Meccapolis Top 100 NY Hip Hop Albums List (Full List In OP)

[Don Jesus]

IWW had great beat selection.

You giving so much credit to this white lady is laughable, she did what A and Rs are supposed to do, she was no executive producer on the album though. Many of the producers on the album already had relationships with young Nas, i think three were from Queens one from QB himself.

Nas followed up Illmatic with another album in your top 20 list, so i don't know what you mean by beat selection went downhill, when he made another classic two years later.

My total argument is too vast for this forum. You’re right in some points but I disagree with others. We at Meccapolis probably will eventually make a post explaining our entire reason

Another thing is Most people saying Illmatic should be number one don’t understand the importance of the albums above it. Especially Low End Theory.

The Nas praise is cool until it comes at the other cost of other equally important legends. Dr Dre said Low End Theory inspired the Chronic

 

[WIA20XX]

The Nas praise is cool until it comes at the other cost of other equally important legends. Dr Dre said Low End Theory inspired the Chronic

This is a Ny Hip Hop list. Not a general Hip Hop list. You named 4 producers who are not from NYC. What they was influenced by is irrelevant to the list

 

[Budda]

My total argument is too vast for this forum. You’re right in some points but I disagree with others. We at Meccapolis probably will eventually make a post explaining our entire reason

Another thing is Most people saying Illmatic should be number one don’t understand the importance of the albums above it. Especially Low End Theory.

The Nas praise is cool until it comes at the other cost of other equally important legends. Dr Dre said Low End Theory inspired the Chronic

Low End Theory could be above Illmatic definitely, its how you want to judge it, some albums cause paradigm shifts sonically and some do lyrically. I think Illmatic caused people to rap different, Q tip caused people to produce different, thats really the difference.

The thing about Illmatic though is it has that same producer who help influenced the Chronic, production wise and lyrically it was almost perfect, i don't see the same consistency in Infamous as good as it was, Infamous had a few all time great beats, some of the best in rap history, but all round Illmatic was more diverse you've got It Aint Hard to Tell then Memory Lane on one album, Infamous had a few beats which sound like the other.

 

[Don Jesus]

@WIA20XX ok bet. the Chronic is irrelevant. That being said Low End Theory perfected jazz hip hop. And set its standard. Which impacted the chemistry of nyc hip hop.

Dj premier was the actual first dude to make a jazz hip hop record in 1989 with “Jazz Thing” but Q Tip is the one who perfected it.

The people who are nut hugging Illmatic this hard either don’t know this or are under appreciating it. What would Illmatic be without the jazz samples it had ?

 

[PatCake]

The aren't 62 Hip Hop albums better than Liquid Swords, let alone in New York

 

[Budda]

Nonsensical critiques.

You think so why?

I mean its only a critique when comparing it to Illmatic, i'm not saying it isn't a top 10 rap album of time, i'm just saying the difference between a 4.5 mic and 5 mic, lies there, Illmatic lyrically does laps around Infamous, and production wise i think Infamous has the one most influential and best produced song in rap(Shook Ones Pt 2) but all round it isn't as consistent

Right back at you takes from World is Yours, but which sounds more timeless? And world is yours sounds further away from It Aint Hard to Tell and Memory Lane, the different producers equates to more diversity even within the same sound.

 

[Budda]

@WIA20XX ok bet. the Chronic is irrelevant. That being said Low End Theory perfected jazz hip hop. And set its standard. Which impacted the chemistry of nyc hip hop.

Dj premier was the actual first dude to make a jazz hip hop record in 1989 with “Jazz Thing” but Q Tip is the one who perfected it.

The people who are nut hugging Illmatic this hard either don’t know this or are under appreciating it. What would Illmatic be without the jazz samples it had ?

Q Tip is on Illmatic, and so is Dj Premier.

 

[Ziggiy]

Low End Theory could be above Illmatic definitely, its how you want to judge it, some albums cause paradigm shifts sonically and some do lyrically. I think Illmatic caused people to rap different, Q tip caused people to produce different, thats really the difference.

The thing about Illmatic though is it has that same producer who help influenced the Chronic, production wise and lyrically it was almost perfect, i don't see the same consistency in Infamous as good as it was, Infamous had a few all time great beats, some of the best in rap history, but all round Illmatic was more diverse you've got It Aint Hard to Tell then Memory Lane on one album, Infamous had a few beats which sound like the other.

Its not even an argument about Illmatic causing a paradigm shift lyrically, its a FACT. Everyone from Tupac to Jay-Z to Kanye West to Kendrick Lamar has spoken on the influence Illmatic had on them lyrically. Illmatic had artists like Common, GZA and PRODIGY going back to the drawing board and switching up their styles. They’ve all said it out of their own mouths.

Any argument that The Infamous is more influential than Illmatic is fundamentally flawed. NOBODY of artistic repute within the culture has ever claimed this. It would be like saying Rhythm Nation is more influential than Thriller. Ridiculous

 

[Don Jesus]

Q Tip is on Illmatic, and so is Dj Premier.

What does that have to do with my point

A Low End Theory is either just as impactful or more impactful than Illmatic. Thats where I’m standing. Furthermore only one of those albums were immediately received as a classic when it came out

 

[Budda]

What does that have to do with my point

A Low End Theory is either just as impactful or more impactful than Illmatic. Thats where I’m standing. Furthermore only one of those albums were immediately received as a classic when it came out

Ok so why isn't in the top 3?

Remember Low End Theory came out 3 years before Illmatic, only, but which one gets brought up more in 2024, which one was getting brought up more in 2014? Low End Theory could be as influential amongst the savants, but i would argue generally as a combination of everything Illmatic may be more influential 30 years on.

And Illmatic wasn't immediately received as a classic, is that what you're saying, really?

 

[Don Jesus]

Its not even an argument about Illmatic causing a paradigm shift lyrically, its a FACT. Everyone from Tupac to Jay-Z to Kanye West to Kendrick Lamar has spoken on the influence Illmatic had on them lyrically. Illmatic had artists like Common, GZA and PRODIGY going back to the drawing board and switching up their styles. They’ve all said it out of their own mouths.

Any argument that The Infamous is more influential than Illmatic is fundamentally flawed. NOBODY of artistic repute within the culture has ever claimed this. It would be like saying Rhythm Nation is more influential than Thriller. Ridiculous

Eh, the 50 Cents, Griseldas, Roc Marcianos etc are more Prodigy than Nas. Most of Nas sons are the backpack nikkas yall call corny like Blu, Fashawn, J Cole, etc

 

[Budda]

Eh, the 50 Cents, Griseldas, Roc Marcianos etc are more Prodigy than Nas. Most of Nas sons are the backpack nikkas yall call corny like Blu, Fashawn, J Cole, etc

50 Cent not really.

 

[FreshAIG]

So? He spent more than a decade in living Brooklyn when shyt was real in BK. He contributed heavy to NY Hip Hop.

I just don't consider Guru a NY rapper. East coast rapper, yes, but not NY. He didn't even move to NY til he graduated from college.

 

[Mike Wins]

@WIA20XX ok bet. the Chronic is irrelevant. That being said Low End Theory perfected jazz hip hop. And set its standard. Which impacted the chemistry of nyc hip hop.

Dj premier was the actual first dude to make a jazz hip hop record in 1989 with “Jazz Thing” but Q Tip is the one who perfected it.

The people who are nut hugging Illmatic this hard either don’t know this or are under appreciating it. What would Illmatic be without the jazz samples it had ?

But you see how this can be circular, right?

Because there's plenty albums Cuban Linx, LAD and Infamous don't exist without, but you still got them up top. There's a lot of albums above Great Adventures that don't exist without Great Adventures.

Illmatic wouldn't be number one on my list either, but it seem like you applying different standards to Illmatic than the others to justify keeping it lower like you can argue Cuban Linx over Illmatic strictly on overall product, can't say that about all the others.

 

[Ed MOTHERFUCKING G]

Full list

Can anyone say that hand on heart that they heard all 100 these albums from start to finish at least once? I counted around 80 that I can recall hearing, which I thought was quite high. - However, that Mase joint being so high was perhaps the biggest surprise.

start to finish once:

1. True meaning
2. monkey barz
3. Internal affairs
4. ryde or die vol 1
5. word life
6. by all means nessecery
7. bacdafucup
8. when disaster strikes
9. SDE
10. Kiss the game goodbye
11. Tical
12. KRS-One
13. ill nana
14. meet the woo 2
15. wu-tang forever [easily the most underrated / low rated album on this entire list]
16. Come home with me
17. Long Live ASAP
18. Stakes is high
19. gangsta and a gentleman
20. enta da stage
21. the sun rises in the east
22. follow the leader
23. king of rock
24. DI
25. Uptown Saturday night
26. daily operation
27. bigger and deffer
28. dah shinin
29. vol 1
30. the realness
31. mecca and the soul brother
32. we are the streets
33. murda muzik
34. doe or die
35. purple haze
36. FOMF BOMB
37. hardcore
38. black starr
39. ironman
40. the coming
41. Mr. Smith
42. HNIC
43. Strictly business
44. no way out
45. hard to earn
46. run-dmc
47. fear of a black planet
48. the black album
49. black on both sides
50. stillmatic
51. harlem world
52. The war report
53. Radio
54. capital punishment
55. midnight marauders
56. raising hell
57. supreme clientele
58. criminal minded
59. momma said knock you out
60. 3 feet and rising

and to save typing, all of the top 16, so 76/100