Most Underrated/Overrated In Hip Hop Pt. 2: Overrated Albums Jun 30 '06    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet The Bottom Line The top 10 most overrated hip hop albums ever This set of reviews is a grouping of multiple lists and explanations of the most underrated and overrated albums and artists in hip hop. This specific essay is about the 10 most overrated hip hop albums ever to be made. I am judging how overrated an album is based on critical opinions as opposed to commercial opinions so underground albums may be on this list. Also, most of this list is interchagable so do not buy into the order of my selections too much. Please do not discredit my views because this is your favorite albums list. --THE LIST-- 1. Doggystyle- Snoop Doggy Dogg The most overrated album ever is coming straight out of the Death Row Records camp of misogynistic, weed advocating, violence glorifying gangsters. This album was the most hyped hip hop album ever right after Snoop appeared on more than half of the tracks of Dr. Dre’s supposed tour de force “The Chronic.” The hype of this album and how well it was received outweighs its actual music severely. Filled with prototypical gangster songs and watered down party-rap, Snoop shows how poor of a rapper, lyricist and innovator he is. The production manned by Dr. Dre is very hit or miss as some tracks like “GZ and Hustlas” and “Ain’t No Fun” are sonically exquisite, but other tracks like “Who Am I (What’s My Name)” get very boring very fast. The boringness mostly stems from Snoop’s lack of lyrical dexterity and subject matter. In fact, the two tracks with actually good subject matter, “Murder Was The Case” and “Doggy Dogg World” are both interesting, but their simplicity and disability to dissect topics is disappointing. “Doggystyle” had a few tracks where Snoop and Dre performed well, but for the most part, their immature comedic skits were the most entertaining part of this album. 2. The Chronic- Dr. Dre “The Chronic” is the average gangster rap album that became the blueprint of crappy hip hop albums from “Doggystyle” to “Get Rich or Die Tryin’.” It was Dr. Dre’s first solo album after proving himself an inventive producer for the gangster group of the century, N.W.A. It featured pioneering G-Funk production which would be used on every west coast hip hop album for the next 5 years and highly unpolished rapping. In terms of production, “The Chronic” was not as great as everybody says. The samples used from songs by Isaac Hayes and Parliament Funkadelic amongst others were well used, but a lot of songs are just too bland or sound similar to each other. When production is not great, the poor rapping on this album really stands out as a major blemish. The lyrics of Dr. Dre and friends tend to be very pro-gun and drugs even though Dr. Dre had a middle class upbringing showing that he is just rhyming for street-cred. The lyrics are also very uninspired and poorly written like on the overrated song “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thing” where Dre says “When I'm on the mic, it's like a cookie, they all crumble” and the infamously crappy “I told you I'm just like a clock when I tick and I tock.” Lyrics like that as well as only above average production and subject matter prove how overrated this so called classic album is. 3. Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)- Wu-Tang Clan The legendary Wu-Tang Clan’s legendary debut is approved as a classic way too much by critics. This album, made by the 36 chambers (9 members) is known for its battle lyrics and gritty beats. While it is my personal opinion that half of the tracks in sonic terms have sh!tty beats, anyone can agree that the subject matter is as repetitive as Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s crime record. Other than “C.R.E.A.M” which happens to be the best song on this album and some of “Can It Be All So Simple,” every song sounds the same content wise. In blunt terms, it’s boring. While the angry battle lyrics over a gritty beat can work (“Protect Ya Neck”) most tracks come out sounding barely listenable (“Wu-Tang: 7th Chamber - Part II”) and lyrically stupid. I also think that some Wu members like Method Man did not develop their later dominant flows and lyrics and that RZA’s production does not match up to ANY Wu solo. 4. The Low End Theory- A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest is possibly the most creative, artistic and original groups in hip hop history. They fuse afro-centric lyrics with instrumentals that are more organic than those of The Roots. On “The Low End Theory,” an alleged ingenious album, the lyrics are pretty average and the beats are some of the most boring things I have ever heard. The boring beats along with the lazy drawl based flows of Q-Tip and Phife Dawg put me to sleep. The only track that does not serve as sleeping medicine is the over produced, but enjoyable “Everything Is Fair.” Aside from some great guest appearances (most notably Busta Rhymes) and subject matter, this album is horrible. If the Tribe actually put effort into this like on their magnum opus “Midnight Marauders” than this would be a great album. If you want a classic mellow album, then buy “Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop” by Diamond D & The Psychotic Neurotics which may be the greatest album ever and should have been number one on my most underrated hip hop albums list. 5. Aquemini- Outkast After Outkast had created the southern fried funk brilliance of “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik” and the out of this world art known as “ATLiens,” they should have been hailed as the best thing since canned fruit (just go along with it). After Outkast released “ATLiens,” they decided to once again change their style to create “Aquemini.” “Aquemini,” unlike Outkast’s first two albums has inconsistent overdone production. On songs that are critically hailed like “Rosa Parks,” the production is loud and too fast to hear any of the actual rapping. All tracks have different sounds making this album choppy and allowing tracks to be skipable. What really annoys me is that the beats are made to overshadow lyrics on this album. I know that Outkast was doing this to get more mainstream appeal, but it nevertheless angers me. Also, while the subject matter on this album is great and original, the lyrics are not as good as those on “ATLiens,” but now I am just nitpicking. This album is certainly not the best southern rap album or even the best Outkast album ever, but it is a decent eclectic album. 6. 3 Feet High & Rising- De La Soul De La Soul and their acclaimed greatest album ever are something else. They are the closest thing to hip hop’s Grateful Dead. With their pro peace eclectic mix of simple lyrics, jazz/funk/soul/rock beats and humor, they developed a reasonable following from the late 1980’s through now. ׁ Feet High” was the first album that De La Soul released and one can understand the entire album by looking at the cover which was out of place even in 1989. The cover features the three De La members’ (Posdnuos, Trugoy & Pasemaster Mase) faces with a yellow background containing psychedelic flowers. This is much different than BDP cocking guns on “Criminal Minded” or NaS’ defiant face in front of project buildings on “Illmatic.” De La are in the rap game to make peace and make people happy. In some ways, they are the Sugarhill Gang with Mary Jane. Songs like “Me, Myself & I” and “Buddy” feature decent beats, but the rapping is pretty crappy. In fact, the rapping on this album is completely pointless. Aside from a few clever jokes, De La Soul never dissected anything of importance. A perfect quote on this album that sums it up completely is when Trugoy the Dove says: “Mirror mirror on the wall/ Tell me mirror what is wrong? / Can it be my De La Clothes/ Or is it just my De La Soul” This moronic quote is on what some consider the album’s best song and what is funny is that the song tries to be braggadocio at points, but fails miserably. Also, on all tracks of ׁ Feet High”, the abstract lyrics usually deal with ganja metaphors. This may be an OK album to rock a party, but in know way could I just sit and listen through this whole album without thinking that it was made by third graders. If this album had anywhere near the intellect of “The Grind Date,” it would not be on this list. 7. Phrenology- The Roots The Roots are the one famous hip hop group who makes virtually every song using live instrumentation and they are great at it. Ever since they released their ultra raw debut album “Organix” in 1993, they have continued to consistently modernize their style and make excellent albums. Even through releasing six albums (not counting one live album and two greatest hits compilations) and losing multiple band members, they have not made one album short of solid. Many fans say that their best album is “Phrenology,” but it is one of their worst to me. It may feature The Roots’ best and most popular song ever (“The Seed”), but it also features a fair load of annoying experiments like “Something in the Way of Things (In Town).” The tracks on “Phrenology” that are not experiments seem like watered down versions of classic Roots tracks (“P*ssy Galore” is a less mellow version of “Act Two (The Love Of My Life)” with worse lyrics). The only positives of this album seem to be that the experimental new Roots sound does pay off occasionally like on “Break You Off” or “Rolling With Heat.” However, even good beats on this album are made worse because this album is missing three Roots emcees (Malik B, Dice Raw & Rahzel) who would usually compliment the legendary Black Thought. Although this is still a more than sufficient album, The Roots could have done better and fans should acknowledge that. 8. The Sun Rises In The East- Jeru The Damaja To east coast hardcore fans, this is a sacrilegious pick. To DJ Premier fans, this is a disturbing pick. And for fans of underground and/or early 1990’s hip hop fans…well you know the rest. Much like Main Source did for NaS and NaS did for AZ, Gang Starr put a young Jeru The Damaja on their (alleged) classic album, “Daily Operation,” and he made an incredible verse. Unlike NaS and AZ though, Jeru did not go on to make a classic album, but instead created “The Sun Rises In The East” which was worse than the above average “Daily Operation.” On this album, the best hip hop producer ever, DJ Premier, made possibly his worst album ever beat wise. Trying to be like RZA and DJ Evil Dee, he made grimy beats that turned out to be off key pieces of crap. On well respected tracks like “D. Original,” the lyrics are pretty good as well is the subject matter, but the production is horrific. I would rather read the lyrics to most songs on this album then actually hear the songs. Jeru The Damaja does not help the beats either as his flow is poor, undeveloped and clashes with the beats too much. This all being said, “The Sun Rises In The East” has great lyrics and subject matter, but I am starting not to stand the Five Percenters extremist anti-white people politics found on many great hip hop albums. And on a possibly separate note, the prophetic album cover of the Twin Towers engulfed in flames offends and scares the sh!t out of me. 9. Tical- Method Man Method Man is a very famous rapper for his smooth flow, raspy voice, allegiance to Wu-Tang Clan and lifetime partnership with Redman. He always seems to standout when he raps alongside other rappers, but does not seem so original when he is doing solos. After doing a good job raping on “Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)” with the Wu-Tang Clan, he released a highly respected album called “Tical” which I believe references marijuana. In fact, he is the east coast version of Dr. Dre in about five other ways which I will discuss some other time. Anyway, the truth about “Tical” is that there is one good song: “Bring The Pain.” Every other song features formulaic and embryonic RZA beats before he learned his potential on “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx.” The lyrics on this album also seem generic and undeveloped, but it was apparently Method Man’s best. Other weaknesses with “Tical” include that it does not have “You’re All I Need” featuring Mary J. Blige for some reason and the “P.L.O Style” is not a political track about Palestinians. Well maybe it is, but you can be the judge. “Tical” moreover deserves much less praise then it receives. 10. AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted- Ice Cube This number ten pick is surprising to me and many other hip hop heads because we all love old Ice Cube. I think he was the only talented rapper in N.W.A., that “Death Certificate” is the best gangsta and west coast hip hop album ever and that “The Predator” is also a classic. However, on “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted,” Ice Cube came off very simplistically as a rapper and occasionally as a lyricist. In fact, some of his rhymes reminded me of the ones that he wrote for Eazy-E and Dr. Dre while he was part of N.W.A. He also did not really flow well with the George Clinton style P-Funk beats that were pretty good and therefore made the beats seem worse. I also felt that while his mostly political subject matter was good, he seemed very hypocritical. One minute, he will get p!ssed at cops, the government and crackers for thinking that he’s violent and the next minute he will talk about being violent. Also, a lot of subjects on this album could have been dissected more by Cube and made better based on his other works. For example, the funky and admittedly creative “Gangsta’s Fairytale” talked about subjects like the importance of condoms, which were elaborated on genius tracks like “Look Who’s Burnin’” in the future. “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted” is a pretty good album, but certainly not Cube’s best and/or a classic. Honorable Mentions: By All Means Necessary- Boogie Down Productions, Daily Operation- Gang Starr

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