BlackPerspective.net
Discussing the Diaspora as seen through an internal Black lens
Albums That Changed Your Life, Pt3
September 7th, 2007
Tupac - Me Against The World - 1995: Easily one of my all time favorites. I can’t say enough about this album. The great production quality (form mostly no-names) and lyrical quality aside, it epitomized the expression of youthful angst and being misplaced in the world. It also is a stalwart in expressing being what Black liberation writer Franz Fanz called The Wretched of the Earth.
Pac’s ability, in which he did it best on this album, to inflect his voice to convey pain and other emotions, and to articulate his internal feelings is up there with anyone who’s done art of any kind, and in Hip Hop was revolutionary in that way. Before Pac Hip Hop was scarcely ever introspective, emotional and open; after this album went to number 1 while he was in jail, it became standard faire.
To me this album is the equivalent of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On for my generation.
Goodie Mob - Soul Food - 1995: This album was great, and felt for me first because it felt like a return of Public Enemy’s Nations of Millions album with an updated formula. It was an unabashedly pro-black and socio-politically conscious album, which had become rare in Hip Hop at that time.
It also was both fun and personal giving it a lot of depth. It featured trading off of lyrics between 3 solid MCees and then anchored by the 4th Cee-lo, who I think is one of the most underrated of all times. Just good stuff from beginning to end that really does fill your soul as the title suggest.
Canibus * Can-I-Bus * 1998: Most people panned this album. THEY’RE FUCKING CRAZY. It wasn’t a total flop, it did go Gold, but it didn’t reach the heights of success that the young, highly anticipated emcee was expected to reach.
Mostly it’s the production that’s dumped on; nobody claim Bus wasn’t spitt’in, but I don’t think the beats were bad, unorthodox, but I like different shit. I think the beats were just fine for Canibus’ blitzkrieg, double stacked rhyme style. He doesn’t need beats to help his lyricism, his lyrical flow helps the beats.
Anyway, getting beyond defending the album, it’s great because he unleashed an unparalleled rhyme style that’s the most revolutionary since Rakim; for whom in the evolution of lyricism, there’s before Rakim, and after Rakim. Canibus fit double amounts of lyrical content into each bar, giving his rhymes way more depth and an uncanny melodic flow; with impeccable timing, matching the end of one bar to the end of the next bar perfectly. As Canibus says on the album, rhyming is all about timing.
As Canibus became known for such feats as spitting 100 bar rhymes with no hooks, he put a lot of time and effort into developing his lyrics, leading to a never ending array of great similes and metaphors; an art which a lot of the rap world has cast aside. Plus, it was just a very funny, very witty, intelligent and insightful album. Most people don’t appreciate these things, but he amassed a cult following of us who do.
Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek - Reflections Eternal – 1999: An opus of creative, cutting edge production by DJ Hi-Tek, and witheringly in depth, textured and conscious lyricism by Talib. Another student of the Rakim school of spittin ill rhymes; as one of Rakims bars was looped for the Hook of the song Eternalists. Talib takes you from bust-your-ass battle style rhymes, to personal reflection, to social conscious dialog such as noting that “if one of us ain’t free, then we’re all to blame” and that psychological “tragedies and fallacies [are] killing niggers quicker than infant mortality”.
He even does a rap reinterpretation of Nina Simone’s “Four Women”, as a hidden track at the end of the album, that’s phenomenal. There’s just so much substance to the album, not to mention, constant head-nodding enjoyment.
Honorable Mention (mostly because I discovered them in retro, years after they were out): Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, Ottis Reddings Greatest Hits, Eric B. and Rakim’s Paid In Full, & Bob Marley’s Survival - As Well as Lauryn Hills MisEducation and Nas’ Illmatic because they were just such tough introspective, groundbreaking works of art.
…And Thus Concludes the Series - The End!
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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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Tupac is sacred. Me Against The World, All Eyez On Me, and Don Killuminati are all soundtracks to my life. Oh know you took me back.
What are you talking about Marvin Gaye is the Marvin Gaye of our generation.
Hey, if you grew up in that era, love him or hate him, Tupac is part of the soundtrack of your life.
Man these albums hit the spot… I don’t know if you’re up on State Property first album but they for some joints on there too.. Life changing joints. like that Got NoWhere to go joint!!! off the chain bruh I might post that joint on my site tomorrow. Great joint I’m going to check out the other ones now.
I’m glad your feeling me.
I’ll have to take your word on State Property, they never interested me.
I’ll check through to see if you post it.
Man, oh, man, oh, man! I had to go and pull out my Me Against the World and boy I may have to go and change my list! And the NWA, such rawness, such aggression, straight from the streets, but a true look inside the hood…these albums took me back…whew!
Go pull it out. That Me Against the World is that shit.
There’s nothing much the gets me going more than a lady who can appreciate some good hip hop.