I Got Next
Artist: KRS-One
Community Score: 7.93

Again working with a variety of collaborators, including DJ Muggs, Redman, and Rich Nice, KRS-One turns in a hard-hitting, vital set of street-level hip-hop with I Got Next. By working consistently and keeping his ambitions modest, KRS-One has turned into the most consistent rapper of his generation, turning out a series of remarkably strong... Read More

Confessions of Fire
Artist: Cam'ron
Community Score: 6.79

Following in the footsteps of Sean "Puffy" Combs, Cam'ron created an accessible fusion of rap and pop that manages to keep some sort of street edge. Of course, that doesn't mean Cam'ron is hardcore -- he may come off as an East Coast gangsta, but his music is polished and melodic, much like that of Puff, his mentor. He happens to be a better... Read More

The Pillage
Artist: Cappadonna
Community Score: 6.42

By the time Cappadonna released his solo debut album The Pillage in the spring of 1998, the Wu-Tang sound as masterminded by the RZA had become familiar. That's not to say that it was played out, however. The RZA's skeletal, menacing production is bracing even after it's become familiar, which is to Cappadonna's benefit, since The Pillage... Read More

Life After Death - CLEAN
Artist: The Notorious B.I.G.
Community Score: 5.00

It may have taken the Notorious B.I.G. a few years to follow up his milestone debut, Ready to Die (1994), with another album, but when he did return with Life After Death in 1997, he did so in a huge way. The ambitious album, intended as somewhat of a sequel to Ready to Die, picking up where its predecessor left off, sprawled across the span of... Read More

Harlem World
Artist: Mase
Community Score: 6.67

It's a little ironic that Mase, who made his reputation as a guest rapper on records by Puff Daddy and the Notorious B.I.G., almost seems like a guest himself on his debut album, Harlem World. Like many big-budget hip-hop records, Harlem World is nearly a various-artists collection, featuring an array of different producers and guest rappers... Read More

For the People
Artist: Boot Camp Clik
Community Score: 5.33
RZA as Bobby Digital in Stereo
Artist: RZA
Community Score: 7.37

RZA's first solo album, the soundtrack to a film involving experimental self-transformation, has many of the same fractured strings and crisp, staccato beats he made trademarks on Wu-Tang Clan recordings. In fact, this could well be a Wu-Tang album, even more so than the legion of other related albums. The only contributors to the project... Read More