My personal fav 5 since like, 93 (the age where I became able to distinguish the art of
hip hop/rap from trash on the radio). In no specific order
Think you got a better top 5 list... GREAT, post a list and links so we can all be let in on some good music.
hip hop/rap from trash on the radio). In no specific order
A serious take on rap, politics, soul and passion. Mos Def reaches depths of down to Earth issues like no rapper before him. He takes you to his home on "Brooklyn" and goes beyond the streets into the skies with "Climb"... and takes you with him. Crushes pop/rock with "Rock N Roll" and challenges the powers that be in "Mr.Nigga". A powerful statement in hiphop.
Hot Line - from "Speed Law"
Come all shine and get tarnished
Brooklyn got your pay roll garnished
They form a huddle
Whisper like they want trouble
I melt they ice grills into rainwater puddles
Make the proud-hearted leave on the humble
Black steel in the hour
Track listing
1. Fear Not Of Man
2. Hip Hop
3. Love
4. Ms. Fat Booty
5. Speed Law
6. Do It Now
7. Got
8. Umi Says
9. New World Water
10. Rock N Roll
11. Know That
12. Climb
13. Brooklyn
14. Habitat
15. Mr. Nigga
16. Mathematics
17. May-December
Get it here - http://www.zshare.net/download/black-on-both-sides-rar-xzk.html
Big Pun - Capitol Punishment - 1998
Smash Rap release from a great (and the only one released while he was still alive). After scaring the shit out of me with the hit single "Still Not a Player", I found my way to the Capitol punishment CD and was amazed. The intro with a sample from Fresh set a stage for an aggressive presentation. "Beware" then "Super Lyrical" let you know what Pun is capable of, and he delivers almost 72 minuets of heat. Pun somehow even got Wycleff to spit one of his hardest verses ever on "Carribean Connection"! His style of rap features many lyrics stacked on top of one another to paint a strong image while flipping the lines out in an aggressive tone. If you like hardcore rap, mixed with clever wordplay, this is for you.
Opening line from "The Dream Shatterer"
Ay-yo I shatter dreams like Jordan, assault and batter your team
Your squadron'll be barred from rap like Adam & Eve from the garden
Track listing
1. "Intro"
2. "Beware"
3. "Super Lyrical" (featuring Black Thought)
4. "Taster's Choice"
5. "Still Not a Player" (featuring Joe)
6. "Intermission"
7. "The Dream Shatterer"
8. "Punish Me" (featuring Miss Jones)
9. "Pakinamac Part. 1"
10. "You Ain't a Killer"
11. "Pakinamac Part. 2"
12. "Caribbean Connection" (featuring Wyclef Jean)
13. "Glamour Life" (featuring Fat Joe, Armageddon, Triple Seis & Cuban Link)
14. "Capital Punishment" (featuring Prospect)
15. "Uncensored" (featuring Funkmaster Flex)
16. "I'm Not a Player"
17. "Twinz" (Deep Cover '98) (featuring Fat Joe)
18. "The Rain & The Sun" (Interlude) (featuring dead prez)
19. "Boomerang"
20. "You Came Up" (featuring Noreaga)
21. "Tres Leches" (Triboro Trilogy) (featuring Prodigy & Inspectah Deck)
22. "Charlie Rock Shout"
23. "Fast Money"
24. "Parental Discretion" (featuring Busta Rhymes)
Get it here - http://www.megaupload.com/?d=I4Y3TFVX
AZ - Doe or Die - 1994
The debut album by Nas early partner in crime. The mobster themed CD painted pictures of a crime underworld and AZ's ascension to riches, (as explained on the hit single "Sugar Hill). This mixed with advanced lyrics and a speech impediment made AZ a wonder to hear. Greatly inspired by Kool G Rap.
On "Raw Uncut" Az Spills
"This is as, pure as opium, purified for street players to open em
space, like three els laced with coke in em
Shots awoken em, fake uniform takes the portion of
six trips, to young clips and killers coachin em
However though, fake ass niggas'll never know
Cos my method's perfected, I'm movin sceptic and never show"
Only about 40mins long, the perfect length for you not to get bored yet leave you wanting
more.
Track Listing
1. Intro
2. Uncut Raw
3. Gimme Your's
4. Ho Happy Jackie
5. Rather Unique
6. I Feel For You
7. Sugar Hill Listen
8. Mo Money, Mo Murder 'Homicide'
9. Doe Or Die
10. We Can't Win
11. Your World Don't Stop
12. Sugar Hill (Remix)
Get it here - http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3D2RBZ01
Canibus - Rip the Jacker - 2003
The fifth full album released by Canibus was a Classic. The lyrical wonder finally found a producer who seemed to match his rugged style and creativity perfectly. Called a "concept album" by Canibus, Stoupe (of Jedi Mind Tricks (who should receive honorable mention on this list for their body of work)) was handed pre-recorded lyrics mailed in by Bis, and created tracks mostly composed of eclectic music samples for each song. Dark and Gritty thorough and through...Canibus even lets you in on some personal feelings from time to time which is rare. The crowning achievement in the CD is the 7 min "Poet Laureate II" where Bis goes off on a number of topics within one mega verse, with lines such as
"Rhymes inscribed on a nickel disk encased
in glass with an ion beam for longevity
For more then 10 centuries, impressions and memories
the first time the machine inventor will mention me
Canibus was a visionary indeed
he believed light could travel in multiples of C"
Track Listing
1. Intro
2. Genabis
3. Levitibus
4. M-Sea-Cresy
5. No Return
6. Spartibus
7. Indibisible
8. Showtime At The Gallow
9. Psych Evaluation
10. Cemantics
11. Poet Laureate II
If I were trapped on an Island and could only have one album... this would be it
get it here - http://rapidshare.com/files/12678520/Canibus_-_Rip_The_Jacker.rar
Killah Priest - Heavy Mental
Exactly as the title to KP's debut album suggests, this is a thinking man's cd. No dancing, no pop - just mentals. The fist thing you hear on the first song is "Your arms too short to box with god". Priest draws metaphors between biblical tales and modern times, jews to blacks during Exodus. "From then till now" is a perfect example of this treatment. At the same time, he has some of the hardest realist songs such as "Cross my heart"(featuring Gza and Inspecta Deck) Priest can be heard shouting
"It's the longest waited, the most anticipated, the album hesitated
Scream the name out KILLAH PRIEST, I leave the blood spilling in the street
I'm from the dark hills of Brownsville, the seven shields on windmills
across the killing fields, never forget it, tell them rap critics
I speak in arithmics, so they can never get it, I'm too scientific"
BIBLE- (basic instructions before leaving earth), helped further my interest in the history of religion and I began to grow.
"The white image, of Christ, is really Cesare Borgia
and uhh, the second son of Pope Alexander
The Sixth of Rome, and once the picture was shown
That's how the devils tricked my dome"
KP Dropped so much knowledge its still insane!
Track Listing
1. Intro
2. One Step
3. Blessed Are Those
4. From Then Till Now
5. Cross My Heart
6. Fake MC's
7. It's Over
8. Crusaids
9. Tai Chi
10. Heavy Mental
11. If You Don't Know
12. Atoms To Adam
13. High Explosives
14. Wisdom
15. B.I.B.L.E.
16. Mystic City
17. Information
18. Science Project
19. Almost There
20. The Professional
Get it here - http://www.rarhost.com/download-wehzmt.html
Think you got a better top 5 list... GREAT, post a list and links so we can all be let in on some good music.
