Daily Operation
Artist: Gang Starr
Community Score: 7.47

On Step in the Arena, DJ Premier and Guru hit upon their mature sound, characterized by sparse, live jazz samples, Premier's cut-up scratching, and Guru's direct, unwavering streetwise monotone; but, with Daily Operation, the duo made their first masterpiece. From beginning to end, Gang Starr's third full-length album cuts with the force and... Read More

Foundation
Artist: Brand Nubian
Community Score: 5.33

Foundation, the first album since Brand Nubian's 1990 debut that featured all four original members, is an incredible return to form. The rhymes by Grand Puba, Sadat X and Lord Jamar are as striking as they were on the group's breakout, and the focus on message tracks is a refreshing turn from the rap world's played-out tales of thug life.... 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

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

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

Vendetta
Artist: Mic Geronimo

With his second album, Vendetta, Mic Geronimo proves that his hard-hitting debut was no fluke. Geronimo may flirt a little too heavily with the crossover -- Puff Daddy's production on "Nothin' Move But the Money" is a little too smooth, and the blatant materialism doesn't suit him well -- but the fact of the matter is, even when he tries his... Read More

L' Ecole du Micro D'Argent
Artist: IAM
Community Score: 9.00
The Journey
Artist: Immature
Community Score: 7.50

When Immature debuted in 1992 with On Our Worst Behavior, there were those who compared the preteen urban contemporary trio to the Jackson Five and early New Edition...By the time The Journey came out in 1997, the members of Immature were 15 and had improved somewhat. Lead vocalist Marques "Batman" Houston hadn't turned into a great singer by... Read More

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

Hits
Artist: Spice 1
Community Score: 6.37