The 100 Greatest Hip Hop Albums (15-11)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 |
15. Outkast
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"It takes a few listens to sink in, but on Aquemini, Outkast have pulled off a rare feat in hip-hop: they've made a good record that's a masterpiece of subtlety. What's more, it's their third record, and they've yet to fall into a rut--and that alone puts them in line for an award. The Organized Noize production crew is sublime, working with live musicians and crafting hook-filled soundscapes that complement Big Boi and Andre Benjamin's melodic patter... classy and intelligent, Outkast haven't sacrificed anything in their quest to make challenging, innovative hip-hop that forgoes idle boasting for the duo's message. A sample, from the title track: "Now, question: Is every nigga wit dreads for the cause? / Is every nigga wit golds for the fall? Naw / So don't get caught in appearance." ~ Randy Silver, Amazon |
14. Jay-Z
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"Jay-Z's classic debut is a compelling reflection on his life as a hustler. It's invested with an uncommon complexity and candor that has noticeably faded in his later material. Armed with clever phrasing and sly deadpan wit, Jay-Z navigates indulgent romps ("Can't Knock the Hustle"), thought-provoking introspection ("Regrets"), and devastating street-corner soliloquies ("Friend or Foe") with savvy composure. The beats on Reasonable Doubt, provided by the likes of DJ Premier & Ski, are as irresistibly slick as his persona. "Brooklyn's Finest," his mic-passing session with his friend Notorious B.I.G., takes on a torch-passing significance in the wake of Biggie's death. That song, and the entire album, foreshadows Jay-Z's subsequent ascension to kingpin status." ~ Del. F. Cowie, Amazon |
13. Ice Cube
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"With benefit of hindsight, we now understand that most rappers are indeed earnest, but few intend their words to be taken with the same weight as a heartfelt proclamation by a guitar-strumming folkie. Ice Cube's third solo release, taken the wrong way, is a hateful tract full of misogyny, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and violently prejudicial remarks toward just about every other ethnic group; anyone missed in this skein was an oversight. However... Cube's remarks are best seen as caricatures--well, OK, grotesques--rather than perspectives. His spoken intros and the way in which the songs broke into episodes broadly hinted at Ice Cube's move into film. Years later, it's easier to ignore the hateful spew and admire the formal innovations featured on this recording..." ~ Martin Johnson, Amazon |
12. 2Pac
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"The gruesome details surrounding Tupac's third solo offering are enough to give any music fan the willies. Released when Tupac was in jail serving time for a rape conviction and just after his recovery from being shot-up gangland-style at a recording studio, this was his most introspective piece of work to date. The heavy-hearted album opens up with a radio commentary describing the circumstances surrounding his shooting, and then plunges headfirst into Pac's infatuation with death... This is probably Pac's most progressive issues-oriented release before he signed to Death Row and became a full-blown thug." ~ Dalton Higgins, Amazon |
11. Run D.M.C.
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"Run-DMC's 1986 rap masterpiece, Raising Hell, storms out of the musical gate. One of the albums that defined the transition from the old school to the new school, with its heavy rhyme sequences layered on top of drum-machine beats, and an assortment of pulse-quickening record stabs thrown in for good measure, it's relentless. The late-'80s lyricism of MCs Run and DMC is not as complex as that of today's microphone mathematicians, but that was never the point--what they lack in finesse, they more than make up in intensity, authority, and flat-out lung power... When it comes to beats, bumps, and b-boy bravado, there has never been anyone else like Run-DMC, and this album shows why." ~ Joe Schloss, Amazon |
100-96|95-91|90-86|85-81|80-76|75-71|70-66|65-61|60-56|55-51 |
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