Best Gift Shopping > Music > Experimental Rap
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Best Gift Shopping > Music > Experimental Rap
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Philadelphonic(more) »rank: 58754by: G. Love & Special Sauce
Our review: :It's not terribly surprising that G. Love and Special Sauce were tapped to fill in for Sugar Ray when the band dropped out of Woodstock '99. It's not simply because of the smooth, muscle-shirted frontmen, but also because the same kind of easy soul, funk, and rap influences wash over their stronger cuts. The calypsolike 'Rodeo Clowns' on Philadelphonic feeds on that radio-friendly vibe, all sunshine and broken hearts. Unfortunately, that cut is one of the few high points this time out. While it's nice to see G. Love step away from emulating Will Smith, which sank Yeah, It's That Easy, the answer to ... Detail |
Kill My Landlord(more) »rank: 27004by: The Coup
Our review: :The best socially conscious hip-hop album you probably never heard, The Coup's Kill My Landlord (originally released in 1993) was actually their second album, but the first released for wide distribution. Reflecting a blue-collar hip-hop perspective rarely represented by the legions of hustlers, players, and gangstas clogging rap music, The Coup came instead talking about community activism ('I Know You'), self-love ('F*ck a Perm'), and revolution ('Dig It'). But unlike the didactic preachiness that sometimes infected the post-Public Enemy crowd, The Coup made messages to free your mind and body with funky licks and fresh rhymes courtesy of Boots, E-Roc, and DJ Pam ... Detail |
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Resurrection(more) »rank: 22919by: Common
Our review: :A couple of years after asking Can I Borrow a Dollar? and before he lost the 'sense' in his moniker, the Chicago MC now known as Common dropped this impressive sophomore set, marking him as one of the most versatile MCs to emerge in the 1990s. Shirking the often derivative flows of his debut, Resurrection finds the Windy City rhymer ably assisted by the voluptuous jazzy excursions of producers No I.D. & Ynot. He revels in ear-tickling wordplay, slinging countless witty punchlines and similes on 'Orange Pineapple Juice' and 'Communism'--songs that require several listens to unravel. Far from relentless chest-thumping bravado, Common's lyrics ... Detail |
The Weatherman LP(more) »rank: 111568by: Evidence
Our review: :A couple of years after asking Can I Borrow a Dollar? and before he lost the 'sense' in his moniker, the Chicago MC now known as Common dropped this impressive sophomore set, marking him as one of the most versatile MCs to emerge in the 1990s. Shirking the often derivative flows of his debut, Resurrection finds the Windy City rhymer ably assisted by the voluptuous jazzy excursions of producers No I.D. & Ynot. He revels in ear-tickling wordplay, slinging countless witty punchlines and similes on 'Orange Pineapple Juice' and 'Communism'--songs that require several listens to unravel. Far from relentless chest-thumping bravado, Common's lyrics ... Detail |
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When Disaster Strikes(more) »rank: 82010by: Busta Rhymes
Our review: :Busta Rhymes opens his second album with a ridiculous monologue predicting global destruction before the year 2000. The only thing in danger of vaporizing over the next two years is Rhymes's career. Listening to Busta's gruff voice for well over an hour is an endurance test of the highest order, especially after MTV and radio have relentlessly subjected listeners to his 'Woo-haa!' battle cry. Thankfully, Busta makes his pipes contort in every way possible on When Disaster Strikes... From mellow to wild, over an eclectic mix of samples that range from Seals & Croft to KC & the Sunshine Band to Henri Mancini. ... Detail |
Panic Prevention(more) »rank: 103270by: Jamie T.
Our review:Album Description:Jamie T's 'Panic Prevention' is one of the great British debut albums of the new millenium. Voted 'Best Solo Act' at the 2007 NME Awards. Features 'Sheila', 'Calm Down Dearest' and 'Salvador' (as heard on Entourage). Detail |
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Done by the Forces of Nature(more) »rank: 107922by: Jungle Brothers
Our review:Album Description:Jamie T's 'Panic Prevention' is one of the great British debut albums of the new millenium. Voted 'Best Solo Act' at the 2007 NME Awards. Features 'Sheila', 'Calm Down Dearest' and 'Salvador' (as heard on Entourage). Detail |
Forgotten Freshness: Vols. 1 & 2(more) »rank: 64581by: Insane Clown Posse
Our review:Album Description:Jamie T's 'Panic Prevention' is one of the great British debut albums of the new millenium. Voted 'Best Solo Act' at the 2007 NME Awards. Features 'Sheila', 'Calm Down Dearest' and 'Salvador' (as heard on Entourage). Detail |
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Getback(more) »rank: 60510by: Little Brother
Our review:Album Description:Jamie T's 'Panic Prevention' is one of the great British debut albums of the new millenium. Voted 'Best Solo Act' at the 2007 NME Awards. Features 'Sheila', 'Calm Down Dearest' and 'Salvador' (as heard on Entourage). Detail |
In Search of...(more) »rank: 49077by: N.E.R.D.
Our review:Album Description:Terrific debut from electronic/hip hop group N.E.R.D. (which stands for No One Ever Really Dies and is a side project for The Neptunes) whose single 'Lapdance' feat. Lee Harvey, Vita & Kelis. 2001. :The electro-powered grooves of the writing-production team the Neptunes have abetted fine-to-great tracks by everyone from Jay-Z and Ol' Dirty Bastard to Britney Spears. On their debut as performers, they display an irresistible knack for hooky tracks rooted in the eclectic listening habits they developed while growing up in the multiracial Virginia Beach, Virginia, neighborhoods they still call home. Fusing album rock and rap more forcefully and convincingly than ... Detail |