Top 25? I Want A Go!

With prompting from Passion Of The Weiss, Straight Bangin’ and various other blogs that have thrown down the gauntlet, here is my list detailing my favourite 25 albums in hip hop history. I wanted to play this all cool and simply nominate the first 25 that came into my head (with a little tinkering), but inevitably the geek in me has taken over and I have toyed with the selections and ranking for quite a while, much to the detriment of my day job…

As with everyone else who has been taking part in this mass blogger ballot, I feel it necessary to preempt any backlash with a few clear ‘disclaimers’:

1. These are my favourite albums: this is not a list of the most important albums in hip hop history.

2. The order in which these are placed is somewhat arbitrary, as I love each one of these albums for different reasons. Still, I have attempted to weigh up all the different factors and rank them.

3. I am fully aware that this list does not include anything from the ‘80s and omits several extremely important artists in the genre’s history. Please bear in mind that in 1988 I was six years old and still occasionally needed help going to the toilet. Although I would love to have been born in the Bronx in the late ‘60s/early ‘70s and seen Kool Herc spin records out in the park back when this all started way back when, I can’t be blamed for circumstances beyond my control. To all you old school b-boys and b-girls out there, rest assured that I am working my way back through the wide spectrum of hip hop and am committed to expanding my knowledge of it in all of its colourful phases.

4. If I were asked to compile a list tomorrow, it would probably be different to this one. Indeed, this is slightly different to the one that I did last night.

5. I would usually only include one album by any one artist in lists like these, but I have made an exception here… it should be obvious why.

Phew… onto the list.

1. Nas – Illmatic
Boring I know, but is there a more perfect hip hop album? Coherent, bangin’, beautiful, concise: absolutely timeless.
2. A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
Difficult to pick a favourite from the Tribe catalogue, but ‘Midnight Marauders’ wins it for me, just beating ‘The Low End Theory’.
3. Organized Konfusion - Stress: The Extinction Agenda
This album seems to get overlooked in these type of lists somewhat, but the combination of top class beats and exceptional mic skills firmly cement this in my top three picks. Pharoah’s verse on ‘The Extinction Agenda’ is absolutely astonishing.
4. Mobb Deep - The Infamous
The production on this album is crazy, and combined with highly articulate and quotable rhymes, I don’t think anyone could front on this classic.
5. Lords Of The Underground - Here Come The Lords
This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I had this on a recorded tape when I was only 11 years old. Its influence on my musical tastes is unquestionable, and I still bump it to this day. I felt I had to get some K-Def production into this list as well, as I deem him to be one of the most underrated producers in the game.
6. DJ Shadow – Endtroducing…
This blew me away when I first got hold of it. It takes me back to drives with friends around London late in the evening with ‘herbal’ cigarettes firmly in hand (the London Transport Police would have been appalled). Shadow: I know you could still do it like this… please don’t desert us totally in the search for some new ish!
7. Showbiz & AG - Runaway Slave
Banger from start to finish. The beats are quality and A.G.’s rhymes easily do them justice. I would give anything to have seen them live with Roc Raida behind the tables back in the day: oh, to be a native New Yorker c. 1992!
8. Wu-Tang - Enter The Wu-Tang
So many killer tracks and such a fantastic overall coherence make this an undeniable classic. Surely this one is on everybody’s list, isn’t it?
9. Smif N Wessun - Da Shinin’
It was a toss up between this and ‘Enta Da Stage’, but ‘Da Shinin'’ just wins out due to extended play whilst I was in Chile in 2003. A great album that reminds me of great times.
10. Notorious BIG - Ready To Die
So many choice cuts and Biggie rips through verses with such an amazingly captivating style: this album’s charms are impossible to resist.
11. Pete Rock – Petestrumentals
The first Pete Rock installment on the list. This may not be his most celebrated work, but this is a pure, funky slice of Pete Rock genius without any rhymes to get in the way. I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of ‘Pete’s Jazz’: despite thousands of plays, I just can’t kill it.
12. Diamond D - Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop
One of the first true crate digging albums featuring brilliant production and enjoyable rhymes. Granted, D Squared ain’t the tightest on the mic, but I like his laid back flow and it complements the beats here perfectly: this still feels fresh and it’s fifteen years old.
13. OC - Word...Life
The Buckwild numbers are particular favourites, but the album as a whole is exceptional. OC is without a doubt one of the best MCs in the genre’s history. ‘You lack the minerals and vitamins’: the hairs rise on the back of my neck every single time.
14. INI - Center Of Attention
A double dose of the Chocolate Boy Wonder at numbers 14 and 15. This is such a great album with some of Pete Rock’s best production work as well as some great verses from Rob-O and Grap Luva.
15. Pete Rock & CL Smooth - The Main Ingredient
Honestly, I really struggled to not include their debut as well, but this is my favourite of the two albums and this list is already a little bit Pete Rock heavy (can you blame me?).
16. Pharcyde – Labcabincalifornia
‘Runnin’’ goes down as one of my favourite cuts of all time, and although I know most people feel differently, I prefer this to their debut. Dope beats and a more mature lyricism make this a wonderful album.
17. Rawkus Presents Soundbombing II
OK, so not an ‘album’ as such, but it’s my list suckas. I was in sixth form, Rawkus was flying high and although I had been listening to hip hop for years, it was around this time that I started to take it more seriously, placing a foot firmly on the ladder towards my current geeky state. The intro juggle to ‘1-9-9-9’ is one of the most amazing pieces of turntablism I have ever heard.
18. Mos Def - Black On Both Sides
Similar reasons to ‘Soundbombing II’, but this is not to take away from the quality of the album. ‘Umi Says’ is being played at my funeral (although the ‘I want black people to be free’ line at the end might seem a little strange at a white, middle-class North Londoner’s farewell bash: fuck it).
19. Genius - Liquid Swords
Another album that I had on tape when I was still in the very early stages of my obsession with hip hop. I remember coming home from my parents’ friends’ house in the summer and rocking this on my walkman. Easily my favourite Wu solo effort.
20. Gangstarr - Hard To Earn
Very difficult to pick a Gangstarr favourite, but this wins it because it was the first album of theirs that I really got into. The best DJ/MC team in hip hop history?
21. Jay Z - Reasonable Doubt
I remember listening to this on a school trip to Hadrian’s Wall in the north of England and other people taking the piss out of me for it (I don’t think Finchley, North London was quite ready for Mr. Carter in ‘96). I didn’t care: I loved it then and I still love it now.
22. Common - Like Water For Chocolate
I probably prefer ‘Resurrection’ but this was another seminal album in my sixth form years that cemented a love for hip hop and made me hunger for more in a way that I hadn’t done previously. I also caught him with a full live band on the tour that year, and it was one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to. For this reason, I’m nominating this fantastic album instead of the indisputable classic, ‘Resurrection’.
23. Main Source - Breaking Atoms
I was so surprised when a discussion on my blog revealed that some people don’t see this as a classic, as I think it’s incredible. Great, great beats, and although Extra P may not have the greatest flow in the game, I think he deserves more credit for his mic skills than many are willing to offer.
24. Naughty By Nature - Poverty's Paradise
By no means would I expect this to be deemed a universal classic, but once again, this is an album from my youth that carries personal significance. I used to love playing ‘Lemmings’ and rocking out to ‘Craziest’. How my parents despaired…
25. Da King & I - Contemporary Jeep Music
Although this is only something that I have gotten into relatively recently, I’m chucking it in there because it is one of the only albums that I have acquired in the last five years that has genuinely blown me away. I can’t believe that this is not more widely appreciated, as it is an album of incredible beats and wonderful rhymes that includes absolutely no filler. How many albums can you say that about?

There you have it. I can hear the cries of ‘what about PE?’ and ‘are you kidding: no De La?!’ resonating across cyberspace already… deal with it. I’ll look forward to seeing the final results go up at Straight Bangin' and Passion Of The Weiss. If you haven’t compiled your own list yet then get on it: the more people that take part, the more complete an overview we will end up with. Unleash the geek: you know it feels good…