It’s funny. Everyone says that the ’90s was hip hop’s Golden Age, yet for many of the years in this decade I’ve found less than 20 true, timeless classic albums. 1995 is another relatively thin year. Ironically, it’s also the year that the first Rap Grammies were given out. Three in total. Best Rap Solo Performance went to Coolio for his huge hit,”Gangsta’s Paradise.” He beat Dr. Dre, Biggie, and 2Pac. Also Skee-Lo, but that’s not ironic or anything. Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group went deservedly to Method Man and Mary J. Blige for”I’ll Be There for You/You’re All I Need to Get By.” And finally, the one that matters most to this series of posts: Best Rap Album. Now, I admit that 1995 was a pretty thin year. It might have been the worst of the ’90s for rap. But they gave it to Poverty’s Paradise by Naughty by Nature and passed over E. 1999 Eternal, ODB’s solo album, and the album that I rated #1 on this list. Hurm. I’m not saying NbN’s album wasn’t good but … Actually I am saying that. It wasn’t. It was just okay.
On to the top 10. Just 10 true classics this year. Like I said, it was a thin year.
10. Return to the 36 Chambers by Old Dirty Bastard. On Return, ODB gets a bunch of his fellow Wu Tangers to offer guest shots so all of them could get some money out of Elektra and make an album that feels like an end-to-end party. Best cuts: Shimmy Shimmy Ya, Brooklyn Zoo, Cuttin’ Headz feat RZA.
9. Labcabincalifornia by The Pharcyde. A tour-de-force of artistic, left-field rap. Production by J Dilla.
8. All Balls Don’t Bounce by Aceyalone. Aceyalone belongs in the same class as Del The Funky Homosapien. He’s a Left Coast rapper with highly original lyrics who picks beats that are kinda jazzy but it’s hard to imagine anyone else being able to do with them what he does. Most hip hop fans will say his work with Freestyle Fellowship was when he was at his peak, but I didn’t find the FF stuff all that interesting. This album jumps across topics, has depth and range, and you never know where he’s going to go next.
7. Dah Shinin’ by Smif-N-Wessun. Straight off their first appearance on Black Moon’s 1993 debut “Enta The Stage,” Tek and Steele rename themselves and come out with a powerful debut. Boot Camp Clik is ’90s New York’s grimiest collective. Wu Tang are fantastic and raw, but they’re more “art grimey.” The members of the Clik shy away from experimentation in favor of a raw sound with hard lyrics. This isn’t just one of the best albums of the ’90s, it’s also one of the most important. Best tracks: Wrektime, Wontime feat Rockness Monsta, Sound Bwoy Bureill with Top Dog and Starang Wondah, and Bucktown. But there are zero skips on this album. Every track is a winner.
6. Only Built for Cuban Links by Raekwon. I’m going to confess that I appreciate the brilliance of this album but I really don’t listen to any of it very much. That’s why it doesn’t rate higher on my list: This list is supposed to reflect what I actually still listen to–not what I “think” should be on my list and not the albums that “mattered.” That said: It’s a great album and every time I do put it on, I’m all in beginning to end.
5. Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous by Big L. Big L is one of those guys who sounds like New York in the ’90s. I mean, he’s the epitome of it. He’s got those grainy, dirty beats that get accentuated by drums and horns, his flow is the epitome of NYC, and his lyrics are special … Every time I hear this album, I hear something new. It’s easy to see why so many headz love this album–not just because the album features an unsigned Jay-Z. This album is widely regarded as a foundational, must-have record for any ’90s rap fan.
4. Liquid Swords by RZA. A dense, complex, self-produced album that is truly best heard in a single sitting, listening all the way through. Personally, this is my favorite Wu Tang solo record in terms of its listenability (and re-listenability) as an album.
3. The Infamous by Mobb Deep. It took me a couple years to really appreciate The Infamous. I always dug Shook Ones (who doesn’t?), but the rest of it didn’t feel special. I’ve changed my mind over time, though. Prodigy’s solo work with Alchemist got me to re-listen and now I appreciate this record as the classic everybody always said it was.
2. Soul Food by Goodie Mob. Goodie Mob doesn’t seem to be remembered as well as other ’90s rap groups. Soul Food is a total GOAT. It’s one of those albums that gets better every time I hear it. Even the little interlude/skit numbers are great, because they’re all Cee Lo Green praying or riffing.
1. Me Against the World by 2Pac. If this isn’t the best Tupac album of all time, it’s got to be in the top 2. Many of the tracks were standalone hits, and no songs–absolutely none–are skippable. On Dear Mama, he continues to revere women but here he gets more personal about it than he has in the past. So Many Tears made it cool to cry. Fuck the World was the perfect closing track as Tupac began a prison term–and it was produced by his former Digital Underground bandmate Shock G. Just an excellent record all around. With this album, 2Pac became a global phenomenon.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
- Doe or Die by Az
- E. 1999 Eternal by Bone Thugz-n-Harmony. I don’t like this as much as everyone else, but that’s probably because I really despise horrorcore. Fortunately, there’s lots of other elements at play on this album.
- Sittin’ On Chrome by Masta Ace Inc. Masta Ace’s early work is strong, but it’s also dated. I’ve put this on my list because of how much I dig Ace. If you’re not a dieheard fan, this album definitely won’t turn you into one. I, however, am in fact a diehard.
- Do You Want More?!!!??! by The Roots. This album is not their best, but it’s also not their worst. If you are familar with their later work you know Roots are a jazz-rap band with live instruments and smart lyrics. That’s all on display here, it’s just a little clunkier than the more polished work in, say, Things Fall Apart.
- III: Temples of Boom by Cypress Hill. This is Cypress Hill’s third album and also their last really good one. Some of their later albums were okay, but never as good as this. The group’s fame and success was starting to wear them out, Sen Dog took a hiatus, and the songs have a dark and serious feel. III lacks the playfulness of their earlier albums–but DJ Muggs’ production is still on point, and B Real continues to have a compelling and unique flow.
- KRS-One By KRS-One
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