5 Must-hear albums for a hip-hop newbie?

~~bungalow~~ · 04-23-2010, 08:29 AM

the latter. and it's hardly an unpopular opinion.

Captain Awesome · 04-24-2010, 03:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bungalow

the latter. and it's hardly an unpopular opinion.

Doesn't mean it's right.

Nas is 100% overrated. He's good but not that good.

Jester · 04-24-2010, 09:47 AM

Illmatic is that good.

Phantom Limb · 04-24-2010, 02:18 PM

Illmatic is ****ing great.

Captain Awesome · 04-25-2010, 03:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jester

Illmatic is that good.

Good enough to be the single greatest rap album of all time? No. Not even close. Good enough to be one of the greatest rap albums of 94? Definitley. Maybe even one of the greatest in the early 90's at a push.

I mean ****, Big Pun, Big L, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, Rakim, Wu Tang Clan, Eminem, AZ. All of these guys have put out albums better than Illmatic and that's just from the top of my head.

Illmatic is great but it's not the single greatest record in Hip Hop history. It's just not good enough.

Jester · 04-25-2010, 02:12 PM

It is.

No one has written an album with more insight at Nas' age when he wrote Illmatic, except for maybe Bob Dylan. Nas made it very clear that hip hop was producing skilled artisans; Nas took a perfect panoramic view of life in the inner city and put it on a record. He built on the pioneering work of Big Daddy Kane and Rakim, and marked a major stylistic change in in hip hop by introducing a new standard of lyricism.

On that list, Wu-Tang's 36 Chambers is the only artist/group that released an album(s) that might be better than Illmatic.

Captain Awesome · 04-25-2010, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jester

It is.

No one has written an album with more insight at Nas' age when he wrote Illmatic, except for maybe Bob Dylan. Nas made it very clear that hip hop was producing skilled artisans; Nas took a perfect panoramic view of life in the inner city and put it on a record. He built on the pioneering work of Big Daddy Kane and Rakim, and marked a major stylistic change in in hip hop by introducing a new standard of lyricism.

On that list, Wu-Tang's 36 Chambers is the only artist/group that released an album(s) that might be better than Illmatic.

On that list every artist has released something that is just as good if not better than Illmatic. The Slim Shady LP and MMLP **** all over illmatic as far as lyricism is concerned. Illmatic was brilliant but the latter two were masterpieces. Anything by Big Pun lyrically surpasses the entire catalogue of Nas combined.

Also stealing a line from wikipedia word for word isn't the brightest idea. "He built on the pioneering work of Big Daddy Kane and Rakim, and marked a major stylistic change in in hip hop".

It's a brilliant album but not the single greatest of all time.

~~bungalow~~ · 04-25-2010, 02:27 PM

i was going to make a post saying "there are a couple albums you could maybe argue are greater than illmatic" and then list a couple, and after about 10 minutes of thinking the only album i had on the list was enter the 36 chambers. just to be clear you are in the minority here captain awesome, there is a pretty strong sentiment that illmatic is one of (if not the) greatest hip hop albums of all time.

Crowe · 04-25-2010, 02:31 PM

really? No Bizarre Ryde II the Pharcyde?

Listen to The Pharcyde... so good.

Captain Awesome · 04-25-2010, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bungalow

i was going to make a post saying "there are a couple albums you could maybe argue are greater than illmatic" and then list a couple, and after about 10 minutes of thinking the only album i had on the list was enter the 36 chambers. just to be clear you are in the minority here captain awesome, there is a pretty strong sentiment that illmatic is one of (if not the) greatest hip hop albums of all time.

I still disagree. I'd be willing to say it's one of the top five of the early-mid 90's and ONE OF the greatest of all time. But there is no way I would consider it the single greatest rap album of all time. It was a brilliant album but this has gone beyond overrating now. However Nas has always been overrated especially in the last decade or so, along with Jay-Z. They're sort of like the Tupac and Biggie for the modern rap scene in that regard.

Like I say, Illmatic was awesome. But it is not and never will be the single greatest rap album of all time.

04-25-2010, 02:31 PM	#79 (permalink)
Crowe Music Addict Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 699	really? No Bizarre Ryde II the Pharcyde? Listen to The Pharcyde... so good. __________________

04-23-2010, 08:29 AM	#71 (permalink)
~~bungalow~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Hot-lanta Posts: 3,140	the latter. and it's hardly an unpopular opinion.

04-24-2010, 09:47 AM	#73 (permalink)
Jester Music Addict Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 752	Illmatic is that good.

04-24-2010, 02:18 PM	#74 (permalink)
Phantom Limb Chocolate Homunculus Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 1,293	Illmatic is ****ing great.

04-25-2010, 02:12 PM	#76 (permalink)
Jester Music Addict Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 752	It is. No one has written an album with more insight at Nas' age when he wrote Illmatic, except for maybe Bob Dylan. Nas made it very clear that hip hop was producing skilled artisans; Nas took a perfect panoramic view of life in the inner city and put it on a record. He built on the pioneering work of Big Daddy Kane and Rakim, and marked a major stylistic change in in hip hop by introducing a new standard of lyricism. On that list, Wu-Tang's 36 Chambers is the only artist/group that released an album(s) that might be better than Illmatic.

04-25-2010, 02:27 PM	#78 (permalink)
~~bungalow~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Hot-lanta Posts: 3,140	i was going to make a post saying "there are a couple albums you could maybe argue are greater than illmatic" and then list a couple, and after about 10 minutes of thinking the only album i had on the list was enter the 36 chambers. just to be clear you are in the minority here captain awesome, there is a pretty strong sentiment that illmatic is one of (if not the) greatest hip hop albums of all time.