I'm fully aware that if you asked most people which album was better (this isn't that post so leave that shit to yourself) they would pick the Kast album because of what it represents to them, or because it's not boom bap which most people feel is an inferior form of Hip Hop
but personally I think these two albums are as good a showcase of the adaptability and range of Hip Hop as a genre, and when you think about what sort of year 1998 was it becomes more interesting to me
98 was a good year with a lot of great releases and commercial success, but looking at these two albums in particular (which were both successful both critically and commercially) being seemingly so different it brings up a few thoughts as to how alike they are:

-Dre stepped further away from Big Boi in the minds of a lot of people by turning in an all-world emcee performance he's yet to equal; Guru stepped up his lyricism to the point of rapping on the level of 1o's, while himself being a 8 on average, and delivered the performance of his career (sadly it'd end up being the performance of his life) and for me sealed his spot as one of the best ever
-Aquemini seemed like a natural blend of the previous two albums, while going places neither of them did and for the most part being steady; MOT is the pinnacle of chop-heavy Hip Hop, not just in execution of the final product but in the layers and the way the music feels both like vintage Primo and at the same time unlike the work he'd done leading up to it
-both groups had released albums that had gotten progressively better and didn't take a step back in quality until their 4th (Kast) and 5th (GS) LPs, not many groups or solo artists can say that
-each album is a showcase for how to properly use guest features, and not allowing the guests to overcrowd the records they're on or take away from the main attraction
-both LPs are eloquent statements for how powerful and expressive Hip Hop can be as an art form, just on the music alone and before perception plays a part in it, as both albums are fully formed and take on a life of their own in ways you don't really get to see anymore

it's fascinating to me how one genre can bring about different, yet equal, creative ideas and have them turn out the way these two albums did
in fact you can see a clear demarcation point where the industry swung in one direction and away from projects like these that require a lot of vision and foresight, and in the direction of McRecords

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CHOP-THESE-BITCHES!!!!
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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