Sputnik Music Forums - Rules, Essential Listening, Current Listening Discussion

(Scroll down for Essentials List)

The Hip-Hop forum is attempting to be a source of actual discussion of music unlike most of sputnikmusic.com's forums. If you feel out of the loop check the stickied threads as they provide more information for people just getting into the genre. Please try to keep spamming to a minimum. Granted there is going to be a lot of discussion of awesome lyrics and great beats so extended discussions are encouraged just try to keep them somewhat on focus. Otherwise feel free to post about your favorite rap artists whether it be Freddie Foxxx or Dose One.

Current Moderators: kingsoby1, pixiesfanyo, Wish

[B][U][SIZE="4"]Rules:[/SIZE][/U][/B]

1. Discussion of Illmatic and 36 Chambers is solely reserved for the "what have you been listening to lately" thread.

2. No criticizing taste. You're welcome to say you don't like something... or to discuss why you don't like something... in fact we WANT you to discuss these things. But none of this "you're a backpacker lol" or "mainstream sux" jibber-jabber. It's played.

3. We don't care about crusaders trying to tell us about "real rap" or how all good rap is dead. This is a topic that only matters to people who don't know anything about the genre and we could really care less.

[u][b]Essential Listening[/b][/u] - [i]aka, the only albums you absolutely need[/i]...

[[I]2008[/I]] Black Milk - [I]Tronic[/I]
[[I]2008[/I]] Elzhi - [I]The Preface[/I]
[[i]2007[/i]] Pharoahe Monch - [I]Desire[/I]
[[i]2007[/i]] UGK - [I]Underground Kings[/I]
[[i]2006[/i]] Clipse - [I]Hell Hath No Fury[/I]
[[i]2005[/i]] Lil Wayne - [I]Tha Carter II[/I]
[[i]2004[/i]] Kanye West - [I]College Dropout[/I]
[[i]2004[/i]] Madvillain - [I]Madvillainy[/I]
[[i]2004[/i]] MF Doom - [I]MM.. Food[/I]
[[i]2003[/i]] Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf - [I]Big Shots[/I]
[[i]2002[/i]] Blackalicious - [I]Blazing Arrow[/I]
[[i]2001[/i]] Jay-Z - [I]The Blueprint[/I]
[[i]2001[/i]] Cannibal Ox - [I]The Cold Vein[/I]
[[i]2000[/i]] Deltron 3030 - [I]Deltron 3030[/I]
[[i]2000[/i]] Ghostface Killah - [I]Supreme Clientele[/I]
[[i]2000[/i]] Quasimoto - [I]The Unseen[/I]
[[i]1999[/i]] Mos Def - [I]Black on Both Sides[/I]
[[i]1999[/i]] The Roots - [I]Things Fall Apart[/I]
[[i]1999[/i]] Pharoahe Monch - [I]Internal Affairs[/I]
[[i]1998[/i]] Black Star - [I]Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star[/I]
[[i]1998[/i]] Outkast - [I]Aquemini[/I]

[b]Honorable Mention[/b] - [i]Stuff people liked, but not absolute genre necessities[/i]...

[i][2008][/i] Guilty Simpson - [I]Ode to the Ghetto[/I]
[i][2008][/i] Prolyphic and Reanimator - [I]The Ugly Truth[/I]
[i][2007][/i] Blue Sky Black Death & Hell Razah - [I]Razah's Ladder[/I]
[i][2007][/i] CunninLynguists - [I]Dirty Acres[/I]
[i][2007][/i] Dälek - [I]Abandoned Language[/I]
[i][2007][/i] El-P - [I]I'll Sleep When You're Dead[/I]
[i][2006][/i] Ghostface Killah - [I]Fishscale[/I]
[i][2006][/i] Lupe Fiasco - [I]Food and Liquor[/I]
[i][2006][/i] T.I. - [I]King[/I]
[i][2006][/i] The Roots - [I]Game Theory[/I]
[i][2005][/i] Common - [I]Be[/I]
[i][2005][/i] CunninLynguists - [I]A Piece of Strange[/I]
[i][2005][/i] Edan - [I]Beauty and the Beat[/I]
[i][2004][/i] Masta Ace - [I] A Long Hot Summer[/I]
[i][2003][/i] 50 Cent - [I]Get Rich or Die Tryin'[/I]
[i][2003][/i] Brother Ali - [I]Shadows on the Sun[/I]
[i][2003][/i] Dizzee Rascal - [I]Boy in da Corner[/I]
[i][2003][/i] Immortal Technique - [I]Revolutionary, Vol. 2[/I]
[i][2003][/i] INI - [I]Center of Attention[/I]
[i][2003][/i] Jay-Z - [I]The Black Album[/I]
[i][2003][/i] Jaylib - [I]Champion Sound[/I]
[i][2003][/i] Ludacris - [I]Chicken and Beer[/I]
[i][2003][/i] Outkast - [I]Speakerboxx / The Love Below[/I]
[i][2003][/i] Viktor Vaughn - [I]Vaudeville Villain[/I]
[i][2002][/i] Atmosphere - [I]God Loves Ugly[/I]
[i][2002][/i] Count Bass D - [I]Dwight Spitz[/I]
[i][2002][/i] El-P - [I]Fantastic Damage[/I]
[i][2002][/i] Scarface - [I]The Fix[/I]
[i][2002][/i] The Streets - [I]Original Pirate Material[/I]
[i][2001][/i] cLOUDDEAD - [I]cLOUDDEAD[/I]
[i][2001][/i] J Live - [I]The Best Part[/I]
[i][2001][/i] Nas - [I]Stillmatic[/I]
[i][2000][/i] Common - [I]Like Water for Chocolate[/I]
[i][2000][/i] Dead Prez - [I]Let's Get Free[/I]
[i][2000][/i] Eminem - [I]The Marshall Mathers LP[/I]
[i][2000][/i] Outkast - [I]Stankonia[/I]
[i][2000][/i] Reflection Eternal (Talib Kweli and Hi Tek) - [I]Train of Thought[/I]
[i][1999][/i] Dr. Dre - [I]2001[/I]
[i][1999][/i] MF Doom - [I]Operation: Doomsday[/I]
[i][1998][/i] Big Pun - [I]Capital Punishment[/I]
[i][1998][/i] Devin the Dude - [I]The Dude[/I]
[i][1998][/i] Gang Starr - [I]Moment of Truth[/I]
[i][1998][/i] Lauryn Hill - [I]The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill[/I]
[i][1998][/i] The Coup - [I]Steal This Album[/I]

The old "essentials" list. Credits go to Eliminator and Apocalyptic Raids:

[size=1][B][U]East Coast[/U][/B]
Gang Starr - [i]Step in the Arena[/i]
Jeru The Damaja - [i]The Sun Rises In The East[/i]
Jeru The Damaja - [i]Wrath of The Math[/i]
Big L - [i]Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous[/i]
Big L - [i]The Big Picture[/i]
Ultramagnetic MCs - [I]Critical Beatdown[/I]
Beastie Boys - [I]Paul's Boutique[/I]
Public Enemy - [I]It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back[/I]
Eric B. & Rakim - [I]Paid in Full[/I]
Slick Rick - [I]The Great Adventures of Slick Rick[/I]
EPMD - [I]Strictly Business[/I]
Run DMC - [I]Raising Hell[/I]
Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force - [I]Planet Rock: The Album[/I]
Boogie Down Productions - [I]Criminal Minded[/I]
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five - [I]The Message[/I]
Mantronix - [I]The Album[/I]
LL Cool J - [I]Radio[/I]s
De La Soul - [I]3 Feet High and Rising[/I]
Wu-Tang Clan - [I]Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)[/I]
A Tribe Called Quest - [I]The Low-End Theory[/I]
The Notorious B.I.G. - [I]Ready to Die[/I]
Gang Starr - [I]Daily Operation[/I]
Mobb Deep - [I]The Infamous[/I]
Genius/GZA - [I]Liquid Swords[/I]
Raekwon - [I]Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...[/I]
DJ Shadow - [I]Endtroducing...[/I]
Black Moon - [I]Enta Da Stage[/I]
KRS-One - [I]Return of the Boom Bap[/I]
Diamond D - [I]Stunts, Blunts and Hip-Hop[/I]
Black Star - [I]Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star[/I]
Dr. Octagon - [I]Dr. Octagonecologyst[/I]
Ghostface Killah - [I]Ironman[/I]
Organized Konfusion - [I]Stress: The Extinction Agenda[/I]
Jay-Z - [I]Reasonable Doubt[/I]
Mos Def - [I]Black on Both Sides[/I]
Guru - [I]Jazzmatazz[/I]
Brand Nubian - [I]One for All[/I]
Nas - [i]Illmatic[/i]

[B][U]West Coast[/U][/B]
Charizma & Peanut Butter Wolf - [i]Big Shots[/i]
Quasimoto - [i]The Unseen[/i]
Blackalicious - [i]Blazing Arrow[/i]
NWA - [I]Straight Outta Compton[/I]
Dr. Dre - [I]The Chronic[/I]
Ice Cube - [I]AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted[/I]
Snoop Dogg- [I]Doggystyle[/I]
Pharcyde - [I]Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde[/I]
Deltron 3030 - [i]Deltron 3030[/i]
Too $hort - [i]Cocktails[/i]

[B][U]Midwest[/U][/B]
Eminem - [i]The Marshall Mathers LP[/i]
Common - [I]Resurrection[/I]
Slum Village - [i]Fantastic Vol. 2[/i]
JayDee - [i]Donuts[/i]
Kanye West - [i]College Dropout[/i]
Proof - [i]Searching for Jerry Garcia[/i]
Binary Star - [i]Masters of the Universe[/i]
Brother Ali - [i]The Undisputed Truth [/i]
Bronze Nazareth - [i]The Great Migration[/i]
[B][U]
South[/U][/B]
UGK - [i]Ridin' Dirty[/i]
Dead Prez - [i]Let's Get Free[/i]
Dead Prez - [i]Revolutionary But Gangsta[/i]
Scarface - [i]The Diary[/i]
Outkast - [I]Aquemini[/I]
T.I. - [i]Trap Muzik[/i]
Devin the Dude - [i]The Dude[/i]
Clipse - [i]Hell Hath No Fury[/i]
CunninLynguists - [i]A Piece of Strange[/i]
Count Bass D - [i]Dwight Spitz[/i][/size]

[quote='Avirov']In a desperate attempt to expand my limited horizons, I'm slowly worming my way into the world of hip hop. Right now I'm liking El-P and Massive Attack, and would like to hear more.

So I was hoping you all could suggest the undisputed absolute best best hip hop albums.[/quote]