Rough, rugged, raw reality rap essentials from a redefining year
By CHRIS FARAONE | November 11, 2008
Prodigy |
Forgive me for listing only New York classics here. I want examples of reality-driven, block-inspired hood-hop, and since I grew up in Queens, these are joints that I consider rap music in its purest, most eternal form. If you have additional picks, or care to contest mine, please text us or leave a comment.M.O.P. | WARRIORZ | 2000 | Every Mash Out Posse album fits into this category, but Warriorz best shows how even Brooklyn’s gun-rap specialists can peel back some grime and cut legit radio bangers.
PRODIGY | H.N.I.C. | 2000 | After establishing himself as one of hip-hop’s special storytellers with Mobb Deep, Prodigy on H.N.I.C. stepped solo with a disc that put detail above everything — including, at times, melody and end rhymes.
D.I.T.C. | D.I.T.C. | 2000 | The indisputable hood-rap kings hardly approved of the way Tommy Boy cobbled this disc from old singles, but with O.C., Big L, Diamond, Buckwild, Showbiz, Fat Joe, AG, and Lord Finesse, things get dirty nonetheless.
SCREWBALL | Y2K | 2000 | The lead single off this murderous Queensbridge classic: “Who Shot Rudy.” And in 2000, there was no realer sentiment in New York City than wanting to push Mayor Giuliani’s wig back.
THE LOX | WE ARE THE STREETS | 2000 | After leaving Diddy’s Bad Boy for the meaner pastures at Ruff Ryders, Sheek Louch, Jadakiss, and Styles P took the opportunity to kick it from the curb and earn some real money, power, and respect.
Related:
The bulletproof cred of M.O.P., From ’Ye to mixtapes, Chairmen of the boards, More 
- The bulletproof cred of M.O.P.
In their decade and a half as thug-rap ambassadors, Brooklyn's Mash Out Posse have made some moves that lesser outfits might have caught shit for.
- From ’Ye to mixtapes
To get the full taste of where hip-hop is at, you also have to seek out the unofficial releases, the mixtapes, which often have a bigger impact than the official albums.
- Chairmen of the boards
Not unlike Swedish, Tagalog, and Esperanto, music is a language, with its own conjugations and (lewdly) dangling participles.
- War of the words
50 Cent has a long history of initiating beefs before he releases a new album.
- Top 10 Hyphy Videos of all time
With Warner Bros. snapping up the cream of the Yay Area rap scene , TVT capitalizing on Hyphy Hitz , and even indie-rock geeks learning how to ghost ride the whip , we figured it's high time to take a quick look back at how we got here. So get your stunna shades on and get ready to go dumb: it's the top 10 hyphy videos of all time!
- Bay Area beats
Although Oakland’s hyphy movement got its name from a bastardization of the word “hyper,” at this point that could just as easily stand for “hype.”
- Dead, or immortal?
When Chuck D challenges the status quo, a bunch of fortysomethings nod their heads, but Nas can put the young rappers on the defensive.
- Diversified incoming
It’s a testament to the strength of hip-hop, as the medium enters its third decade, that 2006 would see such a wide range of sounds so well represented, from commercial anthems to abstract beat tapes.
- Larger than life
Although predictions that Jay-Z, in his comeback, would pull in the biggest sales numbers of the year were proved wrong (at 680,000, his Def Jam release Kingdom Come ranks third behind Rascal Flatts and Justin Timberlake in 2006), that’s hardly the story worth telling.
- Birth of the DVDJ
Much of the hype swirling around the show was that Peanut Butter Wolf was going to "scratch" DVDs, thereby inventing a whole new style of performance. Slideshow: Stones Throw Anniversary Tour at the Paradise Rock Club, November 1, 2006
- JeknowwotI’msayin?
“People have this kind of problem with me,” says Lady Sovereign over the phone from her London home. “They think they know me, and they don’t know me — and it’s dis gustin ’.” Lady Sovereign, "Gatheration" (mp3)
- Less
Topics:
Music Features
, Entertainment, Hip-Hop and Rap, Music, More
, Entertainment, Hip-Hop and Rap, Music, Music Reviews, Mobb Deep, Hardcore Rap, Rudolph Giuliani, Sean Combs, Joe Budden, Styles P, Less
