Calling All Hip Hop Heads...

[StrayBullet]

Originally Posted by nik-

Ok so you don't like the album. I think it's a better overall listen than 36 Chambers, you don't. No point in either of us saying anymore about it.

You said, "Forever" was an essential hip-hop album and better than one of the greatest albums of all time - Expect to be called out.

[nik-]

oh god, called out? Wow, I'm sure we're all impressed about you calling someone out on their opinions of an album. I think it's an essential album, I suggested the guy put it on his i-pod. You're the one trying to make it into more.

I like 36 Chambers, I think it's a great album, I like Forever better, I think it's better. If that makes you want to weep it up then weep it up. Just stop trying to project yourself as some music guru and discount others opinions.

You're "calling me out" on something that can't even be countered, I can't change your opinion and I don't give a damn what you think. I posted what I think.

[StrayBullet]

Originally Posted by nik-

Just stop trying to project yourself as some music guru and discount others opinions.

You're "calling me out" on something that can't even be countered, I can't change your opinion and I don't give a damn what you think. I posted what I think.

"Protect myself"? ...How did that happen?

You made a statement. A statement that any "hip-hop" listener would oppose you of. Regardless of if, "you don't care what I think", you still made your opinion known and someone countered it. If you're not prepared to defend it or give reasoning, then don't post.

[nik-]

project, not protect.

Yeah, you countered it, so what? That doesn't make me like the album less or stop making me think that it's a better listen than 36 Chambers. You see the dilemma here? You "countering" me doesn't change anything. And I'm a hip-hop listener and I like it better, so your theory is wrecked. That's the thing with musical opinions, not everyone agrees with yours, but it doesn't make yours any less valid.

[StrayBullet]

Originally Posted by nik-

project, not protect.

Yeah, you countered it, so what? That doesn't make me like the album less or stop making me think that it's a better listen than 36 Chambers. You see the dilemma here? You "countering" me doesn't change anything. And I'm a hip-hop listener and I like it better, so your theory is wrecked. That's the thing with musical opinions, not everyone agrees with yours, but it doesn't make yours any less valid.

PROJECT. Yes. My mistake.

You can like an album better. I never said you were wrong for liking it better. I just didn't understand why you would think it was a more essential album. That was the whole issue in the first place. That was my question. Not your personal preference in music taste.

As an example:
My personal favorite album from Common Sense is "Electric Circus", but it is not necessarily his best album, or his defining album - "Like Water For Chocolate" is.

I'll never question anyone's like or dislike... I just wanted to see how you thought it was the better album when the debut is easily the more renowned masterpiece from the group. Even Rae and Meth have expressed/admitted that Forever was sub-par than 36 Chambers

[nik-]

I really do like 36 Chambers, I understand it's place in rap history. But when I play the songs from Forever, they just do more for me.

I don't really know how to define why it is that I like the album better than 36 Chambers. I guess if I had to pinpoint a theme, it would be me liking the more mellow overall approach to Forever, the production was still "simple" but not as gritty as 36 Chambers, it just showed a progression that I appreciated. I don't share the same complaints about the lyrics. I loved 36 Chambers when I first heard it, I love Forever more and more each time I hear it.

[LIP MAN]

Comptons Most Wanted-music to drive by

MC Eiht-anything by him, he's the CMW MC

Ras Kass-Just sick. I'm in a hurry, I'll post more later.

[FlamingLonghorn]

Um considering some of the stuff on here I am surprised no one mentioned anything by Pharoahe Monch...

[Flames in 07]

most of what I know is already listed, I may have missed them but I didn't see:'

King T: Act a Fool
Milk D: I get the papers
Digital Underground: Dowatchalike
3rd Bass: derelict of Dialect
Redman: What the?? Album
Black Sheep: Wolf in Sheeps Clothing
De La Soul: Me Myself and I
Jungle Brothers: Straight out of the Jungle
Too Short: Life is Too Short
PE: Nation of Millions
Tribe Called Quest: People's Instinctive Travels ... I lost my wallet in Elsegundo is the best song on that one.
Keith Murray: The Most Beautifulist Thing in this World
Big Daddy Kane: Long Live the Kane
Biz Markie: Nobody beats the Biz
Easy E: We want Easy
Ice Cube: Americkkkas most wanted
D.O.C.: Nobody does it Better
Michel'le: Michel'le

[ShaolinFlame]

How has nobody mentioned the single greatest hip hop album of all time bar none.

Ol' Dirty - Return to the 36 Chambers*

I would rather have that on my pod than all the above combined.

Yeah baby, I do like it raw.

PS- 36 Chambers > Forever (but dog shat is the best track of them all )

EDIT FOR 2-10: (in no particular order) *Got that Vinyl

2 36 Chambers*
3 Nine - Nine Livez
4 Big L - Lifestylez of the Poor and Dangerous
5 Black Moon - Enta Da Stage*
6 BDP - Criminal Minded*
7 Geto Boys - Grip it on that Other Level
8 Main Source - ###### What You Think
9 Meth & Red - Blackout
10 GangStarr - Daily Operation*

[StrayBullet]

Originally Posted by Sowa

Um considering some of the stuff on here I am surprised no one mentioned anything by Pharoahe Monch...

I was waiting for someone... ANYONE to mention that. Organized Konfusion.

Note my handle: Best OK song. "StrayBullet"

[Eddie Bronze]

The first thing I want to start off with is that unless I overlooked it, no one has mentioned Marco Polo's album from last year, Port Authority. IMO, best hip-hop album from 2007 hands down. He's from Toronto, a producer, his guest list straight across the board is impressive and the beats he put on this are straight bangers. One of the best collaboration albums of all-time.

You slept on Del too, Ro? He has a new album coming out right away, Eleventh Hour. I see you mentioned El-P in your first post, too. Kind of "alternative" hip-hop if there is such a thing, haha. All Def Jux related, Cannibal Ox and Company Flow already mentioned in this topic.

El-P's first solo album: Fantastic Damage
El-P's second solo: I'll Sleep When You're Dead
In between there he did a project called Collecting the Kid, some instrumentals, but interesting to listen to. A very dark feel to the entire thing. A guy who works in Texas solving violent crimes wrote to him about this project and how he could relate to it because of his job.

Some older albums that I did not see yet:
Black Star (self-titled)
Reflection Eternal: Train of Thought
Hi-Tek: Hi-Teknology
No I.D.: Accept Your Own And Be Yourself (The Black Album)
Muggs Presents The Soul Assassins: Chapter 1
DJ Honda: hII

The Roots: a couple of their albums were mentioned, I'd mention them all...with a new one coming in April. I saw some things ?uestlove said about it and I'm even more excited to hear it after reading his thoughts on it.

I saw both albums from 9th and Murs mentioned. Also L.E.G.A.C.Y.'s album was listed. Other stuff from Justus League:
Median: Median's Relief
Edgar Allen Floe: Floe Almighty
Edgar Allen Floe: True Links EP
Big Pooh: Sleepers
Thyrday: The Perfection Xperiment

JL related: new album out right now from Chaundon, Carnage. This is in my car's mp3 player right now.

I see you listed Foreign Exchange. Nicolay is a smooth beat maker, such an amazingly clean sound to his music. He has an album out right now with Kay, Time:Line. Check this out if you haven't. The entire project is real nice, Chip Fu featured on a song called The Gunshot, highlight of the album with a reggae chorus. Very cool song, I can't stop playing it!

I see you have Supastition's Deadline EP there. Kind of JL realted guy and a few others here:
K-Hill: Stamps of Approval
Kenn Starr: Starr Status
Splash: The Ripple Effect
Kaze: Spirit of '94: Version 9.0

Wu always gets mention in hiphop talk, some Wu-fam/Wu-related joints that came out in the past couple/three years that are all good projects:
Bronze Nazareth: The Great Migration
Dreddy Kruger Presents: Wu-Tang Meets The Indie Culture
Blue Sky Black Death Presents Hell Razah: Razah's Ladder
Blue Sky Black Death Presents The Holocaust
Wisemen: Wisemen Approaching

Kermit had Danger Doom on his list. MF Doom project and that ties to Stones Throw since he did work with Madlib. Some Stones Throw albums worth a listen:
Madvillain: Madvillainy
Oh No: The Disrupt
Quasimoto: The Unseen
Quasimoto: The Further Adventures of Lord Quas
Talib Kweli & Madlib: LIBeration

And if you are into instrumentals, which I love, here are some albums you have to hear if you haven't already, in no particular order:
Oh No: Dr. No's Oxperiment
Nicolay: City Lights Volume 1.5
Dilla: Donuts
Madlib: Beat Konducta Volumes 1-2: Movie Scenes
Madlib: Beat Konducta Volumes 3-4: Beat Konducta in India
Madlib: Shades of Blue
RJD2: Dead Ringer

[StrayBullet]

Originally Posted by ShaolinFlame

EDIT FOR 2-10: (in no particular order) *Got that Vinyl

2 36 Chambers*
3 Nine - Nine Livez
4 Big L - Lifestylez of the Poor and Dangerous
5 Black Moon - Enta Da Stage*
6 BDP - Criminal Minded*
7 Geto Boys - Grip it on that Other Level
8 Main Source - ###### What You Think
9 Meth & Red - Blackout
10 GangStarr - Daily Operation*

This is your personal Top 10, rap records of all-time? I don't know if I could consciously mention "Nine Livez" in the same breath as "Criminal Minded"... It'd be like saying.... Ted Donato was as good as Paul Coffey.

[Ro]

Originally Posted by Flames in 07

King T: Act a Fool
Milk D: I get the papers
Digital Underground: Dowatchalike
3rd Bass: derelict of Dialect
Too Short: Life is Too Short
Easy E: We want Easy

Originally Posted by Eddie Bronze

Muggs Presents The Soul Assassins: Chapter 1
DJ Honda: hII
Edgar Allen Floe: Floe Almighty
K-Hill: Stamps of Approval
Oh No: The Disrupt
Oh No: Dr. No's Oxperiment

Just perfect additions fellas, this thread is approaching permanent bookmark status. The ones I quoted above are ones I am not entirely familiar with, and will be checking out.

EB- The Roots are coming to TO at the end of the month, and I'm trying to convince somebody to go with me. Still haven't seen them live, and they're at a great venue, so I'll probably be checking them out in a few weeks. Excited to hear they have a new LP dropping soon also- didn't know that.

Marco Polo's album was great. My favorite song is probably the Kardinal joint- I just love that guy. Sooooo underrated. If he was from NYC, he'd be a huge star by now. No knock on him, but he'd have a major deal and be on everybody's albums. His most recent mixtape with Clinton Sparks got a lot of play on my old iPod.

Lots of other good LPs mentioned too. Chaundon, Nicolay & Kay, OK, Kenn Starr, all dope. Although Pharoahe Monch's most recent LP was disappointing.

I'm going to add some LPs that haven't been mentioned yet that you guys might want to check for:

Akrobatik - Balance & Absolute Value (AV is the new LP, it's HOT! Ak reminds me a little of Freddie Foxxx, who is a guest on one track)

Arcee - Report On Business (1st Edition) (Hard to find mixtape, contains fantastic track "Super Educated" made famous on one of Primo's mixtapes)

The ARE - Manipulated Marauders & Dem Damb Jacksons - Two instrumental projects from former producer for K-Otix that are outstanding, and FREE (!) from rappersiknow.com. The first one takes the same samples used by The Ummah for Midnight Marauders and flips them into completely new, but familiar sounding tracks. A great concept, and the result is brilliant. The second one is all Jackson 5 samples. Must-haves. Eddie- if you're reading this, that means YOU! lol

Army Of The Pharaohs - The Torture Papers - An offshoot of Vinnie Paz and Jedi Mind, who I like but don't love, this hip hop supergroup project delivers hot beats and nonstop fire lyricism.

Devin The Dude - Waitin' To Inhale - Second half of the album is mostly unlistenable, but the first half is 5 star worthy. Funny, chillin, Devin at his po' pimpin best.

DJ Muggs & GZA - Grandmasters - I consider this the official follow-up to Liquid Swords in terms of sound/scope/front-to-back quality, the theme of chess is combined with GZA's trademark flow over a dozen grimy Muggs beats. Not an easy listen, but very worthwhile.

DJ Cappel & Smitty - Blue Eyes Meets Bed-Stuy - The recent flood of mash-up/remix LPs have really saturated the market for this genre, making it hard to find the real gems. This is one. Sinatra samples, flipped and made into amazingly good beats, with Biggie acapellas. Their mix of "Everyday Struggle" might even eclipse the OG, and that's saying a lot.

Fort Minor - The Rising Tied - Many of you will probably be familiar with this one, so this is just an appeal to those of you who shrugged it off because it was from "that rapper guy from Linkin Park." Fantastic album with a snappy, polished sound.

InI - Center Of Attention - Classic shelved album that finally saw a release date about 5 years after it was supposed to come out. Pete Rock kills it on the boards.

Oddisee - Oddisee 101, Foot In The Door - Can't say enough about this guy. His beats are infectious, and he holds his own on the mic. Down with Kev Brown, Kenn Starr, Little Bro, Jazzy Jeff, etc. Recommended.

Ratatat - Remixes Vol. 1 & 2 - Electronic group Ratatat remix a bunch of popular hip hop tracks on these two volumes with pretty good results. Some duds, but new versions of "Party & Bull," "Get Em High," "Stunt 101," "I'm Really Hot," "Alright" are all bangers. Everybody I've turned onto these cats has loved them.

Show & AG - Full Scale EP - Often overlooked late 90's DITC banger that is in regular "Ro"tation. I don't know if that was a lame phrase, or if I should run with it in a blog or something. Anyways, a few tracks off this one were on some Beat Junkies tapes I played for about 2 years solid in my old walkman. Word.

Torae - Daily Conversation - A 2008 release, I was really pleasantly surprised by this one. His two collabs with Skyzoo & Primo that were two of the best tracks of 2007 are on here, but the rest of the LP is hot too. The Black Milk joint "Switch" is crazy good. Has that classic NYC sound, I really liked this one.

Strange Fruit Project - The Healing - After hearing a bunch of Illmind's beats on Justus League/LB projects, I decided to check out his group SFP. They're dope. Similar to People Under The Stairs/Blackalicious/Little Brother.

Xzibit - At The Speed Of Life - Interesting that his first album, after all his hit records and affiliations that have come and gone, is his best. Personal, edgy, raw, just a great album.

Natural Elements - Complecks presents The Best Of... - Not an official release, more like a compilation of all the tracks these guys put out. Probably my favorite underground hip hop group from the 90's. This one was one of the first albums to get reloaded on the new iPod. Have to listen to "2 Tons" and "Paper Chase" at least once a week it seems. It's criminal the way these guys got screwed by Tommy Boy. Of all the LPs I've mentioned, if you only check out one, consider making it this one. Might be kinda hard to find though.

[Ro]

Originally Posted by ShaolinFlame

How has nobody mentioned the single greatest hip hop album of all time bar none.

Ol' Dirty - Return to the 36 Chambers*

I would rather have that on my pod than all the above combined.

Yeah baby, I do like it raw.

I remember quite well bringing that album home. I was, I guess, 14 or 15. Been listening to hip hop for a few years, just starting to unearth more of the non-mainstream stuff and appreciate albums like Liquid Swords and Word...Life and The Sun Rises In The East.

I sat down in my room and put it in my discman and was just literally blown away. It was like nothing I had ever heard before. And now that I think of it, like nothing since. Some of RZA's best work, and Dirty was just insane. I mean that in a positive way- artistically, he made all the ramblings and slurring and cursing and half singing and non-sequitors and nonsense sound, well, good.

It's still one of those albums that, for me at least, demands my full attention and requires a full listen front to back to really appreciate. Not to say you couldn't just listen to Shimmy Shimmy or Brooklyn Zoo and nod your head and reminisce, but there is something about the whole package that just seems more worthwhile. Almost like you become exhausted (in a good way) after a full listen, and I remember feeling that way back in 95/96 when it dropped.

[ResAlien]

Stupid interwebs interfering with my post. Grew up on this, too lazy to read all posts, apologies if it's Fata but, my opinion is:

Public Enemy: It Takes A Nation Of Millions...
BDP: By Any Means Necessary
Outkast: Southerplayalisticcadillacmusic
Kool Moe Dee: How You Like Me Now
Scarface: The Diary
UGK: Supertight
Ras Kass: Soul On Ice

[Sainters7]

Originally Posted by Crazy Flamer

How about some Bone Thugs N' Harmony?

Notorious Thugz is arguably my favourite 90's song ever.

[Delthefunky]

Anyone mentioned Maestro Fresh Wes?

[Delthefunky]

Oh and Stetsasonic got to be on that list.

[TurnedTheCorner]

I don't mean to be nit-picky, but...

"I Get The Papers" is a single from Audio Two. Milk Dee is the MC, his brother Gizmo is the DJ/producer. This is from their second album I Don't Care - The Album,. Both this album and their debut Top Billin' are definitely recommended.

Doowutchyalike is also a single from Digital Underground from their debut album Sex Packets. Sex Packets and Sons Of The P are worth getting too.

I would've suggested Stet, but On Fire is soooo hard to find. It's only on my iPod because I converted my cassette to mp3s last summer. On Fire and In Full Gear are recommended.

Nice to see a second mention for Black Star, too. That self-titled album is fantastic.