Best Produced Hip Hop Album - 1995

[Clive42]

Thread No.8 - Hip Hop albums with the best production in your opinion from 1995

Well the 1994 thread was something new. The first time a non west coast album won (Illmatic), and the most votes so far (61).

But its that year now, that year with too many classics to fit into the polls, and arguably one of the greatest years in hip hop. So many well produced albums its gonna be interesting to see what album wins.

Leaderboards so far:
Best produced Hip Hop Album - 1988 - N.W.A - Straight Outta Compton
Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (2nd)
EPMD - Strictly Business / Slick Rick - The Great Adventures of Slick Rick (Joint 3rd)
Best produced Hip Hop Album - 1989 - The D.O.C. - No One Can Do It Better
Too Short - Life Is...Too Short (2nd)
De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising (3rd)
Best produced Hip Hop Album - 1990 - Ice Cube - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
A Tribe Called Quest - People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm (2nd)
Public Enemy - Fear of a Black Planet (3rd)
Best produced Hip Hop Album - 1991 - N.W.A - Nikkaz4Life
DJ Quik - Quik Is the Name (2nd)
Ice Cube - Death Certificate (3rd)
Best produced Hip Hop Album - 1992 - Dr. Dre - The Chronic
Pete Rock & CL Smooth - Mecca and the Soul Brother (2nd)
Redman - Whut? Thee Album / The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde (Joint 3rd)
Best produced Hip Hop Album - 1993 - Snoop Dogg - Doggystyle
Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (2nd)
A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders (3rd)
Best produced Hip Hop Album - 1994 - Nas - Illmatic
The Notorious B.I.G. - Ready to Die (2nd)
OutKast - Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik / Warren G - Regulate...G Funk Era (Joint 3rd)

NOTES

• Poll will be out of 15 choices
• Only one choice
• Will close after 7 days
• Votes will be displayed publicly
• Winning album will be displayed in leaderboards of subsequent thread/year

Albums that I've heard are in bold

Discussion on production is VERY welcomed

1. Smif-n-Wessun - Dah Shinin

2. The Roots - Do You Want More?!!!??!

3. DJ Quik - Safe + Sound

4. 2Pac - Me Against the World

5. Ol' Dirty b*stard - Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version

6. Mobb Deep - The Infamous

7. Show and A.G. - Goodfellas

8. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - E. 1999 Eternal

9. Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...

Spoiler

Spoiler

10. AZ - Doe or Die

11. INI - Center of Attention

12. Tha Dogg Pound - Dogg Food

13. Goodie Mob - Soul Food

14. GZA - Liquid Swords

15. Group Home - Livin' Proof

Other Albums

Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom
Lord Finesse - The Awakening
Aceyalone - All Balls Don't Bounce
Too Short - Cocktails
Brotha Lynch Hung - Season of da Siccness
The Nonce - World Ultimate
Tha Alkaholiks - Coast II Coast
Big L - Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous
Schoolly D - Reservoir Dog
Dre Dog - I Hate You With a Passion
Beastie Boys - Root Down (EP)
Three 6 Mafia - Mystic Stylez
Naughty by Nature - Poverty's Paradise
Master P - 99 Ways to Die
Mack 10 - Mack 10
Luniz - Operation Stackola
Guru - Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality
The B.G.'z - True Story
The Dove Shack - This Is the Shack
KeyKool & DJ Rhettmatic - Kozmonautz
Twinz - Conversation
Deda - The Original Baby Pa
Junior M.A.F.I.A. - Conspiracy
Count Bass D - Pre-Life Crisis
Das EFX - Hold It Down
Doug E. Fresh - Play
Kool G Rap - 4,5,6
RBX - The RBX Files
Fat Joe - Jealous One's Envy
WC and the Maad Circle - Curb Servin'
Insane Clown Posse - Riddle Box
KRS-One - KRS-One
Mystikal - Mind of Mystikal
Souls of Mischief - No Man's Land
8Ball & MJG - On Top of the World
The Click - Game Related
Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise
Erick Sermon - Double or Nothing
Funkmaster Flex - The Mix Tape, Vol. 1
Friday (Soundtrack)
Jamal - Last Chance, No Breaks
The Pharcyde - Labcabincalifornia
The Dangerous Crew - Don't Try This at Home
LL Cool J - Mr. Smith
Three 6 Mafia - Live by Yo Rep
Spice 1 - 1990-Sick
Mic Geronimo - The Natural
Tales From the Hood (Soundtrack)
Bushwick Bill - Phantom of the Rapra
Menace Clan - Da Hood
The Show (Soundtrack)
Suprême NTM - Paris sous les bombes
Masta Ace Incorporated - Sittin' on Chrome
K-Rino - Danger Zone
Ray Luv - Forever Hustlin'
King Tee - IV Life
Onyx - All We Got Iz Us
Akhenaton - Métèque et mat
E-40 - In a Major Way
C-Bo - Tales From The Crypt
Mystidious Misfitss - A Who Dat?
Kam - Made in America
Nine - Nine Livez
Miilkbone - Da Miilkrate
Panther (Soundtrack)

For 1995, i have 4 albums that i would put at number 1, and they all rank among the best produced hip hop albums of all time imo.

1. Smif-n-Wessun - Dah Shinin - Ima have to confess. This album was the first time i heard an album and after hearing it, went out an bought it. The beats on this album are amazing with its hard drums, melodic baselines on almost every track , and decent samples. Definitely the best album i've heard from Da Beatminerz. Best Beats: Timz n Hood Chek, K.I.M., Bucktown, Stand Strong, Shinin' Next shyt & P.N.C. Better yet, every beat on the album goes hard except for Home Sweet Home

Shinin' next shyt, just like Scarface's One Time, is just an amazing experience, including the intro beat. The eerie base, echoed piano sample, dusty sounding drums

1. 2Pac - Me Against the World - The production on this album is something else and ignorantly wouldnt be able to understand how a hip hop fan dont like the beats on this album. Literally only one beat on the whole album i dont like (Heavy in the game) and even the intro beat is sick. Theres even a few songs i dont like, but still have a good beats, I dont know what was going on in the heads of the producers while they were making this album but the result is just

. Best Beats: So Many Tears, Temptations (one of the reasons Easy Mo Bee is one of my favourite producers), Young nikkaz

1. INI - Center of Attention - Im sorry i had to include this on the poll. I know it technically didnt get released til 2003, but this is still a 1995 album and the production on this is one of, or if not the best Pete Rock produced album. Best Beats: No More Words, Think Twice, Krossroads, Fakin Jax', Center of Attention, Don't You Love It

1. Mobb Deep - The Infamous - And to think Havoc only got into production cos they were wither either getting shyt beats or were getting bumped off by other producers. Q-Tip deserves his due credit too for his work on this album. Best Beats: The Start of Your Ending (41st Side), Eye for a Eye (am not gonna lie, I actually disliked this beat when i first heard it), Give Up the Goods, Temperature's Rising (another amazing experience), and of course Shook Ones Pt. II

I really dont know which one of these albums to pick but maybe i'll update it

My next favourites on the list would go:

5. Liquid Swords

6. Doe or Die

I know theres some albums in the 'Other Albums' section that should be in the poll. This year weren't easy

EDIT - Went with Me Against the world for now, could change to one of the other 3

 

[MidnightMercenary]

Bump bc this needs more attention

Gonna have to think about my choice... maybe the GOAT year in hip-hop

 

[H. Selassie]

For me there are at least 7 albums that could be the correct answer.

maybe the GOAT year in hip-hop

My favorite by far. 96 is a close second.

 

[Nero Christ]

RZA was on some other shyt

it's a fatal 4 way between Safe & Sound, OB4CL, The Infamous & Liquid Swords for me

 

[OHSNAP!]

Dogg Food rather easily

Fukk RZA production btw, most overrated

 

[H. Selassie]

RZA was on some other shyt

it's a fatal 4 way between Safe & Sound, OB4CL, The Infamous & Liquid Swords for me

Same here, except replace Liquid Swords with Soul Food and add Dogg Food to the mix.

 

[Tj Bronson]

Voted Dogg Food without even thinking about it. Possibly my personal GOAT album.

 

[Bugsmoran]

The Purple Tape followed by Safe and Sound

 

[timothy_strickland]

Mobb deep the infamous
2pac me against the world
Bone thugs e.1999

Honorable mention: Akhenaton métèque et mât (french hip hop)

 

[mobbinfms]

The Infamous :pdahellclean:
And it's not even close :peeumad:
:havdahell::havarmscrossed:

 

[Blessed Koala]

OB4CL.

The album felt like a Criterion movie from the intro to the closeout track.

 

[Clive42]

Upping cos its 1995 of all years, so we need more votes

 

[Clive42]

Upping again

Anyway, this song was on The Show Soundtrack from 1995 and the beat has always sounded ahead of its time for some reason

 

[Aje]

I voted for Rae's album because that's a Top 5 album (including all genres) for me. But, man, this is a dope list of amazingly produced albums, especially that Livin' Proof and Liquid Swords

 

[MidnightMercenary]

Decided to give it to Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... after a lot of thinking

Originally gave it to Liquid Swords (my favorite album) but in reality OB4CL is more interesting and unique when it comes to production

I swore that vocal sample on "Ice Water" was a male for years until I watched the recent Power 106 Discover the Samples video. That shyt blew my fukkin mind