P&B's Top 30 Hip Hop Albums Of All Time

[L. Brilliant]

The write-ups are highly #dece, even when i didn't think i was interested in the records they're selling them to me.

[JogaBonito]

I didn't get a chance to put in a list (would have struggled coming up with 10 anyway), but "Bizarre ride II the pharcyde" would probably have topped my list just for soul flower alone; such a fun song.

Will keep an eye on this run down .

[Colin M]

24 =

Ultramagnetic MC's

Critical Beatdown

(1988)

For me, there's probably no album that greater represents what I love about "golden era" hip hop, than Critical Beatdown. There's just something endlessly exciting about the music here itself, but also about the culture and conditions that inspired it. 1988 saw the release of an album that was a culmination of two years of work and development, from a group led by (another) two school friends from the Bronx who bonded over their desire not just to be part of this exploding scene, rooted in the very borough they came from, but to advance it, to expand it, into something even better. Next level shit. Critical Beatdown is an album with one foot firmly rooted in the block parties and scene that many of these great albums were spawned from, and the other foot stepping into another galaxy altogether.

Ced Gee had already played a huge part in the production of 1987's "Criminal Minded" by fellow Bronx act B.D.P., but on Critical Beatdown the production is something else entirely. Aided and part mentored by engineer and producer Paul C McKasty, sadly killed at 27 only a few years later, Ced Gee's approach was one that was cited by more widely lauded producers such as The Bomb Squad, and De La Soul claim that this album was the main touchstone for 3 Feet High And Rising. The story of early single "Ego Trippin'" (included here) is inspiring - Ced and Kool Keith at a party heard the drums from Melvin Bliss' "Synthetic Substitution", which was to become one of the most recognisable breaks in hip hop music, and decided they had to use those drums to make something along the lines of Eric B & Rakim's "Eric B Is President". Keith knew someone who owned the record, borrowed it, Ced chopped it up in his SP-12, and the rest is history. Atop it, Keith led the rhymes in his idiosyncratic style, subliminally (or not) dissing other rappers for "childish rhymes" and "nursery terms". The message was clear - here was the future of hip hop to blow everyone else out the water.

The production is sample heavy but not like Paul's Boutique or 3 Feet High And Rising - here everything is chopped into smaller fragments, forming stabs, hooks and book ends to the booming beats. The drums on this record sound as punchy as anything. On "Give The Drummer Some" Paul C is given production credit (although he's been acknowledged by Ced as having a bigger hand in the sound of the album than the credits give him) and it's an absolute masterpiece, based on the simplest innovation you can imagine. Paul "discovered" that you could isolate the drums on some records by panning it to one channel, and did so to stunning effect to sample the Dee Felice Trio's "There Was A Time" to create a hammering beat that is still rocking 26 years later. It's a hip hop masterclass, emulated throughout the rest of the album, on tracks like the Joe Cocker sampling "Funky (Remix)", and the tough beats of the title track.

The sound of the record was the perfect foil for the vocals of the duo of Keith and Ced, who'd spend time reading science manuals amongst other material, looking for words and ideas to elevate their rhymes above their contemporaries. "I'll take your brain to another dimension" claimed Keith, and that's the theme throughout, with his metaphors often touching on space travel and exploration. Ced performs well throughout on vocals but it's Kool Keith who was considered a rival to Rakim and Big Daddy Kane for the mantle of best rapper around, his short snappy wordplay and stream of conciousness lyrics that evoke imagery no other lyricist could achieve. Whether riding atop the quick fire bursts of organ on "Ain't It Good To You" or the rock riffs of "Travellin At The Speed Of Thought (Remix)", Keith is the ultimate tour guide through the Ultramagnetic universe. It's perhaps fitting that in 2014, the 4 of them (would be unfair not to at least mention DJ Moe Love and hype man TR Love for their parts!) look like they've been beamed in from another planet on the front cover, Critical Beatdown still feeling to many like it's from another level of creativity altogether.

[Seymour Skinner]

Ive not heard most of these late 80s early 90s albums - ill need to check them out if they're this highly rated

[Colin M]

Ive not heard most of these late 80s early 90s albums - ill need to check them out if they're this highly rated

They might seem dated in the modern era, be interesting to know how younger ears hear them.

[Boostin' Kev]

Are you doing these descriptions yourself Colin M? They're very good.

There's no excuse for Critical Beatdown not being higher in any poll regardless of where it taken and size of response. In my opinion of course!

[Colin M]

Are you doing these descriptions yourself Colin M? They're very good.

There's no excuse for Critical Beatdown not being higher in any poll regardless of where it taken and size of response. In my opinion of course!

Thanks! Yeah I'm just writing them up as I go along, luckily most of the albums are ones I'm pretty familiar with

[Dee Man]

Are you doing these descriptions yourself Colin M? They're very good.

There's no excuse for Critical Beatdown not being higher in any poll regardless of where it taken and size of response. In my opinion of course!

Agreed. Anyone who didn't have this in their top ten should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.

[Mr. Brightside]

I didn't manage to vote in this, but Yeezus and Reasonable Doubt would've been in my top ten, easily. Yeezus is Kanye's second best album IMO, behind the College Drop-out (which is staggeringly TEN YEARS OLD) only by a smidgen. IMO his worst album is 808's and Heartbreak, mostly tripe with a few belters.

[Seymour Skinner]

I didn't manage to vote in this, but Yeezus and Reasonable Doubt would've been in my top ten, easily. Yeezus is Kanye's second best album IMO, behind the College Drop-out (which is staggeringly TEN YEARS OLD) only by a smidgen. IMO his worst album is 808's and Heartbreak, mostly tripe with a few belters.

When I listened to 808s for the first time I didn't really like it because I kept waiting for kanye to start rapping. When you try and think of it as its own album and not an album by kanye west, you appreciate it a lot more.

I think yeezus is kanyes best album, followed by MBDTF.

[cb_diamond]

Great write ups thus far, kudos!

[Boostin' Kev]

Nice to see you giving Paul C a mention the man doesn't get nearly enough credit for his role in the Golden Era.

[Colin M]

Nice to see you giving Paul C a mention the man doesn't get nearly enough credit for his role in the Golden Era.

There's an amazing article about Paul C from about 10-15 years ago, written by Dave Tompkins. I'm sure it'll still be available online somewhere, I'll try and find a link for it.

Edit: here it is actually http://crunkster.abstractdynamics.org/archives/003807.html

[Boostin' Kev]

Cheers will read in the morning when I have more time. You'd never relate his production/influence to people like Large Pro, going by the pics of him

[Colin M]

21 =

De La Soul

3 Feet High And Rising

(1989)

There must have been something in the water in 1989 - while the Beastie Boys were gluing together the Dust Brothers' record collection on Paul's Boutique, on Long Island 3 new kids on the scene were teaming up with Stetsasonic DJ Prince Paul to make their own patchwork quilt of samples on their debut album. While the musical approach may have been much the same, the outcome is markedly different. 3 Feet High And Rising became a huge crossover success for numerous reasons, and perhaps because of a perception, which some (including the group themselves) might consider a slight misconception. The hippy-ish, dayglo feel to the music and album cover, along with some of the sampling material, meant the album fit quite nicely into the "second summer of love" scene that the UK music press in particular were pushing (headed by Stone Roses, Happy Mondays et al). 3 Feet High And Rising's mood and indeed its general sound fit quite nicely into a climate where an audience were happy to absorb music from the 1960s alongside dance and hip-hop that seemed to predict the dawn of a new decade. De La's own description of "the DAISY Age" just seemed on the face of it to be designed for this all encompassing "scene".

There's another key (and not unrelated) factor in the crossover success though - 3 Feet High And Rising has an unbridled and infectious pop sensibility throughout. The samping of Otis Redding's whistling on "Eye Know" is pop genius, and perhaps the chief indication of what might be different from 3 Feet.. from Paul's Boutique - here the sample material isn't just to provide a hip hop backdrop, it was actually providing melodic hooks. The seamless join of samples of 60s soul from The Mad Lads and early 70s funk from Cymande on "Change In Speak" is incredible - somehow Paul and the boys identified two loops that feel destined to sit side by side. The wholescale lifting of the riff from Funkadelic's "(Not Just) Knee Deep" on the single "Me Myself and I" may have more than flaunted copyright law, but it didn't seem to matter, it simply fitting the idea of De La as musical magpies, stealing any sparkling hook they could think of. They even sampled Hall and Oates, for f**k sake.

Those pop friendly ideas, combined with the overall anything goes aesthetic, largely define the sound of the album, along with a naive and perhaps immature goofiness that only seemed to add to the charm. The quiz show "concept" that runs throughout the album provided some genuine laughs, albeit without any real indication of what it was for. It was the album that more than any other introduced the rap "skit" to the world, and it's arguably about the only album where that isn't really fucking annoying. I'm sure we could all happily live without ever hearing "De La Orgee" again though - thank God for the skip button. That immaturity provides other happy moments of charm though, from the French educational samples over a loop of 60s band The Turtles on "Transmitting Live From Mars", to the animal characters that inhabit the seemingly philosophical "Tread Water". Meanwhile, the stop-start sample fest of "Cool Breeze On The Rocks" and the ending of "The Magic Number" paint the album as a successor to the cut and paste innovations of Double Dee and Steinski (even sharing samples on "The Magic Number"), an indicator of what that approach might sound like fleshed out into a full bodied rap album.

It's easy then to forget that 3 Feet High And Rising IS a rap album, and the group would become disillusioned with their public identity - the followup album "De La Soul Is Dead" reflecting this not just with its title but with the image of dead flowers on the cover and overall darker mood. The daisies weren't about 60s throwback hippy free love after all, and that "it stands for 'DA Inner Sound Y'All" was lost on most casual listeners and observers. But, the album is jam packed with "real" hip hop moments to covet. The DJ Mase shines on the scratch happy "Jenifa Taught Me", while Trugoy the Dove (and they wonder why people thought they were hippies?!) and Posdnuos showcase their often overlooked ability throughout. Tracks like "Potholes In My Lawn" and snappily titled "This Is A Recording 4 Living In A Fulltime Era (L.I.F.E)" are part of hip hop fabric every bit as much as the more pop friendly singles. De La Soul would go on to make a series of other equally fresh sounding albums and have one of hip hop's greatest and most consistent back catalogues, but on their infectious debut they seemed to have something for everyone. If you ever find yourself walking down the street with "Prince Paul has dandruff" playing through your head, be thankful that you've been touched by its charm.

[Boostin' Kev]

Another nice write up, never thought I'd see Cymande mentioned on a football forum!

[Dee Man]

Another great write up but disappointing lack of mentioning that Trugoy is yogurt backwards.

Pretty sure the album's release was delayed for a while due to copyright issues with the sheer amount of samples. Either that or they released it and got their arses sued off them. One of the two.

[DAFC]

How many feathers are on a Perdue chicken?

How many fibres are intertwined in a Shredded Wheat biscuit?

What does "touche et lele pu" mean?

How many times did the Batmobile catch a flat?

One of the first hip hop LPs I got into, was only 10 or 11 at the time. Definitely in the top 30, surprised it was so low down tbh.

[Colin M]

21 =

Souls Of Mischief

93 'til Infinity

(1993)

Back in 1991, former NWA lynchpin Ice Cube was at the height of his pomp, courting controversy and outrage with every musical statement he made, so when a rapper named Del Tha Funkee Homosapien emerged from Oakland, CA, presented as "Ice Cube's weird cousin", the hip hop world sat up and scratched its head. Del's P-Funk heavy debut "I Wish My Brother George Was Here" is a great listen, residing somewhere between a West Coast funk base and a quirkier jazzy style and personality more akin to the East Coast Native Tongues' peak around the same time. While the album was mentored by Cube and produced by his own production team, students of the CD sleeve would notice a strange 3-eyed not-quite-smiling smiley logo adorning its surface. The symbol would be revealed as the stamp of the Hieroglyphics crew, Del's Oakland pals who all indulged in creating distinctive music of their own. Souls Of Mischief were the flagship group of the collective, and their debut an accomplished and massively enjoyable statement of intent and identity.

By 93 the Hiero crew had broken free of those P-Funk dominated samples of Del's debut to forge their own musical path, and 93 'til Infinity is a musical tour de force. Production was shared across the collective with Del, Domino and Casual all contributing on the boards, along with the Souls own A-Plus. The sound was largely reliant on more obscure jazz samples, reaching past the George Clinton in the crates towards the Freddie Hubbard records, creating tracks that managed to combine abstract loops with more melodic interludes. This sound was shared on other early Hiero albums such as Del's second "No Need For Alarm", and young battle rapper Casual's debut "Fear Itself" (both also well worth discovering), and had much in common with New York production of the time from the likes of Diamond D, Showbiz, or Da Beatminerz' work for Black Moon and others, utilising post-Pete Rock horn samples alongside the electric pianos and flute loops from 70s jazz funk and jazz rock fusion.

Tracks such as the opener "Let 'Em Know" and "Never No More" is the perfect example of this approach, archetypal classic tracks made from those jazzy building blocks. 93 'til Infinity is as great an example as you'll find of early 90's hip hop's strength of taking parts of those older records out of context to create an engrossing backdrop for the MCs to do their thing over. Lyrically the album is also quirky and creative - vocal duties shared among the four members of the group, A-Plus, Tajai, Opio and Phesto D. There's dynamic wordplay and phrasing a-plenty, an obviously more conscious counterpoint to the attitude and violence of other contemporary West Coast rap. Here most of the violence is metaphorical battle rap, such as on tracks like "Limitations" or "Disseshowedo". The sentiment of (the chorus at least!) of "Live And Let Live" is in obvious contrast to the nature of the dominant gangsta rap of the time and indeed since, while the street tales within "What A Way To Go Out" or "Anything Can Happen" are of a cautionary nature, storytelling with morality embedded inside.

To sell 93 'til Infinity though as a happy clappy affair would be inaccurate, as it's an album where sharpening and displaying the lyrical skills of the group is always to the fore. For all the contrast to comparitively "dumb" rap of the time, there's plenty aggression on display here, simply channeled into the kind of expression and creativity that great hip hop music could provide. Females and weed are also as much part of the Souls' worldview as any notion of righteousness. Nowhere is the combination of lyrical trash-talk and the compelling beats more infectious than on the title track, a long established hip hop classic that sounds as fresh today as it did on first listen. The incredible flip of the Billy Cobham sample to make the backdrop of the beat is as creative an example of hip hop production of the time that you're likely to find, and it's to the eternal credit of the group that the whole album still sounds as magnificent today as its title suggests.

[MarreZ]

93 til infinity as a track is one of the top 5 all time hip hop tracks, the album was a little shaky. Their new album is brilliant, been listening to it on repeat since yesterday.