A 20 year old wrote this???? He wrote "Halftime" at 17-18??? When the list of prodigies in music come up, this album proves that Nas was one. "Memory Lane" and "Life's a B***h" keep me reflective.
This is hands down, the definitive album IMO of what it was like to be a Black man in the 1980's and 1990's. The first half, Cube is running around being young and dumb and ends up dead. The second half shows him awakened with a newfound consciousness, looking inward at his community causing their own ills. Oh yeah, it also has one of the greatest disses ever in "No Vasoline"
I talked about this with my friend Tracie on Twitter. Stephan Jenkins is one of the great pop songwriters of the last 15 years. He has a knack for being catchy, being cryptic (reread lyrics of Semi-Charmed Life), writing anthems and has the voice to pull it off. This isn't a guilty pleasure pick, I love this album as one of the best alternative albums of the era.
It's a shame Bradley died before this got released. It starts off with a mellow "Garden Grove" and ends with "Doin Time" - and in the middle is just a darn near perfect mixture of several genres. I can't find anyone who doesnt love this album - What I Got, April 29th, Caress me Down, and on and on...
I became a Prince fan late but I had to buy this album despite the high price tag. A rare double album that doesn't suck yet crosses multiple genres and touches on various themes (religion, love, not being worth a girl's time, the big issues of the day, randomness - Starfish and Coffee???). Oh yeah, he practically made this album himself. As much as I love Michael Jackson, he never made an album like this and that's not a knock on Thriller, that's the greatness of this album
One of my teachers in college gave me this album. I'll never forget what i wrote on Myspace when talking about it - "the most beautiful, original album I had ever heard." I knew nothing about Nicolay or Phonte before this and this album made a fan of them/Little Brother. Go listen to "Sincere" or "Happiness" and tell me its not beautiful hip-hop.
This isn't about the best albums ever. People confuse best and favorite albums all time. The best albums are great whether you heard them, like it or not, no bias or BS. Favorite is all about personal preference. So here ya go.
And note - some of these I just heard this year and I immediately got attached to them. This isn't the definitive list of Virgo Kent - just a peek.
Michael Jackson - Thriller
A Tribe Called Quest - Low End Theory, Midnight Marauders (perfection)
Incubus - Morning View
Gang Starr - Moment of Truth (helped me enjoy the first months after graduating)
Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
Red Hot Chili Peppers - By The Way (yes I love it more that Blood Sugar Sex Magik)
Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint
Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory
Jurassic 5 - Power In Numbers
Kanye West - College Dropout (one of the first albums that I felt spoke to me)
Talib Kweli - Quality
Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
Switchfoot - Beautiful Letdown
Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Texas Flood (One of the greatest debuts EVER)
U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind
Outkast - ATLiens, Aquemini
Common - Like Water for Chocolate, BE
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (sampling at its finest)
DC Talk - Jesus Freak
Little Brother - The Listening
Zwan - Mary Star of the Sea (sorry Billy Corgan, I still love this album 6 years later)
Alice in Chains - Jar of Flies (short and sweet, dirty and beautiful - AIC's last stand with Layne)
Matchbox 20 - Yourself of Someone Like You
Lecrae - When The Music Stops (candidate for best Christian Rap album ever)
Cross Movement - Holy Culture
No comments:
Post a Comment