The 100 Greatest Hip Hop Albums (10-06)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 |
10. Dr. Dre
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"1989's Straight Outta Compton, by Dre's previous outfit N.W.A., may have shined the public spotlight on the genre, but The Chronic legitimized it. That is not to say that Snoop Doggy Dogg (The Chronic marks his debut) and Dre's raps are for everyone; the subject matter is the sex, drugs, violence, and politics of South Central Los Angeles, and the phrasing is explicit, to say the least. But The Chronic's real genius is the music. By breeding hip-hop, jazz (studio instrumentation includes saxophones and flutes), funk, and soul (sampled artists include Parliament, Donny Hathaway, and Isaac Hayes), Dre creates downright intoxicating grooves. If you can't feel The Chronic pulsating through your veins, maybe your heart's not pumping." ~ Bill Crandall, Amazon |
9. Criminal Minded
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"BDP's first album--and the only one to include the late DJ Scott La Rock--sounded harder than hell when it came out in 1987. Though the simple beat-box patterns on a few tracks sound dated, most of La Rock's tracks are bluntly effective, especially the AC/DC riff he appropriates on "Dope Beat." And KRS-One still performs most of his Criminal Minded rhymes, because his audience knows them word for word: the ultraviolent dancehall of "9mm Goes Bang," the battle cry of "South Bronx" (and its counterpart, the anti-Juice Crew screed of "The Bridge Is Over," with its little Billy Joel homage), the catalog of La Rock's condom collection on "Super-Hoe." KRS bloomed later; here, he just rocked." ~ Douglas Wolk, Amazon |
8. N.W.A.
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"A lone voice sneers "You are about to witness the strength of street knowledge," and with that warning the greatest-ever gangsta album begins. Then these Niggas with Attitude--wicked rhymes by Ice Cube, Easy E, and MC Ren; soulful production courtesy Dr. Dre; beats provided by DJ Yella--come barreling into your face, just daring you to ignore the streets of Compton (or any American city) even one day longer. From the anti-police brutality anthem "F__k Tha Police" to the angry, unflinching realism of "Gangsta Gangsta," to the pro-free speech "Express Yourself," this is slammin' and ruthless." ~ David Cantwell, Amazon |
7. A Tribe Called Quest
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"De La Soul are remembered as the premier Native Tongues posse, those rappers who got low-key, self-consciously thoughtful, and jazzy in the face of gangsta's hardcore threats. But A Tribe Called Quest may have been even stronger, especially on their excellent second album, the bass-thumping, heavily jazz-sampled The Low End Theory. According to the opening "Excursions," rapper Q-Tip's old man says the disc's jazz-rap "reminded him of bebop," and Q calls himself "prominent like Shakespeare." But if Charlie Parker had ever written poetic couplets and backed them with funky-drummer and Ron Carter-on-bass grooves this irresistible, he might have been as big as the Bard and Brother James combined." ~ David Cantwell, Amazon |
6. Raekwon
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"Only Built 4 Cuban Linx is arguably the best quasi-solo Wu-Tang album (Ghostface Killah literally gets equal billing)... As the Wu's preeminent storyteller, Raekwon (a.k.a. "The Chef") paints Technicolor Kool G Rap-style pictures of high-stakes drug trafficking on "Criminology," and then mixes his street sensibility with 5% Nation of Islam reasoning on "Knowledge God." This album is loaded with RZA's finest production moments, as he samples a barrage of kung-fu flick sound bites, plays discordant keyboards on "Incarcerated Scarfaces," and utilizes some eerie female vocals on "Rainy Dayz." Rae's timeless duet with Nas on "Verbal Intercourse" further cements the album's status as one of the best of all time." ~ Dalton Higgins, Amazon |
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