"Donuts" by J Dilla
★★★★★

I cannot overstate enough the amount of creativity and talent required to produce this from a hospital bed using only a 45 record player & a limited Boss SP-303 sampler to flip this selection of weird, off-kilter and left-field jazz, orchestral & rock samples... but that's exactly what Dilla did - immortalizing himself eternally at age 31 with these 31 beats that feel like a lucid dream, life-affirming jams as the creator's own life was ... read more

"Madvillainy" by Madvillain
★★★★★

MF DOOM and Madlib's chemistry was on full blast here; showcasing total mastery through short expressions of colourful comic book-style villainous raps mixed with inventive and left-field sampledelic beats that somehow elevate each other to the point where individually remarkable; the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

"Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)" by Wu-Tang Clan
★★★★★

Like Voltron, or Exodia; the roster of raw talent oozing from the grimy soundscapes of Staten Island, these 9 legends inspired by Shaolin Kung-fu movies, incorporated into American urban decay makes this a tight, captivating, diverse, and wildly entertaining collection of style, substance & essential East Coast hall-of-fame hardcore hip hop.

"Ready To Die" by The Notorious B.I.G.
★★★★★

It is an absolutely captivating, emotionally impactful masterclass of a hip-hop storytelling classic, that is not only one of the greatest debuts of all time; but also an irreplaceable part of rap culture and history.