Hip Hop/Rap Fanatics Unite!

[mister j-y]

I'm really glad to see people were getting into O.C. about 15 pages ago (damn this thread has exploded recently).

On another note Diamond District's March On Washington is currently my Album of 2014 - it's produced with real depth which really reminds me of Eulorhythmics' Extended Play from 2007 (I think?). If you wanted adult, grown-up, nicely produced rap with no gimmicks these two albums are the shit

[noiseredux]

per Ack's request:


Public Enemy
Yo! Bum Rush The Show
1987, Def Jam
Picture it: Def Jam Recordings, 1987. The label is riding high on several fun party jam singles released from the Beastie Boys' debut the previous year. LL Cool J has just released his Bigger And Deffer album which spawns the huge hit single ballad "I Need Love." Though Simmons and Rubin had released Slayer's Reign In Blood, on the hip hop front nothing could have really prepared listeners for what was about to drop on Yo! Bum Rush The Show. While Cool James certainly had lyrical chops exhibited on tracks like "I'm Bad," Chuck D was basically the anti-LL. Forget the sensitivity of "I Need Love." Chuck wanted to tell you about a so-called "Sophisticated Bitch." And while Flava Flav may have been the group's theatrical hype man, he was miles away from the frat-boy silliness of the Beasties. There's no time to party when you're concerned with having "Too Much Posse." Public Enemy's debut isn't perfect. But it is a fully formed mission statement. This was a group with a defined personality. Nothing sounded like PE before PE, and this goes for their debut single, appropriately titled "Public Enemy #1" with its long droning notes. Chuck D and secret weapon Hank Shocklee developed the Bomb Squad sound on this record, kicking things off with "You're Gonna Get Yours" featuring skittering layers of sounds and Terminator X scratching cars skidding out. As if the crunchy guitars of "Sophisticated Bitch" weren't heavy enough, PE got Vernon Reid to come in and do a face-scorching solo. While the record has its moments of minimalism, it is largely influenced more by musique concrete than the old two turntables and a mic. While it's not the masterpiece that the string of follow-ups would be, Yo! Bum Rush The Show is required listening for those interested in just how game-changing a debut album can be.

[mister j-y]

per Ack's request:


Public Enemy
Yo! Bum Rush The Show
1987, Def Jam

Freaking yes.

[Frag Mortuus]

thanks to Frag for making me dig this one out...

The first time I heard this album or really even experienced Outkast, I was walking through the parking lot of my high school and found a pile of loose disks scattered around. All of them busted except this one. Admittedly, it was scratched to the point that it has no business playing, but I popped it into my portable CD player and it took off. I listened the entire walk home, and continued well into the night. Afterwards, I remember just laying on my bed and reflecting on what I just heard. I knew I loved it, but I didn't really know what to think. Outkast is such a completely different entity, that there is no standard to compare them to. People shove them into the Hip Hop category. But, just like any other great band does, they far exceed the confines of a single genre and create a sound all their own.

Stankonia released that same year and once again I was blown away. Outkast stands as one of those artists that will always be one of my favorites. I may go a year or so and not listen to anything by them, but once I do I start getting a little sad that we have waited, what seems like an eternity for a new release with not even a sliver of hope for anything anytime soon.

I just hope both members get on board with a new album soon. You can only play the back catalog so many times before you start to wear it out.

[noiseredux]

per stickem's request - he prob won't totally agree w/ my take, but hope he appreciates my thoughts...


Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
1991, Ruffhouse
Cypress Hill's self-titled debut was a surprise hit thanks to the inclusion of "How I Could Just Kill A Man" in the movie Juice. And for good reason. Cypress Hill is an exceptionally confident record. In fairness the group had spent nearly three years working on it, so perhaps it shouldn't be shocking that they had enough time to really perfect their sound. But that's the point. Like 'em or not, they sounded very different from anything else in 1991. Off the bat absolutely nobody sounded like B-Real's nasally assault on your eardrums. But somehow it worked when weighted by Sen Dog's booming low end. But the real star of this album is DJ Muggs. He created a well defined niche that when you hear it can only be described as Cypress Hill's own. The funky bass grooves, the obnoxious horns. Opener "Pigs" is a brilliant nursery rhyme style take on the classic "Fuck The Police" track, but things don't stay so light-hearted. Dig the tracklist as it progresses from there: "How I Could Just Kill A Man," "Hand On The Pump," Hole In The Head." It's violent stuff. The record isn't perhaps as flawless as early adopters make it out to be. Sen Dog is severely under-used for instance. Mugg's interludes here fit the mood, but don't add much to the sequencing. And there is a tendency to be a little monotonous with the upbeat drum breaks during some patches. Yet much of that is outweighed by the good merits. Mugg's fantastic samples are a high point, be it "Duke Of Earl" or the same track that A Tribe Called Quest sampled on "Vibes And Stuff." And there's also those moments when the group slow themselves down enough to actually feel as stoney as they often talk. "Stones Is The Way Of The Walk" and "Latin Lingo" are two high points with lower than average BPM's for this record. Somehow taking it slow seems to actually accentuate the hyper-intensity of some of these tracks. Plus, I always love when rappers are sure enough of themselves to release albums without relying on guest-shots, so props there. While I don't fully feel that this is the classic that it's often referred to as, I do think it's an impressive debut of one of the more unique groups to ever gain a sustained level of attention in the mainstream.

[stickem]

Actually i agree with everything but the fact about "classic everybody makes it out to be." But in fairness, i liked about 5 or 6 songs on the first few listens. After about a thousand the rest grew on me lol. Nice review bro. You ever heard any above the law, specifically the "black mafia life" cd? Black superman is a classic as well.

[noiseredux]

No but i always mean to. I heard some tracks from the album w uncle sam on the cover and dug them.

[stickem]

No but i always mean to. I heard some tracks from the album w uncle sam on the cover and dug them.

Dre got the credit for the g funk style. Their album "black mafia life" came out first so i was just wondering. "never missing a beat" sounds alot like something off a snoop and dre cd before their time. Definitely a slept on group if you ever run into that cd.

[noiseredux]

just looked up "Black Superman." This is one of the tracks that made me want to check them out. That beat's legit. And for sure, sounds like the sort of Dre shit that I loved.

[stickem]

when you got a minute, what do you think of this cat? local legend that should have blown up over a decade ago but you got guys like like young buck, pistol and haystak getting past play. waiting for the next album drop but here are a few links to get a listen,
3/4 of a single lol.

back in the day,the album"plottin"was a must have locally. dude came from the same projects as young buck.