Did Bun B’s “Trill O.G.” Really Deserve 5 Mics? Posted by Nathan S. on 08/11/10 | Filed under Top Stories, Features, Bun B

Last week the Source awarded Bun B's new album "Trill O.G." album a perfect 5 Mic rating. Did Bun deserve the honor? Put simply, no he did not.

And now the obligatory no-hate paragraph. I've written over a thousand words comparing U.G.K.'s music to the Bible, and Bun B is one of my favorite rappers, so I'm on record as being not only hate-free when it comes to Bun, but a huge fan. I've already written a lengthy review of "Trill O.G.", so I won't repeat myself here other than to emphasize that this was a dope, dope album. So Bun, or anyone else reading this who's already (ironically) writing me hate mail in defense of Bun, save it. I've got nothing but respect for the man.

But that doesn't change the fact that "Trill O.G." was not one of the greatest albums of all time (why do I feel like Kanye right now?). As a man who has to rate albums for a living, I'm well aware that award an album a perfect rating should be incredibly rare, and its The Sources' extraordinarily reserved distribution of 5 Mic status is the reason we care so much about it now. In other words, f**k the hot girl almostt everyone else has f**ked and it's not exactly a big deal. F**k the hot girl almost no one else had f**ked? Well then you're the man.

So it really comes down not to "was Trill O.G." a dope, or even classic, album, but was it as good an album as the other 5 Mic-ers? Here's the complete list of winners:

"People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm" - A Tribe Called Quest
"Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em" - Eric B. & Rakim
"AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted" - Ice Cube
"One for All" - Brand Nubian
"De La Soul Is Dead" - De La Soul
"The Low End Theory" - A Tribe Called Quest
"Illmatic" - Nas
"Life After Death" - The Notorious B.I.G.
"Aquemini" - Outkast
"The Blueprint" -- Jay-Z
"Stillmatic" - Nas
"The Fix" - Scarface
"The Naked Truth" - Lil' Kim
"Trill OG" - Bun B

Aside from the obvious mistake (Lil Kim's "The Naked Truth"), all of those were albums that were not only dope, but whose effects are still being felt decades after their release. The changed the landscape of hip-hop, and when they were released you couldn't have a conversation about hip-hop that didn't mention the album.

Simply put, "Trill O.G." simply isn't in that rarefied air. So why did The Source give Bun B 5 mics? There can only be three possible answers:

They Really Thought It Was That Good
Cal me jaded, but this is the unlikeliest answer of them all. Are you really trying to tell me that in the five years since "The Naked Truth" dropped, "Trill O.G." was the best album the Source staff had heard? Do I even have to explain how many albums have dropped in the last five years? I mean, we're looking at Kanye's entire catalog, Lupe's entire catalog, "OB4CL2" and a long list of others that may not be 5 Mic worthy either, but they're certainly at the very least as good as "Trill O.G."

Denzel Washington Syndrome
In 2001 Denzel Washington was awarded an Oscar for his work in "Training Day". Was "Training Day" his best movie? Not even close. Rather, the Oscar Committee realized that they'd choked by not giving him an award sooner, also realized a black man had never won an Oscar for Best Actor, and immediately tried to set things right by giving Denzel the award. It's entirely possible that Pimp C's passing made The Source realize they should have given more love to UGK (their "Underground Kingz" album is better than "Trill O.G.", by the way), and that they'd only ever given one Southern artist 5 Mics, then decided it would kill two birds with one stone with "Trill O.G."

Relevancy
There was a time when The Source was, pun intended, the source for everything hip-hop. Those days are over. The Source's circulations numbers are a fraction of what they were during their peak, and TheSource.com's traffic is laughably low. Like almost every print publication in every genre, they're dying a slow, painful death in the digital age. It's not hard to picture The Source editors sitting around trying to figure out how to get people talking about them again, decided to give out a 5 Mic, and Bun B's album was the best option once they'd decided to go for it. If that's true, and I have to believe it is at least in part, than mission accomplished.

In closing, it's only fair that I give Bun Beater himself the final word via his "B.M.F. (Freestyle)". "If your favorite would have won would you have said the same shit?" Well Bun, you are one of my favorites, and that depends, did my favorite drop a classic album? If not, than yes, I would say the same shit.

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