Remy Danton
All Star
One year ago, Ambrosia For Heads launched a debate among its readers seeking to answer one of Hip-Hop’s most hotly-contested questions: who is the greatest MC of all time? “Finding The GOAT MC” lasted between September 2014 and May 2015, engaging millions of readers and ultimately producing its winner, as determined by hundreds of thousands of voters. Now, “Finding The GOAT” returns to ask a new question: what is the greatest of all time Hip-Hop album?
“Finding The GOAT Album” will consider 120 albums from three individual eras (40 in each), with options for wild card and write-in candidates. You and your vote will decide which album goes forward, and which one leaves the conversation. While there will no doubt be conversation between family and friends (virtual and real), only votes cast in the voting tool below will be counted, so use the power of your click.
In the late 1980s, Marley Marl’s House Of Hits produced two entirely different star MCs. Juice Crew teammates, Big Daddy Kane and Kool G Rap had opposing styles. Kane was polished, engaged with the audience, and often uplifting. Meanwhile, Kool G Rap was gritty, incredibly technical, and often reported on New York City’s pre-Giuliani underbelly. In their crew and in their Rap generation, these two masters of ceremony were constantly compared against each other. While they collaborated extensively in the ’80s (and still do today), they refrained from appearing on each other’s debuts. Instead, both teamed with Marley to make very differing introductory narratives. Both heralded debuts that remain frequently reissued, this apples-to-oranges debate rages on, 25 years later. Can you help settle it? Do so by voting (click one then click vote).
Long Live The Kane by Big Daddy Kane
Big Daddy Kane’s 1988 debut album Long Live The Kane is a benchmark album. The Juice Crew star combined top-shelf lyricism, uplifting substance, and Las Vegas-like showmanship, all in one place. In 10 songs, Antonio Hardy strove to prove he was the sharpest MC in Hip-Hop, while taking a very different stance than his elite peers. King Asiatic aimed to use charm and seduction just as effectively as breath control and wordplay. Kane’s debut aimed to rock your head, your body, and your consciousness as the MC shifted gears from “Raw (Remix)” into “Word To The Mother (Land),” to “I’ll Take You There.” Embracing the album format, the Cold Chillin’ Records release showed Kane’s versatility from track-to-track and feel, and also his consistency as a supreme performer.
Long Live The Kane is also one of Marley Marl’s finest hours. The Queens, New York producer supplied Brooklyn’s Kane with the arranged breaks and drums that would prove to be a touchstone in Hip-Hop ever since. Unlike Marley’s other acts, Kane timed his deliveries to perfectly hit the drums on beat in a way that made his rhymes an instrument themselves. “Ain’t No Half Steppin'” and “Word To The Mother (Land)” illustrate the point. Moreover, as Kane forecast Rap and R&B’s marriage to come, his debut acknowledged the early ’80s feel too. “Just Rhymin’ With The Biz” and “On The Bugged Tip” were the types of sparse tracks that showcased Kane’s resume as a mid-’80s freestyle-savvy battle MC. For those first accessing the rapper as a major label star, his days running around NYC bumpin’ heads and mics were completely palpable. Whether looking for bars, romance, or Black pride, Long Live The Kane is an immortal example of making a sticking introduction.
“Finding The GOAT Album” will consider 120 albums from three individual eras (40 in each), with options for wild card and write-in candidates. You and your vote will decide which album goes forward, and which one leaves the conversation. While there will no doubt be conversation between family and friends (virtual and real), only votes cast in the voting tool below will be counted, so use the power of your click.
In the late 1980s, Marley Marl’s House Of Hits produced two entirely different star MCs. Juice Crew teammates, Big Daddy Kane and Kool G Rap had opposing styles. Kane was polished, engaged with the audience, and often uplifting. Meanwhile, Kool G Rap was gritty, incredibly technical, and often reported on New York City’s pre-Giuliani underbelly. In their crew and in their Rap generation, these two masters of ceremony were constantly compared against each other. While they collaborated extensively in the ’80s (and still do today), they refrained from appearing on each other’s debuts. Instead, both teamed with Marley to make very differing introductory narratives. Both heralded debuts that remain frequently reissued, this apples-to-oranges debate rages on, 25 years later. Can you help settle it? Do so by voting (click one then click vote).
Long Live The Kane by Big Daddy Kane
Big Daddy Kane’s 1988 debut album Long Live The Kane is a benchmark album. The Juice Crew star combined top-shelf lyricism, uplifting substance, and Las Vegas-like showmanship, all in one place. In 10 songs, Antonio Hardy strove to prove he was the sharpest MC in Hip-Hop, while taking a very different stance than his elite peers. King Asiatic aimed to use charm and seduction just as effectively as breath control and wordplay. Kane’s debut aimed to rock your head, your body, and your consciousness as the MC shifted gears from “Raw (Remix)” into “Word To The Mother (Land),” to “I’ll Take You There.” Embracing the album format, the Cold Chillin’ Records release showed Kane’s versatility from track-to-track and feel, and also his consistency as a supreme performer.
Long Live The Kane is also one of Marley Marl’s finest hours. The Queens, New York producer supplied Brooklyn’s Kane with the arranged breaks and drums that would prove to be a touchstone in Hip-Hop ever since. Unlike Marley’s other acts, Kane timed his deliveries to perfectly hit the drums on beat in a way that made his rhymes an instrument themselves. “Ain’t No Half Steppin'” and “Word To The Mother (Land)” illustrate the point. Moreover, as Kane forecast Rap and R&B’s marriage to come, his debut acknowledged the early ’80s feel too. “Just Rhymin’ With The Biz” and “On The Bugged Tip” were the types of sparse tracks that showcased Kane’s resume as a mid-’80s freestyle-savvy battle MC. For those first accessing the rapper as a major label star, his days running around NYC bumpin’ heads and mics were completely palpable. Whether looking for bars, romance, or Black pride, Long Live The Kane is an immortal example of making a sticking introduction.
