BlackPerspective.net
Discussing the Diaspora as seen through an internal Black lens
5 Albums That Changed Your Life…
August 24th, 2007
It’s hard to say that an album changed my life. Musical movements yeah, such as: the emergence of hip hop in it’s golden age, the new jack swing aesthetic, the conscious/pro-black era of hip hop, etc.; but an individual album changing my life is not usually the way it works for me; but as I got to writing out the descriptions below I realized that a few have –most particularly in relation to me being a kid and the world being new to me. There are some albums that helped shape the direction of my life.
Anyway, some of the ones I’ll list will come more under the title of influential or impact-ful, more so than life changing.
I’m not going to number them because there are always 2 or 3 clustered together at ever level. I’mma do more than 5 because I can’t narrow it down to just…Y’all will probably not feel a couple of my choices in the least bit, but that’s probably why I’m so different.
• EPMD – Unfinished Business 1988: Christmas, I’m 10 years old. I’ve been listening to Hip Hop for 2 or 3 years at that point, dubbing songs off the radio, and this is the first rap album I get. I’d never heard of them, some how my non-hip hop sister picks this tape for me.
I listen to it and I’m memorized. EPMD is the ultimate “two turn tables and a mic””/beats rhymes and life” type of crew. Unlike KRS-One, they didn’t preach Hip Hop philosophy, they just demonstrated it for 60 minutes, and I’ve been a Head ever since.
• Public Enemy – It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back - 1988: Yeah, the longest album title ever. The funny thing is I didn’t even like this album the first time I listened to it. I considered myself a PE fan just off the strength of about 3 singles including 911 from the previous album. I loved what they represented because my consciousness had been previously awakened, plus the way they carried themselves, so I was excited to finally hear the album.
I put it in and hear all these crashing obnoxious noises and guitar riffs, and I’m like what the fuck! But I was so down with the lyrics, that I listened to it a couple more times, I got acclimated to the sound (that I’ve still never heard anything like before or since) and ended up absolutely loving it. This album is responsible for a large part of my socio-political philosophy to this day.
I went back and listen to it years later, when in my mid-teens, and realized there were a whole bunch of references about things I didn’t know about at the time I initially heard it, but had learned about in the interim years and realized the album was even deeper than I knew. It was considered in many sectors the greatest rap album of all time at least until the mid 90s. It still stands alone for me.
• NWA – Straight Outta Compton – 1988: The Watershed moment started with Ice-T’s single Colors, and continued with this album. They were kind of like Public Enemy, just with less historical knowledge and a reckless, don’t give a fuck, gangsta sensationalism to go with it.
That’s what separates this album from all the “gangsta rap” of today, though. It was authentic and came from a point of real rage and had socio-political message underlying it. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t romanticize away that NWA and this album were largely about money, hoes, and male bravado. But there was still an underling point of view that came from an authentic place that gives it Soul. Something that this other trash that imitates it doesn’t have. That’s all 90% of rap music has been for most of the last 20 years, an imitation of knuckle heads trying to recreate this album, and this moment in time.
Anyway, this album, which was basically the first to use any type of language and verbal depictions of whatever; not only changed the world of rap music but changed the world of music and expression forever. You couldn’t make a list of most impact-ful albums ever without this one being near the top of the list.
You know, I just realized this is going to be really long, so I’m going to cut this section off here, and make this a series.
Sorry about the wordiness, but I could write an essay on each one of these, breaking them down by the song, damn near breaking them down to each bar; so I couldn’t do them justice without at least 2 or 3 paragraphs per.
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Yobachi Boswell is creator and publisher of BlackPerspecitve.net. I’m a writer, activist and political watcher based in Nashville, Tennessee. I’ve also been know to do some spoken word and MCing in my day.
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I too could write an essay, but I’ll try to keep in short and sweet
I have to be honest and say I never really bought hip-hop CD’s in the early years, as a female it didn’t seem “appropriate”. But these albums made an impact on me- some postive, some not-so-positive.
In no particular order:
Me Against The World (Tupac): I was 15 when this came out and even then I could feel his pain through many of his songs, especially Shed So Many Tears. You could tell he was unhappy at this world and how his life had played out in 24 years. When I first LISTENED to the lyrics and unstood what he was saying, I too had to shed some tears. Less than a year later he was murdered and my best friend died of cancer, hard year man.
Mobstability (Twista and the Speedknot Mobstaz): It was 1998, I was a senior in HS and I didn’t give a damn of what anyone thought of me. Actually the whole Mobstablility album
was a classic for me. I was always a “goodie-girl” and so this was my rebellion of sorts- listening to nice beats and smoking.
Creepin on ah Come Up(BNTH)1994; Whew what can I say! Man, this was IT for me I loved the rap and harmony the group had with each other. Each w/a distinct voice, yet together in harmony. Loved it! Can’t say much more than that.
Hard Core ( Lil Kim) 1996; I know its not PC to talk about a woman who made a career of exposing herself, but it was somewhat refreshing to see a woman who could rap , be down the the boys but also have a femininity about it. That she could express her sexuality and still be taken seriously. For me it said it was okay to be hardcore and feminine at the same time.
Regulate…G Funk Era( Warren G) 1994: Regulatorrrrrrrsssss Mount Up! G-Funk at its best. Cool lyrics, good beats and nice samples. I played that mug out! I was 14 going through my thang, parents just got divorced and I wanted to just chill out, dance and have me a good time.
Hey dudes, I am old school. Here is my list:
Mercy Mercy Me, Marvin Gaye
Superfly, Curtis Mayfield
Triller, Jacko
Bitches Brew, Miles
Take the A Train, Duke Ellington
The Last Poets
Hot Buttered Soul, Issac Hayes
Shaft, Issac Hayes
Hey Paula (like the show, get it? Never mind)
“Me Against The World (Tupac): I was 15 when this came out and even then I could feel his pain through many of his songs,”
I was 15 too, going on 16 two months later. I remember it cam out in January of 94 while he was in prision. I feel the same about that album as far as how he so eloquently expressed his emotion. It’ll be on me list latter in the series.
I feel that Ross.
Mercy Mercy Me is one of my all time favorite albums even though it came out before I was born; an Marvin Gaye is easily one of my all time favorite artist even though he was dead before I ever knew he existed.
Thriller was the first record I had when I was about 6. Me and my sister scratched that bitch up on our fisher price record player - lol. It’s still at my parents house on the top of the t.v. stand though.
That’s a great list. All 3 parts. I’d have to sit down and really think about my list. But those are some great albums you listed. I think i have or had most of them…
Glad you feel me on some of my favorite music, I thought you might.
If you decide to post a list, let me know about it.