25 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums
We at Feared Voices have compiled our list of the top 25 greatest Hip-Hop albums of all time starting from it's inception. Tell us what you think as we continue to bring you great content.
#1. Eric B.& Rakim - PAID IN FULL
In 1987 at the full blossom of the crack Era Hip Hop took a giant leap with lyrical content in the form of the God emcee Rakim Allah. A Five percenter from Winsdance Long Island. Rakim along with DJ Eric B put together the one album that became the template to most rap you hear today. With heavy sampling of James Browns break beats and supreme mastering of flow this duo changed Hip-Hop for ever.
#2. Dr. Dre. - THE CHRONIC
When Dr. Dre started his own label Death Row Records after leaving the worlds most dangerous group N.W.A. Dre took The D.O.C and embarked on the West Coast sound. He recruited a young Snoop Doggy Dog and an assortment of talented rappers and musicians and created The Chronic. Putting this classic number one on any list of top albums can't be argued.
#3. Gang Starr - STEP IN THE ARENA
Gang Starr's second album is true hip-hop and is easily one of the greatest rap albums of all time. In their 1989 debut, No More Mr. Nice Guy, which was filled with seriously uptempo jams, Step in the Arena slows down the pace, unveiling low, slow, and deceptively complex tempos along with some jazz-tinged loops and beats, all of which securely established DJ Premier's slot in the producer hall of fame. Furthermore, the slower sonic pace proved to be a perfect fit for Guru's distinctive monotone flow. The album hits on every aural level, from the lumbering bass and blaring horn combo of the title track to the swirling sax blurts, unnerving siren, and kinetic scratch attack of "Who's Gonna Take the Weight" to the laid-back smooth jazz soul of "Love Sick." Guru's verbal volley can only be described as smooth hardcore, with no-nonsense lyrics that effectively strike a balance between the street and the intellect. Toss in tracks like the anti-hoodlum anthem "Just to Get a Rep" and the scathing "Execution of a Chump (No More Mr. Nice Guy, Part 2)," and you've got yourself a bona fide classic that sounds as fresh today as it did when it was first released. -Hendrix Moses
#4. Ghostface Killah - SUPREME CLIENTEL
Perhaps the best solo effort out of the Wu-Tang Clans great emcees. GZA's (Liquid Swords), Raekwon 's (OB4CL), Method Mans (Tical) also has it's place with many true hip-hop heads. Following his freshmen release Ironman GFK came back with Supreme Clientel a hip-hop masterpiece in the art of rhyme.
#5. Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
The soundtrack to a many Black youth in America in 1988. The sophomore album It Takes A Nation was the learning tool for many kids in the inner cities of America. PE consisting of the rhyme animal Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Terminator X and the S1W's PE was and remain the ambassadors of Hip Hop. Subject matter didn't matter to Chuck D whose baritone voice commanded you to listen. And the forever Flavor Flav with tracks like Cold Lampin & She Watch Channel Zero made you pay attention
To many fans and critics, this is the greatest hip-hop album of all time. These matters are always subjective, but when you listen, it’s impossible to argue that It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back may just be the greatest hip-hop album of all time.
GZA dropped something with this album that is very rare. It grabs you emotionally, you feel the intensity of the lyrics in your bones, and RZA's beats set an atmosphere that sucks you into the record. I've got nothing bad to say about the album; GZA is really one of the most intelligent MC's out there and sounds like a poetic guru the way he pours his rhymes out on this.
Most of the Clan guest on different songs on this and they for the most part deliver some of their best moments ever. Ol Dirty even appears here and does wonders for the song he guests on. If there was ever a sequel to the original "Enter the 36 Chambers", I'd have to say that "Liquid Swords" reminds me the most of it and in some ways even improves on the original formula.
Topics: Music, Word or Heard