  |
 Rolling Stone's 200 Greatest Hip-Hop albums of All Time |
| Track this thread - Email this thread - Print this thread - Download this thread - Subscribe to this forum |
 Jun 19 2022, 12:33 PM
Post
#1
|
|
 BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 February 2013
Posts: 11,949 User: 18,293 
    
|
Rolling Stone released their list of the top 200 greatest rap albums of all-time this week and it's been an incredibly controversial selection.
I haven't looked it is too closely but from my quick scan-through there seems to only be 2 UK albums on the list (Little Simz & The Streets) which is disappointing as surely 'Boy in da Corner' or a Dave/Hus/Ghetts/Lowkey album deserves a place. There's definitely a recency bias as well because Flo Milli, Lil Nas X, Playboi Carti & Megan Thee Stallion appearing is just ? The placement of 'Invasion of Privacy' in the top 20 is crazy too. I'm going to work my way through all the albums so I can have a proper opinion and hopefully hear some classic albums for the first time. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-li...albums-1323916/ |
 |
 
|
|
Jun 19 2022, 02:02 PM
Post
#2
|
|
|
BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 February 2013
Posts: 11,949 User: 18,293
|
200. Travis Scott - ASTROWORLD 2018 3/5
Highlights: 5% TINT, NO BYSTANDERS, CAN'T SAY  Seeming that I'm going to listen to them all I might as well leave my thoughts somewhere. I understand why this album has made the list as it's undeniably one of the most influential rap albums of modern times but I'm struggling to find much exciting about it. In the same way that would mean I could never imagine listening to a full DJ Khaled album, there's only some many times you can hear the same adlibs in an hour before you get bored (yah, it's lit). It's also quite difficult to listen to this album now without thinking about what happened at the Astroworld Festival. |
|
|
|
|
Jun 20 2022, 04:52 PM
Post
#3
|
|
|
BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 February 2013
Posts: 11,949 User: 18,293
|
199. Juice WRLD - Goodbye & Good Riddance 2018 3.5/5
Highlights: Lucid Dreams, Black & White, Used To  Starting off with two 2018 albums and I would agree that this is the better of the two. The debut album of the late Juice WRLD, this was recorded while he was still a teenager and you can certainly tell. This album is raw, passionate and, at plenty of occasions, immature and emotionally crude. There's no huge shock that it was originally uploaded to Soundcloud before he was signed under the title 'F*ck You Bella'. But Lucid Dreams is an absolute modern classic and there's plenty of signs that he really had all the potential in the world. He certainly had a knack for creating perfectly catchy hooks that makes this album very memorable. I have no doubt that had he not died tragically at 21, he would have recorded an album that really earned a place on this list but even then I can't really begrudge G&GR's inclusion for it's longevity in still being a relevant today as when it was released 4 years ago. |
|
|
|
|
Jun 21 2022, 03:23 PM
Post
#4
|
|
|
BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 February 2013
Posts: 11,949 User: 18,293
|
198. KMD - Mr. Hood 1991 4.5/5
Highlights: Nitty Gritty, Mr. Hood at Piocalles Jewelry/Crackpot, Soulflexin'  It's hard to give a full five stars to an album you've only heard once but I really enjoyed my first listen of this. Like Juice WRLD before, this is another album by teenage artists. But, while G&GR is focuses on the pains of adolescent heartbreak, this album is a lot more optimistic. Mr. Hood is endlessly creative and fun with inventive samples even when the album does focus on the potentially heavy theme of the black experience in America. The title-character Mr. Hood is voiced in skits by sampled clips of a language learning tape and unlike most Hip-Hop album skits are actually pretty fun. 'Mr Hood. Meets Onyx' in particular really made me smile. KMD, and this album in particularly, are best remember for being the introduction to the rapper who would eventually become MF Doom. Back in 1991, he was going by the name Zev Love X and recorded this album alongside his brother DJ Subroc who tragically died at 19 before the group could release their 2nd album & Onyx the Birthstone Kid. The aforementioned 2nd album 'Black bast*rds' was due to be released in 1993 but was postponed after Subroc's death and was eventually released in 2000. |
|
|
|
|
Jun 22 2022, 03:25 PM
Post
#5
|
|
|
BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 February 2013
Posts: 11,949 User: 18,293
|
197. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Bandana 2019 4/5
Highlights: Palmolive, Giannis, Crime Pays  Back to the more recent releases and this is certainly the strongest of the three. This is a very solid album; Freddie Gibbs's rapping is technically brilliant and Madlib's production is top-notch, but the reason why I've rated it lower than KMD is because nothing really stood out to me that massively. This might be because I was listening to this in the background while I was working before and wasn't able to follow along with the lyrics in too much detail. This is an easy album to listen too and it's certainly never boring, but, despite some great features, there was nothing that was making me want to rush back to listen again. I will probably still give it another go at some point. |
|
|
|
|
Jun 23 2022, 03:59 PM
Post
#6
|
|
|
BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 February 2013
Posts: 11,949 User: 18,293
|
196. The Jacka - Tear Gas 2009 5/5
Highlights: Summer, Greatest Alive, Dream  I had never heard of The Jacka before today but this was one of my favourite albums I've listened to in a long time. When I think of rap scene in the late 2000's I don't really think of it being a great time for the mainstream; I think of artists like Flo Rida and Akon. But this album sounds so fresh. If you had told me this was released in the past 5 years I would believe you. You never know what to expect when you see an album with as many features as this one, but The Jacka really does give himself enough time to shine with his clever rhymes and surprisingly smooth voice. Despite there being plenty, there's not really 1 feature that I thought was wack. This is exactly the kind of underrated album that I never would have heard otherwise I was hoping to find then I decided to go through this list. Sadly this is the 3rd artist so far that have already tragically passed away. The Jacka was killed by a gunman in 2015. |
|
|
|
|
Jun 24 2022, 09:54 PM
Post
#7
|
|
|
BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 February 2013
Posts: 11,949 User: 18,293
|
195. CupcakKe - Ephorize 2018 2.5/5
Highlights: Exit, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Total  I just didn't enjoy this album  I really didn't like the first few tracks but it did get better as it went on. I liked some of the themes the album touched on but overall I just found it a bit repetitive. She's certainly competent and definitely a better rapper than some artists I know are still to come but this album just didn't connect with me.
|
|
|
|
|
Jun 25 2022, 02:55 PM
Post
#8
|
|
|
BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 February 2013
Posts: 11,949 User: 18,293
|
194. K'NAAN - The Dusty Foot Philosopher 2005 4.5/5
Highlights: What's Hardcore, My Old Home, If Rap Gets Jealous  Wavin' Flag is one of my all-time favourite songs but I had (ashamedly) never gone back to listen to anything else from him and what a mistake that was. This album is hard-hitting and I'm delighted to see it earned a spot on this list. K'Naan grew up in Somalia where a civil war kicked off when he was 12 and it gives the album a unique sense of realness and perspective you can't get from even the most hardened American gangster rapper. His verses really shine the brightest when he's at his most serious and keeping the topic on his struggle but there's still enough humour and lighter touches that show some connection to the man who would later release one of the most joyous songs about world harmony. Both these sides to the album are perfectly represented in my favourite bar from the album: "If I rhyme about home and got descriptive, I'd make 50 Cent look like Limp Bizkit" This would have been a 5/5 if it was a bit tighter. It runs for 1 hour and seven mins and while it doesn't overstay it's welcome, it does feel like you could cut a bit of the fat and make a near perfect 45-50 minute album. |
|
|
|
|
Jun 26 2022, 01:49 AM
Post
#9
|
|
 I'll just stick around and do some more damage
Joined: 14 February 2009
Posts: 115,037 User: 8,300
                
|
I've seen a couple of YouTube videos going over the list but not actually read the list in depth so not everything was highlighted of course - K'naan is an interesting pick! (although I too have never heard anything from him other than 'Wavin' Flag' oops).
'ASTROWORLD' is the only one of these so far that I have listened to, appreciate the mention of 'CAN'T SAY' as a highlight although that's only my 3rd favourite track after 'STOP TRYING TO BE GOD' and, predictable but true, 'SICKO MODE'. I admittedly felt a little bit off about listening to Travis Scott music for a little while with the Astroworld tragedy in recent memory but now some more time has passed I think he has drifted back into 'ok with separating art from artist' territory (there are very few artists that fall outside that category for me to be fair). Also generally enjoy what I've heard from Freddie Gibbs, I think his other Madlib collab album 'Piñata' is generally more highly regarded than 'Bandana' though. |
|
|
|
|
Jun 26 2022, 07:55 PM
Post
#10
|
|
|
BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 February 2013
Posts: 11,949 User: 18,293
|
193. A$AP Rocky - Live.Love.A$AP 2011 4/5
Highlights: Get Lit, Palace, Trilla  I like A$AP Rocky but I've never really considered him to be that good of a rapper so I was surprised to see him on the list. This was his debut mixtape from 2011 and is a pretty solid release from him. I'm liking the mix of styles across the album. Despite being a proud New Yorker, this doesn't just stick to the traditional sound of his native scene with obvious influences from southern rap. The only thing that really stops this album from ranking any higher is the lack of direction in the themes to the songs. The lyrics never really focus on anything deeper than lean, weed and girls. It shows how much effort Rolling Stones have put into this list that they've used the album cover for Long.Live.A$AP on their website and nobody there has seemed to notice. |
|
|
|
|
Jun 26 2022, 08:00 PM
Post
#11
|
|
|
BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 February 2013
Posts: 11,949 User: 18,293
|
QUOTE(Brer @ Jun 26 2022, 02:49 AM)  I've seen a couple of YouTube videos going over the list but not actually read the list in depth so not everything was highlighted of course - K'naan is an interesting pick! (although I too have never heard anything from him other than 'Wavin' Flag' oops). 'ASTROWORLD' is the only one of these so far that I have listened to, appreciate the mention of 'CAN'T SAY' as a highlight although that's only my 3rd favourite track after 'STOP TRYING TO BE GOD' and, predictable but true, 'SICKO MODE'. I admittedly felt a little bit off about listening to Travis Scott music for a little while with the Astroworld tragedy in recent memory but now some more time has passed I think he has drifted back into 'ok with separating art from artist' territory (there are very few artists that fall outside that category for me to be fair). Also generally enjoy what I've heard from Freddie Gibbs, I think his other Madlib collab album 'Piñata' is generally more highly regarded than 'Bandana' though. I'd definitely recommend checking out the K'Naan album, there's plenty on there that I'd think you'd enjoy. I don't think Piñata has made this list. |
|
|
|
|
Jun 27 2022, 05:14 PM
Post
#12
|
|
|
BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 February 2013
Posts: 11,949 User: 18,293
|
192. Pop Smoke - Meet The Woo 2019 3/5
Highlights: Dior, Meet The Woo, Scenario  A bit of drill in the countdown and if any artist was going to be include it makes sense for it to be Pop Smoke. Dior is practically Drill's magnum opus and Pop certainly had the perfect voice for the genre with his deep tones that work so well with UK producer 808Melo's classic beats. Like Juice WRLD before, Pop Smoke's tragic death at 20 leaves us with only music he recorded in his teenage years but even as a teenager he really embodied (and practically even created) a whole genre of music. I don't think this really deserves a place on this list on it's own merit but there's certainly enough hear to suggest that he would have released something really great later in his career. |
|
|
|
|
Jun 27 2022, 06:52 PM
Post
#13
|
|
 Shakin Stevens
Joined: 29 December 2007
Posts: 46,139 User: 5,138
 
|
The ASAP Rocky album is the only one so far I listened to upon release, it’s a great album tho!
|
|
|
|
|
Jun 28 2022, 06:51 PM
Post
#14
|
|
|
BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 February 2013
Posts: 11,949 User: 18,293
|
191. Lyrics Born - Later That Day... 2003 4/5
Highlights:The Last Trumpet, Bad Dreams, Pack Up  Lyrics Born is a Japanese born rapper who grew up in America where he formed the duo Latyrx with Lateef the Truthspeaker. Later That Day is his first album as a solo artist but the song that shone the most for me was The Last Trumpet which is actually a collaboration with groupmate. The chemistry in the interchanges between the pair is so fun with them both alternating each couple of lines during the verse in a way that I wish more rappers did because the effect is (almost) always brilliant. This album is funky and fun with Lyrics Born sometimes fine tuned, but always melodic flow really grounds the album throughout and it is never at any point a dull album to listen to. I'm really happy this is on the list because it's something I would never have ever heard about otherwise. |
|
|
|
|
Jun 29 2022, 04:45 PM
Post
#15
|
|
|
BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 February 2013
Posts: 11,949 User: 18,293
|
190. Drakeo the Ruler - Cold Devil 2017 3.5/5
Highlights: Fools Gold, Neiman & Marcus Don't Know You, Roll Bounce  Drakeo recorded this album in 10 days after his release from jail in 2017 and, for an album recorded in such a short period of time, this is really impressive. He has a unique flow that really helps his music stand out amongst the albums I've listened to so far. I guess you could probably place him under the 'mumble rap' umbrella but unlike most of his contemporaries in that sub-genre, there is so much more going on here. He has a complex but laidback flow that reminds me the most of 21 Savage out of those in the mainstream but there are times where he is raps more traditionally, especially in one of the standout tracks, Neiman & Marcus... where (for the first half at least) his vocals are clear as day that really help his shots at other rappers sting all the more. You can tell by listening to this that Drakeo was an innovate west-coast rapper as this sounds very distinctive and you feel he is frequently trying to keep thigs fresh across the tracklist. But a side effect of trying new things is that not everything lands. For every banger, there's a run of songs that are just meh and wisely, a bunch of features start appearing half way though the album before anything can become too stale. I can see why this has earned a spot on the list but there's too many songs that I didn't click with to truly love this album. Listening to these albums is really highlighting how many rappers die at a young age as Drakeo was murdered at Once Upon a Time in LA Festival last December at the age of 28. |
|
|
|
|
Jun 30 2022, 04:09 PM
Post
#16
|
|
|
BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 February 2013
Posts: 11,949 User: 18,293
|
189. Nipsey Hussle - Crenshaw 2013 4/5
Highlights: Face The World, Checc Me Out, The Weather  Nipsey was a prolific mixtape releaser from the mid noughties to the late teens and Crenshaw was his 9th release from 2013. The mixtape gained notoriety for it's unique release strategy. Released for free online, the tape was also sold in CD form for the price of $100. Originally limited to 1000, each CD came with a random benefit (ranging from a ticket to one of his shows to a chance to meet Nipsey in his studio and hear the upcoming debut album Victory Lap before anyone else). Jay-Z was impressed and bought 100 copies. Nipsey became almost just as known for his entrepreneurship as his music and this was a huge success as they sold out in less than a day, earning him a cool $100,000 from little marketing or manufacturing costs. But is the mixtape actually any good? Yeah it is. This is nothing ground-breaking, it is in fact composed of tracks that Nipsey wasn't going to include on his actual album but despite that, this is a surprisingly well-jointed and sleek release. The title Crewnshaw relates to the neighbourhood that Nipsey grew up in and he explained the title by saying that it "sounded like Crenshaw, it sounded like the environment, like my upbringing". Nipsey is another artist who was murdered, aged 33 in 2019. You could see from the reaction after his death, just how respected and influential he was despite not having commercial success during his lifetime. The video of Kendrick Lamar finding out just before a concert really highlights the loss. I know it was his debut studio album 'Victory Lap' that earned Nipsey his largest success critically and commercially, earning him a posthumous Grammy nomination, so I was surprised to see this being his representation on this list. I'm not sure if it's only appearance. |
|
|
|
|
Jul 1 2022, 03:17 PM
Post
#17
|
|
|
BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 February 2013
Posts: 11,949 User: 18,293
|
188. Wild Style: Original Soundtrack 1983 2.5/5
Highlights: Fantastic Beasts At The Amphitheatre, Fantastic Freaks At The Dixie, Cold Crush Brothers At The Dixie  Wild Style might be an influential film in Hip-Hop when samples from the movie and this soundtrack appearing on plenty of the albums that are still ahead on this countdown, but as an album I didn't find this that good of a listen. The style of rapping certainly sounds out-dated compared to anything released today and the skits from the movie ruin any momentum the album has. When they have the live performance songs, it does shine at times but they are too few and far between. This album was produced by Blondie's Chris Stein. I've never been one to listen to movie scores and there themes and titles from the movie just do nothing for me. |
|
|
|
|
Jul 2 2022, 05:28 PM
Post
#18
|
|
|
BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 February 2013
Posts: 11,949 User: 18,293
|
187. Capone-N-Noreaga - The War Report 1997 4.5/5
Highlights: Iraq (See The World), Neva Die Alone, Halfway Thugs  This is a huge-underground record from the late 90's and one that is often credited as reigniting the popularity of gangster rap at a time where P Diddy's mainstream take of the genre was uber popular. Capone was jailed before the recording for this album was completed which led to Noreaga calling up a who's who of New York acts (including one Busta Rhymes) to provide their talents and finish the album. This is a really good album even if it feels more like a Noreaga solo project at times with Capone not even appearing until song 4 on the tracklist. Noreaga has an unorthodox flow that makes this album never feel dull despite a long runtime. The skits on the album are phone conversations between the pair while Capone was in jail and are the only parts on the album that feel worth skipping. Noreaga later re-branded himself as N.O.R.E. and had a UK top 20 hit with Pharrell called Nothin'. |
|
|
|
|
Jul 2 2022, 06:58 PM
Post
#19
|
|
 BuzzJack Legend
Joined: 22 December 2009
Posts: 30,292 User: 10,275
  
|
Interesting thread, thank you!
Noreaga is/was a bit underrated, I'd say he was very influential in the late 90s and his first solo contains one of the first high-profile The Neptunes singles Superthug. Also Oye Mi Canto is kind of bop. This post has been edited by Sour Candy: Jul 2 2022, 06:59 PM |
|
|
|
|
Jul 3 2022, 12:02 PM
Post
#20
|
|
|
BuzzJack Platinum Member
Joined: 7 February 2013
Posts: 11,949 User: 18,293
|
QUOTE(Sour Candy @ Jul 2 2022, 07:58 PM) Interesting thread, thank you! Noreaga is/was a bit underrated, I'd say he was very influential in the late 90s and his first solo contains one of the first high-profile The Neptunes singles Superthug. Also Oye Mi Canto is kind of bop. I'll definitely check out some more from Noreaga. He certainly stole the show away from his partner on The War Report. Thanks 
|
|
|
|
|
| Time is now: 19th April 2024 - 06:42 AM |
Copyright © 2006 - 2024 BuzzJack.com
About | Contact | Advertise | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service
