Our panel collected a list of eligible music releases from the 2011 calendar year and selected categories for voting. Next we narrowed the dozens of nominees for each category to a shorter list of finalists. We had a few online and conference call debates about each category and all finalists. From there each member of the panel cast their votes for the top nominees in each category. Finally, we selected the winners for the 2011 Sphere of Hip-Hop Awards.

The panel considered many variables in our decisions. Each member stated their case for each nominee and even against. We considered statistics, sales data, album reviews and many other factors. In all, we spent about twice as much time considering nominees and winners as we did for the 2010 Sphere of Hip-Hop Awards. This year several categories were very closely contested while only a few others were a little easier.

There are sure to be differences of opinion with our selections. We want to hear what you think. Sound off in the comments area below and please participate in the Fan’s Choice Vote to make your voice heard (details below). You can also Tweet us @sphereofhiphop and use #sohhawards11 to discuss.

We welcome your suggestions for the 2012 edition coming next year.

Thank you to the entire panel and team of individuals that helped the 2011 Sphere of Hip-Hop Awards become a reality.

peace + blessings,
Josh “plastic”

2011 Sphere of Hip-Hop Awards Finalists

Winners will be announced gradually between February 15 and February 21. Stop back for updates.

Person of the Year nominees
Matthew “Mistery” Peet

Album of the Year nominees
116 Clique Man Up
Bizzle Tough Love & Parables
Braille Native Lungs
Die-Rek The Die-Version Project
Macho Remember
muzeONE Cold War
Playdough Hotdoggin
Shai Linne The Attributes of God
Shames Worthy The Album
Sintax the Terrific & DJ Kurfu Prince With A Thousand Enemies (Winner)
Tedashii Blacklight
theBREAX Never Arrive

Song of the Year nominees
116 Clique “Man Up Anthem”
The Battery “Break” (feat. DJ Aslan)
Bizzle “Delivered”
Braille “Feel It”
Da Truth “The Whole Truth”
Die-Rek “Remember”
Eshon Burgundy “Close Your Eyes”
Jin “Shoot for the Moon”
Lecrae & Statik Selektah “Live and Let Live” (Winner)
Macho “Persauded”
muzeONE “A Grief Observed”
Playdough “My Cadillac”
Shames Worthy “The Anthem”
Sintax the Terrific & DJ Kurfu “Of Venison Meat”
Sivion “Everything Is Everything” (feat. DJ Because)
Tedashii “Dum Dum” (feat. Lecrae)
theBREAX “Perfect Storm” (feat. J.R.)
Theory Hazit & Toni Shift “Concealed Sorrow”
Thi’sl “On My Grind” (feat. Brotha Tone)
Wes Pendleton “I Made It”

Group of the Year nominees
116 Clique (Winner)
Deepspace5
Scribbling Idiots
theBREAX
Tunnel Rats (Winner)

Video of the Year nominees
Theory Hazit & Toni Shift “Concealed Sorrow” (Winner)

DJ of the Year nominees
DJ Aslan
DJ Official
DJ Promote (Winner)
DJ Rhino
DJ Will

Emcee of the Year nominees
Jurny Big
Playdough
Shames Worthy
Sho Baraka
Sintax the Terrific (Winner)

Producer of the Year nominees
Cheesebeats
Courtland Urbano (Xperiment) (Winner)
DJ Kurfu
DJ Official
Peace 586

EP of the Year nominees
The Battery One (Winner)
R-Swift Anomalous
Relic Not for Nothing
Relic Outtamind
Sev Statik Sondial EP

Mixtape of the Year nominees
Andy Mineo Formerly Known (Winner)
Heath McNease Straight Outta Console: The Nintendo Thumb Mixtape
Playdough & Heath McNease Wed, White & Wu
Praverb Da Wyse Professional Hobbyist
theBREAX Breax Over 3

Fan’s Choice Vote: February 21 – 29.

Voting will begin February 22nd and end on the 29th. We’ll tabulate all the votes and announce the Fan’s Choice winners on March 5.

Here is your chance to let your voice be heard! Participation is easy. Starting February 21st use the Twitter and Facebook buttons provided for each finalist to cast your vote. You may also list your choices in the comments.

Vote for the Fan’s Choice Awards. (coming soon)

The true impact and legacy of a servant’s efforts often aren’t fully realized until they are gone. It’s a sad reality reinforced daily when great leaders pass on our retire. One of the reasons we include this category in our awards each year is to give some shine to people we think are living legends… a top bloke even.

It’s been a blessing to see the work of the 2011 Person of the Year in person and from afar. There aren’t many individuals involved in hip-hop that look out for others more than they look out for their own interests. Mistery is one of those individuals. He has been a mainstay in the Australian hip-hop scene for over 20 years. Many aspects of the growth of the genre in Australia and the fusion of faith with hip-hop can be traced to his roots with Brethren. When I visited Australia I was impressed at how many people know this guy. He effortlessly remembers everyone and is able to maintain strong relationships that span across culture, language and faiths. His talents extend beyond the mic. He’s an acclaimed graffiti artist with pieces literally scattered across the globe. Possibly his greatest impact is felt amongst those involved with Street University and the Krosswerdz Hip-Hop Church (both based in Sydney). His heart for service and too see people impacted with the Gospel is truly inspiring. We’re honored to recognize Mistery as our Person of the Year.

Art: A graffiti piece he painted in 1991 with fellow artists Andrew Aiken and Julie Pryor. This located in Sydney Australia. This doesn’t even begin to share the talent this guy is blessed with.

Music: He’s real nice on the mic too. A track from his upcoming album Way of the Warrior.

Full coverage of the 2011 Awards
View all finalists and winners for the 2011 Sphere of Hip-Hop Awards

We wrestled with this category more than any other category this year and even in years past. It was so difficult that we spread the debate across two different sessions. For each album listed we made a case for and against to see where each stood. A case could be made for any one of almost two dozen releases. At the end of our spirited debates, Prince With A Thousand Enemies was the one left standing.

There are no guest appearances on the album. One emcee and one producer. Everything fits together. Individual songs stand on their own and also are perfect pieces of the full album.

The concept of the album is loosely based around the Richard Adams novel “Watership Down.” The book is about… rabbits. Yup. For real? Yes. It’s all brilliantly executed however. Interweaving the story of the book with real world information and metaphor makes it heavily enjoyable. Many records fail at blending light hearted content with sobering subject matter, this album does not.

The entire presentation of the album musically and visually perfectly suit the effort. Extensive song background information is included and the album was even made available with a copy of the original book.

2011 was a year full of good albums and a few great ones. Prince With A Thousand Enemies is worth a long look to digest it’s brilliance.

Runners Up
116 Clique Man Up (Reach Records)
Die-Rek The Die-Version Project (Indie)
Macho Remember (Indie)
muzeONE Cold War (Illect Recordings)
theBREAX Never Arrive (Indie)

Honorable Mention
Bizzle Tough Love & Parables (Indie)
Braille Native Lungs (Humble Beast)
Playdough Hotdoggin (Indie)
Shai Linne The Attributes of God (Lamp Mode)
Shames Worthy The Album (Indie)
Tedashii Blacklight (Reach Records)

Shop for these artists
SphereofhiphopStore.com – iTunes – Amazon

Full coverage of the 2011 Awards
View all finalists and winners for the 2011 Sphere of Hip-Hop Awards

In what can only be considered as a HUGE year for the artist known as Lecrae, one of the more surprising moments was his single off the Statik Selektah album Population Control. He jumped on a soulful beat from Statik and delivered as he always does with his strong flow and content.

After a huge placement like this it will be interesting to see what other career firsts Lecrae has in store for himself in 2012.

Runners Up
Braille “Feel It” (Humble Beast)
Jin “Shoot for the Moon” (Indie)
muzeONE “A Grief Observed” (Illect Recordings)
Theory Hazit & Toni Shift “Concealed Sorrow” (Illect Recordings)

Honorable Mention
116 Clique “Man Up Anthem” (Reach Records)
The Battery “Break” (feat. DJ Aslan) (Illect Recordings)
Bizzle “Delivered” (Indie)
Da Truth “The Whole Truth” (Xist Music)
Die-Rek “Remember” (Indie)
Eshon Burgundy “Close Your Eyes” (Indie)
Lecrae “Live and Let Live” (Duckdown)
Macho “Persauded” (Indie)
Playdough “My Cadillac” (Indie)
Shames Worthy “The Anthem” (Indie)
Sintax the Terrific & DJ Kurfu “Of Venison Meat” (Illect Recordings)
Sivion “Everything Is Everything” (feat. DJ Because) (Illect Recordings)
Tedashii “Dum Dum” (feat. Lecrae) (Reach Records)
theBREAX “Perfect Storm” (feat. J.R.) (Indie)
Thi’sl “On My Grind” (feat. Brotha Tone) (Indie)
Wes Pendleton “I Made It” (Illect Recordings)

Shop for these artists
SphereofhiphopStore.com – iTunes – Amazon

Full coverage of the 2011 Awards
View all finalists and winners for the 2011 Sphere of Hip-Hop Awards

This year we saw 2 groups, who are at completely different stages in their respective careers, shine brighter than the rest.

On one side we had the 116 Clique who had a banner year with huge tours, a conference, high sales on the iTunes charts and big impact on the Christian Hip Hop culture. Lecrae even broke down some barriers with various collaborations and even appearing on mainstream hip-hop outlets.

On the other side we had the veteran Tunnel Rat crew who didn’t necessarily come together as a group but had a bunch of members shine with a help from the crew. We saw top notch albums from Shames Worthy, Macho, Jurny Big and Peace 586 as well as a EP from Sev Statik. As much as everyone tries to write off the crew after all these years they keep putting out QUALITY music. So this year we have a tie, and I couldn’t be happier.

Shop for these artists
SphereofhiphopStore.com – iTunes – Amazon

Full coverage of the 2011 Awards
View all finalists and winners for the 2011 Sphere of Hip-Hop Awards

On the heels of extensive touring and a collab release with Wonder Brown, Sean has linked up with producer Vintage for the VS soundscapes.

The album features guests including Playdough, Braille, DJ Aslan, DJ Sean P and more.

Order the VS album on CD or MP3 Download at SphereofhiphopStore.com.

Check out the Sunshine (feat. DJ Sean P) music video.

Track list
1. VS
2. Zenith (feat. DJ Aslan)
3. Sunshine (feat. DJ Sean P)
4. Shame (feat. Playdough & DJ Efechto)
5. Blow Your Mind (feat. Braille & DJ Tree)
6. Aware (feat. Cas One & DJ Sean P)
7. I Do
8. Simple (feat. DJ Efechto)
9. Moment
10. Losing You
11. Disappear

2011 proved to be a strong year for music videos. Creativity and production values have quickly caught up with mainstream counterparts. One video stood head and shoulders above the rest. Concealed Sorrow’s powerful visuals and sobering message resonated with people from around the world. The video takes the topic of bullying head on and forces us to consider how we treat others… and what the consequences of bullying are. It’s the real deal and has been shown at school assemblies around the United States in an effort to create dialog amongst youth.

Read the inspiration and background information for the video for additional insight. The video was directed by Donald W. Martin Jr. and released by Illect Recordings.

Shop for this artist
SphereofhiphopStore.com – iTunes – Amazon

Full coverage of the 2011 Awards
View all finalists and winners for the 2011 Sphere of Hip-Hop Awards

This guy is single handedly one of the most busy artists I can think of. He’s constantly on the road and very active at events across the US. He and several other DJs have created a resourceful alliance called Tableturners. Promote continues to press the issue of creativity and is always looking for new ways to engage audiences with DJ technology. His drive and commitment to his craft is something to be appreciated. His mixes are on point and he has ill scratch technique. If you’re a young DJ and looking for a blueprint… watch this guy.

Shop for this artist
SphereofhiphopStore.com – iTunes – Amazon

Full coverage of the 2011 Awards
View all finalists and winners for the 2011 Sphere of Hip-Hop Awards