10(or 12)RAP ALBUMS ANY RAP FAN MUST OWN! (1990-2000)
Dec 30 '00
Rap music is one of the ever changing genres of music. Back from it's origin in the late 70s, rap has constantly changed in order to keep up with the constant pop-culture trends. Pop-culture trends and rap closely related? Sad but true, rap is now as more mainstream as ever, but as long as some rappers stick to their underground (and underworld) roots, the meaning behind the music will still provide us with countless hours of entertainment, and real life horror stories.
Of course, rap is not only about past experiences. Once a rapper makes it big, it becomes his/her job to flaunt it. With platinum & ice, $300,000 Bentley's with $20,000 rims, and a hot chick in the passenger side, you can say that particular rapper has reached the top of his game. But who the hell cares that he's reached the top of his game if now all he has to talk about is his material possessions.
There are some rappers (i.e. Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg) that have reached the top, but yet still expand their talents to constantly produce beat thumping hits and platinum albums. Then there are the losers of the rap game (i.e. Nelly, Shyne) that have just released their first album and are trying to boast that they are already at the top. So here it is, the top 10 rap albums from 1990-2000.
10. Da Brat Funkdafied (1994)
Da Brat's solo debut in 1994 sparked the beginning of hardcore female rap. Da Brat paved the way for people like Lil Kim to move in, and take Da Brat's hardcore style, and add sexuality to it. Da Brat was the first true female success in the rap game, due to the marketing genius of Jermaine Durpi, and the album titled track, Funkdafied, which had a spectacular video.
9. Dr. Dre The Chronic (1992)
Dr. Dre didn't recieve recognition for this album until 1993, when his video "Ain't nuthin but a "G" Thang" debuted on MTV. Prior to his MTV debut, Dre was topping the rap charts, and rocking BET countdowns with this video which showcased everything the west coast life was like for the young average African-American at the time. You of course had your 40 ounces, weed, barbecue, and bare-breasted women. This album also showcased Dre's protege, Snoop Dogg, who made it big off this album. Others featured that never came up too big include Warren G, & Nate Dogg.
Quite possibly the funniest skit ever performed on any album was the $20 Sack Pyramid, which spoofed the popular TV show $100,000 Pyramid, dumbing it down to ghetto levels.
8. Wu-Tang Clan Enter the Wu Tang 36 Chambers (1993)
New York is back! After years of dominance by the West Coast, Wu-Tang brought respect back to the east coast with their Shaolin skills on their debut album. This album featured one of the greatest rap tracks of all time, C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me) which entailed a true life story of the Clan and the hard life growing up. Everything the Wu raps about in this album is straight from the heart, and truthful, unlike their new attempts to get mainstream acceptance rather than "keeping it real", as some would say.
7. Cypress Hill Black Sunday (1993)
Cypress Hill was the first hispanic rap group to gain acceptance into the hip-hop community. The album had to deal with the usual basics of rap, getting high, and busting off guns, but it was the first album to come from a hispanic group. Hits like Insane in the brain not only gained Cypress Hill acceptance in the rap community, but boosted them into the mainstream, and also gained them acceptance from the rock community. This was the first sign of genres coming together in unity, rather than a rap vs. rock battle.
6. Notorious BIG Ready to Die (1994)
Biggie dropped his debut in 1994. As stated in his album, he was considered a fool because he dropped out of high school, a line from the first track released off this album called "Juicy". Juicy sampled a song from the 80s, so it brought funk to Biggie's hard time music. Of course, after the hard times and money making, the party insues. Biggie's album is a true success story from a kid bound to fail, deemed a loser by society, and made it regardless. As heard/seen in the Big Poppa video, BIG definitely paid his dues, came from being the lowest piece of trash, now he's livin it up, but not saying he's a different person. He's just throwing it back at those that said it could never happen, as it should be done if it happened to you. Of course Biggie still speaks about his old days on the streets, with the hilarious track "Gimme Tha Loot", which could never make it to the radio, but will provide hours of entertainment on your CD player.
5. Naughty By Nature 19 Naughty III (1993)
Naughty by Nature was the first group ever to create a new genre within rap music. It was known to many as dance rap, and is now performed by few rappers, one of which includes Jay-Z. Dance rap was a progressive move in hip hop music, as hip-hop left it's dark state and was able to become party music. Hip Hop Hooray is quite possibly one of the most important hip hop tracks of all time. No, Hip Hop Hooray is not a song that just meant jump for joy, and even though it is used at baseball games it should not be compared to the awful "Who Let The Dogs Out?" by the Baha Men. Hip Hop Hooray was a celebration, of hip hop music, that it was reaching people, and could deliver a message other than violence. This one track alone catapulted this album to go 5 times platinum, and Naughty By Nature was no one hit wonder, but it was too hard for them to top their work done in Hip Hop Hooray. Ultimately the group disappeared, but the song still remains a popular sports and party song.
4. Coolio It Takes a Thief (1994)
Coolio's It Takes a Thief was one of the last great albums that brought people together before the east coast vs. west coast rap war began. All of the funk filled songs on this album added comedic value to rap music. This was also one of the first dance rap albums made from the west coast. A lot of people may only remember this album for the extremely popular Fantastic Voyage, but there were plenty of other hilarious tracks on this album. Since Coolio was 30 when he made this album, he had lots of life experience, and was able to reflect on the harshness of his adult life as well, in "County Line". He switches back and forth between recent problems and probs in the past, with "Ugly B-tches". And of course, the unknown "Ghetto Cartoon" is the best use of cartoon characters in a ghetto dramatization ever made.
3. Jay-Z Volume 2 Hard Knock Life (1998) & Volume 3 Life & Times of S. Carter (1999)
Jay-Z had made 2 incredible rap CDs, one in 96, and another in 1997. However, Jay-Z was overshadowed by then the kings of rap, 2Pac, and The Notorious BIG. However, by March 1997, both of these rappers were deceased, and there was no one on top of the rap scene. Emerging from this, was Jay-Z, and a new dynasty was formed (no pun intended).
Jay-Z had a strong underground background, but now it was his time to shine in the mainstream spotlight. Volume 2 was Jay-Z's first album to go straight to number 1 on the BillBoard Pop charts. The first release off the album was the namesake of the album, Hard Knock Life, which took a beat from a broadway play, and made it into a phenomenal sounding rap song. It was obvious Jay-Z could make great music from everything. The album became ridiculously popular when they released the 2nd track, Can I get a...? featuring Amil & Ja Rule. This song was accepted by the mainstream pop crowd, and was a definite alternative to the generic music most people in the pop crowd listened to.
Volume 3 proved to be even more popular than its predecessor, being the first #1 album of the new millennium, and remaining atop the BillBoard pop charts for a total of 8 weeks, besting such popular bands as BackStreet Boys and Nsync. Jay-Z became the new undisputed king of rap, and he is paving the way for his protege, Memphis Bleek to take his throne in the near future.
2. Eminem The Slim Shady LP(1999) & The Marshall Mathers LP(2000)
Imagine stunning the world and causing massive controversy, all by releasing a record. I wonder if Eminem imagined ever creating the mess he did in the past 2 years. It's probable that all his work was done purposely to steer fake fans away from his music, and attract true rap fans, rather than becoming a pop symbol.
Eminem became a pop symbol though, even though he is a rapper, because he is 1. white, 2. strange, and 3. liked by MTV. MTV saw Eminem as a tool to be marketed to the masses, so they capitalized like rabid dogs. They went so far as to give Eminem his own special to promote his album. The show was called EMTV, a combination of the rapper and his supposed new home. Eminem's videos plowed through the pop competition on MTV, and he skyrocketed to the top with instant success.
Both of Eminem's albums recieved a major amount of media attention thanks to their vulgar and obscene content, and offensive terms towards women and gays. We all have people we don't like, but no one goes out and publically announces it. Eminem felt it was his right as an artist to express himself, and in doing so, he created so much negative publicity, he managed to sell 11 million records. Very similar to another rich genius creating negative publicity, Howard Stern. Eminem may not be the best rapper ever, but he speaks his mind, even if it shouldn't be heard by anyone with a heart, it will be out there for someone to enjoy. I'm one of those people who thoroughly enjoyed both albums, despite the obvious negativity.
1. 2Pac All Eyez on Me (1996)
Double CDs were never too popular when it came to rap. Usually rap artists found it hard to fill up one 74minute cd with their rhymes. Just imagine how much 2Pac had on his mind, to deliver not 1, but 2 CDs full of content. This CD was also released at the height of the east/west coast rap war, making it a topic of controversial conversation.
This album produced some of 2Pac's greatest hits, and propelled him to superstar status, while remaining a true thug. Tracks like 2 Of Americaz Most Wanted featuring Snoop Dogg was released at the same time that both Snoop & 2Pac were going through court proceedings, and nothing is better than heat of the moment publicity. The album also features the wildly popular California Love remix, which was judged one of the greatest rap videos ever on both BET & MTV. CD 1 of this set exhibited 2Pac's newfound superstardom, while CD 2 exposed his thuggish darkside even further, making him a more versatile artist.
There it is, the top 10, well 12 albums of the past decade. Anyone that listens to rap or hip hop music should be a proud owner of these CD's, as they set the stage for the next 10 years of rap music to come.
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Member: Michael Chenensky
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