it's too bad it doesn't get talked about more. Not only is it amazing, it's also the album of theirs most accessible to 2012 ears (well, mine at least). So many of the beats on the first two albums hang ON AND ON AND ON, and while I can acknowledge that they're mostly interesting and fairly odd/edgy, there's just so little going on in them that I want to move on. That's not even bringing up the ENDLESS turn table workouts that take up almost half the space. LTRHE's beats still look forward-thinking today, and I can't think of a single album that really sounds like it. In the Ghetto's my favorite Rakim song, and the way his sort of visionary, spaced-out imagery plays off this sparse, moody earthbound beat--it works as a whole unit, not just great rapping over a great beat

Finesse Mahogany is great too. It's nice to know Rakim is affected by human urges and feelings like affection and horniness. I don't think I would've guessed otherwise.