The point of this thread is to let people know about albums you consider to be something special. This doesn't necessarily mean best rap album ever, but think of it more as rap albums you think everyone should hear at least once in their life. Please give a little reasoning for your choice(s) too.

I'll start off with a couple.



Talib Kweli & DJ Hi-Tek - Reflection Eternal

Talib really shines on this album and that is because he is rapping over the one DJ who fits perfectly with his style. The topics on this album are wide and varried and the song structures and styles are too. This is a true gem and is very over looked.




Smif N Wessun - Dah Shinin

Now known as Coco Bravez after a court case with the smith and wesson gun company, these two hail from Brooklyn. They are members of the original gun clappers which is an underground rap clique from Brooklyn. These guys team up with the Beatminerz for this album who provide the album with its remarkable lo-fi beat work. Lo-fi is such a rarity in the rap world that this album instantly stands out in a very different way. The lyrical content is almost all about weed and drug dealing, but done in an interesting way that doesn't make it seem like a crime but more a way of life.




Dr. Dre - The Chronic 2001

If you haven't heard at least a couple of the songs by now you are probably 40+ years old. Don't take that as an attack since this probably won't be your cup of tea anyhow, but this is a great album in a few respects. I could have selected The Chronic but I went with this since I have heard this much more. This is the album that has shaped the face of west coast rap since its release (and much east coast too), got scott storch on the map, perfect party album, showcases a lot of Dre's talent (including himself), and is all around well crafted and fun. The lyrical content is very similar to commercial rap lately, but here it is almost perfected and varied enough to keep it interesting.




Jay-Z - Reasonable Dobut

Jay-Z this, Jay-Z that. Whatever your thought is on the guy it doesn't matter when you listen to Reasonable Dobut. This is a classic in so many ways and is probably half the reason he is being called the best rapper alive. This is Jay-Z in his rawest form, on an LP at least, and his flow is untouchable. The songs are memorable and the beats aren't over done. Jay-Z comes up with enough variety in song ideas to keep the thing interesting. This also is NOT the annoying Jay-Z of today; no arrogant-pop princessy, dramatic Jay-Z. He is real and can be felt throughout.




Nas - Illmatic

You don't have a hip hop collection until this is in it.




Notorious BIG - Rap Phenomenon

This is a mix tape done by DJ Vlad and Dirty Harry. It remixs a lot of Biggies songs with some more modern, and classic, hip hop beats and gives you a total of 50 tracks. The first 20 are very well done where the final half is hit or miss with a lot of interviews in between. But those first 20 or so are not to be missed. The DJs do a great job at putting Biggie over the correct raps. He flows perfectly throughout and it is almost like you are listening to originals since the production is pretty good too. Biggies songs picked are great. It is almost like a best of his classics, rarities, and favorites. One of my favorite mix tapes.

The reason I put this up here is because I think it is a very accessible mixtape and a great introduction into the mixtape world which can be so intimidating at first.




Wu-tang - 36 Chambers

Wu-tang is awesome but not for everyone. They are raw like cocaine straight from Bolivia and some people just can't take that. But if a person is more interested in the flow of a rapper instead of how polished it sounds then Wu-tang is where its at. The grittiness and energy of these guys bleeds out of the speakers and gives you a feeling you can find nowhere else. These beats are fun too and are really something else.

This is a great thread idea. I'm gonna try to put some good ones in here a little at a time working, at least, semi-chronologically

The Show/La Di Da Di 12 Inch Doug E Fresh/Slick Rick

http://www.pimpdaddysupreme.com/vinyl/details/454.html

Great early (if not the first beat-boxing), great rhymes. A cappella genius. A real cornerstone in the development of rap.

I like rap as a tool. Like a guitar or a bass. The problem I have with most rap is that it's all about the rap not about the whole band. It's like listening to a Steve Vai album in the sense that it heads towards to much of an extreme. Something that I really dig is Guru's Jazzmatazz Vol. 1. Especially...

Track #11 "Le Bien, Le Mal" (with MC Solaar) – 3:21

Good stuff. I'm not sure how it would measure up with someone that really likes rap. If you can check it out and give an opinion.

Slick Rick is the man and I've heard La Di Da Di and yeah its a great example of his style. I don't think I've heard that particular Doug E. Fresh song though.

I love Guru, his work is great. I do believe I have Jazzmatazz somewhere and have needed to give it a listen.

Although it is not Rap the Madlib invasions are true classics. He has one where he mixes dub tracks from the Trojan record label and the other where he mixes a whole bunch of the bluenote catalog. You can read about them on allmusic here: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p...ztqoaqaqijx~T2

You've probably, at least, heard The Show in samples 'Six Minutes Doug E Fresh You're On'


I just wish that the De La Soul type of inspired mixes were a little trippier or something. Good Mourning is a cool track. As a whole, it strikes me as a little conservative. I actually find Mos Def kind of dry as well.


Good track. It sounds cool when he goes off real fast in French like that.

I wish these kind jazz influenced rappers pulled more of their inspiration from free jazz.

Next Pick

Fat Boys-Fat Boys



This is a very innovative, entertaining and influential old-school rap record. The lyrics are hilarious and easy to remember. Stick 'Em is major classic, heavily sampled and probably my favorite A Capella track of all time. I loved this record when it came out and I still do.

This is pretty sad

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_Boys_%28album%29

The Fat Boys movie was cool, too.

Edit:
As far as I can tell, they also were the first rap-group to top the German single-charts.

The Disorderlies! Yeah, that cracked me up!

Hmmm haven't heard of the Fat Boys.

Going to add that to my list of things to hear as it seems to be praised as a classic by a few people.

Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back. This is not my favorite hip-hop album. However, I would have no real argument against anyone who told me that it was the best ever, because as far as I can tell, this is a perfect album. It has no flaws. Everything that Chuck D, Flava Flav, Terminator X and the Bomb Squad were trying to accomplish was done as well as it could possibly be done. The rapping, the production, the song writing, are expertly crafted down to every detail. Anyone interested in hip-hop has something to learn from this album, whether it has to do with production, rapping, putting message behindi your lyrics, whatever. The sampling is simply incredible, I would give a lot to be a fly on the wall watching these guys lay out a track in the sampling-band manner that they used. The message behind the lyrics is serious, but it has that critical underlying sense of humor that keeps it from seeming to dogmatic. In terms of simply breaking new ground (not to mention pure quality), this is one of the greatest musical achievements in decades.

I'm glad you chose Nation and not Black Planet. Nation is the PE masterpiece and I agree with everything you wrote. Very well said. I will add that Nation and Yo!, still to this day, have some of the hardest driving badass beats in all of Hip Hop.