To me a classic is something that can stand the test of time as a project. Something I can bump and still fukk with throughout the years. It's got to be dope, and it's got to be a listenable project, or it would just be some classic songs on a good album, but it has to be listenable fully to me, not flawless necessarily but a good listen, with lyrics, beats etc that hold up, don't have to be mindblowing in either area necessarily (of course it helps) but it has to be effective the way it blends and comes together. All Eyez On Me is a classic to me, whenever I listen to it I absolutely love it, I enjoy it so much every single time, that's a classic to me, I love the beats, delivery, rhymes, everything, dope. Too many examples of non classics for me to get into it.
The Official 'Classic Album' Discussion Thread
- Thread starter Inspect Her Deck
- Start date
Not The Ruler O9
Superstar
Piff Perkins
Veteran
I'll keep it simple. To me a classic album is a perfect or near perfect album that has had an undeniable impact on the genre, or on music in general. I think these two simple yet broad criteria are a great way to seperate great albums from classic albums, thus preserving the clout of the term "classic."
Nas
Obviously we can agree Illmatic is a classic album. When I judge it based on my criteria I come away with a few points:
-It's a perfect album. The beats and rhymes are amazing, the flow is impressive, it has a near infinite replay value (I was bumping it earlier today before I saw this thread), etc.
-It's impact on hip hop cannot be denied. It was one of the first rap albums to have an "all star" collection of producers, instead of the typical 1-2 producer set up that was expected at the time. Lyrically the album had major impact on the genre. It ushered in more evocative lyricism, and the storytelling prowess had an impact as well. Perhaps most importantly it's generally viewed as the gold standard of hip hop, moreso than any other album.
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Nas' other classic is It Was Written. This is a somewhat controversial argument though. At the time many hip hop heads were disappointed with the album. Meanwhile the streets loved it and subsequent generations hold it in high regard.
In terms of the criteria it is not a perfect album. It has a bad song (Black Girl Lost), the intro is corny, and the sequencing doesn't make sense. But outside of that one song it's great. Also Nas was rapping on a stunningly high level throughout the album.
In terms of impact you could argue it's one of the blueprints for how rap albums are made...or at least were. You could also argue the album is the peak of a specific rhyme pattern/flow. Shout outs to Queens.
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I don't see an argument for Nas having another classic. Stillmatic is good but what impact did it have on hip hop? Yes it revived Nas' career but when you compare it to The Blueprint it's hard to say it had any impact on the future of the genre musically. Blueprint revived soul samples and helped usher in Kanye West's reign. Stillmatic is rather inconsistent production wise, and while lyrically it's superior to Blueprint I don't think that trumps the influence of Blueprint.
Some fans mention Lost Tapes but I ask you what impact does a collection of unreleased material have. It's a great album, but doesn't pass my criteria.
The other candidate fans mention is Life Is Good. The album has flaws, especially Reach Out and the horrible Summer On Smash. What impact did it have on the genre? None. It's a good album but let's be real: the 2012 classic rap album was GKMC. Perhaps you could argue it's a great "old man rap" album and had impact in that regard. But let's wait and decade and see.
Nas
Obviously we can agree Illmatic is a classic album. When I judge it based on my criteria I come away with a few points:
-It's a perfect album. The beats and rhymes are amazing, the flow is impressive, it has a near infinite replay value (I was bumping it earlier today before I saw this thread), etc.
-It's impact on hip hop cannot be denied. It was one of the first rap albums to have an "all star" collection of producers, instead of the typical 1-2 producer set up that was expected at the time. Lyrically the album had major impact on the genre. It ushered in more evocative lyricism, and the storytelling prowess had an impact as well. Perhaps most importantly it's generally viewed as the gold standard of hip hop, moreso than any other album.
------
Nas' other classic is It Was Written. This is a somewhat controversial argument though. At the time many hip hop heads were disappointed with the album. Meanwhile the streets loved it and subsequent generations hold it in high regard.
In terms of the criteria it is not a perfect album. It has a bad song (Black Girl Lost), the intro is corny, and the sequencing doesn't make sense. But outside of that one song it's great. Also Nas was rapping on a stunningly high level throughout the album.
In terms of impact you could argue it's one of the blueprints for how rap albums are made...or at least were. You could also argue the album is the peak of a specific rhyme pattern/flow. Shout outs to Queens.
-----
I don't see an argument for Nas having another classic. Stillmatic is good but what impact did it have on hip hop? Yes it revived Nas' career but when you compare it to The Blueprint it's hard to say it had any impact on the future of the genre musically. Blueprint revived soul samples and helped usher in Kanye West's reign. Stillmatic is rather inconsistent production wise, and while lyrically it's superior to Blueprint I don't think that trumps the influence of Blueprint.
Some fans mention Lost Tapes but I ask you what impact does a collection of unreleased material have. It's a great album, but doesn't pass my criteria.
The other candidate fans mention is Life Is Good. The album has flaws, especially Reach Out and the horrible Summer On Smash. What impact did it have on the genre? None. It's a good album but let's be real: the 2012 classic rap album was GKMC. Perhaps you could argue it's a great "old man rap" album and had impact in that regard. But let's wait and decade and see.
Inspect Her Deck
Skins of all colours come together as brothers
I've already done the Jay-Z one man. Check it out in the threads right now. I've decided on 10 years and 80% and it's working very well thus far.
one thing i did on the old site you could perhaps use as a reference:
each poster picks 5 albums, in order. 1st album gets 5 points, 2nd gets 4 points....5th gets one point
tally it up for a points total
i dont have the results anymore but i still have a rough idea of what they were like
each poster picks 5 albums, in order. 1st album gets 5 points, 2nd gets 4 points....5th gets one point
tally it up for a points total
i dont have the results anymore but i still have a rough idea of what they were like
Uncle Kendrick
I'm just bout that action
I think Future's Dirty sprite 2 is a classic according to your criteria. It's nothing but high quality tracks from top to bottom, the production is amazing, it's sonically cohesive, and it's very influential in term of the trap movement.
bigbadbossup2012
Biggest baddest boss
Thread will not solve anything.
The goal post will be moved alot
Alot of albums from the east that are called classics,wouldnt be called classics if they came out of another region
East coast bias behavior is similar to white supremacy treating blacks less than
The goal post will be moved alot
Alot of albums from the east that are called classics,wouldnt be called classics if they came out of another region
East coast bias behavior is similar to white supremacy treating blacks less than
Inspect Her Deck
Skins of all colours come together as brothers
I'll do Pac the day after. I wrote in the Jay thread that I would kill 3 birds with 1 stone: Eric B. & Rakim, Rakim (solo) and Black Star. That amounts to 7 albums total amongst the 3, which fits the poll requirements.
Sounds good
Eric B and Rakim - 4 albums
Rakim - 3 albums
Black Star - 2 albums
Isn't that 9 albums though?
Inspect Her Deck
Skins of all colours come together as brothers
Eric B and Rakim - 4 albums
Rakim - 3 albums
Black Star - 2 albums
Isn't that 9 albums though?
Rakim's last solo came out in 2009. So 2 for him. So total Rakim is 6 (w/ Eric B). Black Star only have one album. 7.
You right. I forgot about the 2005 rule.
Then i was thinking of that Reflection Eternal weed plate as if it was a Black Star album
Maybe I need to go back to sleep
Inspect Her Deck
Skins of all colours come together as brothers
You right. I forgot about the 2005 rule.
Then i was thinking of that Reflection Eternal weed plate as if it was a Black Star album
Maybe I need to go back to sleep
lol it happens bruh
get some rest
I'll need you again in like 9 or 10 hours from now, fully functioning and all that
