Sleeping with the Enemy
Artist: Paris
Community Score: 6.00

The Devil Made Me Do It established Paris as a pro-black radical, a firebrand. The follow-up, 1992's Sleeping With the Enemy, saw the MC unleash his most provocative rhymes to such an extent that WEA, Tommy Boy's distributor at the time, opted to have no part in it. This forced Paris to reactivate his Scarface imprint; it delayed the album's... 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

Home Again
Artist: New Edition
Community Score: 7.36

After the careers of all of the former New Edition members stalled in the early '90s, the group reunited in 1996 for Home Again. All of the original members of the group, plus Bobby Brown's replacement Johnny Gill participated in the reunion and instead of turning into a gargantuan clash of egos, Home Again is surprisingly even-handed and... Read More

Prose Combat
Artist: MC Solaar
Community Score: 8.00

After his high-profile duet with Guru on the first Jazzmatazz project, French rapper MC Solaar proved himself a major contender for international rap stardom with his U.S. debut. With the rapid-fire rhyme flow of Souls of Mischief and the smooth delivery of Q-Tip, the young MC conveys more moods in French than most rappers can in English. The... Read More

Hummin' Comin' at 'Cha
Artist: Xscape
Community Score: 9.67

Xscape's debut had some intriguing variations that distinguished it from others in the ever-crowded distaff end of the urban contemporary circuit. Their shared leads were more gospel-edged than those of En Vogue or SWV; their first hit, "Just Kickin' It," had a bawdy undercurrent that made it genuinely appealing, and Xscape demonstrated grit and... Read More

Midnight Marauders
Artist: A Tribe Called Quest
Community Score: 8.33

Though the abstract rappers finally betrayed a few commercial ambitions for Midnight Marauders, the happy result was a smart, hooky record that may not have furthered the jazz-rap fusions of The Low End Theory, but did merge Tribe-style intelligence and reflection with some of the most inviting grooves heard on any early-'90s rap record. The... Read More

Intoxicated Demons
Artist: The Beatnuts
Community Score: 7.00

Flashy, booty-slapping Latino hip-hop created by horny substance abusers. What's not to like? This mini-LP debut by Colombian/Dominican producers the Beatnuts passes the booze and spliffs in such a high-volume block-party quake of ungainly rhymes that one instantly remembers why careless hip-hop used to be so fun. Imagine a lewd and sentient... Read More

Inner City Griots
Artist: Freestyle Fellowship
Community Score: 9.23

Freestyle Fellowship emerged on the L.A. rap scene during the early '90s. Given the chance to hone its skills at a health-food store's open-mic nights, the group quickly earned the attention and respect of the city's hip-hop underground. Their second album, 1993's Inner City Griots, is the only completely collaborative album released during the... Read More

Domino
Artist: Domino
Community Score: 7.00

Rapper Domino's scattershot/stuttering rhyming (a near flawless imitation of early Das EFX) yielded a big hit with "Getto Jam," and is the hook for his self-titled CD. "Do You Qualify" offers a comic (if not comical) spin on a tale of mistaken identity and consensual sex, while "Money Is Everything" and "Sweet Potato Pie" provide Domino's... Read More

Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1
Artist: Guru
Community Score: 7.72

One of the first hip-hop records to successfully integrate jazz, Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 is a surprising success for Guru. The rapper's warm grooves and laid-back rhymes fit in perfectly with the instrumental tracks provided by a cadre of jazz musicians. The way that the live playing is integrated on this album is different than the way it is done... Read More

In a Word or 2
Artist: Monie Love

Monie Love's second CD was more ambitious, taking a harder, less pop tone and approach. She spoke frankly and with clarity about such topics as promiscuity and self-esteem, while her rapping was more focused, her beats starker and more forceful, and the rhymes less gimmicky. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide Read More

The Bliss Album...?
Artist: P.M. Dawn
Community Score: 9.22

After the breakout pop success of their debut album, P.M. Dawn played up the lush, soothing urban-soul qualities of their sound on the follow-up, The Bliss Album...? For all of hardcore rap's hysteria over the duo's gentle demeanor and pop influences, Of the Heart, of the Soul, and of the Cross had been a predominantly rap-oriented album. That... 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