not just a personal classic for you but a project you can say was also extremely well regarded among the masses.

good kid maad city?

as aside: has any drake project been anywhere near classic status? kinda weird for an artist so dominant to not have at least that one broadly memorialized timeless joint right?

(i think so far gone was classic but the lines are blurred as to whether that counts or not)

I do think GKMC is just as good and probably prefer it but I'm not sure the wide audience would agree.

Seems like a lot of people are down on Damn but to me it's a classic and I think with time it will be.

I think you gotta set some terms to provide a list or alternatives. Is there a minimum amount of time that needs to pass before it can be considered a classic?

I'm guessing we have to exclude more obscure releases that are great? A minimum monthly listen count?

>I think you gotta set some terms to provide a list or
>alternatives. Is there a minimum amount of time that needs to
>pass before it can be considered a classic?

That didn’t go over too well with some folks, but they came around after awhile and saw that it held up.

But to me, it was like Aquemeni. I knew the second I heard it. The passage of time was a formality. Shit, I even compared it to Aquemeni, in terms of the sonic “color”, texture, and tone.

There’s not another album since TBFLP I can think of that got me THAT excited from the first note, held it until the last, and then held up over time.

as you said: "for me" but DEFINITELY not widely.

WIDELY CONSIDERED A CLASSIC.

sheesh. don't get all butthurt.

>WIDELY CONSIDERED A CLASSIC.
>
>sheesh. don't get all butthurt.

Yeah, my bad man. I posted much more reasonable thoughts in my teply to Stadiq below

probably laugh at if i said 'em. we all have our shit, lol.

not even saying Blank Face is laughable, just saying that we love what we love.

for being a smug asshole about it. My bad man.

Once I cut some songs, it grew on me a lot. Its definitely his best, but I personally think it needs trimming.


I do think there is a difference between "classic" and "personal classic" but as you said you don't give a fuck. haha

>
>for being a smug asshole about it. My bad man.
>
>Once I cut some songs, it grew on me a lot. Its definitely
>his best, but I personally think it needs trimming.

Shit, let’s talk shop. What did you trim?

I cut Big Body and Whatever You Want.

I can’t think of a single album I considered a classic, that didn’t have a few
joints that I skipped.

I think “Represent” should have been left off Illmatic. I don’t hate it, but nah

Same with Mamacita/Papadonna off Aquemeni. Meanwhile, I skip nothjng on Atliens.

>I do think there is a difference between "classic" and
>"personal classic" but as you said you don't give a fuck.
>haha

Don’t mind that. I was in a mood about some other shit and Primo has verry right to be a prick right back.

But I don’t think “widely” really matters, particularly when the album is more niche. And Blank Face is a grimey ass gangster album that doesn’t try to be anything else.

We can point to a very small handful of albums like that, that hit a critical mass, and I don’t know that ang of this exist in the modern era.

To that end, I think Blank Face stands up objectively well, even if it’s not widely considered a classic.

his first 2 albums are dope af. the only song I cut from Blankface is the one with the Dog Pound. Hated that beat. hated the rhymes. that song never got better for me.

edit:
didn't remember the title, but you mentioned it. that song sucks lol

>>
>>for being a smug asshole about it. My bad man.
>>
>>Once I cut some songs, it grew on me a lot. Its definitely
>>his best, but I personally think it needs trimming.
>
>Shit, let’s talk shop. What did you trim?

I had to dust off my iPod for this. Looks like I cut-

That Part (Kanye was already starting to get on my nerves, man)
Dope Dealer (I just can't do E not matter how much I've tried)
Big Body because it just isn't good
Str8 Ballin (I hate the hook and as a Pac fan if you are going to name a song after one of his classics, you better come correct. Just not for me)

So 2 based on preferences regarding guests, and 2 joints I just straight up didn't like.

I was way too hard on it/you when it dropped.

Once I cut those joints it got a lot of burn from me, it was my go to gym album for a minute.

>
>I cut Big Body and Whatever You Want.

I actually don't mind Whatever You Want *shrugs* If I was going to cut one more, that would be it though.

>
>I can’t think of a single album I considered a classic, that
>didn’t have a few
>joints that I skipped.

Yeah that's fair. I could probably think of a few but I'd have to think more.

>
>I think “Represent” should have been left off Illmatic. I
>don’t hate it, but nah

Ok now we're beefing again lol


If I had to pick one it would probably be One Time, but Illmatic is one I'd leave as is.

>
>Same with Mamacita/Papadonna off Aquemeni. Meanwhile, I skip
>nothjng on Atliens.

Agreed on ATLiens.

Off the dome I want to add Resurrection to the list. And Stress.

>
>>I do think there is a difference between "classic" and
>>"personal classic" but as you said you don't give a fuck.
>>haha
>
>Don’t mind that. I was in a mood about some other shit and
>Primo has verry right to be a prick right back.
>
>But I don’t think “widely” really matters, particularly
>when the album is more niche. And Blank Face is a grimey ass
>gangster album that doesn’t try to be anything else.
>
>We can point to a very small handful of albums like that, that
>hit a critical mass, and I don’t know that ang of this exist
>in the modern era.
>
>To that end, I think Blank Face stands up objectively well,
>even if it’s not widely considered a classic.

Yeah this is me officially taking my L. Not classic to me, but a much better album than I gave it credit for at the time.

>

It strong af no lie. And don’t dare pull it out after not hearing it for a while. There’s some straight up lyrical throw downs on it. And duh, the beets are crazy.

As for widely regarded..I don’t even know if that’s even really an option now. Since people made their own playlists, it’s been hard as all get out to make something that someone somewhere won’t claim to be unimpressed by cuz it doesn’t fit the mood they’re in at the time and/or they just have a disdain for the artist for some reason and can’t get over it long enough to accept the goodness. I remember seeing that with Jayz a whole lot for an example. Dude was spittin even when he was hugely popular and it was like a tree falling in the woods to some folks cuz it was him.

…

I think Take Care is Drake's classic.

Agree on Blank Face being a classic.

They want songs they can add to their playlists, not for a front-to-back album experience. Drake hasn't even cared to try to create great, cohesive albums for the better part of a decade. His goal is to maximize streams, which means putting out bloated tracklists with a shit ton of filler.

I'm a huge fan of Drake's early work. So Far Gone was one of my favorites of the 2000s, Take Care was solid (albeit too long), and Nothing Was The Same imo is his strongest album. Since then though, big yikes. But again, he doesn't seem to be even trying.

I'd say if you were to pick one that would be his best "contender" for the classic status it'd be either Take Care (definitely the Drakeyest of Drake albums) or NWTS. Neither are close though.

And they work like a playlist where people play the songs they like and ignore the rest. And what I have learned is that what I consider "filler" other people consider their favorite songs.

His last album ultimately had about 6-7 I really liked which is more than most good albums have.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

>They want songs they can add to their playlists, not for a
>front-to-back album experience. Drake hasn't even cared to try
>to create great, cohesive albums for the better part of a
>decade. His goal is to maximize streams, which means putting
>out bloated tracklists with a shit ton of filler.
>
>I'm a huge fan of Drake's early work. So Far Gone was one of
>my favorites of the 2000s, Take Care was solid (albeit too
>long), and Nothing Was The Same imo is his strongest album.
>Since then though, big yikes. But again, he doesn't seem to be
>even trying.
>
>I'd say if you were to pick one that would be his best
>"contender" for the classic status it'd be either Take Care
>(definitely the Drakeyest of Drake albums) or NWTS. Neither
>are close though.

You make a great point about people being in love with their personal playlists. I know for sure that my elaborate and tangled web of playlists across multiple apps over the last 20 years are AMAZING! Haha! I also know that I'm not special cuz damn near everyone thinks their playlist are AMAZING. I can break my trance and listen to full albums more than once. And I'm not in a huge hurry to cut down every album to only the songs that I immediately liked after 1.5 listens. Apparently that IS a 'talent' that not everyone is interested in having because it would mess up their playlist curation strategy? IDK.

I'm not trying to be an ass, but the whole concept of 'classic' has been fucked with so much over the years that I struggle sometime with even trying to 'qualify' the word anymore. Twitter folks are calling stuff classic 35 minutes after a 55-minute album drops. Some old heads act like an album can't be classic unless it can beat Illmatic song for song by their obviously skewed and salty standards. Or if they can't immediately predict some massive 'impact' for the album. Or if it doesn't remind them of some 'prior classic'. Or if it isn't popular. OR, alternately, if its TOO popular. Or if the rapper in question has 'too many' resources: big name producers, time, guests (the whole 'no guests!' flex is propaganda at this point to me), or whatever.

Others act like we need 10-20 years of touching our chins, measuring shit on triple beam scales, invoking advanced math theorems and calculations, and/or mixing up random liquids in beakers with lab coats and safety goggles on to decide if something is 'classic' or not.

And OMG, don't let the rapper have ANY 'scandals' of any kinds. Bad tweet. Vaccine status. Someone telling some story about some time the rapper did them dirty. Some relationship issue. Some song that kinda sorta reminds people of some previous song ('yoouuuuuuu aint shiiiiiiiiiit! Your lab ain't shiiiiiiiiit!). Some less popular rapper having an issue with some other rapper (yes, like noname/Cole). It can be anything when people want to be negative about an artist and/or album. It is impressive really.

But fuck it..people should be listening to shit, giving it a fair shake, then moving on if they aren't into it for whatever their 'reasons' are. And if they like it, then please..go ahead and FUCKING LIKE IT and don't let people talk you out of it or fuck it up for you!

Back to Drake, he reminds me of mid-career Nas. He could do some REALLY good stuff on every album but the album itself always has stuff where lots of listeners will be like 'how did this make this album? Who let this shit onto this album?'

NWTS has aged pretty doggone well tho. He tried to change up flows a bit, the singing was more organized/effective, some of those beets were excellent (2nd half of Furthest Thing! Jake One!), and he didn't do the whole 'bloated tracklist' thing that he often gets dinged for now.

"Others act like we need 10-20 years of touching our chins, measuring shit on triple beam scales, invoking advanced math theorems and calculations, and/or mixing up random liquids in beakers with lab coats and safety goggles on to decide if something is 'classic' or not."





**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

Good kid Maad city was like 4 1/2 stars

.

But I guess I get why some don't look at it that way, so not mad at the TPAB answers

which album? Does Tyler consider it a rap album?

Looking back at the track list, he rapped in some capacity on every track except the last one, which was an instrumental. When I listened to an interview he did around that time, he said (in so many words) that some of those tracks panned out the way they did because he wrote them for other artists (I remember Rihanna being one of the names mentioned) and they didn't get on the track, so in some cases he did them himself

I think Igor and Call Me When You Get Lost are the same quality. Tyler said Igor isn't a rap album though right?

Out of the three I would agree Flower Boy is probably the most widely recognized as a rap classic.

but of the 3 CMIYGL is the most traditional rap album, IGOR is the furthest from it, and Flower Boy is definitely way more rap than not.

I had my qualms with Flower Boy and especially IGOR at first but I revisited them after really loving CMIYGL and I can appreciate them a lot more.

>Tyler said Igor isn't a rap album though right?

I agree with your below statement. Only thing I'll add is that we (as in the general public) have had longer to sit with Flower Boy than CMIGL. I'm interested to see how I feel about it four years from now. Traditionally, Tyler's albums have either maintained the same quality or gotten better with time to me. I really enjoy certain tracks from Cherry Bomb whenever I go back about as much as I did when I first heard them

>Out of the three I would agree Flower Boy is probably the most
>widely recognized as a rap classic.

Ppl just don’t know it yet.

I remember I couldn't get with all the tracks being 1 minute long

And great as an egg timer if you just need to keep track of 15 minutes.


But I still can't believe Tierra is an if you know you know girl, Whack World is a total one of one for sure.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

For me. Every song/beat was fire on that album

I know I know. There’s people standing on top of stuff revising history cuz old Chicago went whatever the last 7 or so years have been eventually. But I remember those Good Friday releases. And I think I remember it being a lonely world for folks who tried to disparage Dark Fantasy. The ghost writing crew was on their best behavior, Rza was righting ships, the guests all went to town, and Kanye didn’t mess stuff up when it was his turn to rap. Listening to some of his more recent stuff, the song is often on its way to jamming until he has to perform on it. IE: father stretch my hands..Lawd hammercy! Was that sample gorgeous or what!? And he somehow failed to figure out getting Kendrick and he delivered that absurd verse AND he cut the song up with Panda!? I just don’t understand.

Anyway, yeah..Dark Fantasy stands up to even some of the more harsh ‘standards’ some people lay down for the C-word. Impact. Influence. Easy to listen to. Not a lot song-wise to throw a Mamacita tag on. ‘Hits’. All of that.

>not just a personal classic for you but a project you can say
>was also extremely well regarded among the masses.
>
>good kid maad city?
>
>as aside: has any drake project been anywhere near classic
>status? kinda weird for an artist so dominant to not have at
>least that one broadly memorialized timeless joint right?
>
>(i think so far gone was classic but the lines are blurred as
>to whether that counts or not)

with the g.o.o.d. friday drops and the short film. the anticipation was bonkers. i can still remember that time period on here.

And just the story of "rap camp" is classic too.

Album was a letdown IMO, overrated I think *based* on the leadup and the story of how the album was being made, but it's really fucking good.

Run the Jewels has been awesomely fun and meaningful when it needs to be but RAP Music is on the syllabus if you're trying to read the history of the genre, IMO. Killer Mike and El-P put their feets AND asses in that shit.


~~~~~~~~~
"This is the streets, and I am the trap." � Jay Bilas
http://www.popmatters.com/pm/archive/contributor/517
Hip Hop Handbook: http://tinyurl.com/ll4kzz

But I agree it's transcends personal classic status to the all-timer list.

No genre other than classical or jazz EVAH won that award

LOL@drake stans
It's not even that we don't like Drake at this point...we don't like you.

That's like looking at grammys to determine great hip-hop albums.

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

Overrated, maybe. But not even CLOSE to terrible.

But I agree that we shouldn't be basing our analysis here on whether or not an album won a damn Pulitzer lol.

Everything after Feel and before Fear is absolutely terrible.

It’s the musical equivalent of what dumb people this is smart.

Twitter: there’s one every week

Griselda Records has classics.

One More Light is classic.

Don't even get me started on Hollywood Undead, Audioslave etc etc.

The OP brought up Drake as hate bait. Drake's got classic albums stop it:

NWTS
If you're reading this it's too late
Take Care (to some people)
Certified Lover Boy (to some people)

>The OP brought up Drake as hate bait. Drake's got classic
>albums stop it:
>
>NWTS
>If you're reading this it's too late
>Take Care (to some people)
>Certified Lover Boy (to some people)

since we are just throwing drake albums up against the wall and hoping one will stick...why not include views? that album had his 2 biggest hits (including his 1st #1 song).

Why the fuck this album doesn't get more shine is nuts.

I'm amazed what Tip and that crew were able to pull off considering everything that usually shows it shouldn't have worked as well as it did.

Not only did it work it is an INCREDIBLE album. Almost front to back heat and vibes. Dope rhymes. JAROBI. Great features. Production off the fucking charts. Songs that bump hard in the ride. Real group dynamics. Important present lyricism. Throwback flow but with the right mixture of new.

To me that's the last CLASSIC hip hop album I've heard.

It seems to resonate with younger heads too. I loved it on first listen but I expected some songs to fade with time. Nope, if anything it has gotten better.

>Why the fuck this album doesn't get more shine is nuts.
>
>I'm amazed what Tip and that crew were able to pull off
>considering everything that usually shows it shouldn't have
>worked as well as it did.
>
>Not only did it work it is an INCREDIBLE album. Almost front
>to back heat and vibes. Dope rhymes. JAROBI. Great
>features. Production off the fucking charts. Songs that bump
>hard in the ride. Real group dynamics. Important present
>lyricism. Throwback flow but with the right mixture of new.
>
>
>To me that's the last CLASSIC hip hop album I've heard.


hard to imagine but nobody has made an album in Hip Hop 30 years in that was anywhere near as good as this, and probably won't. undeniable 4 classic albums

>Why the fuck this album doesn't get more shine is nuts.
>
>I'm amazed what Tip and that crew were able to pull off
>considering everything that usually shows it shouldn't have
>worked as well as it did.
>
>Not only did it work it is an INCREDIBLE album. Almost front
>to back heat and vibes. Dope rhymes. JAROBI. Great
>features. Production off the fucking charts. Songs that bump
>hard in the ride. Real group dynamics. Important present
>lyricism. Throwback flow but with the right mixture of new.
>
>
>To me that's the last CLASSIC hip hop album I've heard.

This is a really good one for the 'classic' list. I love this album. And I wasn't a 'Tribe is my life' type fan of theirs in the 90s. Buddy remix, the hits, and all of that? Of course..let's not get crazy. I appreciated them the most when Q-Tip went solo and I went back after that.

But this We Got it From Here!? Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan! It is unbelievable that they could get something that glorious together. It really is. And I revisit it A LOT. And it is holding up crazy well.

It's only downside is the quality of Phife's vocals isn't great. But it certainly works. It's such an amazing album.

is holding up nicely.

Topaz Jones - Don’t Go Tellin Your Mama is incredible.

That was the last album to listen to front to back and was blown away the whole time. That was a fun night when that dropped.

Everything was there. I’ve never really stopped playing it for long. It’s an album I can always throw on and play it all the way through.

no filler all killer.... Now im back to lurking *poof*

I’m just naming some of the best I can think of in the last decade.

I don’t think “mass appeal” is a necessary characteristic. It never was before.

That’s a great album.

Founder of M.W.S
(Insert comment here) We insert all the time!

But both have flaws.

PRhyme was Illmatic-esque in its length which helps it as a tight, focused project. It's a near-perfect (if not actually perfect) album IMO.

Not sure it was the last classic, but definitely a classic

Reasonable Drought by Stove God Cooks. No discussion.

>Reasonable Drought by Stove God Cooks. No discussion.

Him and Roc really did that whole thing by themselves. No other vocals. Cooks did every rhyme and every hook. Amazing to me.

Seems like the new one is right around the corner. Can’t wait!

https://twitter.com/Power106LA/status/1611081236277264384

certified timeless classic.

Wasn't before this news, but this just further cements it.

If you say otherwise, you’re part of the problem

Seeing Nas at MSG in February - can’t wait!

>Seeing Nas at MSG in February - can’t wait!

I almost got tickets but I got a Nets game Sunday and a Knicks game next month.

Gotta get on these Yankee tickets for May too.

As a father of 3 boys, unfortunately Nas takes a back seat to bringing them to games lol

And I am not mad at the hitboy run and there are some great songs on each album, but if KD3 is a classic than Life is Good is too.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"

I can make a legit classic out of it if I include the bonuses but some cut have to be made.

Lol

.

It’s an EP. It’s 21 minutes long. Why do people ignore this fact just because they want Pusha to have a classic album?

It’s also not as good as everyone claims.

I can’t disagree with the length issue but it’s definitely a classic ep then. Only the fucking a janitor line would I change.

I think Pusha is overrated in the same sense Jada is.

They sound exactly the same on every single song.

>They sound exactly the same on every single song.

But they both sound good so I like both a lot, to be clear. But at the same time, I tend to agree that I wouldn't/can't really call anything they do "classic" because of the fact that it's the same formula basically everytime.

It’s something about the way Pusha over-enunciates his rhymes that annoys me sometimes. It’s like she’s trying to make himself believe his own tough guy bullshit lol

everything else has been mentioned here except for this underrated masterpiece (Peace to every crease on your brain...my nigga)

Anything Griselda (or affiliates)

Son of G Rap

A few of them Shabazz Palaces records were classics.

It’s still artists making classic shit for the culture.

And I happened upon it by mistake. So happy I did.

that little brother joint too.

the OP says "not what you think, but what's widely regarded"

but the whole post is filled with "personal classics" and the only widely regarded answers are "kendrick" so...

...the "right" answer is probably Kendrick (TPAB or GKMC).