Best Rap Albums Consequence of Sound
2Pacalypse Now – 2Pac Released in the fall of 1991, 2Pac’s
debut album dropped during a time period of racial unrest on the west coast. The political commentary shows the streets through the eyes of an intelligent young black male. Racism, police brutality, teenage pregnancy, and even black on black crime are spoken of by 2Pac, making the album a time capsule for that place in time.
Illmatic - Nas ď‚— Released in the spring of 1994 Illmatic put East Coast
hip hop on the boards as a contender in the hip hop game opposing the rival West Coast hip hop style. Nas at the time was still a young rapper in the game, but with the release of Illmatic, he put himself on the map instantly.
Life After Death – Notorious B.I.G.  The second and final studio album of Christopher
Wallace (AKA Biggie) released in early 1997 sent shockwaves through the rap industry. The album released less than a month after his death in 1997 acting as a sequel to his Best Rap album Ready to Die. Biggie captured the appeal and glamour of the streets for young males, but illuminates the desperation and loss gang banging eventually brings with it.
Reasonable Doubt – Jay Z The debut album for Jay Z released in the summer of
1996 started Jay Z towards the iconic hip hop mogul status he now resides. Heavily influenced by his time on the streets slinging drugs and working in organized crime. The Mafioso rap themes present themselves throughout the album, as well, Jay Z displayed his ability to flow freestyle on “22 Two’s”.
To Pimp a Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar Released in early 2015, Kendrick Lamar may be one of
the only rappers currently in the rap game producing music of high enough quality to rival the legendary g rappers of the 90’s. To Pimp a Butterfly is culturally aware of the struggles facing the African American community currently in 2015. Lamar’s album also finds resonance in the internal struggle the rapper found with his growing fame.
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) – WuTang Clan Released in 1993 by the hip hop supper group Wu-
Tang Clan. The hardcore hip hop album put together explicit and humorous lyricism with heavy, eerie beats produced largely from old martial-arts movie clips. Enter the Wu-Tang has earned tags of marking the beginning of the East Coast Renaissance of hip hop and became a blueprint from a style of hardcore hip hop in the 90’s.
Straight Outta Compton – N.W.A Released in the summer of 1988, N.W.A. put out one
of the most controversial albums ever made, putting the hip hop / rap genre into the forefront of modern society. The gangster rap album was one of the first of its kind and with songs such as “Fuck the Police” it became a symbol of the race conflicts in the West Coast during the late 80’s and early 90’s.
The College Dropout – Kanye West Released in February of, Kanye West revolutionized
the production style of the rap genre in the 2000’s. The gangster rap era of the 90’s had come and gone for the most part and the rap industry needed a new leader to guide them through a transitioning phase, and Kanye was that voice. His background in beats production led West to create some of the best sample based beats production, which he had shown on Jay Z’s The Blueprint. The College Dropout is also a very self aware album for West dealing with religion, family, and personal issues.
The Chronic – Dr. Dre  After the split of N.W.A. Dre found himself working
on his own material and in 1992 he released The Chronic. The Chronic was the debut album for Dre as a solo rapper. The album made Dre a lot of enemies in the came after he directly called out Eazy-E and Ruthless records.
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