About this series: A list of the rap albums that, in retrospect, represent the best of each year since the launch of the genre. To get in this series it must:
- Be a good album from start to finish, with a minimum of filler/skipped tracks–it’s more than a bunch of hits with filler around it; and
- Still be a good listen many years later–the whole album has aged well
With 1988, for the first time, we actually have competition for the best album of the year. That’s a good sign of how the genre is evolving to have more variety of voices and just generally better quality overall. We also finally get a proper top 10–in fact, this one goes to 12. Lots of great albums to choose from this year.
Here’s my picks for the best of this year…
12. Unity by Shinehead. I was pretty clear about this list: It’s MY list. And I love this album. It’s reggae, sure, but Shinehead raps on songs like the title track (which brilliantly rips off The Beatles) and the anti-drug dancehall hit “Gimme No Crack.” Throughout, the vibe here is much more hip hop than reggae. So it’s on my list. Deal with it.
11. Eazy Duz It by Eazy-E. Eazy-E’s solo debut came out just a few months before N.W.A. would change everything forever. Eazy Duz It has a lot of the same elements as Straight Outta Compton, but lacks Ice Cube’s writing and the different voices that helped make the hard, harsh material more listenable. I guess in some ways Eazy-E on his own is … A bit much. Still, it’s a classic album and it’s making my list, which means I do appreciate and love this record. Key tracks: Boyz-N-the-Hood, We Want Eazy, title track.
In Control Volume 1 by Marley Marl. The rare example of a truly great DJ album. Why is it great? Several reasons, but the main one: The Symphony, Masta Ace’s first officially released song.
10. Straight Out the Jungle by The Jungle Brothers. Straight Out was the first Native Tongue album–I think a lot of people forget that. It was brimming with creativity, even if it was still a little bit overly anchored in the tradition Sugar Hill style of rapping. I remember when it came out it took me a couple spins before I “got” it, and now whenever a track comes on I tap my toes and smile. It’s just … “Nice.” Nice and unpretentious.
9. The Great Adventures of Slick Rick by Slick Rick. The first UK rap album to break big in the states. Is it dated and sexist? Yeah, a bit. Is it still funny and brilliant? Mostly, yeah. Slick Rick is one of the foundational and best story-telling rappers of all time. Key tracks: Treat Her Like a Prostitute, Children’s Story, Hey Young World.
8. Lyte as a Rock by MC Lyte. 16 years old. MC Lyte was 16 when she recorded “I Cram to Understand U.” Lyte as a Rock isn’t special just because it’s a rap album by a woman, it’s special because Lyte was a virtuoso. Melding references to feminist soft-rock anthem, “I Am Woman,” containing a song with no hook, strong battle raps, and absolutely cool AF. Nothing corny here, no gimmicks–Lyte as a Rock is here on the weight of its quality, not as a curiousity.
7. In Full Gear by Stetsasonic. Scroll down for the “worst album of the year” and you’ll find some remakes of oldies that were … Not good. On the other hand, Stetsasonic’s remake of “Float On” worked really well. This album, with production by founding members Prince Paul and Daddy-O, brought together all the flavors of Hip Hop’s Golden Age: Soul, reggae, jazz, boom-bap, samples and live musicians, dreaming of a better future and reminiscing on a life well lived … If there were one album to throw in a time capsule to represent this era of hip hop, this would be a very solid candidate.
6. Strictly Business by EPMD. The debut album by Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith wasn’t as sophisticated as some of their later work, but it forms a nice bridge from the New School/Boom Bap to what was emerging in 1988-1989. These years are often considered the high water mark for rap as an art form because so many artists were exploding on the scene with a wide variety of ideas…And all of them were hungry. Hunger is a good word for the first several EPMD releases–their name stood for Erick and Parrish Making Dollars, after all. Hugely influential and still a damn fine listen, decades later. Key tracks: I’m Housin’, You Gots to Chill, You’re a Customer.
5. Power by Ice-T. I’m a huge fan of Ice-T’s work in the ’80s and ’90s. The album cover has an objectified woman holding a gun, which got critics all upset but … She was actually Ice-T’s girlfriend AND nobody talked about how the image of the gun glorified the gang violence that, at the time, was killing young black men every day. They were just obsessed by the T&A. Typical. Musically, Power shows progression from the fairly uniform-sounding (but still great) Rhyme Pays to a mix of pimpology, sample-based soul rap, and, yes, of course, misogyny. Ice-T could take concepts that were reductive and even offensive and somehow turn them into something that was much greater than the sum of its parts. Best cuts: Girls LGBNAF, I’m Your Pusher, Soul on Ice, High Rollers.
4. Long Live the Kane by Big Daddy Kane. Before he became a boring, slow jam loverman caricature of himself, Big Daddy Kane released two of the most important, hard-hitting albums in the history of early hip hop. This is one of them. Production by the great Marley Marl.
3. By All Means Necessary by BDP. This is, in my opinion, KRS-One’s best album. Key tracks: My Philosophy, Stop the Violence, Illegal Business, I’m Still #1. It was a close call whether to make this #2, and as I did (and re-did) this post over and over obsessively, it kept swapping spots with Power.
Looking at this list in totality, it’s remarkable that we had a year with both this album and my pick for #1. Together, these two albums represent the kind of conscious rap that was charting in ’88–just a year before conscious rap would change to become much more about nonviolent messaging.
2. Follow the Leader by Eric B and Rakim. The duo’s second album, first great album, and highest-charting album of their careers. One of the greatest rap albums of all time. Key tracks: title track, Microphone Fiend, The R.
1. It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back by Public Enemy. This may be one of the greatest (and most important) records ever made. From the opening urgency of “Countdown to Armageddon” through to the closer “Party for Your Right to Fight” (taking a swipe at the Beastie Boys), ITANOMTHUB was undeniably different and powerful. Personally, it’s important to me because it was the first song my son fell in love with. Literally, from his highchair, he could spit the first few bars of “Don’t Believe the Hype.” Key tracks: Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos, Bring the Noise, Don’t Believe the Hype, Rebel Without a Pause.
Honorable Mentions: Albums that were good, but not great…
- In Full Gear by Stetsasonic
- He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper by Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. The epitome of ’80s rap, this album has some very fine moments but on the whole I don’t think anyone wants to listen to it straight through anymore.
- Critical Beatdown by Ultramagnetic MCs. This one doesn’t hold up for me, but man was it great in ’88. No single song jumps out–just the whole thing, end to end, was so different from everything else that came out in ’88. I know just about every other “best of 1988” list will have this ranked towards the top. Just a taste thing for me–I’ve never really appreciated Kool Keith.
- 2 Hype by Kid N Play.
- Goin’ Off by Biz Markie. Close call whether to label this as a bona fide classic, but there’s just a few too many skips for me.
- Colors Original Soundtrack. The movie was groundbreaking. The title track by Ice-T is one of the greatest songs of the ’80s. And the soundtrack is notable for including “big name” rappers (Eric B and Rakim, Big Daddy Kane) alongside lesser known and emerging talents (MC Shan, Salt-n-Pepa) and production by some of the greats (Luv Bug, Marley Marl).
- Tougher than Leather by Run-DMC. This was the last good Run-DMC album, and it’s not great. They’d release other ones after this, but none will even make the honorable mentions list. Key tracks include “Mary Mary” (which samples The Monkees(!)) and “Run’s House.”
WORST ALBUM OF THE YEAR…
- On the Strength by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. Okay, maybe not the worst, but you’ll never be able to un-hear his remake of “Born to be Wild”–guest starring Steppenwolf. Not sure what was in the water this year, but The Fat Boys also brought cover(ish) versions of “Louie Louie” and “The Twist,” which featured Chubby Checker himself. I don’t know if was the oldies rock groups that were attempting comebacks here or if there was some rap promoter who really thought that classic rock fans wanted to hear rap hybrids, or maybe the original artists thought this would give them new relevance, but … Whichever it was, they were wrong.
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