Archive for August, 2006

Thirteen more for that ass. Don’t worry ladies, the next little section will include your Wu-Tang faves… but apart from that we’re rapidly running out of room… who hasn’t appeared yet that you feel should make it on?

61) Eric B & Rakim – Don’t Sweat The Technique
LOL @ the gasps of astonishment. Yes, fuckers, this is the only EBAR album in the 100. Why? Because it’s the only EBAR ‘album’ they’ve ever made – “Paid In Full” is a collection of (truly great) singles padded out with some horrible Eric-B-on-the-cut (come on kick it!) type shite; “Follow The Leader” despite starting off with one of the best 1-2-3 combinations in the history of Hiphop quickly descends into complete filler; and “Let The Rhythm Hit Em” with a few exceptions is total bargain bin fodder. “DSTT” meanwhile has ‘Whats On Your Mind’ on it for starters, which shits all over ‘I Need Love’, ‘I Used To Love Her’, ‘A Bitch Iz A Bitch’ and any other Hiphop ‘love’ joint you can care to think of. On a later joint, Ra cuts off a kid’s eyelid because he’s so fucking diesel. And the title track is the first Hiphop vid from an authentic star to have an awkward looking white woman in the video hoeing it up with the rest of the chocolate eye-candy.

62) Gang Starr – Daily Operation
As we all know – when it comes to lists, compilations don’t count. And so, with “Full Clip” disqualified as a contender, “Daily Operation” becomes the single Gang Starr album to make the list. There’s a strong argument to be made for “Step In The Arena”, but personally it felt a little too light to me at times (plus it has the inferior version of ‘Just To Get A Rep’), whereas “DO” is pretty much the first true example of Primo bringing the grit and grime of NY to Hiphop heads in the style for which he’s become famous. Guru as usual, is merely adequate, sounding neither tough on the ‘thug’ tracks, or sincere on the ‘love’ tracks, but when Premier is abusing speakers and eardrums as much as he does on this album, its easy to tune Keith out. By the way – “Hard To Earn” has as many misfires as it does heaters, “The Ownerz” lacks that certain spark that lit the earlier albums, and “Moment Of Truth” actually COULD make the list depending on my mood and a certain time. Today however, all I hear is K-Ci & JoJo murdering the hook on ‘Royalty’ and thus I swiftly move to the next artist.

63) Group Home – Livin’ Proof
Hiphop production legend produces an album of amazing beats at the very height of his supernatural boom-bap powers. Gets in his shite mates to rap over it. The end. (‘Supastar’ and the title track are the fucking knock though.)

64) Jeru Tha Damaja – The Sun Rises In The East
Part two of our incredible story about a Hiphop production legend who produces an album of amazing beats at the very height of his supernatural boom-bap powers. Gets in his shite mate to rap over it. The end. (‘Come Clean’ and ‘D.Original’ are the fucking knock though.)

65) Nice & Smooth – Jewel Of The Nile
The two best wearers of silk shirts in Hiphop (sorry Kane) got a little more rugged, strapped on the Tims and the goosedown and churned out a solid album that bumps practically from start to finish, and tops “Ain’t A Damn Thing Changed” which had its fair share of homosexual tracks amongst the gems. Greg Nice still talks complete nonsense, and Smooth B sounds more the ghey here than at any point in his career, but yet, despite this, this horribly-named album somehow works. Jeep anthems, superbly simple jackings of Prince, Slick Rick guest appearances… every base is covered. They even hold it down for the white people, by bringing in Everlast to drop a verse on the rocky ‘Save The Children’… Remember when he used to serve asses like John McEnroe?

66) Master Ace – Take A Look Around
One of the most underrated, overlooked albums in Hiphop history, this deservedly makes my list. Ace on the mic is at times intelligent, at times humorous, at times conscious, at times club-happy, and each and every time he, Steady Pace, or Molly Moll hook up a perfect beat to suit the mood. As this album contains the song ‘Me And The Biz’, which introduced the world to that scary ass papier mache Biz Mark doll, it gets a special Halloween snap in Trick Or Treat formation.

67) Masta Ace – Slaughtahouse
Along with Prince Paul and De La, I think Ace perfected the art of themed albums. On “Slaughtahouse” he goes for the throat of emcees who churn out bullshit lyrics that glorify violence but who don’t take into account the effect it has on impressionable kids. This album is even more relevant today than it was back then. And ‘Mad Wunz’ is still a mixtape staple (as well as the basis for Big Dawg Pitbull Westwood’s traditional theme tune for his Saturday show)

68) Masta Ace – Sittin’ On Chrome
Ace’s subsequent two albums could easily feature on a top 100 list on a different day – he’s easily one of the most consisted and gifted emcees to have ever picked up a mic. However his entries on MY list end with this one – another themed album, this time of NY raps with a distinct West Coast flavor. Its executed superbly throughout, although many people may really only be familiar with ‘Born to Roll’, the big breakout single. Other cuts like ‘The B-Side’, ‘Terror’, ‘The INC Ride’, and ‘Turn It Up’ definitely impress much more than this though, and it’s a crime that this album is another one that’s overlooked by so many people.

69) Redman – Whut? Thee Album
One of the strongest debuts in Hiphop history. Red came out the blocks hard, representing the Bricks to the fullest while at the same time showing the world that not only had Erick Sermon still got some funk production tricks in the bag, but that Redman himself could hold it down competently on the boards. Reggie’s sense of humor shines out from every track, harkening us back to a period when Hiphop was a lot more fun that it is now. If you ever come across anyone who dislikes this album, please kill them immediately.

70) Redman – Muddy Waters
Similarly, if you ever come across anyone talking up Redman’s sophomore album, “Dare Iz A Dark Side” please feel free to give them a 2-piece with a biscuit as well. This album, “Muddy Waters” is the TRUE follow up to Red’s debut. It brings the fun and the funk back into the mix – a formula that was sadly lacking from the inferior second album – and sees Red link up with Method Man for the first time, as well as Busta Rhymes, Keith Murray, K-Solo, and Erick Sermon at different points throughout. Beat wise, its another supreme performance on the boards again shared largely by Red himself and E-Double. There are many people who don’t have this in their collection because of the mediocrity of “DIADS”… don’t make the same mistake as those herbs. This is the last true example of Redman as a top notch emcee – after that he starting hanging round with the wrong crowd (I see you Meth), and got into all types of trouble (I see you ‘The Red & Meth show’) that he would never have done in his earlier days. Thankfully, Jigga’s continual stiffing him over release dates seems to have brought the hunger back to the Funkdoctor judging from recent mixtape appearances… lets hope his next (as yet untitled, and not scheduled for release) album contains more than fleeting glimpses of the Red we’ve all come to know and love. (No Brokeback.)

71) Das EFX – Straight Up Sewacide
While we’re on the subject on overlooked albums – don’t sleep on this one. In the rush to proclaim Wu-Tang kings of Staten Island in 1993, many people trampled Drayz and Scoob’s follow up to “Dead Serious” into the dirt. Their loss. Dropping much of the ‘iggity-wiggity’ flow that brought them their initial fame, Das EFX and main producer Solid Scheme, tightened both delivery and production up a few notches and brought some serious heat to the ears. The fact that too many people were burying their tongues in the collective Wu asshole at the time, meant that this amazing album still exists as a virtual sleeper for a lot of heads. ‘Underground Rappa’, ‘Baknafekk’, ‘Freak It’, and ‘Gimme Dat Microphone’ all stand head and shoulders above much of today’s Hiphop material. Ipso facto cunto.

72) Tone Loc – Loc’ed After Dark
Stop laughing. I love this album. So what if Loc was only huskily growling what Young MC wrote for him? Y’all don’t have problems with giving Dre, or Biz, or MC Lyte a pass when they do it… why pick on the voice of a cartoon bear? Anyways, y’all know the deal with the pop side of this shit – ‘Wild Thing’ and ‘Funky Cold Medina’ are the big hits that everyone knows from here. Unfortunately if that’s all you know about this album, you’re missing out on the title track where Loc swallows a bucket of gravel over the same break Ice-T utilized for ‘High Rollers’; the bar room ambience of ‘The Homies’ where Loc big ups the ones who got his back; and the smokers anthem ‘Locin’ In On The Shaw’, which takes relaxation to another level. ‘Don’t Get Close’ and ‘Cuttin’ Rhythms’ also provide two more reasons why this regularly makes it into the changer.

73) Showbiz & AG – Runaway Slave
I first copped this on tape, and played it so much that I snapped the damn thing. I got another tape and snapped it too. Now I’m on my third tape, alongside the cd version, and the vinyl is in that pile over in the corner. I support when artists deserve it y’see. This one goes hand in hand with the heavily-favored (and overlong) “Stunts, Blunts & Hiphop” by Diamond D. They both come out of the DITC camp, both around the same time, and both carry the same NY-basketball-court-summer-anthem/Tims-N-Hoods-in-winter double feel in much of their material. Showbiz of course is the producer/emcee extraordinaire – a veritable beast both on the mic and the boards who gets ‘head on the escalator’ from numerous hoes. Andre The Giant, or plain old A.G. to his parents, plays the steadfast lyrical warrior; viciously slaying foes with a pen and a pad. Trademark boom-bap era Hiphop on the highest possible level is the aim here, and both Show and A.G. do not disappoint. The fact that Lord Finesse and Big L (amongst others) feature here with terrific verses on the anthem ‘Represent’ gives you one more reason to go out and cop if you haven’t already done so.

Stay tuned for more fun and frolics…

Fuck me, this is dragging on for a bit innit? For those who are just tuning in, there’s a recap from 1 to 50 here. For the rest of you, who have no doubt been fiending for this for the past week, lets start at 51 and see how far we get, eh?

51) Ice T – O.G. Original Gangster

Easily Mr Marrow’s best album, “O.G.” saw him polish up both his lyrical delivery and his content to the point where, even though he was often relaying the same LA street tales as brothers-in-arms NWA (see what I did there?), Ice’s versions didn’t carry the same ‘eau de Hanna Barbera’. This album saw Ice at his peak – the theme to the movie that first saw him grace the silver screen ‘New Jack City’ slots in perfectly beside the gritty realism of ‘The Tower’, the highly psychological ‘Mind Over Matter’, and the violently descriptive ‘Pulse Of The Rhyme’. The fact that this is the best outing on the boards from his production team, The Ammo Dump, makes this a perfect contender for the top 100.

52) Snoop Doggy Dogg – Doggy Style

I guess we should keep it on the West Coast for a short short. Was there really any way that this album was NOT going to make it on here? The perfect marriage of Dre’s new G-Funk sound and the soft spoken twang of Calvin Broadus didn’t just meet all the pre-release hype – it exceeded it beyond anyone’s imagination. This record is truly the one that made gangsta rap fully accessible to MTV and set the scene for everyone to milk the G-Funk formula to death. And despite the fact that it was quickly proven that Snoop really can’t rap for shit beyond ‘A-B-C-1-2-3-D-P-G-L-B-C’, he’s the ONLY muhfucka that could get away with such an average microphone performance. (Of course the beats are a major factor too – but Snoop is just THAT DUDE.)

53) Snoop Doggy Dogg – The Doggfather

Which is why THIS album also makes the list. Unfairly shitted on to this day by many, simply because it was Dre-less, it still gets regularly outings on the tables in chez Altrap. DJ Pooh takes over control on the boards, and with the help of Daz and Soopafly, lays down some pure FONK for Snoop to chatter over. Pooh rips Zapp’s entire catalogue with a surgical precision not seen since the heady days of EPMD – how anyone can listen to the title track, ‘Up Jump The Boogie’, ‘Groupie’, ‘Snoop Bounce’, or ‘You Thought’ and not nod their fucking head is beyond me. The fact that Snoop is single-handedly responsible for rejuventating the career of Charlie Wilson is just one more reason to ride for Calvin (no sodomite.) Go on – listen to it again, and admit y’all fucked up by keeping this shit on the shelf. Thank me later.

54) Dr Dre – The Chronic

Another relatively easy choice for the list, this has aged much better than its 2001 followup. I remember copping the tape shortly after it dropped and listening to it on a flight from Boston to Dublin – I ran it all the way through, and then took it out and listened to Redman and EPMD the rest of the entire flight, pissy because ‘Deep Cover’ wasn’t on it, and safe in the knowledge that Dre couldn’t fuck with the funk the way Erick & Parrish were doing it. Anyway, House Of Pain were ruling the airwaves in ’92 anyway, right?

55) Dogg Pound – Dogg Food

Holding its own with “The Chronic” and “Doggy Style” is a task that Daz and Kurupt’s album achieves with relative ease. With Dre and Daz on the boards and Death Row at the height of their powers, it was almost a given that this album would sound musically great, but there was always the fear that as supposed ’2nd tier’ artists, Daz and Kurupt on the mic would be overshadowed by the mainstays of the label over the course of an entire album. These fears were unfounded though, as the duo attacked the mic with a genuine hunger, as Dre steered the album in the correct musical direction. One black mark against this album though – this is the one where Nate Dogg established himself as the king of hooks and following its success he popped up on EVERY muhfuckas shit over the next few years. (Sidenote: I finally came up on another copy of the ‘Respect’ 12″ a few months back – this is one of the best instrumental tracks EVER. Ipso Facto Cunto.)

56) 2Pac – All Eyez On Me

Aw fuck it. Lets make this a Death Row edition shall we? Fuck “Me Against The World” – its average nonsense from a cat who can’t decide whether he’s going to rep the Bay, Baltimore or NY, and who’s selection is beats is downright awful. “All Eyez On Me” though sees Pac ‘Bishop up’ and become the cartoon thug that he figured the rest of the world always wanted to see… the fact that he makes this decision over some fantastic beats makes this the audio equivalent of a bad car crash, and you can’t help but tune in. Contradictory and bloated it may be, but there’s still a hell of an album in amongst the fat. ‘Ambitionz Az A Ridah’, ‘All Bout U’, ‘Got My Mind Made Up’ and the title track are arguably some of the strongest tracks in Pac’s catalogue. (Cue Pac dick rider invasion.)

57) 2Pac / Makaveli – The Don Killuminati The 7 Day Theory

Conspiracy, conschmiracy. The paranoia obviously brought out the best in Pac on the mic during the time leading up to his death – this album stands testament to this fact, and also to the fact that his quality control inspector was finally putting in some work. The beats and the micwork here stand head and shoulders above every other 2pac release, and even with Afeni’s mutiple attempts to cash in on her son’s work keep the memory of her son’s work alive, this album is easily the best 2pac album ever released. Obviously, the Black Elvis was completely off his rocker during the recording of most of it, but its entertaining in the extreme to hear him describe how Camel Joe Jay-Z and Nas are sending ninjas to assassinate him, how Dr Dre is a regular at the Blue Oyster, and how Puffy is a member of Al Quaeda. Or something.

58) Ice Cube – AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted

Many think that this album has matured less like a fine wine and more like a bottle of mayonaisse left out in the heat. I disagree. For one it has ‘Who’s The Mack’ on it – one of the finest Cube tracks ever. For two – it has some classic Bomb Squad production on it, just before Chuck, Hank and Eric all went off the deep end and started thinking that they could get away with making shite and it would still sell because carried the Bomb Squad moniker (I see you Chief Groovy Loo.) For three, its fucking Cube’s first record post NWA. And he’s angry. Matter of fact, he’s the nigga ya love ta hate. And JD was gafflin’ on here too. What more do you want, you clueless idiots?

59) Ice Cube – Death Certificate

Ice Cube’s response to those who figured that the angry shouty ‘Cube from NWA’ was the only look he could give the Hiphop listener. Here he couples it with the angry, shouty ‘Cube who’s down with the Nation’ and kicks off at mutiple targets over some fine board work from Sir Jinx. At times thought provoking, at times humorous, at times militant, at times downright offensive, Cube still hits every target he aims at – from the plight of the black community to his old NWA cohorts. After as perfect an album as this, its not surprising that the only direction afterwards was down, and while the first halves of both “The Predator” and “Lethal Injection” are near perfect, the second halves are godawful. The rest of his catalogue (save the “Kill At Will” EP) is complete poo. And lets pour some out for “Are We There Yet?” too. Fuck me though (not an invite), this is a great fucking album.

60) WC & The Maad Circle – Ain’t A Damn Thang Changed

Carrying the same flavor and style as the first couple of Cube solos (not surprising as O’Shea oversaw the whole album recording process) this album flew under many people’s radar on initial release. Its not the first time Dub-C got this treatment either – his album as part of Low Profile was also unfairly slept on by the majority (who are now paying through the ass for Ebay copies now.) Anyway… “AADTC” saw WC, a pre-sell out Coolio, Chilly Chill and co busting hardcore CPT gangsta rap over classic Sir Jinx production. Its a simply constructed album, that sounds amazing. And many of you don’t have it. Because you’re all gay.

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That’s your lot for tonight. I’m off to watch Kevin Federline’s exclusive performance on the Teen Choice Awards. Yeah – I keeps it THAT real.

40 slots left. Are you sweating for your own personal favorite yet?