best rap album of 1998

oh shit, there were some fantastic albums from this year

good choice for a year! interesting bunch of albums

gonna be hard for me to vote against captial punishment though

(I am handicapped by being fully in the throes of drum n bass/techstep at the time and therefore not picking up most of these, but of the ones I own I pick Lauryn Hill. I suspect that if I owned more of these, my vote would be different.)

maybe you shouldn't vote against Capital Punishment, m@tt!

mack 10

I kind of can't believe I don't have that Black Star album

wtf, me

this is my top 10 out of the ones i've heard, although there's a lot i still want to hear:

Big Punisher - Capital Punishment
Mos Def And Talib Kweli Are Black Star
Busta Rhymes - E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front
Outkast - Aquemeni
DMX - It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot
E-40 - The Element Of Surprise
Jay-Z - Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life
Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
The LOX - Money, Power & Respect
8Ball - Lost

maybe you shouldn't vote against Capital Punishment, m@tt!

― underrated bobos I have honked (some dude), Tuesday, October 19, 2010 2:44 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i am going to vote for it!

tho being on the real to real i loved the shit out of the black star album too

oh fuck just saw aquemini!!!

wow what a terrible year this was

voted Aquemini, can't even imagine voting for anything else tbh

i'mma treat you like a middleman in little italy punk!

8Ball's Lost is so fuckin good

prolly gonna have to go with Jay-Z tho :/

ha m@tt

probably bumped aquemini the most but gonna rep rhythm-al-ism here

that shakey post is insane

really wanted to vote Busta or Outkast

it really is tempting to be rap contrarian and vote Mia X or something, but Vol 2 is such a killer album

"Timbaland - Tim’s Bio: Life From Da Bassment"

I didn't realize this came out in '98. I think this is a weaker year than the preceding 4 or 5. Still plenty of good stuff. N.O.R.E. is amazing just to name one record that hasn't been mentioned yet.

vol 2 is great but i dunno, aquemini and capital pun seem the two canon ones on here (to me)

black star was the one i loved most at the time, and i still have a lot of affection for it, but i couldn't quite bring myself to pick it over the more truly unassailable classics. voted aquemini in the end. what a year!

was also tempted to vote doc's da name 2000 if only for "i'll bee dat!", an all-time wonderful single

FR-R-R-R-RUCK UUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!

exactly

juve no contest. "ha" and "back that azz up" alone makes it a great album

that shakey post is insane

eh whatever - a lot of this list is weak albums by great artists (Snoop, Cypress Hill, Cube, Beasties etc), 2nd-string Wu-Tang (Cappa, RZA, Meth), or shit I just straight up never liked/cared about (Master P, Trick Daddy, Mystikal, DMX).

I did like what I've heard of Rhythmalism, and there are a number of okay albums on here too (Black Star, Jay-Z) but really Aquemini is the standout classic

lol I almost voted BEP

"Clap Your Hands" will always be my second-favorite song of theirs (behind "Weekend")

Shakey i maxed out the poll thread options # and put together a list of almost 50 albums, of course they're not all classics worthy of voting for, but i figured better to cover too many bases than too few

tribe

top ten:

Big Punisher - Capital Punishment
DJ Quik - Rhythm-al-ism
DMX - It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot
Gang Starr - Moment of Truth
Goodie Mobb - Still Standing
Jay-Z - Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life
Juvenile - 400 Degreez
Outkast - Aquemeni
Trick Daddy - www.thug.com
Young Bleed - My Balls & My Word

voted dj quik

fav quik album fav rap artist so

I haven't heard enough of these but ranking the ones i really like:

Big Punisher - Capital Punishment
DMX - It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot
Jay-Z - Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life
DJ Quik - Rhythm-al-ism
Juvenile - 400 Degreez
Outkast - Aquemeni
Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation Of
Redman - Doc's Da Name
Goodie Mobb - Still Standing

Can someone tell me about the Trick Daddy album and whether it's worth adding to my Trick collection.

oh shit totally missed Still Standing!!!

can I change my vote to that

there are a bunch of good records this year but nothing comes close to aquemini.

i like a lot of these but i can't front, black star is what i was listening to

of the ones i've heard

A Tribe Called Quest - The Love Movement - dope but not as good as their first three. 7.
Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty - dope but not as good as their first three. 7.
Black Eyed Peas - Behind The Front - Surprisingly good, as is their other pre-wusshername phase. 7.
Big Punisher - Capital Punishment - Twinz (Deep Cover 98) most prob the best single of the year. 9.
Busta Rhymes - E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front - best busta album? like all busta albums it would be a classic if only the dude cut the chaff from it. 6.
Canibus - Can-I-Bus - Dude has skill but zzzzzzzzzzz. 4.
Cappadonna - The Pillage - Kinda underrated but when there are so many other Wu records, no-one but his mother feels inclined to listen to this ever. 5.
DJ Quik - Rhythm-al-ism - i've never been big on the westcoast sound but kinda enjoyable. 7.
DMX - It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot - zzzzzz, never liked DMX. Ruff Ryders Anthem is dope though. 4.
DMX - Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood - zzzzzzzzzzzzz but without a RRA. 2.
Gang Starr - Moment of Truth - ITS GANGSTARR DUH. 9.
Jay-Z - Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life - imo the most overrated proper era jay album. never really cared for nigga whut nigga who for example but still decent. 6.
Juvenile - 400 Degreez - Dope as fuck. His voice slays me and Mannie Fresh at possibly his best. 9.
Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - Miss u boo. 9.
The LOX - Money, Power & Respect - There once was a time when the LOX had the potential to be the best in the industry, honest. 7.
Method Man - Tical 2000: Judgement Day - Too long, too many shitty skits, too many shitty guest verses but some stand out bits (Left Eye's verse, the two singles spring to mind). 4.
Mos Def And Talib Kweli Are Black Star - Kinda suffers from the retreads of other songs and blahblahblah but ultimately worth being in any collection. 8.
M.O.P. - First Family For Life - ITS FUCKING MOP. 9.
Noreaga - N.O.R.E. - "The title was a acronym for "Niggas On the Run Eating"." This guy was never as cool when without Cormega but Superthug was undeniable. 4.
Onyx - Shut Em Down - anything onyx do is worth it, come on. 6.
Outkast - Aquemeni - 10. 10. 10. 10. 10. 10.
Redman - Doc’s Da name: 2000 - The weakest Red album at that point but still worth it. 6.
Snoop Dogg - Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told - Remember this being zzzzzzzzz but haven't listened to it in about a decade, may be worth retrying after the southern boom? 1.
various artists - Lyricist Lounge, Volume One - Always prefered the second one but this is great and everyone brings their A game. 8.
Xzibit - 40 Days & 40 Nightz - am I the only one to find X as an mc kinda dull? His whole career saved by Whats The Difference and Pimp My Ride. 2.

i haven't heard a lot of these -- i voted 'aquemini' over 'money power respect', '400 degreez', 'rythm-a-lism' & 'vol 2' which i think are all classics obv

oh god, also 'miseducation'

there are a bunch of good records this year but nothing comes close to aquemini.

I don't know what people are thinking putting this near the bottom of their top 10.

What happened to He Got Game and Steal This Album?

oh man steal this album is great

Oh sorry, I guess they fall under "other". My bad

Moment Of Truth

I'll have to vote other then.

did 3-6 have an album out that year?

not many rap albums i love more than aquemini...but capital punishment is one of them

":Jay-Z - Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life - imo the most overrated proper era jay album. never really cared for nigga whut nigga who for example but still decent. 6."

this has been underrated for years wtf

like, no one rates vols 1-3

Noreaga - N.O.R.E. - "The title was a acronym for "Niggas On the Run Eating"." This guy was never as cool when without Cormega but Superthug was undeniable. 4.
Onyx - Shut Em Down - anything onyx do is worth it, come on. 6

putting onyx over nore is loco & obv u are totally rong abt quik & dmx

I don't know what people are thinking putting this near the bottom of their top 10.

― The baby boomers have defined everything once and for all (Dorianlynskey), Tuesday, October 19, 2010 5:58 PM (39 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i was thinking 'alphabetical order by artist'

gangsta boo's enquiring minds is an obv one missing from here & its def better than 'mama drama' imo

Why is it? Superthug is by far the best solo noreaga and even then thats because of the neptunes, he sounds stupid as hell on it. dmx is boring as tits, even if i have come round to adlib culture in the past couple years.

also he is rong about xzibit

nore is one of the most fun rappers imo

don't understand how u can 'get' mop and hate on dmx

'get' 'stan' for

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkF-W-7uNQQ

i was thinking 'alphabetical order by artist'

Oh yeah. Alphabetical order. Oops.

juve vs pun vs kast vs quik, of the ones i've heard. need to hear more of these tho

oh vs black star, that was big for me in HS

1. Still Standing
2. Aquemini
3. The Coup- Steal This Album
4. Moment of Truth
5. First Family 4 Life
6. Capital Punishment

goodie mob for me for sure

don't understand how u can 'get' mop and hate on dmx

― straight outta furnace (The Reverend), Wednesday, 20 October 2010 01:18 (11 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

one is fun as hell and the other is a whiny bitch in shitty movies, don't see the problem?

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_i6Q_3BHo-Nw/SM2E0jJt3iI/AAAAAAAAACc/JeDCu_zeTZY/s400/the_coup_steal_this_album_1998_retail_cd-front.jpg

I can't believe you left out this album, easily my favourite of that year.

Oops, sorry, I see people have already mentioned that one.

none of these quite enter my personal luuv sphere, tho many are pretty fn rad, voted juve

this is def my fav album cover of the year

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_sY9FRN6Xib4/S6onZM7nXwI/AAAAAAAANXk/_-E8soauXIM/s1600/1264454556_trick-daddy-thug-com.jpg

Aquemini

wow this was a good year

I picked this year both because of what I said upthread about there being some room for debate and because it and toward the end of 97 were kind of the beginning of me listening to rap and R&B as much as rock and paying attention to it beyond just kinda passively channel surfing to MTV Jams etc. i remember anticipating September 29th because it was the release date of the Jay and Tribe (and Outkast and Black Star) albums because I had gotten really into Reasonable Doubt/Vol 1 and Low End Theory the year before, and a friend sent me a promo of the Black Star a few weeks early. i worked my first job as a dishwasher that summer and one of the guys i worked with always bumped the first DMX album in the backroom, another friend from there was really into Aquemini, and there were just so many great singles out that year.

btw guys sorry for misspelling Aquemini in the polling options, i always mess that title up.

I think XXL recently did a story on 1998: the last great year in Hip Hop.

that's an odd position for XXL to take

2001 was pretty good

I think XXL recently did a story on 1998: the last great year in Hip Hop.

― Drastic times require what? Drastic measures! Who said that? T (President Keyes), Wednesday, October 20, 2010 5:30 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

does it move forward one year every year -- i mean i swear there were a bunch of pieces about 1996 a few yrs ago

yeah it's probably whatever year most of the staff was a certain age

lots of great stuff here but DMX - It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot wins it for me by a ways

Aquemini is possibly my favorite album,

Black Star, Rhythmalism, 400 Degreez, Hard Knock Life are all classics.

Redman album is fun as hell.

Would like to see how Timbo, Snoop, DMX, Lox, Beasties hold up, haven't heard them since I was a kid.

Never liked that Xzibit

Have loved Lauryn Hill for a long time but recently started to find her preachiness and self-righteousness on this album incredibly grating.

Really need to get some full e40 and Goodie MoB albums...and a lot of other shit

*favorite album, period.

voted of the ones i've heard:

Beastie Boys - Hello Nasty
Canibus - Can-I-Bus
DMX - It’s Dark And Hell Is Hot
DMX - Flesh Of My Flesh, Blood Of My Blood
Jay-Z - Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life
Killah Priest - Heavy Mental
Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Mos Def And Talib Kweli Are Black Star
Outkast - Aquemeni
various artists - Lyricist Lounge, Volume One

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

top 10

1. Jay-Z - Vol. 2: Hard Knock Life
2. Outkast - Aquemeni
3. Juvenile - 400 Degreez
4. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
5. Redman - Doc’s Da Name: 2000
6. 8Ball - Lost
7. Gang Starr - Moment of Truth
8. Mia X - Mama Drama
9. Mystikal - Ghetto Fabulous
10. Silkk the Shocker - Charge It 2 da Game

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

can't front on Outkast

Been listening to Rhythm-al-ism a ton lately; I might like it more than Aquemini

Canibus - Can-I-Bus 2
Canibus - Can-I-Bus 2
Canibus - Can-I-Bus 2
Canibus - Can-I-Bus 2

seriously that is just weird, even can-i-bus wouldn't vote for it in this poll

Best cover art?

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HBK1MNGEL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

presumably that's lenticular

Man I loved 1998 for rap. I spent all my money at Sam Goody on anything that got a halfway decent review in the Source and every No Limit release.

Rhythm-al-ism though obv since its my favorite ever. Aquemini is a top 10 though, so not mad at it winning,

Even the sun goes down
Heroes eventually die
Horoscopes often lie

But until they close the curtains
Its him and I...