Part two of my final blog post of the year. These are, in my opinion, the five best albums of the hip-hop genre. These albums are responsible for expanding my variety in the genre and shaping my taste. Here we go.
5. Jay-Z -- The Blueprint I think Jay-Z is the greatest rapper of all time, and part of it is the fact he has three albums you could argue as his best. If somebody said Reasonable Doubt or The Black Album is his best, I won't fault them for it. However, my pick is The Blueprint. The album takes the hustler elements present in Doubt and adds a more authentic element to it. Lots of the production has soul samples from Kanye West and Just Blaze, while a few varying beats such as the darker "Renegade" and more confident "The Ruler's Back" break up the monotony. This was Kanye's breakthrough as an artist, so I will always appreciate this album. Musically, the album had two audiences: in addition to his general fanbase, he was under the pressure of disses from noticeable artists like Nas and Mobb Deep and looked to respond on this album. The way he's able to balance his autobiographical raps with hard responses to fellow New York MCs makes for a great album. It's more optimistic than Doubt, the soul samples giving a more easy listen, metaphorical of the easier life he has now. One of the reasons why Jay-Z is considered the greatest by some people is his flow, and it's on great display here. The way he is able to string words together and perfectly hit the beat with his delivery gives the track life even if it is dragged down by a simply okay beat or some average bars. The first five tracks are solid and definitely aim more for the radio: "Girls, Girls, Girls" is absolutely hilarious and just a touch offensive, "Izzo" is a great single, and "Takeover" delivers hard blows to Mobb Deep, Nas, and others. But the album flips a switch as "U Don't Know". Exploring his drug dealing past and his success to where he is now, it oozes with confidence and has a tremendous instrumental that makes it a highlight of the album. "Heart of the City" might be the best use of a sample on the album, Kanye flipping some Bobby "Blue" Bland. The whole song is about how people want Jay to fail, and how he doesn't feel the love. Doesn't seem like the stuff of a top ten album ever, but when you're as smooth as Jay, and the samples are as good as they are, it's ultimately less about the lyrical content and how it is pulled off. Thankfully, Hov saves the best for last. "Song Cry" and "Renegade" are the culmination of the album. On one hand, "Song Cry" is so great for taking all the recurring elements of the album -- soul samples, reflecting on his past, smooth flows -- combined with emotional storytelling of a relationship that ended because he couldn't make time for the girl. It's such a powerful song, and it is one of my favorites of all time. On the other hand, "Renegade" is different from the majority of the album, with an Eminem feature and a darker beat produced by Eminem himself. The two MCs take turns discussing the media perceptions of them, with great lyricism and chemistry between the two. Bottom line, the production and rapping set Jay-Z in a position to become the most successful rap artist of the 2000s not named Eminem and really set a "blueprint" for other New York rappers to follow. Jay-Z, can we get a Blueprint 4 before your career is over? 4. OutKast -- Aquemini Southern rap wasn't really taken seriously before OutKast. Their debut Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik put them on the map, they bettered it with ATLiens, and perfected it with Aquemini. The project is a lot unlike typical Southern rap (which is still very enjoyable) and that creativity makes the record excel. Andre 3000 and Big Boi are both very talented lyricists and are able to show it on tracks like the title one. The personal standout of the album in my opinion, the song is about how good things must end but until then OutKast will continue to work together. Andre's final verse -- with the same three-syllable rhyme scheme for the whole verse and a switch-up in flow -- is one of the greatest verses I have ever heard. We also get a Raekwon feature on "Skew It On The Bar-B", and while it's another verse above crime, he uses a multi-syllable rhyme scheme for his verse, and he fits the whole concept of the track, since OutKast is basically saying "We're here to change rap", and the blending of Southern and East Coast rap solidifies that. That's not all for great rapping. The two "Da Art of Storytellin'" tracks present on the album both do a great job of... well, you guessed it. In part 1, Big Boi tells about a girl he engaged in sex with, while Andre tells about a girl who dies of a drug overduse while pregnant from an abusive boyfriend. In part 2, they take a story and somehow connect them to an apocalyptic scene out of the Bible. The way Andre is able to use women getting raped and make a metaphor with how some men "rape" Earth by taking advantage of it is simply genius. And Big Boi's verse about the apocalypse delivered so nonchalantly is ironic and great all at the same time. However, like stated earlier, the parts where it isn't just great rapping really make it unique and stand out in time. "SpottieOttieDopaliscious" isn't even rapping. It's seven minutes of spoken word over a jazz instrumental. Andre talks about a crazy scene in an urban night club, and then Big Boi talks about some really hot "smokin'" girl he met. It is so bold and has great storytelling and great horns; it's something that only OutKast could pull off (maybe Kendrick Lamar). And the track "Liberation" features no chorus, just five verses: Andre, Big Boi, Cee-Lo Green, Erykah Badu, and Big Rube in order. Each verse has a different style and the whole song is just about the desire of being free, with each person wanting to be free from a slightly different thing. The album is for any hip hop fan: whether they love lyrics, interesting production, spoken word, storytelling, you name it. The only reason it isn't higher is that "Mamacita" has a very dud chorus. Tough, but these top four albums are so neck and neck that I had to draw straws. 3. Kendrick Lamar -- To Pimp A Butterfly I already did an extensive review of this album, so I'll try to keep this one relatively short. This album is one of the most creative pieces of mainstream music I have ever heard. The whole project is about Kendrick telling what it means to be black, embracing his heritage while also being upset about oppression currently faced by them in the country. It also taps into his depression and mental state on the contrasting tracks "I" and "U". "U" might be the best song on an album of amazing ones; the second half of the song where Kendrick has a delivery with his voice cracking is the most emotional moment on the album. The sound of the production helps set it apart with inspirations from the soul, funk, and jazz genres. In a time where incidents like the Trayvon Martin case were still fresh in people's minds, the community needed a voice, somebody they could rally behind. With tracks like "Alright" and "King Kunta", the album managed to be socially relevant when black America needed it most. The album has so many different sounds, and they all manage to connect together into one overlying theme. The project is able to do this while having this artistic freedom of taking risks, which ultimately is extremely beneficial for Kendrick. However, this is a best rap albums list. Butterfly is a masterpiece. However, I feel the actual rapping and lyricism on this project, while good, is not really up to par with the top two. Still an incredible album. 2. Notorious BIG -- Ready to Die Crazy to think that this and Illmatic both came out in the same year (1994). Both are arguably the greatest rap album ever, but I think Ready to Die is the slightly better album. Concept albums are so hard to pull off, and the fact that Biggie Smalls manages to do this with his debut is even more impressive. The album depicts a life from birth to death, with him being born in the intro and committing suicide in the outro. The project has a dark and depressing tone to it for the majority of it, really fitting the title of the album. There are a lot of similarities in the styles of Biggie and Jay-Z: both legends from New York, both used to sell drugs, both have a smooth flow that allow them to lay rhymes on top of each other. While I have Jay-Z over Biggie on my all time list due to consistency, he never topped this project. Its dark tones and lyrical content, while not uncommon in rap, are done with a different approach that makes it stand out. An example of this is "Gimme The Loot", a track about a bank robbery. That is something that has been rapped about a few times. However, the way Biggie uses two different voices to explain how the whole thing goes down is creative. Also, Biggie just knows how to rap: his storytelling is vivid and almost sinister, he is never off beat with his sharp flow, and he never sounds uncomfortable. This storytelling is on full display on the title track, where Biggie and his crew are about to murder somebody. After "One More Chance" and a very sexual interlude, the album starts to get more light-hearted for a bit. "The What" is just some very solid battle rap between Biggie and the only other guest on the album, Method Man. "Juicy" is the most iconic track on the album, being the brightest spot in such a depressing piece of work. Biggie reflects on where he was and where he is now and how he was able to make it through hard situations. It's a relatable, feel-good track that every true hip hop fan should know. The album ends with arguably the two best tracks: "Unbelievable" features a beat from the greatest producer of all time in DJ Premier with Biggie able to squeeze multiple rhymes into one line. And the final track, "Suicidal Thoughts", is him on the phone with Puff Daddy where he shoots himself at the end. It's a fitting end to a dark album, one that doesn't glorify the life of a crime lord but rather shows the anguish of it. The rapping is nothing short of exceptional, every track has a purpose, and it's one of the most timeless rap albums of all time. And yet, there is one more I would put above it. Before we get to #1, here are a few honorable mentions: Take Care (Drake), Ridin' Dirty (UGK), Tha Carter III (Lil Wayne), 36 Chambers (Wu-Tang Clan), Man on the Moon (Kid Cudi), Supreme Clientele (Ghostface Killah), Pinata (Freddie Gibbs and Madlib), Be (Common), Food and Liquor (Lupe Fiasco), Get Rich or Die Tryin' (50 Cent), The Documentary (The Game), Capital Punishment (Big Pun), The Infamous (Mobb Deep), and The Eminem Show (Eminem). Now here we go with #1. 1. Kanye West -- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Ever since Kanye emerged into mainstream rap in 2004, he's always been an artistic genius able to make music that is ahead of its time. And each of his first four albums, while great, each had a flaw to them. College Dropout he was still trying to become more than a producer rapper, and things like his lyricism and flow were a little under par. Late Registration had a few filler tracks like "Celebration" and "My Way Home". Graduation was way too focused on radio success and lacked the hunger and passion of his first two projects. 808s and Heartbreak was a little barren lyrically, and it doesn't help that Kanye doesn't have the best singing voice. But he took his time with this project, and it shows. The background of this album adds to the legend right away. Everybody had counted out Kanye before this album -- following the polarization of 808s, the death of his mom, and the Taylor Swift stuff, everybody thought he was either washed musically or just going crazy. And sure, he still might be a little bit of the second part, but he was far from the first one. And for him to not just make a great album, but his best album ever, after all that madness, is simply insane. It's like Paul George having his best season ever this year, after a catastrophic injury just a few years ago. The project as a whole delves into the excessive lifestyle of a celebrity, and explores the gritty and the messed up a lot of people don't love to look at. The production on this project is the best produced rap album of the decade, with so many grand and luxurious beats combined with some of the most interesting samples and interpolations in recent memory. Each song transitions well into the next, combining into this grand finale of how Kanye is lost in it all -- the drugs, the sorrow, the women. Like a point guard running the floor in basketball, Kanye gets the best out of everyone on this album. Well, except for Hov on Monster. Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, and arguably Pusha T all give the verses of their career on this album. Bon Iver, Kid Cudi, Rihanna, and John Legend all deliver great choruses. And that's not even including the great verses from veterans Jay-Z (on "So Appalled", that is) and Raekwon. Kanye's rapping is arguably at its peak right here. It's his best lyrically and he displays a ton of charisma on tracks like "So Appalled", an ode to how much they hate critics and sometimes the fame, and "Monster", where he and the other artists embrace how rude they are. "POWER" and "Gorgeous" feature arguably his best verses ever. And "POWER" being the lead single for this thing was the perfect, brash way for Kanye to say "I'm back" as loudly as possible. This album is nothing short of an absolute masterpiece. It's an incredibly deep look into the corners of his messed up psyche, but this messed up psyche is what pushed him so much to make this project. Things that shouldn't work -- the vocoder ending of Runaway, a King Crimson sample on POWER, rhyming "esophagus" and "sarcophagus" -- do. Nobody halfway sane could've made this album. But thankfully, any sane person can understand the genius and unfiltered brilliance of this album. It's a great album if you look at just the rapping. But looking at how each track has a grand and luscious beat, at how each track beautifully transitions into the next, how he finds a way to pull interesting samples and use unique sound techniques, it's more than a rap album. It's so amazingly honest and manages to tap into both the beautiful and dark aspects of Kanye's soul. He pushed himself to the limit, and it shows. I cannot express enough the love that I have for this album. It is the greatest rap album of all time. Thank you for a great year, journalism. Mamba out.
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