Please use the thread to discuss the selections and inform everybody of your voting intentions. A poll will be added at a later date in order to tally votes, once everybody has had the opportunity to listen to all of the selections. If there are specific links to the albums or singles you have nominated (on Youtube, Spotify, etc.) that you would prefer voters to listen to, please post them in this thread. _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
Last edited by Skinny on 01/18/2021 15:25; edited 2 times in total
Those '94 singles are ridiculously good. Interesting choice to use Biggie for single purposes, though. Not necessarily a bad choice, but I'm guessing most people would've used the album. _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
1994 is one of the strongest years for hip hop, if not the strongest, so I knew this match-up was going to be rough. Going up against Nas and Biggie is pretty much a worst case scenario haha.
My strategy for this match-up was to highlight some of the more forward thinking hip hop of 2002 to contrast it with the older styles of production from 1994. So here we have the futuristic cityscapes of Fantastic Damage, the fresh Neptunes-produced take on gangsta rap in Lord Willin', and the laid back jazz from Japan in Nujabes. Missy Elliott doesn't quit fit in with that theme, but I think it's a fun song that takes a lot of chances. I pondered swapping out Clipse with something closer to El-P, but I wanted a balanced team instead of an all backpack rap team. We'll see if that variety helps or hurts me I guess; honestly that 1994 team is very good and could potentially steal my vote depending on how much I enjoy that Project Blowed comp. _________________ And it's hard to be a human being. And it's harder as anything else.
honestly that 1994 team is very good and could potentially steal my vote depending on how much I enjoy that Project Blowed comp.
For what it's worth, it's not a comp, but a V/A album of new material, featuring members of Freestyle Fellowship and their crew. _________________ Join us in the canon game / Add me on RYM
This is probably the hardest decision of the whole tie for me. Need to relisten to a few bits, but never vibed with FanDam nor the Project Blowed crowd particularly, which basically leaves me with trying to decide if Illmatic and those ridiculous singles bring me more enjoyment than Lord Willin' and 'Work It'. (I really have zero opinion on that Nujabes single, having listened to it three times now.) It's fucking tough. El-P vs. the Project Blowed relistens will be the decider here, I feel. _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
I'm a big fan of El-P as a producer. He's probably the GOAT for me. Nothing sounds like Fantastic Damage, even today. While he's not the best rapper around, he's more than capable of delivering damage with his verses, and his songwriting here is fantastic (a terrible joke, I'm sorry). Lord Willin' is not quite Hell Hath No Fury imo, but it's close enough to make this a great matchup. Illmatic is Illmatic, and the 94' singles are crazy strong. I'm not a huge Nujabes fan but that song's solid, the Missy Elliott track is fire. So I really wanna go with 2002 but I can't see myself voting against Nas AND Biggie AND Shake It Fo Ya Hood. The loose concept around the 2002 team is cool, everything about that team is so cool... A very tough one. Project Blowed vol. 1 better be good.
Edit:
Project Blowed is good. It's fun as hell, varied collection of bops. Not very cohesive, but it doesn't need to be. Production choices are solid, there's quite a few beats which were jaw dropping, the MCs are impressive too. Not too many weak moments. However, it's not Lord Willin', Fantastic Damage or Illmatic. This still remains the toughest match in the round imo, but I'll probably have to vote against a rad 2002 team. Sorry babyBlueSedan, it seems Baystate's 94' is the year to beat in our group.
I'm so glad I won't have to go against Illmatic. This leaves only Blowout Comb, The Diary, 6 Feet Deep, The Extinction Agenda, Super Tight, Hard to Earn... Ugh. _________________ Overall chart Fake overall chart
If I were picking my round one team today, I don't think Project Blowed would be on it. I was a little too high on it after my first listen, feeling rushed, and wanting to add some balance to my first round roster. I still think it's a great album (if barely) thanks to the strong second half. And it has cool production, interesting ideas, and plenty of variety, all strengths. But it's not a consistent album in terms of quality, and often there's more quirk than substance in the rapping. Anyway, looks like it's the deciding factor for several people, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I do... _________________ Join us in the canon game / Add me on RYM
1. Oversimplified and a bit obvious; NAS' Illmatic is so powerful because both the rapping and the backing tracks are amazing. I feel like some rappers think their flows are all there's needed, and no, I can't stand behind that sentiment. There's also a pop quality to it - catchy hooks, etc. Has it all really, and throughout. (3)
2. Project Blowed , I have yet to listen to team 2002, but so far, no this is not a detractor for me. Aceyalone's presence was key, and just like I said above, the tracks and the rapping both marry well, which is a deciding factor for me. There were times when I felt it was better than top selling rappers and other times I felt it being a bit amateur... not 100% sure what to make of that, other than I felt the latter fairly rarely, so not crazy impactful on what I thought. (2.5)
3. Juicy - yeah I think Ready to Die is just such massive album, it's surprising the choice was made to do Biggie as a single. I mean nothing wrong with it either. I actually thought a little myself... hmmm, I wonder if I had done singles and albums that were from the same artist, but seperated them in different posts if people would like that (so saving Biggie's album for last or something in your case). Anyway, I wasted this time talking about strategy, because... well it's Juicy... nothing more to be said. (3)
4. Shake For Ya Hood - this was pretty fun, but somehow fell a little flat for me (2) - I both loved and it bothered me the tune is every feel good hit movie summer ending credits.
1. Fantastic Damage - I like El-P more than I do Aesop Rock, but up until I had only heard singles... I'm not a fan of the album by the end, even if some solid work in between. (2)
2. Lord Willin' - I mentioned this already, but the music is super key for me (doesn't hurt Neptunes behind the wheel). The rapping was pretty good too, so clear winner for me (2.75)
3. Work It - if there was a song to represent high school for me it's this track... I was in a dance course with people who actually knew how to dance, and that made this song even more come alive. Also I remember Dave Grohls saying something like she was a fucking genius for using backwards vocals. So far this is the thing that I was most excited to re-listen to. (3)
4. Luv (sic) pt2 - this was some interesting music and rapping too, but somehow when I was done it was completely forgettable (2)
Favorite new lyric: Hip-Hop is not for crackers.
Also, if it wasn't clear already - 94
Last edited by RoundTheBend on 12/31/2020 22:16; edited 1 time in total
very interesting selections here. Illmatic is great (as we all know) but is very cool to see it alongside that project blowed comp, which I'm a huge fan of but doesn't get nearly as much love as I feel like it deserves (especially considering how influential it ultimately became to a lot of the LA underground). And then we have Juicy (a safe but undeniable pick) rick next to the one and only SHAKE FO YA MOTHERFUCKING HOOD IF ITS ALL GOOD which is just such a fun jam, deliciously silly in the best possible way. wish more bounce followed the ricky b template tbh
the presence of Work It already puts the 2002 team in my good graces, and Lord Willin is fucking fantastic as well. The Nujabes track is good but nothing I listen too terribly often, and while famdam was once a favorite of mine, it's kinda come to resemble something closer to a worse Funcrusher Plus for me over the year. I feel like El hadn't really figured out breath control at this point in his career, and his production style kinda sits halfway in between the more subdued stylings of Funcrusher and the more enveloping atmospheres of The Cold Vein, and as a result I feel like it doesn't really excel as much at either mode. there's some gold here but even the best beats get weighed down by El clearly layering like 30 different vocal tracks for one verse, makes me wonder how he ever managed to rap anything live during this era.
hmmm. anyway, while Work It might be my favorite single thing on either team, think I'm gonna have to give the edge to '94 on this one _________________ A Variety of Artists
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