Tag Archives: 1989

50 Years of Hip Hop Album Review: No One Can Do It Better, AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted

5 Replies

Last year was the 50th anniversary of hip hop, and in honor of this anniversary, the idea bloomed in my mind that I should review the top 50 albums of that 50 years. As I crunched together a list from various sources, 50 proved to be too restrictive- many of the classics were getting squeezed out. So, to make a little more room, I opted for 100 albums, two for each of hip hop’s 50 years.

For its formative years, hip hop was a live entertainment form, with the first recorded singles not emerging until 1979, and the first albums in 1980. So my review will cover 1980-2023, with 50 posts of two albums each. The only ground rule I made for myself (besides looking for 2×50, aka 100, albums that were widely well-regarded) was that I had to have at least one from each year. As you’ll see by and by, some years get multiple albums, but since we have 100 spots for 43 years, it tends to all work out.

*June 2024 addendum: Due to some medical situations, I took a three+ month hiatus from blogging. It’s unlikely I’ll finish this series this year. But I’m back at it, and I won’t mind extending into 2025 if you don’t!*

And with that, let’s embark on our next installment!

The D.O.C, No One Can Do It Better (1989)– This sounds to me like an encapsulation of 80s hip hop- it’s replete with the breaks, turntabilism, and hard rock samples of the new school, and the soul and funk samples and swing of new jack. It also exemplifies the hard-hitting gangsta rap sound of the eighties as it was turning to the G-funk gangster sound of the nineties, but with a substantive heft more reminiscent of Public Enemy. My initial impression on this is backed up by subsequent research- Tracy Lynn Curry, a.k.a. The DOC, came out of Houston’s Southern hip-hop scene, but became a collaborator with N.W.A. and even contributed lyrics to their debut album. They returned the favor here, Dr. Dre producing this album, multiple N.W.A. members contributing to various tracks, and Eazy-E putting it out on his fledgling record label. For good measure, one of the closing tracks of the album, “The Formula” is even credited as being the first G-funk single. Shortly after release, The D.O.C. would join Dre in becoming one of the co-founders of Death Row Records. All in all, a solid album that feels like the eighties turning into the nineties.

Ice Cube, AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted (1990)- I think it’s no accident that this installment of the blog is feeling all kinds of liminal. With this album, we have a double milestone- it’s our 34th review, meaning we’ve now made it past one third through, and it’s the first album on the list from the nineties. After Ice Cube split from N.W.A. and their record label amidst various financial disputes, he worked with lyrics from Dr. Dre’s cousin Sir Jinx and production from Public Enemy’s Bomb Squad to make this solo debut. The album feels like it puts together the best of all these worlds- Ice Cube’s hard-hitting delivery, the humor of Southern California gangsta rap, the densely layered production of Public Enemy, and both N.W.A.’s and Public Enemy’s versions of social and political commentary. It also brings along Ice Cube’s considerable misogyny and revelry in scenes of violence. But it sounds consistently powerful and high quality, and dives full-force into its mission of rubbing America’s face in everything about rap in general and Ice Cube in particular that made it uncomfortable. That’s not a bad way for the genre to kick off the nineties!

If you’re curious about the sources I used to compile my list, you can check them out here:

And if you want to catch up on the previous installments, here they are…

  1. Sugarhill Gang- Sugarhill Gang (1980)/Kurtis Blow- Kurtis Blow (1980)
  2. Sugarhill Gang- 8th Wonder (1981)/Grandmaster Flash- The Message (1982)
  3. Wild Style Original Soundtrack (1983)/Fat Boys- Fat Boys (1984)
  4. Kurtis Blow- Ego Trip (1984)/Run-D.M.C.- Run-D.M.C. (1984)
  5. Whodini- Escape (1985)/The Treacherous Three- The Treacherous Three (1985)
  6. Run-D.M.C.- King of Rock (1985)/LL Cool J- Radio (1985)
  7. Beastie Boys- Licensed to Ill (1986)/Run-D.M.C.- Raising Hell (1986)
  8. Boogie Down Productions- Criminal Minded (1987)/Eric B. & Rakim- Paid in Full (1987)
  9. LL Cool J- Bigger and Deffer (1987)/Big Daddy Kane- Long Live the Kane (1988)
  10. Boogie Down Productions- By All Means Necessary (1988)/EPMD- Strictly Business (1988)
  11. Eric B. & Rakim- Follow the Leader (1988)/Jungle Brothers- Straight Out the Jungle (1988)
  12. N.W.A- Straight Outta Compton (1988)/Public Enemy- It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back (1988)
  13. Slick Rick- The Great Adventures of Slick Rick (1988)/Ultramagnetic MCs- Critical Beatdown (1988)
  14. Beastie Boys- Paul’s Boutique (1989)/Big Daddy Kane- It’s a Big Daddy Thing (1989)
  15. De La Soul- 3 Feet High and Rising (1989)/EPMD- Unfinished Business (1989)
  16. Geto Boys- Grip It! On That Other Level (1989)/Kool G Rap & DJ Polo- Road To The Riches (1989)

Finally, if you’d like a playlist for the entire list, you can find that here. Listen to it sequentially for the historical development of the genre, or play on shuffle for maximum historical scramble!

50 Years of Hip Hop Album Review: Grip It! On That Other Level, Road To The Riches

6 Replies

Last year was the 50th anniversary of hip hop, and in honor of this anniversary, the idea bloomed in my mind that I should review the top 50 albums of that 50 years. As I crunched together a list from various sources, 50 proved to be too restrictive- many of the classics were getting squeezed out. So, to make a little more room, I opted for 100 albums, two for each of hip hop’s 50 years.

For its formative years, hip hop was a live entertainment form, with the first recorded singles not emerging until 1979, and the first albums in 1980. So my review will cover 1980-2023, with 50 posts of two albums each. The only ground rule I made for myself (besides looking for 2×50, aka 100, albums that were widely well-regarded) was that I had to have at least one from each year. As you’ll see by and by, some years get multiple albums, but since we have 100 spots for 43 years, it tends to all work out.

*June 2024 addendum: Due to some medical situations, I took a three+ month hiatus from blogging. It’s unlikely I’ll finish this series this year. But I’m back at it, and I won’t mind extending into 2025 if you don’t!*

And with that, let’s embark on our next installment!

Geto Boys, Grip It! On That Other Level (1989)– My initial impression is that this album sounds like somebody put N.W.A., Public Enemy, and the 2 Live Crew in a blender. And I don’t mean that in a bad way! The best of all those groups is here- the driving force, g-funk groove, uncompromising politics, street narratives, and over the top raunchy sexuality. Another thing that’s notable is that this Houston group is the first Southern hip hop to make our list, and indeed one can already hear the distinctive dirty beats of the region. The sampling is varied and great as well, with soul, funk and 70s rock all being well-represented. One does get the sense that the different approaches here are fronted by different members though, and there’s a kind of incoherence of the sound as a result. On further research, this impression turns out to be correct- the CEO of Rap-a-Lot records was disappointed with the group’s debut album, and dismissed several members, while adding two local artists with solo aspirations (Scarface and Willie D) to the roster for their second album. I also found the extreme misogyny and graphic violence of some of the songs really hard to stomach. Sometimes it’s clearly tongue in cheek, but sometimes not so much. Nevertheless, the album/group influenced many future hip hop artists, and is often credited as the origin of the horrorcore sub-genre.

Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, Road To The Riches (1989)- This Queens duo got their start as part of Marley Marl’s Juice Crew, and he produced this debut album by them as well. The opening track already features several of the notable features of this album- peak eighties heavy beats and scratching, swinging background samples, and rapid-fire delivery of its tales of crime and big success. While still feeling very much of the eighties, the album seems to anticipate the directions, musically and lyrically, that rap would take in the nineties. And indeed that is the reputation that landed it on this list. The opening track “Road to the Riches” is considered an influence on nineties gangster rap while another track “Men At Work” has been cited by the Roots as the track that got them started, and the album’s track “Poison” even got sampled by Bel Biv Devoe, which gives you some idea of the range on influence. I found it to be a solid listen that still holds up as a signpost of one era about to turn to another.

If you’re curious about the sources I used to compile my list, you can check them out here:

And if you want to catch up on the previous installments, here they are…

  1. Sugarhill Gang- Sugarhill Gang (1980)/Kurtis Blow- Kurtis Blow (1980)
  2. Sugarhill Gang- 8th Wonder (1981)/Grandmaster Flash- The Message (1982)
  3. Wild Style Original Soundtrack (1983)/Fat Boys- Fat Boys (1984)
  4. Kurtis Blow- Ego Trip (1984)/Run-D.M.C.- Run-D.M.C. (1984)
  5. Whodini- Escape (1985)/The Treacherous Three- The Treacherous Three (1985)
  6. Run-D.M.C.- King of Rock (1985)/LL Cool J- Radio (1985)
  7. Beastie Boys- Licensed to Ill (1986)/Run-D.M.C.- Raising Hell (1986)
  8. Boogie Down Productions- Criminal Minded (1987)/Eric B. & Rakim- Paid in Full (1987)
  9. LL Cool J- Bigger and Deffer (1987)/Big Daddy Kane- Long Live the Kane (1988)
  10. Boogie Down Productions- By All Means Necessary (1988)/EPMD- Strictly Business (1988)
  11. Eric B. & Rakim- Follow the Leader (1988)/Jungle Brothers- Straight Out the Jungle (1988)
  12. N.W.A- Straight Outta Compton (1988)/Public Enemy- It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back (1988)
  13. Slick Rick- The Great Adventures of Slick Rick (1988)/Ultramagnetic MCs- Critical Beatdown (1988)
  14. Beastie Boys- Paul’s Boutique (1989)/Big Daddy Kane- It’s a Big Daddy Thing (1989)
  15. De La Soul- 3 Feet High and Rising (1989)/EPMD- Unfinished Business (1989)

Finally, if you’d like a playlist for the entire list, you can find that here. Listen to it sequentially for the historical development of the genre, or play on shuffle for maximum historical scramble!

50 Years of Hip Hop Album Review: 3 Feet High and Rising, Unfinished Business

7 Replies

Last year was the 50th anniversary of hip hop, and in honor of this anniversary, the idea bloomed in my mind that I should review the top 50 albums of that 50 years. As I crunched together a list from various sources, 50 proved to be too restrictive- many of the classics were getting squeezed out. So, to make a little more room, I opted for 100 albums, two for each of hip hop’s 50 years.

For its formative years, hip hop was a live entertainment form, with the first recorded singles not emerging until 1979, and the first albums in 1980. So my review will cover 1980-2023, with 50 posts of two albums each. The only ground rule I made for myself (besides looking for 2×50, aka 100, albums that were widely well-regarded) was that I had to have at least one from each year. As you’ll see by and by, some years get multiple albums, but since we have 100 spots for 43 years, it tends to all work out.

*June 2024 addendum: Due to some medical situations, I took a three+ month hiatus from blogging. It’s unlikely I’ll finish this series this year. But I’m back at it, and I won’t mind extending into 2025 if you don’t!*

And with that, let’s embark on our next installment!

De La Soul, 3 Feet High and Rising (1989)– Boogie Down Productions and Jungle Brothers may have gotten there first, but this album is the beginning of conscious hip hop as a recognized genre. It sounded different from everything else out there at the time, and it still does today with it’s sunny and widely varied samples, psychedelic production effects, relaxed beats and flow, and overflowing themes of whimsy, anti-materialism, and counter-cultural self expression. It even has a classic psychedelic concept album wrap around theme with the game show skit structure (and began the trend of comedic skits between tracks in hip hop). It would be enough if this Long Island group and producer Prince Paul had “merely” produced a ground-breaking album regarded as hip-hop’s psychedelic masterpiece. But even better, it remains a thoroughly joyous, rewarding, and in a way timeless, listen today.

EPMD, Unfinished Business (1989)- The follow-up to the Long Island duo’s 1988 Strictly Business reminds me of their earlier album with its funk and rock samples, driving flow, and spare metallic sound. The stripped down feel is likely no accident- whereas their debut album was produced by electro-funk driving-force Kurtis Mantronik, the group self-produced this second album. If this makes it a little rougher and more slap-dash feeling than their last album, I think I actually like it better for that!

If you’re curious about the sources I used to compile my list, you can check them out here:

And if you want to catch up on the previous installments, here they are…

  1. Sugarhill Gang- Sugarhill Gang (1980)/Kurtis Blow- Kurtis Blow (1980)
  2. Sugarhill Gang- 8th Wonder (1981)/Grandmaster Flash- The Message (1982)
  3. Wild Style Original Soundtrack (1983)/Fat Boys- Fat Boys (1984)
  4. Kurtis Blow- Ego Trip (1984)/Run-D.M.C.- Run-D.M.C. (1984)
  5. Whodini- Escape (1985)/The Treacherous Three- The Treacherous Three (1985)
  6. Run-D.M.C.- King of Rock (1985)/LL Cool J- Radio (1985)
  7. Beastie Boys- Licensed to Ill (1986)/Run-D.M.C.- Raising Hell (1986)
  8. Boogie Down Productions- Criminal Minded (1987)/Eric B. & Rakim- Paid in Full (1987)
  9. LL Cool J- Bigger and Deffer (1987)/Big Daddy Kane- Long Live the Kane (1988)
  10. Boogie Down Productions- By All Means Necessary (1988)/EPMD- Strictly Business (1988)
  11. Eric B. & Rakim- Follow the Leader (1988)/Jungle Brothers- Straight Out the Jungle (1988)
  12. N.W.A- Straight Outta Compton (1988)/Public Enemy- It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold us Back (1988)
  13. Slick Rick- The Great Adventures of Slick Rick (1988)/Ultramagnetic MCs- Critical Beatdown (1988)
  14. Beastie Boys- Paul’s Boutique (1989)/Big Daddy Kane- It’s a Big Daddy Thing (1989)

Finally, if you’d like a playlist for the entire list, you can find that here. Listen to it sequentially for the historical development of the genre, or play on shuffle for maximum historical scramble!