-Click the image to check the list.

From the Independent:

#9 Kooley High presents… David Thompson:

With a self-aggrandizing Twitter hashtag, a stilted reunion between Phonte Coleman and producer 9th Wonder, and a major-label debut by J. Cole, you’d think that North Carolina hip-hop would be the prime topic at the close of 2011. Once again, though, most of the state’s hip-hop output proved tepid, inflated and strangely beyond its expiration date. Only David Thompson—Kooley High’s sad-eyed missive about the troubles of trying to make it outside of #nchiphop—seemed rooted in the moment. Charlie Smarts and Tab-One have never before seemed so well-adjusted in their roles as foils, playing off intriguing beats from guest producers with a candor that’s both invaluable and endearing.

-BIG shout out to the INDY for selecting DT as one of the Triangle’s Top Ten albums of 2011. Means a lot….