2009 was a fantastic year for music and as we head into a new decade, its time to reflect on the best releases of the previous year.  Since the focus of this site is live music and we’re discussing studio albums here, we decided to add a new, exclusive live song from each artist who made our list.  So without further ado, here is ATWL’s Top 10 Albums and Mixtapes of the year.

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Blakroc was busy on the late night talk show scene this week with performances on Letterman on Fallon.  Joined by Mos Def and Jim Jones, they performed “Ain’t Nothing Like You (Hoochie Coo)” on Letterman, then The RZA accompanied them on Jimmy Fallon to perform “Dollaz & Sense” and “Tellin’ Me Things”.  Here’s the video and audio streams/downloads.

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Last week, Blitz The Ambassador, armed with his band The Embassy Ensemble, a string section and a slew of special guests (John Forte, Bajah, Kate Mattison, Tess and more) took over Royal Blue Studios in Brooklyn to record a live session for MTVU’s House Band series.  The studio is run by Robert Honablue, who has worked with legends such as Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Sly & the Family Stone and Aretha Franklin.  Blitz can now proudly add his name to that list as he recorded 5 songs during the session including “Kill the Radio”, “Remembering the Future”, “Nothing to Lose”, “Dying to Live”, and “Something to Believe”.  The live performance videos will be released later this month, accompanied with behind the scenes features with Robert Honablue, Blitz, the guest musicians and the recording process.  Below is a video trailer with the live intro to “Something To Believe” as well as an audio snippet of “Remembering The Future”.  Its no secret that I’m a huge fan of Blitz The Ambassador, but I must say, this sounds phenomenal and it looks like he truly stepped up to the plate with this one.  Check back here at ATWL once the videos are released for complete audio and video downloads of this amazing live session, which will surely make for a great stocking-stuffer this holiday season.

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