Ty Burna's All Hip Hop Thread

[X]

But I do have to ask you guys, am I the only one that sees Krayzie Bone as one of the best out there? I guess I am slightly (ok extremely) biased when it comes to this discussion, but I honestly and truly feel that he should get more recognition then he does. He'll always be associated with Bone Thugs, but when he's doing his solo thing, he's putting out great albums and songs. So I just gotta ask, what's your opinion on Krayzie Bone? I think I've made my opinion about Em and Nas pretty well known, but I haven't seen anyone talk about my nomination. This is a bit of a selfish question I realize this, but I really don't care if it is or not.

It's not that Krayzie Bone isn't great, I love Krayzie and Bone Thugs in general. But I just wouldn't put him into the elite rappers around, because to me an elite rapper is a wordsmith like Nas or KRS. That's not a shot at Krayzie, but I just don't consider him to be in the top tier of rappers. That said, he's still great and as you showed off, very eclectic.

As for Eminem...I'm not a huge fan. His first few albums were all classics obviously, but pretty much everything he's done after the Marshall Mathers LP has kind of failed to hold my interest. He's grown cartoonish IMO and I find it difficult to get into his new stuff. That said, he's still obviously an extremely talented MC and is among the top rappers in the game today, that's not really questionable. His new stuff just doesn't seem to hold my attention though.

Then again I haven't given Relapse a listen yet though, what'd you guys think of it? Any good?

 

[Big Sexy]

Then again I haven't given Relapse a listen yet though, what'd you guys think of it? Any good?

Relapse was very good. The singles he put out, with the exception of Beautiful and maybe 3 am aren't really that good mainly because he uses his cartoonish voice on them a lot, but the rest of the album is great. If you don't want to listen to the whole album at least listen to "Underground", "Deja Vu", "Medicine Ball" and "Insane". As far as every other album he has put out the only one that was bad was Encore. I think that the Eminem Show was an underrated album and is on the same level as the Slim Shady LP and the Marshall Mathers LP. Some of his best stuff lyrically came from the Eminem Show.

 

[LamaNamaneumi]

I think Eminem is great, but he puts out alot of whack songs. Songs like "Ass like that", "Just lose it" and "We made you" make me not want to listen to him or buy his cd's.
As everyone has said his older shit is better than most of his new stuff, but that can be said about alot of people.

I had put Relapse on my iPod (My lil bro has it,I did not buy it.) I thought it was okay, but I found myself skipin alot of the songs.

The only four I still enjoy are "Hello", "Stay Wide Awake", "Beautiful" and "Underground"
"Stay Wide Awake" is by far my fav. of the four. Shit, it might be my fav. Eminen song.

I don't think "Relapse" is as good as his first two cd's but it's a hell of alot better than "Encore". I say give it a listen judge it for yourself.

 

[NSL]

What ever happened to Lloyd Banks? When he came out with On Fire, I instantly went out and bought his CD. I like the CD as a whole, although no 1 song stands out as great. Warrior is pretty good, but nothing super speical.

I had heard he had some differences with 50, which I would assume led to being dropped from the label, and outcast among the community. But, I never heard anything concrete, and just assume he dropped off the planet...

 

[Pimpin]

What ever happened to Lloyd Banks? When he came out with On Fire, I instantly went out and bought his CD. I like the CD as a whole, although no 1 song stands out as great. Warrior is pretty good, but nothing super speical.

I had heard he had some differences with 50, which I would assume led to being dropped from the label, and outcast among the community. But, I never heard anything concrete, and just assume he dropped off the planet...

From what I believe & heard, Lloyd Banks is still with G-Unit & is still signed to 50's record lable. I've also heard that Banks is gonna be droppin a new album probably sometime later this year. He hasn't released anything since he released that horrible album Rotten Apple 3 years ago.

Pretty much Banks & 50 don't believe had any differenes & shit like that. You can pretty much take whatever I said with a grain of salt, but that's just what i've heard.

 

[NSL]

From what I believe & heard, Lloyd Banks is still with G-Unit & is still signed to 50's record lable. I've also heard that Banks is gonna be droppin a new album probably sometime later this year. He hasn't released anything since he released that horrible album Rotten Apple 3 years ago.

I never even heard of that album I'll wait and see what his newer stuff is like before dissing him though. I thought had some talent, and was different than the rest of G-Unit.

Pretty much Banks & 50 don't believe had any differenes & shit like that. You can pretty much take whatever I said with a grain of salt, but that's just what i've heard.

Yeah, I looked it up on Wiki after reading this, and realized it was Young Buck that had the falling out. I didn't realize how far it went, but I remembered hearing about the falling out, and that he was going to finish his last album for them, and leave.

 

[Ty Burna]

From what I believe & heard, Lloyd Banks is still with G-Unit & is still signed to 50's record lable. I've also heard that Banks is gonna be droppin a new album probably sometime later this year. He hasn't released anything since he released that horrible album Rotten Apple 3 years ago.

Pretty much Banks & 50 don't believe had any differenes & shit like that. You can pretty much take whatever I said with a grain of salt, but that's just what i've heard.

I've basically heard the same thing, and honestly Lloyd has some skill on the mic, I just think he needs to get away from 50 and do his own thing, I think he'll earn a lot more respect that way instead of always being associated with 50. I understand it was all great and wonderful that he got his popularity and name because of 50's success, but I got a weird feeling he'll be held down the longer he stays with G-Unit. 50 doesn't really give a fuck about anyone else as long as his shit is selling, thus why ya see Young Buck and The Game bouncin from the label.

I like Lloyd Banks and all, but he's gotta do shit on his own before I give him my full respect.

 

[Pimpin]

I've basically heard the same thing, and honestly Lloyd has some skill on the mic, I just think he needs to get away from 50 and do his own thing, I think he'll earn a lot more respect that way instead of always being associated with 50. I understand it was all great and wonderful that he got his popularity and name because of 50's success, but I got a weird feeling he'll be held down the longer he stays with G-Unit. 50 doesn't really give a fuck about anyone else as long as his shit is selling, thus why ya see Young Buck and The Game bouncin from the label.

I like Lloyd Banks and all, but he's gotta do shit on his own before I give him my full respect.

I already think that Lloyd's bein held down by stayin with G-Unit cause 50's a selfish greedy bitch. There's no doubt that Lloyd's got a bit of skills on the mic(He showcases more skill on his mixtapes than his studio albums), but it is like you said, he needs to earn more respect by gettin away from 50 & start doin his own thing & to be honest, I think 50's selfishness will one day(hopefully soon) be the begginin of the end of G-Unit & hopefully we will see what Lloyd can do on his own.

 

[Ty Burna]

I've been doing some thinking, I say instead of going with just the best rapper alive, we take this down a slightly different path if that's alright with y'all. What we're gonna do for this is we're gonna make a list of the best rapper from each region that is alive. Now the South I'm splitting into two different regions because we got Texas, and we got the South East (ATL, Memphis etc.) and I believe they deserve to be separate from each other.

Let's begin:

Midwest: Krayzie Bone - Because I've already mentioned why, check my thread a few posts up and I will have put my reasons why. But I will just say this, the only other rapper I would even remotely consider for this spot is Common. I like his more soulful rap, and he's been around for quite some time now.

East Coast: Nas - Honestly, Nas was the rightful heir to the title of King of the East Coast. Biggie was so big, just off two album, it's crazy to think how much influence and respect he had off such little material. But I believe that is a testament to how good he is. Nas however, I believe took it to a whole different level then what Biggie could. While Nas will never get as much respect as Biggie, I truly believe he should receive more, mostly on a technicality, but he's held up the torch for the East for so long since that I don't think any other rapper could ever take the title from him.

West Coast: Aye this is a tough one, I'm not picking Dre, Snoop, or The Game here. Dre has never been honestly that "Great" of a rapper, Snoop has fallen off, and The Game isn't really where he should be to be considered the best of the West. So this will be a toss up between Ice Cube and Too Short. Now both are veterans of the rap game, Too Short started the pimping aspect of hip hop, Cube ushered in Gangsta Rap. Both are very respected in the business, but I am going to give the slimmest of edges to Too Short. Why? Because I"m taking a couple points from Ice Cube for the kid movies he's made whereas Too Short has done nothing but hip hop music since fucking 1980. While he may not be lyrical or anything like that, you can't argue the fact that his music is fun to listen to, and awesome to bump in the ride. So this goes to Too Short for me.

South (Dirty South Version): Toss up here between T.I. and Ludacris. Luda's uses a faster style flow than most Dirty South Rappers, while T.I. has made some very solid music and thoughtful lyrics. Eh this is tough, but I'm going to go with T.I. over Luda here. T.I. is more lyrical and it looks like he'll be a more force in the hip hop world for years to come, while Luda will always be in the hip hop game as well, I just started to like T.I. just a small amount more, which is why I'll pick him for the Dirty South's best. T.I.

South (Texas version): Fts is going to hate me for this one, I'm throwing it up between Chamillionaire, Z-Ro, and Bun B. This is extremely tough choice for me, as these are three of my favorite artists. With Cham you have someone who's coming up and constantly trying to develop better rhymes and lyrics to go with his music, Z-Ro who has been releasing classic joints for over 10 years now, and Bun B who's one of the first Legends of the south. Fuck fuck fuck, I'm going to split this between Z-Ro and Chamillionaire. Obviously no offense to Bun B, Scarface, or any other legend, but Z-Ro's shit is always banging, and Chamillionaire is dope as shit with his wordplay and rhymes. Chamillionaire/Z-Ro

So that's my list, probably not going to be agreed upon by anybody, but that's my honest opinion when it comes to the best rappers in each region. Discuss, argue, ya know the drill hit it up.

 

[Big Sexy]

Midwest: Eminem - I think he's the best rapper alive so obviously he's going to be the best in the midwest. The reasons why are listed in an earlier post.

East Coast: Nas - This is a very tough one. I'm going to go with Nas, but there's really a lot of different guys this could go to. Rakim, KRS-One, and Big Daddy Kane would all be great choices. You also can't go wrong with Talib Kweli, Mos Def, or anyone from Wu-Tang. I just think Nas has been the only guy to stay consistent. Illmatic dropped in 94 and Nas has been near the top of the game ever since.

West Coast: Crooked I - This another tough choice. There really isn't anyone who is head and shoulders above the rest. I'm going with Crooked I because I think he has always been very underrated and he's finally starting to get some recognition as part of the group Slaughterhouse. Other guys I would consider are Ice Cube, Del the Funky Homosapien, Bishop Lamont, Too Short, Xzibit, and The Game.

South (Dirty South Version): Ludacris - This really comes down to Luda and TI. I almost want to say it's a tie but I guess I'll give the edge to Luda. Both have had tremendous careers and I'm a huge fan of both, but overall I think Ludacris has had the slightly better career so I give him the nod, but both of these guys are very good lyrically and have great deliveries.

South (Texas version): Scarface - I love Bun B and Chamillionaire, but I can't pick against Scarface. He was by far the most talented one of the Geto Boys and his solo career has been amazing. The Last of a Dying Breed is one of the best albums of all time. Scarface is just an amazing lyricist.

 

[FromTheSouth]

Hey guys, I just wanted to introduce you to a new act out of Houston. These guys are all friends of a friend. They make some clubby songs, but lyrically they take from the SUC, and I think either G. Brown or another guy from Momentum Studios name SB will be famous one day. Here is a sneak preview, and I will work to find some more.

[youtube]4DxgPkOVP-w[/youtube]

 

[Ty Burna]

Hey guys, I just wanted to introduce you to a new act out of Houston. These guys are all friends of a friend. They make some clubby songs, but lyrically they take from the SUC, and I think either G. Brown or another guy from Momentum Studios name SB will be famous one day. Here is a sneak preview, and I will work to find some more.

[youtube]4DxgPkOVP-w[/youtube]

Not bad, it's hard to really put how good he is when it's an acappella and shit but if you can grab an actual song they put down, I'd be more than glad to check it out. I have to say I've only really heard one motherfucker around here who was any good at rapping, and that was my homie CT. Problem though is he's a bad ass freestyler, but his rhymes really ain't that good. That's where I came in for him, I'm not trying to brag my own shit up here, but I consider myself to be a very good lyricist as far as writing shit down goes. I'm good at rhyming and coming up with shit most wouldn't use. So I let him use a few of my lyrics and showed him how to properly write a rhyme structure wise and what to talk about. Normally when he's freestyling is when we're just fucking around and making stupid shit up, but we've laid some tracks down in a real ugly fashion with his computer, and they turned out pretty good. He's got the tracks, but as far as ya boy goes FTs, I like the way it sounds so far.

 

[FromTheSouth]

Midwest- Eminem. He;s not everything he used to be. The first two albums set an impossible standard to follow. His work since has been the best in the midwest still, but the gap is closing.

West Coast - The Game. This guy has been improving ever since leaving the G Unit. I think that his solo work shows a guy who has a story and doesn't want to give it all away at once. Listening to a Game album is always a pleasure.

East Coast - Nas. Nas, lyrically, is the realest rapper. He doesn't rap about ridiculous bullshit. He gives advise, he tells you to love, he tells you to be a man, he tells you to take care of family. Nas is simply one of the best, ever, and definitely the best coming out of New York right now.

South (east division) - Luda. Luda is smarter than most rappers, and he isn't scared to show it or tell you. His rhyming scheme is absolutely amazing. It almost seems as if he is competing to see how many times he can rhyme per line. He makes songs that bang in the club, songs that bang in the car, and songs that make you think. He is a social sparkplug, igniting discussion from O'Reilly and other commentators. While one song may be about hoes, the next is about being responsible. H

South (Texas) Z-Ro. I think Z-Ro is the best rapper alive. When he talks about ballin it's a fully loaded Chrysler 300 sittin on grown men. He doesn't rap about Bentleys because he doesn't have Bentleys. He raps about being homeless, because he was homeless. He raps about God because his faith is strong. His lyrics are all metaphors for his anger. He grew up in a very tough part of Houston (same part I grew up in) and lyrically, he describes Missouri City as if you were standing in the middle of it. He rides one deep because he learned not to trust anyone. UGK and the Geto Boys have given him chances to shine on their albums, and he does. He has little main stream exposure, but 20+ albums in, and zero bad songs is about as accomplished as he wants to be.

 

[Pimpin]

Midwest- Eminem: I think he's pretty much the best in the game today & I already stated why he's the best rapper alive in an earlier post.

East Coast- Nas: There's some very great talent on the East Coast like Rakim, KRS-One, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, everyone from Wu-Tang & Big Daddy Kane, but I choose Nas cause he's been able to stay consistant since he dropped Illmatic back in 94 & Nas has pretty much been near the top of the food chain ever since.

West Coast- Ice Cube: This one was truly hard one for me cause I do currently reside in the West Coast & there are a shit load of great rappers here, but I ain't pickin Dre, Snoop Dogg or Game in this situation. Dre is a good rapper, but to me, he's more known for bein a great producer, Snoop has pretty much fallen off ever since he dropped that Ego Trippin album & Game isn't in a position to be called the best of the west. So with that bein said my choice on this one is Ice Cube cause even though he has been makin the kiddie movies as of late, he can still drop great music as his latest album Raw Footage was great. With that bein said, this one goes to Ice Cube for me

South(Dirty South Version)- Ludacris/T.I.: This one is a hard choice as it all boils down to Ludacris & T.I. for me. Luda's rap style is much quicker than most of the dirty south rappers while T.I. has made some good music & has had some thoughtful lyrics in the process. Hmmm well T.I. is gonna be a force in the game for many many years to come while Luda will always be in the game. Shit this is hard as I like both T.I. & Luda. Well i'm gonna pick both of them in this situation as clearly for me, even though their styles are a bit different, I just can't choose one over the other. So for me I go with T.I. & Ludacris.

Dirty South(Texas Version)- Scarface: I'm goin with Scarface on this one. If you really listen to some of the Geto Boys material & some of Scarface's solo shit, then you can tell that Scarface is the most talented out of the group(that's not a knock against any other member of the Geto Boys). Scarface's solo shit has been amazin as his albums from The Last of a Dying Breed all the way up to his final album Emeritus were all great & spectacular albums. Scarface as a lyricist is just flat out amazin as well & he is one of the more underrated rappers out there.

 

[Big Sexy]

The legend that is Rakim is back. His first album in 10 years is coming out this fall and his first single has leaked onto the internet. If you have never listened to Rakim then you have no business in calling yourself a fan of hip hop. This man is one of the greatest to ever pick up a mic and this single proves that he is still better then 99% of the emcees in the game today.

[youtube]ITHBaZjuqSo[/youtube]

The God MC is back and he is as good as ever. You cannot listen to this song and be anything but impressed by this man's lyrical ability.

 

[X]

Nice, thanks for letting everyone know this got leaked Sexy, good looks.

Good song. The beat seems a little out-of-place with Rakim's style, but overall it's good stuff. He's still got the skills after all these years, and he's still showing all these young cats how to do it. I'd love to see Lil' Wayne or some other new rapper try to battle Rakim, they'd get killed.

 

[FromTheSouth]

It sounds good, I just don't like the New York style. When you listen to a bunch of down south shit, new York just sounds choppy and flowless. Lyrically, I like New York, but the delivery isn't for me. Plus, every hook is a sample these days. No one wants to write their own hooks, they just want to replay a tight line from yesteryear. Like I said, nothing against east coast rap, it's just not really my thing.

I'm sure people from the east listen to down south shit and think that it sounds too sing songish and relies to heavily on the hook. I can get that too. I just think that down south rap tells a better story (when you get past all the bullshit club hits). It has to be about where you grew up. Southern Music and Northern Music have always been different. Just look at our rock gods. Down south, Lynard Skynard, CCR, and Stevie Ray Vaughan are regarded as the best America has to offer. Up north, you get the Doors, and the 70's and 80's punk scene. Punk never took hold that strong in the south, and southern rock never took hold in the north. Now, in rap, you get the same kind of dichotomy. In the south, rhythm and rhyme define the genre, and up north aggression and fighting the power hold true. Neither is better in and of themselves, however both hold a territory that they will never relinquish.

 

[X]

It sounds good, I just don't like the New York style. When you listen to a bunch of down south shit, new York just sounds choppy and flowless. Lyrically, I like New York, but the delivery isn't for me. Plus, every hook is a sample these days. No one wants to write their own hooks, they just want to replay a tight line from yesteryear. Like I said, nothing against east coast rap, it's just not really my thing.

You know I respect you man, but huh? New York sounds "choppy and flowless"? Rakim has one of the smoothest deliveries in the history of rap.

I'm sure people from the east listen to down south shit and think that it sounds too sing songish and relies to heavily on the hook. I can get that too. I just think that down south rap tells a better story (when you get past all the bullshit club hits).

...Huh? Isn't it the other way around---the East coast tells a better story? Shit come on man the BEST storytellers in rap history have always been from New York: Nas, Biggie, Slick Rick, KRS One. Show me one southern rapper who can tell a story like Biggie or Nas.

Again though, this is all just personal preferences really. I respect that you dig the south more than the north, but I'm not sure why you think Southern rappers are better storytellers. Southern rap if anything these days is all about crunk music and chopped/screwed songs, neither of which tell any stories or anything.

 

[Ty Burna]

It sounds good, I just don't like the New York style. When you listen to a bunch of down south shit, new York just sounds choppy and flowless. Lyrically, I like New York, but the delivery isn't for me. Plus, every hook is a sample these days. No one wants to write their own hooks, they just want to replay a tight line from yesteryear. Like I said, nothing against east coast rap, it's just not really my thing.

Ah but you see hip hop was built off sampling older music. That hasn't changed in 30 years, and it probably never well. Shit in about 10 or 20 years we'll be hearing rappers sampling beats and lines from 2pac, Biggie, and other artists of our era. The NY flow I could see being considered choppy, but then again the south DID introduce Chopped and Screwed so it's a moot point in my book.

I'm sure people from the east listen to down south shit and think that it sounds too sing songish and relies to heavily on the hook. I can get that too. I just think that down south rap tells a better story (when you get past all the bullshit club hits). It has to be about where you grew up. Southern Music and Northern Music have always been different. Just look at our rock gods. Down south, Lynard Skynard, CCR, and Stevie Ray Vaughan are regarded as the best America has to offer. Up north, you get the Doors, and the 70's and 80's punk scene. Punk never took hold that strong in the south, and southern rock never took hold in the north. Now, in rap, you get the same kind of dichotomy. In the south, rhythm and rhyme define the genre, and up north aggression and fighting the power hold true. Neither is better in and of themselves, however both hold a territory that they will never relinquish.

And at the same time people from the Midwest (such as myself) could listen to southern hip hop for the first time and think it's too slow and/or flashy. And just like you said, I'm used to that Midwest speed rap so I may find southern hip hop boring. Which of course is farther from the truth. Hip Hop from Texas is easily my second favorite region when it comes down to it. Sorry to the East Coast and West Coast fans, but H-Town rap more specifically has such a dynamic and variety of styles that you could find a multitude of different artists you can like or hate.

 

[FromTheSouth]

Not the radio south music. I'm talking about SLAB, ABN, UGK. Bun B's II Trill is all about stories. Listen to a Scarface or Geto Boys CD. These are stories. 8 Ball is one of the best story tellers ever. Listen to the Lost Tapes.

I understand that east coast rap is about stories, but with exception of Nas, Jay-Z, and Biggie, their stories fall as complete and utter bullshit to me. I don't get how Jadakiss gets pushed as a great rapper. I can't even listen to that shit. Styles P gets on the radio, and he makes me think I could be a recording artist.

Now, I agree that the south is devolving into club BS, but I stick with mostly Houston rap. If I want to listen to something else, I listen to Luda, TI, 8 Ball, and Jim Crow.

ETA: I didn't mean beat sampling, what I meant was that the hook from every east coast song I have heard lately seems to be a line from a Biggie Song, or a Rakim song, edited to the new beat. No one raps their won hook anymore. Granted, I try to avoid east coast rap as much as possible, but every time I give it a chance, I wind up hating it more. I don't know how I ever found Nas, but to me, he is a diamond in the rough.

 

[Ty Burna]

Not the radio south music. I'm talking about SLAB, ABN, UGK. Bun B's II Trill is all about stories. Listen to a Scarface or Geto Boys CD. These are stories. 8 Ball is one of the best story tellers ever. Listen to the Lost Tapes.

I understand that east coast rap is about stories, but with exception of Nas, Jay-Z, and Biggie, their stories fall as complete and utter bullshit to me. I don't get how Jadakiss gets pushed as a great rapper. I can't even listen to that shit. Styles P gets on the radio, and he makes me think I could be a recording artist.

Now, I agree that the south is devolving into club BS, but I stick with mostly Houston rap. If I want to listen to something else, I listen to Luda, TI, 8 Ball, and Jim Crow.

You could make that same argument for just about any region of hip hop. It's all about the radio play and ringtones now, not so much about making quality music. This is by no means dissing on any rapper at this point...yet I may devolve into that at a later point. But from what I've seen it's the underground artists, or the lesser mainstream artists that are the ones making the best music. I think the fame gets to their head, like Jadakiss was awesome back when he was rolling with The Lox only. As soon as he went solo, he went to shit. The real storytellers left on the East Coast are Nas, Immortal Technique (he's from the NY look it up), Ill Bill to an extent can tell some pretty interesting stories, and the members of the Wu Tang Clan. That's it as far as the East Coast is concerned.

The storytellers of the South are damn good in their own regards. I consider Scarface the 2nd best storyteller of all time, Slick Rick being the best in my opinion. 8ball and MJG put together some pretty good stories, but their last album Ridin High didn't actually include many storytelling songs, which is fine I loved that album. Bun B has always been about telling stories and bringing the message of hope, now more than ever since Pimp C passed. To add to that Bun B has one of the better voices when it comes to hip hop. I don't know why but whenever I hear him on a track, it makes it instantly 10x better.

 

[Big Sexy]

The best storyteller of all time came from the East Coast. No one can tell me that Slick Rick is not the greatest story teller of all time. With the exception of UGK, Scarface, and a few others there really aren't any southern rappers who can tell a story as well as east coast guys. Slick Rick, Nas, Biggie, Rakim, KRS-One, Jay Z, Wu-Tang, all of these rappers are amazing story tellers. As far as overall talent goes it's hard to argue that the east coast isn't the best. Being from the mid west I prefer that style a little more then the east coast, but the east coast probably has the most good rappers.

 

[Tenta]

I would have to say that, from a historical standpoint, The East Coast is the best area for hip hop you'll find. Big Sexy hit on it, but the names he mentioned pretty much sum up all that Hip Hop should be. were it not for Inglewood, we wouldn't know anything about the West Coast, and I feel it was based upon the work of Dr. Dre and 2Pac, and Suge Knight's reputation.

now, as for my favorite, has to be KRS-One. From his work with Boogie Down Production, to his solo stuff, to even now with his last album with Maximum Strength. He, I feel, is the best to have come out, and had staying power in his work. KRS-One's flow was absolutely sick, and the rhymes in which he'd come up were sheerly ungodly.

Just listen to Criminal Minded;

[youtube]AmutXdqksIY&feature=related[/youtube]

I can't tell you how much I respect not only KRS-One's ability, but his longevity in the game. Again, my opinion, but if we're talking best rappers, that's my case for KRS-One.

 

[malchick]

Got Paul's Boutique today - such an awesome album - I thought the Beastie Boys were liek the Tenacious D of the rap world i.e. shit and unfunny, but turns out this album is pretty amazin, really chilled and just really good beats - had it on a playlist and it played straight after Hot Cross's album Cryonics finished, a strange combination but worked well for some reason Awesome stuff.

 

[Big Sexy]

I was looking through some of my old cds today and I found the first hip hop album that I ever listened to. It was Ma$e's debut album "Harlem World." I remember finding it under my brothers bed when I was 9 years old and when I listened to it I instantly became a hip hop fan. Then a couple months later Eminem came out with the Slim Shady LP and I was hooked for life.

To this day I still consider Ma$e one of my favorite rappers and Harlem World one of my favorite albums because that's what introduced me to hip hop. I still love listening to songs from the album like "24 Hours to Live" feat The LOX DMX and Black Rob, "*****z Wanna Act" feat Busta Rhymes, and "Take What's Yours" feat DMX.

So my question is what artists/albums introduced you to Hip Hop?