Hypocrisy Is the Greatest Luxury
Artist: The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy
Community Score: 8.33

The Disposable Heroes tackled every last big issue possible with one of 1992's most underrated efforts. Dr Dre and G-funk became all the rage by the end of the year and beyond, but for those looking for at least a little more from hip-hop than that soon-to-be-clichéd style, Hypocrisy Is the Greatest Luxury did the business. The group's origins... Read More

Way 2 Fonky
Artist: DJ Quik
Community Score: 7.00

DJ Quik proved his mettle with "Jus Lyke Compton," a definitive bit of regional touting that proclaimed West Coast rap the style-setter and all others followers. Whether or not you bought the line, you were hooked by the rap. Nothing else on the disc matched this single's intensity and wit, but it helped him earn a second straight gold LP. ~ Ron... Read More

Xodus
Artist: X-Clan
Community Score: 10.00

More of the same is hardly a bad thing when considering X-Clan's second album. They're still jacking beats -- from Special Ed, D-Nice, and Main Source, for instance -- and they're still spreading their knowledge with righteous, if occasionally vague, verve. The most significant change in the group's sound is the decreased reliance upon... 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

Live From the Styleetron
Artist: Raw Fusion

When Money-B came out with his side project Raw Fusion, it was clear that the Digital Underground member wasn't trying to duplicate Underground's sound. Parts of Live from Styleetron are as quirky and eccentric as Underground, but while Underground was heavily influenced by the 1970s funk grooves of George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic,... Read More

Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black
Artist: Public Enemy
Community Score: 7.17

Coming down after the twin high-water marks of It Takes a Nation of Millions and Fear of a Black Planet, Public Enemy shifted strategy a bit for their fourth album, Apocalypse 91...The Enemy Strikes Black. By and large, they abandon the rich, dense musicality of Planet, shifting toward a sleek, relentless, aggressive attack -- Yo! Bum Rush the... Read More

Latin Alliance
Artist: Latin Alliance
Community Score: 5.00
Step in the Arena
Artist: Gang Starr
Community Score: 7.66

The album on which DJ Premier and Guru perfected the template that would launch them into underground stardom and a modicum of mainstream success. Guru's deadpan monotone delivery was shockingly different from other early-'90s MCs, many of who were either substituting charisma for substance or engaging in hardcore "realism" without really... Read More

Penny
Artist: Buffalo Soldiers

An intense, political slant on an uneven production. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide Read More

The Geto Boys
Artist: Geto Boys
Community Score: 6.25

This is a revamped version of Grip It! On That Other Level, an album released earlier in the year on Rap-A-Lot. Rick Rubin stepped in, signed the group to Def American, and proceeded to tweak some of the tracks; some other tracks were simply lifted from Grip It!, while a couple went so far as to have new vocals recorded. This works like a charm... Read More