Best Rap Album Ever

**Busyman** · 09-16-2003, 07:39 AM

PERFECT ALBUMS (or almost)

3rd Bass -Cactus Album, Cactus Revisited, Derelict Of Dialect
Notorious BIG -Ready To Die, Life and Death
Audio Two -Top Billin
Alliance
Naughty By Nature
Redman - Whut Thee Album
Tracy Lee
Fugees -The Score
Heavy D -Peaceful Journey
EPMD -Strictly Business, Unfinished Business, Business As Usual, Business Never Personal, Back In Business (Out Of Business sucked)
Nas -Illmatic, Stillmatic
Big Daddy Kane -It's A Big Daddy Thing, Long Live The Kane
Boogie Down Productions -By All Means Necessary
Run DMC -Run DMC, King Of Rock, Raising Hell, Tougher Than Leather
LL Cool J -Radio, B.A.D., Walking With A Panther
Beastie Boys -License To Ill, Paul's Boutique
Digital Undergound- Sex Packets
Biz Markie- Never Sleeps
Onyx- Bacdufucup
Eric B and Rakim- Paid In Full
House Of Pain-
Tone Loc- Loc'ed After Dark
Black Sheep- A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing
Salt N Pepa- HoT, Cool, and Vicious
Doug E Fresh- World's Greatest Entertainer, The Show
Tribe Called QUEST- Low End Theory, People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
De La Soul- ...Is Dead
Queen Latifah- All Hail the Queen
Public Enemy- It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Fear Of A Black Planet
Brand Nubian- One For All
Slick Rick- Great Adventures of Slick Rick
NWA- Straight Outta Compton, NIGGAZ4LIFE
Eazy E- Talkin Shit
Dr Dre- The Chronic
The DOC- No One Can Do It Better
Gang Starr- Hard To Earn, Daily Operation
Mobb Deep- The Infamous, Murda Muzik
Geto Boys- We Can't Be Stopped, Geto Boys
Scarface- The Diary
Cypress Hill
Ice Cube- Amerikka's Most Wanted, Death Certificate, Kill At Will
House Of Pain
50 Cent

**javakel** · 09-16-2003, 08:53 AM

Whoa...this topic became pretty damn intense.

I expected there to ba a lot of "who's got the biggest dick" and "who can piss the furthest"-type responses...like my rapper's better than your rapper stuff.

Even if the topic did take a weird turn with the whole social justice/race/ethics package, I'm pleased that there's actually a mature and thoughtful dialogue going on here.

I agree with those of you who named various or even all of Tupac's albums. He was a very intelligent and poignant person on both an artistic and personal level. I would just like to mention that such qualities are not unique to Tupac, and many artists, past and present, possess(ed) such gifts. As for the tenor that his later albums adopted, critics should stop a second and think more objectively and contextually. It's easy to conclude that an artist creates more "commercial" works out of the desire to earn the most money, but couldn't it also be influenced by the fact that with increasing popularity comes more responsibility, so to speak? After all, this means there will be a more substantial and diverse audience base. So, perhaps, they modify their "style" to accomodate said growth and variability, or make it more accessible to others if you will. If he/she has a message to communicate to society as a whole, whatever that message may be, then wouldn't it be counterproductive to exclude certain groups? Ideas won't be heard if people don't even listen and are never encouraged to do so in the first place. And as long as people continue to refuse to be objective, open-minded, and circumspect, most artists will be forced to "appeal to the masses". To further complicate matters, the artist uses his/her craft not only as a form of expression, but also to make a living. Everyone has to eat: hence the disenchantment with the so-called "La Vie Boheme". That being said, some people, not only artists, are just greedy bastards with few principles applicable to anything external to their own little personal "world".

And...sorry, but I just can't walk away from MeMeMeSoHorny's social critique. I don't argue that the incidences of black rappers knighted as "the best" by a large number of people are disproportionately high. However, I would just like to point out that the exclusion of female rappers is even MORE noticable. Certainly this is a direct reflection of the social fabric (at least in the US) of society and how different meanings are constructed therewithin. Just something to think about.

So now I must add Queen Latifa, Lil' Kim, Lauren Hill (she does rap in some of her songs, and like MMMSH mentioned, defining what it is to be a "rapper" is inherently problematic), Salt-n-Peppa (mentioned before I think), Foxy Brown, Sarai (she gets points for being balsy and putting herself out to an audience that tends to be highly critical of both white and female rappers), Da Brat, and OF COURSE MISSY ELLIOT!!! There are, of course, other notable female rappers, but I digress.....

**MeMeMeSoHony** · 09-16-2003, 09:17 AM

I mentioned Trina , she's a female , and a rapper...a real one. And I totally agree with the change in style "theory". Actually i think its a fact. They gotta change style or else they wont sell cds. BTW i remember once hearing a "reporter" on MTV say that most of 2Pac's "All Eyez on Me" cd set were white suburban teenaged girls.

i edited my post because i didnt go completely off topic on my first post but after people asked me about SPM it did make a turn for the worst..... Rap threads always going down the toilet. Thats why i edited my post.

Anyways someone else pointed out that they saw a story about a white man who raped a 14 year old girl and got a 10 year sentence. He also says " Im Surprised he didnt give him a death sentence" . And that is very truth. Here in the Laredo Texas region a woman had a mexican girl almost as a slave. And she got guess how many years in prison...... 99 years! She didnt kill her , the girl is back with the family . And the girl's family actually agreed to let the girl be smuggled into the USA and be hired as a house maid. The husband of the lady is white. "he didnt know he had a 'slave' in his own house". Thats what his lawyers told the judge. He white american. He's a free person right now. The lady is light skin , from mexico. And she got 99 years in jail.

El Producto , racism no longer excists in Texas , right?

Somebody forgot about a black man been dragged down a road and having his head chopped by white men who were racists.

Spm didnt kill..... not even people who kill someone while driving drunk get that amount of years in jail.

I also pointed out the story about the Border Patrol agent who took pictures of little naked girls. He got parole i think...or just a couple of months. But he got very little.

Other people get medical treatment or get less time for more serious crimes. And SPM got 55 years in jail without possiblity of parole . Because of a girl who couldnt recall if she had or if she hadnt gotten touched "down there". The night i posted the story about SPM i was half asleep. I know this post might not seem like much to most. But I gotta live here. Houston is filled with "minorities". Go out to the rest of Texas and you will be smacked by reality. around 50% of people in Texas are white. Blacks and Hispanics make up around 40% combined. There are "native americans" and other people here too. Thats why its not half white and half black and hispanic.

And i do know Texas rappers. And Chingo Bling is hispanic version of Eminem.... you know that . Im assuming you've heard his music (Chingo's) . Texas has many rappers man. You and I know there's underground cds on every corner, ESPECIALLY in houston. Its got what...24%,25% of Texas' population? Just in one city , damn.

Anyways peace , goodnight ,Ill be back tomorrow.

**Busyman** · 09-16-2003, 06:45 PM

By the way and I'm going out on a limb in saying this....

Tupac was only OK. People didn't jump on his bandwagon like this until he died. Now you've got folks saying he was the greatest rapper alive.

I also don't like Eminem's albums that much. He is one of the best rappers but I can't pump his music in my car. It sounds like cartoon music ALL the time.

**3rd gen noob** · 09-16-2003, 06:50 PM

Originally posted by Busyman@16 September 2003 - 18:45
Tupac was only OK. People didn't jump on his bandwagon like this until he died. Now you've got folks saying he was the greatest rapper alive.

tupac was, imo, one of the best lyricists ever

**Busyman** · 09-16-2003, 07:28 PM

tupac was, imo, one of the best lyricists ever

See what I mean!!!

**3rd gen noob** · 09-16-2003, 07:29 PM

Originally posted by Busyman@16 September 2003 - 19:28
See what I mean!!!

no, i'm just expressing an opinion

**MUSLEMAN** · 09-16-2003, 07:34 PM

Originally posted by 3rd gen noob+16 September 2003 - 14:50--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (3rd gen noob @ 16 September 2003 - 14:50)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-Busyman@16 September 2003 - 18:45
Tupac was only OK. People didn't jump on his bandwagon like this until he died. Now you've got folks saying he was the greatest rapper alive.

tupac was, imo, one of the best lyricists ever [/b][/quote]
agreed