Back in the day, as the proverb goes… I fell into rap music fandom from a double-edged sword… In 1986 (or 85?) I saw the Beasties video for She’s On It on USA Network and was totally hooked. In pursuit of them I started going to 2nd Ave records, which was the only store I knew of in Portland that sold rap records. I bought whatever BB I could fine there, first was the Rock Hard EP. But I ended up grabbing She’s on it, Cooky Puss, Brass Monkey… I remember distinctly finding the It’s The New Style EP downtown at a record store and thinking… I now have five EP’s from the Beastie’s, can’t they just throw them together and make an album? Later that day I stopped in another record store and they had just put up a display of Licensed to Ill! Both myself and my friend Jon bought our copies that day (Jon is also the person who got me into Public Enemy and EPMD)… Beasties also led me to find Schoolly D (Who has been my favorite rapper since then, and remains so). Because, when I heard the Gucci sample in Time To Get Ill, I just had to have it.
But my explorations were pretty limited until, in late 1987, when a co-worker suggested I check out NWA. I bought the only thing I could find, “NWA and the Posse”… And was hooked! Then, once Straight outta Compton came out, I fell into a “nothing but rap phase” that lasted a few years, from probably 88-93. After that time, styles changed too much. It went from being about the rapping to being more about the production. And the rapping went from being about rhyme and flow to being anything… talking, yelling, whatever. Not my thing. But I still harbor a fondness for the records of my era.
Anyway, so I wanted to put together a list of my all time top rap albums… In chronological order (except Strictly Business, which always needs to come first…):
EMPD – Strictly Business (1988)
Schoolly D – Saturday Night! – The Album (1986)
Public Enemy – Yo! Bum Rush The Show (1987)
Boogie Down Productions – By All Means Necessary (1988)
Eric B. & Rakim – Follow The Leader (1988)
N.W.A – Straight Outta Compton (1988)
Schoolly D – Smoke Some Kill (1988)
Schoolly D – Am I Black Enough For You? (1989)
Compton’s Most Wanted – It’s A Compton Thang (1990)
EPMD – Business As Usual (1990)
Ice Cube – Death Certificate (1991)
Schoolly D – How A Blackman Feels (1991)
Above The Law – Black Mafia Life (1992)
Spice 1 – Spice 1 (1992)
The Click – Down & Dirty (1993)
The Dayton Family – What’s On My Mind? (1994)
Tab & Da Villon – Do Or Die (1994)
Westside Connection – Bow Down (1996)
Neonschwarz – Johnny Mauser and Captains Gips (after this they changed their band name to Neonschwarz) (2010)
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