Best Ever Albums

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

Skinny — Fri, 22 Jan 2021 11:21:59 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 01/22/2021 16:21

2000 wins, 10-6.

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

travelful — Thu, 21 Jan 2021 17:43:01 GMT

Author: travelful

Posted: 01/21/2021 22:43

#Recount
#StopTheSteal

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

19loveless91 — Mon, 18 Jan 2021 09:52:35 GMT

Author: 19loveless91

Posted: 01/18/2021 14:52

Maybe my favourite set of albums (*of those I've heard) and my least favourite set of singles in the first round... Very little between them, haven't decided yet

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

kokkinos — Sun, 17 Jan 2021 15:58:30 GMT

Author: kokkinos

Posted: 01/17/2021 20:58

My ranking for the singles:
1st: Kanye West - Saint Pablo
Far from my favorite Kanye West song, but travelful highlighted all the reasons that make this special.
2nd: Skepta - No Security
Clearly one step behind his 2015 single (Shutdown).
3rd: Ludacris - What's Your Fantasy (ft. Shawnna)
Typical Ludacris -ok, back then it wasn't typical yet- provides some -or even a lot- fun for the first listens, but it gets tiring after a while.

4th: Dr. Dre - Forgot About Dre (ft. Eminem)
I've already expressed my thoughts on Eminem, don't wanna repeat myself - yeah, I know it's Dr.Dre featuring Eminem, but still it's impossible to ignore him.

So, the singles overall were a let down in comparison to the incredibly high level of all four albums, but the result is beyond doubt anyway. 2016 wins. Case closed.

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

kokkinos — Sun, 17 Jan 2021 15:26:01 GMT

Author: kokkinos

Posted: 01/17/2021 20:26

So, the last album of the matchup (actually the last album of the first round, what a ride it was) is Ka - Honor Killed the Samurai. Well, talk about going out with a bang. As it has already been pointed out multiple times, the album cover is so eye-catching it's impossible to ignore. It's not only about style, the samurai concept runs through the whole album both in a literal -that's obvious, I guess - and in a figurative - a warrior/artist who needs utmost precision while doing his thing if he wants to survive - way. It's an album I wouldn't easily recommend to someone whose tastes I don't know, because it's not the most accessible ablum. But if you get into it, it's a fantastic experience - and every time it seems even better than the previous, it just keeps growing on you. It's not an album you can just let play in the background and do something else, it requires your full attention and it unquestionably deserves it. The production keeps coming at you with unexpected twist after unexpected twist, so many unique and seemingly random sounds but in the end it all makes sense. And what to say about his rapping. At points it may seem like he lacks in energy, but that's his style and it fits the dark themes of his songs like a glove. The lyrics work both in one/two lines scale (for example the positive/negative antithesis "The harmony dreamin' had me constantly schemin' Rarely peace, and barely a beast, armed like a demon") and in verse/song scale ("Don't place win it, just no snakes in it, play the grass safely And trust every cut is nuts won't let 'em castrate me If happen to make cash, don't let the cash make me Regardless I'm a guarded artist, never graph hasty No fame, but became a favorite 'cause they know I labored That's when heart allow you market value, they overrate it That show is dated, slowly faded, could meet eternal Can battle hard against catalogs with one leafy journal Broke and filthy, innocence safe from cloaked and guilty Every session respectfully reppin', hope the 'ville see My civil aims - to get a little change and be still me Even if max bustin' back to dust, you can't kill sheep I need money"). There is nothing that even remotely resembles a weak track here, if you told me there are 10 equal tracks I would believe you, but if I had to pick a highlight it would probably be Finer Things / Tamahagene (if nothing else, it's the longest, so more time to enjoy!).
To sum it up, in all likelihood the best matchup album-wise, still this takes the first spot (I'd rank this album at top-3 of the first round overall), meaning the 2016 team has an advantage before heading to the singles.

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

kokkinos — Sun, 17 Jan 2021 11:31:21 GMT

Author: kokkinos

Posted: 01/17/2021 16:31

A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service came out 18 (!!) years after their last album - and sadly was marked by the passing of Phife Dawg, meaning there won't be another one- but at least it was worth the wait. It has to be one of the most impressive comebacks ever and easily qualifies as a fitting last chapter to their astounding legacy. The production is the absolute star of the album. They draw inspiration from various styles - pop, rock, soul, disco, reggae, R&B etc., you get the point - and use a wide range of samples -Elton John, Michael Jackson, Black Sabbath, Can being among the most famous ones, though there are many more- managing to incorporate them into a cohesive sum. But it isn't only about the samples, the instrumentation is also great. When you have guys like Jack White making a guest appearance, you know it's something special. Rapping is likewise of the highest level, as all members are on the top of their game here and the chemistry between them is as good as ever, while the guests never fail to make an impression. The lyrics explore for the most part ever so timely and relevant socio-political themes ("They’d rather lead us to the grayest water poison deadly smog Mass un-blackening, it’s happening, you feel it y’all? Rather see we in a three-by-three structure with many bars Leave us where we are so they can play among the stars They taking off to Mars, got the space vessels overflowing What, you think they want us there? All us niggas not going Reputation ain’t glowing, reparations ain’t flowing If you find yourself stuck in a creek, you better start rowing Used to see the TV screen as the place to land my dream in And the car stereo where they would promote the show Optimistic little brother with a hope you know"). Dis Generation provides a change of subject and can be seen as passing the torch on to the next generation, ("Talk to Joey, Earl, Kendrick, and Cole, gatekeepers of flow They are extensions of instinctual soulIt's the highest in commodity grade And you could get it today"), which takes another meaning when you take into account that some members of the new generation do feature here (by the way, Kendrick's "Obama nation" devilishly sounding like "abomination" is the one line of the album I can't seem to forget, it's stuck in my head since day one). It goes without saying that a tribute to Phife Dawg couldn't be missing (Q-Tip "Malik, I would treat you like little brother that would give you fits Sometimes overbearing though I thought it was for your benefit Despite all the spats and shits cinematically documented The one thing I appreciate, you and I, we never pretended Rhymes we would write it out, hard times fight it out Gave grace face to face, made it right And now you riding out, out, out, out, damn", Jarobi "Never thought that I would be ever writing this song Hold friends tight, never know when those people are gone So, so beautiful, opined indisputable Heart of a largest lion trapped inside the little dude"). One complaint could be that the first side is so strong (tracks 1,2,3,5 are ridiculously good) that it would be almost impossible for the second side to catch up, but it comes with its own highlights -namely Lost Somebody and Conrad Tokyo - , so the difference is not that striking.
To sum it up, I have to give it the nod as my favorite of the matchup, but all three albums so far have been excellent and it's been extremely close.
Next one is gonna be Ka - Honor Killed the Samurai.

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

kokkinos — Sun, 17 Jan 2021 06:33:30 GMT

Author: kokkinos

Posted: 01/17/2021 11:33

Quasimoto - The Unseen is Madvillainy before Madvillainy and of course I mean that as a huge compliment. The same cartoonish, surreal atmosphere that we all got to know and love. As we see right from the get go in Bad Character Quasimoto is also viewed as a villain ("Guess who's the new bad character in town?", "I'm labeled as a bad character No matter what I do") so there's even a foreshadowing of what's about to follow. He goes for many short tracks (he fits 24 of them in less than 64 minutes) with smooth transitions from each one to the next, so it feels more like a very big song - that's good for the most part, as you get lost in it, though there were a couple of instances where it felt monotonous, nothing too serious. Despite the futuristic vibes, the album has also a jazzy background, so it combines the best of both worlds. His voice is ideal for this kind of musical environment. Not only isn't it annoying, it actually elevates the whole thing, maybe this explains the decision to keep the guests to a minimum , otherwise there would a danger of breaking the momentum - though on the other hand you could argue that some variety would help, as I already mentioned above. The lyrics, well, I don't know to be honest. It's one of those albums where you can't afford to pay attention to the lyrics, what's happening sound-wise is so captivating you don't wanna miss a thing (the funny thing is last night I was contemplating between listening to this or going to sleep, as I was somewhat tired and didn't know if I could listen to an hour long album and I ended up listening to it twice in a row). Hip hop usually does need lyrics more than most genres, but this is far from a typical hip hop album. Picking highlights is no easy task, I'm gonna say Real Eyes -the stuff of dreams, really-, but I can easily imagine the beat of Disciple 99 Pt. 0 being my morning alarm.
To sum it up, another excellent addition to the 2000 team, about equal to the previous one - if I were forced to pick only one, I would probably go with this, but it's almost too close to make a call, Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele definitely had higher highs, but lower lows, too.
Next one is gonna be A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service.

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

Repo — Sat, 16 Jan 2021 23:40:18 GMT

Author: Repo

Posted: 01/17/2021 04:40

RoundTheBend wrote:

Every white person loves these songs, and so do I: (3) - joking aside, possibly two best singles of the matchup, as singles go (not tracks... if that makes sense) Both of these were massive as singles releases.
Dr. Dre - Forgot About Dre (ft. Eminem)
Ludacris - What's Your Fantasy (ft. Shawnna)

lol. Totally. My girlfriend actually went to junior high with Ludacris! They were sort of even in the same circle. He was super cute but kinda shy! 🤣

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

RoundTheBend — Sat, 16 Jan 2021 23:03:40 GMT

Author: RoundTheBend

Posted: 01/17/2021 04:03

(11)

Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele (2.25)
I know this is talked up a lot. Favorite of a lot. But I can't get past two things that bring this down a bit, even though it's a good record. 1) the repeating barely anything samples. 2) The fast rapping with not a lot of dynamics. Now let me clarify, some of those samples are fantastic. And the rapping is fantastic. But the combination/end result there just doesn't jam with me.

Quasimoto - The Unseen (2.75)
This is a great record. First run for me and dug it quite a bit.

Every white person loves these songs, and so do I: (3) - joking aside, possibly two best singles of the matchup, as singles go (not tracks... if that makes sense) Both of these were massive as singles releases.
Dr. Dre - Forgot About Dre (ft. Eminem)
Ludacris - What's Your Fantasy (ft. Shawnna)

vs.

(8.75)

A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service (2.5)
This was a solid record. Remember checking it out upon release and a few times after. The samples and music are really high brow. Like to the point that it feels too well produced almost. All-star line up. It's too good to be true somehow in a lot of ways. Dunno how else to say it. Maybe the 2004 Lakers lineup is a good analogy?
Ka - Honor Killed the Samurai
This was probably the most solid conscious hip-hop I've ever listened to. It also kinda suffered from the too polished side of the road. I'm sure someone's like, yeah that's the genre you idiot, and that's fine dictionary man. (2.25)

Both of these singles left me meh: (2)
Skepta - No Security
Kanye West - Saint Pablo

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

travelful — Sat, 16 Jan 2021 18:46:03 GMT

Author: travelful

Posted: 01/16/2021 23:46

baystateoftheart wrote:

2000 has the better albums, but the singles are sufficiently lopsided to give 2016 the edge.

I agree. I'll stick with my selections, but only because I prefer my singles.

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

Skinny — Sat, 16 Jan 2021 17:54:25 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 01/16/2021 22:54

kokkinos wrote:

So, last matchup of the first round. Let's begin with Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele. This album came out at a critical point, since the 1999 albums by GZA and especially Raekwon -maybe ODB could be included, too, but he 's always been in a league of his own- were viewed as a step back in comparison to their previous albums. Then came this. The production -considered the main reason the above mentioned albums failed to make an impression- is for the most part based on the well known and highly successful recipe, as RZA is once again the man in charge, but there are also other producers with meaningful contributions, my favorite being Wu Banga 101 -produced by Mathematics- and Saturday Nite -produced by Carlos "Six July" Broady. 64 minutes is kinda long-ish, but definitely listenable in particular by hip hop standards, the only problem is that it contains 21 tracks. I am not againist skits on general principle, quite the contrary actually, but in the context of this album I fail to see how they fit. They are too long and give you room to breathe and you aren't supposed to have that while listening to this. On the other hand, the intro and outro have to be among the greatest ever, it's one of the first things that comes to mind concerning this album, they do so much with so little, fantastic. Stroke of Death seems to be highly praised because of the whole scratching concept, but in all honesty I found it extremely annoying, one of the very few cases I couldn't make it through a song, I'd rather listen to the skits instead - no offence, I get it's creative and unique, I just can't stand it. Not much needs to be said about rapping, Ghostface Killah is on his typical form here. Many Wu members -sadly no ODB- make a guest appearance, even Masta Killa (yeah, somehow I have a soft spot for this guy), so nothing to complain about in that department. The lyrics deal with their usual themes - though you could argue he follows a more abstract and sophisticated approach ("Ayo, crash through, break the glass, Tony with the goalie mask That's the past, heavy ice Rollie laying on the dash Love the grass, cauliflower hurting when I dumped the trash Sour mash served in every glass up at the Wally Bash Sunsplash, autograph blessing with your name slashed Backdraft, four-pounders screaming with the pearly ash Children fix the contrast as the sound clashes Mrs. Dash, sprinkle with her icicle eyelash Ask Cappa Pendergrass for backstage passes") in comparison to his previous attempts-, plus there are some interesting twists, for example in Child's Play ("Those were the days, made faces in school plays Paper trays, city wide test, made half a days Shooting puppy water, might hump the pillow, dick a inch taller Stapleton bum nigga, I'll pop her cherry for her Fresh Air Fund, nail’s done, alphabets berets Jellies, bubble yum, soda tongue, too young to cum Then engage him with them candy rings a-yo, I hit that shit Got jealous when she kissed Rob I broke her Chick-O-Sticks").
To sum it up, a couple of disagreements, but deservedly rated as one of the greatest Wu related albums, ergo one of the greatest hip hop albums.
Next one is gonna be Quasimoto - The Unseen.

Literally the greatest writer of all time.

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

Skinny — Sat, 16 Jan 2021 17:03:43 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 01/16/2021 22:03

baystateoftheart wrote:

For what it's worth, the video version of No Security was released in 2017. Here's the version from 2016, which I assume is what we're voting on: https://soundcloud.com/skepta/skepta-no-security-halloween-sound

Good catch. That said, I'm not voting against that 2000 team regardless, and neither should anyone else.

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

baystateoftheart — Sat, 16 Jan 2021 17:01:59 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 01/16/2021 22:01

Supreme Clientele: 4/5
The Unseen: 4.5/5
Forgot About Dre: 2.5/5
What's Your Fantasy: 2.5/5

2000 Total: 13.5/20

We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service: 4.5/5
Honor Killed The Samurai: 3.5/5
No Security (Halloween Sound): 4/5
Saint Pablo: 4/5

2016 Total: 16/20

2000 has the better albums, but the singles are sufficiently lopsided to give 2016 the edge.

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

baystateoftheart — Sat, 16 Jan 2021 16:39:31 GMT

Author: baystateoftheart

Posted: 01/16/2021 21:39

For what it's worth, the video version of No Security was released in 2017. Here's the version from 2016, which I assume is what we're voting on: https://soundcloud.com/skepta/skepta-no-security-halloween-sound

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

kokkinos — Sat, 16 Jan 2021 12:35:23 GMT

Author: kokkinos

Posted: 01/16/2021 17:35

So, last matchup of the first round. Let's begin with Ghostface Killah - Supreme Clientele. This album came out at a critical point, since the 1999 albums by GZA and especially Raekwon -maybe ODB could be included, too, but he 's always been in a league of his own- were viewed as a step back in comparison to their previous albums. Then came this. The production -considered the main reason the above mentioned albums failed to make an impression- is for the most part based on the well known and highly successful recipe, as RZA is once again the man in charge, but there are also other producers with meaningful contributions, my favorite being Wu Banga 101 -produced by Mathematics- and Saturday Nite -produced by Carlos "Six July" Broady. 64 minutes is kinda long-ish, but definitely listenable in particular by hip hop standards, the only problem is that it contains 21 tracks. I am not againist skits on general principle, quite the contrary actually, but in the context of this album I fail to see how they fit. They are too long and give you room to breathe and you aren't supposed to have that while listening to this. On the other hand, the intro and outro have to be among the greatest ever, it's one of the first things that comes to mind concerning this album, they do so much with so little, fantastic. Stroke of Death seems to be highly praised because of the whole scratching concept, but in all honesty I found it extremely annoying, one of the very few cases I couldn't make it through a song, I'd rather listen to the skits instead - no offence, I get it's creative and unique, I just can't stand it. Not much needs to be said about rapping, Ghostface Killah is on his typical form here. Many Wu members -sadly no ODB- make a guest appearance, even Masta Killa (yeah, somehow I have a soft spot for this guy), so nothing to complain about in that department. The lyrics deal with their usual themes - though you could argue he follows a more abstract and sophisticated approach ("Ayo, crash through, break the glass, Tony with the goalie mask That's the past, heavy ice Rollie laying on the dash Love the grass, cauliflower hurting when I dumped the trash Sour mash served in every glass up at the Wally Bash Sunsplash, autograph blessing with your name slashed Backdraft, four-pounders screaming with the pearly ash Children fix the contrast as the sound clashes Mrs. Dash, sprinkle with her icicle eyelash Ask Cappa Pendergrass for backstage passes") in comparison to his previous attempts-, plus there are some interesting twists, for example in Child's Play ("Those were the days, made faces in school plays Paper trays, city wide test, made half a days Shooting puppy water, might hump the pillow, dick a inch taller Stapleton bum nigga, I'll pop her cherry for her Fresh Air Fund, nail’s done, alphabets berets Jellies, bubble yum, soda tongue, too young to cum Then engage him with them candy rings a-yo, I hit that shit Got jealous when she kissed Rob I broke her Chick-O-Sticks").
To sum it up, a couple of disagreements, but deservedly rated as one of the greatest Wu related albums, ergo one of the greatest hip hop albums.
Next one is gonna be Quasimoto - The Unseen.

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

babyBlueSedan — Sat, 9 Jan 2021 12:04:33 GMT

Author: babyBlueSedan

Posted: 01/09/2021 17:04

This is a really close match for me. Supreme Clientele is easily my favorite album here, with Ka's album in second place. The Unseen and We Got it From Here are a couple albums I never really was able to get into. ATCQ's is a good effort but doesn't compare to their 90's work, and in some ways it barely even feels like a Tribe album to me. I still do like it, but I've never got a ton of enjoyment from it. I think I'd put The Unseen at just a step above ATCQ; it's a difficult album for me, partially because of the vocals, but you can't deny that it's a very interesting album with a ton of ideas.

So albums are tilting 2000, and I think the singles seal the deal. Dre > Skepta > Ludacris > Kanye. The best way I can describe this Kanye song is that it feels like a song that was meant to be left off of The Life of Pablo, which it initially was. Maybe for that reason it's not on the version of TLOP I built for myself, which includes none of the bonus tracks except 30 Hours, which is easily my favorite song on the album. I also don't enjoy Sampha's vocals so that's another knock against it.

So going with 2000, but I do like both teams. Interestingly there's nothing here that I adore but nothing that I dislike that much either.

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

KitchenSink — Fri, 8 Jan 2021 20:14:28 GMT

Author: KitchenSink

Posted: 01/09/2021 01:14

Skinny wrote:

Anyone remember Tony Yayo

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

Skinny — Fri, 8 Jan 2021 19:25:51 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 01/09/2021 00:25

Anyone remember when Tony Yayo accused Ghostface of having used a ghostwriter for Supreme Clientele? Fun times.

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

cestuneblague — Fri, 8 Jan 2021 12:39:30 GMT

Author: cestuneblague

Posted: 01/08/2021 17:39

I do think the Quas+Ghostface combo wins this out over a good-welcome return-but-not-great Tribe album and an excellent Ka release, and the singles are kind of a wash as I'm not as excited about either but I do enjoy the nostalgia value of the '00 selections a bit more, but still an excellent matchup with a slight edge to the year 2000.

Re: BYHH GW1: Group D - 2000 vs. 2016

travelful — Wed, 6 Jan 2021 12:56:40 GMT

Author: travelful

Posted: 01/06/2021 17:56

I'm surprised you're considering Saint Pablo a poor selection when talking 2016 Kanye. When looking back on his year, Saint Pablo is the obvious choice for the single that ties it all together into one track. It feels like the capstone not only for the album but for that era of Kanye (hell, it would have been an excellent track to retire with even). An epilogue updating the listener four months after the albums manic release and adding to the narrative that TLOP was a "living, breathing, changing creative expression" as Kanye tweeted. Kanye is at the most vulnerable he's been since 808's, giving the listener insight into his modern life and Ye as a human. He is looking for things and people (family, Hov, & primarily Christianity) to latch onto as a support system knowing the media is grilling him and his own actions only add to the fire, staying positive through his faith in god and confidence in his truth. You couldn't ask for a better feature on the track as Sampha's spectral vocals work gorgeously as a prayer to god to hear him and help get him through this part of his life. Kanye is struggling with losing himself in the sea of stardom and bipolarism, and is breaking himself down, no longer comparing himself to god like he did just 3 years prior but this time to Paul the Apostle. The song can almost be seen as the transition piece into the JiK/Sunday Service era of Kanye.