Old school hip-hop: I love you, just not in that way...

Ok, you’re planning a trip overseas and you are going to fly. Which would you prefer a seat on, a Boeing-757 or that Wright Brother’s jump-off?

We received a criticism that our list of the top 10 hip-hop album ever made will likely not include any albums released prior to 1992. Well (SPOILER ALERT), you’re right, they won’t. Why should they? Early hip-hop albums, artists, and music in general weren’t as good as they have since become. We respect old school hip-hop and the artists that pioneered the sound, but with time comes experience and growth. It is understandable, and undeniable, that the music would get better as it develops.

The beats have progressed from bare loops and scratches to more complex compositions of creatively chopped samples, synthesized sounds, and even full orchestration. The very best of the old school beats may still be better than the worst of today’s offerings, but overall they have improved immensely. 

The lyrics have also advanced from the plain, nursery-rhyme-esque raps of old to the intricate, multisyllabic rhyme schemes and beat-riding delivery that we hear today. Even Rakim, the architect of the new style of flow and an innovator in his time, today sounds bland and a little boring because his monotonous voice doesn’t pack the punch of more animated artists like 2Pac, Biggie, or Eminem.

Also, was there hearing-loss epidemic going on in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s?  Or were studio headphones just super loud back then?  We ask because it seems like every rapper was uncontrollably yelling on their songs.  Many ancient rappers like Run DMC, Beastie Boys and Chuck D spent their entire careers howling.  Atleast by the mid-90's, rappers eventually learned to shush it.  The aforementioned Biggie was hooting and hollering on his oldest songs.  Remember RZA on 36 Chambers?  Yikes!  Screaming makes their songs unlistenable.  More than flow, it could be argued that Rakim pioneered the use of an inside voice.

Honestly, if we were to include albums prior to 1992, what could possibly make the list? Criminal Minded? KRS-One is the epitome of the nursery-rhyme emcees and quite frankly a really, really terrible rapper. It Takes A Nation of Millions? Strictly Business? Same thing. Cool music, bad rapping. The only ones that come close in our opinion are The Low End Theory and Great Adventures of Slick Rick. But even with Tribe’s smooth sound and Slick Rick’s exceptional delivery and storytelling ability, the albums can’t quite make it all the way up the list. And as good as Low End is, it was wildly outshined by Tribe’s next (post-92) release, Midnight Marauders.

To all the people who couldn’t disagree with us more, that’s fine. You’re entitled to your opinion, as wrong as it may be. But our guess is that you are remembering yourself loving the music more than remembering the music itself. We all have a soft spot in our hearts for the music we grew up to, but at some point you have to look back and think “hmm, was Ma$e really that good?” No. No, he wasn’t.