Hip hop heads?

Today is your lucky day my friend.

The following album is widely considered to be the greatest hip hop album of all time

Nas - Illmatic

But, I will suggest some hip hop songs that I feel would more appeal to those not familiar with the genre

Atmosphere - Yesterday. I'd recommend sitting down and reading the lyrics whilst listening.

Sage Francis - The Best of Times

The Fugees - Fu Gee La

And for some songs by UK based artists

Rhyme Asylum - Poison Penmanship

Jehst - The return of the drifter

Braintax - Don't drag me in

You may hate it, but it's always worth a try :)

Let me know how you get on!
 
I enjoyed some hip hop from the late '80s to mid '90s, but lost interest in any new output by the end of the '90s. The following albums remain in my collection, and I still consider them to be excellent:

Tricks Of The Shade - The Goats
OG Original Gangster - Ice T
Sleeping With The Enemy, Guerrilla Funk - Paris
The Low End Theory - A Tribe Called Quest
Doggystyle- Snoop Dogg
It Takes A Thief - Coolio
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) - Wu-Tang Clan
Jazzmatazz - Guru
Paul's Boutique - Beastie Boys
 
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Haha I was going to post "any of Nas' early work' but you beat me to it.

Love a bit of Common if that still qualifies and Wu Tang. Also Last Emperor and the Beatnutz from my basketball years.
 
Both Slug and Ant are criminally underrated. When Life Gives you Lemons is my favourite Atmosphere album, but Slug is very rarely off form.

Who are your favourites?

I hadn't heard any of their stuff in about 10 years or something, then gave Lucy Ford & Sad Clown a listen to in the last few days. I forgot how superb Slug's rhymes are. Agree about Ant's production, Brother Ali's Shadows on the Sun is an album he produces aside from Atmosphere I really liked.

When it comes to other hiphop albums of recent times, the only new album I have really spent a lot of time listening to over the last year or so is Aesop Rock's Impossible Kid. Which isn't out of disinterest of the genre, more out of not really being able to discover any new releases/artists. Recommend me some albums if you can!

My classics include
Ultramagnetic MC's - Critical Beatdown
Dr Octagon
Cannibal Ox - Cold Vein
EL-P Fantastic Damage
Wu Tang - 36 Chambers
Madvillain
Deep Puddle Dynamics
Big Daddy Kane - Long Live the Kane

Maybe some others as well that I have forgotten about!
 
I hadn't heard any of their stuff in about 10 years or something, then gave Lucy Ford & Sad Clown a listen to in the last few days. I forgot how superb Slug's rhymes are. Agree about Ant's production, Brother Ali's Shadows on the Sun is an album he produces aside from Atmosphere I really liked.

When it comes to other hiphop albums of recent times, the only new album I have really spent a lot of time listening to over the last year or so is Aesop Rock's Impossible Kid. Which isn't out of disinterest of the genre, more out of not really being able to discover any new releases/artists. Recommend me some albums if you can!

My classics include
Ultramagnetic MC's - Critical Beatdown
Dr Octagon
Cannibal Ox - Cold Vein
EL-P Fantastic Damage
Wu Tang - 36 Chambers
Madvillain
Deep Puddle Dynamics
Big Daddy Kane - Long Live the Kane

Maybe some others as well that I have forgotten about!

That's a rather impressive list! I also really liked Impossible Kid.

As you've got Cannibal Ox there I'd recommend:

Company Flow - Funcrusher Plus
Binary Star - Masters of the Universe

And I'm gonna try and base the rest off of your list above
From the US:

Blu & Exile - Below the Heavens
Little Brother - The Listening
Nujabes - Modal Soul (Nujabes is my favourite producer ever)
Screwball - Screwball Classics
Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
Ghostface Killah - Ironman
7L & Esoteric - Dangerous Connections
Eyedea & Abilities - First Born
Grieves - Together/ Apart

And some newer US releases

Skyzoo - Peddler Thomas
Reks - Rhytmatic Eternal King Supreme
Kendrick Lamar - Good kid MAAD city
Ka - Iron Works
Finale - A Pipe Dream and a Promise
J Cole - Friday Night Lights

That should have at least a couple you like :)

Failing that, here are my favourite UK hip hop albums of all time

Jehst - Return of the drifter (Greatest UK hiphop album ever)
Skinnyman - Council Estate of Mind
Braintax - Biro Funk
Rhyme Asylum - State of Lunacy OR their second album Solitary Confinement (Genuinely, any track by them will have you sold)
Klashnekoff - The Sagas

Sorry it took me a while to respond. Hopefully there's enough there to keep you busy for a while :)

Daniel
 
That's a rather impressive list! I also really liked Impossible Kid.

As you've got Cannibal Ox there I'd recommend:

Company Flow - Funcrusher Plus
Binary Star - Masters of the Universe

And I'm gonna try and base the rest off of your list above
From the US:

Blu & Exile - Below the Heavens
Little Brother - The Listening
Nujabes - Modal Soul (Nujabes is my favourite producer ever)
Screwball - Screwball Classics
Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx
Ghostface Killah - Ironman
7L & Esoteric - Dangerous Connections
Eyedea & Abilities - First Born
Grieves - Together/ Apart

And some newer US releases

Skyzoo - Peddler Thomas
Reks - Rhytmatic Eternal King Supreme
Kendrick Lamar - Good kid MAAD city
Ka - Iron Works
Finale - A Pipe Dream and a Promise
J Cole - Friday Night Lights

That should have at least a couple you like :)

Failing that, here are my favourite UK hip hop albums of all time

Jehst - Return of the drifter (Greatest UK hiphop album ever)
Skinnyman - Council Estate of Mind
Braintax - Biro Funk
Rhyme Asylum - State of Lunacy OR their second album Solitary Confinement (Genuinely, any track by them will have you sold)
Klashnekoff - The Sagas

Sorry it took me a while to respond. Hopefully there's enough there to keep you busy for a while :)

Daniel

NW for the late reply Daniel, just having a quick look at the albums you recommended it looks like a superb list.

Funcrusher Plus is one of my all time favourite albums - the one I forgot off my initial list!

Some of the things I am familiar with but haven't heard in years (GFK, Cuban Linx, First Born, 7L) which I'll definitely revisit and a lot of things I am unfamiliar with, BTW, the early Wu Tang era for solo albums really was a golden era - everything RZA seemed to touch turned to gold.

The top 3 of the UK hiphop albums are all ones I have great memories of as my mates used to play tunes from them when we used to DJ parties together (a very long time ago!), again ones I haven't heard in years and I'll check out them again.

I'll check all the others out out in due course - thanks again for the recommendations!
 
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I don't know that much hip hop, but I'd like to listen to more.

I was getting more into UK grime in the last couple of years, which is a bit different but similar.

I recommend Ghetts (aka Ghetto) and Riko Dan.

Ghetto - Buss 1

Wen - Play Your Corner ft. Riko Dan (Walton remix)
 
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