478 - LL Cool J - Radio

This classic album puts the rhyme front and center. Samples and scratches are completely to service and reinforce the beat. The only times that LL raps over music and not just a beat is on "That's a Lie" and "You'll Rock." Otherwise, the samples play essentially the same role as guitars do in blues - serve the rhythm during verses with flourishes between stanzas and verses.

LL's rhymes are clear, consistent, and flow smoothly, yet forcibly from his mouth. Stripped of accompanying music, there is nothing for his words to hide behind. Hearing his alliteration, word twists, and enunciation showcases his M.C. credentials in a way that current rappers seem to avoid with layers of samples, female vocalists, and dropping the vocals more into the mix.

LL has big balls and he sets them atop the vinyl of this album. May the bigger man come along and prove his rapping skills. If you dare.

Songs I knew I liked: "Rock the Bells"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "I Can't Live Without My Radio" and "Dear Yvette"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: None that I would never want to hear again.

477 - The Fugees - The Score

There are two very noteworthy aspects to The Score for me.

1. It was very different from the gangsta rap that dominated most of the 90's. Where Dre and others talked about malt liquors and 40's, The Fugees drop a mention of Guiness instead. Easy-E wasn't name-dropping Seal or quoting Corey Hart like the Fugees. The rhymes the Fugees provided weren't discussing drug dealing, as much as they discussed dealing with drugs and their effects on the community.

2. Lauryn Hill is an extremely talented singer and rapper that shines on every track she's on.

This album meshes the three personalities fairly well, although I personally have always quickly tired of Wyclef Jean. The amount of soul influences on the album were used to both soothe the listener and as an awkward counterpoint to some of the disturbing images in the rhymes. Tracks such as "Fu-Gee-La" and "The Mask" sound very much like Tribe Called Quest's better work.


Songs I knew I liked: "Killing Me Softly" and "No Woman, No Cry"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "Ready or Not" and "Fu-Gee-La"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: The end of "The Beast" where there is a cringe-worthy skit about a Chinese restaurant, the "Fu-Gee-La" remixes at the end of the album, and "Mista Mista"