Many Facez
Artist: Tracey Lee
Community Score: 7.00

"The Theme (It's Party Time)" was a killer first single, complete with a nagging hook and thumping grooves. Tracey Lee's debut album, Many Facez, doesn't quite live up to the high standards of "The Theme," but it's not for lack of trying. Instead of working the same party groove, Lee is all over the place, not only musically but also with his... 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

Tical 2000: Judgement Day
Artist: Method Man
Community Score: 7.34

Method Man's second solo recording is a harder album than his debut, much more focused on rap than the frequent R&B excursions that hit the pop charts on the original Tical. Though the emphasis on the hardcore makes for a better album, Method Man's own raps are often diluted by the staggering number of collaborations; as usual, almost all of the... 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 Pillage
Artist: Cappadonna
Community Score: 6.42

By the time Cappadonna released his solo debut album The Pillage in the spring of 1998, the Wu-Tang sound as masterminded by the RZA had become familiar. That's not to say that it was played out, however. The RZA's skeletal, menacing production is bracing even after it's become familiar, which is to Cappadonna's benefit, since The Pillage... Read More

One Day It'll All Make Sense
Artist: Common
Community Score: 6.91

With his previous records (released under the name Common Sense), Common demonstrated that he was one of the few Midwestern rappers to have a unique vision, but One Day It'll All Make Sense is where his talents come into focus. Blending hip-hop with jazz is a '90s cliché, but Common relies on bebop rhythms and street poetry, resulting in an... Read More

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

Muggs Presents the Soul Assassins, Chapter I
Artist: Muggs
Community Score: 5.00

For the debut album of Cypress Hill DJ and House of Pain producer DJ Muggs, an excellent cast of MCs were assembled, including most of the best in hip-hop. It's hard to expect anything but uniform excellence from an album which includes Dr. Dre, Wu-Tang Clan's RZA and GZA/Genius, KRS-One, Mobb Deep, the Fugees' Wyclef Jean, Cypress Hill and MC... Read More

Le Tour de la Question
Artist: MC Solaar

Though he had never strayed too far, Le Tour de La Question returns Solaar to his roots in jazz-rap. Similar to his classic Prose Combat, it's a set of funky hip-hop with just the right amount of samples and Solaar's complementary rapping style, which always takes into account the production. It's a relief that he appears to have little concern... Read More