Transitioning Into HipHop, 10 Albums to Consider Options

[*paperplane*]

As someone who has transitioned into hiphop ("into" being a relative term, but I'm probably someone this list could be aimed at), I'm surprised there's no Tribe. ATCQ was the first hiphop I could actually listen through full albums of. I find Eminem annoying as hell, personally.

[fameONE]

As someone who has transitioned into hiphop ("into" being a relative term, but I'm probably someone this list could be aimed at), I'm surprised there's no Tribe. ATCQ was the first hiphop I could actually listen through full albums of. I find Eminem annoying as hell, personally.

Oh, believe me when I say that it was tough not including 'Low End Theory' or 'Midnight Marauders' on this list. Although, if you listen to Pete Rock and CL Smooth, you can easily find your way to ATCQ.

In regards to Eminem, most of his work post-Marshall Mathers LP irks the hell out of me. Whatever the case, there is an undeniable appeal about his angst-filled music.

[andrewexd]

I'll check that link out when I'm not on a NATO computer.
I'm a big fan of all three, but this list is made as a starter kit for people who know very little about hiphop. Hence why the list varies in extreme.

FYI: Slug (of Atmosphere) is partnered with Murs on FELT 2, which includes tracks produced by Ant (the production half of the Atmosphere duo)
Exactly. You need to already have an understanding of Tech's stance on our society before you listen to his music, or else, well, or else feelings might get hurt.

I don't agree with everything immortal tech. Says but you can't deny his talent.

The infamous by mobb deep is my favorite rap album. Tends to be one dimensional but who cares every track is good. Even drink away the pain (which some people say is the weakest track). Prodigy fell off hard though. Hnic 2 and return of the mac are pretty good though. I would like a new mobb deep album minus gunit + alchemist. Thank you.

[so0o_contagious]

Exactly. You need to already have an understanding of Tech's stance on our society before you listen to his music, or else, well, or else feelings might get hurt.

mhhh touche, touche. i remember the first time i heard immortal....haha. not exactly love at first sight. i had to go back and listen later on. point of no return is one of my faves though.

talib? wu tang? sorry im just throwing things at you. i like what you have to say.

[andrewexd]

dance with the devil is one of my favorite songs.

[AyeVickaye]

Hip Hop is poetry of the streets :D. New Artists nowadays needa stop rappin about the same things & radio needa stop repeating songs, cuz their being Kilt! (my lipgloss is poppin? what?! the hell?)...I like nas, tupac, kanye & lupe. ;D

[brooklyneast05]

not to rain on anyone's parade , but am i the only one who doesn't necessarily consider immortal tech to be "talented" in a rhyming sense? i mean yeah he's a pretty amazing thinker, and interesting to listen to for that reason but i wouldn't call his music "good music". it's usually pretty badly produced imo and he doesn't have much of a flow at all. it's more like reading an essay to a beat sometimes.


not saying i'm not a fan, i am. i wouldn't ever in a million years present that to a new comer though. that's too much meat to chew on, listening to his music is more work than almost anything i've ever listened to.

[andrewexd]

not to rain on anyone's parade , but am i the only one who doesn't necessarily consider immortal tech to be "talented" in a rhyming sense? i mean yeah he's a pretty amazing thinker, and interesting to listen to for that reason but i wouldn't call his music "good music". it's usually pretty badly produced imo and he doesn't have much of a flow at all. it's more like reading an essay to a beat sometimes.
not saying i'm not a fan, i am. i wouldn't ever in a million years present that to a new comer though. that's too much meat to chew on, listening to his music is more work than almost anything i've ever listened to.

Canibus. you need a dictionary to understand what he says.

[fameONE]

mhhh touche, touche. i remember the first time i heard immortal....haha. not exactly love at first sight. i had to go back and listen later on. point of no return is one of my faves though.

talib? wu tang? sorry im just throwing things at you. i like what you have to say.

Talib Kweli is gifted. I personally didn't like 'Quality' or 'The Beautiful Struggle' because it sounded like he was forcing it too much. He's not an emcee the gets caught up in 'swagger-rap' but he certainly has enough swagger to go around while keeping in Brooklyn and giving food for thought. 'Ear Drum' is a thorough album, from both a production and lyrical standpoint. It's going to be hard to ever top 'BlackStar' (Mos Def, holla!) and Reflection Eternal (Hi-Tek's production blends well with Talib's flow). Again, for a new-comer to HipHop, particularly if you're not Black, TK might go over people's heads. I don't like playing the race card, but it's true. He's a very pro-Black musician and proud of it.

Wu-Tang Clan ain't nuttin' to f-ck wit'!!!

I don't even know where to start with the infamous Wu. Not to discredit the Wu at all, but has anyone ever noticed that they have a ton of material (collectively) that is just a display of lyricism and punchlines that doesn't go anywhere? Take the track 'Re-United' from 'Wu-Tang Forever.' Ill beat, ill rhymes and verse placement is on point (expect nothing less from The Rza), but the song is all over the place. No one is really on the same page and it's still straight fire.

On the flipside, you have songs like 'Triumph.' Damn, son. Just... damn. Every single emcee spits a verse about how they are going to triumph, how they will triumph, or how they already have. I'll always be a fan of the Wu and the solo projects they have spawned because my knowledge and interest in hiphop as a kid revolved around The Wu and it's affiliates. Raekwon, Method Man, The RZA, The GZA, Ghostface Killah, ODB, Inspectah Deck and even Cappadonna have all had solo success (although some more successful than others).

(**sidenote: I hate how Method Man's been overlooked as emcee throughout his career)

The infamous by mobb deep is my favorite rap album. Tends to be one dimensional but who cares every track is good. Even drink away the pain (which some people say is the weakest track). Prodigy fell off hard though. Hnic 2 and return of the mac are pretty good though. I would like a new mobb deep album minus gunit + alchemist. Thank you.

There is just something about Mobb Deep that never really sat right with me. Not to take anything away from them in their place in hiphop history, I've never really been a fan aside from diggin' a few tracks.

Hip Hop is poetry of the streets :D

HipHop is poetry.

not to rain on anyone's parade , but am i the only one who doesn't necessarily consider immortal tech to be "talented" in a rhyming sense? i mean yeah he's a pretty amazing thinker, and interesting to listen to for that reason but i wouldn't call his music "good music". it's usually pretty badly produced imo and he doesn't have much of a flow at all. it's more like reading an essay to a beat sometimes.


not saying i'm not a fan, i am. i wouldn't ever in a million years present that to a new comer though. that's too much meat to chew on, listening to his music is more work than almost anything i've ever listened to.

Co-sign. In terms of delivery and structured verses, Tech sounds like he's trying to force the non-chalant, run-on, flow (see: MF Doom), with the complexity of Gift of Gab's (Blackalicious) wordplay. It doesn't work. He's found his own niche in the game just by being an angry extremist.

Canibus. you need a dictionary to understand what he says.

Canibus is the rapper that never made it, but held it down in 2nd Round KO.

Oh, that reminds me...

The award for the legendary emcee falling off the most, goes to....

LL COOL J.

[lovescream]

Nujabes got me into the whole scene of hip hop, honestly. After that, I got listening to shing02, far east movement, & magnetic north. Before nujabes, I used to listen to common, wu-tang, lupe, kanye, & eminem but never took the whole music of hip hop as seriously as I did now. Now I listen to a whole lot more & I really enjoy it. (: I also hate it when people judge hip hop before anything.. I know I used to do that but ever since my eyes opened up to hip hop, I've been way more open-minded about EVERYTHING, not just things related to music.

PS, yeah, dance with the devil is the ONLY song I really understand and like hearing from immortal. Personally, the rest of his songs just ain't what I like to hear, but they are most definitely interesting.

[fameONE]

Nujabes got me into the whole scene of hip hop, honestly. After that, I got listening to shing02, far east movement, & magnetic north. Before nujabes, I used to listen to common, wu-tang, lupe, kanye, & eminem but never took the whole music of hip hop as seriously as I did now. Now I listen to a whole lot more & I really enjoy it. (: I also hate it when people judge hip hop before anything.. I know I used to do that but ever since my eyes opened up to hip hop, I've been way more open-minded about EVERYTHING, not just things related to music.

PS, yeah, dance with the devil is the ONLY song I really understand and like hearing from immortal. Personally, the rest of his songs just ain't what I like to hear, but they are most definitely interesting.

Thanks proving my theory to be correct. SRSLY.

I put so much thought into this list and different artists. You just proved that I didn't waste my time. I don't need to personally introduce anyone to HipHop, because good music will open doors.

[andrewexd]

lol ll cool j needs to quit rapping.

I liked quality there's some good tracks on there and its not all one sound like blackstar or reflection/eternal (not that they're bad by any means). Black on both sides is good too. Not really into mos def singing... another favorite of mine is the great adventures of slick rick. Great storyteller. Wears an absurd amount of gold jewelry.

[CruelDemeanor]

lol ll cool j needs to quit rapping.

indeed. He's 40 (nothing against 40+ rapping) and annoying me with those damn sears commericals. awful clothing btw.

[fameONE]

I don't normally listen to this kind of music but I wouldn't mind checking some of them out. How about Atmosphere? God Loves Ugly, Strictly Leakage, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having... they're all pretty good albums.

I've already gave Ant & Slug their mention earlier in the thread. I'm very familiar with Atmosphere and their discography makes regular appearances on my 'Recently Played' playlist. Like I said before, since this is a 'starter kit,' so to speak, I included the FELT 2 album, which features the LA emcee Murs, as well as Slug from Atmosphere.

Smart Went Crazy.

[MrElsewhere]

Nujabes got me into the whole scene of hip hop, honestly. After that, I got listening to shing02, far east movement, & magnetic north. Before nujabes, I used to listen to common, wu-tang, lupe, kanye, & eminem but never took the whole music of hip hop as seriously as I did now. Now I listen to a whole lot more & I really enjoy it. (: I also hate it when people judge hip hop before anything.. I know I used to do that but ever since my eyes opened up to hip hop, I've been way more open-minded about EVERYTHING, not just things related to music.

PS, yeah, dance with the devil is the ONLY song I really understand and like hearing from immortal. Personally, the rest of his songs just ain't what I like to hear, but they are most definitely interesting.

FM has a lot of lyrical potential from a track (Pure Poetry) I heard about 7-8 years ago on aznraps.com. I'm glad they're headway into the mainstream music, but I'd just like to see more depth come from them.

I'd throw K-os' Joyful Rebellion in the mix. His style is a fusion of a lot of different genres, so I'd think it'd help make the transition into hip-hop.

[fameONE]

I'm considering making a few more '10 album' lists.

[Tsukuyomi-No-Mok...]

I'd def. recommend some AZ, Nas, KRS-1 Rakim, Wu Tang, Nature, Mase, A Tribe called Quest

[Tramatize]

My list probably sucks in your guys' opinion because i listen to mainly underground. But whatever.
(No certain order)
1.Twiztid - Independence Day

2.Ludacris - Back For The First Time

3.Eminem - Marshall Mathers LP

4.(HeD) Planet Earth - (HeD) p.e.

5.N.W.A. - Staight Outta Compton

6.The Cool Kids - The Bake Sale

7.Eazy-E - It's On (Dr. Dre) 187^um Killa

8.Tupac - Greatest Hits

9.Cypress Hill - III: Temples Of Boom

10. Tech N9ne - Absolute Power

(Sorry for using so much space =P)

[fameONE]

^You have to take into consideration that I made this list, specifically, to introduce hiphop to people who know nothing about it. Five albums on your list are absolute classics, but the list isn't all that diverse, and for someone who knows nothing about hiphop, starting off with Tech N9ne might be too much for some people to stomach.

[Tramatize]

^You have to take into consideration that I made this list, specifically, to introduce hiphop to people who know nothing about it. Five albums on your list are absolute classics, but the list isn't all that diverse, and for someone who knows nothing about hiphop, starting off with Tech N9ne might be too much for some people to stomach.

Yeah, i see what your saying. I just put the best albums i could think of, of the bests artists i listen too.