Best Produced Hip Hop Album - 1997

[Clive42]

Thread No.10 - Hip Hop albums with the best production in your opinion from 1997

Sorry for the long break. Anyway, the 1996 thread was live and had the most votes so far with Havoc's work that year and All Eyez on me's mixing quality especially being praised.

Now for 1997, a significant change in style occurred within hip hop with the shiny suit/jiggy style dominating. Producers like Timbaland and the Neptunes were starting to put their sound into mainstream hip hop and the Trackmasters were at their peak in this era. Also of note the 'keyboard/synth' sound was starting to become ever more popular, in favour of samples in some cases.

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)
Best produced Hip Hop Album - 1995 - Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...
Mobb Deep - The Infamous (2nd)
Tha Dogg Pound - Dogg Food (3rd)
Best produced Hip Hop Album - 1996 - 2Pac - All Eyez on Me
Mobb Deep - Hell on Earth (2nd)
OutKast - ATLiens / Ghostface Killah - Ironman (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. Camp Lo - Uptown Saturday Night

2. Scarface - The Untouchable

3. The Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death

4. Wu-Tang Clan - Wu-Tang Forever

5. Capone-N-Noreaga - The War Report

6. Puff Daddy & the Family - No Way Out

7. Missy Elliott - Supa Dupa Fly

8. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - The Art of War

9. O.C. - Jewelz

10. Master P - Ghetto D

11. Busta Rhymes - When Disaster Strikes...

12. Common - One Day It'll All Make Sense

13. Mase - Harlem World

14. Jay-Z - In My Lifetime, Vol. 1

15. Slum Village - Fan-Tas-Tic Vol 1

Other Albums

Rhyme & Reason (Soundtrack)
West Coast Bad Boyz II (Compilation)
Kool Keith - Sex Style
Funkmaster Flex - The Mix Tape, Vol. II
Luniz - Bootlegs & B-Sides (Compilation Re-release)
TRU - Tru 2 da Game
Warren G - Take a Look Over Your Shoulder
Artifacts - That's Them
Boot Camp Clik - For the People
KRS-One - I Got Next
I'm Bout It (Soundtrack)
Jungle Brothers - Raw Deluxe
Lost Boyz - Love, Peace & Nappiness
Twista - Adrenaline Rush
Mia X - Unlady Like
The Lady of Rage - Necessary Roughness
B.G. - It's All on U, Vol. 1
DJ Pooh - Bad Newz Travels Fast
Company Flow - Funcrusher Plus
Rampage - Scout's Honor… by Way of Blood
Suave House Records - The Album of the Year (Compilation)
Atmosphere - Overcast!
Killarmy - Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars
Mr. Serv-On - Life Insurance
Def Jam's How to Be a Player (Soundtrack)
Coolio - My Soul
Diamond D - Hatred, Passions and Infidelity
Tha Alkaholiks - Likwidation
Mack 10 - Based on a True Story
EPMD - Back in Business
Organized Konfusion - The Equinox
The X-Ecutioners - X-Pressions
Gravediggaz - The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel
LL Cool J - Phenomenon
Soundbombing (Compilation)
The Firm - The Album
Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz - Get Crunk, Who U Wit: Da Album
Salt-n-Pepa - Brand New
Hot Boys - Get It How U Live!
Jedi Mind Tricks - The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness
Rakim - The 18th Letter
Three 6 Mafia - Chapter 2: World Domination
MC Lyte - Badder Than B-Fore (Remixes)
Luniz - Lunitik Muzik
MC Eiht - Last Man Standing
Mystikal - Unpredictable
B.G. - It's All on U, Vol. 2
Del the Funky Homosapien - Future Development
MJG - No More Glory
Twiztid - Mostasteless
Will Smith - Big Willie Style
2Pac - R U Still Down? (Remember Me)
Eminem - The Slim Shady EP (EP)
8Ball & MJG - Lyrics of a Pimp (Compilation)
Brotha Lynch Hung - Loaded
MC Breed - Flatline
No I.D. - Accept Your Own & Be Yourself (The Black Album)
Timbaland & Magoo - Welcome to Our World
MC Solaar - Paradisiaque
Teflon - My Will
C-Bo - One Life 2 Live
Juvenile - Solja Rags
The Mossie - Have Heart Have Money
Suga Free - Street Gospel
Mood - Doom
Murs - F'Real
Boogie Monsters - God Sound
The Beatnuts - Stone Crazy
Frankie Cutlass - Politics & Bullshyt
Cru - Da Dirty 30
Soul in the Hole (Soundtrack)
Royal Flush - Ghetto Millionaire
Aesop Rock - Music For Earthworms
Latyrx - (Latyrx) The Album
Kheops - Sad Hill
IAM - L'École du micro d'argent
Wyclef Jean - Presents The Carnival featuring Refugee Allstars
DJ Muggs - The Soul Assassins (Chapter 1)
South Central Cartel - All Day Everyday

I have to note that 1994-1996 are the peak years of albums that ive heard and the number falls all the way down after that time period and probably never gets to that level again.

Either way, none of the albums that I've bolded are as great as the ones ive heard from the previous years in terms of production imo. However I do like the 'demo' quality music on Slum village's Fantastic Vol 1 which will probably get my vote.

Jewelz by OC would be my choice because there's some great production on there, but I can't escape a number beats that I dont like. The album does have a consistent tone (not as consistent as Word Life) to me and I could end up changing my vote to this.

Uptown Saturday Night i need to listen to though, cos the 2 singles on there are sick

 

[Ruck]

in for war report

 

[Travellin' Man]

Life After Death - The Notorious B.I.G.

 

[Newportbox]

In the end, I had to go with Uptown Saturday Night.

 

[nahnah]

O.C - Jewlez. Camp lo close second.

 

[OHSNAP!]

Life After Death and

Then Ch. 2 World Domination

 

[JustCKing]

It's hard to pick. No Way Out, Life After Death, and Supa Dupa Fly are all up there to me. A lot of the production on those do not sound like 1997 at all and in the case of Missy's album, a lot of those could come out now and not sound dated. Welcome To Our World and Adrenaline Rush are others that still sound fresh aside from a few tracks.

 

[WaveMolecules]

war report

 

[mobbinfms]

 

[Illeye buckmatic]

Wu for me

 

[PaperEnterprise]

Forever by a landslide. Sonically the production was insane.

 

[3rdWorld]

And people were saying Wu Forever was weak in 1997

 

[Hostile]

C-N-N

 

[ADP]

had to go with havoc rza and preemo all on the same joint, not really fair perhaps due to it being a double, but in this case at least I voted for variety

P-O-P-P-A no info for the D-E-A

didn't listen to Ghetto D yet though

 

[SonnyDecay]

dope gif