TOP 20 HIP-HOP ALBUMS [14-10] January 14, 2011

Continuing our journey to the #1 Hip-Hop album of All-Time, we bring you our rankings for #14-10. In case you missed the previous article containing #20-15 you can click the link for a re-cap: TOP 20 HIP-HOP ALBUMS [20-15]
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1 4. Eric B. & Rakim – Paid In Full

Paid in Full was released during the period in hip hop the became known as the golden age hip hop era. Rakim’s rapping set a blueprint for future rappers and helped secure East Coast hip hop’s reputation for innovative lyrical technique. Author William Cobb stated in To the Break of Dawn that his rapping had “stepped outside” of the preceding era of old school hip hop and that while the vocabulary and lyrical dexterity of newer rappers had improved, it was “nowhere near what Rakim introduced to the genre”. The New York Times’ Dimitri Ehrlich, who described the album as “an artistic and commercial benchmark”, credited Rakim for helping “give birth to a musical genre” and leading “a quiet musical revolution, introducing a soft-spoken rapping style”.Allmusic’s Steve Huey declared Paid in Full one hip hop’s most influential albums and “essential listening” for those interested in the genre’s “basic musical foundations”. MTV ranked it at number one in “The Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time”, stating it raised the standards of hip hop “both sonically and poetically” and described it as “captivating, profound, innovative and instantly influential”. While many rappers developed their technique through improvisation, Rakim was one of the first to demonstrate advantages of a writerly style, as with for instance his pioneering use of internal rhyme.Unlike previous rappers such as LL Cool J and Run-D.M.C. who delivered their vocals with high energy, Rakim employed a relaxed, stoic delivery.

13. The D.O.C. – No One Can Do It Better

Let’s Take It Back To 89!!! Without The D.O.C, there is no N.W.A. The Texas native became one of the most prolific ghostwriters in hip hop, helping write classic tracks on albums such as Straight Outta Compton & The Chronic. In 1989, The D.O.C. got his shot in the spotlight with his classic debut No One Can Do It Better. With Dr. Dre behind the boards, The D.O.C. shined with a lyrical prowess unlike any member of N.W.A. (even Ice Cube).Though he rocked a west-coast uniform (Black L.A. Kings Hat, Black Shades), his style was quite different. Unlike NWA most of his songs did not contain references to guns, drugs or violence and the production were influenced and sampled from funk artists such as Marvin Gaye, Parliament & Funkadelic. While is this is often over-looked, I stand by my opinion that do this day The D.O.C. remains the greatest rapper Dr. Dre has discovered. Tracy Curry looked poised to become an all-time great before an unfortunate car accident damaged his vocal chords.

12. Makaveli – The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory

By far one of the most controversial albums in the history of Hip-Hop. Though it contains just 12 tracks, I challenge you to find another Hip-Hop album that generated not only an incredible buzz but also conspiracy theories at the same time.  Everyone knew 2Pac was unpredictable but no one saw this coming. The album’s sleeve contains the text, “Exit 2Pac, Enter Makaveli”, referring to Shakur’s alternate stage name and throughout the album there are frequent allusions to the number seven. One example is the introduction to the track “Blasphemy”, in which a distorted voice discusses the concept of the savior returning, before concluding, ‘if the Lord doesn’t return in the coming seven days, we’ll see you next time.’ On “Bomb First”, which serves as the album’s introduction, seven shots are heard on the track. The first six are fired during Shakur’s speech and the seventh as he begins to rap the verse, therefore literally marking the demise of 2Pac and the renaissance as Makaveli, which happens to be the first word following the shot. Makaveli’s style of rapping is still emotional, but is intensified throughout this album. Some songs on the album contain both subtle and direct insults to Shakur’s rivals at the height of the East Coast-West Coast feud. Rappers insulted by Shakur include The Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy, Mobb Deep, Nas, De La Soul, Jay-Z & Dr. Dre. In 2005, MTV.com ranked The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory at #9 on their greatest hip hop album of all time list and, in 2006, recognized it as a classic. The emotion and anger showcased on the album has been admired by a large part of the hip-hop community, including other rappers. The album peaked at number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and the Billboard 200.

11.Outkast SouthernPlayalistiCadillacmuzik

Bottom-line, Southern Hip-Hop begins and ends with this album. Longing for respect, southern Hip-Hop was often over-looked in the golden era until came to the rescue. Many southern artists attempted to knock on the door for respect during that time and no one seemed to answer. Well  that door was blown open by SouthernPlayalistiCadillacmuzik. As such, the record marked a coming out for a region that would dominate Hip-Hop by the turn of the century. Full of Southern slang, old-school rap’s attention to mundane topics, the album is surprisingly deep for a then-teenage duo’s 1st try. The album was not only artistically successful but also thrived commercially, leaping into the Top 20 album chart on the back of the outstanding hit single “Player’s Ball” and eventually going platinum.

10. Ice Cube – Death Certificate

1991…Used Jeans, and Cross Colors pants with African medallions along with chicks rocking “dookie braids” were apart of the Hip-Hop uniform and MC Hammer was still dominating the Hip-Hop charts. A few cats such as myself took a cassette tape with a picture of Uncle Sam toe-tagged on the cover and popped it in the deck. For me by the end of the tape, my outlook on Hip-Hop had changed greatly. One thing that needs to be known, while making Death Certificate Ice Cube was affiliated with the Nation of Islam, which had a large impact on the majority of the album’s content. Death Certificate was roughly organized as two thematic elements of a larger whole, and opens with Cube’s explanation: “The Death Side: a mirror image of where we are today; The Life Side: a vision of where we need to go.” The first half, therefore, is replete with the tales of drug dealing, whore-mongering and violence expected of a gangsta rap album in 1991. The second half provided somewhat of a synthesis between that genre and the type of prescriptive messages more often found from artists wholly divorced from the gangsta image. Check the album’s resume:

• Ranked #8 in MTV’s Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time list in 2005
• Included in The Source’s 100 Best Rap Albums list in 1998
• Ranked #17 in The Source’s The Critic’s Top 100 Black Music Album’s of All Time list in 2006
• Ranked #13 in About.com’s 100 Greatest Hip-Hip Albums list in 2008
• Ranked #5 in Ego Trip’s Hip Hop’s 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980-98 list in 1999
• Ranked #20 in Dance De Lux’s 25 Best Hip-Hop Records list in 2001
• Ranked #16 in The Village Voice’s Best Albums of the Year list in 1991
• Ranked #37 in New Music Express’s Best Albums of the Year list in 1991
• Included in Vibe’s 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century in 1999
• Included in Rhapsody’s (online music service) list of the top “coke rap” albums of all time in 2010

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