gumdrops

Well-known member
all of them? theyre ALL boring?

yeah it gets a bit boring seeing PE's nation... at the top of every one of these lists but i mean, its still a great album. you see it in the list, and think yawn, but then you put it on, and think, fuck, this is actually still fucking good. same with illmatic. cant see gucci mane or lil boosie replacing them anytime soon, sorry.
 
Nah I fully agree any "greatest" list generally consists of a load of music fetishised (sic) by backpackers and Swedes that's dated horribly and gives the impression that music stopped in 1997.
 

CrowleyHead

Well-known member
late nineties early noughties 4tw

*waits for list*

Now this is pure fantasy.

It's amazing though as to what is considered important to what generation. You ask older 'heads' about say... Group Home for example, they say Group Home had one song, and that they didn't deserve a whole LP. Likewise for Camp Lo. Perspective is an incredibly funny thing.

I mean, people at one point took Channel Live serious. I am SO much happier with myself for liking Gucci than I'd have been listening to those creeps.
 

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
I'd definitely like to see some alernative list that takes mixtapes and individual tracks into account, rather than just 'classic albums'. Lots of hip hop albums are spoiled by too many skits if you ask me, or are just overlong and bloated. I really liked that Woebot list actually, shame its not on the net anymore.

But Luka, what are your new criteria?
 

FairiesWearBoots

Well-known member
you have to admit though, with the exception of some lesser known more abstract rappers, that the subject matter of most hip-hop has been somewhat generic for the last 10 years+

most of the heads harping on about illmatic etc found that music so amazing as its was a new take on things, there are far few rappers now talking about the sort of things P.E, native tongues were talking about?
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Agree with Benny - singles seems a more fruitful way to go. I dont' liek many albums all the way through, period. Of whatever genre.

The things that annoys me more than the top 100 hip hop albums is the token PE album in more general album lists. And maybe they'll put Illmatic in if you're lucky.
 

hucks

Your Message Here
The things that annoys me more than the top 100 hip hop albums is the token PE album in more general album lists. And maybe they'll put Illmatic in if you're lucky.

It interests me that Illmatic was not hailed as an instant classic, but achieved canonical status by the end of the 90s. Tbf the interesting bit is how anyone in 94 might have heard those verses over those beats and not figured that it was so much better than the competition.

So I'm a person who thinks all the best hip hop was made by 1995. Can someone give me a canonical list of great hip hop tracks made this century?
 

slowtrain

Well-known member
I like illmatic but I don't like it that much.

Maybe I'm just rap stupid.

I would definitely be interested in a more mixtape/track based list though. Rap albums don't usually seem to work all the way through.
 

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
Agree with Benny - singles seems a more fruitful way to go. I dont' liek many albums all the way through, period. Of whatever genre.
.

CDs are partly to blame for spoiling later period rap albums, 75 mins or whatever is far too long and always has to be filled up with nigh on half an hour of shit (or useless 'bonus' tracks). Mixtapes are also a trawl obviously but need to be taken into account...how would you even begin to make a canon out of all this stuff? Would you out Lil B in there?!
 

luka

Well-known member
b you are right about cds.
also definitely generational. so many of the early 90s ny albums are dull to me. im going for yum cha but i will find a list or two later. i wanna find the hhc best lps of all time list.
 

luka

Well-known member
It interests me that Illmatic was not hailed as an instant classic

for what its worth this is wrong. it was massively hyped before release i was reading rap magazines at the time. 5 mics in the source for instance.
 

luka

Well-known member
if any1s at a loose end they could find some canonical lists for me ive broken a few bones and its hard to type annd do stuff actually
 

nomos

Administrator
yeah i've gone on about this before but there was so much hype leading up to illmatic that 5 mics was a foregone conclusion. i don't think anything got a perfect rating for at least 3-4 years before that. it seemed to have at least in part to do with snoop emerging at the same time. he got 4.5 while nas' 5 'proved' nyc was still on top. it was silly. and as good as it was, i personally found it a bit disappointing - the large professor tracks were the standouts for me. 36 chambers was more immediately striking and i've listened to it a lot more over the years.
 

luka

Well-known member
A Tribe Called Quest- Low End Theory
BORING
• A Tribe Called Quest- People's Instictive Travels and the Paths of Rythm
BORING
• A Tribe Called Quest- Midnight Marauders
BORING
• Above the Law- Livin' Like Hustlers
HAS ITS MOMENTS...A BIT BORING THO
• Beastie Boys- License to Ill
ENTERTAINING
• Beastie Boys- Paul's Boutique
NEVER HEARD IT
• Big Daddy Kane- Long Live the Cane
CLASSIC MATERIAL
• Big Daddy Kane- It's a Big Daddy Thing
NOT SO GOOD
• Biz Markie- Goin' Off
SORT OF FUNNY I SUPPOSE
• Black Moon- Enta Da Stage
CLASSIC MATERIAL
• Black Sheep- A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
PLEASANT BUT ULTIMATELY DULL
• Bone Thugs and Harmony- Creepin' On Ah Come Up (EP)
CLASSIC MATERIAL
• Boogie Down Productions- Criminal Minded
CLASSIC MATERIAL
• Boogie Down Productions- By All Means Nessesary
BORRING
• Brand Nubian- All For One
CLASSIC MATERIAL
• Chill Rob G- Ride the Rythm
NEVER HEARD THIS
• Common Sense- Resurrection
CLASSIC MATERIAL
• Cypress Hill- Cypress Hill
CLASSIC
• Cypress Hill- Black Sunday
CLASSIC
• Das EFX- Dead Serious
LARGELY DULL
• De La Soul- Three Feet High and Rising
CLASSIC
• De La Soul- De La Soul Is Dead
SATISFACTORY
• Diamond D- Stunts,Blunts and Hip-Hop
VERY BORING
• Digable Planets- Reachin'...
PLEASNAT BUT WET
• Digital Underground- Sex Packets
QUITE FUNNY
• DJ Quick- Quick Is the Name
OVERRATED
• D.O.C.- No One Can Do It Better
NEVER HEARD THIS
• Doug E. Fresh- World's Greatest Entertainer
LIGHWEIGHT BUT SORT OF FUN
• Dr.Dre- The Chronic
UGLY BUT CLASSIC
• Eazy E- Eazy Does It
QUITE CLASSIC DESPITE LIMITATIONS
• Eric B. and Rakim- Paid in Full
SUPER CLASSIC
• Eric B. and Rakim- Follow the Leader
UNEVEN BUT THE GOOD BITS ARE VERY GOOD
• Eric B. and Rakim- Let the Rythm Hit'Em
DITTO
• EPMD- Strictly Business
• EPMD- Unfinished Business
• EPMD- Business as Usual
DONT LIKE EPMD. WHAT YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?
• Fugees- The Score
I LIKE READY OR NOT A LOT.
• Gang Starr- Step In The Arena
DULL
• Gang Starr- Daily Operation
DULL
• Genius/GZA- Liquid Swords
CLASSIC
• Geto Boys- Grip It! On That Other Level
QUITE GOOD
• Heavy D & The Boyz- Livin' Large
DATED
• Ice Cube- Amerikkka's Most Wanted
DATED
• Ice Cube- Death Certificate
DATED
• Ice T- Original Gangster
QUITE LIKE THIS
• Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince- He's the DJ, I'm The Rapper
LIGHTWEIGHT BUT QUITE FUN
• Jay-Z- Reasonable Doubt
DULL
• Jungle Brothers- Straight Out The Jungle
CLASSIC
• Jungle Brothers- Forces Of Nature
GOOD
• Just Ice- Kool and Deadly
GOOD
• Kool G Rap and DJ Polo- Road To Riches
CLASSIC MATRIAL
• KRS One- Return Of the Boom Bap
BORING
• LL Cool J- Radio
CLASSIC MATERIAL
• LL Cool J- Bigger and Deffer
CLASSIC MATEREIAL
• LL Cool J- Mama Said Knock You Out
DATED
• Lord Finesse- Funky Technician
GOOD
• Main Source- Breakin' Atoms
DULL
• MC Lyte- Lyte as a Rock
NEVR HEARD THIS
• MC Shan- Down By Law
NEVER HEARD THIS
• Mobb Deep- The Infamous
SUPER CLASSIC
• Naughty By Nature- Naughty By Nature
SATISFACTORY
• Nas- Illimatic
SUPER CLASSIC
• Nice and Smooth- Nice and Smooth
LIGHTWEIGHT
• Notorious B.I.G.- Ready to Die
SUPER CLASSIC
• Notorious B.I.G.- Life After Death
PATCHY.
• NWA- Straight Outta Compton
CLASSIC
• Ol'Dirty Bastard- Return to the 36 Chambers
PATCHY BUT COMPELLING
• Onyx- Bacdafucup
• Organized Confusion- Stress:the Extinction Agenda
CLASSIC
• Outcast- ATLiens
CLASSIC
• Pete Rock and CL Smooth- Mecca and the Soul Brother
DULL
• Pharcyde- Bizzare Ride...II Pharcyde
CLASSIC
• Poor Righteous Teachers- Holly Intellect
DULL
• Public Enemy- Yo! Bum Rush the Show
CLASSIC
• Public Enemy- It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
SUPER CLASSIC
• Public Enemy- Fear Of a Black Planet
DISAPPOINTING
• Queen Latifah- All Hail the Queen
DULL
• Raekwon- Only Built For Cuban Linx
SUPR CLASSIC
• Redman- Whut Thee Album
ENERTAINING
• Roots- Do You Want More?
PATCHY
• Roots- Illadephalflife v.3
CLASSIC
• Run DMC- Run DMC
CLASSIC
• Run DMC- Raising Hell
CLASSIC
• Salt N Pepa- Hot, Cool and Viscious
NEVER HEARD IT
• Scarface- Mr. Scarface is Back
A BIT CLASSIC
• Schooly D- Saturday Night: the Album
A BIT CLASSIC
• Slick Rick- The Great Advantures Of Slick Rick
LIGHTWEIGHT
• Smif N Wessun- Da Shinin'
DULLER THAN YOU REMEMBER IT BEING
• Snoop Doggy Dogg- Doggystyle
CLASSIC
• Souls Of Mischief- 93 Till' Infinity
CLASSIC
• Special Ed- Youngest In Charge
TOO MUCH FILLER
• Spice 1- Spice 1
GOOD
• Stestasonic- On Fire
BORING
• 3rd Bass- Cactus Album
BORING
• Too Short- Born To Mack
BORING
• Tupac- Me Against The World
SHRILL, HYSTERICAL
• Ultramagnetic MC's - Critical Beatdown
CLASSIC
• Whodini- Escape
PATCHY
• Wu-Tang Clan- Enter the Wu-Tang
CLASSIC
• X-Clan- To the East Backwards
DULL
 

CrowleyHead

Well-known member
Luka, you don't like EPMD?!?

Let's be clear, Illmatic is a good to great record. But It Was Written, the new "GREATEST NAS ALBUM EVER", has the Lauryn record, which is the official decent of Nas into doing horrible awful pandering records to go "OH PAHDUN ME SUH, HYUK HYUK." Straight garbage.

Lauryn Hill set back humanity about 5 decades, that's a fact. Lauryn is responsible for the ruination of Eve & Dynamite, the blackballing of Queen Pen, and cast a tumorous shadow over rap that only the blessed one Nicki Minaj has been able to help us break the shackles from. People actually rate Lauryn Hill over fucking Foxy. Such BULL-SHIT. FUCK LAURYN, I HOPE SHE CHOKES ON THAT RANDOM MARLEY KID'S DICK.

*clears throat* You guys are SO LUCKY you had grime. You don't even know...
 
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