Broadway & 52nd
Artist: Us3

Though Us3's second album Broadway & 52nd lacks a single song as infectious as "Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)," it holds up better as an album. Geoff Wilkinson is better able to fuse his samples and hip-hop rhythms with jazz sensibilities, and while the rappers weigh the record down with inane rhymes, the production is quite intoxicating. ~ Stephen... Read More

2000 Fold
Artist: Styles of Beyond
Community Score: 9.00

Styles of Beyond keep one foot firmly planted in the hip-hop underground, while the other one jets forward into wholly uncharted territory on its debut album 2000 Fold. Despite their sometimes bizarre lyrical flights of fancy, Ryu and Takbir opt to maintain the menacing delivery of most hardcore and street MCs, but that does not render the... Read More

Anti-Theft Device
Artist: Mix Master Mike
Community Score: 6.12

The first widely released LP from the Serial Wax Killer is a one-hour turntablist journey, balancing samples of staid military men with soul shouters and dire science-fiction warnings with instructional LPs, all of them overlaid with dozens of funky breaks and Mike's furious scratching. As consistently fresh and funky as Anti-Theft Device... Read More

Behind the Front
Artist: Black Eyed Peas
Community Score: 6.72

Black Eyed Peas bring some positivity and fun back into hip-hop. Musically there is almost no realm this group does not touch -- right from the jump, the stylistic innocence of "Fallen Up," complete with striking guitar licks, sums up what BEP is all about. They attack the so-called hardcore MCs playing the role of dress-up: "I see you try to... Read More

Poly Sci
Artist: John Forté

As a protegé of hip-hop supergroup the Fugees, and a member of adjunct group the Refugee All Stars, John Forte exhibits the same intriguing mix of street and mainstream culture that helped the band rise above all prescribed boundaries. Poly Sci displays the same pumpin' beats blended with pop elements and articulate lyrics, that made... Read More

Still Standing
Artist: Goodie Mob
Community Score: 8.00

Goodie Mob's debut album was a production masterpiece that ranks as perhaps the most Southern-sounding Southern rap album ever recorded; similarly, lead rapper Cee-Lo is one of the most Southern MCs on record, with a raspy, nasal, rural-sounding drawl that's utterly distinctive. The follow-up album, Still Standing, is mostly more of the same... Read More

The Best of Ant Banks
Artist: Ant Banks

Since Ant Banks' albums are always uneven, the release of The Best of Ant Banks was welcome indeed. Boasting 16 tracks, including such Banks hits "2 Kill a G," "Roll 'Em Phat," "Money Don't Make a Man" and "Spice 1 Wit Da Banksta," the album distills all of his best moments onto one disc, making it the most consistent and entertaining record in... Read More

Militia
Artist: Militia
Community Score: 10.00

Militia's eponymous debut album is a skillful fusion of hardcore East Coast hip-hop and funky West Coast gangsta rap that manages to be distinctive. From time to time, they fall back on both lyrical and musical clichés, but that happens only occasionally. More frequently, the Bay Area crew pulls everything together. The members of the crew come... Read More

The 18th Letter
Artist: Rakim
Community Score: 8.75

It took Rakim five years to begin his solo career, but the wait was worth it -- The 18th Letter is one of the strongest records a veteran rapper released in the late '90s. Working with a variety of producers (Pete Rock, Clark Kent, Father Shaheed, DJ Premier), Rakim sounds sharp, focused, and strong, rapping with a force unheard of on his... Read More

The Psycho Realm
Artist: The Psycho Realm
Community Score: 9.70

The Psycho Realm's eponymous debut album is an impressive collection of hardcore West Coast gangsta rap. Led by B Real, one of the masterminds behind Cypress Hill, the trio is a dark hardcore outfit -- there's genuine menace in their rhymes and music, which is why it hits so hard. Where other crews deal with cartoonish violence, the Psycho... Read More

Hits
Artist: Spice 1
Community Score: 6.37