[Jussei]

Immortal Technique is definately my #1.
Get Revolutionary Vol.1 and Vol.2 and they'll be the only 'underground' hip-hop albums you'll ever need (almost). A couple of songs, specifically on Vol.2 really evoke emotion (which is hard in hip-hop). Dance with the Devil on Vol.1 is probably one of the most meaningful hip-hop songs ever written.
Swollen Members are also incredible.

EDIT: I'd throw in a vote for Dead Prez too, but they have been mentioned.

 

[lutwey]

biggie nas jay-z tupac.................thoose are the best of the best. heads and shoulders above anybody..........ANYBODY

 

[wnewport]

Sage mother****in' Francis

 

[kerelybonto]

Eric B. & Rakim's first two albums.

 

[DrBenway]

Something Old:

NWA: Straight Outta Compton
Gangsta before it turned into a really ugly joke. And some serious subsonic bass on the title track.

Something New:

Lupe Fiasco: Food and Liquor
I wouldn't have believed that a record like this could get made in 2006.


Some things really old:

Kurtis Blow
A reminder of hip-hop's upbeat, neighborhood origins.

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five: The Message
Music from a NYC that has been killed and buried, thanks to our friends in the real estate biz.

 

[Night Surfer]

Excuse me...did you just use "Hip Hop" and "great artist" in the same sentence?





kidding......

 

[gblade]

I need to add a couple that I forgot and a couple i just found that are amazing.

I'm really into beats so the following are mostly beat oriented:

Architect: Music 2 Write 2
Fat Jon: Any cd hes made
Samauri Champloo OST
DJ Kentaro: Enter
Birdy Nam Nam: Birdy Nam Nam

More to come

 

[toanaldino]

The Roots - The Tipping Point
Run DMC - Greatest Hits
Dead Prez - most of their stuff

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gblade /img/forum/go_quote.gif I need to add a couple that I forgot and a couple i just found that are amazing. I'm really into beats so the following are mostly beat oriented: Architect: Music 2 Write 2 Fat Jon: Any cd hes made Samauri Champloo OST DJ Kentaro: Enter Birdy Nam Nam: Birdy Nam Nam More to come

I've had the Birdy Nam Nam on my "Saved for Later" list at eMusic for months? Can you describe it? Should I finally pull the trigger and download this,,,?

 

[gblade]

I would say so. Its very mellow laid back beats. its a great listen. If you are looking for something a little more up beat try DJ Kentaro - Enter.

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gblade /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would say so. Its very mellow laid back beats. its a great listen. If you are looking for something a little more up beat try DJ Kentaro - Enter.

Thanks for the recommendation; I'll give it a shot. I have to say that eMusic has helped me find a lot of new music. The tracks are so cheap that even if a given album turns out to be a total dud, I'm only out a couple of bucks.

On the other hand, at about twenty five cents per track, I have to wonder if there's anything left over for the artist by the time everybody else takes their cut.

 

[gblade]

The artists get paid not much but they get paid no matter what the format. They are paid upfront and have a set amount in royalties per song/cd bought. Id be more upset and worried about why music costs so much in general. (RIAA IS ********) Back to the music though.

If you like mellow beats check out fat jon. He is by far one of my favorite artists.

 

[oicdn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by YoungClayB /img/forum/go_quote.gif Jurassic 5 - Quality Control; Power in Numbers The Roots - Organix, Do you want More, Things Fall Apart, The Tipping Point, Phrenology, Game Theory...basically everything they've ever done Common - Like Water for Chocolate A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders Da Grassroots - Passage Through Time

WHOOOOO....that's what I'm talking about.



Quote:

Originally Posted by lutwey /img/forum/go_quote.gif biggie nas jay-z tupac.................thoose are the best of the best. heads and shoulders above anybody..........ANYBODY

Umm...no. Kurtis Blow or any of the OG 80/90's guys IMO are better than Jay Z. The others mentioned...meh, nota biggie or Tupac fan, but they're dope. IMO Nas trumps them all.



Quote:

Originally Posted by kerelybonto /img/forum/go_quote.gif Eric B. & Rakim's first two albums.

That's where it's at. I was wondering where the hell all the Rakim fans were...

I was wondering why it took so long for somebody to mention Run DMC too...

I think lots of people left somebody rather important out. Three people actually.

Did everybody forget about Dre??? He was NWA...and his Chronic album was insanity and one of hip hops pinnacle albums.

And from the words from the above statement. Eminem? He's one of the nastiest freestylers that's ever been. His lyrics are pretty nasty too. If there was a group freestyle battle between the tops, he would definitly come out on top. Now, as far as deep lyrics go.....maybe he's a little lacking, but he's still nasty as hell....

Mobb Deep. Surprising nobody mentioned him. Some of the gnar-est lyrics to ever go on paper....

 

[DrBenway]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oicdn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Kurtis Blow or any of the OG 80/90's guys IMO are better than Jay Z.

Don't know if I agree about the relative merit of Jay-Z; he's pretty great. But I'm glad to see Kurtis Blow mentioned on any list of all-time greats. To me, he really represents the neighborhood origins of the music.

Quote:

Originally Posted by oicdn /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was wondering why it took so long for somebody to mention Run DMC too...

Well, they were great (Best rock/rap fusion ever, among other things). But I didn't mention them because I thought they fell into the "too mainstream" category. They were huge sellers in their heyday.

 

[jayehs]

Pretty much any album by the Tribe Called Quest & the Roots

Also J5, Common, Binary Stars, J-Live, Zion-I

Not an album but one of my favorite song: Souls of Mischief - 93' til Infinity