Dec 27, 2019

One by one, SXN80 grandfather @Michael Myers and I will be posting the best, most critically acclaimed and most popular rap and hip hop albums released between the dates of 1 January 2010 - 31 December 2019 to find out the answer to one of life's most eternal, pressing questions: what is the S80 community's list of the best albums of the decade?

We'll be following the RateThisAlbum format; give the album posted a rating out of 10 and we'll average out the scores, ranking the top rated albums to make our final list.

Rating so far:

[2018] Pusha T - DAYTONA: 8.1/10 (18 ratings)
[2014] YG - My Krazy Life: 8.6/10 (13 ratings)
[2015] Kendrick Lamar - To p---- A Butterfly: 8.2/10 (15 ratings)
[2014] Future - Honest: 8/10 (7 ratings)
[2011] Kanye West & Jay-Z - Watch the Throne: 8.5/10 (16 ratings)
[2015] Lupe Fiasco - Tetsuo & Youth: 6.7/10 (14 ratings)
[2014] Isaiah Rashad - Cilvia Demo: 8.6/10 (12 ratings)
[2016] A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It from Here... Thank You 4 Your Service - A Tribe Called Quest: 9.5/10 (10 ratings)
[2017] Tyler, The Creator - Flower Boy (TBA)

 

Nov 18, 2018

please write a blurb or I won't count your rating.

 

Nov 14, 2018

One of maybe 10 albums in my lifetime I went out and bought on the release date.

I took my mom's car and drove without a license to get it...lol

listening to the album was such a refreshment for me. Before I bought this though, I bought 'Guess who's back' which is just as good

This was just a great time in my life, so this album means a lot to me in many ways. 9.3/10

 

Dec 28, 2019

After much debate, the big horror movie homie and S80 stalwart @Michael Myers and I are proud to present SECTIONEIGHTY'S OFFICIAL ALBUMS OF THE DECADE LIST.

We'll be running this pretty much like the Rate This Album threads that our forefather @Big Cuntry first brought to S80 (and that introduced me to so much new music) and that the poster FKA WheresTheMeat @Enez picked up on earlier this year.

Difference is we'll only be rating a limited number of albums: those most popular, most highly critically acclaimed and 'biggest' rap and hip hop albums of the decade. At the end of the run we'll tally up the ratings and compile our list of top (10? 20?) albums. Open to any suggestions for which albums to rate.

And without further ado.

ALBUM 1: PUSHA T - DAYTONA



Tracklist
01. If You Know You Know
02. The Games We Play
03. Hard Piano ft. Rick Ross
04. Come Back Baby
05. Santeria
06. What Would Meek Do? ft. Kanye West
07. Infrared

The peak of GOOD Music's 2018 Surgical Summer, the peak of Pusha's solo career. Cocaine. Luxury. Genius. Instrumentals hand picked from the Garden of Eden. The stabs at Drake that would evolve into the biggest beef of the decade. Even at only 7 tracks long, it feels like a complete, polished work. I'm left wanting more but hitting play on the first track again just seems to do the trick every time. I give it 9 EUGHKS out of 10.

@RateThisAlbum

 

Jan 5, 2020

With Kanye just coming off the legendary GOOD Friday/MBDTF run and Jay being Jay, expectations for WTT were impossibly high, but man they absolutely delivered. The album sounds monumental, every moment is an event, Jay forgot what year it was channeled his American Gangster self, and Kanye must’ve spent like a month straight tirelessly writing verses without sleep because he more than keeps up with him. Guests are used perfectly and never outstay their welcome, and Ye and his collaborators crafted beats that are suitably huge and extravagant. This is incidental to the album itself but I gotta acknowledge the rollout too, one of the most exciting drops I’ve seen in my lifetime. The H.A.M drop, Flex premiering Otis, everyone tirelessly dodging leaks. It was a wild time, shoutout to Ty and his NIP recording. It’s a 10/10

 

Dec 5, 2018

Without Warning gets a 7.5/10 from 6 ratings

Next up…. (i’m regretting this already but f--- it)

RATING 9: Eminem - Revival
Release Date: 15 December 2017
Label: Interscope / Shady / Aftermath



Tracklist

01. Walk on Water ft. Beyonce
02. Believe
03. Chloraspectic ft. Phresher
04. Untouchable
05. River ft. Ed Sheeran
06. Remind Me (Intro)
07. Remind Me
08. Revival (Interlude)
09. Like Home ft. Alicia Keys
10. Bad Husband ft. X Ambassadors
11. Tragic Endings ft. Skylar Grey
12. Framed
13. Nowhere Fast ft. Kehlani
14. Heat
15. Offended
16. Need Me ft. Pink
17. In Your Head
18. Castle
19. Arose

It’s been almost exactly a year since Slim Shady hit what is undoubtedly the lowest point in his career. For some inexplicable reason, Em decided to double down on what made 2010’s Recovery so awful; hoarse and off-beat screaming about farts and r--- over instrumentals that sound ripped straight out of a Disney movie, with a handful of completely incompatible pop singers thrown in for good measure. Look, I appreciate the attempt at tackling some interesting issues - Both Untouchable and Like Home are godawful songs but hey, at least he tried. I guess same goes for Walk on Water and Bad Husband, even though nobody cares about Kim anymore at this point. Say what you will about MMLP2 and Kamikaze but at least Em’s more or less in a lane better suited to him on those albums. Besides for the final 2 songs (which sound very much like they were written and maybe even recorded a good 10 years prior), Revival is an irredeemable steaming heap of s---. I give it a 2/10.

@RateThisAlbum

 

Nov 18, 2018

Biggie really had it all man. He’s probably the most talented rapper to ever live. His voice, charisma, technical ability, flow etc. He was also able to mesh all these traits together to perfection. You know, most rap artists make that distinction of okay... this song is going to be more technical or this song is going to have more rhythm for radio appeal etc. Biggie defied all that. Dude could just rap & the appeal would be wide: radios would play it, streets would f--- with it, hip-hop heads loved it etc. His diversity was incredible & I think this album really shows that. From having you scared for Jason on “Somebody’s Gotta Die” to wanting to dance with “Hypnotize” to wondering if you’re in The Godfather with “What’s Beef?” Etc. A true master of his craft. 9.5/10.

 

Nov 15, 2018

Guess who’s back Is the greatest mixtape ever. Period.

I bought that s--- too when it came out. One of the few projects I literally played constantly for years (and still do if I’m being honest).

I eventually lost or broke my cd or someone stole it, can’t remeber, so I re-burned it to cd but also added the best songs off Power of the Dollar to it that weren’t already on guess who’s back.

That s--- was all I listened too. It blew my mind. I never heard anyone as prolific, before or since, as 50 cent was during this era.

One more thing, Da Repercussions and Lifes on the Line >>

Edit: I know I’m in the minority here but pre-Eminem 50 was goat. They dropped amazin s--- together and i wouldn’t want it any other way, but pre-Eminem 50 was way better musically. Just my opinion. I know it’s unpopular.

 

Nov 14, 2018

10/10

This album is such a time machine, few albums ever submerge me so profoundly to a specific time period as much as GRODT. 50 sounded so hungry but had a seasoned vet's confidence (his mixtape days prepared him for this), 50 had you totally convinced he was the hottest thing to hit rap music (which, he absolutely was).

So many classic tunes all over this s---, the hits don't sound out of place or weigh the whole album down--which tended to plague a lot of 2000s releases. The first 3-4 songs of this is the equivalent to the first drop in a rollercoaster, so much energy and tension just off What Up Gangsta. Monumental album in rap music, like y'all said it was an event.

 

Nov 14, 2018

In commemoration of the unveiling of S80 3.0, I have forged an unholy alliance with @Big Cuntry , to resurrect this thread from its' long, cold and dark slumber in the murky depths of S80's forgotten HoF, for its 3rd iteration: Rate This Album v 3.0. From dusty 90's classics to lean-drenched mixtapes of the 2010's, nothing is safe.

Here’s how it works, from the Big c---- himself:

"Every day or two, I'll update the topic title with a new album. Everyone rates the album out of ten and writes a blurb about why they gave the album that rating. I'm not asking for an in-depth review, just a sentence or two about why you like or dislike the album. At the end of each rating period, I'll add up all the scores and post sxn80's average score for said album."

Some ground rules:
1. Bold your rating so it's easier for me to see.
2. Don't rate an album if you haven't listened to it at least a few times.
3. I won't count your rating if you don't write a blurb.
4. Feel free to nominate an album you want to see rated by sectioneighty

Make sure to join the usergroup @RateThisAlbum to be alerted when the thread is updated!

 

Jan 11, 2020

the controversial Tetsuo & Youth by Lupe Fiasco gets a 6.7/10 from 14 ratings

And on our next episode...



"my daddy taught how to drink my pain away"

Chattanooga mc Isaiah Rashad popped up out of nowhere in early 2014, following on the heels of a series of highly acclaimed albums from the TDE camp and did absolutely not disappoint. Billed as a mixtape/EP, Cilvia Demo sees Isaiah adopting the soulful, smooth flows and rhythms, lyrically dense and deeply personal content that Kendrick and TDE had poured into their own work in the previous few years. But he's also clearly from the South and wears his Webbie and Outkast influences on his sleeve. This album sounds like you're out on a deserted country farm, thinking about life while sippin on the henny, looking out morosely into the horizon. TDE guest features from SZA, Kendrick, Jay Rock and Q add that little bit of extra tension that keeps you from spiralling forever into the beautiful distorted haze.
9.5/10

 

Jan 5, 2020

Future's HONEST gets an 8/10 from 7 ratings



(shamelessly plagiarised from a previous review I did of this album)
10 years after Kanye and Hov joined forces on one of the greatest rap albums of all time (The Blueprint), their worlds collided once more in this grandiose epic; opulent, brash, powerful and perhaps the most deserved claim to the Throne ever made. It may not be the absolute shining jewel in either artists extensive and consistently brilliant discography but g.d., if it doesn’t do what it set out to do — a testament to the most powerful and talented hip hop figures of the decade prior, a well-deserved celebratory victory lap. I give it an 8.5/10

@RateThisAlbum

Also if anyone wants to review previous albums we've done go ahead and I'll update the scores

 

Dec 30, 2019

anyone remember how great that Blame It On The Streets EP was that he dropped just after this? whole thing was fire front to back.

 

Jan 25, 2019

Tha Carter II gets a 9/10 from 10 ratings

Next up….

Rating 21: Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
Release Date: October 12, 1999
Label: Rawkus / Priority



Tracklist

01. Fear Not of Man
02. Hip Hop
03. Love
04. Ms. Fat Booty
05. Speed Law
06. Do It Now! ft. Busta Rhymes
07. Got
08. Umi Says
09. New World Water
10. Rock N Roll
11. Know That ft. Talib Kweli
12. Climb ft. Vine Mojica
13. Brooklyn
14. Habitat
15. Mr. Niga ft. Q-Tip
16. Mathematics
17. May-December

the early 90’s heyday of the Native Tongues had long passed by the time Mos Def came on the scene. A lot had happened since Tribe, De La, et al were at their peak. When the previous years’ Blackstar collaboration with fellow emcee Talib Kweli came along, the hip hop world was still reeling from the deaths of its 2 biggest stars. New York found itself in a much aggressive and competitive space; Nas and Jay begun making their first moves in the battle for the throne of NY. New acts like DMX, Big Pun, Mase and Cam arrived on the scene, each bringing their own brand of brash energy.

On Black on Both Sides, his debut solo album, Mos Def takes us on a trip through a mind full of thoughts about life, love and fat booties. He does this with the lyrical complexity of a Pharaoh Monch but with the calm and reflective aura only a Native Tongues disciple could muster. From iconic Preemo cuts to a reunion with Kweli and an energetic Busta Rhymes feature, Mos journeys through a lush jungle of funk and blues and throwback B-Boy hip hop instrumentals, prophetic but never preachy, laid back but always enthralling, Black on Both Sides is a f---ing masterpiece. I give it a 9.5/10.

@RateThisAlbum

 

Dec 9, 2018

10/10

Depending on what day you're asking me, this is the best rap album I've ever listened to. Big Boi & 3Stacks have this telepathic chemistry that is still unheard of, by this point Andre was completely hypnotized by Erykah Badu and was in that spot of being bored of rapping but he was stretching the parameters of the songs into something truly special--the flows and precision of Dre's verses had this sort of abstraction that somehow blended perfectly to Big Boi's more earthbound realism. Like everyone already said some of these songs on Aquemini are hip-hop essentials (Spottieottiedopalicious, Da Art Of Storytellin).

The other part is the soulful/funky production that has come to define the rich bluesy sound of the South, makes you feel like you're cruising in a suede-covered 80s luxury car in the sweltering summer of ATL. It was the evolution of Organized Noize's work on Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, practically every Outkast album has these amazing musicians coming in to rock the guitar or some other s---. And still to this day, Aquemini sounds like it came from a distant, more groovy planet.

 

Nov 18, 2018

100/10 10/10

To me this is the best rap album of all time, or at least it competes with like 3 other titles I'm thinking of.

Biggies evolution from the downcasted kingpin from RTD to the rap overlord is a marvel to see, even when he's still talking hustler tales it's more nuanced and polished. The ominous vibe that Suicidal Thoughts had in RTD was amplified further throughout LAD, it's especially palpable in the tail end of this album where it ends with You're Nobody--still get chills listening to that one.

Lastly this has arguably the most iconic singles in any rap album, I dare any of you to try sitting still when Hypnotize comes on. On a personal note, Mo Money Mo Problems was the song that singlehandedly turned 5 year old me into a hip-hop head forever. I love this d--- album

 

Nov 18, 2018

10/10, and even that feels too low

Ready To Die was already a masterpiece and LAD upped the game in nearly every regard. Big became a more descriptive and technical rapper over time, and the significantly more varied production let him experiment with his voice and style in a way he never had before. But for all the additional polish, Big is still the same rapper he ever was; LAD is a bigger, more extravagant album than RTD but is just as grounded, keeping everything based firmly in his reality. The Biggie who raps on Mo Money Mo Problems is unquestionably the same Biggie who made Things Done Changed. I hear accusations of filler being thrown around a lot, but it would be a travesty to cut any song from here except maybe f--- U Tonight. For my money, the best rap album ever made, it’s just a shame that Big didn’t get to enjoy its success.