretty Girls"
November 17	50 Cent	Before I Self Destruct	Debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 Released digitally on November 9 Singles: "Ok, You're Right", "Baby by Me", "Do You Think About Me" Certified Gold
	Danny!	Where Is Danny?	Debuted at No. 189 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Get Down"
	Felt	Felt 3: A Tribute to Rosie Perez
	Rakim	The Seventh Seal	Debuted at No. 67 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Holy Are U", "Walk These Streets"
November 23	Birdman	Priceless	Debuted at No. 29 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Always Strapped", "Written on Her", "Money to Blow", "4 My Town (Play Ball)"
November 24	Wiz Khalifa	Deal or No Deal
November 27	BlakRoc	BlakRoc	Debuted at No. 176 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Ain't Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo)"
December 1	Juvenile	Cocky & Confident	Debuted at No. 43 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Hands On You", "Gotta Get It", "We Be Getting Money"
	k-os	The Trill: A Journey so Far
	Souls of Mischief	Montezuma's Revenge
December 8	B.G.	Too Hood 2 Be Hollywood	Debuted at No. 77 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "For a Minute", "Ya Heard Me", "My Hood"
	Clipse	Til the Casket Drops	Debuted at No. 41 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Kinda Like a Big Deal", "I'm Good", "All Eyes on Me", "Popular Demand (Popeyes)"
	Gucci Mane	The State vs. Radric Davis	Debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Wasted", "Spotlight", "Worst Enemy", "Heavy", "Lemonade"
	Snoop Dogg	Malice n Wonderland	Debuted at No. 23 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Gangsta Luv", "That's Tha Homie", "I Wanna Rock", "Upside Down"
	Timbaland	Timbaland Presents Shock Value II	Debuted at No. 36 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Morning After Dark", "Say Something", "Carry Out", "If We Ever Meet Again"
December 15	Obie Trice	Special Reserve
December 21	Eminem	Relapse: Refill	Debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Hell Breaks Loose", "Elevator", "Music Box" Certified 4× Platinum
	Hurricane Chris	Unleashed	Failed to chart on the Billboard 200, but debuted at No. 46 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and at No. 20 on the Top Rap Albums [88] Singles: "Halle Berry (She's Fine)", "Headboard"
	Young Money Entertainment	We Are Young Money	Debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 Singles: "Every Girl", "BedRock", "Roger That" Certified Gold
December 25	Tyler, the Creator	Bastard	Ranked at number 32 on Pitchfork's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2010

Highest-charting singles

Hip hop singles from any year which charted in the 2009 Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 ^[89]

Song	Artist	Project	Peak position
"Empire State of Mind"	Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys	The Blueprint 3	1
"Right Round"	Flo Rida featuring Ke$ha	R.O.O.T.S.
"Crack a Bottle"	Eminem, Dr. Dre & 50 Cent	Relapse
"Best I Ever Had"	Drake	So Far Gone	2
"Heartless"	Kanye West	808s & Heartbreak
"Run This Town"	Jay-Z featuring Kanye West & Rihanna	The Blueprint 3
"Dead and Gone"	T.I. featuring Justin Timberlake	Paper Trail
"Day 'n' Nite"	Kid Cudi	Man on the Moon: The End of Day	3
"Sugar"	Flo Rida featuring Wynter Gordon	R.O.O.T.S.	5
"Forever"	Drake featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne & Eminem	Music Inspired by More than a Game	8
"We Made You"	Eminem	Relapse	9
"Throw It in the Bag"	Fabolous featuring The-Dream	Loso's Way	14
"Prom Queen"	Lil Wayne featuring Shanell	Rebirth	15
"Successful"	Drake featuring Trey Songz & Lil Wayne	So Far Gone	17
"Beautiful"	Eminem	Relapse
"Be on You"	Flo Rida featuring Ne-Yo	R.O.O.T.S.	19
"Pop Champagne"	Jim Jones & Ron Browz featuring Juelz Santana	Pray IV Reign	22
"D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)"	Jay-Z	The Blueprint 3	24
"Old Time's Sake"	Eminem featuring Dr. Dre	Relapse	25
"Money to Blow"	Birdman featuring Lil Wayne & Drake	Priceless	26
"Baby By Me"	50 Cent featuring Ne-Yo	Before I Self Destruct	28
"Hell Breaks Loose"	Eminem featuring Dr. Dre	Relapse: Refill	29
"Remember Me"	T.I. featuring Mary J. Blige	Paper Trail: Case Closed
"3 a.m."	Eminem	Relapse	32
"Hot Revolver"	Lil Wayne	—	33
"Gangsta Luv"	Snoop Dogg featuring The-Dream	Malice n Wonderland	35
"Wasted"	Gucci Mane featuring Plies	The State vs. Radric Davis	36
"I'm Going In"	Drake featuring Lil Wayne & Jeezy	So Far Gone	40
"Good Morning"	Chamillionaire	—

Highest first week sales

As of December 31, 2009. ^{[90] [91] [92] [93] [94] [95] [96] [97]}

Number	Artist	Album	1st week sales	1st week position
1	Eminem	Relapse	608,000	#1
2	Jay-Z	The Blueprint 3	476,000	#1
3	50 Cent	Before I Self Destruct	160,000	#5
4	Rick Ross	Deeper Than Rap	158,000	#1
5	Young Money	We Are Young Money	142,000	#9
6	Jadakiss	The Last Kiss	134,000	#3
7	Kid Cudi	Man on the Moon: The End of Day	104,000	#4
8	Fabolous	Loso's Way	99,000	#1
9	Gucci Mane	The State vs. Radric Davis	90,000	#10
10	UGK	UGK 4 Life	76,000	#6

Highest critically reviewed albums (Metacritic)

Number	Artist	Album	Average score	Number of reviews	Reference
1	Raekwon	Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. II	88	19 reviews	[98]
2	UGK	UGK 4 Life	84	11 reviews	[99]
3	DJ Quik	Blaqkout	83	8 reviews	[100]
4	Brother Ali	Us	83	28 reviews	[101]
5	Mos Def	The Ecstatic	81	28 reviews	[102]
6	J Dilla	Jay Stay Paid	81	15 reviews	[103]
7	Method Man & Redman	Blackout! 2	79	17 reviews	[104]
8	Q-Tip	Kamaal/The Abstract	78	13 reviews	[105]
9	Wale	Attention Deficit	77	21 reviews	[106]
10	DOOM	Born Like This	77	21 reviews	[107]

See also

• Previous article: 2008 in hip-hop
• Next article: 2010 in hip-hop

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