Actually, I pretty much feel the same way about both albums.
The Raekwon joint is definitely a worthy sequel to OB4CL and one of the best hip hop albums I've heard all year. My only gripe is that none of the amazing leaked tracks over the past few years that were supposed to be on the album ("State Of Grace", "My Corner", "Blue Eagles", "Baggage Handlers", etc.) didn't make the final cut. I'm hoping they'll all turn up on a rarities compilation (like Ghost's Hidden Darts and Wallabee Champ albums) someday.
After hearing virtually nothing but negativity about The Blueprint 3, I was a little hesitant to hear it. But it's really not bad. Definitely not his best work (nor his worst), but an enjoyable album overall and not nearly deserving of all the hate. Though, I have to admit that I am also a die-hard Jay-Z fan and can be pretty biased in that regard. But at least B3 wasn't completely unlistenable like Kanye's last one!
Oh man, I've tried to assemble such a list many times. It's a really frustrating task because there are just too many artists worthy of inclusion, and I feel that 10 or 20 is far too little of a number to accurately represent the genre. Off the top of my head though, here are 20 essential artists and groups (keep in mind that these are just the first 20 that come to mind, in no particular order):
-Wu-Tang Clan
-Jay-Z
-The Notorious B.I.G.
-Nas
-Rakim
-Kool G Rap
-Ice Cube
-Public Enemy
-Run-D.M.C.
-LL Cool J
-Big Daddy Kane
-A Tribe Called Quest
-De La Soul
-Gang Starr
-Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
-OutKast
-Scarface
-Snoop Dogg
-KRS-One
-Redman
Yeah the Raekwon album was "officially" scheduled for an August 11th release date for a while, but I just read the other day that it's been pushed back to September 8th. We'll see what happens with that. I wish he'd just release the damn thing already.
Both Amazon and UGHH have the Rakim joint scheduled to drop on September 15th, which surprised the hell out of me. I honestly didn't think it would ever come out. But if Amazon gives a date for it, it's usually legit.
I've actually been slowly working on a list like that. It is very frustrating to put everything in the right order, which is why I don't work on it very much. But you may finally see at least a rough draft in the future.
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth-Mecca And The Soul Brother
The Pharcyde-Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde
The Pharcyde-Labcabincalifornia
Diamond D-Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop
Organized Konfusion-Organized Konfusion
Organized Konfusion-Stress: The Extinction Agenda
Jungle Brothers-Straight Out The Jungle
N.W.A-Straight Outta Compton
N.W.A-Efil4zaggin
J Dilla-Donuts
Slum Village-Fantastic, Vol. 2
Also, any albums from:
-Gang Starr
-De La Soul
-Devin The Dude
-Scarface
-U.G.K.
-Ghostface Killah (the rest of his stuff that you don't have yet. All his albums are incredible)
-The Beatnuts
-Redman
-Ice Cube
-Public Enemy
That should keep you busy for a while. I'll think of more later.
I have both of those, actually. They can be found in the other part of this list under S. When an artist's name starts with the prefix "DJ" or "MC" I list it under whatever letter the actual name starts with. So DJ Shadow is under S, MC Lyte is under L, and so on...
There are sooooo many great albums out there. Here are just a few suggestions from the past several years:
-Mr. Lif-I Phantom
-Mr. Lif-Mo' Mega
-Ugly Duckling-Journey To Anywhere
-Ugly Duckling-Taste The Secret
-Brother Ali-Shadows On The Sun
-Brother Ali-The Undisputed Truth
-Binary Star-Masters Of The Universe
-Soul Position (RJD2 & Blueprint)-8 Million Stories
-People Under The Stairs-O.S.T.
-Blu & Exile-Below The Heavens
-Cage-Movies For The Blind
-Sage Francis-Personal Journals
-Pretty much any Atmosphere albums
Like I said, this is just a taste of what's out there. Hope you enjoy them.
I actually pretty much feel the exact same way about those albums. Brown Sugar is just so easy to love right away, whereas Voodoo took a couple listens to really appreciate. And I think "dense and funky" is an excellent way to describe that album. :-P
I would have to agree. Muggs is one of the most underrated producers ever and his work on that album is crazy. Their second and third albums are great as well. Beyond that I haven't heard any other Cypress Hill albums all the way through.
I can also recommend a great album released last year from DJ Muggs & Planet Asia entitled Pain Language. Planet Asia has always been an impressive emcee and the beats bang. One of my favorite albums from last year for sure!
The new Ghostface is pretty solid for the most part, some great songs on there. Still waiting for the Kid Cudi joint to come in the mail.
Yeah, I'm waiting on my copy of the Ghostface joint to come in the mail. I've heard great things about the Kid Cudi album.
Actually, I pretty much feel the same way about both albums.
The Raekwon joint is definitely a worthy sequel to OB4CL and one of the best hip hop albums I've heard all year. My only gripe is that none of the amazing leaked tracks over the past few years that were supposed to be on the album ("State Of Grace", "My Corner", "Blue Eagles", "Baggage Handlers", etc.) didn't make the final cut. I'm hoping they'll all turn up on a rarities compilation (like Ghost's Hidden Darts and Wallabee Champ albums) someday.
After hearing virtually nothing but negativity about The Blueprint 3, I was a little hesitant to hear it. But it's really not bad. Definitely not his best work (nor his worst), but an enjoyable album overall and not nearly deserving of all the hate. Though, I have to admit that I am also a die-hard Jay-Z fan and can be pretty biased in that regard. But at least B3 wasn't completely unlistenable like Kanye's last one!
Oh man, I've tried to assemble such a list many times. It's a really frustrating task because there are just too many artists worthy of inclusion, and I feel that 10 or 20 is far too little of a number to accurately represent the genre. Off the top of my head though, here are 20 essential artists and groups (keep in mind that these are just the first 20 that come to mind, in no particular order):
-Wu-Tang Clan
-Jay-Z
-The Notorious B.I.G.
-Nas
-Rakim
-Kool G Rap
-Ice Cube
-Public Enemy
-Run-D.M.C.
-LL Cool J
-Big Daddy Kane
-A Tribe Called Quest
-De La Soul
-Gang Starr
-Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth
-OutKast
-Scarface
-Snoop Dogg
-KRS-One
-Redman
Breaking Atoms was recently reissued and is now very easy to find, if you want to put it on your regular list.
Yeah the Raekwon album was "officially" scheduled for an August 11th release date for a while, but I just read the other day that it's been pushed back to September 8th. We'll see what happens with that. I wish he'd just release the damn thing already.
Both Amazon and UGHH have the Rakim joint scheduled to drop on September 15th, which surprised the hell out of me. I honestly didn't think it would ever come out. But if Amazon gives a date for it, it's usually legit.
I've actually been slowly working on a list like that. It is very frustrating to put everything in the right order, which is why I don't work on it very much. But you may finally see at least a rough draft in the future.
A few essentials missing from your list:
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth-Mecca And The Soul Brother
The Pharcyde-Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde
The Pharcyde-Labcabincalifornia
Diamond D-Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop
Organized Konfusion-Organized Konfusion
Organized Konfusion-Stress: The Extinction Agenda
Jungle Brothers-Straight Out The Jungle
N.W.A-Straight Outta Compton
N.W.A-Efil4zaggin
J Dilla-Donuts
Slum Village-Fantastic, Vol. 2
Also, any albums from:
-Gang Starr
-De La Soul
-Devin The Dude
-Scarface
-U.G.K.
-Ghostface Killah (the rest of his stuff that you don't have yet. All his albums are incredible)
-The Beatnuts
-Redman
-Ice Cube
-Public Enemy
That should keep you busy for a while. I'll think of more later.
Nice collection so far, and thanks for the shout out!
I have both of those, actually. They can be found in the other part of this list under S. When an artist's name starts with the prefix "DJ" or "MC" I list it under whatever letter the actual name starts with. So DJ Shadow is under S, MC Lyte is under L, and so on...
And yes, Entroducing... is mind-blowing.
There are sooooo many great albums out there. Here are just a few suggestions from the past several years:
-Mr. Lif-I Phantom
-Mr. Lif-Mo' Mega
-Ugly Duckling-Journey To Anywhere
-Ugly Duckling-Taste The Secret
-Brother Ali-Shadows On The Sun
-Brother Ali-The Undisputed Truth
-Binary Star-Masters Of The Universe
-Soul Position (RJD2 & Blueprint)-8 Million Stories
-People Under The Stairs-O.S.T.
-Blu & Exile-Below The Heavens
-Cage-Movies For The Blind
-Sage Francis-Personal Journals
-Pretty much any Atmosphere albums
Like I said, this is just a taste of what's out there. Hope you enjoy them.
Nice list! Very unique, some great choices there. I've heard everything on here except for the Deep Puddle Dynamics and cLOUDDEAD albums.
I actually pretty much feel the exact same way about those albums. Brown Sugar is just so easy to love right away, whereas Voodoo took a couple listens to really appreciate. And I think "dense and funky" is an excellent way to describe that album. :-P
Glad to see you enjoyed both Doggystyle and Brown Sugar upon listening to each for the first time!
Now that you've heard both of D'Angelo's albums, which would you say you like more?
I would have to agree. Muggs is one of the most underrated producers ever and his work on that album is crazy. Their second and third albums are great as well. Beyond that I haven't heard any other Cypress Hill albums all the way through.
I can also recommend a great album released last year from DJ Muggs & Planet Asia entitled Pain Language. Planet Asia has always been an impressive emcee and the beats bang. One of my favorite albums from last year for sure!