I'm sure you're going to have a bunch of people jumping in here to bitch about how this was the worst decade ever but I definitely think there were some really good and/or interesting moments in Hip Hop during this time...the meteoric rise of 50 Cent and then watching the shift from his brand of Hip Hop to Kanye in 2007, Nas Vs Jay Z, seeing Hipsters rave about Lil Wayne and him emerging as a star.... Also, can't forget The Roots being the house band on a late night show on a major tv network. I think people really underestimate how big of a deal that was and is. For them to be in that big of a mainstream setting but still drop concept albums like Undun and How I Got Over is truly uncharted territory.

>What was the best year, or best few years? 2000? 2003?

2000 was great but for me I'd say 2005 was the best year or at least my favorite year. Common dropped "Be", Ye dropped "Late Registration" and for me 2005's biggest moment was Dave Chappelle's Block Party. Sitting in the theater watching G Rap, The Roots, Dead Prez, BDK, Mos and of course was a truly great moment to me.

>
>What would you say the low point was...06-07? The ringtone Rap
>era?

For me the low points were the deaths of J Dilla and Jam Master Jay. Ringtone rap was wack as hell to me but it didn't cost anyone their life.
>
>Do we count any mixtapes as classics, and are they measured at
>the same level as an official CD release classic?

I personally don't measure them on the same level as official CD releases in general but I know that some people do. Early in the decade 50 was the mixtape king and he certainly deserves credit for raising that artform to a level where people do look at mixtapes no differently than official albums. Section 80 is probably the mixtape of the decade for me.
>
>Do you feel anything about the decade was better than the
>90's? Whether it was the top lyricists...or production...club
>music...or even contributions from cities that weren't
>dominant in the 90's.

I don't know about better but there was some production that I would certainly argue was just as good as some production in the 90's...J Dilla, El P, Kanye, Madlib, The Neptunes. All those dudes could more than hang in the 90's.
>
>You can mention anything else about the decade, really. I feel
>like we talk about the 90's all the time, but I wonder how
>we'll judge the 00's in the future.

I'd say the emergence of Kanye was probably the most significant development. As a producer and MC to watch him go from background "backpack" producer dude to major Hip Hop/Pop superstar was pretty remarkable. I would have never suspected that he could reach the levels of fame that he has.