The 100 Greatest Hip Hop Albums (90-86)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 |
90. Mystic
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"Even with Lauryn Hill taking an extended sabbatical, no one has stepped up in her absence to carry the hip-hop/songbird flame. That was, until Mystic. With her debut, Cuts for Luck and Scars for Freedom, Mystic seamlessly bridges the gap between soulful harmonizing and introspective lyricism; and no one since Hill bridged this gap so effectively... While Foxy Brown and Lil Kim push the envelope with their uninhibited brand of punany power, Mystic's socially relevant and personally revealing topic matter is just as uninhibited. Yet, while Mystic features the same voluptuous package (check the artwork for verification) as the aforementioned, instead of augmenting her breast size, Mystic's artsy Cuts for Luck and Scars for Freedom augments the mind -- ladies first indeed!! " ~ Matt Conaway, All Music |
89. Del
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"This gem from 1991 shows Del tha Funkee Homosapien--the charismatic MC from respected Bay Area crew the Hieroglyphics--in a sharply promising debut, produced by Del, his cousin Ice Cube, and DJ Pooh. Unlike his famous cousin, Del has made a lyrical name for himself by not rhyming about the more violent aspects of inner-city life, instead taking a more laidback and humorous tack, though each rapper produces a stinging effectiveness in his lyrics... above all, this is a prime chance to catch Del's mighty tongue unleashed in his most brazenly un-PC (and extremely fun) ode to black pride--check out "Pissin' on the Steps" or "Dark Skin Girls" for further evidence." ~ Tamara Palmer, Amazon |
88. Slum Village
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"After being released by their previous label, the debut from Slum Village (Jay Dee, T3, and Baatin) had been collecting dust for over a year. The trio of Detroit natives witnessed a renaissance for the album in underground hip-hop circles, as critical praise of the LP (Fantastic, Vol. 1) by the Roots and D'Angelo paved the way for it to become one of the most heavily bootlegged albums in recent years. Even though Fantastic has been given the seal of approval by those highly influential artists, the man most responsible for this LP's resurrection is group member Jay Dee...With Fantastic, Jay consistently demonstrates what all of the fuss is about, as his hypnotic instrumentals range from the straight soul of "Tell Me" featuring D'Angelo to the sublime keyboard grooves of "Fall in Love" and the quirky "Hold Tight," which features a pouty Q-Tip." ~ Matt Conaway, All Music |
87. Black Moon
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86. Wyclef Jean
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"On his new solo effort, The Carnival, guitarist and producer Wyclef Jean – arguably the brains behind The Score – is out to prove that he is "not only a player but a goddamn revolutionary." As the Fugees' recent wildly successful shows in Haiti proved, Wyclef Jean is pushing hip-hop into an international, multicultural milieu by mining his Caribbean roots... The Carnival's most stunning moment... is "Gunpowder." Wyclef becomes Bob Marley reincarnate, crooning, "We can't stop the violence/Because the war is not over/Until you can feel love, peace in your silence," with an I-Threes chorus wailing in the background. If that isn't an original hip-hop voice, what is?" ~ Ed Morales , Rolling Stone |
100-96|95-91|90-86|85-81|80-76|75-71|70-66|65-61|60-56|55-51 |
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