Runny-Ray's 40 Most Essential Hip-Hop Albums Of All-Time

[mobbinfms]

whats ur beef with these?

and who would you replace them with?

My beef is that they aren't good enough to be included in a list of the 40 most essential hip hop albums.
I can understand if you put quality on the back burner to emphasize impact. There's an argument that if you're gonna tell the story of hip hop No Limit and Cash Money gotta figure in their somewhere. But if you're keeping lower quality inclusions, how do you justify excluding 50, Nelly, Ja, Eminem? Or to go even further back, Puff, Mase or even Hammer? What about Wayne? Or even Drake?

If you're argument for Jeezy is that he paved the way for what's popular now, then he should be shot in the back of the head. Not put on this list.

The Lox is the best album out of those four. By a lot. But not good enough for this list (or to be called a classic). And not hardly the impact or influence you are giving it.

 

[mobbinfms]

I'm actually not mad at this list

Neither I am. All in all it's a good list.

 

[JuvenileHell]

so i should have put "ready to die" on there instead of "life after death"?

its no point in having both.

You're right...hm...I think LAD should stay on there.

 

[Homeboy Runny-Ray]

My beef is that they aren't good enough to be included in a list of the 40 most essential hip hop albums.
I can understand if you put quality on the back burner to emphasize impact. There's an argument that if you're gonna tell the story of hip hop No Limit and Cash Money gotta figure in their somewhere. But if you're keeping lower quality inclusions, how do you justify excluding 50, Nelly, Ja, Eminem? Or to go even further back, Puff, Mase or even Hammer? What about Wayne? Or even Drake?

If you're argument for Jeezy is that he paved the way for what's popular now, then he should be shot in the back of the head. Not put on this list.

The Lox is the best album out of those four. By a lot. But not good enough for this list (or to be called a classic). And not hardly the impact or influence you are giving it.

not exactly putting quality on the backburner. its a mixture of both.

regardless of that, 400 degreez and ghetto d are not lower quality inclusions dog. those are legit classics.

jeezy was a non-classic inclusion. his impact & influence more than made up for it tho.........but lol @ the "he needs to be shot in the back" comment.

lox is the same as jeezy. both hood classics but not classic-classics(for the lack of a better term), with the lox album being a bit better. but how can you dispute the impact & influence of that lox album? the lox birthed the vast majority of east coast rappers that followed them, to this very day.

 

[DaveyDave]

I'm just not a fan of The Lox and Swizz Beats even less so I don't agree with that but I can't think of a replacement at this time of morning

 

[Homeboy Runny-Ray]

I'm just not a fan of The Lox and Swizz Beats even less so I don't agree with that but I can't think of a replacement at this time of morning

its not about being a fan.

im not a fan of alot of people on my list.

 

[DaveyDave]

I

its not about being a fan.

im not a fan of alot of people on my list.

I don't see the Lox being essential to anything. Nothing would change if they weren't around. Other artists have better and more essential mixtapes. I would put Diplomatic Immunity before I put any Lox album

 

[OnlyInCalifornia]

Not a bad list. Mine would be different....but then it would be mine

 

[Homeboy Runny-Ray]

I

I don't see the Lox being essential to anything. Nothing would change if they weren't around. Other artists have better and more essential mixtapes. I would put Diplomatic Immunity before I put any Lox album

diplomatic immunity is better but certainly not as impactful & influential. dipset would most likely tell you that themselves.

hell, alot of the roster at diplomat records was influenced by the lox.
dam near the whole state property, re-up gang, you name it.

theyre the main influence over whats been happening on the east coast stylistically for the past 16 years and counting.

if the lox werent around, chit would be entirely different up top.

 

[mobbinfms]

Don't see how Makaveli is an essential or LOX or DMX tbh. Like you can talk about hip hop history without mentioning those albums.

I would be fine with leaving Makaveli off. As long as there was a PAC album on there. And I think for an essential list, All Eyez is a better choice. People forget that Makaveli was initially thought to be a disappointment.

There shouldn't be two PAC albums either.

I'm find with X on. I'd be fine with him off.

I wouldn't have minded seeing Pun on there.

 

[mobbinfms]

Makaveli came out at the peak of the fukkery surrounding Tupac. Not to mention that Pac went at

Nas
Jay z
Mobb Deep
Big
Hatian Jack

and others on that album. And if I remember correctly it came out after Pac died? How is it not a landmark album?

All Eyes on name was the album that was out when all the fukkery was going on.
Makaveli was a posthumous album as you noted. The beef was dead at that point.
Plus All Eyes was so dominant for so long.

 

[mobbinfms]

@ the bolded, i agree. and i believe that you saw my original top 25 list, and none of these albums were on it. in fact, these were prolly amongst the last 5 that made the cut.......which poses the question, sure youre correct with the bolded, but could you say the same if you were told that you had to mention a minimum of 40 albums?

makaveli is the essential soundtrack to the hottest topic in rap history. now that i think about it, i actually took its importance for granted when i was making this list. it shouldve prolly been on that original top 25.

edit: @juvenile hell just beat me to the punch on that makaveli response.

i just explained the lox pick in my previous post. and i dont see how you can gloss over that album unless youre ignoring the east coast after '99.

you cant talk hip-hop history without DMX.

I think All Eyes is the essential soundtrack.
What classic album was birthed by We are the streets?
And sure you can leave X out - depends on how deep the convo goes. If someone asked me to rattle off the essential rappers or albums - X wouldn't come to mind.

 

[mobbinfms]

I don't care about that fukkery , how you gonna have Makaveli but no Ready to Die?

RTD was the better and more influential album too.

 

[mobbinfms]

so i should have put "ready to die" on there instead of "life after death"?

its no point in having both.

If PAC gets two - you gotta go two for big too. And RTD is probably the best out of the 4.

 

[Homeboy Runny-Ray]

I would be fine with leaving Makaveli off. As long as there was a PAC album on there. And I think for an essential list, All Eyez is a better choice. People forget that Makaveli was initially thought to be a disappointment.

There shouldn't be two PAC albums either.

I'm find with X on. I'd be fine with him off.

I wouldn't have minded seeing Pun on there.

i dont recall any dissappointment with makaveli. i remember that chit being more raw and hard as nails. pause. thats his best album. but yea, i was hesitant to put it up there because i tried to stay away from listing him twice. i had no choice but to list run dmc twice.

big pun? nah. not even a contender. no classics. his impact wasnt all that great. and his whole style came from kool g rap, who is listed.