Vocally Pimpin' EP
Artist: Above the Law

Improved production and studio techniques, and sharper quips. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide Read More

Heavy Rhyme Experience, Vol. 1
Artist: The Brand New Heavies
Community Score: 7.67

"Brand New Heavies play the sh*t that/People used to listen to in '70s Chevys." With that succinct and flawless couplet from the awesome opening track, "Bonafide Funk," Large Professor helped to explain why there was a certain herd of influential rappers who were enthralled by the Brand New Heavies' sleek (some would say slick) and urbanely... Read More

Black Mafia Life
Artist: Above the Law
Community Score: 7.80

Above the Law's second album had three things working against it. One: over two years had passed since their debut (unless you factor 1991's Vocally Pimpin' EP), which certainly left many with the impression that they were no longer. Two: they had to follow up a strong Dr. Dre-produced debut with in-house production. Three: it was nearly half an... 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

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

Hispanic Causing Panic
Artist: Frost
Community Score: 2.50

Hispanic Causing Panic was an early landmark of Latin hip-hop, simply by virtue of the fact that Kid Frost was one of the first Latino MCs to release an album. Of course, it also doesn't hurt to have a groundbreaking lead single on the order of "La Raza," a smoky, laid-back Latin funk groove with anthemic Spanglish lyrics about being brown and... Read More

Dead Serious
Artist: Das EFX
Community Score: 9.83

Das EFX -- part of EPMD's Def Squad crew, which also included K-Solo and Redman, among others -- made such a wide breakthrough in 1992 with their debut album that their hit "They Want EFX" was even referenced in the lily-white teen serial Beverly Hills 90210. That Dead Serious could have that sort of broad impact and still retain its credibility... Read More

Quik Is the Name
Artist: DJ Quik
Community Score: 8.28

The release of DJ Quik's debut album, Quik Is the Name, in 1991 begged the question: does rap really need yet another gangsta rapper? Indeed, by that time, rap had become saturated with numerous soundalike gangsta rappers -- most of whom weren't even a fraction as interesting as such pioneers of the style as Ice-T, N.W.A, and Schoolly D.... Read More

Cypress Hill
Artist: Cypress Hill
Community Score: 8.22

It's hard enough to transform an entire musical genre -- Cypress Hill's eponymous debut album revolutionized hip-hop in several respects. Although they weren't the first Latino rappers, nor the first to mix Spanish and English, they were the first to achieve a substantial following, thanks to their highly distinctive sound. Along with Beastie... Read More

Penny
Artist: Buffalo Soldiers

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