Rap's 25 Greatest Albums, according to Chris Rock

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1Rap's 25 Greatest Albums, according to Chris Rock
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25.) DIZZIE RASCAL - Boy in Da Corner (2004)
This shit is so ahead of its time, I don't know why they told him to do it slower and make it sound American or whatever they did on his next album. It's hard, man. I'm surprised no American rappers were smart enough to have him produce them. When you hear those beats, you think "OK, if blankety-blank was on this, it would be a hit."
That Dizzee Rascal is just fucking ridiculous. Make this one my last one.

24.) DJ QUIK - WAY 2 FONKY (1992)
This is such a mindless gangsta-rap record, but some of it is actually very smart. There's a song on there about how different cities are "just like Compton." It's about how this gang shit is spreading all over the country.

23.) LAURYN HILL - THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL (1998)
Lauryn Hill was groundbreaking because for the first time since Salt-N-Pepa the world was hearing a heterosexual woman rap an couldn't believe it. This is a masterpeice of a record.
I know there's a lot of singing on there, but there's a lot of rapping, too.
People don't have a problem with conscious rap; they have a problem with conscious beats.
If you make some ignorant beats, you can say all the smart shit you want.

22.) PUBLIC ENEMY - IT TAKES A NATION OF MILLION TO HOLD US BACK (1988)
It still holds up. The beats and production are just incredible. Chuck, Flavor, political conscious-ness--we all know why this album's great. I can't say anything that hasn't been said about it.

21.) OUTKAST - AQUEMINI (1998)
All their records are good, but this one went to the next level. "Liberation" is my favorite. You can hear the Erykah Badu influence on this record. OutKast did a great record while Andre was with Erykah. Common made a great record when he was with Erykah. Before I write any more jokes, I think I'm gonna call Erykah Badu.

20.) NAS - STILLMATIC (2001)
Do you know what I like about Stillmatic? Jay-Z (who is famously dissed on the song "Ether") should have gotten a co-producer's credit on it, because Nas was definitely floundering just before it. It's like Mama Said Knock You Out eleven years earlier, where a guy just reclaimed his spot with some great records. There's a record on there called "2nd Childhood" about people who won't grow up, that's just so fucking smart.

19.) JAY-Z - REASONABLE DOUBT (1996)
I love this CD and I hate it. I love it 'cause it's Jay's best record -- best beats, best flow -- and I hate it 'cause since it came out every rap record is trying to copy it. What Jay-Z did with Rea-
sonable Doubt is take the Scarface formula and pretty it up for New York. Reasonable Doubt is his real Blueprint. I still listen to it.

18.) SCARFACE - MR. SCARFACE IS BACK (1991)
Everything Biggie did, everything 'Pac did, everything Jay-Zdoes was originally done on the first Scarface album. Biggie kills himself at the end of his first record; well, Scarface did it three years earlier. He was the first guy to do his rhymes in the first person about robbing people and drug dealing; he was the first guy to really talk about being depressed and being institutionalized, and how his mama is scared of him. He is the most underrated rapper of all time and absolutely in the top three. You cannot get to four without mentioning Scarface. Any rapper knows that.

17.) ICE CUBE - AMERIKKKA'S MOST WANTED (1990)
This is the original Best of Both Worlds. You've got the East Coast and the West Coast together.
And you've got Ice Cube at his maddest. He was the mack. I remember when Ice Cube played at the Apollo on this tour. Every rapper in town was there. It was like seeing Hendrix or some shit.
From 1990 to 1994, Ice Cube was unquestionably the best rapper in the world -- without peer.

16.) WYCLEF JEAN - THE CARVINAL (1997)
Forget all that you know. Much like Liquid Swords, The Carvinal is the best Fugees record. It's better than The Score. They're all on there -- it's Wyclef Jean, it's Lauryn Hil, it's Pras, it's that John Forte cat who's in jail. And it's all of them at their best. Even the Neville Brothers are on the album. They rap in French; "Gone Till November" is on there; it's insane. Go back and listen to this album, and try to block out all his other records. It's like watching Rocky. If you forget about most of the other Stallone films, you have a masterpiece.

15.) GETO BOYS - THE RESURRECTION (1996)
The last line of the whole album is "I'm the type of nigga that throws a party when the flag burns/I'm at the point of no return." When I heard that lyric, I was like, "OK, you got me, man." The whole Resurrection album is Scarface, Willie D, and Bushwick Bill getting politically conscious, but in a Geto Boys way. It's gangsta, and it's an incredible record. It's also (Audioslave/Rage Against The Machine guitarist) Tom Morello's favorite album.

14.) GHOSTFACE KILLAH - SUPREME CLIENTELE (2000)
This will go down as the last great Wu-Tang album. "Stroke Of Death" is so gangster it makes you wanna stab your baby sitter. There's a record on there that's just a scratch; Ghostface lets the beat play for four seconds, then keeps bringing it back. My other favorite Wu-Tang albumis Ol' Dirty Bastard's Nigga Please.
It's so much fun. It's kind of like There's A Riot Goin' On, because he was that high.

13.) GENIUS/GZA - LIQUID SWORDS
For my money, Liquid Swords is the best Wu-Tang Clan album. It's like the Songs in the Key of Life of rap.
It's so fucking smart and so hard. Everybody's on there, too. You don't really need a Wu-Tang album; Liquid Swords is all you really need to know. As you grow older, you look for records that hold up. And Liquid Swords holds up.

12.) ERIC B. AND RAKIM - FOLLOW THE LEADER (1988)
If I ever have a son, his middle name will be Rakim. "Lyrics Of Fury" is probablly, lyrically, the best rapping anyone's ever done. The line I love most is on "Follow The Leader": "I can take a phrase that's rarely heard/Flip it/Now it's a daily word." That's what every writer aspires to. It's the flyest shit I've ever heard. I have that on a wall in my office. The coolest thing about Rakim is that he's the only rapper who really has a mystique.
He's still to this day the most mysterious guy in rap. He's not quite Sly Stone, but people wonder.

11.) THE D.O.C. - NO ONE CAN DO IT BETTER (1989)
Before Dre found Snoop, he had the D.O.C. I was going to school in Brooklyn, and the only time you could see rap videos was on a weekend show with Ralph McDaniels called Video Music Box. D.O.C.'s video for "It's Funky Enough" premiered, and D.O.C. had an L.A. Kings hat on. When I came to school on Monday, half the kids in Brooklyn had L.A. Kings hats on. It was official. The whole album was great, especially the last cut, "The Grand Finale," with the D.O.C. and NWA.

10.) DE LA SOUL - BUHLOONE MINDSTATE (1993)
The first two De La Soul albums are two of the greatest albums ever, but Buhloone Mindstate is so grown up.
It helped shape me as a comedian. It's the last album Prince Paul produced for them and, as far as I'm concerned, he's a member of De La Soul. If you take Prince Paul out, none of the albums hold up. It's also got that great line "Fuck being heard, Posdnuos is complicated." That's some gangsta shit, because he don't give a fuck.

9.) A TRIBE CALLED QUEST - THE LOW-END THEORY (1991)
It's really hard to top this album. They made other good records, but they never got to this level again. It is from beginning to end a masterpiece. Phife has got a weird midget-DMC energy. And as much as I love Q-Tip, nobody's bigger than the group. He and Phife together are just incredible.

8.) BEASTIE BOYS - PAUL'S BOUTIQUE (1989)
Don't go anywhere without it. It's one of those records that you buy every time you're in a rental car. It's also one of those records that you thought sucked the day you bought it. You were mad because it sounded nothing like Licensed To Ill. Then a month later, you're like, "This is the best shit ever. High Plains Drifter is the best song ever made."

7.) EPMD - UNFINISHED BUSINESS (1989)
The second EPMD album is as good as two guys can get whose names aren't Run and DMC. The production is insanity. Before Eminem made "Lose Yourself", "Please Listen To My Demo" was the best record about wanting to become a rapper ever made.

6 LL COOL J.) - MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT (1990)
The beauty of LL's Mama Said Knock You Out is that it's like the Secret deodorant: strong enough for a man, but made for a woman. It's hard gangsta shit. But at the same time, I could put the CD on with my mother in the car and drive from New York to Philly. It's also the first comeback in rap. It's the real blueprint: if people think you're done, this is how you come back. It's one of my favorite albums ever. It's LL at his best and Marley Marl at his best. It's LL as Madonna, in the sense of Madonna saying, "Who's the hot producer? Let me get that person." LL was the first rapper smart enough to do that. Now it's what everyone does.

5.) PHARCYDE - BIZARRE RIDE II: THE PHARCYDE (1992)
Only in rap do you get one-album-wonders. The Pharcyde are like the Boston of rap. I don't know what happened afterward, but the first Pharcyde album is incredible. The rhyming is great, the vocals are great, the production is ridiculous. Everything is just way ahead of its time. It's a shame everybody got overtaken by gangsterism. Everyone wants to be hard, so they don't make records like this anymore. It happens to comedians, too. They want to be cool, but just being funny is cool.

4.) RUN-DMC - RAISING HELL (1986)
Raising Hell is the first great rap album ever. I like Run, but I love DMC. No one ever sounded like DMC; no one ever looks like DMC. He's like a superhero. Raising Hell is probably Rick Rubin's best record. "It's Tricky" is a weird song because it's so gangsta and pop at the same time. There's a track on there, "Hit It Run", which is just DMC with Run doing the human beatbox: "I leave allsuckers in the dust/Those dumb motherfuckers can't mess with us." It was actually the first time I heard a guy curse on a record.

3.) 2PAC - RAP PHENOMENON II (MIX TAPE, 2003)
You'd have to go to Harlem or a swap meet to get this one. It's done by DJ Green Lantern, DJ Vlad and Dirty Harry. They got tapes of Tupac's vocals and put them over all the newest, baddest beats of the last four years. So you hear Tupac rapping over the "Hate Me Now" beat. It's the best shit in the world. It's ultimate fighting music. You will kill somebody listening to this shit.

2.) SNOOP DOGGY DOGG - DOGGYSTYLE (1993)
Doggystyle, to me, is better than Dr. Dre's Chronic. It has held up way better because it's a party album, and its lyrics are better. The Chronic is sonically incredible, but it's hard to drive around singing songs about "Eazy-E can eat a big fat dick." But I got a feeling I'll be singing "Gin and Juice" when I'm ninety.

1.) N.W.A. - STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (1988)
N.W.A. is the most influential act of the last thirty years -- bigger than Nirvana, Madonna or the Sex Pistols. Nothing has ever been the same since they came. I remember I was in L.A. when I was a kid, and I brought Straight Outta Compton back to New York. More people were coming over to my house to listen to N.W.A. than were going across the street to the crack house. I had the real shit. It was kind of like the British Invasion for black people.

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― Lord Custos Omicron (Lord Custos Omicron), Sunday, 18 December 2005 02:45 (twenty years ago)

Close enough for me.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Sunday, 18 December 2005 02:55 (twenty years ago)

The line I love most is on "Follow The Leader": "I can take a phrase that's rarely heard/Flip it/Now it's a daily word." That's what every writer aspires to. It's the flyest shit I've ever heard.

that's kind of OTM!

― Special Agent Gene Krupa (orion), Sunday, 18 December 2005 03:01 (twenty years ago)

I like this list.

Phife has got a weird midget-DMC energy.

― 'Twan (miccio), Sunday, 18 December 2005 03:03 (twenty years ago)

I don't really get into that De La Soul album... or any de la soul for that matter?

also: where are ready to die & nigga please?

― Special Agent Gene Krupa (orion), Sunday, 18 December 2005 03:05 (twenty years ago)

On some other list.

Nigga Please is mentioned in #14. As for Biggie, he mentions in #18 he thinks Scarface did his schtick better and firster.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Sunday, 18 December 2005 03:11 (twenty years ago)

Is that Wyclef Jean album actually good? I don't remember anything except for how shitty the Gone 'Til November video is.

― Erick Dampier is better than Shaq (miloaukerman), Sunday, 18 December 2005 03:20 (twenty years ago)

fascinating. i love reading smart people playing rock critic. my favorite line...

The Chronic is sonically incredible, but it's hard to drive around singing songs about "Eazy-E can eat a big fat dick." But I got a feeling I'll be singing "Gin and Juice" when I'm ninety.

xpost: everything Wyclef has ever done is good, but I like the next one a bit better

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Sunday, 18 December 2005 03:24 (twenty years ago)

What an incredibly boring list.

― adam (adam), Sunday, 18 December 2005 03:41 (twenty years ago)

I object to the implication that "Hate Me Now" is one of the hottest beats of the last few years. That song fucking sucks in every possible capacity.

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Sunday, 18 December 2005 03:42 (twenty years ago)

straightoutacompton and followtheleader would make my list. if i had a list. and maybe that d.o.c. album, except i haven't heard it since 1989 and my mind might be playing tricks on me. and maybe amerikkkasmostwanted and wait ittakesanationofmillions too. and shit, liquid swords and supreme clientele, hmmm, maybe 5 or 6 or 7 on his list. they r purty obvious choices tho.

― scott seward (scott seward), Sunday, 18 December 2005 04:19 (twenty years ago)

i'm pleased that doggy style is favored over the chronic.

― Special Agent Gene Krupa (orion), Sunday, 18 December 2005 04:29 (twenty years ago)

I was a huge fan of the Wyclef album, and it's a shame he's so maligned by the hipsterati. The Carnival is an eclectic and fascinating record.

So is anyone inclined to post their OWN top 25 hip-hop albums?

― Whiney G. Weingarten (whineyg), Sunday, 18 December 2005 05:03 (twenty years ago)

People don't have a problem with conscious rap; they have a problem with conscious beats.
If you make some ignorant beats, you can say all the smart shit you want.

Genius. This is a fantastic list.

― Sym Sym (sym), Sunday, 18 December 2005 05:14 (twenty years ago)

i'm pleased that doggy style is favored over the chronic.

Me too. "Doggy style" fucking rules. "The chronic" is great but it's still kind of half of the post-Marly/Bomb Squad production style of "efil4zaggin" and half of the more laid back g-funk. "Doggy style" just flows better.

Glad to see he picked "reasonable doubt" and "follow the leader" too. "Lyrics Of Fury" is probablly, lyrically, the best rapping anyone's ever done. Word life !

Eh @ Lauryn Hill, Wyclef and Dizzee Rascal, though.

― ELLI$, Sunday, 18 December 2005 12:53 (twenty years ago)

Marley* even

― ELLI$, Sunday, 18 December 2005 12:54 (twenty years ago)

Hmm If I were to make a list I think I would put Paid in Full cd at number one. My list would also have some biz markie and grand master flash, because that's just the kinda crazy feel good guy I am!

― Don Rowlando (Sam Rowlands), Sunday, 18 December 2005 13:10 (twenty years ago)

This list has blurbs. Therefore, I like.

― Mr. Snrub, Sunday, 18 December 2005 15:19 (twenty years ago)

I enjoyed reading this.

― deej.. (deej..), Sunday, 18 December 2005 21:04 (twenty years ago)

Partly predictable and occasionally slightly unexpected, comes across as honest and uncontrived.

― deej.. (deej..), Sunday, 18 December 2005 21:32 (twenty years ago)

he had me at the Way 2 Fonky love! Awesome blurbs and all these albums belong on someone's list somewhere(though I haven't heard the 2pac mixtape or the whole Wyclef joint to my knowledge, and I treasure Lauryn Hill's album but more as a soul record but whatever) so I can't find too much fault.

― tremendoid (tremendoid), Sunday, 18 December 2005 22:16 (twenty years ago)

"Partly predictable and occasionally slightly unexpected, comes across as honest and uncontrived."

OTM, I thought this too,

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Sunday, 18 December 2005 23:00 (twenty years ago)

I really like a lot of his commentary, too! I mean, a lot of it is that usual "I'm not a critic" / "I can't say anything about this that hasn't already been said" thing, but in loads of places he has good stuff to say. My favorite = "If you make some ignorant beats, you can say all the smart shit you want."

― nabiscothingy, Sunday, 18 December 2005 23:13 (twenty years ago)

It's also got that great line "Fuck being heard, Posdnuos is complicated."

that's a typo, right?

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Monday, 19 December 2005 00:17 (twenty years ago)

Yeah it's "Fuck being hard"

― deej.. (deej..), Monday, 19 December 2005 00:20 (twenty years ago)

this list made me love Chris Rock more. he speaks truth to power.

― Lukas (lukas), Monday, 19 December 2005 01:06 (twenty years ago)

No Eminem????????

― musically (musically), Monday, 19 December 2005 01:11 (twenty years ago)

Great list! Yay for Scarface.

― Tape Store (Tape Store), Monday, 19 December 2005 01:15 (twenty years ago)

Wow, Chris Rock is a pretty great music critic. I'm not surprised so much as very pleased.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 19 December 2005 01:16 (twenty years ago)

I'm surprised that Nation of Millions rates so low. How old is Chris? This seems pretty weigheed toward recent stuff.

― Mitya (mitya), Monday, 19 December 2005 03:34 (twenty years ago)

and how do we know that chris rock wrote this?

― cutty (mcutt), Monday, 19 December 2005 03:44 (twenty years ago)

well, he's a writer, why wouldn't he have written it?

― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 19 December 2005 03:46 (twenty years ago)

Fuckin OTM on picking the Dirty Harry 2Pac tape - better than any of Pac's actual albums, that one.

― Jacob (Jacob), Monday, 19 December 2005 04:11 (twenty years ago)

i don't know, scott, i'm trying to find his voice in most of the commentary and it's just not working for me.

― cutty (mcutt), Monday, 19 December 2005 04:19 (twenty years ago)

Waited toward new stuff? Outside of the mixtape (which uses verses from the mid-90s), nothing in the top 10 is under 11 years old.

― Erick Dampier is better than Shaq (miloaukerman), Monday, 19 December 2005 04:34 (twenty years ago)

"This is such a mindless gangsta-rap record, but some of it is actually very smart."

huh?

― mucho, Monday, 19 December 2005 05:32 (twenty years ago)

I expected some Digital Underground and Gang Starr on Rock's list. Paul's Boutique is a surprise choice.

― brettino's bounce (Da ve Segal), Monday, 19 December 2005 07:46 (twenty years ago)

good list -- though i'm kinda surprised that chris rock didn't pick any busta rhymes.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Monday, 19 December 2005 11:19 (twenty years ago)

Great list, better than what most music critics would come up with. Obviously compiled by a true hip-hop fan, and I definitely think he wrote it.

Although my fave album isn't on there (BDP's Criminal Minded) he hits a lot of classics and defends the overlooked (OTM re: Scarface). Plus, no Mobb Deep, who I think are way overrated.

― Edward III (edward iii), Monday, 19 December 2005 16:33 (twenty years ago)

i don't know, scott, i'm trying to find his voice in most of the commentary and it's just not working for me.

he wrote a blurb about The Predator for the SNL-edited issue of spin back in what, 92? it always stuck with me and its pretty similar.

― 'Twan (miccio), Monday, 19 December 2005 16:35 (twenty years ago)

I'm sure these are his words, probably spoken over the phone or something and transcribed by someone at the mag.. he's way too hardcore a fan (from everything I've heard) to have someone ghostwrite it.

I posted a little quote from Prince Paul on the topic:
http://www.hiphopmusic.com/archives/001288.html

― Jay Smooth (jsmooth995), Monday, 19 December 2005 20:16 (twenty years ago)

the 'make this my last one' in the dizzee blurb would seem to reaffirm the transcription theory.

― 'Twan (miccio), Monday, 19 December 2005 20:21 (twenty years ago)

As much as I like the Wu solo stuff, it's difficult to rate it above "36 Chambers".

― Nick H (Nick H), Monday, 19 December 2005 21:09 (twenty years ago)

two months pass...

This was originally in Rolling Stone. I can't believe that the list doesn't have Biggie on it, yet Dizzee Rascal makes it. Other than that, it's a pretty good list.

― J.R., Sunday, 26 February 2006 19:36 (twenty years ago)

To the guy who said he's never gotten into De La Soul, I hadden't really either until recently, and holy SHIT, their first 3 albums are fantastic.

So is the first Gravediggaz actually. And the second one is better than you'd expect. Also been getting into that first Tribe record as well. Phenomenal.

Cool to see "Stillmatic" is on there but not "Illmatic". Finally someone else who doesn't think "Illmatic" was the be all and end all of Nas' career. It's likely that he still has his best album in him.

― Eroc LAzron, Sunday, 26 February 2006 20:32 (twenty years ago)

Good to see some props for the D.O.C, still love his stuff. And to see 'AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted' getting bigged up over the others is good for a change, that's a fucking brilliant album. Insanely good. And, yeah, NWA still holds up.

― beaux knee (boney), Sunday, 26 February 2006 21:29 (twenty years ago)

I actually think that this is probably the most OTM list from a celeb I've ever read. Not just cos he knows this stuff, but also because he knows exactly why he likes it. And, to be honmest, I never would've picked him as a Dizzee fan. Fantastic. Of course I would've liked Atliens, Dah' Shinin' etc, but fuck, this is close enough!

― paulhw (paulhw), Sunday, 26 February 2006 22:53 (twenty years ago)

I agree with paul, but I think this is one of the best lists I've read in general in a long time. Regardless of whether he got it "right" or not he has very specific, personal, interesting reasons for liking what he does, and makes some rather accurate remarks about hip-hop in general in the process. Maybe more music critics should be not-really-a-music-critic music critics. or something..

― sovietpanda (sovietpanda), Sunday, 26 February 2006 23:31 (twenty years ago)

odd how he calls tracks "records" i.e. "there's a record on there..." ??? there's a record on the record?

― lil' flipper (eman), Monday, 27 February 2006 01:59 (twenty years ago)

eh, some people just talk that way, maybe just older folks. Jay-Z does it a lot too ("I decided to put only 12 records on this album" etc)

― Alex in Baltimore (Alex in Baltimore), Monday, 27 February 2006 02:34 (twenty years ago)

'Mama Said Knock You Out' is way too high though.

― beaux knee (boney), Monday, 27 February 2006 03:11 (twenty years ago)

Hardly.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 27 February 2006 03:13 (twenty years ago)

I don't really like Illmatic so I'm glad it's not on there -- just don't get that album.

Reasonable Doubt is definitely the best Jay-Z album but, like, even David Duke agrees with that.

― Abbadavid Berman (Hurting), Monday, 27 February 2006 04:24 (twenty years ago)

"most otm celeb list" seconded. even though there's some i wouldn't have in my list, i can't fault *him* for having them in *his* list. there's no "OMGWTFLOL what a moran" selections.

― oops (Oops), Monday, 27 February 2006 04:42 (twenty years ago)

i like his scarface, geto boys, and EPMD picks.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Monday, 27 February 2006 07:15 (twenty years ago)

Solid list.

― Brian O'Neill (NYCNative), Monday, 27 February 2006 14:05 (twenty years ago)

"Record" implies an individual track, going back to the 7"/12" heyday.

"Album" implies the full-length product with multiple records on it.

I think you might have to be over 30 to remember when that was common parlance.

Maybe more music critics should be not-really-a-music-critic music critics. or something..

This is a massive understatement.

― Dan (Go 'Head, Chris) Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 27 February 2006 14:32 (twenty years ago)

It's a sweet list. I've got reservations about Straight Outta Compton as an album, a good half of it's filler, but he seems spot on about its importance. I wish Supreme Clientele was higher. It's a classic-centrist list: no Dirty South stuff at all? And Unfinished Business is a cute choice, but EPMD sound soooooo old now. Fuck it, I just wanted to say I Like This List Lots. Oh, and Illmatic is great, amongst other sings, cos it's the most blam blam blam all killer no filler Hip Hop album I can think of.

― Raw, Uncompromising, and Noodly (noodle vague), Monday, 27 February 2006 14:43 (twenty years ago)

EPMD sound soooooo old now

u get the bozack

― ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Monday, 27 February 2006 15:27 (twenty years ago)

lol @ mp3 newjacks giving self-dap 4 hating illmatic

― ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Monday, 27 February 2006 15:28 (twenty years ago)

It was kind of like the British Invasion for black people.

That's pretty funny and OTM.

― Brian O'Neill (NYCNative), Monday, 27 February 2006 15:45 (twenty years ago)

two weeks pass...

he is OTM about that tupac mixtape. one of the best things ive heard in a long time.

― cheshire, Tuesday, 14 March 2006 01:00 (twenty years ago)

I completely agree with De La Soul's "Buhloone Mind State" being on that list. It's always been overshadowed by the others, but has been my favourite from the first time I heard it.

― J-rock (Julien Sandiford), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 01:56 (twenty years ago)

J-Rock: Buhloone Mind State is where I came in, and I never really managed to get into any other DLS albums because of it.
This is a fun list though.

― js (honestengine), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 04:39 (twenty years ago)

I remember when Ice Cube played at the Apollo on this tour.

I do too. I was 20% of the white people in the crowd. Had a blast.

― Brian O'Neill (NYCNative), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 08:31 (twenty years ago)

Great list. At least 15 of those albums would easily be in my top 50 rap albums, so it's hard to complain about it too much. Some shit is missing but so what.

― polyphonic (polyphonic), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 08:44 (twenty years ago)

two months pass...

dj shadow's entroducing would be nice, but theres no rapping on it

― Rob Cooper, Thursday, 25 May 2006 16:50 (nineteen years ago)

THAT'S WHY IT'S NOT A RAP ALBUM.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, 25 May 2006 17:17 (nineteen years ago)

I don't know what happened afterward, but the first Pharcyde album is incredible

The 2nd Pharcyde album is just as good...

― PappaWheelie B.C., Friday, 26 May 2006 02:59 (nineteen years ago)

THAT'S WHY IT'S NOT A RAP ALBUM.

Shhhh, you're giving it away!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 26 May 2006 03:02 (nineteen years ago)

great list - although Stillmatic instead of illmatic ?

buhloone mindstate is easily one of the best hip hop albums ever....

the one album i would put in there is the first brand nubian

― grapple (grapple), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 22:27 (nineteen years ago)

I sent for the 2Pac mixtape a few days ago. Hope it lives up to the hype.

― Marmotdeth (marmotwolof), Tuesday, 30 May 2006 22:37 (nineteen years ago)

Ah, it just came in the mail. I'm about halfway through it, good stuff. It doesn't make me want to kill anyone, though

― Marmotdeth (marmotwolof), Wednesday, 31 May 2006 00:15 (nineteen years ago)

i don't like it, it's like a highlight reel...all the songs under 3 minutes...lots of gratuitious spliced-in cameos from other rappers.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Wednesday, 31 May 2006 03:37 (nineteen years ago)

That's par for the mixtape course though.

― Marmotdeth (marmotwolof), Wednesday, 31 May 2006 03:43 (nineteen years ago)

I love how we're still parsing the choices that an actor made on his personal top 25.

Where's all your top 25s? I wanna see some lists dammit.

― Whiney G. Weingarten (whineyg), Wednesday, 31 May 2006 04:21 (nineteen years ago)

Here is a quick top 25 off the top, of albums that I've been coming back to a lot these days, albums from this year excluded. Don't pay too much attention to the order.

1. Notorious BIG - Life After Death
2. Scarface - The Diary
3. Snoop Dogg - Doggystyle
4. Too $hort - Get In Where You Fit In
5. The Big Tymers - I Got That Work
6. Kurious - Constipated Monkey
7. Outkast - Aquemini
8. Ice Cube - The Predator
9. Mia X - Unlady Like
10. Fat Joe - Jealous Ones Envy
11. T.I. - Trap Muzik
12. Rappin' 4-Tay - 4 tha Hardway
13. Big L - The Big Picture
14. Kool G Rap - 4,5,6
15. Dr. Dre - 2001
16. Ma$e - Harlem World
17. Do or Die - Picture This
18. Nas - Illmatic
19. Jay-Z - Vol 2 Hard Knock Life
20. Black Moon - Diggin in Dah Vaults
21. Gang Starr - Hard to Earn
22. B.G. - Chopper City in the Ghetto
23. Three 6 Mafia - Choices Soundtrack
24. Tru - True
25. Beanie Sigel - The B. Coming

― deeej, Wednesday, 31 May 2006 04:59 (nineteen years ago)

I meant to put Suga Free's "Street Gospel" in there but I forgot.

― deeej, Wednesday, 31 May 2006 05:02 (nineteen years ago)

deeej your list is pretty good methinks even though I only have like three of those records. I will do a list that no one likes but it will take me a couple of days.

― Haikunym (Haikunym), Wednesday, 31 May 2006 05:04 (nineteen years ago)

(Apologies to Brand Nubian, Beatnuts, De La, Tribe, Mobb Deep, Spice 1, MOP, DITC, etc etc etc to infinity)

― deeej, Wednesday, 31 May 2006 05:05 (nineteen years ago)

thnx Matt.

― deeej, Wednesday, 31 May 2006 05:06 (nineteen years ago)

Mine is a pretty male-dominated list.

― deeej, Wednesday, 31 May 2006 05:18 (nineteen years ago)

Funny you say that because the one album on there that I was like, "Hmmm, I wonder what *that's* like!" is the Mia X one.

― jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 31 May 2006 05:21 (nineteen years ago)

The Big Tymers - I Got That Work = bleh

Chronic >>> 2001

Reasonable Doubt >>> Vol 2

Illmatic > 4,5,6

― Some Guy, Wednesday, 31 May 2006 05:25 (nineteen years ago)

But the rest of the albums I have ahead of Illmatic are OK?

― deeej, Wednesday, 31 May 2006 05:46 (nineteen years ago)

Maybe, maybe not. I picked 4,5,6 to compare Illmatic to because it seems pretty derivative of Illmatic

― Some Guy, Wednesday, 31 May 2006 06:01 (nineteen years ago)

Illmatic = pretty derivative of G Rap and Polo.

― deeej, Wednesday, 31 May 2006 06:15 (nineteen years ago)

Sadly, no Erase Racism on Illmatic though.

― deeej, Wednesday, 31 May 2006 06:20 (nineteen years ago)

As far as the others, I Got That Work is a good comedy album with unexpected depth, I've always found Reasonable Doubt to be pretty overrated (actually my favorite Jay track right now is Where I'm From). I love the singles from Chronic but never pull it out as much as '01.

― deeej, Wednesday, 31 May 2006 06:23 (nineteen years ago)

Illmatic = pretty derivative of G Rap and Polo.
-- deeej (li...), May 31st, 2006.

Illmatic = pretty superior to all Kool G Rap albums.

― ramon fernandez (ramon fernandez), Wednesday, 31 May 2006 13:04 (nineteen years ago)

I should have just left the damn thing off the list altogether.

― deej.. (deej..), Wednesday, 31 May 2006 13:59 (nineteen years ago)

Replace with Lost Boyz - Legal Drug Money

― deej.. (deej..), Wednesday, 31 May 2006 14:02 (nineteen years ago)

replace with sage francis lol

― and what (ooo), Wednesday, 31 May 2006 14:03 (nineteen years ago)

Thats #26

― deej.. (deej..), Wednesday, 31 May 2006 14:04 (nineteen years ago)

one year passes...

chronic 2001 is boring...the beats are kinda 'eh', although it starts out really good and then dies after "The Next Episode".

for Jay-Z, I like Hard Knock Life, but it has filler and isn't anywhere near as good as Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint, or even The Black Album. I think it's high point is "A Week Ago" with Too Short.

― Bo Jackson Overdrive, Sunday, 27 January 2008 15:16 (eighteen years ago)

Shut up, Blowjob.

― The Reverend, Sunday, 27 January 2008 15:23 (eighteen years ago)

oooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooo

― Bo Jackson Overdrive, Sunday, 27 January 2008 15:23 (eighteen years ago)

http://phillips.blogs.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/06/25/630_nigga_skinhead.jpg

― The Reverend, Sunday, 27 January 2008 15:25 (eighteen years ago)

how old were you when that was taken?

― Bo Jackson Overdrive, Sunday, 27 January 2008 15:26 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.claudebrissart.com/images/logo_zang_huge.jpg

― The Reverend, Sunday, 27 January 2008 15:30 (eighteen years ago)

http://www.abysszine.com/image/profily/mayhem_deaddead.jpg

― Bo Jackson Overdrive, Sunday, 27 January 2008 15:32 (eighteen years ago)

http://poljunk.gloriousnoise.com/images/unicorns-rainbow.jpg

― The Reverend, Sunday, 27 January 2008 15:36 (eighteen years ago)

ugh i dont know if hes a sockpuppet/troll or not but bjo is the worst regardless

― deej, Sunday, 27 January 2008 15:46 (eighteen years ago)

in a strong field

― Noodle Vague, Sunday, 27 January 2008 15:46 (eighteen years ago)

The best I can say for him is that he's better than pipecock.

― The Reverend, Sunday, 27 January 2008 15:47 (eighteen years ago)

http://russelldavies.typepad.com/planning/images/status.jpg

― Noodle Vague, Sunday, 27 January 2008 15:52 (eighteen years ago)

I don't totally get the Bo Jackson Overdrive hate campaign. Seems like straight-shooting Nickalicious (or, if I'm being generous, He1geson) type minus a little of the self-awareness or occasional lolz that those guys usually have. Maybe I missed something he did to piss people off, though.

― Alex in Baltimore, Sunday, 27 January 2008 16:10 (eighteen years ago)

I started a kazillion threads my first week and showed no restraint, which got their initial ire, then I dared to say I didn't like albums some people held as sacred cows here.

I've kind of given up on the idea of me and this board ever working , but seems now even when I try to get banned it doesn't work.

i spend more time posting on rogthefrog.com atm.

― Bo Jackson Overdrive, Sunday, 27 January 2008 16:14 (eighteen years ago)

he bumps 897834572 rap threads and is just flat-out RONG or repeats conventional wisdom, i.e. "Dre is better at beats than rapping"

also posted a disgusting picture in this thread

― deej, Sunday, 27 January 2008 17:11 (eighteen years ago)

thinks hes 'skewering sacred cows' by claiming that reasonable doubt is better than hard knock life

― deej, Sunday, 27 January 2008 17:12 (eighteen years ago)

yeah someone should delete it

― J0rdan S., Sunday, 27 January 2008 17:13 (eighteen years ago)

Wow, an American who like Dizzee.

― Bodrick III, Sunday, 27 January 2008 17:15 (eighteen years ago)

al this is like the 6th thread that hes revived over the last couple weeks to SHOCK US ALL by telling us that he thinks 2001 is boring

― max, Sunday, 27 January 2008 17:18 (eighteen years ago)

dj shadow's entroducing would be nice, but theres no rapping on it

-- Rob Cooper, Thursday, 25 May 2006 17:50 (1 year ago) Bookmark Link

THAT'S WHY IT'S NOT A RAP ALBUM.

-- s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, 25 May 2006 18:17 (1 year ago) Bookmark Link

― Bodrick III, Sunday, 27 January 2008 17:32 (eighteen years ago)

al this is like the 6th thread that hes revived over the last couple weeks to SHOCK US ALL by telling us that he thinks 2001 is boring

-- max, Sunday, January 27, 2008 12:18 PM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

Go ahead and produce the other 5, cocksucker, or shut the fuck up. The last time I said 2001 was boring was probably over a month ago.

― Bo Jackson Overdrive, Sunday, 27 January 2008 17:33 (eighteen years ago)

deej, you are a fucking retarded orangutan.

You consider yourself the Godfather of Rap and actually get offended when someone dares disagree with your opinion (note I've never actually said any of YOUR opinions were 'RONG' before).

You are a fucking idiot. People like you deserve to be fed to the wolves.

― Bo Jackson Overdrive, Sunday, 27 January 2008 17:35 (eighteen years ago)

as far as repeating conventional wisdom...so essentially that's saying "how dare you say something right that many of us know already". Fucking plebeian.

― Bo Jackson Overdrive, Sunday, 27 January 2008 17:36 (eighteen years ago)

Shut up, Blowjob.

-- The Reverend, Sunday, January 27, 2008 7:23 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Link

― The Reverend, Sunday, 27 January 2008 17:56 (eighteen years ago)

suck my dick, future 7-11 employee

― Bo Jackson Overdrive, Sunday, 27 January 2008 18:12 (eighteen years ago)

deej and reverend are otm, ban Jordan S.

― Dom Passantino, Sunday, 27 January 2008 18:21 (eighteen years ago)

http://images22.fotki.com/v754/photos/1/127099/1923196/ike_where_this_thread_is_going-vi.jpg

― Curt1s Stephens, Sunday, 27 January 2008 18:22 (eighteen years ago)

guys can this be the Official Bo Jackson Overdrive Finally Goes Batshit And Gets Banned Thread?

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 27 January 2008 19:06 (eighteen years ago)

let's make this happen

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 27 January 2008 19:06 (eighteen years ago)

retarded orangutan

c'mon, this is funnier than any of Alex in NYC's insults in the past 2 years

― Alex in Baltimore, Sunday, 27 January 2008 19:08 (eighteen years ago)

dude does indeed bring the zings.

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Sunday, 27 January 2008 19:15 (eighteen years ago)

and the rapier wit

― Noodle Vague, Sunday, 27 January 2008 19:17 (eighteen years ago)

I think I detected a tiny zing from Chris Rock towards the David Cross generation of hipster comics with "It happens to comedians, too. They want to be cool, but just being funny is cool." I also read Chris Rock say something in another interview about how he didn't like comedians complaining about zoo crew radio DJs --on of Cross's bits-- because even if they're annoying they help comedians promote their shows.

― filthy dylan, Sunday, 27 January 2008 21:52 (eighteen years ago)

"deej, you are a fucking retarded orangutan"

OTM

― titchyschneiderMk2, Sunday, 27 January 2008 21:57 (eighteen years ago)

People like you deserve to be fed to the wolves.

-- Bo Jackson Overdrive, Sunday, January 27, 2008 11:35 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Link

― deej, Sunday, 27 January 2008 23:26 (eighteen years ago)

ten months pass...

deej, you are a fucking retarded orangutan.

― deej, Monday, 8 December 2008 17:07 (seventeen years ago)

Just wanted to remind yourself.

― Alex in SF, Monday, 8 December 2008 17:08 (seventeen years ago)

so deej, do you consider yourself the Godfather of Rap?

― Millennium Ducats (Roberto Spiralli), Monday, 8 December 2008 17:12 (seventeen years ago)

feed me to the wolves???
http://www.msnicon.com/Msnupload/Msnpics/nixon%20sock%20it2me.jpg

― deej, Monday, 8 December 2008 17:15 (seventeen years ago)

deej and reverend are otm, ban Jordan S.

Suggest Ban Permalink
― Dom Passantino, Sunday, January 27, 2008 10:21 AM Bookmark

― Animal Collector (The Reverend), Monday, 8 December 2008 17:23 (seventeen years ago)

still lolling at the Lauryn Hill comment

― Ca-hoot na na na oh oh (HI DERE), Monday, 8 December 2008 17:25 (seventeen years ago)

"Stroke Of Death" is so gangster it makes you wanna stab your baby sitter.

― deej, Monday, 8 December 2008 17:54 (seventeen years ago)

deej is a spoonie gee sockpuppet i knew all along!

― M@tt He1ges0n, Monday, 8 December 2008 18:35 (seventeen years ago)

mods, can someone delink the pic above with the exploded head? kthx.

― Gino-Vanellyville (Mackro Mackro), Monday, 8 December 2008 20:00 (seventeen years ago)

eight months pass...

lolling xtra hard at this thread rite now

― butthurt (deej), Wednesday, 19 August 2009 10:25 (sixteen years ago)

one year passes...

― Some Guy, Wednesday, May 31, 2006 1:25 AM (4 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

now i feel like i must've been subliminally biting however this was when i picked this display name a couple years later

― some dude, Thursday, 24 March 2011 16:43 (fifteen years ago)

however=whoever

― some dude, Thursday, 24 March 2011 16:44 (fifteen years ago)

lol @ deej not recognizing that murder photo considering some of his arguments this week

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 24 March 2011 16:59 (fifteen years ago)

"a disgusting picture"

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 24 March 2011 16:59 (fifteen years ago)

what is it / it is disgusting?

― so fly zone (D-40), Thursday, 24 March 2011 17:01 (fifteen years ago)

dude from Mayhem's suicide photo iirc

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 24 March 2011 17:33 (fifteen years ago)

ok. dont get why thats hilarious tho

― so fly zone (D-40), Thursday, 24 March 2011 17:58 (fifteen years ago)

because you were on some "metal is just metal imo" talkin from the mountains and you can't even recognize one of it's most iconic images

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 24 March 2011 18:03 (fifteen years ago)

yeah i don't see how that's lol. i'm way more into metal than deej (although still not exactly a metalhead) and have no idea what pic we're talking about.

― some dude, Thursday, 24 March 2011 18:04 (fifteen years ago)

me neither...? I mean, I guess I am aware that the Mayhem guy committed suicide but I don't really seek out photos of that kind of shit. Because I am not a morbidly obsessed teenager.

― Hyper Rescue Troop (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 24 March 2011 18:06 (fifteen years ago)

you don't have to "seek it out" it was on the cover of an album iirc tbh otm afaik

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Thursday, 24 March 2011 18:24 (fifteen years ago)

a bootleg live album iirc tbh otm wtf dude

― Hyper Rescue Troop (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 24 March 2011 18:28 (fifteen years ago)

eleven months pass...

9. Mia X - Unlady Like

― deeej, Tuesday, May 30, 2006 11:59 PM (5 years ago) Bookmark

finally snagged a used copy of this. totally love it. fuck Allmusic saying she's No Limit's Lil Kim/Foxy Brown. she drops some topics that rarely ever make it in hardcore rap...domestic abuse from the point of view of the lady? Being a single mom? the last 4 tracks are really heavy but awesome. she had lyrics. def high point of No Limit, sad I waited so long to hear this.

― Bo Jackson Overdrive, Saturday, 3 March 2012 01:54 (fourteen years ago)

That record is classic

― what's a goon to garbus (Whiney G. Weingarten), Saturday, 3 March 2012 02:57 (fourteen years ago)

I think it may be v well the best thing No Limit ever put out

― what's a goon to garbus (Whiney G. Weingarten), Saturday, 3 March 2012 02:57 (fourteen years ago)

totally. not surprised why ethan listed her as his top female MC.

― Bo Jackson Overdrive, Saturday, 3 March 2012 16:17 (fourteen years ago)

deej and reverend are otm, ban Jordan S.

Suggest Ban Permalink
― Dom Passantino, Sunday, January 27, 2008 10:21 AM Bookmark

― marissa explains it all (The Reverend), Sunday, 4 March 2012 12:23 (fourteen years ago)

I was a huge fan of the Wyclef album, and it's a shame he's so maligned by the hipsterati. The Carnival is an eclectic and fascinating record.
So is anyone inclined to post their OWN top 25 hip-hop albums?

― Whiney G. Weingarten (whineyg), Sunday, December 18, 2005 12:03 AM (6 years ago) Bookmark

so quaint to see him using terms as tame as 'hipsterati' back then

― some dude, Sunday, 4 March 2012 13:47 (fourteen years ago)

four years pass...

dj shadow's entroducing would be nice, but theres no rapping on it
― Rob Cooper, Thursday, May 25, 2006 12:50 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

THAT'S WHY IT'S NOT A RAP ALBUM.
― s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, May 25, 2006 1:17 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

― Neanderthal, Friday, 6 January 2017 01:22 (nine years ago)

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