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Which Rap era stands as the best?


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Great albums from both periods (many listed by the O.P.) but The Fugees' The Score ('95) is the only one I'd have on my top 20 desert island discs, so I have to go with the later period. But I'm just a white kid from the suburbs.

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93-97 has what I consider to be handsdown the best hip hop record of all time in Illmatic. That probably gives it the edge, though 88-92 had some amazing stuff that was more socially conscious and arguably more important. I just think the music itself was better in the latter period.

 

Plus Illmatic is so far above every other hip hop album that even if that was the only record released in those 4 years, I might still give it to that period.

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Plus Illmatic is so far above every other hip hop album that even if that was the only record released in those 4 years

 

oooohhh.. that's a tough call for me over Notorious BIG's - Life After Death (1997) and Scarface - The Diary (1994)

 

This is TOUGH... I've written 3 responses to far, and I've deleted each one. It should almost be done by sub genres. Social Awareness, Gangsta, East, West. Crap. I can't decide. I'll have to go to the #1 defining moment of hip hop..... "Opposites Attract" by Paula Abdul and MC Skat Kat. Which was what year? 1988. 1988-1992 wins!

 

I'd probably say 88-92 would do it for me based on these albums:

Public Enemy - Apocolypse 91... The Enemy Strikes Black (remember "By The Time I Get To Arizona" being banned on MTV?)

Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (set the standard for sampling)

Dre - The Chronic (the end of old school in my eyes)

LL Cool J - Momma Said Knock You Out

NWA - Ni**az4life (hmmm for some reason I always associate this album with playing "Talking Joe Montana Football" on Sega)

Geto Boyz - We Can't Be Stopped

Too Short - Short Dogs In The House

 

I loved those albums

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barely, December of 92. i'd actually lump it in w/ 93-97.

 

illmatic is killer, but i don't see how it could fit the bill of greatest of all time. respectfully.

 

Of course, what the hell do I know about hip hop, I'm a white/peurto rican who lives in a gated community in Pembroke Pines, Florida.

 

My top 5 hip hops albums:

 

1. Nas- Illmatic

2. Beastie Boys- Paul's Boutique (Every damn song is a classic)

 

after that, it gets really cloudy, but I get the feeling the Grey Album by Danger Mouse might be on there, so, again, what the hell do I know?

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Of course, what the hell do I know about hip hop, I'm a white/peurto rican who lives in a gated community in Pembroke Pines, Florida.

 

My top 5 hip hops albums:

 

1. Nas- Illmatic

2. Beastie Boys- Paul's Boutique (Every damn song is a classic)

 

after that, it gets really cloudy, but I get the feeling the Grey Album by Danger Mouse might be on there, so, again, what the hell do I know?

 

Well, you named three of the good ones.

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I want to put Late Registration in my top 5, but I seem to be the only person who considers that a classic. I credit that album with getting me back into hip hop when I started believing that nothing good was coming out of the genre. Thanks to that album, I started listening to alot more hip hop, and I discovered guys like Common and Lupe, plus I went back and discovered Illmatic and Reasonable Doubt and a whole slew of other records that he references in that one.

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I think it is interesting that Tribe is one of the few bands that crosses the eras effectively. Low End Theory (88-92) and Midnight Marauders (93-97).

 

I also remember thinking at the time that they changed quite a bit between those two albums. Phife took a much larger role, Q-tip's rhymes were harder, etc. The production definitely was kicked up a notch. So they saw the world changing and kept up with it.

 

And for me, De La Soul died with De La Soul is Dead. That was their last great album. They didnt make the leap across the great divide.

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illmatic is killer, but i don't see how it could fit the bill of greatest of all time. respectfully.

 

Not that I trust music critics...but Illmatic is often refered to as the greatest rap record ever.

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Yeah, but ATCQ gets lucky with that dating. They made just about 100% nothing after Marauders.

 

I suppose that's fair. But I thought Marauders was a genuine effort to evolve and keep up with where rap was headed, and for the most part, they did that. They just blew their wad and couldn't do it after that.

 

I also prefer Low End Theory, which is why I am in the 88-92 era, in large part.

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