I threw on LAX yesterday afternoon and it brought me back to the summer of 2008 where I was heavy into that album when it dropped. This made me throw on Doctor's Advocate, and now The Documentary. For a rapper who gets plenty of criticism for name-dropping too much, not being that great of a technical rapper, mimmicking whatever rapper is guest featured on that particular song, etc, Game has built up a pretty impressive resume of albums.

The Documentary is one of the best mainstream releases of the 2000s, Doctor's Advocate is an excellent follow up (some even consider it better than his debut), and I thought LAX was solid and underrated. After that he's dipped a bit in quality, but The RED Album was still enjoyable and I think I'm going to revisit Jesus Piece after I get through the rest of these albums over the next few days.

Who would have guessed during those G-Unit days and beefing with 50 Cent that Game would end up with a FARRRR superior catalog?

Who else belongs on this list? Great rappers with underwhelming output come up a lot in discussion, but we never talk about the people who did a lot with a little.

I didn't know of DJ Haircut, so when ST announced the heart shaped 12" I just figured it would be a one off...couple years later and seen him perform 5x and pretty much have every song he's released.

EDIT: Didn't notice the op said rappers...gotta go with Evidence. He actually got better as a rapper since the last Dilated album.

phemom's the name, all-star writer/
searching 4 journalistic fame, mindframe igniter....www.twitter.com/hayabusaage

nm

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"You can't beat white people. You can only knock them out."

I don't think he's a superior MC but most of his albums (I don't like 808s or Yeezus) are far greater than the sum of their parts.

Leaving out those 2 albums, it's always interesting to hear people debate which of his albums are his best or even classics.

He has one of my favorite catalogs in hip hop, but maybe because I was a fan from day one, I don't think he's "over achieving" so to speak. I don't consider him as bad a rapper as most, and I've always enjoyed his production and consider him the best in the game at putting together a good album. So I can understand anyone saying Kanye, but I wouldn't include him in the same category for my previously stated reasons.

>I've always enjoyed his production and consider
>him the best in the game at putting together a good album.

I agree with you 100% here. I hope I didn't make it sound like I didn't like Kanye. IMO, he's far & away the most important hip-hop artist of the past 10 years. His run of 4 albums (CD, LR, Graduation & MBDTF) belong among the best hip-hop has ever seen.

days...or even when he dropped this ain't no mixtape...but after pilot talk? oh boy...it was a wrap

..."fresh as a mint - at the event - a king...soning these rappers - I'll make you a prince..."

New Jet City is my favorite works of this year. Definitely slept on

**********
I should put that in a song

@nategoodness
www.nategoodness.com

The avatar is old. And, no, that hat was not a groovy style back then, either.

>days...or even when he dropped this ain't no mixtape...but
>after pilot talk? oh boy...it was a wrap

Very impressed by what duke has dropped over the years….his last one, "Cats & Dogs", is criminally slept on...

Integrity is the Cornerstone of Artistry...

good one. i used to despise his style in the dilated days now he seems to be one of the better rap artists going.

>good one. i used to despise his style in the dilated days
>now he seems to be one of the better rap artists going.
Yes…I never liked him or Dilated a lot, but I really liked "The Weatherman" and he is really good live, good energy, etc.

His "slow flow" REALLY works live. He sounded great, unlike most rappers who can barely catch their own breath or keep up with their lyrics, he was ON POINT. I like both of his solos. Lyrics get repetitive, but his ear for beats (and own production) is top notch.

…right on in regard to his ear for beats, and what works for him production wise…it's a skill/talent that a lot of cats lack….Gotta also appreciate that Ev knows how to pick the right guests on his projects…

Integrity is the Cornerstone of Artistry...

Co-sign.

I was lukewarm on him until I saw him live. I've seen him a couple of times and he's great on stage and it makes me like his shit more for some reason.

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he stopped doing that weird nasally voice he was doing in the early Dilated days. I always enjoyed their albums and found him immensely talented but the voice thing he was doing was Eminem levels of weird and unnecessary, especially now that we know it wasn't even close to his real voice.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

I never would have thought in his Battle Axe days that he'd be someone I would regularly check for, and have albums I deem worth purchasing in the double digits.

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I check for: Serengeti, Zeroh, Open Mike Eagle, Jeremiah Jae, Moka Only.

listening to Martian Xmas 2013 as i type. Just got up on Moka last year and now own like 25 of his albums.

Some of his best stuff is on those Martian Xmas albums, I think.

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I check for: Serengeti, Zeroh, Open Mike Eagle, Jeremiah Jae, Moka Only.

You'd think Christmas rap albums would be terribly lame but they're really enjoyable. They actually sound like winter.

The Airport series (particularly 5) sounds like spring. Incidentally, Airport 5 is probably my favourite project from him.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

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For example, his Good Morning Vietnam releases was pretty good, I thought. Pretty much find something to enjoy in all of his releases. But my first impression of him (from his DOOM days, wasn't up on his solo stuff from the early/mid 90s) was very underwhelming.

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I check for: Serengeti, Zeroh, Open Mike Eagle, Jeremiah Jae, Moka Only.

IMO Grimm has been putting out terrible albums since he split with DOOM. the only joint with some cuts was jet jaguar. all those next ones were forgettable and i own them all out of loyalty as a fan.

>I threw on LAX yesterday afternoon and it brought me back to
>the summer of 2008 where I was heavy into that album when it
>dropped. This made me throw on Doctor's Advocate, and now The
>Documentary. For a rapper who gets plenty of criticism for
>name-dropping too much, not being that great of a technical
>rapper, mimmicking whatever rapper is guest featured on that
>particular song, etc, Game has built up a pretty impressive
>resume of albums.
>
>The Documentary is one of the best mainstream releases of the
>2000s, Doctor's Advocate is an excellent follow up (some even
>consider it better than his debut), and I thought LAX was
>solid and underrated. After that he's dipped a bit in quality,
>but The RED Album was still enjoyable and I think I'm going to
>revisit Jesus Piece after I get through the rest of these
>albums over the next few days.
>
>Who would have guessed during those G-Unit days and beefing
>with 50 Cent that Game would end up with a FARRRR superior
>catalog?
>
>Who else belongs on this list? Great rappers with
>underwhelming output come up a lot in discussion, but we never
>talk about the people who did a lot with a little.
True.
The Game seems like he's smart enough/really good at putting an album together and understands that it can't be just 2 or 3 good songs and the rest BS. He isn't the greatest rapper…..might be a total fool….but, true, his first two albums are pretty quality material.

If we were back circa 98' around the time Blackstar dropped, I would not have figured him to be around 15 years later. Kweli should definitely be at the top of this list. He wasn't as charismatic as Mos, he didn't have a very wide vocal range and he was just a few steps above being one dimensional. I think the reason he has survived this long is because he realized this early on and started to push his boundaries musically, working with many producers and artist better and/or more accomplished than himself.

He definitely exceeded my expectations album wise. He has a great body of work with Eardrum probably being my favorite overall and Gravitas being one of my favorite albums this year. I'm not saying all of his output is praiseworthy, but thus far I haven't found an album of his that I refuse to put back in rotation. just this week I threw The Beautiful struggle(my least favorite) back in my mix. despite it's hick-ups, that album had a lot of bangers on it as well. I honestly think that the true measure of an artist is when you can listen to their most lackluster efforts without cringing.

╭∩╮（︶︿︶）╭∩╮





www.last.fm/user/Tha_Abstract

Roc Marciano might fit. I don't think he's the most talented but puts together solid projects

When I first heard the Hybrid in 2010, I was thinking this dude sounds way too wild, his style was miles outside of anything else going on. I recognized Quelle Chris was on the boards, and I dug Blue Mondays, so I gave it a handful of spins on that merit alone, but I lost interest after a while, something about DB rubbed me the wrong way. A couple months later Hawaiian Snow dropped with Tony Yayo, and I was scratching my head. This next-to-unknown dude from Detroit dropped a below the radar album with some mainstream dude from the G-Unit (albeit wayy after his relevancy expired), but the project was solid, and between this and the Hybrid, DB was 2/2. I knew XXX was coming soon and, my god, that album was life changing. I remember I was looking for a new apartment, hanging out in my parents' basement at the time, and throwing that album on the Grados and just being absolutely blown away. Now, three and a half years later, Danny Brown just dropped one of the hottest, critically well-received albums of 2013.

Not saying I don't think he has talent, I'm just thoroughly surprised at how far he's gone with his style.

Never had an inkling that the guy from The Go-Getters would be the massive all-conquering industry/ artistic presence that he is now. Super-humble beginnings to this behemoth one-man army of product and expression. Crazy.

Tribe Called Quest: never thought that last original Native Tongues group to debut, with such an understated yet wonderfully colorful vibe, would evolve into arguably* the best/greatest of not only their clique, but possibly of their era. Their rapid artistic and self-reflective maturity from PITOTPOR to LET was unheard of during that time (maybe Public Enemy). Other acts like De La, Rakim, or BDP had established themselves at a certain level out the gate. Tribe's pace took such a quantum leap in attitude, thematic vision, artful statement, and competitive confidence ... it was a rewarding experience that no-one expected ...

*(it certainly has been argued!)

Twitter.com/djRBI
Instagram.com/DJ_RBI

"I'm That Guy", Mike G (J Beez)

Mack 10 for sure, even though his albums are very Regional.

WC for suuuuure, he has a lot of great albums...even the recent ones. I'd say he's a 7/10 rapper...plenty personality, dope delivery and flow, but far from "great."

Lil Jon....even though it's different because he's a producer, and has plenty guest features. But in his prime, he was GREAT at what he did..and even had hits that aren't "Crunk" on his albums.

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Twitter and Instagram - @DJ_RTistic

For a rapper who isn't particularly good at rapping, his discography is very solid.

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O_E: "Acts like an asshole and posts with imperial disdain"




"I ORBITs the solar system, listenin..."

(C)Keith Murray, "

Me being a fan, I wouldn't have expected him to go much further than solo albums. I like how he has kept himself relevant by working with many acts all over the country as well as overseas. I think he really broadened his fan base with El da Sensei and The Returners.

╭∩╮（︶︿︶）╭∩╮





www.last.fm/user/Tha_Abstract

>Me being a fan, I wouldn't have expected him to go much
>further than solo albums. I like how he has kept himself
>relevant by working with many acts all over the country as
>well as overseas. I think he really broadened his fan base
>with El da Sensei and The Returners.

Shit he's dope to me because he's all personality and that flow is catchy/easy to rap along to.

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50+ FREE Mixes on www.DJR-Tistic.com!

Twitter and Instagram - @DJ_RTistic

Thought he was the wackest nigga in G-Unit, but he put out the best album out of all of 'em that year