The 100 Greatest Hip Hop Albums (65-61)by Henry Adaso, About.com 100-96|95-91|90-86|85-81|80-76|75-71|70-66|65-61|60-56|55-51 |
65. Mos Def
|
"With his Solo Debut, "Black on Both Sides," rapper Mos Def – half of the Brooklyn hip-hop purist duo Black Star – manages the oxymoronic feat of being a humble MC. For one thing, he's attuned to his elders, whether acknowledging the connection between bebop and hip-hop on the anthemic "Hip Hop" ("Remind me of Thelonious and Dizzy/But now it's the B-boys gettin' busy") or making historical points about his cultural forebears on "Rock N Roll"... Who says that modesty and reverence don't have a place on hip-hop hits?" ~ Miles Lewis , Rolling Stone |
64. Nas
|
"On his fifth solo LP, Nas returns to his grimy, hardcore roots. On "Ether," Nas disses Jay-Z mercilessly (a response to Jay-Z's anti-Nas stabs on "Takeover" from The Blueprint). Nas then proceeds to dis Prodigy of Mobb Deep and a whole slew of other Queensbridge-based MCs on "Destroy and Rebuild."... However, the albums finest artistic moment comes on "Rewind," where Nas crafts a sexploit and murder-filled 'hood narrative in which the story and wordplay are recited in reverse (think Tarantino's Pulp Fiction on celluloid). With beats supplied by DJ Premier, Large Professor, and Swizz Beatz, Nas has arguably reclaimed his throne as the MC king of New York." ~ Dalton Higgins, Amazon |
63. Xzibit
|
"The dysfunctional member of the Likwit Crew once again re-emerged to lyrically decapitate fake MCs. Xzibit's verbal asperity and rough, blunted diction is unmistakable. The sophomore jinx is null and void as Xzibit rips line after line over a grab bag of sizzling tracks... 40 Dayz and 40 Nightz is sure to whet your appetite with a nonstop accumulation of lyrics and a prolific variety of production." ~ Matt Conaway, All Music |
62. Gza/Genius
|
"Some Wu members, like Cappadonna, are overly concerned with the way they dress, while others are a plain ol' inebriated mess (read: Ol' Dirty Bastard). For the GZA, it's all about the lyrics. With his nasal delivery and rapid-fire flow, he is the most experienced and oldest member of the Wu Tang Clan... GZA's forte is battle rhymes (on his self-titled cut he declares that wack MCs' "lyrics are weak, like clock radio speakers"). On "Labels" he eloquently pens a complete song using only rap record label names. Loaded wordplay aside, beat-wise Liquid Swords is fully and exceptionally RZA-produced (peep the electric guitars and spacey synths on "Investigative Reports"). Liquid Swords is a perfect purchase for rap fiends who crave ill experimental beats and even iller punchlines." ~ Dalton Higgins, Amazon |
61. Outkast
|
"OutKast maintain a balance that protects their street credibility. Big Boi acts as a bare-knuckled B-boy to offset flamboyant Andre's more avant-garde moments... Stankonia is a full-grown album. OutKast are on the brink of pulling off something that other hip-hop progressives like De La Soul haven't been able to do for any amount of time: Get played on the radio, keep it real, but also keep it right." ~ Nathan Brackett , Rolling Stone |
100-96|95-91|90-86|85-81|80-76|75-71|70-66|65-61|60-56|55-51 |
Send us email
Phone: (206) 543-6051
Last modified:
Wednesday September 15, 2010
(cpz)
