Thread: Greatest Rap album ever....

So sayeth CNN/Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Picking the greatest ever hip-hop album is a tall order, and Entertainment Weekly admits its list marking 25 years since the birth of mainstream rap is subjective, with Eric B & Rakim at No. 1.

"Eric B. & Rakim's 'Paid in Full' made hip-hop a true art form, doing for rap what Bob Dylan did for rock in the mid-'60s," the magazine said of the 1987 album, which it praised for its technical intricacy and poetic metaphors.

Some of today's big names such as Outkast and Jay-Z may be disappointed to fall short of the top 10, though the former makes it to No. 11 with "Aquemini" and Jay-Z's "The Blueprint" is listed at 15. Eminem is ranked at No. 17 for "The Marshall Mathers LP."

"It's not a record sales list," said Neil Drumming, one of the writers at Entertainment Weekly who picked the top 25.

"Most of the people you find on the list or not on the list, rappers in general, are going to reference Eric B. & Rakim as a seminal rap group," he said.

In second place the magazine picked the 1989 album "3 Feet High and Rising" by De La Soul, followed by "Ready to Die" by Notorious B.I.G. from 1994. Public Enemy and Run-D.M.C. make up the rest of the top five.

"It's an endless source of debate even after it's published," Drumming said.

The publication of the list Friday marks the 25th anniversary of hip-hop as a mainstream phenomenon, which the magazine dates from 1979 when the Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" landed on the R&B charts, making it hip-hop's first hit single.

"A lot of people didn't believe it would last, what people are acknowledging now is that it's not a fad," Drumming said.


I would agree with Erik B. and Rakim as a number one choice. Rakim's lyrics are just cool as hell, I mean look at Casualties of War for instance:

The war is over, for now at least
Just because they lost it don't mean it's peace
It's a long way home, it's a lot to think about
Whole generation, left in doubt
Innocent families killed in the midst
It'll be more dead people after this
So I'm glad to be alive and walkin
Half of my platoon came home in coffins
Except the general, buried in the Storm
in bits and pieces no need to look for em
I played it slick and got away with it
Rigged it up so they would think they did it
Now I'm home on reserves and you can bet
when THEY call, I'm going AWOL
Cause it ain't no way I'm going back to war
when I don't know who or what I'm fighting for
So I wait for terrorists to attack
Every time a truck backfires I fire back
I look for shelter when a plane is over me
Remember Pearl Harbor? New York could be over, G
Kamikaze, strapped with bombs
No peace in the East, they want revenge for Saddam
Did I hear gunshots, or thunder?
No time to wonder, somebody's going under
Put on my fatigues and my camoflouge
Take control, cause I'm in charge
When I snapped out of it, it was blood, dead bodies on the floor
Casualties of War

or SICK and ballsy Know the Ledge:

A brand new morn, no time to yawn
Shower's on, power's on
Late for school, I catch the train
Girls sip "Cristal" and whisper my name
I push up like an exercise,
Check the intellect and inspect the thighs
Select the best one, pull her to the side
Keep her occupied for the rest of the ride
Read my resume she's know I'm 'ready cool
Just meet me after school,
We can moan and groan until your mom come home ,
And you be calling me Al "dope" Capone.
Sweatin' me, she didn't want to let me loose-
Come get me, that's if you want to sip the juice
Cause the streets await me, so I take my gun off safety
Cause alot of niggaz hate me
Coming out of the building, they set me up
Sprayed wit automatics, they wet me up
In a puddle of blood, I lay close to the edge
I guess I didn't know the ledge.....



What choo guys think as far as best rap album or MC? I'd say Rakim or Notorious BIG are the best MC's by far.

When I think about this, I don't know whether to go for the most influential or important, or the one I'm most likely to listen to and enjoy.
For instance, I think "Paid in Full" is more important than "Only Built for Cuban Linx", but the latter gets way more playtime for me.
Here's an off the cuff top 5 (but not necessarily in order, it's constantly changing):

Raekwon -only built for cuban linx
Public Enemy - It takes a nation of millions
Ice Cube - Death Certificate
Nas - Illmatic
De La Soul - Is Dead

About De La Soul - it kills me that people start and end with "3 feet high" when talking about this group. Yes, it was a hugely influential album, but it is pretty hard to listen to all the way through. Most of the stuff on there is not even whole songs. I'll take "Dela Soul is Dead" and "Buhloone Mindstate" over that album any day.

I concede, Artie Fufkin of Polymer records wins.

Originally Posted by vinzclortho

I concede, Artie Fufkin of Polymer records wins.

I had to throw Ice into to the mix. I do not possess much hip hop/rap knowledge so I can't say who was the most influential rap act. But some years ago I heard some Public Enemy and went out an got Apocalypse 91, It Takes a Nation... and Fear of a Black Planet. All pretty powerful stuff, especially for a whitey from the suburbs.

Run DMC, King of Rock

thank god they got it right.

Ready to Die is one of my favorite albums EVER. Agree with that selection.

Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory

deserves top 10, IMO.

Wu Tang - 36 Chambers
Dr. Dre - The Chronic

both should also be top 10

Can't find the list.

Is NWA in the top 10? They should be.