BYHH GW2: Group C - 1993 vs. 2017

[Hayden]

[RoundTheBend]

[Hayden]

[PossiblyMichigan]

[RoundTheBend]

You are right - Kale is delish with some garlic/made right... actually even when it's made wrong. Brussels sprouts too.

My likeness idiocy abounds. But I suppose the analogy stands pending on how well you care for yourself. Or have the maturity of a toddler like myself.

But I'm super glad Hayden's response exists... best bit on BEA in a long time.

[cestuneblague]

I have to admit I actually put together this team pretty hastily as I had the urgent warning from sr Nezzle about getting it in, and I forgot to include a Menace II Society connection that I wanted for every collection.

But anyways since I went out west last go-around with the albums I decided to take it back to NYC, though after using "Come Clean" previously I wanted a couple of albums that contrasted with the distinctly DITC or colder, more menacing sound that's often associated with mid-90s new york hip-hop. Midnight Marauders is an album that often gets left off a lot of all-timer lists in comparison to Low End Theory, despite how much it's loved among hardcore hip-hop heads and most music nerds of all strife, donno I guess "canon" obsession. I don't think it fits a more particular niche as their previous couple of albums but really just builds on both of them in a way that can both feel aggressive and yet chill, and this is where the band really started to feel incomparable. Kind of an album you just need to listen to than one that can be easily described with my favorite BAWP descriptors, so yeah. And Slaughtahouse seemed like an intresting choice for '93 specifically since at the time rap was not only expanding it's reach across the globe, but where there were more specific attempts at self-mythologizing and (more so in this case) self-analyzing. I think it's sometimes misinterpreted as a specifically anti-gangsta rap album, but more so it's kind of examining the cliques that were starting to pop up at the time and often playing them straight, than literalizing and showing outright what was often bragged about, and if it's taken with the intended pinch of salt or completely at face value it sounds great either way. It's not so much talking down to the genre as just turning different formulas inside and out and than back again, it may be less distinctly NYC than other Masta Ace albums which in may turn may not have some of the more expected latter-day charms of him, but it shows a different side of the younger genius at work and a fascinating contrast to the master storyteller and mood-setter of his early 2000s-era works. It's loose by design and very try-this here/try-that there, but I always think consistency especially in hip hop albums can be overrated and the whole is even greater than the sum of all it's indiviual moments. Underrated in the greater scheme of things, too.

With singles obviously "Passin' me by" doesn't need much introduction, it was a moment in time when hip-hop was calling back very specifically to the more romantic early-70s soul influences (Rock and CL Smooth's "Lot's of Lovin" is a good east-coast comparison) even if this definitely felt distinctly 90s sadboy in tone. One thing I loved about Bizzare Ride is how well all the rappers constantly played and bounced off each other but here they really get an individual moment to shine, but man What Up Fatlip he just always knows how to break your heart and really gives the perfect finishing touch. For the next I think the selection of Shurik'n for 98 kind of made this track feel obselete, as mainly I just really wanted to get at least some french hip hop into the tournament, but I think it's useful in the context of '93 as french hip-hop was really starting to mature and move past it's more blatant american influences. And since most of the hip hop was coming from the outskirts of Paris, IAM really put Marseilles on the map and started off France's own version of the east-west coast rivalry (but far less bloody), and they definitely had a more theatrical flair than the jazzier and more straight-talking hip hop that was going on up north, playing much heavier into thier north african influences and this particular track if a bit odd as an indiviual single probably one of the best representives of their early sound. Ill see if I can get a translation soon.


But no really strong matchup all around. I've surpsingly never really heard much Open Mike Eagle before so this was a good a time as any to start, and I just really love "Ain't it Funny" and "Passin' me By" going up side-by-side- two absolutely monster hip hop songs but for nearly polar opposite moods.


And I did think for a second about whipping out "Informer" just to see what would happen, but I came to my senses pretty quickly. Fun karaoke jam, though.

[LedZep]

While I love Brick Body Kids as much as Midnight Marauders (or almost as much), that Masta Ace album is waaay better than Swarvy and Lojii's Due Rent. And I like that one quite a bit, I'm always up for some trippy Earl Sweatshirt worship and Lojii does that the best. It's just that... Masta Ace is so good. As for the singles, I like Passin' Me By about as much as Ain't It Funny, distant third is Bicycle and then IAM. Also, I'm sure I've already said it, but Ain't It Funny video is a goddamn masterpiece.

It's 1993 for me, despite both teams being very good. Sorry Hayden!
_________________
Finally updated the overall chart

2020s
90s

[travelful]

Yeah this 1993 team would be tough for anyone to go up against. I gotta admit the IAM track is whatever, but everything else is elite. 2017 has great singles but the albums just cant compete with the 1993 selections imo.

[Purplepash]

Brick Body Kids Still Daydream is my favourite album in the whole of round 2, and Ain't It Funny is my favourite single in the whole of round 2 (both even over my own picks), so I'm bucking the trend here and voting 2017. Worth mentioning that the 1993 team is also great and I probably would have voted for it over most of the other teams this round.

[Hayden]