33. "RE: So you guys think" In response to Reply # 29
>Hard To Earn and The Sun Rises are both better?
Hard to Earn, yes. The Sun Rises, no. I don't have Word...Life in my top 5 either.
> >I love both those album but I don't think either is produced >as well...at all...and CL was just as good as Guru or Jeru.
I think they are on par with The Main Ingredient production-wise but lyrically, content-wise CL just wasn't bringing it like Guru and Jeru at the time.
****************************************** Falcons, Braves, Bulldogs and Hawks
>the beats are way better on both primo albums and Jeru shat >on CL in 1994. > >
LOL
>main ingrediant had some light in the ass, girl driven records >that drag it down. > > >all the places? yawn > >searching? yawn > >even the lead single....half a yawn.
4. "its somewhere in the top 10" In response to Reply # 0
illmatic southernplayalistic the diary ready to die dare iz a darkside hard to earn fadanuf fa erybody super tight the main ingredient the sun rises in the east
people still sleep on this album but the truth is: -it's the real start of the 'beat generation' attributed to Dilla -it's so effortless that it seems like they weren't trying hard, but thinking about how they previously did the best EP Hip Hop has ever seen and an album that was damn near and hour and a half long with no real dropoff, meeting in the middle with such an excellent album is something very few groups have been able to do
__________________________________________ CHOP-THESE-BITCHES!!!! ------------------------------------ Garhart Ivanhoe Poppwell Un-OK'd moderator for The Lesson and Make The Music (yes, I do's work up in here, and in your asscrease if you run foul of this
7. "I voted yes tho I didn't give it a ton of thought, but..." In response to Reply # 0 Tue Mar-11-14 08:44 AM by Brew
I love this album and have been wearing it out recently, ironically enough. Not sure what sparked it but I think I heard "All the Places" somewhere randomly or something, which pushed me to pull the whole album back out. What an opening with "In the House"...production overall is flawless, like someone else said it's the perfect backdrop for CL's flow...I just love it.
This might be blasphemous but I recently said that I think I like this album better than Mecca and the Soul Brother because I find the production to be more...mature? But maybe that's popular opinion.
Funnily enough since I started listening to this album consistently a couple months ago, I had planned on making a "where does CL Smooth rank on your all time list" type post but never got around to it.
So - post jack - I'm interested to know where people would rank him, or better yet what other MC's level(s) would you put him on? I never really hear him mentioned in a top MCs discussion (and I'm not sure he necessarily *should* be mentioned) so I am interested as to why and what others think of him.
8. "Probably. I guess I could put together a top 5 without it" In response to Reply # 0 Tue Mar-11-14 01:29 PM by mrhood75
Illmatic Dare Iz a Darkside Street Level Sun Rises in the East Hard to Earn
But the truth is, aside from Illmatic, I can't say I definitively like any of those albums more than Main Ingredient. So, sure, it's top 5 for the year.
9. "I like it more than Illmatic, actually" In response to Reply # 8
not much more, but I certainly listen to it more I haven't listened to Illmatic in over a decade, not because I hate it or anything but it's one of those albums that I've pretty much gotten all I can get from it so I need to be in the mood to play it Main Ingredient is an album that rewards me the more I listen to it, it's just a comfortable album to listen to because it was an album with conceptual songs more so than a concept album in and of itself ("I Get Physical" is a lyrical workout, "All The Places" is dreamlike and floats more than a song has a right to, "It's On You" hits hard and has a melodic undertone-perfect for that NY vibe of Hip Hop then, etc)
__________________________________________ CHOP-THESE-BITCHES!!!! ------------------------------------ Garhart Ivanhoe Poppwell Un-OK'd moderator for The Lesson and Make The Music (yes, I do's work up in here, and in your asscrease if you run foul of this
11. "Yea I haven't listened to Illmatic front to back..." In response to Reply # 9
>I haven't listened to Illmatic in over a decade, not because I >hate it or anything but it's one of those albums that I've >pretty much gotten all I can get from it so I need to be in >the mood to play it
...in probably close to 10 years either. For the same reason almost. I mean I pretty much have the entire thing memorized so I don't even *need* to play it.
12. "right, I played that album so much I have it all upstairs now" In response to Reply # 11
same with Wu 36
__________________________________________ CHOP-THESE-BITCHES!!!! ------------------------------------ Garhart Ivanhoe Poppwell Un-OK'd moderator for The Lesson and Make The Music (yes, I do's work up in here, and in your asscrease if you run foul of this
14. "And I wouldn't argue with anyone who said that either" In response to Reply # 9
I visit each one at least once a year, but I get anyone who says that they've "gotten" the most out of Illmatic they're going to get. "Main Ingredient" definitely creates distinct vibes and moods that make it a great listen every time.
13. "I probably played that album more than any other album from '94" In response to Reply # 10
And I probably played it more in '94 than any other album released in '94.
It's probably one of my top 5 listening experiences. As much as I love Ju Ju and Les, I know they're not lyrical surgeons. And while Fash is dope, his performance on that album isn't touching the ones by Nas, CL, Redman, Jeru, Common, Saafir, Casual, and others that year. But those beats? Maaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnn..... And the interludes. Garhart attributed Main Ingredient as one of the main catalysts for the "beat scene", but I think this album also helped lay the blueprint as well.
15. "Street Level is a notch below Stunts, Blunts and Hip Hop" In response to Reply # 13
in regards to a beat-driven production showcase, that shit is insane
__________________________________________ CHOP-THESE-BITCHES!!!! ------------------------------------ Garhart Ivanhoe Poppwell Un-OK'd moderator for The Lesson and Make The Music (yes, I do's work up in here, and in your asscrease if you run foul of this
17. "Street level has my favorite production of the era..." In response to Reply # 13
...even if it's mostly straight loops, I MUCH prefer it to the overtly sleepy, laidback and "soulful" production of "Main Ingredient" (which is nice too, no doubt) and I really like the Beatnuts as mc's in the early years (=before Stone Crazy) even if they obviously weren't great or anything; they had an attitude that actually reminds me of "License to Ill"-era Beasties but updated for the 90's. Still one of my favorite Hip-Hop albums ever and my favorite from 94 without a doubt; I don't even care that they weren't the best rappers because it doesn't matter on this album...
Dj Joey Joe Member since Sep 01st 2007 13770 posts
Wed Mar-12-14 09:47 PM
41. "Yes It Probably Would Make My Top 5 Rap Albums Of '94..." In response to Reply # 8
...but I would have to think about it and write down a list of all the rap albums that came out in 1994 and rank them before making a definitive answer, but I will admit it got tons of play from me and still does (I was listening to "Main Ingredient" just last week).
Jeru The Damaja's "Sun Rises In The East" & Organized Konfusion's "S.T.R.E.S.S.: E.A." was kind of like my bible back then, but Pete & C.L. only got play when I wanted to chill though.
--------- "We in here talking about later career Prince records & your fool ass is cruising around in a time machine trying to collect props for a couple of sociopathic degenerates" - s.blak
44. "Street Level is soooooo fucking underrated" In response to Reply # 8
I still blast that album today. Those beats were absolutely insane
<-- 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...
20. "That album aged really, really well" In response to Reply # 0
It's just so sharp and focused and leaves nothing left to be desired. Probably hip hop's most underrated album in regards to what people claim as classics and this being a frequent omission.
32. "yo fuck the Main Ingredient" In response to Reply # 0
Shit was wack rapping for bitches over pete rock doing CD101.9 beats. And what the fuck was CL talking about like at all. He's like the D'Mumblo of MCing. It blows my mind that fucking album gets any praise at all let alone best of 94. Pretty much anyone that dropped an album that year dropped some shit harder than that shit. Didn't PM Dawn drop some shit that year? No i didn't fucking listen to PM Dawn you fucking num nut. I abhor soft shit like that. Which is why I can't stand the fucking Main Ingredient. I get it though. Yall like getting in touch with your sensitive side. The whole everyman sits up on the couch sipping wine coolers imagining all the fine ass fems who'll completely ignore everything CL is saying to listen to the quiet storm beats you playing while trying to slide your hand around to the back.
GRRRRRRRR!!!
Just thinking of that album makes me want to smash shit.
PS It's really not so serious but Jakob's the only one in here saying anything close to negative and even he's being a little passive bitch about it.
43. "Couldn't fault someone either way" In response to Reply # 0
Should easily make top 10. Top 5? Depends on your taste. It for damn sure wasn't better than Hard to Earn though
<-- 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...
49. "and is now on spotify" In response to Reply # 0
Not sure when that happened cause I have been looking for it for years. I guess samples got cleared, but after listening to that new Pete Rock SP-1200 album I went to check and boom, there it is.
and got dayum I forgot what a lil masterpiece this is.
54. "Not quite" In response to Reply # 0 Tue Apr-30-19 11:00 AM by McDeezNuts
My top 5 for 1994 would be:
Notorious BIG - Ready to Die Nas - Illmatic Outkast - Southermplayalisticadillacmuzik Organized Konfusion - Stress: The Extinction Agenda Common - Resurrection
56. "Right, back then I was not the demographic" In response to Reply # 55
It grew on me since then. The beats were never in question, but I have come to appreciate the lazy flow of CL, which takes a patient ear to realize it's dopeness. I felt as if CL didn't have enough street cred to get away with so many insular references.
Taking shots in the dark/that's a bad call Going straight for your head/ gotta saw it off
58. "Its usually the first THING that pops in my head when 1994 is mentioned" In response to Reply # 0
So yeah it makes the cut, even tho im not saying its the #1 hip-hop album from 94, or even my favorite. Just tends to be the single thing (of any sort) that pops in my mind first when that year is mentioned...and that makes it automatic top-5 status
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