So what exactly was the last classic Hip-Hop album...

Orizio

Looking back classic albums seemed to be coming out of every region and city in the mid 90's in particular, but stretching my mind back there has hardly been many classic albums released this century(I can think of about 5if I really pushed it and a dozen possibles).So what exactly was the last classic Hip-Hop album?

For me, it was Little Brother's The Listening released in 2002 if I remember correctly.Its consistent in that you can listen to it the whole way through but it has those three or four tracks that everyone has as personal faves(for me Speed,The Getup and The Listening).There can be no doubting 9th's production or the hooks throughout.Hell even the skits stand up to repeated listening.The only problem you can have with the album is the MC'ing-Phonte and Pooh are hardly the most lyrical MC's.But even still they hold your attention, have great arrogance and humour running through their rhymes and clearly respect the art of rapping.

The only albums that may be classed as classics in my mind after The Listening are Kanye's Late Registration( a few skipable tracks) and Andre 3000's The Love Below (one half of an album, so maybe it shouldn't be accepted,also has a few repetitive tracks )

Jay Ru

i'm with ya on the little brother and maybe the kanye but u can't be serious bout andre 3000, that whole album was terrible. IMO the last good outkast album was aquemini.

with the exception of the dj quik track jay z's black album is a pretty solid release

Orizio

There has been thousands of 'solid' releases.

The Soul Below is to me a rather brilliant and eclectic mixture of soul and Hip-Hop.I would strongly suggest going back to listen to it.

Umaro

I think The Documentary could become a retrospective classic in a few years. Game just needs to keep evolving and pushing himself harder.

spacecoyote

Don't see how the games album can ever be classed as a classic as it didn't really bring anything remotely new to the scene. The latest Roots album Game Theory has the potential to be seen as a classic & i think Cut Chemists effort is the best (mostly) instrumental album to be dropped in quite a while

shane86

Jay Ru wrote:

i'm with ya on the little brother and maybe the kanye but u can't be serious bout andre 3000, that whole album was terrible. IMO the last good outkast album was aquemini.

Ive said it before and Ill said it again, Andre 3000 is the biggest clown in music. P Diddy, Louis Walsh, Pete Doherty, they are all tossers granted, but when it comes down to it there is simply nobody more embarrasing to the genre.

I havent heard it all yet, but if that song Compton is anything to go by, The Games new one is even better than the first.

Orizio

I don't think you can have a classic album from an average MC, who has so few lyrics he must name drop every few lines.

Game Theory is a few tracks short of a classic imo.You reach the last track and think 'where's the rest?'.

This thread isn't about Andre's character but his album.Suffice to say the disrespect people show to this absolute legend for apparently petty reasons like his fashion sense, just goes to show the lack of respect in Hip-Hop in general for the genre's trailblazers.

So back to his critically acclaimed album, not Andre himself.

spacecoyote

seriously, people are sitting there singing the praises of the latest "gangsta" clone, while slating someone who is not only one of the best MCs around today, but also one of the most creative artists in music, let alone hip-hop. Sure Andre's stuff is a little hit & miss sometimes but at least he's attempting to do something original. He's also an integral part of a group thats released 2 or 3 of hip hops all time classic albums

ghostdancer

either way, his latest stuff has indeed been hit and miss as you just said. i personally thought Spearboxxx/Love Below was a hilariously awful album full of nonsense.
the fact that he happened to be part of a group who made some great albums 10 years ago is neither here nor there.

and if we're calling Late Registration a classic, then there's a **** load of albums that are fitting into that classic bracket, including Game's 2, as LR is nowhere remotely near reaching the criteria i would associate a classic album with.

Orizio

the fact that he happened to be part of a group who made some great albums 10 years ago is neither here nor there.

Of course not.;)

and if we're calling Late Registration a classic,

Um no I didn't.

then there's a **** load of albums that are fitting into that classic bracket, including Game's 2, as LR is nowhere remotely near reaching the criteria i would associate a classic album with.

Fair enough.

Hey, here's a novel idea-how about someone tell me what they think the last classic Hip-Hop album was?

ghostdancer

Orizio wrote:

The only albums that may be classed as classics in my mind after The Listening are Kanye's Late Registration( a few skipable tracks)

....yeah, you did.

Orizio

I said LR may be a classic, whilst also highlighting the reason I think it isn't in brackets afterwards.

With all due respect, I don't want this thread to fall apart because of your weak command of the English language. Back on topic cheers.

Jay Ru

shane86 wrote:

Ive said it before and Ill said it again, Andre 3000 is the biggest clown in music. ........................................ they are all tossers granted, but when it comes down to it there is simply nobody more embarrasing to the genre.

have to disagree with u there, andre might be a bit out there with his dress sense alright but, dude is far from an embarrasing.

Game Theory is a few tracks short of a classic imo.You reach the last track and think 'where's the rest?'.

might thoughts extactly, and although is a solid release for the crew its far from there strongest album.

spacecoyote

I'm not saying that Game Theory is the Roots best work, but it is considerably better than the previous two (both of which i really liked anyway) and whereas it might not match up to the earlier albums (all of which i would call classic albums) i still think it's a quality album which hasn't imo got a bad track on it

evil_seed

I'm probably gonna catch a lot of flak for sayin this but i'm puttin it out anyways. I think the last classic album, which is what Orizio started the thread asking in the first place is..... (drum roll please)





Lord Willin' - The Clipse

Raekwon

evil_seed wrote:

Lord Willin' - The Clipse

Seriously? :rolleyes: Apart from 'Grindin' this album doesn't stand up to repeated listens. I'd even go as far to say that this is the album that made me start to hate The Neptune's beats (Btw their new album Hell Hath No Fury should be released soon).

Makaveli

Their new album is getting rave reviews, I don't see why. It's not nearly as ground breaking as people would have you believe. It's alright, nothing special.

Last classic album, I'll answer that later when I have more time to think about it.

shane86

Orizio wrote:

This thread isn't about Andre's character but his album.Suffice to say the disrespect people show to this absolute legend for apparently petty reasons like his fashion sense, just goes to show the lack of respect in Hip-Hop in general for the genre's trailblazers.

Ill admit I find his style of dress outlandish. However, my main reason for hating him is that his lyrics are ****e. Check out Prototype for example, its toe curlingly bad. Nobody in hip hop history, be it Chingy, Diddy, J-Kwon or any of the rest hjave ever come up with such appaling ch....its not even cheese ffs.

Critically acclaimed? So was Get Rich or Die Tryin, which judging from many of the posts here isnt exactly 5 mic material in your eyes.

Orizio

Lord Willin' didn't even come into my mind.Released in 2002 right?So where Aziatic,The Listening and Lord Willin' all released around the same time?My dates are little fuzzy.

The Clipse's debut was good but over rated.A few awesome tracks and the rest was a little hit and miss,it was also a little short to me and unsastifying.Gotta love Pusha T and Malice on the mic though.

Hell Hath No Fury has gotten a pretty lukewarm response from what I can tell, outside of that XXL review.

Orizio

shane86 wrote:

Ill admit I find his style of dress outlandish. However, my main reason for hating him is that his lyrics are ****e. Check out Prototype for example, its toe curlingly bad. Nobody in hip hop history, be it Chingy, Diddy, J-Kwon or any of the rest hjave ever come up with such appaling ch....its not even cheese ffs.

Critically acclaimed? So was Get Rich or Die Tryin, which judging from many of the posts here isnt exactly 5 mic material in your eyes.

I've never mentioned GRODT on this forum, so I don't know where you are getting this from.Its a 4 mic album imo almost completely because of the production.

The Soul Below is an overwhelmingly corny album, but it was intended as such. Andre didn't just go from being an incredible lyricist on Aquamini to being a bad one-he changed his style, and as corny as the hook on Prototype is, it suits the style of the production perfectly imo.

gamb1or

Makaveli wrote:

Their new album is getting rave reviews, I don't see why. It's not nearly as ground breaking as people would have you believe. It's alright, nothing special.

Last classic album, I'll answer that later when I have more time to think about it.

The new album is excellent.

Every track is great except "ain't cha", which is still good if you can get past the hook.

Album of the year so far...hopefully Nas can top it

If it counts, the last classic was Nas - The Lost Tapes

mountainyman

Last Classic Hipp Hop Album was OG.

The Game is just peddling **** that Ice T was dropping back in the day.

MM

Orizio

gamb1or wrote:

The new album is excellent.

Every track is great except "ain't cha", which is still good if you can get past the hook.

Album of the year so far...hopefully Nas can top it

If it counts, the last classic was Nas - The Lost Tapes

I would put TLT up there with Mega's The Realness as the two best albums released this decade.But again, I think the likes of The Listening(which I assume people have actually listened to) should be defined as a classic.Its basically faultless and just straight great fun.

dumbeldore

The beautiful struggle and Quality . Showtime and boy in the corner by Dizze Rascal.track 8 on showtime called respect is just as good as the track of the same name on the greatest album off all time which is ?

Orizio

dumbeldore wrote:

The beautiful struggle and Quality . Showtime and boy in the corner by Dizze Rascal.track 8 on showtime called respect is just as good as the track of the same name on the greatest album off all time which is ?

What is Aretha Franklin's I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You.

I liked a lot of the tracks on Quality(especially the Res track)but still its nothing special.TBS was very mundane and dull imo.

Dizze Rascal's stuff is very under rated imo.Some of the most distinctive Hip-Hop from this decade, but again a little inconsistent.

Endurance Man

Think differently music was awsome.

Orizio

Think Differently was good but again you'll find very few people who would define it as 'classic' material.The production for one thing was standard enough, and there was more then a few weak verses on it.And Aesop's Rock was on it...

dumbeldore

no i meant ready to die and track 14 respect by the greatest of all time bigge

Orizio

lol.BIG's track didn't even come into my mind.

Tells you the kind of music I've been listening to of late.

Brand New Day was always my fave Dizze Rascal track though.

BRM

i think Common - Bewill be a classic its always good to listen to.

Gorillaz-Demon Days is also one of those never get tired albums.

elshambo

Aesop Rock, Float

Antamojo

I agree with BRM
"Be" was an album that was slept on, Common deserves some credit.
Most of the album being released nowdays are heaps of sh** (with the exception of a few)

Orizio

Antamojo wrote:

I agree with BRM
"Be" was an album that was slept on, Common deserves some credit.
Most of the album being released nowdays are heaps of sh** (with the exception of a few)

Be was Common's worst album imo, and I haven't found a lot of people that disagree with me.

Besides there has been plenty of excellent albums this year and plenty to look forward to next year, as usual its a matter of looking for the good stuff.

Kold

Dangerdoom

billstraighten

Kold

I thought it was "K-Fed". Lol. I hope he dies.

Evzer

Prototype cant even be called a hip-hop song and if ya think p-diddy has better lyrics then andre 3000 theres no hope for you.

Colin Mac

Ghostface - Fishscale

Native Tongue

Skyzoo & 9th Wonder - "Cloud 9: The 3 Day High"
Nas - "Hip Hop Is Dead"


Looking forward to hearing more of Papoose in the future, his mixtapes are well worth checking out.

Steyr

1. NWA-straight outta compton
2. Snoop Dogg-doggystyle
3. Dr.Dre-2001
4. Snoop Dogg-r&g rhythm and gangsta.

Jay Ru

Orizio wrote:

Be was Common's worst album imo, and I haven't found a lot of people that disagree with me.

i take it u don't have many friends that know much about hip hop then, be is up there with "one day it will all make sense, like chocolate for water and resurrection" it features some of kanyes best production (ever) the dilla produced "love is" is a beautiful tune. commons got back on track with this album. the only fault i found with the album is that its not long enuff.

common only ever released one bad album, the electric circus, but u prob like that right!

just out of curiousty in your opinion what makes this album so bad?

Orizio

Jay Ru wrote:

i take it u don't have many friends that know much about hip hop then, be is up there with "one day it will all make sense, like chocolate for water and resurrection" it features some of kanyes best production (ever) the dilla produced "love is" is a beautiful tune. commons got back on track with this album. the only fault i found with the album is that its not long enuff.

common only ever released one bad album, the electric circus, but u prob like that right!

just out of curiousty in your opinion what makes this album so bad?

I just hope someone helps you with your insanity...;)

The album lacks replay value, almost completely because of Kanye's production.The samples are just too well known and get boring very quickly.The best and freshest production is done by J Dilla and he isn't on it enough.In fairness the title track isone of Kanye's best beats.Lyrically, it can hardly be described as Common's most inventive or interesting work either.

I just find the album repetitive.Ressurection is top 5 of all time in my mind and Be is really incomparable.This is coming from a huge Common and Kanye fan btw.

Jay Ru

fair enuff its not common's best lyrical album but not liken an album cus the samples r 2 familar (kinda picky aren't ya). i have to say i'm surprised by ur comments, since that album came out ur the only person (who seems to know his **** when it comes to hip hop) that has a bad word to say about it, but everyone is entitled to an opinion, no matter how wrong they might be.:p

spacecoyote

Have to agree with oriz to some extent on this one. I don't really think it's comparable with common's earlier material, and while I did enjoy it much more so than Electric Circus, like Oriz, its an album I almost never have the urge to stick on. I don't think i've given it more than a couple of listens

Makaveli

I really just don't like Kanye that much and that really turned me off the album. That aside, I don't think it's anything special anyway. People talk it up as if it's one of the greatest albums ever.

clk

I don't think i've given it more than a couple of listens

it takes more than a couple of listens to decide if an album is a classic ffs.

you have to give an album a chance,personally i like to listen to an album from start to finish 5 or 6 times before i rate it at all.

a recent example was the killers album got it first and thought wtf? but after more listens it has really grown on me same with common .

the corner is his best song imo


edit: last classic the college dropout (and yes the workoutplan is a terrible song)

spacecoyote

I both agree & disagree to some extent. Yes most albums do take a few listens, and when I say that I've only listened to Be a couple times, I don't just mean twice! But with the rest of Common's earlier material I enjoyed them after the first few listens, be was just a bit of a non-event to me. It doesn't get me going. I feel though that, if an album is going to be a classic, something about it should grasp you within the first couple of listenings

Orizio

clk wrote:

it takes more than a couple of listens to decide if an album is a classic ffs.

you have to give an album a chance,personally i like to listen to an album from start to finish 5 or 6 times before i rate it at all.

a recent example was the killers album got it first and thought wtf? but after more listens it has really grown on me same with common .

the corner is his best song imo


edit: last classic the college dropout (and yes the workoutplan is a terrible song)

I assume you mean best track on the album...