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The 17 Best Hip Hop Albums Ever Recorded Pt. 1
The nerve of some people! Who in the bombaclot really thinks they can list the best hip hop albums ever? That is a near impossibility! Furthermore, What kind of random ass number is 17!? Firstly, Me dammit, that’s who! Secondly, every list doesn’t have to be a nice even number. You ever thought about that? Rather than question my hip hop prowess, you should continue reading to find out if you even meet the criteria to partake in my lavish list of lyrical legends.
You may only continue reading if;
- You were born between 1960 and 1990. Seriously. What’s some 19-year-old really gonna tell me about how he felt the first time he heard Low End Theory? In other words, you truly had to be there to appreciate the historical relevance of these albums. Feel free however to tell your older brother about this (some sensitive 18 year old just logged off and told his mommy on me)
- You wore over-sized jeans, Tims, or a giant team jersey at some point in your hip-hop life
- You cried when either Biggie or Tupac got killed
- You cried when Macklemore won best Grammy over Kendrick Lamar
So… have all the kiddies logged off yet? You! Over there hiding in the Connecticut Muffin! Yeah, I see you with your tight jeans and ridiculous hipster beard! Get off this website! Now where was I? Oh yeah. If you have met the above qualifications, allow me to unleash upon you…
The 17 Best Hip Hop Albums Ever Recorded…Because I Said So! (ECHO… Echo…echo…)
If I even need to go into detail as to why Illmatic is on this list then you need to burn all your hip hop 
albums right now and recuse yourself from all further judgment. With one of the most anticipated releases in hip hop thanks to references about assaulting Jesus, Nas changed the entire direction of hip hop with Illmatic, lyrically, sonically and every other “ically” you can think of.
The culmination of flow and lyrical complexity was something we (fans) didn’t even realize was missing until we heard it. From Life’s a Bitch to One Love and everything else in between (and the 3 after it), Illmatic completely elevated the baseline for what would be acceptable going forward. I could go into further detail or you could just watch the awesome documentary (trailer below) all about it.
When you know you just know. The first time I ever heard Reasonable Doubt, I think it may have taken me a month (minimum) just to get past the 3rd track. I suffered from an awesome condition known as “Holy shit! That last song was bananas and I need to hear it 35 more times in a row (Brooklyn’s Finest anyone!?)” Every single track was nuts! Strategically placed features like Mary J. Blige (Can’t Knock the Hustle), Biggie (Brooklyn’s Finest), and Nas (at least in sample form on Dead Presidents) couldn’t have been executed any better. Even the skits were legendary (Friend Or Foe?)Forever the consummate taste maker (who was even thinking about platinum and Cristal back then), Jay was at his slickest, sickest and although some argue his best, none dispute Reasonable Doubt being a necessity for every road trip, BBQ and party immediately after it’s release. I mean Hov held it down for 10 summers… Where’s the love? Can he Live (ok, enough with the puns already?)
Honorable Mention: Blueprint 2
Although most believe Ready to Die was Biggie’s Magnum Opus, for me, Life After Death was without 
a doubt the definition of what it means to have “arrived.”. Big sounded really comfortable on his sophmore effort and as anyone can tell you, you perform quite differently when you’re comfortable. From the skits to the subliminal messages (Big waved 44’s and took shots at several prominent rappers) to the ease in which he hopped in and out of flows (Notorious Thugs), to what was I consider the greatest story ever told (Niggas Bleed), this Hitmen produced masterpiece left nothing to be desired. There’s a reason why a guy who died 17 year ago and only released 2 albums in such a competitive genre is still considered to be the G.O.A.T. The only negative that came from Life after Death were the amount of failed double album attempts by other rappers that succeeded it.
You ever hear a song that made you want to slap your momma? You ever heard an album that made you
want to punch your grandma in the face just for living (Prodigy made me do it?) Focused mainly on street life and the consequences thereof, The Infamous simultaneously provided many a cautionary tale as well as the score for any assault, domestic or otherwise. Never mind classics like Shook Ones and an Eye for an Eye (Nas and Raekwon show up and take it to a whole other level), the other contributions were equally noteworthy and instant classics as well (Temperature’s Rising, Survival of the Fittest, Drink Away the Pain, etc…) These half jazzy / mostly somber but grimy tracks sounded like what ATCQ might have produced had they grown up on the wrong side of the tracks. One thing was clear after The Infamous; You better go hard or go home from the cradle to the grave ‘cause ain’t no such thing as half way crooks.
Hard to believe it’s been 10 plus years since the inaugural voyage of Kanye the conflicted, the aspiring Louis Vuitton 
Don (The bible and the bullet?) Each track from College Dropout rang out like hollow points of honesty fired against the bulletproof braggadocio of hip hop’s modern day persona. 
Mr. West valiantly challenged all societal status quos from religion to republicans. From songs like Jesus Walks and All Falls Down to skits containing concessions made on the road to success (introspective Jay Z it is), College Dropout plays like a candid narrative of internal struggles that neglected to remain internal. Apparently the priest was wearing a wire in the confession / recording booth and Kanye spoke right through it.
Honorable Mention: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
The Chronic emerged at a point where the East Coast had hip hop in a figure four leg lock. Basically, if you weren’t from NY, you probably didn’t stand a chance. Dre however did not give a Chuck Taylor about the East Coast and may be single handedly (with the assistance of Cube and N.W.A of course) responsible for the emergence and maintenance of the West Coast hip hop scene. Hip hop fans were used to tracks, not musical compositions. In addition to the funkadelic sonic mind f*ck, The Chronic made Non Cali residents want to live (but also cautioned that if you were a black male, you were more likely to die) in LA. Freezers filled with Fortys not withstanding, once the chronic made its way across state lines, every day was clearly Dre Day (at least in my CD player) for many months afterward.
Honorable Mention: Chronic 2001
Honorable Mention 2: Detox, The Legend Of: The greatest album never released
Hip-hop purists have been on the fence about Drake for a while now (and still may be.) The hybrid singer / rapper is sometimes 
seen as a hybrid and not a pure emcee for his propensity to do both. The lack of a destitute upbringing is also held against Drake (crabs in a barrel much?) In a genre where lower middle class conditions and a lack of economic opportunity are oft the backdrop for most artists, the fact that a former child actor started from the “bottom” and his bottom just happens to be better than some people’s “top” didn’t sit too well either. Be that as it may, the album is hot son so stop hatin!
Thank Me Later has as much lyrical prowess as anyone could ask for. With classics like Karaoke, Over and Fancy, notable quotables (“Hit redial and you’ll see that I just called some chick I met at the mall that I barely know at all”), things that make you go hmmmm (“How young can you die of old age?”), and tracks by this generation of hit makers (Boi 1da, Kanye, etc…) Take Care was as comprehensive and entertaining as any other album on this list.
As for those purists, they are the first to complain about shitty hooks and a lack of varying subject matter (although party and gangsta rap are the pillars of hip hop) but quick to turn their noses up at anything that remotely appears different. Go figure.
Honorable Mention: Take Care
“Uncle Ricky, can you tell us a bedtime story?” Boy did Uncle Ricky ever tell us a story! This was to be expected however for Slick Rick had 
been regaling us with marvelous tales since he was fresh and dressed like a million bucks. One of the most dynamic rappers ever to grace a microphone, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick served as the last conduit between the old and new eras of hip hop. Trace amounts of Children’s Story, Mona Lisa, Hey Young World and multiple Ricky D raps can still be found (and forever will be) in today’s modern music. From the sublime (Don’t disrespect your mummy) to the utterly ridiculous (talking vaginas that yawn from overuse), Slick Rick made any and every subject matter originally considered taboo engaging, amusing and borderline unoffensive (Lick the Balls anyone?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V47Hp7EyhHg
That’s it for now! Tune in next week for the rest of ……
The 17 Best Hip Hop Albums Ever Recorded…Because I Said So! (ECHO… Echo…echo…)
Coming Next Week in Part 2!
- Low End Theory – Tribe Called Quest
- Doggystyle – Snoop Dogg
- Good Kid Maad City – Kendrick Lamar
- Get Rich or Die Trying – 50 Cent
- 36 Chambers – Wu Tang
- Only Built for Cuban Links – RaeKwon
- Me Against the World (Disc 1) Tupac Shakur
- The Score – Fugees
- Aquemini – Outkast
Almost every year for the past 6 years and on the same day, I’ve posted the same pic of me in the hospital during my temporary and untimely demise in 2015. A few weeks after I was back to “normal”, I asked Eric “Why’d you take the pics?” And he said, “I knew you would want to write about it if you lived.” Eric was right. Eric was often right and Eric always had my best interest at heart. I am going to miss my friend.
You ever meet someone and become friends immediately?! Well this was not the case with Eric. Before he was my manager at Morgan Stanley, I would often see this 6’4″, giant white guy walk up to the only black woman at work, say something then walk away without any hint of human emotion. Naturally I thought he was a jerk until I asked her “Yo, is that dude bothering you?” She laughed and proceeded to tell me he was a great person, which I ultimately got to experience first hand. Little did I know this Italian from Staten Island was more Brooklyn than most Brooklynites.
Eric was not with the shits!! If there were ever someone who lived their life in direct, honest and no uncertain terms, that would be Eric. He would ask me questions at work like “Why are the other consultants making more money than you?” I knew the answer to that question and so did he. Eric then proceeded to increase my salary by 15K. After arguing with all our managers that “You need to hire Alfred!”, they eventually did 1 year prior to the 2015 incident. In the hospital, one of my friends asked me, “What if you didn’t have health insurance when this happened?” I would be in debt for the rest of my life is the obvious answer. I still am in debt for the rest of my life but at least, it is to those who made sure I had a more enjoyable life and for that, I will gladly repay.
My mom loved to tell me the story of how she met Eric. After they told her I was going to be in the ICU for some time, she told the doctor “Well I’m not going anywhere.” She then hears a voice from that back of the room that says “Well I’m not going anywhere either!” That was Eric and in true form, he was at that hospital every single day until I was discharged.
Eric passed away in December 2021 of stage 4 cancer. After feeling faint on his way to my bbq, he went to get checked out and was diagnosed. During the past 5 years, Eric lost his mom, twin brother and dad. I can’t even begin to imagine what that must have felt like but I’m glad that pain he was feeling is no more.
From being my manager to my business partner, writer, book editor, artistic director, and most importantly, my friend, I am going to miss you MC Krispy E a.k.a “Enrique Pollazo!” And although you told me Enrique means Henry in Spanish and not Eric, it was too late!
Sidebar. The day I was discharged, while everyone was deciding what was best for me, no one had remembered that I would need clothes in order to leave the hospital. Eric shows up (unasked) with all the clothes I had on the day I coded, laundered and ready to go. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve friends like this but i need to keep doing it! Sidebar complete.
Rest in Peace Eric. “Be Good.”
I had the distinct pleasure of participating in a panel discussion on writing your first book, presented by the Harlem chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Alongside Jim St. Germain, Author – A Stone of Hope: A Memoir and Dr. Keneshia Nicole Grant, Author – The Great Migration and the Democratic Party: Black Voters and the Realignment of American Politics in the 20th Century. We opined on pain points, benefits and strategies regarding our inaugural voyages into authorship. Feel free to watch for your self and I hope this provides some insight to all those looking to make the same voyage. Enjoy!
