Best Ever Albums

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

Skinny — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 22:27:29 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 03/25/2021 02:27

RoundTheBend wrote:

First tie?

regardless, =D>

Second. Also ended up a tie in the 1997 vs. 2002 matchup.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

RoundTheBend — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 22:19:48 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 03/25/2021 02:19

Skinny wrote:

Tie, 6-6.

First tie?

regardless, �'�

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

Skinny — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 22:16:45 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 03/25/2021 02:16

Tie, 6-6.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

baystateoftheart — Sat, 20 Mar 2021 22:03:44 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 03/21/2021 02:03

Hell Hath No Fury: 4/5
Dedication 2: Gangsta Grillz: 3.5/5
It's Goin' Down: 3.5/5
Shoulder Lean: 3.5/5

2006 Total: 14.5/20

Telefone: 4.5/5
Jeffery: 4/5
Wind In My Sails: 4/5
30 Keys: 4/5

2016 Total: 16.5/20

I love the concept of a team made up entirely of contemporaneously popular southern hip-hop, but it's up against an airtight lineup.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

cestuneblague — Tue, 16 Mar 2021 23:17:34 GMT

Author: cestuneblague

Posted: 03/17/2021 03:17

Yeah again a case of higher-highs vs more consistiency. Clipse has my favorite album of the bunch, but I can only really tolerate Wayne in smaller doses. Singles are very good and again very '06. 2016 has albums I certainly appreciate more so than really love, but that singles team- hot damn. May be enough to win my vote, but I do have more of personal hankering towards '06.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

kokkinos — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 01:59:46 GMT

Author: kokkinos

Posted: 03/11/2021 06:59

All four singles hit super hard, so I consider the two teams equal in that department (Ka's one may rank slightly above the rest, but the 2006 ones form a fantastic combo). This means that the outcome will be based on the albums, where 2016 gets the nod. Case closed.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

kokkinos — Tue, 9 Mar 2021 15:45:58 GMT

Author: kokkinos

Posted: 03/09/2021 20:45

Young Thug - Jeffery is one of those cases where the idea is better than the execution. The general concept of the album - or mixtape if you 'd like- is cool, but the song themselves are too trivial and as a result struggle to justify it. I would blame both the production (on the other hand, it's not a surprise that the standout track of the album in terms of production is titled Kanye West 😉 ) and the lyrics for that, but definitely not Young Thug's performance. Entertaining, unpredictable, creative, almost deranged, full of style and personality, I would have no trouble saying it carries the whole album, everything else revolves around it. Not many cases I can think of where I like one aspect of an album to such a high degree, while I don't care that much about the rest. Not an album I listen to very often, but it never fails in the fun department
To sum it up, I would rank this as a distant third behind Telefone and Hell Hath No Fury, but ahead of Dedication 2, meaning that 2016 has the lead so far.
Next one is gonna be the singles.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

Hayden — Mon, 8 Mar 2021 16:48:25 GMT

Author: Hayden

Posted: 03/08/2021 21:48

Just chiming in to say I'm swinging 2016.

This match up makes me wish I thought Jeffery was just a smidge better, because it's the only fault teetering 2016's team for me. I think it's okay/goodish, and the best part might just be the cover. Being said, I think Telefone + those singles are actually strong enough to topple 2006 (considering Jeffery more of a kicker), as I'm not super fond of the Lil Wayne tape, and Shoulder Lean can get a little annoying over time.

Hell Hath No Fury's probably the best thing on the board though (followed by 30 Keys).

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

kokkinos — Mon, 8 Mar 2021 15:44:24 GMT

Author: kokkinos

Posted: 03/08/2021 20:44

Noname - Telefone is a rare breed, a very special album - I think it's safe to call it an album despite being labelled as a mixtape. Noname really makes an impression by not trying to make one - if that makes any sense. What I mean is that there's nothing on this album which screams "look at me, I'm the best". It feels like she is a person you've known for ages and you can afford the luxury of a deep and sincere conversation, as you see eye to eye on most subjects. No matter how dark they are ("Shadow man, shadow box, dance in the dark with me This resurrected agony there's apathy for caskets Everything I ever loved I lost in the magic I claim by the river, my body delivered When I die there's 27 rappers at my funeral Moses wrote my name in gold and Kanye did the eulogy Remember all the bashfulness, understand the truancy Here I stand in front of a college dropout My music was a church when your spirit hopped out Met a gypsy in LA and she reading my palm tree Mysterious situation like kissing the concrete i.e getting money I been close to heaven, baby claim he love me Hold me down forever, I never should have bought this halo He waiting for me at his table My funeral a Disney fable 'cause the king 'bout to take me home"), her insight may provide you with food for thought, but it's far from a melodramatic or outright depressing presentation of the relevant themes. The hearty and cosy atmosphere make sure you won't even feel uncomfortable. It's as if it tries to create a shelter and protect you from all the evil and negativity of modern life, it's the kind of album a mother would make for her child. Another major advantage of it is how it fits in many different occasions depending on your mood and also has high replay value.
To sum it up, I would rank it as the best album of the matchup so far, Hell Hath No Fury is up there as well, while Dedication 2 is a distant third.
Next one is gonna be Young Thug - Jeffery.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

cestuneblague — Mon, 8 Mar 2021 02:57:11 GMT

Author: cestuneblague

Posted: 03/08/2021 07:57

I'm not the only one who's a little dissapointed that Federline didn't make an appearence this round?

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

RoundTheBend — Sun, 7 Mar 2021 20:55:44 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 03/08/2021 01:55

2006 (captain: Tha1ChiefRocka) (8.75)
Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury (2.75)
Lil Wayne - Dedication 2 (1.5)
Yung Joc - It's Goin' Down (2.25)
Young Dro - Shoulder Lean (ft. T.I.) (2.25)

vs.

2016 (captain: travelful) (9.25)
Noname - Telefone (3)
Young Thug - Jeffery (2)
Earl Sweatshirt - Wind in My Sails (2)
Ka - 30 Keys (2.25)

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

kokkinos — Sun, 7 Mar 2021 14:35:20 GMT

Author: kokkinos

Posted: 03/07/2021 19:35

Not much to say about Lil Wayne - Dedication 2, I don't wanna sound too negative. I once read a comment about Lil Wayne being "a voice you'll hate until you love" or something and I think it perfectly summarises it. I wish I make it to the second stage of this journey at some point, but for now I am sadly stuck in the first one.
Next one is gonna be Noname - Telefone.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

kokkinos — Sun, 7 Mar 2021 12:48:42 GMT

Author: kokkinos

Posted: 03/07/2021 17:48

Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury is an album that took way too long to be completed, but in the end it was worth the wait. Production wise, the "less is more" approach works really close to perfection, though it has to be said that some -actually, most - of the hooks are questionable - to put it mildly. When it comes to rapping, I can't say I noticed any significant difference (for better or worse) in comparison to Lord Willin', they might not be the most charming rappers around, but they get their point across without any trouble whatsoever. The themes of the album involve a lot of the typical bragging ("No hotta, flow droppa since Poppa You penny-ante niggas see I know copper Left the game on a high note, flow opera Pusha still got them keys, I can unlock ya See that watch on the sleeve? Call it show-stopper Nigga ball around the world, call me globe trotter Trick dollar, ask what I feel? Nada Give a bitch yellow fever, all these gold bottles And late models, I lean throttles") and gangsta ("Mask on face, Glock in hand I was in and out of homes like the Orkin Man Never listen to my parents like an orphan man Strong finger on the trigger like it's in dwarf's hands Confiscate goodies like Repo Man Sam Make nigga kick that can Fall victim to the Klick Klack Klan My vixen eat ya face like she Ms. Pac-Man") stuff, but they are wisecracking enough to get away with it. Plus, we get to see the darker side as well, it's not all about glory ("Top off the coupe, that's how JFK got shot, B Can't let niggas roll up beside me, and 2Pac me Holla if you hear me, tears flowing sincerely Check up on my block weekly, my health yearly Something's wrong with me, niggas don't get along with me Got a fo-fo, hope your body got strong kidneys, oh!"). Out of the guests, Ab-Liva is the one that delivers my favorite verse in Ride Around Shining ("Ha! It's that look that astounds Life's a circus, I parade the 6 through these clowns The crown is vacant, I'm taking the proper steps I'm takin' them Poppa steps, they prayin' for my downfall Is it the bling, the king, conquistador That my jeweler made the face blush on the Franck Muller The R shape peculiar, it's awesome, laying over dark skin Looking like arson when I park in the left, it's constant Minute hand is like Parkinson's You a fish where the sharks a-swim In that opaque linen with the odd-colored stitching V12 on the Modena, you can see the pistons HREs on it, mami, see it glisten When I (*vrrroom*) make all of her twist like Dickens It's feeling like parts is missing, top stole, push soul Gotta drive it like pole position 'til my soul is risen").
To sum it up, I would rank this as my favorite Clipse album.
Next one is gonna be Lil Wayne - Dedication 2.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

Tha1ChiefRocka — Thu, 4 Mar 2021 16:07:37 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 03/04/2021 21:07

I'm sitting in the Atlanta airport right now, and I all of a sudden started thinking of my two singles for this tournament.

I think I saw Young Joc working at the Subway...

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

Skinny — Wed, 3 Mar 2021 02:56:55 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 03/03/2021 07:56

Lil Wayne is certainly one of the more divisive figures in hip-hop's history, though I feel there has definitely been a critical reappraisal in the past decade or so and that more and more people are waking up to the idea that he was the most inventive and most exciting figure in mainstream rap during those peak years you mentioned, roughly '04 through '08. (A similar thing has happened with Gucci Mane, another figure who drew derision from hip-hop traditionalists at the time, but whose standing only appears to have risen in the years since as his influence on a new generation - or two - has become undeniable. Nice to see that you've picked both in this tournament.) There will always be those who are turned off by one or more of the aspects of his music - his unabashed materialism, his regular use of auto-tune, his flagrant crossover attempts - and he faced a very real anti-South bias that thankfully appears to diminish with each passing year, but his rapping (during his peak) had a really gleeful, mischievous energy to it that was displayed in his wide range of manic, often melodic flows and his borderline surrealist wordplay. I used to pay some attention to that whole "best rapper alive" argument, and still sometimes use the phrase, but it's a futile endeavour - how does one compare Wayne with, say, Blu, or DOOM, when those artists are at least as different from one another as U2 are from Bad Brains, or Half Japanese? Anyway, Wayne had as much right as anybody to claim it around this time. Nobody, to my ears, was as consistently thrilling on the mic during that period. Great choice and writeup.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

Tha1ChiefRocka — Wed, 3 Mar 2021 01:28:43 GMT

Author: Tha1ChiefRocka

Posted: 03/03/2021 06:28

I never really wrote about my picks enough, so I'm going to do that this time.

Dedication 2 by Lil Wayne (aka Weezy, aka Birdman Jr. aka Mr. President, aka Young Tuna Fish) etc. etc. etc.

I'm not gonna mince words here. When Lil Wayne called himself the "best rapper alive" on track 4 of this mixtape he wasn't wrong. 15 years removed from this release, Lil Wayne couldn't not be further away from the spotlight. The last song I heard from him was this weird song he made about the Green Bay Packers. (Which is actually probably one of the better songs he's made recently?)

Link

After the release of "Tha Carter III" Lil Wayne's credibility plummeted and I feel like he's mostly remembered by stupid internet kids as some sort of meme from the early 00's. And boy oh boy, did Wayne get shafted by boomer Dad rockers too. Just look at the ratings for his albums on this site. Even his best (including this mixtape) are rated like Nickelback or Creed albums. Due to his image and penchant for crudeness, I feel like he was made the scapegoat of many a white household for his corrupting influence on suburban youth. It reached the point to where Lil Wayne has become one of the most hated rappers in the game. But I think many people, myself included, are starting to come back to Wayne's wonder years between '04 and '08 for a relisten. People that grew up with his music as a big part of their lives want to know. Is it as good as we remember, or has it aged terribly?

I can say with certainty, after listening to this more than a few times since I picked '06 as my team, that it exceeded all expectations. I even find myself being more than a little ashamed at some of the mean things I've said about Wayne in the past. (Although some have definitely been deserved, because he's been involved in a lot of shit.) All of the point of this being that when Wayne was in his prime I would have called him top 5. The looser structure of the mixtape format really allows his idiosyncrasies, both as a person and a rapper, to really shine through on these tracks.

Take "Cannon" for example. Easily on of the highlights of the album. Wayne's verse on here is too fucking good. The humor, the flow, the cadence, and the wordplay just make it so damn fun to listen to. I think my favorite thing about a lot of the Wayne lyrics is that they're the kind that if you were sitting around with a group of friends and you all heard something as ridiculous as,

"That's the AK-47, make his neighborhood love me
Bullets like birds, you can hear them bitches humming
Don't let that bird shit, he got a weak stomach
Niggas know I'm sick: I don't spit, I vomit—got it?
One egg short of the omelet
Simon says: "Shoot a nigga in his thigh and leg
And tell him, 'Catch up,' like mayonnaise"; um—

...then you'd just stare at eachother and start laughing. This is music for a good time. And the whole album is full of bangers and bars like this. Yes, the length could be an issue, but I'm not going worry about that for this release.

Besides that verse, there's two others that got to me.

This one on "Walk It Off" is just so vile, it's hard not give some credit to somebody that can spit something like this.

Last week I met a bitch, but I forgot her name
Short sweet, red cute, ole vibrant thang
She got a earring in her pussy, ‘n’ everywhere else
She said she jog everyday so she can cum on herself
Then she tell me my love is the best she's felt
And she sucked my dick like it’s about to melt
She drink Vitamin Water, say it’s good for her health
She can wrap my whole dick around her waist like a belt
Then there’s another bitch, her name was Ayesha
She ride that dick good and make a mean cheese pizza
One time it was so good, I told her to order one mo'
She said it’s not Domino's -- its DiGiorno's
There’s another bitch I met her at the Gong Show
Got her to the crib and turned it straight into a thong show
She do my dishes, wash my clothes and fix my corn rows

Besides those more classic Wayne verses, this album does have some seriously good insight into New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Wayne was always a great representative of NO, and his feelings on the situation definitely come through on this album at several points.

Of course, from the closer, "Georgia Bush".

Hurricane Katrina, we should've called it Hurricane (Georgia) Bush
Then they telling y'all lies on the news
The white people smiling like everything cool
But I know people that died in that pool
I know people that died in them schools
Now what is the survivor to do?
Got to no trailer, you gotta move
Now it's on to Texas and to (Georgia)
They tell you what they want, show you what they want you to see
But they don't let you know what's really going on
Make it look like a lotta stealing going on
Boy them cops is killas in my home

The reason I'd isolate these three verses besides their lyrical content, is the fact that Wayne sounds completely different on each of these tracks. Listen to these three tracks back to back and you'll hear what I mean. His flow and even his vocal inflection are totally different on each song. It's really kind of eye (or is it ear?) opening for me, because I always felt that Lil Wayne lacked some versatility in his delivery, but that's not a problem on this album.
---------------------
Besides the rapper, the DJ on the mixtape matters too, and DJ Drama was also at the top of his game for this. I love the choices for samples on this album, and the contemporary hits that dot this album make it all the better. Some of the songs used on here were even possible choices for 2006 singles including "Poppin My Collar", "What You Know", and "Hustlin". The album has a good progression, and even though it's 80 minutes long, it's varied enough to keep a listener interested through it's duration.

I'll talk about "Hell Hath No Fury" tomorrow probably.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

babyBlueSedan — Tue, 2 Mar 2021 23:25:26 GMT

Author: babyBlueSedan

Posted: 03/03/2021 04:25

Each side has one album that I really love:

- There are a lot of albums I didn't enjoy on first listen and later came around to like, and in most cases I can recognize what it was about the album that required a few listens to click. Hell Hath No Fury is not one of those albums. The first 2 or 3 times I heard it, it did absolutely nothing for me. But on the next listen, it pretty instantly became a favorite, and I have no clue why it took more than like half a listen for me to fall in love. Maybe the setting was just right that time? Anyway, it's immaculately produced and both MCs really bring it. I don't think it has the highs of Lord Willin', but it's end to end great outside of that "Keys open doors" hook that gets pretty irritating because it's repeated so much. But outside of that I have nothing bad to say about it.

- On the other team there's Jeffrey. I was always intrigued by Young Thug but never really found a project of his that hit for me until this one. It's probably partially the length - just 9 songs (I guess technically 10 but "Pick Up the Phone" always felt out of place here) that are pretty much all terrific, much like on HHNF. Floyd Mayweather is probably the weak link, but even there it's just a ton of fun to listen to everyone trade verses. But Thugger is definitely the highlight, he feels completely free from any confines of beats or flows. The opener is one of my favorites and on the first verse his flow switches up like three times, with my favorite being the part that start swith "Shop at Saks Fifth, flow on DatPiff." The chorus of Swizz Beats is another highlight, as is pretty much all of Webbie and Popman / Kanye West (I once read someone, probably on RYM, describe Young Thug's flow on parts of Webbie as a Boomhauer flow and I cannot unhear that now).

As for the other albums, this was my first listen to any Lil Wayne mixtape and I really enjoyed it. The length is pretty clearly a problem but it's not like you're supposed to listen to it in one focused sitting anyway. Would have been the perfect thing to put on while gaming with friends in college if any of us were into this kind of thing at the time. As for Telefone, it's an album I've never really gotten into despite liking her follow-up to it. I relistened to it just last fall to see if it would click yet and had no luck, honestly can't even remember much about it now...

The singles are all great but I think I prefer 2006's, partially because they go well with the album picks. Because of that I'm leaning 2006. Happy to see this Earl song nominated though, I'd actually never heard it. This was my favorite period from him and I'm a bit disappointed that neither Chum nor anything from IDLSIDGO was nominated for other years.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

cestuneblague — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 22:36:10 GMT

Author: cestuneblague

Posted: 02/27/2021 03:36

Not gonna lie, the only album here i've heard in it's entirity is Hell Hath No Fury, and even that's due for a re-listen. The singles are all stellar, though, so this should be quite the ride.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

Hayden — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 21:52:15 GMT

Author: Hayden

Posted: 02/25/2021 02:52

I like how both the teams here feel like cohesive packages. Excellent playlist material.

The 2016 singles are great non-album picks.

Re: BYHH GW3: Group D - 2006 vs. 2016

eyezayzay — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 18:35:23 GMT

Author: eyezayzay

Posted: 02/24/2021 23:35

Filthy. I can't decide.