No Way Out - CLEAN
Artist: Puff Daddy & the Family
Community Score: 10.00

Before releasing his first solo album, Puff Daddy (aka Sean "Puffy" Combs) was famous as the producer of the Notorious B.I.G., Junior Mafia, Craig Mack, Lil' Kim, and many other rappers. As he was making his solo debut, the Notorious B.I.G. was murdered, and that loss weighs heavily on Puff's mind throughout No Way Out. Even though the album has... Read More

Here Come the Horns
Artist: Delinquent Habits
Angel Dust
Artist: Indo G
Community Score: 7.00

Once Three 6 Mafia gained a measure of respect and popularity, Indo G broke from the ranks and released a solo album, Angel Dust. Musically, as well as lyrically, it's not far removed from his main group. It's a familiar mix of low-riding gangsta rap, party-ready grooves, hardcore rhymes, funky beats and bass -- with the bass being emphasized,... Read More

It's Dark and Hell Is Hot
Artist: DMX
Community Score: 8.18

Just as rap music was reaching its toughest, darkest, grimmest period yet, following the assassinations of 2Pac and Biggie in the late '90s, along came DMX and his fellow Ruff Ryders, who embodied the essence of inner-city machismo to a tee, as showcased throughout the tellingly titled It's Dark and Hell Is Hot. Unlike so many other hardcore... Read More

Fearless
Artist: Marvaless

Although Marvaless refuses to abandon her hardline hardcore hip-hop stance, the years have treated her well, if her fourth album Fearless is anything to go by. She's still spinning gangsta tales, with all the violence, sex and dope clichés that entails, but her music is tougher and catchier than before, and her lyrical flow is the best it has... Read More

Welcome to Our World
Artist: Timbaland & Magoo
Community Score: 8.84

Welcome to Our World is one of the better rap debuts of 1997, establishing Timbaland & Magoo as gifted hip-hop musicians in their own right. The pair had previously written or produced tracks for such stars as Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott and Ginuwine, and the spare, kinetic beats of "Supa Dupa Fly" and "Pony" are a good indication of what's... Read More

Chapter 2: World Domination
Artist: Three 6 Mafia
Community Score: 7.60

For Chapter 2: World Domination, their first widely distributed album (via Relativity), Three 6 Mafia further refine the hardcore motifs of their underground efforts, toning down the outright horror and playing up their Southern gangsta-isms. Their equation works out to a wonderfully novel album for its time, one that would set the course of... Read More

The Pick, the Sickle and the Shovel
Artist: Gravediggaz
Community Score: 6.00

Between the Gravediggaz' first album, Six Feet Deep, and the second, The Pick, The Sickle, The Shovel, RZA became the most influential producer in hip-hop, as his productions for the various Wu-Tang Clan side projects established his distinctive, skeletal style as rap's cutting edge. So, it's a little surprising that The Pick doesn't showcase... Read More

The Flip Squad All-Star DJs
Artist: The Flip Squad All-Star DJs

Employing eight hip-hop DJs (including Funkmaster Flex, DJ Hollywood and Mister Cee) and various East Coast rappers (most notably, Luvbug Starski and the goofy Biz Markie), the Flipsquad All Star DJs are the rap equivalent of a hard bop jam session. Just as jazz saxmen and trumpeters would tend to be especially extroverted at a jam session show... Read More