Album of the Day

Juaquin James Malphurs’ mother was rapper Gucci Mane’s manager, so a career in hip-hop – as Waka Flocka Flame – was inevitable. With singles “O Let's Do It,” “Hard in da Paint” and the RIAA Diamond-certified “No Hands” building up to its release, the New York-born/Georgia-raised performer’s first album, FLOCKAVELI, debuted in Billboard’s Top 10. As the title’s nod to 2Pac suggests, the 2010 collection is gangsta to the core and if Flocka’s street-hardened raps don’t knock you flat, producer Lex Luger’s Richter-scale beats will. Last year, Pitchfork included FLOCKAVELI on its list of the 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time, and the set's “mosh-pit ambitions and brash, unbridled vim” still command attention.