Harlem World was essentially my first CD. I don’t know why but I really identified with him and he was my favorite rapper as a little kid. I remember just loving this cool young guy hanging out with Puffy rapping over some fun as hell ear worm songs. I have 4 older brothers so I was able to osmosis so much stuff from them just by being around them. But, do I care? Hell nah! Ma$e is the first rapper I can remember being MY guy. Dozens, probably hundreds of rappers are more talented than Ma$e. Ma$e - Harlem World: Ok let me get this out of the way. The only reason it doesn’t take this spot is simple - you’d rather be watching Shaq and Kobe play together than separately. Big Boi absolutely murdering it as he just goes hard like a fullback giving you pure hardcore rapping excellence while Andre cooks up a pop/funk/jazz hybrid masterpiece (what Aquemini tries to be a little too much). Two separate packages from Big Boi and Andre, each maximizing their respective strengths. Not a fan of the interludes returning but this one is just a perfect example of quite possibly the best to ever do it DOING IT! Probably Stankonia’s biggest competitor for this spot is Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. The collabs are great as these rap gods sook out basically younger versions of themselves to elevate. Smart, impactful, creative lyrics blend with some of their catchiest beats. Such a wide range of subjects to rap about. Stankonia comes next and to me this is the duo at the absolute height of their power, a prime Shaq and Kobe.
Growing pains and a melange of different eras of and styles of music make this one feel disjointed to me.
Aquemini, again terrific, but this always felt to me like the duo went to college, threw on some drugrugs, dropped acid and wouldn’t shut up about how amazing their grandmother’s vintage record collection was.
Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik is fantastic, one of the best debut albums ever, but the intros & interludes drag on you and although it channels that Southern Hip-Hop feel so perfectly, this isn’t them at their full power. ATLiens has them finding new lyrical vistas as they bring some of their strongest rapping skills to the forefront, but you can almost feel the alien theme, the beats and their self-producing trip them up a bit here (Still one of the finest rap albums ever made!). Not for Outkast, they are ALWAYS going to make my top music list, but for which album to represent them. Outkast - Stankonia: This is my shakiest pick.
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