[Streams]

'94. Illmatic is pretty much a standalone trump card but most other stuff is good too

[babyBlueSedan]

Just listened to Project Blowed to complete this match-up, and I really enjoyed it. I listened to Innercity Griots probably 4-5 years ago and remember not really connecting with it, so we'll have to see if my opinion has changed when I get to the 1993 match. Minus that reference point, what this album reminded me the most of was Hieroglyphics, both because it was full of fun and interesting ideas and because those ideas didn't always coalesce into solid songs. I enjoyed the energy and diversity more than anything; the samples were fun and recognizable and it sounded pretty ahead of its time.

As for my thoughts on the rest of the match:

1. Illmatic is my favorite album of the bunch, but Lord Willin' is not far behind. In fact, I listen to "Virgina," "Grindin," and "Gangsta Lean" way more than I listen to anything off Illmatic, despite the fact that I consider "Life's a Bitch" to have two of the greatest rap verses of all time. Clipse's first two albums are pretty close quality wise for me, but I'd consider Lord Willin' to have the highest highes whereas HHNF is more consistent. So despite Illmatic being a verifiable classic that I don't really have much to say about, the top two albums on each team are kind of a wash for me.

2. I tend to agree that El-P isn't all that fun to listen to on Fantastic Damage. But I don't really care, because the production on the album is just so good. It doesn't hold a candle to The Cold Vein, and I agree with Skinny that I'll Sleep When You're Dead is better. But I think it's just so fun to listen to that I can get past the occasional clunky line or rushed delivery. And every so often there's a line like "My name is El-P, I produce and I rap too" that isn't exactly genius but which is perfect for the moment it appears. It's an album that I'd lump in with the completely unrelated Die Lit and The Chronic as albums that I listen to mostly for the music and kind of just vibe to the vocals regardless of what they're saying. And like The Chronic, it's an album I listen to yearly at a certain time of year - The Chronic is in the middle of spring, Fantastic Damage is after the first snowfall in January. Also, Stepfather Factory is my favorite song in this match-up.

3. 1994 definitely has me beat on singles. Juicy is Juicy and Shake It Fo Ya Hood was so much fun. Probably about on par with Work It, which makes the Nujabes song my least favorite here. I wish I could have nominated the Blessin' It remix, but only the original version was released as a single. Like with a lot of Nujabes songs, I absolutely love the beat but don't care for the lyrics; I was kind of banking on the BEA userbase being drawn more to the beat than the rapping

In the end this is really close, but I'm going to be a homer and vote for 2002. I'm weighing albums a bit more heavily and I think my preference for the 2002 albums outweighs my preference for the 1994 singles by a hair.
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And it's hard to be a human being. And it's harder as anything else.

[baystateoftheart]

Illmatic: 4.5/5
Project Blowed Vol. 1: 4/5
Juicy: 4.5/5
Shake It Fa Ya Hood: 4/5

1994 Total: 17/20

Fantastic Damage: 3/5
Lord Willin': 4/5
Work It: 4/5
Luv(sic) Part Two: 3.5/5

2002 Total: 14.5/20

This one's not particularly close for me, but I have to thank babyBlueSedan for nudging me to finally listen to Lord Willin' in full, which is great. Work It would have gotten an extra .5 without the casual racism directed at Chinese people that I noticed on this re-listen. The Nujabes single would have gotten an extra .5-1 if it were instrumental.
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[Repo]

Nas' Illmatic has grown on me (a lot!) with repeat listens over this tourney. I now understand why it's so revered. BUT, I still prefer El-P's Fantastic Damage AND Clipse's Lord Willin' over it. have always loved those records, especially Fantastic Damage. I'm not crazy about Project Blowed, although the scene it hails from sounds awesome, so this a pretty easy victory for 2002.

2002

[Skinny]

1994 wins, 11-5.
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2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.