Recommend me some hip hop...

i've been meaning to pick up that majesticons disc too but i'm still not sure whether i'd like it... i've been reading some very ambiguous reviews.

main source's breakin atoms.

illmatic.

the blueprint.

juvenile - 400 degreez and tha g code.

dmx - the great depression.

soleside's greatest bumps.

biz markie - goin off.

dilated peoples - the platform.

soundbombing ii.

extra yard.

gang starr - full clip.

kmd - black bastards.

ultramag mc's - critical beatdown.

schooly d - saturday night.

organized konfusion - stress.

all four outkast records.

jungle brothers - blah blah forces of nature.

(does anyone really need the chronic at this point?)

tical.

the first cypress hill.

long live the kane!

strictly business.

geto boys - uncut dope.

amerikkka's most wanted.

If you don't mind some severely fucked-up ultra-lefty super-bleak ultraviolent battle rhymes from hell, then for the love of everything get Immortal Technique's shit like yesterday. Lyrics here. (I've only seen him live so I can't attest too much to his beats. I think his DJ used a CD player!)

yeah mp3's a good idea because there are so many great hiphop acts that have like ONE good song and the rest are filler (audio two, luniz, etc.)

biggie's ready to die.

the roots are great live but i've never had any urge to buy their records.

uh, Eric B. & Rakim - 'Paid in Full' & 'Follow the Leader'

dr. octagon (with reservations)

stetsasonic's in full gear.

gravediggaz - 6 feet deep.

lord finesse - funky technician.

bdp - criminal minded.

the first two eminem albums.

jeru the damaja - the sun rises in the east

I'm no expert here, but I'll note that If I had a list of ten favorite hiphop artists, at least four of your five "grounding" artists (maybe not Tribe) would be on it, and at least two would be at the top. These additional artists (with album picks) would probably help fill out the rest of the list:

Jay-Z - Vol. III and maybe The Blueprint
Beastie Boys - any and all
Outkast - Stankonia and Aquemini
Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP and maybe The Slim Shady LP
The Notorious B.I.G. - in the absence of a greatest hits, Ready to Die and/or Life After Death

I'll recommend The Fugees' The Score, but note that it feels more like a pop (or do I mean rock?) record to me and beware of filler on the back end. Similar issues in re: Missy. I'd also want to own some Redman, though I'm not sure he's made a good record yet. Doc's da Name is at least listenable, but a greatest hits is probably worth waiting for. And the new Cash Money greatest hits would probably be fun. Nelly's first record certainly is, though it's slight and filler-ish. And I'll second recs for the first Cypress Hill and Jungle Brothers albums based upon limited listening and reputation.

"Old school" (you know what I mean) that might be worth getting if not as exciting as more recent stuff - LL's Mama Said and/or Greatest Hits, Ice-T's Greatest Hits, KRS-One's Retrospective, Eric B and Rakim's Masters, NWA's Straight Outta Compton (for a single or three, beware of filler).

As far as the 'underground' goes, I think Del tha Funkee Homosapien deserves more attention than he gets (where some others don't, necessarily). The later stuff has more technique and production.

If you're thinking about something like Mobb Deep, I'd recommend starting instead with an album called The Real Hip-Hop: The Best of D&D Studios. It's a good compilation of mid-90s East Coast 'hardcore', featuring some artists you don't necessarily need more by, or might want to get in limited form before delving deeper into. It's also functions as a collection of production work by DJ Premier. And there are similar comps that would serve the same purpose for Main Source and co.

Aceyalone, "The Book Of Human Language" - Much beloved in
some circles, and with good reason. It really is a classic.
The production is deliciously eerie, like the ghosts of dead jazzmen,
jamming in an old, empty house at midnight. And Aceylone's mic
skills have to be heard to be appreciated. Fast, brash, charismatic,
precise, and cerebral, all in one package.
Key Tracks: Best appreciated as a whole, but "The Grandfather
Clock" and "The Hold" are especially good (the latter is one of
my all-time faves).

Roots Manuva, "Run Come Save Me"
Very much a "love him or hate him" artist. I fall in the latter
category, but be forewarned. He's British/Caribbean
and sounds it.

Hieroglyphics is one of THE most talented crews out there,
but sadly, they have produced few great albums. Del is my
single fave MC but his solo albums are flawed. "Third Eye
Vision" also has a few duds, but it has many really
stunning tracks, so it gets my vote for best intro to Hiero,
followed by "Deltron 3030" and Pep Love's "Ascension."
Key tracks: "At The Helm", "3030", "Memory Loss." As I said,
Del The Funky Homosapien is my favorite rapper, and these
show him at his best. Also search "Magnetism," from the
Handsome Boy Modeling School album.
Also search "Limitations" and "Batting Practice," early,
vital Souls of Mischief tracks.

Jedi Mind Tricks, "Violent By Design" - Nothing too
radical here, just standard, but very good underground
hip-hop. Lot of classical samples, which is a good thing
in my book.

Cage, "Movies For The Blind" - like Sensational, Cage
is an MC that sometimes sounds mentally ill, as opposed
to Kool Keith, who sounds calculated, and ODB, who
just sounds frugged up. He's not as wacky as the above,
but he's lot darker and worse (best) of all, he sounds
like he really believes in all of it.

Styles of Beyond, "2000 Fold" - Like the best indie rap,
it's a blend of opposites: scratchy old strings, shiny new synth
tones, and "I'm the best" posturing framed by strange metaphors
and flights of fancy. In short, it just rocks, though I wish the
MC's had a bit more personality (they tend to blend).

Mr. Lif, "I Phantom" - Since you're into El-P, you may already
know about this one, but I'll mention it anyway. I feel strongly
about this album; I think it's indicative of a major step in the
maturation of hip-hop. It's a concept album about Lif trying to
keep his soul and body intact as he tries to make a living in
hip-hop. It talks about real life issues that matter to
ordinary people, and ends up far more gripping than
the usual "hard knock life" or "apocalypse" themes of hip-hop
concept albums.
That covers the lyrics. As for the beats - they're about as
good as it gets. And they have a certain funkiness, as
opposed to El-P's robotic workouts (he's good, but
overrated and two-dimensional, IMO).
Key tracks: "Now" and "Friends and Neighbors."

Scarface, "The Fix" - Scarface is the most mainstream of
these rappers, with the simplest lyrics that discuss
familiar hood topics - but he's still good, and the beats
are awesome, a mix of fat, funky synth-pop and these
great, old-time R&B samples. His older material didn't
seem good to me, but maybe I just didn't dig hard
enough.
Key tracks: "On My Block," and "In Between Us," with
a phat synth solo

NOT recommended: Mystik Journeyman and Jeru The Damaja,
they have a few good moments, but are overall wack.
Also, this goes against the accepted wisdom, but I don't
think Outkast's first few albums are all that. Sure,
there's some fantastic tracks, but Stankonia is so much
better, and their hits album is probably the best intro.
Also: ditch "Supreme Clientele" in favor of "Internal
Affairs."

PS. Who else is getting tired of muffled, weak drums
in underground hip-hop. If the drum track isn't tight and
snappy I just can't feel it.

PPS. I agree about Siegel, he's damn good. I can't get his
verse on that Freeway joint (What We Do) out of my head.

S: Casual: Fear itself

any sugarhill records

"Countryman" Skitz. I think Tom's said quite a bit about this album on other threads, but if you don't want to look, it just serves as the greatest primer for British rap music ever. And that's "British rap", not rap that happens to be British. If you want a taste of it, try and find either "Domestic Science" or "Cordless Mics at 20 Paces" over Kazaa, featuring Estelle and Wildlower and Phi Life Cypher, respectively. I'd also beg of you to buy Blak Twang's uber-amazing "Kik Off", but I seem to be the only person fully in love with this piece of lout-hop.

Err... the Arsonists' debut piece, "As The World Burns", before they spectacularly imploded and released a shitty second album is well worth a listen, it's got a perfect claustrophobe/party diaretic thing going on throughout the entire piece.

And as stated upthread, "Supreme Clientele". If only for "Buck 50".

Ludacris' Southern Hospitality is a grebt album too, also go for Trina's "Diamond In The Rough" & Trick Daddy's Thug.om & Foxy Brown (Ill Na Na and Broken Silence)

You can't imagine a whole album of good fun? That's not what Country Grammar is, of course - it's more balanced. Not a great disk or anything, but there are four good-to-great singles (Batter Up!), at least two or three pretty good album tracks, and listenable filler that isn't devoid of content.

everyone needs the chronic & also doggystyle

ha! the former has the three singles you already know, which you'll enjoy until you stop lying to yourself about both their palatability and their musical content. beyond those, there are maybe two listenable tracks. the latter is a joke.

I know you're not talking about "offensive" content here.

'Paid in Full' next.

me = drunnk

also, you say "some BDP"? Please get by all means necessary..

I also recommend "Plantation Rhymes" by ex-CoFlow member Big Juss, and any Ghostface album, even that Bulletproof Wallets bootleg version with samples of Barry White.

I love "Fantastic vol.2" by Slum Village, produced by Jay Dee, it's very warm and delicate, as everything he produces.

Has anyone mentioned Black On Both Sides by Mos Def yet? If not, buy that. Otherwise I second most of the choices on this thread.

Lakim Shabazz - Pure Righteousness (good luck)
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo - Best of Cold Chillin' (semi-conscious)
The D.O.C. - No One Can Do It Better (pre-carwreck; unconscious)
X Clan - To the East, Blackwards (conscious)
The Geto Boys - The Geto Boys (Uncut Dope doesn't have Fuck 'Em of Gangsta of Love)
Above the Law - Black Mafia Life
Black Moon - Enta da Stage
Too $hort - Life Is... (almost asleep)

Also listened to the first Raw Fusion for the first time in over a decade -- so much better than what I remember of the first two Digital Underground albums.

Pete Rock and Cl Smooth's first EP and album haven't been mentioned and are unquestionably dope.
Redman's "Muddy Waters" is damn fun to listen to, esp. if drunk w/da homies.
Hieroglyphics should be checked out. Del's "No Need for Alarm" is very underrated, but you should start out with the criminally overlooked Souls of Mischief "93 Til Infinity"
Looks like everyone forgot about the Pharcyde too. Get "Bizarre Ride..."
Slick Rick also should've been mentioned by now--Great Adventures of is a classic
Kool G Rap is definitely needed. Start w/his first album--his rhymes from 15 years ago are still incredible.
No mention of Beatnuts either--I'd pick up their self-titled album first, then Intoxicated Demons EP
Get Common's "Resurrection" before even considering "Electric Circus"
Brand Nubian's first 2 albums are really good--Grand Puba has probaly the smoothest flow ever (he's not on the second one)

As for newer talent, judging from the people you listed, I think you'd like People Under the Stairs--all their albums are good. Not the greatest lyricists or innovative production, but got that summery, mid-90s vibe down pat.
Binary Star's album has some pretty good stuff on it too.
Lootpack's album (Soundpieces)is pretty weak lyrically, but the rhymes don't get in the way of the amazing beats. Madlib's production (man behind Quasimoto, Yesterday's New Quintet) made me love hip hop again the first time I heard it.
Black Star, anyone?
If you like FanDam, you'd like Can Ox, Mr. Lif, and Co Flow.

that's enough, my brain is starting to hurt.

tha liks - 21 and over
big pun - capital punishment
big L - Lifestylez Ov Da Poor and Dangerous
juvenile - 400 degrees
CNN - the war report
method man & redman - blackout!
nas - it was written
jay z - vol 3
busta rhymes - anarchy

anyway what i was going to say is....P has probably got quite a few things on the various lists...mobb deep etc.

More random opinions:

Too Short is trashy garbage, to be avoided at all costs.
I'm convinced that his long-standing popularity is based solely on the
fact that he's one of the all-time dirtiest MCs. And, ironically, many of
his songs have great beats. But as a rapper he's talentless, maybe
the worst mentioned so far. He stays on beat most of the time, but
that's the only good thing I can say about his rapping. He's got a slow,
drippy, weak (why do you think he doubles all his lyrics?) voice and
ear-rendingly wack schoolboy lyrics. And cats know it, or why would
he devote so many songs to 'don't hate me.'
This is based on his recent stuff, he's been around forever, and may
have been good once. I doubt it.

Re: Dre and Snoop, they supposedly did some great singles
and albums back in the day. I guess you had to have been
there (I was a tyke, not into hiphop) cause to them now,
Snoop is only _okay_ and the beats barely get my head
nodding. N.W.A, on the other hand, are still dope as hell.

Re: The Coup and Kool Keith. All their albums are good, but
if you only get one go for _Party Music_ and _Dr. Doooom_,
respectively.

Re: Deltron 3030. It's a SOLID album, only a couple of fillers and they
short. First five tracks - what, and not hear "Virus" or "Memory Loss?"
Pfah.

Mr. Lif = the man.
El-P has real talent as a producer and MC, but to me his rapping can
be dissapointing - sometimes he just rants on and on, totally
off the beat, like an angry poet, and you just want to smack him
back on track.

I really wanted to like Cannibal Ox more than I did. The first song
is so great, and so is the second, but I thought the disc really
ran out of steam. And on repeated listenings, 1 of the 2 MCs
(the one who constantly varies off the beat) starts sounding
shite.

I'm no expert but I think you will enjoy The Chronic, Nick. It is 'dated' (meaning: it makes you imagine another time/place more than it heightens your awareness of this one) but I think it's very enjoyable and also user-friendly if you're concerned about diving into the sometimes forbidding world of pop-hop.

Dom I like "Kik Off" too! Not as much as you though.

I must just point out how strange I find it that many many women seem to really love this album. I'm not sure why it surprises me (especially as it's one of the only hip-hop albums I can think of that actually sound sexy), but it does.

Honestly (here comes the too-much-information part), it's very likely my son was conceived to Sex Style.

Squirrel Police, do you like Alanis?