Curb Servin'
Artist: WC and the Maad Circle
Community Score: 5.37

Musically, WC & the Maad Circle's Curb Servin' is by-the-books West Coast gangsta rap, with deep funk grooves and lazy, rolling beats. Coolio, who used to be a member of the crew in the early '90s, and Ice Cube make guest appearances, but what distinguishes it from others of the genre is the lyrical flair of WC, who spices up his rhymes with... Read More

The Coming - CLEAN
Artist: Busta Rhymes

Busta Rhymes delivered his debut album, The Coming, three years after the Leaders of the New School unofficially disbanded, and it reflects the change in hip-hop between 1993 and 1996. The Coming is indebted to the slow, spare, and quietly menacing funk and soundscapes of the Wu-Tang Clan -- in fact, Ol' Dirty Bastard appears on one of the... Read More

Doomsday: Forever RSO
Artist: The Almighty RSO
Community Score: 10.00

Dooms Day Forever RSO is a promising debut album from the Almighty RSO that balances wit and social commentary with excellent party jams, like the Faith Evans duet "You Could Be My Boo." While the album runs a little too long and is bogged down by a few too many pedestrian rhythm tracks, the group has terrific rhyming skills and at their very... Read More

All World: Greatest Hits
Artist: LL Cool J
Community Score: 8.52

All World: Greatest Hits is an excellent compilation of LL Cool J's greatest hits, featuring 16 of his biggest and best singles, including "I Can't Live Without My Radio," "Rock the Bells," "I'm Bad," "I Need Love," "Going Back to Cali," "Jingling Baby," "The Boomin' System," "Mama Said Knock You Out," "Around the Way Girl," and "Hey Lover."... Read More

Can You Feel Me
Artist: Dru Down
Community Score: 10.00

Can You Feel Me is a revelation, proving that Dru Down has rhyming skills far superior to most of his West Coast gangsta rap brethren. While the music isn't stylistically different from G-funk, it is catchier and more memorable than many sub-Dre productions. More importantly, Dru Down is a terrific rapper, capable of laconic phrasing like Snoop... Read More

11-20-79
Artist: Mona Lisa
Community Score: 9.23
Ridin' Dirty
Artist: UGK
Community Score: 8.33

UGK's third album, Ridin' Dirty, is their first to be released by a major label, which gives you some sort of indication of how far the group has gone in four short years. In that span of time, UGK scaled to the top of the small but vicious hip-hop scene in the Southern United States, creating a distinctive gangsta hybrid in the process. UGK is... Read More

The Final Tic
Artist: Crucial Conflict
Community Score: 7.50

Crucial Conflict is a hip-hop collective featuring Coldhard, Wildstyle, Kilo, and Never. On their debut album, The Final Tic, the group has created a distinctive musical style, which they've dubbed "Rodeo," as well as "Snappin," a term they use to refer to their own brand of rhyme. Of course, the group aren't quite the trailblazers they would... Read More

The Score
Artist: The Fugees
Community Score: 7.86

A breath of fresh air in the gangsta-dominated mid-'90s, the Fugees' breakthrough album, The Score, marked the beginning of a resurgence in alternative hip-hop. Its left-field, multi-platinum success proved there was a substantial untapped audience with an appreciation for rap music but little interest in thug life. The Score's eclecticism,... Read More

Soul Food
Artist: Goodie Mob
Community Score: 8.39

Over the years, Southern rap has come to be associated mostly with hit-factory labels like No Limit and Cash Money, or in its early days Miami bass music. In general, it's never been afforded much critical respect, but that started to change in the '90s, when Atlanta established itself as the home of intelligent, progressive Southern hip-hop.... Read More

Greatest Hits
Artist: Lighter Shade of Brown

Lighter Shade of Brown released an album every other year in the '90s, so for fans trying to catch up with the innovative Latin duo, Thump's Greatest Hits is a godsend. It wisely focuses on their raw debut Brown & Proud and the follow-up Hip Hop Locos, but also gives weight to later material. As could be expected, there are many highlights but... Read More