Dec 28, 2017 One of my favourite things about listening to hip hop is discovery. I’ve been listening for years but still have so much new s--- discover. New artists, groups, singles, albums, discographies, labels, cities, sub-genres. There’s an insane amount out there and I’ve only heard a fraction of it. So this club will be dedicated to discovery. Every Thursday I’ll be posting a completely random album - it could be a classic or trash, old school or new school, popular or obscure, it doesn’t matter. Everyone in the mention group can give the album a rating out of 10 and I’ll average out the scores to create a catalogue of album ratings, discuss what worked and what didn’t work, the best songs, the worst songs, the album art, the production, the lyrics, the music, everything. Like this post or let me know if you wanna be added to the mentions Week 1: [1999] Things Fall Apart - The Roots Week 2: [2015] Maxo 187 - Maxo Kream Week 3: [2002] The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse - Jay-Z Week 4: [2011] Follow Me Home/[2015] 90059 - Jay Rock Week 5: [2007] Curtis - 50 Cent Week 6: [1997] Ghetto D - Master P Week 7: [2014] The Waters - Mick Jenkins Week 8: [2012] Mysterious Phonk: The Chronicles of SpaceGhostPurrp - SpaceGhostPurrp Week 9: [1996] h--- on Earth - Mobb Deep Week 10: [2017] Bulletproof - Young Dolph Week 11: [2018] Veteran - JPEGMAFIA Week 12: [2003] Diplomatic Immunity Vol.1 - Dipset
Dec 28, 2017 Things Fall Apart is the fourth studio album by The Roots. Their previous album, 96’s Illadelph Halflife put them on the map but this album took them to the next level. It’s widely recognised as a classic and possibly their best album yet. I still can’t believe it took me so long to get into The Roots. For anyone who hasn’t yet, this is probably the best place to start. Spoiler: best songs
Dec 28, 2017 Will give this a listen tomorrow! I'm guilty of not listening to The Roots so I'd like to rectify that.
Dec 29, 2017 I love this after 1st listen, but will give it some more spins before I post my thoughts
Dec 29, 2017 I'm on vacation rn but soon as I get back to the US count me in for this! Don't know how many will read this but I hope you guys had a merry Christmas and have a happy New Years!
Dec 30, 2017 This is my favorite roots album. I have very fond memories smoking blunts and listening to this album at friend's houses and at parties. I used to be obsessed with Rahzel's beat boxing on 100% Dundee but my absolute favorite song on this album has always been Adrenaline. This song always puts me in a good mood and makes me wanna get off my a--- and go do something. Such a great album. Can't wait to see what other throwback albums you listen to.
Dec 30, 2017 Oh boy... I discovered Things Fall Apart along with Game Theory years ago when I was first exploring classic hip hop albums. Sadly I didn't appreciate the album how I should've (keep in mind this was your typical Eminem/radio phase) so while I did listen to TFA a good amount, I didn't realize how great it was and so never dived further into The Roots music. Not long ago though I finally made real ground to catch up on their excellent discography and see Black Thought for the top tier rapper that he is. This album is their best work imo, I love the rapping obviously especially Black Thought who was at his peak imo, and the instrumentation is so incredible and organic, put together with such an emphasis on detail. The beats have a perfect sense of dustiness but don't sound old or outdated. I swear some s--- on this album is breathtaking, just the little things on a track like "Step in the Realm" are just absolutely perfect to me. It's the details and quriks like the odd way the beat comes in, or how it constantly fades out and resets throughout the song, and the minimal vocal overlay that's just there enough to give the song a one of a kind sound. "Ain't Sayin Nothin New" instrumental is literally perfect to the ears, like literally perfect in every single way. f---. No clue how they created that beat, no clue. There's not enough originality in hip hop anymore, LISTEN TO THAT s---. There's not a single person who claims to be a 'hip hop head' who shouldn't love this record tbh its just phenomenal needless to say gets a 10/10 from me my favorite tracks;
Jan 4, 2018 There's been a lot of talk of revivalism in hip hop recently. YG, Mustard and now G Perico to some extent bringing back the traditional west coast sound, Joey Bada$$, pro Era and co. bringing back that old NY sound. At the same time, the traditional sounds of Houston have been picked up across the board, from the likes of A$AP Rocky and others. But Houston itself? besides for Travis Scott (who adopted a more ATLien sound), the scene has been pretty lifeless. Maxo Kream is the one who can change all of that. He debuted in 2013 with a mixtape called Quicc Strikes (HIGHLY recommend checking that out) and dropped his most recent project in 2016, entitled The Personna Tape. But undoubtedly his best work so far was 2015's Maxo 187, a dark and broody glimpse into the Texan's world. With razor sharp flows, an incredible knack for storytelling and screwed-up instrumentals, Maxo takes it back to the days of UGK and Scarface with his own unique twist. Maxo will be dropping his debut album Punken later this month, but in the meantime, I'd recommend checking this out before it drops. Spoiler: Best Songs Spoiler: Mention List @Big Dangerous @Buddha @Rick James @Bourbon Ben @Ordinary Joel @Mraczewsky @Fire Squad
Jan 4, 2018 Oh f--- yes. Thank you for tagging me. I've been living in Houston for over a decade now and fell in love with houston rap. My favorites are chamillioanire, killa kyleon, ugk, lil keke, scareface, etc. Im in as f--- on this. I'm about to listen to his whole discography. Really excited about this recommendation. Thank you!
Jan 5, 2018 yeah you'll enjoy this then. his flow actually reminds me of cham in some ways. let me know your thoughts