Top 10 Rap/Hip-Hop Albums of 2000Jun 25 '01 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line These are just my favorites, so you may disagree; if you do, leave a comment and tell me why *This is not a list of my favorite albums of all time, so don't get mad if I include albums that are slightly less than spectacular. These are only for 2000, which I didn't buy EVERY album for. If something you believe is missing, and I don't explain why it wasn't listed, please just write a coment and I will add it to one of the lists. 10.Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai- Original Soundtrack This has got to be the best hip-hop sountrack I've ever heard before. Wu-Tang's RZA, who produced all of the classic Wu-Tang Material, produced the entire album, and created some of the tightest beats I've ever heard. Almost every Wu-affiliate appears on this album such as Sunz of Man, 12 O'Clock, Blue Raspberry, North Star, RZA, Black Knights, Suga Bang Bang, Tekitha, Masta Killa, Superb, Timbo King, LA the Darkman, Melodie, and Wu-Tang Clan. Other artists include Kool G. Rap, Jeru, and Afu-Ra. Rating: 3.5/5 The tightest tracks: "4 Sho Sho"-North Star f/ Rza "Zip Code"-Black Knights "East New York Stamp"-Jeru/Afu-Ra "Fast Shadow"-Wu-Tang Clan 9.Prodigy (of Mobb Deep)- H.N.I.C. (Head N***a In Charge) Even though Prodigy seems to spit almost 100% gangsta rap when he raps, I still really enjoy this album. Somehow (almost) every song keeps me listening because Prodigy seems to find different ways to present the same subject matter. Another AMAZING thing about this album is the beats. They complinment Prodigy's style perfectly. However, the album does have its flaws, including boring subject matter, and some weak guest appearences (e.g. BG). Still, a worthy album to buy. Rating: 3.5/5 The tightest tracks: "Genesis" "What U Rep" f/ Noreaga "Keep It Thoro" "You Can Never Feel My Pain" 8.Killah Priest-View From Masada Lyrically, this is one of the most amazing albums I've ever heard. Very close competition with Killah Priest's first album "Heavy Mental," which in my opinion was one of the best hip hop albums ever. Killah Priest raps intellectually and makes many references to religion, which is one of my favorite things about him. Unfortunatly, this album met with some very bad production on some tracks. Not a single Wu-producer was to be found on this entire album, which was what fit Killah Priest the best. Bad production left a few tracks of this album mediocre. Another flaw was that there wasn't a single Wu-Tang guest appearance. Still, one of the best hip hop albums ever, lyrically. Rating: 3.5/5 The tightest tracks: "View From Masada" "Whut Part Of The Game" f/ Ras Kass "Bop Your Head" f/ Canibus "If I Die" 7.Common (Sense)-Like Water For Chocolate This album, suprisingly, had quite a bit of commercial success. Unfortunately, it took Common four albums to be recognized by the public. A lot of fans of Common would say that this is his best album yet, and I would probably agree. I don't really like a lot of songs on this album because at times Common's flow could be improved, but (almost) every song is uplifting and deep, which is a rarity in hip hop today. Rating: 3.5/5 The tightest tracks: "Dooinit" "The Light" "The 6th Sense" "Thelonius" f/ Slum Village 6.Black Eyed Peas-Bridging The Gap I know that not a lot of people own this album, but it is really very good. Even I, didn't want this album, but it was given to me, and if I had known how good it was, I would have bought it for full price. The BEP's are made up of three MCs: will.i.am (The main producer), apl.de.ap, and Taboo. One thing I love about the BEP is that they play their own instruments, and the album is almost totally clean. Also there are guest appearances from De La Soul and Mos Def. Rating: 4/5 The tightest tracks "BEP Empire" "Call To New York" f/ De La Soul "Request + Line" 5.Black Rob-Life Story Out of the seemingly hopeless falling company known as Bad Boy Records comes one amazing lyricist known as Black Rob. Now, what a lot of people don't realize is that there is more to Black Rob than just "Whoa!" Black Rob has been with Bad Boy for a long time now; it's just that Black Rob had not yet released an album. Well, he finally did and WOW! it's an amazing album. Personally, I think it's the best album that Bad Boy ever had. The only flaw is that many of the tracks are outdated. That really doesn't take away from this album too much, though. Rating: 4/5 The tightest tracks: "Down The Line Joint" f/ Puff Daddy, Mark Curry, Ma$e, G-Dep "Espacio" f/ Lil' Kim "Can I Live" f/ The Lox "B.R." f/ G-Dep "Spanish Fly" 4.Wu-Tang Clan-The W Since the Wu-Tang Clan hadn't made a new album altogether since mid-1997, this had to be one of the most anticipated albums of 2000. For a lot of people, this was Wu-Tang's last hope to bring back the old style. I believe they did it very well. RZA produces 12 out of 13 tracks on this album, which is probably why it is so good. I think many peole were disappointed by this album, but it's one of those albums that you need to hear many times, so that the words can sink in. Trust me, if you listen to this album enough, you will love it, too. Only real flaw is the lack of the Ol' Dirty Bastard, who only appears on one track. Rating: 4/5 The tightest tracks: "Careful (Click, Click)" "Redbull" f/ Redman "Protect Ya Neck (The Jump Off)" "Let My N****s Live" f/ Nas "Do You Really (Thang, Thang)" f/ Streetlife "Gravel Pit" 3.Ghostface Killah-Supreme Clientele Besides Gza's albums, this is probably the best Wu-Tang solo effort ever. This album has EVERYTHING: tight lyrics, beats, and guest appearances. Every song on this album is worth a listen, and every track has a different feel to it; it's very diverse. Only one real flaw: the track listing in the booklet is nothing like the actual track list. Also, appearances from Ol' Dirty Bastard and Inspectah Deck would've been nice, as they were the only Wu-Tang members not to appear on this album. Rating: 4.5/5 The tightest tracks: "Nutmeg" f/ RZA "One" "Buck 50" f/ Method Man, CappaDonna, Redman "We Made It" f/ Superb, Chip Banks, Hell Razah "Wu Banga" f/ GZA, CappaDonna, Raekwon, Masta Killa 2.Eminem-The Marshall Mathers LP I have to admit, when I first heard this album, I thought it was garbage, as it was totally different than Eminem's last album "The Slim Shady LP," which was like my favorite album at the time. I eventually grew to love this album. Every track on this album has a good beat, and usually a humorous theme to it. Eminem has to be like the greatest story teller of all time, as well as one of the best lyricists, too. The only problem with the album is the profanity, which is often very unneccesary. That's litterally the ONLY flaw. Rating: 5/5 The tightest tracks: "Kill You" "Stan" "Who Knew" "The Real Slim Shady" "Criminal" 1.Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek (Reflection Eternal)-Train of Thought Now, I know that, even though a lot of people really like this album, a lot of people are going to disagree with this being the best album of 2000. My reason for putting this as my number one album of 2000, though, is that this album totally amazes me. From start to finish, I enjoy this album. EVERY SINGLE SONG is not only good, but VERY GOOD. I mean, the album has EVERYTHING, from party moving songs "Move Something," and "Ghetto Afterlife" to intellectual flows "For Women." This is just a great CD, and I think every hip hop fan should own it. Rating: 5/5 The tightest tracks: "Move Somethin'" "This Means You" f/ Mos Def "Too Late" "Down For The Count" f/ Rah Digga, Xzibit "Ghetto Afterlife" f/ Kool G. Rap "Soul Rebels" f/ De La Soul "For Women" If you were wondering, the following albums probably should have appeared on this list, but were not there because I have yet to purchase them: Jurassic 5-Quality Control De La Soul-Art Official Intelligence Dilated Peoples-The Platform  |
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