Best Ever Albums

Re: CLOSED: 750: Round 1: Lifestylez..Dangerous v. Step..Arena

Anonymous — Mon, 29 Dec 2014 19:44:26 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 12/30/2014 00:44

Rest In Peace to Big L

12-11

Step In The Arena advances.

Re: CLOSED: 750: Round 1: Lifestylez..Dangerous v. Step..Arena

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 21:25:01 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 12/19/2014 02:25

Still tied, I'll give this another 6 days. If there is no winner at that point, I'll create a new thread.

Re: CLOSED: 750: Round 1: Lifestylez..Dangerous v. Step..Arena

WindowAbove — Fri, 12 Dec 2014 12:47:19 GMT

Author: WindowAbove

Posted: 12/12/2014 17:47

Come on Lifestylez!

Re: CLOSED: 750: Round 1: Lifestylez..Dangerous v. Step..Arena

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Dec 2014 05:34:02 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 12/12/2014 10:34

I'll leave this open for a few more days!

Re: CLOSED: 750: Round 1: Lifestylez..Dangerous v. Step..Arena

Anonymous — Wed, 3 Dec 2014 09:21:07 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 12/03/2014 14:21

Gang Starr just has this quality about them that makes me feel like I've known their music forver. Kinda like Nas in Illmatic. Don't have much to say beyond that and I still need to listen to Lifestylez.

Re: CLOSED: 750: Round 1: Lifestylez..Dangerous v. Step..Arena

Anonymous — Tue, 2 Dec 2014 23:18:45 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 12/03/2014 04:18

I haven't had the time to go over all the match-ups this week unfortunately, and I still have yet to listen to that Gang Starr album, but I figure I'd just come in here and voice some support for my nom. Like Skinny said, punchlines tumbled regularly from Big L, and they somehow always managed to be incredibly on point. The man just owned the English language, and in my mind is just as good a rapper as Nas or Raekwon or any of the other greats. Every single track on this album is just loaded with great lines that have this real, physical impact to them, there's just this automatic sense of recoil I get in songs like Put It On or MVP whenever he drops a bomb, which is constant. The production on Lifestylez is pretty understated, but not poor. It's sparse and gives L the spotlight he deserves, and he certainly fucking earns it.

Re: CLOSED: 750: Round 1: Lifestylez..Dangerous v. Step..Arena

WindowAbove — Mon, 1 Dec 2014 07:42:39 GMT

Author: WindowAbove

Posted: 12/01/2014 12:42

Lifestylez... If the Gang Starr album was Moment if Truth I would have voted for it but SITA is still really good, it's just that LODP&D has something more to it

Re: CLOSED: 750: Round 1: Lifestylez..Dangerous v. Step..Arena

Anonymous — Sun, 30 Nov 2014 17:33:33 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/30/2014 22:33

Skinny wrote:

Gonna go with Gang Starr here though, even if this isn't quite up there with their very best records (their '90s discography is pretty much flawless, but this is arguably the weakest of the bunch and I was surprised it was the one that got nominated). But yeah, Primo and Guru are just a perfect duo, and you can't go wrong with an album that contains 'Just to Get a Rep', 'Check the Technique', 'The Meaning of the Name', 'Lovesick', 'As I Read My S-A', 'Beyond Comprehension' (dat beat), the title track. Actually, the more I think about it, this isn't the weakest of their '90s albums at all. All four of those records are practically perfect. Has there ever been a producer as reliable as DJ Premier? These beats are the sound of hip-hop, they essentially define what the genre is to me. And Guru, while an acquired taste (for me, anyway - I really didn't like him at all the first few times I listened to Gang Starr), is perfect for them, measured and schoolteacherly, actually sounding like a guru. Christ, I love Gang Starr.

Haha! Love the sudden change in direction your post takes as you're clearly listening to Step in the Arena while you write your take, becoming increasingly enthused with the album & Gang Starr in general. This happens to me all the time. Love is grand! 😁

Re: CLOSED: 750: Round 1: Lifestylez..Dangerous v. Step..Arena

Skinny — Sun, 30 Nov 2014 15:08:24 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 11/30/2014 20:08

Big L was a rapper from whom great punchlines tumbled regularly, and Lifestylez is an excellent album. Gonna go with Gang Starr here though, even if this isn't quite up there with their very best records (their '90s discography is pretty much flawless, but this is arguably the weakest of the bunch and I was surprised it was the one that got nominated). But yeah, Primo and Guru are just a perfect duo, and you can't go wrong with an album that contains 'Just to Get a Rep', 'Check the Technique', 'The Meaning of the Name', 'Lovesick', 'As I Read My S-A', 'Beyond Comprehension' (dat beat), the title track. Actually, the more I think about it, this isn't the weakest of their '90s albums at all. All four of those records are practically perfect. Has there ever been a producer as reliable as DJ Premier? These beats are the sound of hip-hop, they essentially define what the genre is to me. And Guru, while an acquired taste (for me, anyway - I really didn't like him at all the first few times I listened to Gang Starr), is perfect for them, measured and schoolteacherly, actually sounding like a guru. Christ, I love Gang Starr.

Re: CLOSED: 750: Round 1: Lifestylez..Dangerous v. Step..Arena

Hayden — Sun, 30 Nov 2014 14:57:21 GMT

Author: Hayden

Posted: 11/30/2014 19:57

I don't actually get Step In The Arena. I don't think that it's a good album..

I love Daily Operation and Moment of Truth, and most of Guru's solo stuff, but this album just doesn't sit with me. Not sure why.

And on the other side, we have Big L's only album and magnum opus. It's just a fantastic album from start to finish. Plus, the dude was only 18-19 when he made it, yet he has the wisdom and stories of a 30 year old. It gets my vote without a doubt.

Re: CLOSED: 750: Round 1: Lifestylez..Dangerous v. Step..Arena

Anonymous — Sat, 29 Nov 2014 22:07:26 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/30/2014 03:07

Step In The Arena

LOVE this record. It's so ay! happy! Well, it feels happy. I really like the Big L album, but Gang Starr takes this for me.

CLOSED: 750: Round 1: Lifestylez..Dangerous v. Step..Arena

Anonymous — Sat, 29 Nov 2014 21:44:55 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/30/2014 02:44

Captain: Silver

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous by Big L

v.

Captain: Sp4cetiger

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Step In The Arena by Gang Starr