New Death Cab for Cutie Album Streaming in Full at NPR!

Check out a streaming, full copy version of Death Cab for Cutie's new album, Codes and Keys on NPR.com! Click HERE for the stream!

Classic Album Review: Scarface, "The Diary"

Houston-born rapper Scarface gained notoriety early in his career as a member of the Geto Boys, along with artists Willie D and Bushwick Bill. The group was known for their explicit lyrics, many of which included misogyny, gore, psychotic experiences, and necrophilia among other controversial topics.

The group was fairly successful, even with the fact that several American politicians were attacking gangsta rap at the time, along with artists like Ice-T and the N.W.A. Through the controversy, the group continued to put out music, and even broke some new ground with their soulful southern sound.

As time went on all the members of the group started working on solo careers. While the group didn't break-up exactly, once Scarface started working on his solo material, it was clear he was meant for some bigger things than just the Geto Boys.

Scarface released two albums, "Mr. Scarface is Back" and "The World Is Yours," to strong sales, but his sophomore album didn't gain as much recognition with critics. This set the stage for his third album, and arguably his best, titled "The Diary."

Released in October of 1994, Scarface sheds away the excess of his previous album by keeping "The Diary" much shorter than the 70-minute long "The World Is Yours," which had some solid tracks (like "Now I Feel Ya") but was cluttered with mediocre work. Clocking in at a succinct 43-minutes, the album has no filler and is filled with strong tracks, especially "I Seen a Man Die," "Hand of the Dead Body," "Jesse James," "Mind Playin' Tricks '94" and "No Tears."

"Hand of the Dead Body" was the first track released from the album and features a verse from gangsta rap veteran Ice Cube as well as Devin the Dude. Scarface outshines both artists by spitting some of his best lines on this track, which centers on the government and media critics who attacked gangsta rap for its violent imagery.



Scarface brings it hard on this track as he raps: "Shot in the face by a cop, close casket / An open and shut situation/Cop gets got, the wanna blame it on my occupation/If you don't dig me, than nigga you can sue me/Because the shit that I be sayin ain't worse than no western money/Don't blame me blame your man Gotti/So you can feel the hand of the dead body."

"I Seen a Man Die" is one of the more thoughtful tracks on the album, but it's also one of the best. Scarface shows off his versatile skills as an artist by switching things up here, using a more existential and somber tone. The song is a tale of a young kid released from prison after numerous years looking for a better life only to get caught up on the crime side once again. The track goes over how he's robbed by his enemies only to die in the hospital while feeling regrets.



The track is one of the deepest on the album and you can hear how close the subject matter is to Scarface as he spits: "Imagine life at it's full peak/Then imagine lying dead in the arms of your enemy/Imagine peace on this earth when there's no grief/Imagine grief on this earth when there's no peace/Cuz everybody's got a different way of endin' it/And when your number comes for service then they send it in/Now your time has arrived for the final touch/I see the fear in your eyes and hear your final breath/How much longer will it be til it's all done?/Total darkness and ease be in all one."

Minus the interludes, there are only ten songs on this album (which is a good thing) and the understated production is fantastic with most of the production coming from N.O. Joe and Mike Dean and some from Scarface as well. "Jesse James" is one of my favorite tracks on the album, with Scarface making some connections himself to one of history's most notorious criminals. The slow beat is also intoxicating and just oozes the aura of street living.

"The Diary" is some of Scarface's best work and the album is one of the few to receive a perfect rating from both The Source Magazine and XXL, which is a pretty impressive feat in itself.

The album may be short, but what it lacks in quantity it surely makes up for in quality. It's hard to find one that's worth skipping while listening to it straight through, and that's something that is usually the exception not that standard for most rappers.

Classic Album Reivew: The Roots, "Do You Want More?!!!??!"

Throughout the years artists, critics, writers and musicians have drawn tons of comparisons between hip-hop and jazz, and no group has combined the two genres better than The Roots.

Since the group is so successful now and currently serves as Jimmy Fallon's house band on "Late Night," it's almost hard to remember that there was a time when mainstream success eluded the group.

The origins of the group began when rapper Black Thought (Tariq Trotter) and drummer Questlove (Ahmir Thompson) met and became friends at the Philadelphia High School for Creative Performing Arts in the late '80s. As the next few years went by they began to do shows around Philadelphia and New York City with bassist Leonard "Hub" Hubbard and rapper Malik B, the Roots and eventually recorded a debut album, titled "Organix."

The band produced the album independently and originally sold it at shows in Europe. The group earned itself a very loyal following and as time went on, the album earned a great deal of buzz around the industry and led to the group finally getting some studio recognition.

After releasing "From the Ground Up" EP in 1994, the group went to work on their first official studio album, which showed off how truly skilled they were at combining elements of hip-hop, jazz and live instruments. Unlike some other artists, the group didn't use the combination as a commercial gimmick, instead they fuse the two together to great a new genre in itself and a sound that is truly intoxicating.

Their first true studio album "Do You Want More???" was released in January of 1995 and was extremely well received by both fans and critics. The album is long, clocking in at over 70 minutes, but in this case quantity equals quality. From top to bottom, every track is solid, especially "Lazy Afternoon," the title track "Do You Want More?!!!??!," "Distortion to Static," "? vs. Rahzel," and "Mellow My Man."

The thing that makes the album work so well is how the group takes a completely original approach to the hip-hop genre, with their jazzy instrumentals and socially conscious lyrics. One track in which this really shines through is on "Distortion to Static," which features a provocatively smooth beat and some of the best verses on the album.



Malik B is supremely confident on the track as he raps: "Yo, I'm every MC, it's all in me/That's the way it is, when ya gotta be/Indeed as I distort I proceed, I need / Gettin hotter than sacks of boom, in my room at the Ramada/Four tanks in your memory banks to fill up/I provide the static, with scratch to match, while you catch the vibe/Most can play high post, but yo that don't mean shit/Because my click'll make a motherfucker sick."

Black Thought has one of the truly unique flows and voices in the hip-hop industry and his work on this album is one reason why it holds up so well after all these years. On the title track "Do You Want More?!!!??!," Thought takes center stage, spitting some great lines over a truly amazing beat, which uses perfectly placed Scottish bagpipes mixed in with a hard drum from Questlove.



Thought opens the track with a hard sound that hooks you in and keeps you until the track ends. He raps ferociously as he spits: "Like I'm a medical doctor, watch the damage/I inflict properly, ain't nobody risin on top of me/I be droppin more plot in my mic monopoly/Got to be, got to be reality, Stevie Wonder see/Black Thought be me, I groove ba-by/Or I clue they say baby/Would you get with this? Not even maybe."

Although it isn't exactly a conventional track, I couldn’t write this without mentioning "? vs. Rahzel," which is my one of my personal favorites from the album. While it is mainly instrumentals and a beat and doesn't feature any verses, the track is a favorite of mine because it has two of my favorite hip-hop artists showing off their skills front and center. The track features Questlove banging out the drums while Rahzel mixes in his patented beat-boxing techniques, combining for a unique sound not found on many other hip-hop albums.



The track epitomizes The Roots' jazz influences, with Rahzel's beats and Questlove's drums forming an improvisational loop of just pure music and jamming. Another track that really shows off those influences as well is "Mellow My Man," which features heavy electric piano grooves and realistic lyrics.

With their offbeat delivery and live instrumental sound, The Toots literally were like no other group out there. The group was extremely musically talented, that was clear, but they also possessed a skill at linking the experimental nature jazz with the gritty life of the streets and hip-hop. Due to its jazzy influences, "Do You Want More?!!!??!" sometimes sounds more like an album bred from old-school hip-hop rather than contemporary rap.

The group lets the music breathe throughout the album, letting tracks build as they go one and creating a funkadelic hip-hop sound that is impossible to copycat. The album was a blueprint for combining hip-hop and jazz; it emphatically put The Roots on the map, and is definitely a classic.

Classic Album Review, Mobb Deep, "The Infamous"

When the group Mobb Deep first landed on the hip-hop scene they didn't make much of an impression.

After meeting at the High School of Art and Design in New York City, group members Havoc and Prodigy started rhyming together and eventually put out their debut album "Juvenile Hell" in 1993 when they were just eighteen years old. While a couple of the tracks were successful, album sales were low and critical acclaim was sparse, leaving members the duo at a sort of crossroads.

But like many other groups and artists over the years, the duo came together for a sophomore effort that emphatically put them on the map as a force in the East Coast rap game.

Two years after releasing an album critics deemed basically meaningless to the hip-hop genre, the group released "The Infamous" to widespread acclaim and helped fuel the reemergence of East Coast rap. While the album has some great guest appearances, including from Nas, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah and Q-Tip, it's the skills of the duo themselves that makes the album influential.

"The Infamous" is filled with illustrative lyrics and gritty beats, and is easily one of hip-hops most realistic and straightforward commentaries of life on the mean streets of New York City. The whole album is filled with excellent tracks, but in my eyes "Temperature's Rising," "Survival of the Fittest," "Eye for a Eye (Your Beef Is Mines)" and "Shook Ones Pt. II" stand up above the rest.

"Shook Ones (Part II)" was the first single released from the album and was considered to be an instant classic when it came out. The track takes the viewpoint of youngsters fighting over territory in their neighborhood and the lengths they will go to make a buck. The track shows the darker side of the city they hail from and the verses are some of the best on the entire album.



Prodigy is fierce on the track as he raps: "I got you stuck off the realness, we be the infamous/you heard of us, official Queensbridge murderers/the Mobb comes equipped with warfare/beware of my crime family who got nuff shots to share/ for all of those who wanna profile and pose rock you in your face/stab your brain wit' your nosebone/you all alone in these streets, cousin/every man for theirself in this land we be gunnin'."

The chorus of the track is instantly recognizable and helps make the track one of, if not the best song released by the group.

"Survival of the Fittest" is one of my favorite tracks on the album and it has a feel and sound similar to "Shook Ones Pt. II." The track's beat is mesmerizing with its dark piano breaks and is another example of the group's exploration of gritty and realistic themes.



Prodigy is spot on again in this track and paints an illustrative picture of life on the street using some fantastic rhymes and symbolism: "There's a war goin on outside, no man is safe from/You could run but you can't hide forever/from these, streets, that we done took/You walkin witcha head down scared to look/You shook, cause ain't no such things as halfway crooks/They never around when the beef cooks in my part of town/It's similar to Vietnam/Now we all grown up and old, and beyond the cop's control/They better have the riot gear ready/Tryin to bag me and get rocked steady/by the mac one-double, I touch you."

"Temperature's Rising" is hands down one of the best tracks on the album and was the third single released off "The Infamous." The track was produced by Q-Tip and is one of the group's best examples of examining the consequences of street life. The track is interesting in itself as it takes the form of a letter to a friend who was recently locked up behind bars.



The lyrics form a story as the track unfolds as the narrator explains how he is covering up evidence of his friends' criminal behavior. As the track moves on the lyrics reveal the narrator's feelings of paranoia, fearing that the police are closing in on him. The track feels truthful and portrays the true-life reality and emotions involved in crime and its consequences.

One of the best and most illustrative verses comes in close to the end of the track: "But worse, son, you got the projects hotter than hell/Harder for brothers to get their thug on but oh, well/Son, they know too much, even the hood rat chicks/Oh, you heard who did what and why I don't this shit/So stop askin', then I know I'm not goin' crazy/From windows, I see lights flashin' and maybe/Somebody's takin' pictures, you know who that be/Police lovers and neighborhood snitches/They put up pert ice, so everybody's pointin' fingers/And lyin', aiyo son, the temp is risin."

With it's dark production and illustrative lyrics, "The Infamous" helped redefine the sound of hardcore rap and transformed Mobb Deep from virtual anonymity to a commercially and critically successful group. The album is a realistic portrait of New York City and will be remembered as one of the most influential albums to come from the East Coast rap scene.

The album is Mobb Deep's signature work and is a definitive hip-hop classic.

Drake in Talks to Join Eva Green in "Arbitage"

Back before rap star Drake catapulted himself to the top of the hip-hop industry with the release of his debut album "Thank Me Later," he was a teen actor, going by his real name Aubrey Graham and flashing his chops on the popular teen drama "Degrassi: The Next Generation." After a long run on the series, he turned to his true passion--music--and it looked like he might never look back.

Until now.

According to The Wrap, Drake might be dipping back into the acting profession and is currently circling a role in the Nicholas Jarecki ("The Informers") financial thriller "Arbitrage."

Jarecki is writing and directing the film, which according to the site, "follows a hedge fund magnate who is in over his head and desperate to complete the sale of his shady trading empire to a major bank before his fraud is revealed. However, an unexpected, bloody error forces him to turn to the most unlikely corner for help in protecting him from rivals who want to bring him down."

The cast of the film is already pretty strong, with Susan Sarandon and Eva Green ("Casino Royale") on board to play the main character's wife and art dealer mistress.

The 24-year-old artist's first studio album, "Thank Me Later," has sold over one million copies in the United States and was easily one of the best albums of 2010.

I think Drake fits in perfectly with this project, and for anyone who watched "Degrassi" back in the day, you know the man can act. While the show was overly dramatic, his character was one of the most interesting, especially after he was bound to a wheelchair after being shot. Like I said, very dramatic.

Either way this project definitely got a bit better for adding the actor-turned-rapper-turned actor again.

Shooting is scheduled for this March in New York.

Classic Album Review: Common, "Be"

As it is with many different types of people in all fields of life, sometimes an artist's biggest disappointment can lead to their biggest success.

Way back in the year 2000, Common released his fourth album "Like Water for Chocolate" and received great reviews as well as solid sales results. The recognition from the album elevated Common to a point where he was on the cusp of mainstream success and stardom. So two years later when he was set to release his next album, anticipation and expectations were very high.

In 2002 Common dropped the hotly anticipated "Electric Circus", but that mainstream success was put on a screeching hold when the album proved to be disastrous commercially. Critics praised the album, and I don't think anyone questioned how skilled Common was as a musician and rapper, but clearly something didn't work out quite right, and the album was considered a big disappointment.

Hoping to have a better outcome for his new album, Common made one of the best moves of his career when he decided to team up with fellow Chicagoan Kanye West to produce his next album. In 2005 Common released "Be" under Kanye's own label, 'GOOD Music' to stellar reviews and excellent commercial sales. The album sold over twice as many as "Electric Circus" and catapulted Common into the mainstream.

Released in May 2005, "Be" is solid and concise from top to bottom. Although there are only 11 tracks, the tight song list doesn't have a single 'skippable' track in the bunch. You literally listen to the album straight through without ever having to touch a dial. Clearly Common was inspired to make a great album, and he emphatically succeeded, crafting some truly fantastic tracks. While I feel the whole set list is excellent, "Go!", "Testify", "They Say", "The Corner", and "The Food" stand out above the rest.

"Go!", which featured John Mayer, was the most commercially successful track on the album and one of the best. Although Common at first was unsure if he wanted to bring on a non-hip-hop artist onto the track, it proved to be an extremely good move, with Mayer providing a perfect compliment to the rapper. On top of that, Kanye West's production is top notch, creating one of the catchiest beats on the entire album.



Common really has a great way with words, as proved on this verse as he raps with supreme confidence: "Freaky like the daughter of a pastor, said I was bait for her to master/Little red corvette now she was faster, wet dreams Le'maire cream the bathroom/We made love and then laughter, and anyway I wanted I could have her/Said there were some girls that did attract her, a new chapter she was after so I said let's/To a place that you wanna be, uh get what you want from her and me uh/Free love I wanna see uh, hot sex in the third degree uh/You gettin' served while servin' me uh, dirty words encourage me to/Rock steady and sturdily on, you turnin' me no turnin' back the further we."

"The Corner" is one of my favorite tracks on the album, and it very well may be one of the best. The track features Kanye West and The Last Poets and was nominated as Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group at the Grammy's that year. Detailing what life is like on the street corners of tough neighborhoods, Common sounds his most inspired, rapping seamlessly over another solid beat produced by Kanye.



Common paints a fully illustrative portrait of life on the street as he raps: " Streetlights & deepnights cats trying to eat right/Riding no seat bikes with work to feed hypes/So they can keep sweet Nikes they head & they feet right/Desires of streetlife cars & weed types / It's hard to breath nights days are thief like/The beast roam the streets the police is Greeklike/Game at it's peak we speak & believe hype/Bang in the streets hats cocked left or deep right."

One of the most fitting parts of the track is the spoken word segment by The Last Poets to close out the track, perfectly placing the idea of the 'corner' in cultural and historical context: "The corner was our Rock of Gibraltar, our Stonehenge/Our Taj Mahal, our monument/Our testimonial to freedom, to peace and to love/Down on the corner..."

"Testify" is one of the most creative an interesting tracks on the album and it also was nominated for a Grammy, this time for Best Rap Solo Performance. The track details a story about a woman who manipulates a judge and jury to find her partner guilty of a crime she committed. Common has always had the skill of telling a story through his rhymes, and this track might be the perfect example of that.



His slick rapping and passionate tone coupled with another quality produced beat by Kanye make you completely visualize the story as it's unfolding. Common builds up the story on top of the beat as each verse goes on leading to a thrilling conclusion/last verse, which is one of his best on the whole album: "The court awaited as the foreman got the verdict from the bailiff/Emotional outbursts tears and smeared makeup/He stated, he was guilty on all charges/She's shaking like she took it the hardest/A spin artist, she brought her face up laughing/That's when the prosecutor realized what happened/All that speaking her mind testifying and crying/When this bitch did the crime- the queenpin..."

While I don't think "Be" rewrote the rulebook, or was all that groundbreaking in any particular way, it's hard to argue with its quality as an overall album. Common raps as good as he has throughout his entire career, and the production from Kanye West (with a little help from J Dilla) provided the foundation for an all around solid album with some jazz and soul sounding beats.

In my opinion "Be" is Common's best work. The album is a tightly condensed yet utterly enjoyable collection of tracks that holds up many years down the line. Although not revolutionary or a game changer, the album was easily one of the best of the decade, and is surely a classic.

Classic Album Review: Big Pun, "Capital Punishment"

Like most artists, filmmakers, MC's, writers, authors and other creative talents, rapper Big Pun and his music career was greatly affected by his childhood and upbringing.

Hailing from the South Bronx, Big Punisher had a tough time growing up, witnessing drug abuse, his father leaving his family and dealing with an overbearing stepfather.

But through all this Christopher Rios, better known as Big Pun, came out stronger for it, pushing past adversity to achieve great success in the industry, although it wasn't an easy road. Throughout the 1980's and early '90's Big Pun began laying the groundwork for what was to come in the future, forming his own crew and refining his rapping skills.

The most significant moment of his early career came when he met rapper Fat Joe, who gave him his first chance to be a star, a move that paid off in ways neither of the two could have imagined. Although he passed away only two years after releasing his debut, Big Pun left a huge impact on the industry, becoming the first solo Latino rapper to have his album go platinum.

That album was the 1998 release "Capital Punishment", which was Big Pun's studio debut and the album that emphatically put him on the map. The album is filled with some amazing hardcore tracks, including "You Came Up", "I'm Not a Player", "Punish Me", "Still Not A Player" and "Beware". Although there are a bit too many skits and interludes on the album (seven), the rest of the track list outweighs that negative aspect.

"Beware" is the first full track on the album and is arguably one of Pun's best. It's a perfect way to kick start his debut, setting the tone right away with a haunting beat and a sweet Mobb Deep sample. Pun starts off with one of his best verses as he raps: "Yo...what you thought punk, shit was sweet, now you can't sleep/Gotta keep ya eyes open wide and hide ya face from the streets/I'm like the beast with a warrant, far from alarmin'/Gave you fair warnin' now you on the stairs swallin'/I'm callin' out any rapper that I doubt, smack 'em in the mouth/Throw 'em in the yoke, BOOM!, then I knock 'em out."



Many tracks on the album feature guest appearances including "You Came Up" which features Norega. The track is an excellent example of how Pun can swiftly and seamlessly change up styles, from some truly hardcore tracks on the album to this one, which has more of a laid back, R&B tone to it. Pun spits some fantastic lines on this track and references Tupac multiple times including at the edn of his firs verse when he raps: "I had to pay my due, lay a few/But I ain't saying who, stayin' true to da game/No names, playin' it cool just me and da crew/Holdin' it down long as we round/We gonna keep sockin' it to you like Homey the Clown/Going down like Pac ready to ride or die nigga/La da le la la la la la."



Two of the most well known and popular tracks on the album are "I'm Not a Player", and the remix of that track, "Still Not A Player". While "I'm Not A Player" was the first of the two to be released and is a very solid track, it's the remix that really helped Big Pun reach the top of the charts. The song is catchy and shows off Pun's lyrical skills, making himself seem arrogant yet self deprecating at the same time. In my opinion the beat is one of the best of the past couple decades, maybe even of all time. Looking back now, the beat is so recognizable paired with Big Pun's fantastic flow on the track.



Throughout each verse he spits some of his best lines, and the appearance of Joe on the track only adds to it. The two team up for one of the best choruses of all time as they spit: "I don't wanna be a player no more…I'm not a player I just fuck a lot/But Big Punisher, still got what you're lookin for/For my thug niggas, for my thug niggas/Uptown baby, uptown/Don't wanna be, don't wanna be - I don't wanna be a player no more/I'm not a player I just fuck a lot/But you know Big Punisher still down by law/Who's down to crush a lot."

Pun spits one of the best verses on the entire album on this track as he raps so smoothly: "I love from butter pecan to blackberry molass'/I don't discriminate, I regulate every shade of the (ass)/Long as you show class, and pass my test/Fat (ass and) breasts, highly intelligent bachlorettes/That's the best, I won't settle for less/I wanna ghetto brunette, with unforgettable sex/I lay your head on my chest, come feel my heartbeat/We can park the Jeep, pump Mobb Deep, and just spark the leaf."

Although I wouldn't say this album is groundbreaking in regards to style or in the evolution of the genre, one thing I would say is that it is one of the purely best produced albums of the entire decade. The beats are fantastic from top to bottom, and Pun's lyrics and flow are nearly second to none in regards to quality and delivery. Just listen to hip-hop classic "Twinz (Deep Cover '98)":



Many more of the album's cuts are considered the best tracks from the '90s without a doubt, and due to the sad fact that he passed away before his time was up, Big Pun will as well. Skits aside, this album is Big Pun's definitive album and is definitely a classic.

Classic Album Review, Busta Rhymes, “When Disaster Strikes”

Although he has been somewhat overlooked at times due to his mediocre work in the latter parts of his career, rapper Busta Rhymes has proven that he truly is one of the most intriguing and unique characters in hip-hop history.

Bursting on the scene as a solo artist in 1996, Busta rose to the status of hip-hop superstar on the strength of his debut album "The Coming", which was a huge commercial and critical success. The album peaked at number 6 on the Billboard 200 and one of the tracks was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance.

On that first album, with the help of guest starts such as Q-Tip, Redman, Charlie Brown and Keith Murray, Busta showed off his interesting rapping style and delved into a topic he would take on frequently in his career (including on his next album), the apocalypse.

With his second album "When Disaster Strikes", released a year later in the fall of 1997, Busta uses that topic as a framing device, portraying himself and everyone else in a place where the rules don't exactly apply anymore. While the theme doesn’t stick to every single track on the album, it gives the whole set list a unique vibe and made Busta's album stand apart from what was being released by other artists at the time.

The album is much longer than "The Coming", sitting at 19 tracks, many of them some of Busta's best work. While most of the tracks are excellent, "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See", "Rhymes Galore", "Get High Tonight" and "Dangerous" stand out above the rest.

"Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See" easily has one of the best beats on the album. Busta's flow is more laid back than on most of the tracks on album, which is one reason why it works so well. I have always been a big fan of the chorus, which has always stuck in my memory all these years because of how simple, yet catchy it is: "Do you really wanna party with me/Let me see just what you got for me/Put all your hands where my eyes could see/Straight buck wylin in the place to be."



On "Rhymes Galore" Busta raps with ferocity and speed, never losing track of the beat or his train of the thought. It's impressive how distinct Busta sounds, especially on this track. He brings on one of his best verses on the entire album when he raps: "Dominatin like Kings Dominion/Leanin on niggas like we on motorcycles pop a wheel-e and/A yo number one Roman numeral completing the executional shit is usual/I ain't scared of ya/Takin all of ya powafenalia/That's my words on misses Mahelia/Hope you know your best bet/Just to get the fuck out of my area."



"Dangerous" is easily the most well-known track on the album, and it might also be the best. The track was nominated from a Grammy and has Busta spitting amazing line after amazing line. The chorus is absolutely fantastic, and what makes it even more interesting is the fact that it was a slogan used in the '80s by the Long Island Regional Poison Control Council warning children of the danger of loose prescription medications.



The chorus is instantly recognizable, with Busta rapping: " This is serious/We could make you delirious/You should have a healthy fear of us/'Cause too much of us is dangerous."

I think the last verse of the track is Busta's best as he raps with seom ferocity: " Feelin the heat up in the street rockin the beat/Step up in the club, take me to my reserved seat/Comin around, all of my people surround me/So much bottles are leakin, ya'll brothers will drown me/Makin ya drunk, feelin the fun, blazin the skunk/Stay hitten with the shit that blow a hole in ya trunk/Afraid of us, you know this ain't no game to us/You strange to us that's when we gettin dangerous/Come on."

It's almost funny to look back now and hear Busta's paranoia about the apocalypse that never came (well not yet at least), but before 2000 there were a decent amount of people afraid about what could happen with 'Y2K'. Nevertheless I think Busta's point was about more than an actual apocalypse; he realized things were changing in the world, and looking back now that is definitely true.

One thing that made "When Disaster Strikes", work so well was Busta Rhymes himself. His distinct style and sarcastic yet playfully serious tone throughout the album make it one of the most interesting releases of the late 1990s. The album shined the light back on East Coast rap in the mainstream after the West Coast had been dominating for some years prior. "When Disaster Strikes" is Busta's most original work, and is definitely a classic.

Classic Album Review: Nas, "Stillmatic"

When your debut album is hailed as the savior of hip-hop and one of the greatest albums of all-time, how do you follow that up?

Nas' "Illmatic" was and still is one of the best hip-hop albums ever, and easily one of the best debut albums by any artist, but his follow-up works, "It Was Written", "I Am..." and "Nastradamus", while decent, were considered mediocre in comparison by critics to his first album.

On top of all that he and Jaz-Z had gotten into a bit of a feud, so things were getting tense within the world of Nasir Jones to say the least. It had been two years since Nas released a record, so it was an excellent time to get back into the studio.

Under these circumstances Nas got to work on a new album, "Stillmatic", and needless to say, he had a lot to fuel his fire.

Released in December 2001, the album was a huge hit with critics and fans alike, and in a way reinstated Nas at the top of the hip-hop industry. The album is stacked from top to bottom with great tracks, but "Ether", "You're Da Man", "One Mic", "Rule", and "Destroy and Rebuild", stand out above the rest.

One of the most popular tracks off the album, "Got Ur Self A…", will forever be connected with the theme song from "The Sopranos", but to me, that's not such a bad thing. "Smokin'" is a solid track as well, as is "Rewind", but the above mentioned ones are some of the best tracks of all-time."Ether", in my opinion is one of the best diss tracks of all-time. The song was a response to Jay-Z's "Takeover", a diss track towards Nas which appears on Jay-Z's album "The Blueprint", during the rapper's feud. It's clear from the name and subject matter that Nas would bring the fire on the track, and he proves it here.



You can truly hear how strongly Nas feels in his hate for Hova (at the time), as he raps: "How could Nas be garbage?/Semi-autos at your cartilage/Burner at the side of your dome, come outta my throne/I got this, locked since '9-1/I am the truest, name a rapper that I ain't influenced."

"One Mic" is one of my favorite tracks on the album, and I think it's one of Nas's best from his lengthy career. The emotion he performs it with, the beat, the lyrical content, all combine to make just an all around fantastic track.



The track samples the Phil Collins song "In the Air Tonight", and the way Nas flows on through the lyrics, from slow to fast, soft to hard, pull you in close and shows how personal the track is to Nas. It's him and the mic. The chorus of the track is simple and still is one of the best ever.

His last verse though is what I think makes this track legendary. Nas is an absolute force as he raps his last verse with some passion: " [starting loud this time, getting quieter] All I need is one life/One try/One breath I'm one man/What I stand for itself/ They don't understand/Or wanna see me on top, too egotistical/Talkin all that slick shit, the same way these bitches do…". I was compelled to throw up the whole verse here because it's so good, but it's decently long as well. Nevertheless, it's fantastic.

Perhaps the reason I am biased in my liking of "You're Da Man" is because one of my college roommates played the song so often, but besides that, I still think it's one of Nas's best tracks.



It's an introspective look at the man, and Nas does a great job of talking about himself, his success and his career without being cocky. He's egotistical but not a snob, and looks over what it takes to stay at the top of the game.

Always one to be aware of his standing, Nas delves into what it takes to stay alive in the industry: "They plan was to knock me out the top of the game/But I overstand they truth is all lame/I hold cannons that shoot balls of flames/Right in they fat mouth then I carve my name/Nas - too real, Nas - true king/It's however you feel, g'head, you swing/Your arms too short to box with god/I don't kill soloists only kill squads/Fame went to they head, so now it's "Fuck Nas"/Yesterday you begged for a deal, today you tough guys."

The tracks stand alone all by themselves. There's no doubt that "One Mic" will stand the test of time as one of the best tracks ever, and although the feud may be over now, "Ether" still simmers.

"Stillmatic" was a great return for the rapper, and although it isn't quite as good as "Illmatic" (what is?), it still is one of Nas's best albums of all time, and a hip-hop classic.

Classic Album Review: Boyz II Men, "II"

Boyz II Men first sauntered their way onto the music scene with their debut album, "Cooleyhighharmony", in 1991. The album wasn't just a simple breakthrough, by the end of the decade it would become on of the best selling debut albums of all time, but the point being that a new R&B group had hit the music scene, and they had the chance to be one of the biggest ever.

Their sound was different that anything else that was coming out at that time, a sort of eclectic mix of hip-hop and doo-wop, old school jazz flavor mixed in with some contemporary style. It was clear from the first album that this group would be doing big things in the music industry.

The album had that rare mix of great singles with several cuts that could have just as easily been hits, the ultimate measure of a release that is both commercially and creatively successful. What could they do for a follow-up?

With the release of their second album, the simply titled, "II", the 'Boyz' assured their spot at the top of the charts and as the most successful group of the right now (well, the 'right then' aka the 90's).

Released in 1994, "II" eventually won the Grammy for Best R&B album, but it also made the group bonafide stars. The album contained multiple number one singles, and helped lovers the set the mood for years upon years to come.

The album is filled with some fantastic, soulful, and beautiful sounding tracks. The singles "I'll Make Love to You" and "On Bended Knee" are obviously great, but "Yesterday", "Water Runs Dry", and "All Around the World" are quality pieces as well.

"I'll Make Love to You" is one of the group's most recognizable and successful songs. The track spent two months on top of the charts, only to be knocked down by another Boyz II Men track. The song is a ballad in its purest form and hits on some romantic high notes, while also being a mature and soulful track.



The track became a platinum-selling single, won the 1995 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and two American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Single and Favorite Soul/R&B Single.

Anyone who was listening to the radio around this time knows the chorus like the back of their hand. The group croons to every lady out there: "I'll make love to you/Like you want me to/And I'll hold you tight/Baby all through the night/I'll make love to you/When you want me to/And I will not let go/Till you tell me to."

"On Bended Knee" is another very recognizable, but fantastic track off the album. The track was written and produced by Babyface, and it shows with its harmonious melody and soulful lyrics.



This track was the one that finally bumped "I'll Make Love To You" out of the top spot on the charts and it was the first time that an act had replaced itself at number one since the Beatles' heyday, when "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "She Loves You", and "Can't Buy Me Love" held the top of the chart for a total of twelve weeks. That's quite some company to join.

The track is extremely well written, and has some of the best lyrics on the album and the Boyz swoon: "Can we go back to the days our love was strong/Can you tell me how a perfect love goes wrong/Can somebody tell me how to get things back/The way they use to be/Oh God give me a reason/I'm down on bended knee/I'll never walk again until you come back to me/I'm down on bended knee."

"All Around the World" is one of my personal favorite tracks on the album, partially because of its more upbeat nature. The French intro is as funky as it is fitting, with the group reciting their world travels and female conquests. Boyz II Men is global, and they prove it here.



I love the swagger and smoothness of this track, with the group rejoicing: "…Keisha, Kelly, Tonya, Stacy, Mica and LaShaun/Kathy, Trina, Carla, Lisa, Cheri, and Diane/All these girls around the world are fly in every land/And it's hard to choose, but there's one for every man/Boyz II Men back around the world/And were comin' through your town
All we do is for you/'Cause you've always been there/And we appreciate you."

Boyz II Men proved here on "II" that they were not just another cut of the cloth R&B group. They truly were in a class all by themselves, perfecting their craft on this album, and winning over a few ladies in the process.

One of the strongest points of this album is the arrangements and fine tuning of production. Everything is clean and smooth and really helps to make this album a sum of all its parts.

All in all, "II" ended up going 12 times platinum by the time it was all said and done. And that's not a typo either, Twelve times. Sure, a good amount of albums have done that, such as "Led Zeppellin II" and "Purple Rain" by Prince, but not too many have.

Boys II Men may or may not be the best R&B group of all time, but one thing is clear, no modern day group can hold a candle to what they did on this effort. It's their crowning achievement, and definitely a classic, and not just a classic in their genre.

Classic Album Review: Public Enemy, “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back”

More is always better. Right? In theory, sequels are supposed to be better than the original, but that isn't always the case.

Of course for every sequel dud there is the fantastic "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" or "The Empire Strikes Back", or in this case, the influential hip-hop album "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back".

Public Enemy's debut album, "Yo! Bum Rush the Show" was a critical success, but for the most part failed to bring Public Enemy to the mainstream. But one thing the album did do was lay the groundwork for what the group would accomplish with their second and superior effort, "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back".

Released in 1988, the record rewrote the rules of what hip-hop could do and firmly supplanted Public enemy as one of the top hip-hop groups of all time. The group tackles some serious political and cultural issues on the album including racism, political exile, the media and even the industry itself.

The album is filled with great tracks from top to bottom, but "Bring the Noise", "Don't Believe the Hype", "Caught, Can We Get a Witness?", and "Rebel Without a Pause" stand out as the best of the bunch.

"Bring the Noise" is one of the best tracks on the album and features fantastic lyrics that are delivered rapid-fire style by Chuck D. Along with Flavor Flav, Chuck D raps about the superiority of Public Enemy and a bevy of shout outs to other artists including LL Cool J, Run DMC and Eric B.



You can hear the confidence and incredible talent as Chuck D raps: Once again back is the incredible/The thyme animal/The incredible D Public Enemy Number One
"Five O" said "Freeze!" and I got numb/Can I tell 'em that I really never had a gun?" Also oddly enough, "Bring the Noise" was included on the soundtrack of the 1987 film "Less Than Zero", helping to add to its popularity.

"Night of the Living Baseheads" is one of the most unique and serious tracks on the album. The lyrics deal with the effects of crack on African-Americans during the 1980s crack epidemic.



The song uses more samples than any other track on the album, including "Fame" by David Bowie, "I Can't Get Next to You" by The Temptations, and "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved" by James Brown. The title, like a few of the tracks on the album, is a reference to a film, "Night of the Living Dead".

The lyrics compare people addicted to crack cocaine with zombies in a creative analogy that is both clever and significant. The lyrics are illustrative as the group raps: "This is the dope jam/But lets define the term called dope/And you think it mean funky now, no
Here is a true tale/Of the ones that deal/Are the ones that fail."

"Rebel Without A Pause" is one of my favorite tracks on the album. Like "Night of the Living Baseheads", the track is a play on a film, the 1955 landmark, "Rebel Without a Cause". The cultural reference is just one of many on the album.



The track was actually the first one that the group worked on for the album and it had Chuck D experimenting with the speed of beats. Going against the grain, he sped things up and the track, which turned out to be extremely popular. Music production would be influenced for years by these moves. The track sampled another James Brown song, "Funky Drummer" & "Get Up Offa That Thing" as well.

You can hear the lyrical precision as they open the track: "Yes - the rhythm, the rebel/Without a pause - I'm lowering my level/The hard rhymer - where you never been I'm in/You want stylin' - you know it's time again/D the enemy - tellin you to hear it/They praised the music - this time they play the lyrics."

Although twenty years is a long time, the influence of "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" can still be felt today. The album is distinctly from the eighties, yet when you listen to it, it sounds and feels timeless. It raised the bar extremely high back then, and it is still a capable barometer for what hip-hop is meant to be, and what artists always aspire to be.

"It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back" is Public Enemy's defining work, and it is most definitely a classic.

Classic Album Review, Dead Prez, "Let's Get Free"

As the hip-hop industry moved from the 90's to the new millennium, mainstream rap and the radio waves had become dominated by money driven, mediocre thug rap and was just waiting for an original group to stand up and take over.

While Dead Prez didn't substantially take over the hip-hop industry, the duo stood up firmly for what they believed in, and injected rap with some political flavor that it had sorely been missing.

Comprised of M-1 and SticMan, the group first met on the campus of FAMU (Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University), where M-1 was attending to school and SticMan liked to hang out. While the group had formed somewhat of an underground following, they didn't get their big break until they met (by chance) with Brand Nubian's Lord Jamar at a Brooklyn block party. Afterwards the duo signed a recording deal with Loud Records.

The group isn't shy about their beliefs and they won't hesitate to stand up and fight for them. Before the group became successful, M-1 took matters into his own hands and joined the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement in Chicago for three years and also found himself interested in the Black Panthers.

These experiences, along with the fact that the duo enjoyed talking about politics and other similar cultural topics, all contributed to the release of the group’s first album "Lets Get Free".

Released in February of 2000, "Lets Get Free" was an extremely politically charged debut, and was showered with critically acclaim by journalists and other artists alike. Dead Prez didn't shy away from any topic, taking on a slew of cultural touchstones including police, corporate control over the media, the music industry, education, the prison system, as well as religion and political repression.

The group also takes on some pressing issues, which pertain specifically to the black community, like the inadequacies of inner-city public schooling ("They Schools") and about the effect of socially repressive government ("Police State").

Along with these two there are a ton of other good tracks on this album, which has 18 in all. "Hip-Hop", "Animal in Man", "Be Healthy", "I'm a African" and "Behind Enemy Lines" are all excellent and each illustrate the type of group Dead Prez is, and the intelligence they contain. The group took social activism to new heights; proving that Dead Prez were the most revolutionary hip-hop group to emerge since Public Enemy fell off and N.W.A broke up.

"Hip Hop" was released as a single in 1999 and is probably the most well known track off the album. Dave Chappelle, showing off his fantastic taste in music, used the track as the intro to his super-popular "Chappelle's Show", and it also found its way into the soundtrack of a skating video game.



Either way, the track is one of Dead Prez's best and the beat (with Chappelle's help of course) is instantly recognizable to any hip-hop fan. On the track the group raps about the state of the modern music industry and the fact that its become over-commercialized.

While the line "It's bigger than hip hop, hip hop, hip hop," is the most significant on the track, the group spits some of their most intelligent lines in this one. Dead Prez shows that they look out for their own as M-1 raps: "Uh, who shot Biggie Smalls?/If we don't get them, they gonna get us all/I'm down for runnin' up on them crackers in they city hall/We ride for y'all, all my dogs stay real."

"Be Healthy" is one of the most original tracks on the album, and if you didn't know anything about Dead Prez you might think it's a joke. The group raps about eating healthy and having self-respect for one's body and mind. I think it's one of the group's most brilliant tracks, because you rarely would find a hip-hop group rapping about vegetables and eating the right way. There are so many good lines on "Be Healthy", but its the way it gets started that sets the stage for the rest of the track. It opens with the line "I don't eat no meat, no dairy, no sweets/only ripe vegetables, fresh fruit and whole wheat."



While that line is clever, the best verse comes later in the track. The group shows once again that they are like no other hip-hop duo around as they rap: "They say you are what you eat, so I strive to be healthy/my goal in life is not to be rich or wealthy/cause true wealth comes from good health, and wise ways/we got to start taking better care of ourselves, be healthy y'all." When else will you ever find rappers valuing veggies over dollars? That's the brilliance in the track. Funny enough the track has become extremely popular in the vegetarian and vegan communities.

"They Schools" is my favorite track on the album and is easily one of the best of all time. I still can remember the first time I heard the track, and while I was young I still felt I understood what Dead Prez was trying to convey. The group doesn't shy away from anything on the track, as they open up with the line: "I went to school with some redneck crackers/Right around the time 3rd Bass dropped the Cactus album/But I was reading Malcolm."



Education was (and still is) a huge problem in our country, and here Dead Prez takes it head on. SticMan raps with ferocity on this track and you can tell he is rapping from experience. You can hear the truthfulness in his voice as he spits: "I took a history class serious/Front row, every day of the week, 3rd period/Fuckin with the teachers had, callin em racist/I tried to show them crackers some light, they couldn`t face it."

"Lets Get Free" came along at a time when hip-hop needed a splash of originality. It needed Dead Prez.

While they never quite achieved the popularity of other mainstream artists of their time, the group will be remembered for far longer for what they contributed to the industry. Their intelligence is unmatched, and the group's topical diversity is equally inspiring; you'll be hard pressed to find another album that tackles both the penal system, oppressive government and vegetables.

Either way, "Lets Get Free" is one of the best political hip-hop albums of all time, and is definitely a classic.

Classic Album Review: T.I., "King"

Back in October 2007, just four hours before the BET Hip-Hop Awards in his home town of Atlanta, T.I. was charged with two felonies — possession of three unregistered machine guns and two silencers, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. It was a big blow for the superstar rapper, but either way, T.I. did his time and was released this past March.

We all know that everyone makes mistakes. Even rappers. But in order to appreciate how far T.I.'s fall from grace was, we have to first establish just how high he once was and how he elevated himself to the top of the hip-hop world.

The self-proclaimed “king of the south”, T.I. truly established his royal lineage on his 2006 album, aptly titled, “King”. Released in March 2006, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and was nominated for a Grammy.

T.I. showcases how truly skilled he is on this album, taking full command on every track and rapping with a combination of attitude and confidence that few can match. From top to bottom the album is packed with hits. “What You Know” is easily the most popular of the bunch, but “Why You Wanna”, “Live in the Sky”, “Front Back” and “I’m Talkin’ to You” are all excellent as well.

T.I. also brings out some great collaborators on this album, including Pharrell, Common, Young Jeezy, and Jamie Foxx. All contribute some great verses to the album, but it’s still T.I. who shines above the rest.

“Live in the Sky”, which features Foxx singing some heavy gospel, is easily the most personal track on the album. The somber ballad has T.I. rapping about the pain of losing friends and family to violence.



You can hear the heartbreak in his voice as he raps: “My cousin died over some yay and I miss 'em/Plus he had his family out let's say she the eye witness/But her boyfriend did the shooting judge gave her life sentence.”

It only took one month for the single “What You Know” to go platinum and it was for good reason. The track is the masterpiece of “King” and the chorus is truly an epic creation. The simple verse still echoes on today in the hip-hop world: “What you know about that?/What you know about that?/What you know about that?/Hey I know all about that.”



Aside from “What You Know”, “Why You Wanna” is my personal favorite track on the album. The beat is infectious, the sound of it is like a lost cousin to a Jay-Z track, and I mean that as a compliment.



T.I. raps in his patented laid back, yet cocky style about women and relationships and you can hear the playful humor as he raps: “Can he touch you like that, and make you make you feel like this?/How I left and came back and it's still like this/Do he hit it from the back and make you feel it yo chest/Take advantage of what your concealing in yo dress/What, he think he too fresh to show that you the best.”

Throughout his career, T.I. has had some amazing highs, and some unfortunate lows. But no matter how you view T.I. as a person, one thing is clear: he is wonderfully skilled as a rapper. Who knows what the future holds for the artist, but one thing he will always have is “King”.

Although T.I. crowned it himself, "King" is definitely worthy of the royal treatment.

Classic Album Review: 50 Cent, "Get Rich or Die Trying"

Massive expectations usually are the precursor of two things: that a star is about to be born, or it’s about to explode and flame out forever, never to regain its brightness.

In the case of Curtis Jackson, aka 50 Cent, massive expectations led to one thing and one thing only, a domination of the rap world, all thanks to an album called "Get Rich or Die Trying".

In retrospect, this domination was not so predictable. Jackson was born in Queens and started dealing drugs as early as the age of twelve. As he got older he decided to put aside the drugs and strictly pursue a career in rap music.

He suffered a set back in 2000 after being shot nine times with a 9mm handgun at close range. While Jackson sustained some heavy injuries, including a small slur in his voice, he survived the incident and used as motivation for his music.

Jackson later stated that: "After I got shot nine times at close range and didn't die, I started to think that I must have a purpose in life... How much more damage could that shell have done? Give me an inch in this direction or that one, and I'm gone".

After the shooting Jackson focused hard on his music, releasing the mixtape, “Guess Who’s Back?” in 2002. Eminem got his hands on a copy of the album, which he shared with Dr. Dre, both of whom were impressed. Soon after that Jackson signed a one million dollar record deal Dr. Dre, and began walking on the path to superstardom.

Released in February 2003, “Get Rich or Die Trying” debuted at number 1 on the Billboard charts and eventually went on to sell over 12 million copies worldwide. That doesn’t happen by accident. Sure, 50 had the street cred from being shot, but it was also his charismatic, laid-back drawl that brought the fans to frenzy.

The album is filled to the brim with twenty quality tracks without a skit in sight. “Get Rich or Die Trying” plays out like every rapper wishes their debut would: opening with a personality defining track (“What Up Gangsta”), a team up with one of rap’s biggest stars, Eminem (“Patiently Waiting”) and of course, the radio ready single that blows up (“In da Club”).

Along with those tracks, “21 Questions”, “Don’t Push Me”, “If I Can’t”, “High All the Time”, and “P.I.M.P” are the highlights on this impressive debut. “Get Rich or Die Trying” is an incredibly calculated album, with Eminem and Dr. Dre handling some production in the background, but it’s also an amazing one.

“In Da Club” might not be considered one of the greatest tracks ever, but its effect can’t be understated. I think it has one of the catchiest beats of all time, and when 50 starts off by casually slurring, “Go shorty, it’s your birthday/We gonna party like it’s your birthday,” you know all bets are off. I think the track is easily one of the most memorable of all time, just due to the sheer amount of popularity it attained.



“Many Men (Wish Death)” is one of the most serious and personal tracks on the album. It begins with a dramatization of 50’s shooting incident, and as the song goes on he raps with anger and ferocity, his mood changing with each verse.



You can hear the pain in his voice as he raps: “In the Bible it says what goes around comes around/Homie shot me, three weeks later he got shot down/Now it’s clear that I’m here for a real reason/’Cause he got hit like I got hit, but he ain’t fuckin’ breathin’.”

“High All the Time” is my personal favorite track, and it’s not just because of the subject matter. Jackson raps with a deliberate yet casual style that fits extremely well with the beat. He drops some of his most clever lines of the album on this track as he raps: “Daddy need Perelli's to look mean on 22s/Stash box, Xbox, laptop, fax machine, phone/Bulletproof this bitch and I'm gone.”



The track also has one of the best and simplest choruses of all-time. 50 channels fellow West coast rapper Nate Dogg and crafts the motto for the modern day smoker: “I'm high all the time, I smoke that good shit/I stay high all the time, man I'm on some hood shit.”

“Get Rich or Die Trying” is hands down one of the best party albums of all time. No matter where you are and not matter who you are hosting, you can play the album from beginning to end and keep the party going the entire time.

On top of that, with this explosive debut, 50 solidified himself a place all his own in the hip-hop industry. “Get Rich or Die Trying” is one of the best debuts of all-time and is definitely a classic.

Classic Album Review: De La Soul, "3 Feet High and Rising"

Over the years many artists have come along and transformed hip-hop into what it is today. While that’s an obvious statement, it's also true one, and arguably the group that made the biggest impact on the industry during their time is De La Soul.

The group formed in 1987 and was comprised of Kelvin Mercer, David Jude Jolicoeur and Vincent Mason who each went by a slew of nicknames over the years. Early on, De La Soul caught the attention of producer Prince Paul with a demo tape, which eventually led him to play a heavy part in producing the group’s debut album.

De La Soul's debut, "3 Feet High and Rising" came along at an interesting moment for hip-hop. At a time when West coast gangsta rap was dominating the mainstream, the East coast group came on with a jazzy, alternative sound that was completely unique to the industry.

Released in 1989, the album it pretty much transformed the concept of what a traditional record should be. At 27 tracks the album is epic in size, but its quality matches it quantity without a doubt.

Each of the three members of De La Soul showed here that rap could be more than just rhyming about violence and guns. The production on the track in unbelievable as well, with Prince Paul pulling out all types of samples including Johnny Cash, Led Zeppelin, James Brown, Michael Jackson and even the Beastie Boys.

The group raps about a wide array of subjects including love, drugs, expectations, culture, revolution, and even the rap industry itself. While the entire album holds up, some tracks stand apart from others. “Me Myself and I” is easily the most well-known track, but “Plug Tunin’”, “Buddy”, “Eye Know”, “Potholes in My Lawn” and “The Magic Number” are all excellent as well.

"Say No Go" was one of the singles off the album and the track is a cautionary tale about drugs, primarily crack cocaine or ‘base’, which at the time was a serious problem in America.



The vivid lyrics illustrate the story perfectly, and Mercer starts off the track strongly as he raps: “Now let's get right on down to the skit/A baby is brought into a world of pits/And if it could've talked that soon/In the delivery room/It would've asked the nurse for a hit/The reason for this?/The mother is a jerk/Excuse me Junkie.”

“Eye Know” is one of the most unique and easily the most lighthearted track on the album. Featuring some great samples from Steely Dan and Otis Redding, the track is about the wonders and mystery of love. The lyrics are poetic and also have a humorous tone to them, which is one thing the group does so well.



Dove has one of the best verses on the album and you can hear the playfulness as he raps: “May I cut this dance to introduce myself as/The chosen one to speak/Let me lay my hand across yours/And aim a kiss upon your cheek/They name's Plug Two/And from the soul I bring you/The Daisy of your choice/May it be filled with the pleasure principle.”

While “Me Myself and I” is the most popular track from the album, it’s also one of the best of all time, and one of my personal favorites. Combining social commentary with the dry and satirical tone that they are so skilled at, De La Soul crafts a supremely original track that has one of the simplest yet best openings in hip-hop: “Mirror mirror on the wall/Tell me mirror what is wrong?/Can it be my De La Clothes/Or is it just my De La Soul?”



The track has some complex and clever lines, with Dove spitting a great verse as he raps: “Proud, I'm proud of what I am/Poems I speak are Plug Two type/Please oh please let Plug Two be himself, not what you read or write/Write is wrong when hype is written.”

"3 Feet High and Rising" is an album that is worth listening to over and over again. While it’s an extremely pleasurable roster of tracks, it also has impacted hip-hop in ways that can still be felt today.

Prince Paul’s creative sampling is something that producer’s have mimicked ever since, and De La Soul’s creative and intelligent lyrics helped pave the way for more socially conscious rap. The album was an amazing way to debut, and it is most definitely a classic.

Classic Album Review, Reflection Eternal, "Train of Thought"

From Rakim and Eric B. to DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, collaborations have been a long-standing tradition in hip-hop. Sometimes when two artists come together, things just click.

That’s exactly what happened when Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek first met in Cincinnati, Tek’s hometown, in the late 90’s. The two formed the group Reflection Eternal and signed to the upstart underground hip-hop label Rawkus Records, where they started to collaborate on tracks.

But before they put out an album of their own, Kweli teamed up with fellow Brooklyn MC Mos Def to release the album, “Mos Def and Kweli are Black Star”, which received great critical acclaim.

Hi-Tek produced some of the best tracks on the album including "Definition" and "Respiration" and the success of Black Star put the three at the forefront of the underground hip hop scene and paved the way for Reflection Eternal’s debut album, “Train of Thought”.

At 70 minutes and 20 tracks, “Train of Thought” is longer than most hip-hop albums and that’s just one of the reasons why it stands apart from the flock.

Released in October 2000, the album was produced primarily by Hi-Tek himself and features Kweli intelligently rapping about some interesting and diverse topics including love, the state of hip-hop, modern American culture and the revolutionary mentality.

Talib Kweli has always been on point with his social criticisms, and all through “Train of Thought” he really shows it. On the tracks "Ghetto Afterlife", "Africa Dream" and "Soul Rebels" in particular, Kweli conveys his feelings on society and culture in an extremely articulate and intelligent way.

The entire album is filled with some memorable tracks, but “Love Language”, “Good Morning”, "Love Speakeasy", "On My Way" and “Big Del From da Natti" stand out above the rest.

"Love Language" is one of the most unique tracks on the album. The theme throughout the track is perfectly conveyed by the line “The language of love can never be translated”. Using symbolism and metaphor Kweli describes one of the world’s most universally debated topics: love.



Kweli describes the feeling in such a detailed, illustrative way as he raps: “Love is blind, you just see bright light/You up in the club feelin' the night life, lookin' for the right type/Blood rushing to your heart making it beat/When she swept you off your feet and made it complete/You know the plan you had to conquer the world/Thinking you Scarface, looking for that perfect girl.”

My favorite aspect of the track is how Kweli has the chorus drop in French. Throughout the track he mentions how love is a universal language, and by using a different language Kweli shows that love is exclusive to no one.

“Move Somethin” is the second track on the album and may be the most energetic of the bunch. Kweli is extremely skilled at rapping in a calm, serious demeanor, but I honestly think he is at his best when he is quick and ferocious. He brings it hard and with a huge dose of energy over a beat that is just fantastic.



Kweli is clever and you can almost hear the fire he has within himself as he raps: “Takin you high like sky divers/When we spark with live wires/Original, cavemen quest for my fire/Express my desire to drop this new shit/These record executives keep tellin me y'all stupid/Now if they right, Shut The Fuck Up!/Revolutionaries throw your guns up.”

"Good Mourning" is one of the best tracks and is my favorite one on the album. Kweli describes the Brooklyn neighborhood where he came from in vivid detail and also links hip-hop’s obsession with death by looking at it through a lens of life.



The beat is simple yet haunting, and on the chorus Kweli perfectly describes what the track really means: “Good mourning, good afternoon, good night/What have you done with your life?/Everybody time comes to be embraced by the light/You only scared to die when you ain't livin right, man/I'm puttin up a hellafied fight.”

On the last verse Kweli mentions the names of some fallen artists, including Big L, and Curtis Mayfield, which shows Kweli is well versed in his music history.

Kweli is a rare MC, as his lyrics show off a knowledge that easily transcends his age. Coupled with Tek's loping keyboard wails, soulful claps, and shimmering piano loops, Kweli shows off that he is one of the most talented and skilled rappers in the game.

It’s fitting that Reflection Eternal is dropping a new album, because on “Train of Thought” it’s abundantly clear that these two have something to say about hip-hop, and we should all listen. Their debut is one of the most poignant, interesting and intelligent hip-hop album ever released, and is definitely a classic.

Classic Album Review, Common, "Resurrection"

Over the years the city of Chicago hasn’t been quite as successful as New York or Los Angeles when it comes to producing hip-hop stars. But what Chicago lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality.

Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, and Common Sense all hail from the Second City, and each of the three are bonafide rap stars, some of the best in the business.

Although you’d most likely say that Kanye is the biggest star of the group, it’s Common that has been in the game the longest. After debuting with “Can I Borrow A Dollar?” which received a lot of underground attention, he released “Resurrection” in 1994.

Although “Resurrection” didn’t have much mainstream success, it did very well with critics and proved how truly skilled Common is as an MC. The South Side native doesn’t hesitate to show off how original he is, with his complex style of rapping, intelligent lyrics and witty lines.

The jazzy flavored sound of the album combined with Common’s socially conscious lyrics inspire comparisons to “A Tribe Called Quest”, “De La Soul” and “The Fugees”, but Common really is in a league of his own.

He doesn’t let you forget where he’s from either. Inspired by the city he hails from, the album is divided into two sections, the "East Side of Stony" and "West Side of Stony". Stony Island Avenue is a street that runs through the South Side of Chicago, which was where Common was raised.

“Resurrection” has a ton of great tracks, including "Watermelon", "Nuthin' to Do", "Pop's Rap" and "Book of Life", but standout track on the album easily is "I Used to Love H.E.R.”, which arguably is best track that Common ever made.

The album opens up with the title track, “Resurrection”, which perfectly combines the scratches by Mista Sinista with the jazzy melody. Common opens it up by rapping how he is literally immersed in his music: “In spite I've been indicted as a freak of all trades/I got it made/I bathe in basslines, rinse in riffs, dry in drums/Come from a tribe of bums.”



On "Nuthin' to Do", Common speaks out on the deterioration of Chicago's neighborhoods, and describes some of the best ways to kill time on the South Side.

He illustrates a perfect picture of what it’s like to grow up in Chi-town as he raps: “The days of Old Chicago and Fun Town and shorties we run round/Play strike outs till sun down, but the shit ain't as fun now/And the city is all run down, we troop down to Jew Town/Talking cat down on some gear, have enough for a Polish incom fair/I stare, at what use to be Bubbles and think about who use to cop our liquior.”

"Book of Life," is the most introspective track on the album. The track is an autobiographical look at Common’s struggles over the years, and gives him a chance to put things in perspective over the mellow beat.



You can hear the realism and truthfulness from Common as he raps: “It's my life I live it up/The cup I gotta give it up/One day/I'm cruisin' down a one way street and I done passed fun day/Three blocks ago/It itself life is an obstacle/As I maneuver through the manure I try to be responsible/I want a job but I ain't lookin - how come?”

“I Used to Love H.E.R.” is my favorite track, and is easily the best track on the album. The track is genius in its use of metaphor and symbolism. On its face the track seemingly describes a lover's moral and spiritual decline, but it’s about much more than that. The track employs the use of an extended metaphor, with a woman representing hip-hop music itself. The acronym “H.E.R.” in fact stands for Hip Hop in its Essence and Real, so when spelled out the track really reads: "I Used to Love Hip Hop in its Essence and Real.”



On the track Common give us a history lesson into how hip-hop has changed and criticizes the direction that hip-hop was taking during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Specifically he refers to the fall of conscious rap as well as the rising popularity of West Coast hip-hop and G-funk.

He also intelligently makes an analogy comparing the degradation of a woman with the deterioration of hip-hop music after its commercial success brought it into the mainstream. Common is able to convey his feelings so well through his lyrics as he raps: ”She said that the pro-black, was goin out of style/She said, afrocentricity, was of the past/So she got into R&B hip-house bass and jazz/Now black music is black music and it's all good/I wasn't salty, she was with the boys in the hood.”

The track boasts one of the best beats ever constructed, a simple yet sleek melody, and opens with some of Common’s best written lines: "I met this girl, when I was ten years old/And what I loved most she had so much soul/ She was old school, when I was just a shorty/ Never knew throughout my life she would be there for me."

“I Used to Love H.E.R.” perfectly epitomizes what Common is all about and is one reason why “Resurrection” is such a great album. One thing that makes Common stand out as such a unique MC is that he never tried to change who he is, or use an image to sell records and he proves it with his truthfulness and intelligence on this album.

It has a timeless quality about it, and to me it is on par with some of the other great albums of the early 90’s like “Illmatic”, by Nas, “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)”, by Wu-Tang Clan, and “Ready to Die”, by the Notorious B.I.G.". “Resurrection” is Common’s defining work, and is definitely a hip-hop classic.