"Most drastic improvement from one album to another (MCs)"
you can go ahead and post about other genres, but I'm kind of curious about rappers for this one Lessonheads
I'm thinking of T-Mo's progression from Soul Food to Still Standing, he went from maybe the worst rapper in the group to one of its best. IMO he should have been given the shot at a solo album that Big Gipp (who probably had more charisma) ended up getting years later.
5. "I'm gonna say Black Thought" In response to Reply # 0 Sun Apr-10-11 08:50 PM by Anonymous
from DYWM to Illadelph.
not that he was bad on DYWM but for me, he went from being 1 of 2 MCs in "that hip-hop group that plays their own instruments" to "yo this dude is one of the nicest MCs of all-time!"
I remember telling my boy in 96 prior to dubbing the album for him "yo this dude in The Roots is killin it" and his reply was "Malik B right?" and I said "nah man…Black Thought"
mwasi kitoko Member since Jul 15th 2007 60768 posts
Sun Apr-10-11 09:10 PM
7. "big boi from southernplayalistic to ATLiens" In response to Reply # 0 Sun Apr-10-11 09:32 PM by mwasi kitoko
das efx from dead serious to straight up sewaside cam'ron from confessions of fire to s.d.e. fugees from blunted on reality to the score (especially lauryn) nas from illmatic to it was written (fuck what niggas have to say. illmatic was a GREAT debut and a great album period but his rhymes became WAY more coherent and he solidified his strength in story telling with IWW) can't think of anymore.
29. "he was solid on SPCM, but not worthy of a solo album yet" In response to Reply # 21
I think that was part of the reason "savannah" was left off SPCM and put on Aquemini; the group was on some "oh you thought he was dope on Decatur Psalm, wait till you hear this shit ..."
28. "i can dig it , big homie " In response to Reply # 27
>I don't know if there has ever been a better example of how >to MC that IWW. > >all I said was that Thought had a larger jump between the two >albums. > >again, I'm not saying Thought was wack but he was by no means >the same MC on those two albums.
and I appreciate the input, because I hadn't really considered Black Thought to be an MC who progressed and improved. My first album experience with him and the crew was on Things Fall Apart, so I've really only known him as the lyrical giant that he was from that point on.
Mellow My Man was cool and Distortion to Static was cool but nothing that people were playing over and over again in 94. and I'm saying 'people' in reference to me and people I grew up with.
when Illadelph dropped, Thought slapped us in the face.
I actually remember the first time I noticed Thought as being nice as hell was on the High School High soundtrack. He killed that verse and had me watching for him.
Then Illadelph dropped and he was my favorite MC throughout high school.
Respond/React Section (crazy) Panic! It Just Don't Stop Episodes (personal joint) Push Up Ya Lighter (love this verse) What They Do (rode the hell out of that best) Concerto of the Desperado (killed this) Clones UNIverse At War (Com had to revive himself on Act Too) No Alibi (the best example) Hypnotic (story joint) Ital
64. "Illadelph is one of the first albums that really scared the shit outta m..." In response to Reply # 22
well that and The Main Ingredient...like, can these mofo's be THIS DOPE is this really possible to kill every track like that?? thought and malik seemed like the illest rhymin duo ever...between them and Kast i thought hh groups could get NO betta...
"yes, sometimes my rhymes are sexist, but you lovely bitches and hos should know i'm tryin to correct it"- hiphopopotamus
87. "RE: Illadelph is one of the first albums that really scared the shit out..." In response to Reply # 64
>well that and The Main Ingredient...like, can these mofo's be >THIS DOPE is this really possible to kill every track like >that?? thought and malik seemed like the illest rhymin duo >ever...between them and Kast i thought hh groups could get NO >betta...
gotta agree with you here. Main Ingredient and Illadelph. I was in college and these two were the soundtracks.
63. "i'm not saying thought didn't get better...as did Malik" In response to Reply # 13
...but Com's jump was bigger..to me....i didn't even hear people sayin com was dope til Resurrection....i rarely hear people talk about dope cuts on CIBAD...shit, the two albums sound like they came from two different MC's
Thought was Dope on DYWM, as was Nas on his first, and Big Boi/Andre on theirs, but they didn't sound like tottally different artist on them next albums....they were just unquestionably dope with those next albums...(with the exception of Nas, who NOBODY seemed to think was wack when Illmatic dropped...nigga was like the next coming...)
"yes, sometimes my rhymes are sexist, but you lovely bitches and hos should know i'm tryin to correct it"- hiphopopotamus
37. "and even on that USDA album..." In response to Reply # 10
can't remember without Googling where it sits in his discography but I was a lil surprised at the step he took. (LOL, I remember Menphyel talking about how that kind of hurt him to rap more)
40. "this reply and the Phife dawg one goes together for me " In response to Reply # 32
because I'm sure they did improve but the groups total package was soo good that I just never paid enough attention to their lyrics to see that; to me groups like ATCQ, LB, SV are about composition more than any one part.
IMO that is one of the reasons why I could not get into De La Soul (ducks), because Plug 1 was overwhelmingly the best MC in the group and it overshadowed everything else.
39. "^^ maybe the best response yet" In response to Reply # 35
he even admitted that he sucked on that first album in an interview a few years back
"murdered you on your own shit" should actually apply to Puba's or G Rap's guest spots
I sometimes wonder what his career would have been like if he had embraced his Zulu nation ties (Represent was recorded at Jazzy Jay's studios), and his early graf writer lifestyle instead of the mafioso stuff he was on
nevertheless he improved dramatically from a delivery and lyrical standpoint after that album
56. "Yeah, but he still suck" In response to Reply # 35
Respect to the mayor of teh bronx and all, but I'm not buying a whole album of Crack's rapping
<-- Dave Thomas knows what's up... __________________________
Jay: Look here homie, any nigga can get a hit record. This here is about respect. Game: Like Gladys Knight. Jay: Aretha Franklin. Game: Word, I like her too. Jay: Nigga...
74. "Maintain and put the frontin to a rest or today will be the grand openin..." In response to Reply # 56
>Respect to the mayor of teh bronx and all, but I'm not buying >a whole album of Crack's rapping
OF YA CHEST!!! (c) Fat Joe "Success"
You are missing out, seriously. I wouldn't say that about anything else in his catalog but Jealous One's Envy was a quality album all across the board.
75. "Dave probably wouldn't cosign this term but it really was "swag"" In response to Reply # 43
Pos always had it, from the jump he always came across as completely confident in himself and what he was doing behind the mic. A lot of times Dave came off as slightly disgruntled, he just seemed way more at ease on "Grind Date".
84. "RE: came to say this when you heard murder you WAS LIKE DAMN" In response to Reply # 72
>like what the fuck I mean he was killing guest apperances but >that shit just shocked the hell outta me
YES!
The appearances between the two albums for Bun were clear signs that dude had found another part of his brain. And he was using it something fierce on almost every and any 'southern' hiphop album. Break Em Off Something, I'm Comin..oh yes. And he blacked out soooo many times on Ridin' Dirty..it's still kinda jarring sometimes if you haven't heard it in a while. Pinky Ring ya'll...Pinky Ring.
-DJ R-Tistic- Member since Nov 06th 2008 51986 posts
Mon Apr-11-11 02:32 PM
49. "Lil Wayne on...shit he did it 2-3 times!!" In response to Reply # 0
Going into Carter 1 was the most obvious, but I'd even argue that he stepped it up again going into Carter 2. And before all of that, he basically improved from each Hot Boyz album along with solos...but the biggest had to be going into Carter 1.
It's wild that folks don't even remember how much he emulated Jay on that album because he's changed his style up again. But "Earthquake" really sounded like Jay using Wayne's voice.
52. "yeah no kidding ... he has consistently gotten better " In response to Reply # 49
>Going into Carter 1 was the most obvious, but I'd even argue >that he stepped it up again going into Carter 2. And before >all of that, he basically improved from each Hot Boyz album >along with solos...but the biggest had to be going into Carter >1. >
its kind of fun to trace his progression, as you said, he improved with each Hot Boyz album and solo;like I have been listening to B.G. "Choppa City in the Ghetto" lately and he was really hanging with the Cash Money heavyweights by '99 '00
55. "Sadat X from One For All to In God We Trust " In response to Reply # 0
not exactly an honest response, because Puba was clearly the star of One for All, so we don't really have much source material of Sadat on that album as maybe some other replies in here.
but when Puba left, somebody had to carry the torch, and that MC was clearly Dotty X from that point on (yes, even when Puba came back)
I am of the opinion that he would not have gotten a shot at a solo album (classic btw), if he hadn't progressed like he did on IGWT
you can even argue that the God imrpoved on Everything is Everything, but I'll leave that for another day
65. "did he really get better, or was the album better?" In response to Reply # 58
I ahven't really heard WOrds from the Genius in its entirety, but to me it feels like he has always been the same MC
maybe he made a drastic leap on Liquid Swords I dunno, but I don't want the post to get confused with improvement of albums when the original emphasis was on rappers improving (lyrically, style, content delivery wise, etc)
71. "Man the reason Liquid swords is better cause of the MCING" In response to Reply # 65
that's why its a classic too I mean of course RZA did his thing but GZA killed that damn album he is the MC of the clan....its one of the best mcing peformance over an album of all time.
On words from a genius he was big daddy clone sorta
76. "If any album needs the remix treatment it's "Words from the Genius"" In response to Reply # 71
>that's why its a classic too I mean of course RZA did his >thing but GZA killed that damn album he is the MC of the >clan....its one of the best mcing peformance over an album of >all time. > >On words from a genius he was big daddy clone sorta
Those beats bring down that album big time. You do make a valid point though, the label was pushing him to sound like Kane.
79. "RE: did he really get better, or was the album better?" In response to Reply # 65
I think so. I haven't listened to Words from the Genius in a long time but his metaphor game and the way he put lyrics together on Liquid Swords was far better. I don't remember replaying verses on the former at all and he had a lot of dumbed down songs, what are silly girls made of, come do me, etc.
82. "Yeah, I'd say he got better overall" In response to Reply # 65
"Words From a Genius" was certainly a different type of album than "Liquid Swords," with a lot more straight-ahead story-telling; subject matter-wise, it was the type of albums that most artists on Cold Chillin' put out. I think he's straight MCin/lyrical shit was comparable, but he certainly kicked it up a notch on "Liquid Swords." He got a lot more interesting at story-telling on "Liquid Swords"; "Killa Hillz 10304" and "I Gotcha Back" certainly slay all of the "stories" on "Words From a Genius."
68. "Chuck D from Y!BRTS to ITANOMTHUB" In response to Reply # 0
On the first album it still had an old school rapping style and he hadn't came fully into his style yet. But the next one he jumped his transition period and arrived fully matured as one of the meanest MCs in the game. Nobody is messing with him on "Louder Than A Bomb" and "Rebel Without A Pause"
78. "I thought Ghostface was really wack on "Enter the 36 Chambers"" In response to Reply # 0
Dude was just screaming with no real flow. The first signs of him being dope were his verses on the St. Ides commercial and "Brooklyn Zoo II (Tiger Crane)" off of "Return to the 36 Chambers". "Only Built For Cuban Linx" was where the entire rap world took note of his progression. Then he started flipping his style again on "Wu-Tang Forever", which led to what we would hear on "Supreme Clientele". With that in mind it's fair to say he made the jump twice.
81. "^^^I came in here to post this." In response to Reply # 78 Tue Apr-12-11 01:36 PM by mrhood75
On "Enter" he was the second wackest cat in the crew, and you couldn't really judge U-God at the time (he had, what, 12 bars total on that album?). The only really dope Ghost verse on that all was on "Can It Be..."
>Dude was just screaming with no real flow. The first signs >of him being dope were his verses on the St. Ides commercial >and "Brooklyn Zoo II (Tiger Crane)" off of "Return to the 36 >Chambers". "Only Built For Cuban Linx" was where the entire >rap world took note of his progression.
LOL. Dude get outta my head. I've always maintained "Brooklyn Zoo 2" was his turning point, and then he raised it to another leel on "OB4CL."
92. "El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead" In response to Reply # 0
Granted he released two in between, I didn't check 'em so forgive me if he actually rapped a lot on either of those (I thought they were instrumental). I think ISWYD was a drastic improvement as far as his rapping goes, I've always considered his beats progressive. It sounds a lot less abstract/complex for the sake of complexity and the lyrics were more moving/understandable in my opinion. The lyrics to some of those songs (League of Extraordinary Nobodies, Flyentology,The Overly Dramatic Truth, No Kings) were exceptionally good.
I went into that album expecting to be impressed by the production and OK rhymes, after a listen or two it was more like fuck, this guy can produce well and rap really well.
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