Twenty rap album deep cuts from the nineties that could have made great 12″ releases if they’d been given the chance. Download: A Salute To Album Tracks That Could Have Been Singles [90s Edition] Track listing:
Author: Robbie Ettelson
Rap albums that are better without the rapping
Cheers to seangee for this idea. Chances are I’ve written this exact post already over the past sixteen years but who has time to search through the backlog? Beats make or break a rap record as far as I’m concerned, and the nineties was a prime time for quality production ruined by not so great…
Appreciating the brilliance of The Beatnuts’ Street Level LP
A lot of good rap was released in 1994. But for my money, the finest example of the artform was demonstrated by the Intoxicated Demons from Corona, Queens. While Illmatic took rhymes to new heights, as a complete package there was nothing that approached the first long player from this trio of rap maniacs, with…
Great Rap You Can’t Stream: Akinyele’s Vagina Diner LP
Akafella, you mad bastard. Sure, the Ak is no making bank off his strip club that, legend has it, was paid for by the payout he got from a mechanic that fucked up his motorcycle repairs and almost killed dude. He also made the immortal ‘Put It In Your Mouth’ which recently received an oral…
Download: The Unkut 40 Oz. 2019
This one took a while (although not as long as the five month delay for the 2018 version) on account of just how prolific most rappers are these days without the shackles of record label schedules and the general proliferation of the Conservative Rap Coalition approved sound. The rules are simple – one song per…
A Tribute To Hostyle from Screwball
Another tragic chapter in the story of Queens super group Screwball this week, as news spread that Hostyle has passed away. Fondly remembered for his energetic delivery and stream-of-consciousness flow, the ‘One Eyed Maniac’ made his mark on a number of guest shots in the 00’s, and most recently returned in 2015 with a song…
Melquan and the Krunchtime triple threat
The otherwise forgettable sophomore album from Terminator X contained a pretty good late-era Whodini song and a great Brag Rap demonstration courtesy of Strong Island resident Melquan (aka Mel Quan Son Slaughter the Ghetto Beethoven to his friends). While ‘Krunchtime’ got some b-side shine on the flip of the ‘Under The Sun’ single, it turns…
A Decade of Dope – The Top Ten CRC-Approved Rap Releases of the 2010s
As much as I enjoy droning on about how good rap was in 1987, there’s nothing like the buzz of listening to a brand new rap LP. While there is far more terrible rap being released now than a decade ago, having the means to release music as often as you want rather than being…
Eric B – The Unkut Interview [Extended Edition]
This interview was originally conducted ten years ago, while Mr. Barrier was promoting a new rapper he was working with who none of us can remember. Since I was compiling some material for a Queens book idea that never panned out, I held back the best parts – namely, the stuff about the park jams…
Agallah Don Bishop feat. Peedi Crakk, Atare Godspeed, Malik B and Mars Co-op – Spread
This has been out since late September, but in case you missed this surprise Malik B cameo from the Live At Your Own Risk album. ‘Made It Crack’ is another standout if you haven’t caught it.
Straight Outta Crompton and LA Kimshabazz on Future Rap 20
Not sure if Timmy had terrible handwriting or the NME intern wasn’t particularly bright. Shout out to ya mans MC Mell OW.
Video: Sugarhill Gang perform Rapper’s Reprise on Italian TV [1980]
Sylvia really went outchea and pretended to be The Sequence.