(CD, 1996) this album is a total winner fuck all of you. I LOVE THE UMMAH
(cassette, 1997) shit like this is why rakim is arguably the greatest rapper of all time. he comes back, 5 years after breaking up with eric b, and drops this gem with no features. rakim sounds as good as ever on here. additionally, the beats are fat across the board thanks to premier, pete rock, and dj clark kent (RIP) among others. only gripe is the amount of skits.
(CD, 2005) sonogram is one of the most consistent, complete, and accessible underground hip-hop albums of the 2000s. I would even venture to say it's also among the best midwest hip-hop albums of all time.
excluding the intro and interludes, sonogram comes out to 18 tracks and well over an hour of runtime. it's on the longer side, but one be lo's rapping keeps you fully entertained: he anunciates every word clearly, has great hooks and punchlines, and a smooth flow. the beats ... read more
(vinyl 3xLP, 1997) very odd album. first half is atmospheric dnb, the second half is two hip-hop tracks paired with a few remixes. both halves are excellent. all together, though, it's off-putting. if you want just dnb, opaque, orange dust, and plane invaders can all be found on aquasky's shadow era pt.1 and pt.2 compilations. i will say though, the two hip-hop tracks (rough and raw skillz) have quite unique beats given aquasky's status as an atmospheric dnb producer.
(vinyl 2xLP, 1997) my favorite movie soundtrack of all time. sick lineup with a dope title track to boot.
(vinyl 2xLP, 2000) there is some great stuff on here. invicible and straight like that are standout tracks. queens, b ez, yall dont wanna and dont know nobody are also good. i wouldn't say the rest is bad, but closer to average. some of the beats are underwhelming, but what most of them need are better mixing. similar to cnn's previous album, the reunion suffers from inconsistent audio quality and mixing. despite that, it still manages to be decent.
the rapping is relatively underwhelming in comparison to the beats. deda is not a super talented emcee, so pete rock does much of the heavy lifting. two words sum up this album perfectly- untapped potential.
easily one of the best hip-hop releases of the year. pete rock and common are both ageless here. production is on point and so are the rhymes.
(vinyl LP, 1996) definitely one of the better groups to come out of long island. sadly this is their only album. lot of wu-tang and onyx influence in the rapping here. beats are dope too.
(vinyl LP, 2022 ruby) i've listened to a few of alc's collab records and it's clear he knows very well how to tailor a beat to an artist. it shows here. curren$y's laid back delivery meshes perfectly with alc's soulful and jazzy instrumentals. will not blow your mind but it's a very pleasant listen.
(vinyl LP, 2022) theres a ceiling to how good an album like this (extremely laid back both in production and vocals) can be, and I would say that this is nearing that ceiling. zay has mastered this sound.
Preemo provided two of his greatest beats ever to Rakim on this project, and he absolutely murdered them. When I B on tha Mic and Waiting for the World to End are both classics. Rest of the album ranges from decent to great
i skimmed thru this a few years ago and remember not liking it that much. dats gangsta is dope though.
dats gangsta - 90
rest - idfk probably not that great
(vinyl 2xLP, 1999) underwhelming and forgettable are the two words that best describe it. as with all nas projects, there are some highlights: life we chose, come get me, quiet n..., you owe me (in my opinion). the beats are the weakest link here. by this point nas had strayed quite a ways from his hardcore beat selection from his early days. in the end, nastradamus is not nearly the affront to music that some claim it to be. its just not that good.
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On oram_reviews's review of Mobb Deep - The Infamous
"I feel like the reason you find this album cliche or lacking diversity is because of the album itself. the success of the infamous is the reason that its content can feel so... redundant. what mobb deep did was a novel thing in 95, at least on the east coast. before the infamous, there weren't really any albums that were just "this is the life we live" type murder/gangsta rap. kool G rap and wu kind of did it, but G rap's style was more embellished and mafioso while wu's style was more in jest. the mobb were the first ones to make a record that basically served as a serious warning to the rest of the world."
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they get too much hate either way"
On CZY7's review of M.O.P. - Firing Squad
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On KoalaFMB's review of Aquasky - Orange Dust
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