overshadowed by other seminal albums of the time from com and RE, plus the having dropped the same day as the pharoahe solo kinda hurt this one IMO.

thing is, it's a true masterpiece to me personally and one of the greatest albums in hip hop history. content wise it dealt with heavy social issues (mr. n****, water, mathematics) using an almost humorous, wise cracking tone, which makes the sometimes preachy lyrics go down easier. thus, the songs wind up thought provoking as opposed to finger pointing, a rare balance indeed.

songs like "got" were street savvy while maintaining his usual wit and creative flair. hip hop was a dope take on a well worn subject. all of this is dope and done at a high level lyrically speaking.

the album SHINES, however, on the production front. it was highly ambitious without being pretentious. it utilized a different tone of jazz than is typical of hip hop. but the sheer scope, from top to bottom is pretty damn imperssive IMO. there's no "HEY, LOOK HOW EPIC I AM!!!" moments, they just sort of creep up on you. climb and umi says are lightning in a bottle type brilliant if you ask me. ms fat booty was the joint that REALLY kicked off the chipmunk soul era.

personally i look at this and look at the pantheon of great, classic albums and it stacks up with all but the VERY best of the best. it ain't quite on the level of aquemeni-which gets my nod for the single greatest album in hip hop, ever, point blank, period. that's my *personal* standard.