Hey folksy folks!

Today’s Best Album of 2000 match is:

#19 Deltron 3030, DELTRON 3030

Listen on Spotify or YouTube

vs.

#46 Sade, LOVERS ROCK

Listen on Spotify or YouTube

To vote, follow this link to the Google Form. You will need a Google login to vote. If you can’t or won’t have one, let me know ASAP (either through this newsletter, my email (kentmbeeson@hey.com) or on the Best Album Brackets Bluesky account) and I’ll see what I can do.

We have a Designated Cheerleader today, it’s for DELTRON 3030, and it’s from @smarka.bsky.social. Take it away!

This album felt like it was made specifically for 18 year old me in 2000. Del was one of my favorite rappers, and Automator was on a roll producing left field concept albums (Dr. Octagon, Handsome Boys Modeling School, even Bombay the Hard Way if you wanna dig deeper). Hearing that Automator was enlisting Del for a sci fi concept album in the vein of, if not an exact follow up to, Dr. Octagon had me READY.

I don't remember the first time I listened to it exactly, but I do remember the second or third. It leaked before its official release and I downloaded it and burned a copy--I still bought a copy on release day. I was on a road trip to see, of all things, the pre-Fergie Black Eyed Peas. They played at a small all ages club in Indianapolis. I was a freshman at Indiana University. My buddy who went to Ball State drove down to pick me and a couple other dudes up to go to the show, and we listened to the burned copy of Deltron that I had. I remember getting chills as the strings build on the title track. This was MY SHIT. (BEP were alright and put on a decent show back when they were Native Tongues wannabes).

I still like the record and listen to it from time to time. It being a sci fi concept album probably made it more well known than it would be if it was just a straight up collab between Del, Automator, and Kid Koala, but that frame doesn't overwhelm the album. The rhymes are good, the beats are good, and the songs are good. Del's a great storytelling rapper (check "Corner Story" on Future Development if you aren't familiar with that one). Automator's a producer who can sample anything and everything and make a good beat. "3030", "Positive Contact", and "Memory Loss" are probably my favorite tracks, but there really isn't a bad one. The skits don't bug me.

This one deserves a listen and your vote. DO IT.

Thanks again, @smarka.bsky.social!

As always, click here to see the current results for the entire tournament, and click here to see the current results for the prediction bracket contest.

Yesterday, #14 Neko Case & Her Boyfriends, FURNACE ROOM LULLABY defeated #78 The Delgados, THE GREAT EASTERN, 56-41.

Thanks for reading, thanks for voting!

Kent