Vocally Pimpin' EP
Artist: Above the Law

Improved production and studio techniques, and sharper quips. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide Read More

2 Live Crew's Greatest Hits
Artist: 2 Live Crew
Hard or Smooth
Artist: Wreckx-N-Effect
Community Score: 9.00

Together with "Baby Got Back," Wreckx-N-Effect's "Rump Shaker" helped to blur the line between decency and debauchery that, in the early '90s at least, was allegedly still intact. But unlike Sir Mix-A-Lot, who capitalized on his 1991 monster hit with a seemingly endless cache of goofy double entendres, lurid song ideas, and bombastic... Read More

F.U. Don't Take It Personal
Artist: Fu-Schnickens
Community Score: 9.00

Even before they made it to the record bins, three-man New York crew Fu-Schnickens created quite a buzz in the hip-hop community with the oddity of their group name. Once they dropped their debut album, F.U. Don't Take It Personal, their music turned out to be every bit as curious and intriguing. The music is inundated with kung fu movie... Read More

Together Forever: Greatest Hits 1983-1991
Artist: Run-D.M.C.
Community Score: 7.00

For the most part, all of Run-D.M.C.'s most important singles and biggest hits are included on Together Forever: Greatest Hits 1983-1991. That alone makes the compilation a necessary purchase. However, that doesn't mean it's a perfectly assembled collection. Instead of presenting the singles in chronological order, the sequencing skips back and... Read More

Prec.I.S.E.-Ly Done
Artist: Prec.I.S.E. MC

When a CD comes out on Luke Records and lists Luther Campbell as its executive producer, one tends to expect South Florida-style bass music. But despite the fact that Campbell signed the PreC.I.S.E. M.C. to his Luke label and serves as executive producer on her debut album, PreC.I.S.E.-ly Done, there isn't a trace of bass music to be found on... Read More

Mama Said Knock You Out
Artist: LL Cool J
Community Score: 8.08

Increasingly dismissed by hip-hop fans as an old-school relic and a slick pop sellout, LL Cool J rang in the '90s with Mama Said Knock You Out, a hard-edged artistic renaissance that became his biggest-selling album ever. Part of the credit is due to producer Marley Marl, whose thumping, bass-heavy sound helps LL reclaim the aggression of his... Read More

Sons of the P
Artist: Digital Underground
Community Score: 6.00

If it ain't broke, don't fix it: Sons of the P offers more of the loopy humor and P-Funk fixations that made Digital Underground's debut album, Sex Packets, an instant classic. And if Sons of the P doesn't quite hit the absurd heights of its predecessor's best tracks, it's still a strong, engaging listen and an entirely worthy follow-up. The... Read More

Sex Packets
Artist: Digital Underground
Community Score: 7.80

Sex Packets is a vibrant, wildly funny record that transcends any attempt to dismiss it as mere novelty. Novelty records are throwaways -- cheap gags that are funny once, but never pay off with repeat plays, something that Sex Packets certainly does. Sex Packets is layered like any good story. Corny jokes, gross-out tales, flights of fancy, and... Read More

Ain't No Shame in My Game
Artist: Candyman

When a rapper does well in the R&B or pop markets, hip-hop's hardcore tends to view the artist with suspicion, however strong his or her rapping skills might be. That was exactly what happened to Candyman when "Knockin' Boots" (a catchy single that sampled Betty Wright's "Tonight Is the Night") enjoyed considerable crossover action. Some... Read More