Unbiased Reviews by Real People
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Unbiased Reviews by Real People
Finally a list that gets it right!!!Sep 2, 2002 (Updated Jan 15, 2003) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Pay attention, y'all might just learn something. Ya heard? Oh and by the way, I did 20 instead of 10. 1)The Chronic-Dr. Dre Whether you admit it or not, this album has influenced every great album that followed it. The mix of hardcore gangsta-isms with smoothed out radio-friendly hooks was groundbreaking. There could be no 'Ready to Die','Reasonable Doubt', or 'All Eyez On Me' without 'The Chronic' Highlights include: Nuthin' But A G Thang Dre Day Let Me Ride 2)It Takes A Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back-Public Enemy You weren't ready for the truth then. You ain't ready now. P.E. brought it with a force that has yet to be duplicated. Chuck D.'s educated rebel persona was in full effect. Another one of those must-have classics Highlights include: Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos Prophets of Rage Night of the Living Baseheads 3)Me Against the World-2Pac Yeah, 'All Eyez On Me' gets more recognition, but this is the true Tupac Shakur album. It's more Tupac than 2Pac so y'all may be sleeping on it. It is one of the first rap albums to go introspective; 'Pac opens up his soul on this one. No rap album touches the heart and inflames the spirit like this. Highlights include: Shed So Many Tears Dear Momma Death Around the Corner 4)The Low End Theory-A Tribe Called Quest If outkast had any template to follow, it was from Tribe. Tribe is one of the most innovative acts in hip-hop. This album is full of jazzy wordplay and percussive beats. Q-Tip's 'abstract' flow may be tough for some post-1993 rap fans, but it is catchy and clever. Highlights include: Check the Rhime Jazz(We Got) Scenario 5)Aquemini-outkast Maybe the most innovative rap album ever, 'Aquemini' is a melting pot of so many musical styles I can't even name them all. Dre and Big Boi are lyrically at the top of their game.This album is beautifully executed and flawless.Their best work. Highlights include: Rosa Parks Da Art of Storytellin' Skew It On the Bar-B 6)Straight Outta Compton-N.W.A. The album that made your parents hate rap. Another one that completely changed the game. Biting social commentary, (police brutality, the dope game), and hedonistic excess, Straight Outta Compton personified West Coast hip-hop in the late 80s. Highlights include: F*ck The Police Straight Outta Compton Express Yourself 7)Illmatic-Nas Before he got into this 'Escobar' nonsense, he was Nasty Nas, a Queens kid sitting in his window, observing the world around him. Raw, jazzy, and lyrically flawless, 'Illmatic' is Nas at his finest. Highlights include: Life's A B*tch The World Is Yours It Ain't Hard to Tell 8)Raising Hell-Run D.M.C. Hip-Hop's first classic,(except for maybe 'Kings of Rock'). Run-DMC's rap-rock fusion was groundbreaking to say the least. Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock were born from this album. Highlights include: Walk This Way My Adidas It's Like That 9)Paid In Full-Eric B. and Rakim The most influential 80s rap album had a tremendous influence on 90s hip-hop. Eric B.'s production is as rough and rugged as they come, but Rakim's flow changed the game. The one true, G.O.A.T., Ra spits flows that are still being copied today by Nas, Eminem, etc. Highlights include: Eric B. Is President I Ain't No Joke Paid In Full 10)Ready to Die-Notorious B.I.G. Arguably the greatest lyricist of all time comes out hard!!!Another example of a great balancing act of pop and hardcore, Biggie shows that he can perform well in both arenas, switching from the lavish lifestyle of a Moet-sippin' Don to the hustling days of a street-thug Highlights include: Warning Juicy Big Poppa 11)Enter the 36 Chambers-Wu-Tang Clan Dark, ominous, weird, and a classic. With 9(!) emcees showcasing their skills, this record breathed new creative life into East Coast hip-hop. The RZA's production was, and still is, unlike anything else heard in the game. A must-have. Highlights include: Can It All Be So Simple? C.R.E.A.M. Da Mystery of Chessboxin' 12)AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted-Ice Cube Before he was starring in wack sequels or was seduced by West Coast G-Funk, Cube was the hardest mutha f*cka in rap.Providing lurid ghetto commentary on the ongoings of life in Compton, CA, N.W.A.'s best lyricist strikes out on his own. The result-a classic. Highlights include: Once Upon A Time In the Projects Endangered Species Who's the Mack 13)3 Feet High & Rising-De La Soul Without this album, no Tribe, no outkast. De La were quirky to say the least, but they provided a much needed alternative from gangsta rap with this 'Daisy-Age' gem Highlights include: Me, Myself, & I Potholes In My Lawn Buddy 14)Reasonable Doubt-Jay-Z Smoothed out and jazzy, Jigga Man's first album was undeniably his best. You can hear the hunger and ambition in a younger Shawn Carter. His wit is sharper than razors and his flow is distincitively smart and cold. If you don't have it, get it. Highlights include: Can't Knock the Hustle Can I Live Friend or Foe 15)DoggyStyle-Snoop Doggy Dogg More fun and laid-back than it's predecessor, 'The Chronic', Snoop's solo debut is all him. The G-Funk is thick and Snoop's drawl is thicker. Worthwhile Dogg Pound cameos and a nice cover of Slick Rick's 'Lodi Dodi' Highlights include: What's My Name Gin and Juice Doggy Dogg World 16)The Marshall Mathers LP-Eminem Dangerously honest and painfully revealing, Eminem showed that he was more than just some White rapper with a twisted sense of humor. Lyrically biting and sonically flawless, Em rips on EVERYTHING from his Mom, to gays, to his baby's mother. Not for the faint of ear. Highlights include: Stan The Real Slim Shady The Way I Am 17)The Great Adventures of Slick Rick-Slick Rick One of hip-hop's most recognizable flows comes correct on his debut. Any album with 'Mona Lisa', 'Children's Story', 'Hey Young World', and 'Teenage Love' has to be on this list Highlights include: Teenage Love Hey Young World Children's Story 18)The Score-The Fugees It may not be ALL rap, but it is most certainly hip-hop.The willingness to push boundaries made this a classic album.With Wyclef pushing Lauryn to new creative heights and Pras riding shotgun, the Fugees burst through with this blend of hip-hop, reggae, and soul. Too bad they couldn't keep it together Highlights include: Killing Me Softly Fu-Gee-La Ready Or Not 19)Soul Food-Goodie MOB A sleeper!!!This southern rap classic never saw much mainstream play, but their blend of country funk and political messages make them the most socially conscious group since P.E. Not a bad song on the thing Highlights include: Soul Food Cell Therapy Dirty South 20)It's Dark and Hell Is Hot-DMX Angry, violent, and very, very dark. DMX takes you on an unsettling visit inside his skull. He personifies a man torn between the darkness and the light.The whole album is an intense, psychoanalytic head trip;with an optimistic ending. Highlights include: Where My Dogs At? Damien Stop Being Greedy Hon. Mention: Life After Death-Notorious B.I.G. southernplayalisticadillacmuzik-outkast E.1999-Eternal-Bone Thugs N Harmony Only Built 4 Cuban Links-Raekwon Fear of a Black Planet-Public Enemy 2001-Dr. Dre Kings of Rock-Run DMC Licensed to Ill-Beastie Boys Midnight Marauders-A Tribe Called Quest Don Killuminati:The 7 Day Theory-2Pac (Makaveli) 400 Degrees-Juvenile Now, aren't you glad someone finally got it right?  |
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