Dozin’ with a dirty dozen of hip hop’s most slept-on albums
12. Megadef, by Styles of Beyond, owners of my favourite acronym in music. Rap over metal samples, hard where Limp Bizkit is flaccid, Ryu and Tak have twice the talent and half the recognition. While this album moves toward a straight-forward destination, the surprise lies in the many curves it takes on the way there. (2003)
11. The Goats took the template pioneered by Prince Paul, now known as the album skit, and did to it what Oliver Stone does to the biopic. Tricks of the Shade is a twisted, angry satire delivered by unique voices via song and a tight story that takes place at an evil carnival somehow connected to George Bush Sr. A product of it’s time that wouldn’t survive today’s iTunes shuffle or the ADD kids that use it. (1992)
10. Edan runs the hip hop triathlon (MC, DJ and Producer) and challenges anyone to keep up with him. Primitive Plus allows him to show off his entire (and entirely strange) arsenal. Best line: “The flyest on a 12″…so’s your girl and she doesn’t make records.” (Doesn’t even rhyme, doesn’t even matter) (2002)
9. Latyrx - The Album: the name of the group seamlessly blended the names of Lateef and Lyrix Born, and, in the title track, even their voices. Hypnotically swirling left to right and over top of one another in the mix, the song had me convinced they were siamese twins. Or on acid. (1997)
8. The Cactus Album. 3rd Bass were respected, talented and white. That last thing should’ve been a non-factor, if it weren’t for that soft serve douche-bot, Vanilla Ice. Also , ‘The Prime Minister Sinister: Pete Nice’ is one of the coolest names I’ve ever heard. (1989)
7. Kool G. Rap & DJ Polo dropped three gems in a row and went their separate ways. I chose Live and Let Die because it has my favourite song of the bunch, ‘Ill Street Blues.’ The roughest dude to ever possess a lisp, G. Rap fathered Nas’ story-telling & Biggie’s style. (1992)
6. MC Ren. I put Kizz My Black Azz on here, even though it’s an EP, because Ren belongs on this list, maybe more than anyone else. Solid as a jail-bar from day one, ‘The Ruthless Villain’ was a member of N.W.A., on the FBI’s most wanted list, and was also constantly in someone else’s shadow. Being in a group with Dre, Cube & Eazy’ll do that, I guess. (1992)
5. Pharoahe Monch – Internal Affairs should’ve propelled Monch into super-stardom. Instead, it got him sued because the Godzilla sample in ‘Simon Says’ had not been cleared. As punishment, his chart position was struck from the record. Hey Court of law, Simon Says: Fuck you. (1999)
4. Slick Rick The Ruler came out of jail and uncaged a beast of an album. He should’ve been put back in jail because he fucking kills it. Ricky D wrote the book on The Art of Storytelling. It should be required reading. Any man who says, “Ain’t no way to put it subtle..when I want the butthole,” obviously has a lot to teach us. (1999)
3. Camp Lo – Uptown Saturday Night would’ve blown up if anybody knew what the hell Sonny Cheeba and Geechi Suede were talking about. But then, it wouldn’t have been half as cool. By taking a page from the 70’s with feet firmly planted in the 90’s, they instantly felt both familiar and brand new. And they did it all by seeing how many words they could make up to stand-in for money… (1997)
2. Pharcyde took us on a Bizarre Ride II The…uh…never mind. This quartet of self-deprecating court jesters proved laughter is the best medicine by making observations on everyday things like the state of ‘Ya Mama’s’ teeth. And how much it sucks to find an outie when you’re expecting an innie. ‘Passin’ Me By’ was huge, but, in an unfortunate turn of events, also prophetic as fame did indeed pass them by. (1993)
1. Black Sheep. A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing. A perfect album. An amazing MC. And that was the DJ! The actual MC is even better. Way ahead of it’s time, it actually achieved commercial success, but the fact that it’s not brought up every time there’s a Top 5 list in hip hop is bonkers. ‘Strobelite Honey’ isn’t even a song – it’s a survival tip. It has saved lives. Can the number one album on your list say the same? (1991)
Me? I never sleep, ‘cause sleep is the cousin of death.
Wake your goat-mouth ass up.
As you were,
– Nuv
‘For Doz That Slept’
A selection of tracks from the aforementioned list,
not unlike the selection of tracks along your arms: full of dope.
1. Simon Says – Pharoahe Monch
2. Luchini (aka This Is It) – Camp Lo
3. The Gasface – 3rd Bass
4. R U Down With The Goats – The Goats
5. Ill Street Blues – Kool G. Rap
6. Behind The Scenes / Final Frontier – MC Ren
7. Impress The Kid – Slick Rick
8. Latyrx – Latyrx
9. #1 Hit Record – Edan
10. Eurobiks – Styles of Beyond
11. Passin’ Me By – Pharcyde
12. The Choice Is Yours (Revisited) – Black Sheep
