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Beastie’s Reissue Prompts My Top 10 Rap Albums Of The Past 20 yrs

By Kris McKusick | March 16, 2009

In the spirit of the 20th anniversary reissue of The Beastie Boys classic “Paul’s Boutique” (and High Fidelity), I bring to you the ten greatest rap albums of the past twenty years.

10) Outkast “Aquemini” (1998): For one memorable summer Andre 3000 and Big Boi ruled all of hip hop. “Rosa Parks” made sitting in the back of the bus the hippest thing ever - as if riding the bus itself wasn’t hip enough.

9) Eminem “The Marshall Mathers LP” (2000): This album perfectly sums up my attitude toward hip-hop (and sports). I love this album and I hate this album and I hate that I love this album, but man do I love this album!

8) Beastie Boys “Paul’s Boutique” (1989): I know what you’re thinking: A white rapper followed by a trio of white rappers…The Beastie Boys lived up to Chuck D’s claim that hip hop was a sampling sport (with aplomb) - this was a veritable sampling Olympics. Listen over and over again as the Dust Brothers sample everything from “Superfly” to “Welcome Back Kotter.”

7) Jay Z “The Blueprint” (2001): All Jay Z had to do was record this album and we’d be convinced of his greatness. He did two better; 1995’s “Reasonable Doubt” and 2003’s “The Black Album” cement his legacy as the best rapper ever.

6) Ice Cube “Death Certificate” (1991): Bemoan all you want the blatantly racist lyrics and excessive misogyny, Ice Cube never sounded better than he did on this uneven, yet essential, gangsta rap classic.

5) Kanye West “The College Dropout” (2004): An extremely talented artist from the Windy City at his virtuosic best. Hip Hop has yet to sound better than this in the 00’s.

4) A Tribe Called Quest “The Low End Theory” (1991): Who would’ve thought hip hop and jazz could fuse so seamlessly. Q-Tip flows like butter over popcorn on this avant-garde hip hop classic. Funny thing is, they made even better songs on 1993’s “Midnight Marauders” but Theory was their most complete and effective album.

3) The Notorious B.I.G. “Ready to Die” (1994): See number 9

2) (Tie) Gang Starr “Hard to Earn” (1994), Wu-Tang Clan “Enter the Wu-Tang 36 Chambers” (1993): These two albums recorded a year apart illustrate the promise of East Coast hip hop. Sadly, it would never sound better but Gang Starr’s DJ Premier and Wu-Tang’s RZA remain two of hip-hop’s most innovative producers. Not to mention, the various Wu-Tang solo albums are a showcase for RZA’s unique production. Chef’s “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx” (1995) and GZA’s “Liquid Swords” (1995) are prime examples.

1) Dr. Dre “The Chronic” (1992). Yep, I said it; hip-hop never sounded better than Snoop Dogg’s smooth sing along-like flow over Dre’s P Funk derived beats. 17 years later the production is still the best ever; it’s literally the only gangsta rap album you MUST own. Ice Cube and N.W.A put the West Coast on the map and Dre took it a step farther (with a little help from Snoop). A true masterpiece if there ever was one.

And that, my friends, puts a stamp on the ten greatest rap albums of the past twenty years.

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“Renaissance” Man

By Kris McKusick | November 19, 2008

Q-tip’s second solo effort to be released on a major label (his 2002 effort was shelved because of label difficulties), is aptly titled “The Renaissance.” It is, indeed, a rebirth of sorts for this legendary rap artist who hails from Queens, NY and doesn’t go by the initials LL.

Q-tip is one of the more important emcees of modern times, lead rapper for the legendary A Tribe Called Quest, who disbanded in 1998. Q-tip released a solo album the year following Tribe’s breakup called “Amplified;” it was largely dismissed by critics who bemoaned the album’s sheer pop sensibilities. Q-tip’s massive club hit, “Vivrant Thing” was the album’s first single. Hard to believe its been a decade since “Vivrant Thing,” but it has.

So flash forward ten full years and we get “The Renaissance.” It’s the kind of album LL Cool J wishes he could make and, probably, wishes it would have come in the prime of his career.

“The Renaissance” fits nicely next to Tribe’s 3 90’s masterworks, “People’s Instinctive Travels…”, “Low End Theory,” and “Midnight Marauders.” Q-tip is in top form rapping over a fusion of jazz and up tempo funk (sometimes all in one track); the highlight of the album is Good Thang, which features the barebones approach that made early hip hop great.

Here it is just Q-tip, some keyboards and an electric guitar riff, combining to make hip hop heaven. The duet with Norah Jones, “Life is Better,” is equally great and makes one wonder ‘what if?’ these two got together for an entire album…oh, the possibilities. “The Renaissance” leaves one yearning for more.

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