Best Ever Albums

Re: CLOSED - 750: Round 1: Negro v. Masters

Anonymous — Sat, 8 Nov 2014 19:46:42 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/09/2014 00:46

Dälek is the master of the hip-hop universe

10-7

Negro Necro Nekros advances.

Re: CLOSED - 750: Round 1: Negro v. Masters

Anonymous — Sat, 8 Nov 2014 11:37:26 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/08/2014 16:37

Really close one. Both are superlative. Going with Dalek since its more my thing.

Negro Necro Nekros

Re: CLOSED - 750: Round 1: Negro v. Masters

Graeme2 — Tue, 4 Nov 2014 15:21:48 GMT

Author: Graeme2

Posted: 11/04/2014 20:21

Heard about binary star for years and never checked them. Had the album on twice today and wish I'd discovered it before. This is exactly what I want, straight up no messing about. I can see why it's highly regarded by people and some consider a classic. Got it on now, shit it's good!

Re: CLOSED - 750: Round 1: Negro v. Masters

Anonymous — Tue, 4 Nov 2014 14:00:09 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/04/2014 19:00

Honestly just switch a few words around in Skinny's post and you've found why I'm voting for NNN. Of course Masters of The Universe is fucking beast and I am far from satisfied voting against it this early when it would take my vote over like 90% of this tourney, but Negro Necro Nekros is simply one of my favorite albums of all time (in any genre) for most of the reasons that Neil summarized in his post ironically describing why he is not voting for it 🤣

That said, I strongly disagree with the sentiment that it lacks a clear voice. I think said voice is definitely buried underneath layers of dense noise-inflected production, but for as long as most of the tracks go on, I've always felt a definite sense of direction, but what is remarkable is how that direction can subtly change (more than once) over the course of a single track. Often I think the rapping is more a supplement to the production, being deliberately drowned out and "incoherent" (for lack of a kinder term) so as to blend in with with the diverse and dynamic layers of fuck knows what; it's like the shoegaze vocal aesthetic but within the context of hip-hop, and as stoned as the lyrics themselves actually appear, I love it; (but I certainly wont fault anybody for voting Binary Star because holy shit that is one hell of an album)

Re: CLOSED - 750: Round 1: Negro v. Masters

Anonymous — Mon, 3 Nov 2014 13:38:39 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/03/2014 18:38

Skinny wrote:

I just don't particularly like dälek, and I think I'm OK with that. While I often bemoan the lack of weirdness in mainstream hip-hop, there are also just some experimental hip-hop artists who I don't vibe with. Negro Necro Nekros has always felt to me to be just too cluttered, lacking a clear voice, full of largely unmemorable beats (even if I do quite like the 'RZA in The Twilight Zone' thing they have going on) and all-too-often incoherent rapping (and even when I can make out what MC dälek is saying, it sounds a bit like an unnecessary halfway house between a stoned Aesop Rock and a forgotten weed carrier for Non Phixion). That said, this album does still have some things going for it, namely that it portrays a dark mood very well, evoking genuine claustrophobia at times, and I'm a particular fan of the way some of the songs stray so far from their initial path that they become different beasts entirely, something that may be relatively commonplace in rock, jazz, or even electronic music, but which is definitely a brave trick to try to pull off on a hip-hop album. It's an album I would vote for ahead of quite a few albums in this tournament. But here comes the inevitable 'but'; Masters of the Universe is a record I love. I can see why some people might find it over-long, repetitive, or even generic, but I hear the very essence of hip-hop in this album, with two rappers swapping literate, tight-flowed rhymes effortlessly over playful boom-bap beats. It might not be able to challenge Negro Necro Nekros in the originality stakes, but I can't help but admire its almost puritanical dedication to a specific type of hip-hop, one in which self-education and self-aggrandising go hand-in-hand over dusty samples of old jazz and soul records, keeping the old story-telling spirit alive on classics like 'Glenn Close' and 'Evolution of a Man', just being about as 'hip-hop' as hip-hop gets. Sure, it's not the most unique record in this tournament, but it might just be one of the best. Vote to Binary Star.

Haha! You have perfectly expressed why I prefer Dalek's Negro Necro Nekro far, far better than I ever could. 🤣 (except fort the part about "unmemorable beats" and and being "too cluttered" that is. They may be DJ Shadow's beats but damn, they're memorable. 😜 )

I do really like Masters of the Universe though. Just a bit inconsistent, same-y and unoriginal.

Not going to vote just yet since I want to hear both a couple more times, but you (unsurprisingly) nailed my first impressions pretty much perfectly.

When are we getting our Gangster Rap Genre Extravaganza dream thread anyways? Can't wait!

Re: CLOSED - 750: Round 1: Negro v. Masters

Skinny — Mon, 3 Nov 2014 12:08:43 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 11/03/2014 17:08

I just don't particularly like dälek, and I think I'm OK with that. While I often bemoan the lack of weirdness in mainstream hip-hop, there are also just some experimental hip-hop artists who I don't vibe with. Negro Necro Nekros has always felt to me to be just too cluttered, lacking a clear voice, full of largely unmemorable beats (even if I do quite like the 'RZA in The Twilight Zone' thing they have going on) and all-too-often incoherent rapping (and even when I can make out what MC dälek is saying, it sounds a bit like an unnecessary halfway house between a stoned Aesop Rock and a forgotten weed carrier for Non Phixion). That said, this album does still have some things going for it, namely that it portrays a dark mood very well, evoking genuine claustrophobia at times, and I'm a particular fan of the way some of the songs stray so far from their initial path that they become different beasts entirely, something that may be relatively commonplace in rock, jazz, or even electronic music, but which is definitely a brave trick to try to pull off on a hip-hop album. It's an album I would vote for ahead of quite a few albums in this tournament. But here comes the inevitable 'but'; Masters of the Universe is a record I love. I can see why some people might find it over-long, repetitive, or even generic, but I hear the very essence of hip-hop in this album, with two rappers swapping literate, tight-flowed rhymes effortlessly over playful boom-bap beats. It might not be able to challenge Negro Necro Nekros in the originality stakes, but I can't help but admire its almost puritanical dedication to a specific type of hip-hop, one in which self-education and self-aggrandising go hand-in-hand over dusty samples of old jazz and soul records, keeping the old story-telling spirit alive on classics like 'Glenn Close' and 'Evolution of a Man', just being about as 'hip-hop' as hip-hop gets. Sure, it's not the most unique record in this tournament, but it might just be one of the best. Vote to Binary Star.

Re: CLOSED - 750: Round 1: Negro v. Masters

WindowAbove — Mon, 3 Nov 2014 11:35:28 GMT

Author: WindowAbove

Posted: 11/03/2014 16:35

NNN is my third favorite Dalek album, but even though it's not as much of a masterpiece as their next two albums (particularly Absence), I do prefer it to MotU, which was decent but utterly unmemorable.

Re: CLOSED - 750: Round 1: Negro v. Masters

Hayden — Sun, 2 Nov 2014 16:27:39 GMT

Author: Hayden

Posted: 11/02/2014 21:27

What a shame 🙁

Both should be moving on.

Re: CLOSED - 750: Round 1: Negro v. Masters

Anonymous — Sun, 2 Nov 2014 16:26:01 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/02/2014 21:26

Damn, this is a rough first round matchup. Sticking with my nom because I think it's one of the most interesting, unique hip-hop albums ever that manages to pull off what a lot of experimental hip-hop doesn't in still being really fun to listen to, but Masters of the Universe is fantastic as well.

Re: CLOSED - 750: Round 1: Negro v. Masters

eyezayzay — Sun, 2 Nov 2014 16:25:36 GMT

Author: eyezayzay

Posted: 11/02/2014 21:25

Masters of the Universe is the most slept on underground hip hop album of all time. And I think it was during an era where Bad Boy was running everything on top. If you keep that in mind and listen to it, you'll have to love it.

Re: CLOSED - 750: Round 1: Negro v. Masters

Anonymous — Sun, 2 Nov 2014 16:25:21 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/02/2014 21:25

They both look like intelligent albums. The ones which will be arty. I have never heard of either act.

Re: CLOSED - 750: Round 1: Negro v. Masters

Anonymous — Sun, 2 Nov 2014 16:23:19 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/02/2014 21:23

Negro Necro Nekros

Masters Of The Universe is good, but its length is justified. Negro Necro Nekros is pretty interesting, but seldom did I think "oh, this is great". Both are about the same on my scale. Pretty much voting for what I think I'll think about more.

CLOSED - 750: Round 1: Negro v. Masters

Anonymous — Sun, 2 Nov 2014 16:15:30 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 11/02/2014 21:15

Captain: Silver

Thumbnail. Click to enlarge.

Negro Necro Nekros by Dälek

v.

Captain: Eyezayzay

Masters Of The Universe by Binary Star