Tagged: wildstylewednesdays

I think the first time I heard about Blue Scholars was in Spin Magazine or a similar publication. I recall the memory because I was reading a review of their album Bayani . The review that I read was highly favorable, and naturally I wanted to see what the hype was all about. Prior to buying the album, I had never really listened to any artists from Seattle. I mean I knew West Coast Hip-Hop was dope, just not this dope . Bayani is one of my favorite albums I've picked up over the last couple [...]

Wu-Tang Clan is one of the most influential groups in the history of Hip-Hop music. GZA (in my opinion) is the best emcee (although they are all incredible ) in the group, so it would make sense to say that he is one of the most influential emcees of all-time. The album Liquid Swords is nothing short of a lauded lyrical masterpiece, and every single track on this album is sonically sound. Not only is this one of the greatest Wu-Tang related albums ever released , it is one of the greatest albums in Hip-Hop history. [...]

It's very easy for me to say that El-P has re-invented the wheel twice in the Hip-Hop game. The first time he did it was with Fantastic Damage (One of the best debuts ever?), and without a question he did it again on I'll Sleep When You're Dead . Don't get me wrong, I love both albums as much as you possibly could, I just think Fantastic Damage has a slight edge on ISWYD . The dark, hard hitting, brain hemorrhaging beats on this album are some of the most crazy concoctions my ear drums have [...]

To sit here and tell everyone that reads this blog that God Loves Ugly is an album that didn't influence me, is a total lie. I'm almost certain I was in 10th grade the first time that I heard the song "Godlovesugly", all I was thinking was "Who in the fuck is this?". When I heard that the emcee brilliantly blessing the microphone was from Minneapolis, I simply couldn't believe it. This album introduced me to the whole world of the Rhymesayers Crew , and if it were for that reason alone I would still never forget [...]

Little Brother is probably one of my favorite groups that I've ever heard. When 9th Wonder, Big Pooh & Phonte are all together in rare form on an album, they remind me of a force that nothing in this world could possibly stop. I personally am a big fan of The Listening & Getback , but I think these guys are in their top form on The Minstrel Show . Everything about this album is desirable, 9th Wonder's beats on this album are more soulful than ever, and Te's & Pooh's rhymes are most definitely the [...]

I had another review planned for this week, but with the recent passing of Baatin this one feels a little more natural. Fantastic, Vol. 2 is another record that came very close to charting on my most influential albums list. Even though it wasn't on my most influential albums list, this is another album that I can say would probably easily be in my top 20 favorite albums of all-time. The flow of this album is pure like water and yet it's as melodic as heaven. Jay Dee's production is so stellar on this album, that [...]

I want to start this review off by saying that this review holds special because Ace is one of my favorite emcees of all-time. He's been in the game for twenty plus years now, and his albums consistently get better and better. Ace's flow is aged fine wine, and Disposable Arts is the testament of time. Even though this album wasn't on my top 10 most influential albums (although A Long Hot Summer was), I can assure you it rests comfortably on my top 10 favorites of all-time. When listening to this album, you [...]

The Roots will forever be one of my favorite groups in Hip-Hop because I love their utilization of a live band and their natural sound. Not to mention that Black Thought is also one of my top five emcees, the guy is pretty much a god emcee on the microphone. I like every single album in The Roots catalog, but Things Fall Apart is the album that introduced me to them. I look at this album that came out ten years ago and part of me still feels like even not this album would still be ahead of [...]

This album was my first introduction (as well as most other people) to the Brothers Thornton. I remember being in 10th grade riding around in my buddy Copus's car listening to this album damn near every day. Since the album Lord Willin' , Clipse has been a duo known for their wicked, witty verses and sick ass Neptunes beats. To me it was really funny when they dropped Hell Hath No Fury because it seemed to me that nobody mentioned Lord Willin' . It was almost as if Lord Willin' never even [...]

In lieu of my friend and comrade Erik Burg leaving us at Mind Inversion, I wanted to do a review that would hit close to home with him. When you think of dynamic duos, you tend to think of pairings such as Premier & Guru, Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth and not to mention Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. This is where Rjd2 and Blueprint come into the equation. From the first time that I heard these guys collaborate on Rjd2's album Dead Ringer I knew they were going to be preposterous pairing in every aspect. [...]

Rhymesayers has been a stamp in Midwest Hip-Hop for as long as I remember. They also have their fair share of classics, but I'm almost positive that Brother Ali's Shadows On The Sun is still the best album from their catalog to date. Brother Ali leaves the microphone murderously massacred on every single track on this album, and Ant's production is nothing short of superbly stellar. I am a fan of everything that Ali has put out, but I really don't think that any other album stands up to this one. There are so many different [...]

A lot of people might totally hate on me, but I've never really been a huge Common fan, with the exception of Like Water For Chocolate . I honestly think that this album might be one of the best Hip-Hop albums of the last decade. The production put forth by Jay Dee and the Soulquarians is nothing short of perfect, and Common manages to compliment every single beat on this album the way it should be. Jay Dee did a great majority of the production and he absolutely killed the beats on this record. In [...]

I remember being a Junior at La Crescent High School and learning about poetry and poetical devices from an incredible teacher named Ms. Sandy. I took an interesting re-appraisal at the music that I had been listening to previously, and I realized (with the exception of classic rock) that the Rap I had been listening to was pretty shitty to be frank. I remember at the time I had been hearing about Talib, and the things that I had heard were so positive that I had to get one of his albums. Quality is the first [...]

Rjd2 is one badass dude, he released Deadringer in 2002 (one of my favorite albums of all time), and roughly one year later he released this ten track gem otherwise known as The Horror EP. Don't get me wrong, Deadringer is a multi-level musical masterpiece but I think The Horror EP is a little better. This EP has ten top tier tracks, revisits some of the best moments of Deadringer and further more, it features some of Rj's best beats. I feel as though if this was [...]

This album was posthumously released shortly after Dilla died. Good friend Karriem Riggins took the album under his wing with the wave from Ma Dukes. Many sources say that Dilla was only able to finish around 75% of the album before his untimely death. Even though this album wasn't on my top 10 albums of all time, I can assure you that this is one of my favorite albums of all time. This is the first album I ever heard of Dilla's solo material, and for that reason alone I am forever grateful to this album. I remember [...]

Hell's Winter might be one of the best label debuts I've ever heard. Hell's Winter is Cage's sophomore album, and it saw him coming into a different light than Movies For The Blind , and all I can say is that this album is really fucking impressive. Cage rhymes about some of the most insane shit that I've ever heard, but the crazy part is that he has actually lived most of it. Def Jux as a label has put out a lot of really good material, but this album might be the best. This [...]

Before hearing this album, my view of Southern Hip-Hop was grossly grim(except for Little Brother). I had been hearing the same shit over and over again with Three Six Mafia and Lil' Jon all the time, and frankly I was getting sick of it. Kno, Deacon & SOS are what you would call a boisterous breath of fresh air for the lungs of southern Hip-Hop. One of my best friends had been telling me about these guys for a long time, and my attitude towards Southern Hip-Hop stopped me from listening to them for awhile. After I started listening to [...]

Although you guys don't hear my talk about Hov very much, I can assure you that he is one of my favorite emcees of all time. In my opinion The Blueprint is his shining moment as an emcee (although many would argue Reasonable Doubt is) without a doubt. This album has pristene production and Jay-Z's flow, delivery and lyrics on this album are truly top notch. I picked up this album when I was in 8th grade, and I've been bumping it ever since. Now that I look back [...]

After listening to this album, you will realize that Immortal Technique is one intelligent ass dude. He is one of the most passionate, intelligent and furious emcees I've heard. He attacks the microphone like a serial killer, and every track on this album is a testament to this. This album absolutely dominated my CD player for almost two years when I bought it. Immortal Technique truly is a revolutionary. Most of the rhymes that Technique spits, are way deeper in meaning than you could even fathom. The metaphors and similes that he spits are pretty close to unparalleled. [...]

This is another album that almost made my top 10 most influential albums. The lyrical content that is displayed on this album is damn near untouchable. Mos Def & Talib Kweli go together like mashed potatoes and gravy. They mesh on just about every level that you can possibly imagine. This album came out originally in 1998 and this is an album that I feel will echo in the hallways of Hip-Hop for a long time. I remember being in eleventh grade and learning about poetic devices. When I found this album, it was the epitome of everything I had [...]