Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

I am constantly expanding my music collection. Currently I have 60 GB of Music and am always looking for more.

What do you think are the essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums?

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Jurassic 5

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

iTunes has an awesome "Greatest Hits" playlist of Notorious B.I.G.- Love it

Ludacris- Chicken and Beer

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Let me clarify, I have a ton of hip hop / rap probably 5 GB. I am just curious what albums you "have to have" in your collection.

Personally Wu Tang Clan 36 Chambers is a CLASSIC!

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

N.W.A-Straight Out of Compton
Run DMC-Raising Hell
Wu Tang Clan-Enter the Wu Tang
Snoop Dog-Doggy Style
2 Pac-Me Against the World

Five essentials.

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

:r

I have all of those, do you Bob?

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

The Gourds cover of Gin and Juice

(some lyrics NSFW)

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Tribe called Quest- anything really.
Outkast- stankonia
Kanye West- College Dropout
JayZ- hard to pick

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

off the top of my head:

1) Dr. Dre - The Chronic
2) Jay-Z - The Blueprint (1)
3) Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die
4) Outkast - Stankonia
5) Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
6) Beastie Boys - Ill Communication

I like 2Pac a lot but didn't think the albums as a whole were as good as these. some great singles though - F*ck All Ya'll, Hit 'Em Up...

in the next GROUP would be N.W.A.,The Roots, A Tribe called Quest, NAS, Snoop, Cube, Grandmaster Flash, DeLa Soul.

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

The Chronic
Eazy-duz-it
All Eyez on Me
The Predator

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

The Infamous (Mobb Deep)
Thug Life: Volum 1 (Thug Life)
Creepin on a Come Up (Bone Thugs n Harmony)

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Kinda random older ones I love

West Side Connection-Bow Down
OutKast-ATLiens
2Pac-All Eyez On Me
B.I.G.-Ready to Die
Do or Die-Back 2 the Game

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Nice topic
Some classics you have to have are
Nas- Illmatic as well as It was written. Nas first two albums are classics.
DMX- Its dark and hell is hot

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Mobb Deep- Murda muzik

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Anything by Kris Kross. They wore their clothes backwards, you know.

MCS

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Ya......no.

Great suggestions guys, keep em coming. I have maybe 1/2 of what has been mentioned so far.

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

:tpd:

Lupe Fiasco's The Cool

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Raek Kwon from Wu tang Clan -Only built for Cuban Linx ( a classic)

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Regulate by Warren G

Look for the song "I need a light"

his stuff is just silky smooth

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Friday soundtrack-Superhoes was a hilarious song

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

I don't know why but dmx always makes me want to hit someone.

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

He makes me want to eat peoples kids.

JK

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Some Wu related chit

Redman-Doc's da name 2000
Method Man-Tical 2000 Judgement Day
Meth/Red-Blackout!
WuTang-Forever

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Check out MF DOOM. Fantastic underground stuff!

'Today was a good day" by Ice Cube is essential :D

aj

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

My style is impetuous. My defense is impregnable, and I'm just ferocious.:D

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Kurupt-Tha streetz iz a mutha (His treatise on English composition)

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Is there really any rap albums or hip hop that you have to have. That is the question? I would say no but if you must:

Too Short - Life is...Too Short
Geto Boys - Grip It! On That Other Level
2 Live Crew - As Nasty As They Wanna Be

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Blackstar - Mos Def and Talib Qweli. Just fantastic. +1 on 36 chambers, totally right on that one.

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Gza from Wu tang -Liquid swords is another classic from the Wu

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

I left out more common artists like Opp and NWA because im sure you have them
Blackalicious-blazing arrow
Hieroglyphics- Third Eye Vision
Common- Be
Dizzee Rascal- Boy in da corner
Mos Def- Most Definte
Nerd- IN search of...& Fly or Die
Paul Wall- Get some Stay true
Roots- Im from philly so i love them all
Calle 13- Calle 13(Spanish) They are like the hip hop of reggeaton

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

i have a number of albums but would call very few of them "essential".

for something different...
Deltron - Deltron 3030

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

How can Eric B and Rakim not be mentioned here yet? The Paid in Full album is an absolute classic! And Microphone Fiend (off of Follow the Leader) is my top choice of theirs.

I'm also a fan of Black Sheep and Lords of the Underground.
LL Cool J- Bigger and Deffer and 14 Shots to the Dome
House of Pain- Shamrocks and Shenanigans
Ice T- Power
I also used to listen to 3rd Bass (MC Serch)-Derelicts of Dialect

And I'll second several of the ones listed before.

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

[quote=acarr;772451]Is there really any rap albums or hip hop that you have to have. That is the question? I would say no but if you must:

Too Short - Life is...Too Short
Geto Boys - Grip It! On That Other Level
2 Live Crew - As Nasty As They Wanna Be[/QUOTE]

I'm from Miami. 2 live crew is a must

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Albums that I think haven't been mentioned yet:

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five - The Message

Dr. Dre - The Chronic

also, the single "Natural Born Killaz" by Ice Cube and Dr. Dre.

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Too Short - Get in Where You Fit In
Mobb Deep - The Infamous
BIG - Ready to Die

My top 3 albums

3 6 Mafia had some good stuff

single Mr. Bigg - Trial Time

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

Junior Mafia's first album is nice.

To second a few already mentioned:

The Chronic, Low End Theory by ATCQ, Infamous by Mobb Deep, ATLiens by Outkast, and pretty much any Wu album.

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

1) Dr. Dre - The Chronic
2) Jay-Z - The Blueprint (1)
3) Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die
4) Snoop Dogg - Doggystyle
5) Jay-Z - The Blueprint/ Black Album/ pretty much any of his albums
6) Outkast - ATLiens
7) Ludacris - The Red Light District


I don't think it's on an album, but "Who Shot Ya" by Notorious B.I.G is one of his essential songs.

Re: Essential Rap / Hip Hop Albums
 

:tpd: