Hearing "Baker Street" on classic rock radio forever. I honestly think it's one of the first songs that I can remember recognizing when I heard it. And, coincidentally, my Dad always mentions that a friend of his went out and bought this album when it came out and had him come over to listen to it, because he thought it was the greatest.
The La’s are not-a-not-not supposed to be used like that! There's a rulebook, people. Sardonic? Grim? Mocking? What the fuck is going on here?! They’re supposed to be the filler of all those silly little love songs that the Beatles gave us in the 60s. Not a taunt. But, KRS-One turned that on its head. Ripped up our little rule book. And LAUGHED! Laughed at our rules. Our assumptions. And gave us a super catchy, fun, sing-a-long to gang-on-gang murder that you just can't get out of your head. Like a smiley face with a bullet hole right though its forehead. Watchmen style. And thus began gangsta rap. Just like ‘tat. Rat-a-tat-tat.
p.s. In honor of Skinny's Hip Hop tourney, I'm going to be scouring The 80s for its Ten Best Hip Hop records. Criminal Minded doesn't quite cut it despite how killer "9mm Goes Bang" is. Really, really good (and important as fuck) but not quite great. Please rec me the GREAT ones!!!
Last edited by Repo on 12/09/2020 05:03; edited 4 times in total
baystateoftheartNeil Young as a butternut squashProfile Massachusetts
Here's every 80s hip-hop album I'd call great so far, although I'm still working through the decade in the canon game and otherwise:
1980-86
Nothing...
1987
Yo! Bum Rush The Show - Public Enemy
1988
It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back - Public Enemy [favorite of the 80s, and the only one I'd call amazing]
Critical Beatdown - Ultramagnetic MC's
Follow The Leader - Eric B. & Rakim
1989
3 Feet High And Rising - De La Soul
The Cactus Album - 3rd Bass [5 years since last listen, need to see if it holds up]
Whilst still obviously of its time, G. Rap's multisyllabic flow and topical variation makes him stand out as an early master of the form, the beats are more layered than some of its peers' skeletal efforts, and there are lots of ideas here that feel refreshingly out of step with prevailing hip-hop trends of the time, including a few which practically act as manifestos in their own right, even if not everything lands with the same force. Personally, I think G. Rap would go onto better things (4,5,6 is a masterpiece of NYC mafioso rap), but this is a stunningly well-realised debut that really shows why the likes of Raekwon and Biggie held him in such high esteem. _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
mickilennialThe Most Trusted Name in NewsProfile Detroit
Beyond Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, these would be in my inner circle of 80s rap albums:
By All Means Necessary by Boogie Down Productions
Controversy by Willie Dee
3 Feet High and Rising by De la Soul
Ghetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip Hop by Boogie Down Productions
Escape by Whodini
The Biz Never Sleeps by Biz Markie
The Cactus Album - 3rd Bass [5 years since last listen, need to see if it holds up]
Barely. Almost 40 minutes of great tracks here, but also too much clownery and filler. My rating system cuts bloated albums some slack, so I'll keep it in the great category for now. It is still comfortably the best 80s album with white emcees. _________________ Join us in the canon game :) / Add me on RYM
this one from 1986 rules. That Girl is a Slut is a hot garbage song, but thankfully wasnt included in the original lp so i can safely never listen to it without knocking the album
Forget Hip Hop existed. There. I just did it. It never happened. BUT, this album – Escape- was released regardless. As an outlier. An island. It would still be considered– especially by freaks like me – one of the best Synth Pop albums of the 80s. It draws in so many different strains of NYC 80s club culture that I cherished back then. The blacks. The gays. The transvestites. And, of course, the weirdos like me. The people who just didn’t fit into the jock and cheerleader crowd. The Anti-Heathers of the world. We were all drawn to the same clubs in the 80s. It wasn’t so segregated as it is now. If you didn’t fit in, you either went to your local gay club or punk club. Those were the two choices. So there was quite a lot of overlap in the two scenes. The crowd would often be the same. But NOT the music. Never the music. With one notable exception - Whodini. They had a sound that both the punk kids and club kids could agree on. A mish mash of Kraftwerk, P-Funk, Disco, and early Hip Hop that was catchy and refreshingly fun.
As Hip Hop and Alt. Rock both grew by leaps and bounds in the late 80s/early 90s, the two scenes diverged. Splintered. And it’s a shame, because this would have been a fascinating direction for hip hop and indie pop to have taken. An alternative rainbow-bricked road. Thirty years later, it feels that the time is ripe for these two scenes to merge again. (Perhaps they even have! I’m so out of it.) Both the LGBTQ and Black Lives Matter movements have been fighting together over the past year. Joined by a common enemy. Common interests. So I’d be very surprised it there hasn’t been a resurgence of Whodini’s music in recent years. Feel free to enlighten me!
1979 Metal/Hard Rock: The Five You Don't Know... That You Need To Know
1979. Southern rock was still king in America. With clones of Lynyrd Skynyrd filling most stages across the land. NWOBHM was just on the horizon. AC/DC were just starting to make major inroads. And Aerosmith seemed to be on their last legs. Van Halen mania was in high gear. Black Sabbath were dead. In that back drop, these five albums really document 1979 and give a great feel for where metal and heavy Hard Rock were at in the late 70s. A collection of Southern Rock, Proto-Metal, NWOBHM, and blistering Hard Rock. They're all borderline great. None are game changers, but all are well worth plentiful spins. Take them with ample amounts of suds and feedback. Late at night. With the smell of bud lingering in the air. Share 'em with your mates!
You couldn't escape Southern Rock back in 1979. But somehow this self-produced gem (that they made just to get some gigs) from this Texas three-piece escaped notice back in the day. If you love Blackfoot and Molly Hatchet, this DIY LP of Southern charm is a no-brainer.
Clearly Texas was killing it back in 1979. This Lubbock-based band perfectly encapsulates late 70s hard rock hitting on all cylinders with this live LP. One of those "Wish I'd been there" moments somehow magically captured on disc. Elements of Rush, Led Zeppelin, and Van Halen are all on display. If I had to play one album to capture where the heaviest US Hard Rock was in the late 70s, this would probably be it.
Easily some of the best proto-metal of 1979 (especially on side A) that you will ever hear. Epic. Heart-wrenching. It can be clumsy at times, but that almost adds to its charms. These guys were clearly shooting for the rafters. And mostly succeeding.
This one's a true head scratcher. As the best NWOBHM album of 1979, this should be considered a seminal release in that fledgling field. It's not. Did the Bruce Dickinson association actually hurt them legacy-wise? That's my guess. Lemmings perhaps expected a primordial Iron Maiden, and didn't even realize that's exactly what this is! If 2020 has taught me anything, it's that idiots abound and are easily influenced. Don't be an idiot. This is a great and pivotal NWOBHM release.
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Repo
baystateoftheart
Skinny
mickilennial
Tha1ChiefRocka
Necharsian
