week 2: it started in '94...

ok week 2. i was listening to a LOT of hiphop this week and i realized that i was playin a lot of 'old' tracks. i checked my playlist and found out that i had a nice line-up of stuff on there year by year starting with 1994. now for those that dont kno, '94 was the year that Nas dropped "Illmatic", which completely CHANGED the whole hiphop scene, like when this album came out, EVERYTHING related to hiphop just stopped and said 'holy sh*t....' Nas' influence on rap is insane, in terms of drug-talk, storytelling, talkin bout how fly u are, he redefined it all.

so what i did for this week was put together a year by year set of rap, starting with 1994 and ending at 1999. those were the years when i was HOOKED.. u'll notice i have two 1997 tracks, and thats coz that was the year, grade 7, that there was no turning back from hiphop, it was a part of my life. enjoy the selection nuccas.

1994: Nas - N.Y. State Of Mind
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this is the first song on the "illmatic" album. all i gotta say is that dj premier kills the production and nas' wordplay is insanity. right from the first words "straight out the f*ckin dungeons of rap.. where fake niggas dont make it back.." its classic.

1995: AZ - Sugar Hill
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off of az's debut album "doe or die" this track is just real smooth. once nas' rhyme partner (he was on a couple tracks on "illmatic") shows he can hold his own. the whole album is nice, and his new album "a.w.o.l." is worth checkin out too. i wish they brought this style back still..

1996: Jay-Z - Feelin' It (feat. Mecca)
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in '96 jay-z dropped "reasonable doubt" which was a huge album, this is one of my favourite cuts off of that, the video with the yachts and champagne lifestyle makes it even more classic. definitely a chill out track.

1997: Camp Lo - Luchini (A.K.A. This Is It)
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i'm sure a lotta cats remember this joint off of "uptown saturday night", the horns are infectious and the flow is dope. to all the producers that wanna use horns in their music, this (and t.r.o.y. by pete rock and cl smooth) sets the bar.

1997: Wyclef Jean - Guantanamera (feat. Lauryn Hill)
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another '97 pick. if u were listening to rap in 1997 and u dont remember this, then u must be smokin some good crack, coz this track is a banger. off of wyclef's first solo album "the carnival", this track had the dance floor packed (yea u kno those grade 7, after school, cant get very close to the girl ur dancing with, everyone mostly standing by the wall, dances). but this track would come on and people would lose their minds. i used to play this album in my cd player on the bus everyday, i still know the lyrics to almost every track. wow.

1998: OutKast - Aquemini
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the title track off of outkast's 5 mic opus "aquemini", this is a lesson in flow. very mellow, this track is all about lyrics, the beat is pretty dope but the way big boi and andre ride that beat is crazy. at 3:15 into the song the beat fades, comes back with a bang, and these nuccas just freak the hell out of it.

1999: Dr. Dre - Xxplosive (feat. Hittman, Kurupt, Nate Dogg, & Six-Two)
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the reason i chose this track for 1999 is coz it's off the "2001" album and brought back a whole new era of west coast rap. plus it makes me think of grade 9, which was one funny ass time. anyway, dr. dre sampled "bumpy's lament" by isaac hayes for this track, and the beat is disgusting. erykah badu even jacked the instrumental. the lyrics are kiiiinda questionable but it doesnt bother me, and the joint has kurupt on it, so it's dope music.