"Classic" Albums that you didnt really feel were classics

[D-Nice]

Life After Death is another definite classic in my book. I know some people say it isn't as good as the first album and whatever because it has a universal sound and some R'n'B sounding beats, but BIG came 100% correct with the lyricics and flow as he did on the first album.

Speaking of The Chronic, how do people on this message board rate 2001?

It's funny to said 2001, because I was going to mention it but decided to go with Biggie

2001 had a couple nice tracks but not classics like a Still DRE or Next Episode type shit. I thought beats wise yes but I am still on the fence about that one.

[Dre-Day]

Illmatic.
i think it's one of Nas' best albums, but it's not a classic for me.
i'm not really into eastcoast rap

[LyRiCaL_G]

The word classic is being thrown around far too often sometimes indeed, but classics you may not feel is something a lil different to what is actually a classic. Some of y'all might not be able to get into illmatic, but there aint no denying that shits one of the best ever. If you can't get into it, fair enough, but its still a classic right? The words not being thrown around for calling that album a classic. I can see it when people claim an album but its JUST classic whereas others may think its banging but not classic. I can understand there. Sort of like blueprint, stillmatic, MMLP. Thats where it comes into play imo but most albums of past times where its called classics are usually classics because they've passed alot of tests both of its own time and then the test of time too. Interesting thread though, i think id be hating if i just list albums that are considered classics and say i dont think its a classic etc because i couldnt get into this track or whatever, or the production.

I would say i dont think blueprint is a classic album. However i think stillmatic is a modern day classic. All time classic? No. So it varies, interesting topic homie, but there are alot of classic hiphop albums out there but so so many more that aint!

[KaiserSoze]

You really don't think Reasonable Doubt is a classic album? I think its possibly one of the best albums ever, although I know there's a lot of Jay-haters who'll be quick to bash me. I can still listen to that album after god knows how many times and hear some dope wordplay or clever metaphor that I missed before, the way Jay hides those lyrical techniques in that album is classic in itself. This surely must be a favorite of any true fan of lyricism.

Although with that said neither Blueprint, nor the Black Album for that matter are classic in my book.

I feel you i can see why people think its a classic its just me i guess but i liked the pre RD jay-z more. A 1993/1994 album from Jay would be a definite CLASSIC jay killed that shit

If you haven't already you might want to check out the Early Hova part of the "Library of a Legend" collection in that case. I can find you a link if you want.

I agree with D-Nice on 2001, production-wise the album is insane, and I remember the first time I got high and bumped it I was thinking about how much of a classic it was, but as time passed that thought faded a lot, it is a hard one to judge overall I think. If we're talking about the real elite bracket of hip hop albums, such as where I would put RD, Ready to Die, Illmatic etc I would have to say that 2001 misses out.  

By the way, I'm suprised at some of the criticism which Eminem gets for the Eminem Show. I know it was hard to follow up the Marshall Mathers LP but IMO the Eminem Show was Em really starting to blossom with his multi-syllable style. MMLP for me though would be a classic, dude gets a lot of heat from "hip hop heads" for being white but if Nas was spitting those crazy Em tracks, telling a story and spitting his feelings with that kind of lyricism people would be saying it was the best shit since Illmatic.

[D-Nice]

Illmatic.
i think it's one of Nas' best albums, but it's not a classic for me.
i'm not really into eastcoast rap

  Dre-Day I got to send you some then.

[jeromechickenbone]

I think The Black Album is way overrated.  Yes, there are lots of big names associated w/ the production.  And yes, there are 3 or 4 really dope songs on there.  Outisde of those 3 or 4, the rest is average at best and at times below average.  Kanye's production was wack, Neptunes was boring, Quik was boring, etc.  Tim and Just Blaze were tight.

[LyRiCaL_G]

Nas dont need to spit like eminem at all. Dudes does his own thing and his cv speaks for itself.

[D-Nice]

You really don't think Reasonable Doubt is a classic album? I think its possibly one of the best albums ever, although I know there's a lot of Jay-haters who'll be quick to bash me. I can still listen to that album after god knows how many times and hear some dope wordplay or clever metaphor that I missed before, the way Jay hides those lyrical techniques in that album is classic in itself. This surely must be a favorite of any true fan of lyricism.

Although with that said neither Blueprint, nor the Black Album for that matter are classic in my book.

I feel you i can see why people think its a classic its just me i guess but i liked the pre RD jay-z more. A 1993/1994 album from Jay would be a definite CLASSIC jay killed that shit

If you haven't already you might want to check out the Early Hova part of the "Library of a Legend" collection in that case. I can find you a link if you want.

I agree with D-Nice on 2001, production-wise the album is insane, and I remember the first time I got high and bumped it I was thinking about how much of a classic it was, but as time passed that thought faded a lot, it is a hard one to judge overall I think. If we're talking about the real elite bracket of hip hop albums, such as where I would put RD, Ready to Die, Illmatic etc I would have to say that 2001 misses out.  

By the way, I'm suprised at some of the criticism which Eminem gets for the Eminem Show. I know it was hard to follow up the Marshall Mathers LP but IMO the Eminem Show was Em really starting to blossom with his multi-syllable style. MMLP for me though would be a classic, dude gets a lot of heat from "hip hop heads" for being white but if Nas was spitting those crazy Em tracks, telling a story and spitting his feelings with that kind of lyricism people would be saying it was the best shit since Illmatic.

Eminem Show is a personal classic to me. Had little to almost no guest appearances, which I digged about it, and like you said his bars were sharp on there. Squaredance a is perfect example of that. Had a couple goofy ass tracks but not as much as Encore. That was also the last album you seen from Em that had heavy production from him.

[D-Nice]

I think The Black Album is way overrated.  Yes, there are lots of big names associated w/ the production.  And yes, there are 3 or 4 really dope songs on there.  Outisde of those 3 or 4, the rest is average at best and at times below average.  Kanye's production was wack, Neptunes was boring, Quik was boring, etc.  Tim and Just Blaze were tight.

Yeah Black Album is a bit overrated

[KaiserSoze]

Nas dont need to spit like eminem at all. Dudes does his own thing and his cv speaks for itself.

I think you're misunderstanding my point. I'm not saying Nas needs to spit like Em at all, what I was saying was that I think some of the people who say that the MMLP isn't a classic would be bouncing off walls if it was a Nas album, because no matter how crazy Em gets with his lyrical ability some people are never gonna give him real credit.

[Raphael]

You really don't think Reasonable Doubt is a classic album? I think its possibly one of the best albums ever, although I know there's a lot of Jay-haters who'll be quick to bash me. I can still listen to that album after god knows how many times and hear some dope wordplay or clever metaphor that I missed before, the way Jay hides those lyrical techniques in that album is classic in itself. This surely must be a favorite of any true fan of lyricism.

Although with that said neither Blueprint, nor the Black Album for that matter are classic in my book.

I feel you i can see why people think its a classic its just me i guess but i liked the pre RD jay-z more. A 1993/1994 album from Jay would be a definite CLASSIC jay killed that shit

If you haven't already you might want to check out the Early Hova part of the "Library of a Legend" collection in that case. I can find you a link if you want.

thanks for the tip! found a link for it after a quik search.

[LyRiCaL_G]

You really don't think Reasonable Doubt is a classic album? I think its possibly one of the best albums ever, although I know there's a lot of Jay-haters who'll be quick to bash me. I can still listen to that album after god knows how many times and hear some dope wordplay or clever metaphor that I missed before, the way Jay hides those lyrical techniques in that album is classic in itself. This surely must be a favorite of any true fan of lyricism.

Although with that said neither Blueprint, nor the Black Album for that matter are classic in my book.

I feel you i can see why people think its a classic its just me i guess but i liked the pre RD jay-z more. A 1993/1994 album from Jay would be a definite CLASSIC jay killed that shit

If you haven't already you might want to check out the Early Hova part of the "Library of a Legend" collection in that case. I can find you a link if you want.

I agree with D-Nice on 2001, production-wise the album is insane, and I remember the first time I got high and bumped it I was thinking about how much of a classic it was, but as time passed that thought faded a lot, it is a hard one to judge overall I think. If we're talking about the real elite bracket of hip hop albums, such as where I would put RD, Ready to Die, Illmatic etc I would have to say that 2001 misses out.  

By the way, I'm suprised at some of the criticism which Eminem gets for the Eminem Show. I know it was hard to follow up the Marshall Mathers LP but IMO the Eminem Show was Em really starting to blossom with his multi-syllable style. MMLP for me though would be a classic, dude gets a lot of heat from "hip hop heads" for being white but if Nas was spitting those crazy Em tracks, telling a story and spitting his feelings with that kind of lyricism people would be saying it was the best shit since Illmatic.

Eminem Show is a personal classic to me. Had little to almost no guest appearances, which I digged about it, and like you said his bars were sharp on there. Squaredance a is perfect example of that. Had a couple goofy ass tracks but not as much as Encore. That was also the last album you seen from Em that had heavy production from him.

While im not the biggest fan of eminem show for the vibe in some ways thought i do agree there was some great moments of growth/maturity from eminem, one of my favourite eminem tracks is on that album. Soldier.

[D-Nice]

You really don't think Reasonable Doubt is a classic album? I think its possibly one of the best albums ever, although I know there's a lot of Jay-haters who'll be quick to bash me. I can still listen to that album after god knows how many times and hear some dope wordplay or clever metaphor that I missed before, the way Jay hides those lyrical techniques in that album is classic in itself. This surely must be a favorite of any true fan of lyricism.

Although with that said neither Blueprint, nor the Black Album for that matter are classic in my book.

I feel you i can see why people think its a classic its just me i guess but i liked the pre RD jay-z more. A 1993/1994 album from Jay would be a definite CLASSIC jay killed that shit

If you haven't already you might want to check out the Early Hova part of the "Library of a Legend" collection in that case. I can find you a link if you want.

I agree with D-Nice on 2001, production-wise the album is insane, and I remember the first time I got high and bumped it I was thinking about how much of a classic it was, but as time passed that thought faded a lot, it is a hard one to judge overall I think. If we're talking about the real elite bracket of hip hop albums, such as where I would put RD, Ready to Die, Illmatic etc I would have to say that 2001 misses out.  

By the way, I'm suprised at some of the criticism which Eminem gets for the Eminem Show. I know it was hard to follow up the Marshall Mathers LP but IMO the Eminem Show was Em really starting to blossom with his multi-syllable style. MMLP for me though would be a classic, dude gets a lot of heat from "hip hop heads" for being white but if Nas was spitting those crazy Em tracks, telling a story and spitting his feelings with that kind of lyricism people would be saying it was the best shit since Illmatic.

Eminem Show is a personal classic to me. Had little to almost no guest appearances, which I digged about it, and like you said his bars were sharp on there. Squaredance a is perfect example of that. Had a couple goofy ass tracks but not as much as Encore. That was also the last album you seen from Em that had heavy production from him.

While im not the biggest fan of eminem show for the vibe in some ways thought i do agree there was some great moments of growth/maturity from eminem, one of my favourite eminem tracks is on that album. Soldier.

For the record I don't consider it a hip hop classic, but one of those I personally think is, but yeah I agree. I think Nas' last album is a bit overrated as well. Dope as fuck but not a classic and it is waaaaay too early to gauge.

[LyRiCaL_G]

Nas dont need to spit like eminem at all. Dudes does his own thing and his cv speaks for itself.

I think you're misunderstanding my point. I'm not saying Nas needs to spit like Em at all, what I was saying was that I think some of the people who say that the MMLP isn't a classic would be bouncing off walls if it was a Nas album, because no matter how crazy Em gets with his lyrical ability some people are never gonna give him real credit.

Oh right i see what you're saying now. I don't agree however, i think alot of people give eminem extra credit for being white and being able to rap and most of his white audience like his shit regardless if its dope or not, its like he is given a pass for anything alot of the time. I dont want this to end up being a 'skin tone' talk because that shits boring but most niggaz i know think MMLP is eminems best album myself included. Whether its a classic or not, i dont know, i can understand people saying it is aswell as people saying its not. Sort of like stillmatic/blueprint etc. Thats how i see it. Personally i like MMLP, my favourite eminem album.

If nas spit the shit eminem did on MMLP, i think alot less people would have noticed it imo.  

pz

[LyRiCaL_G]

You really don't think Reasonable Doubt is a classic album? I think its possibly one of the best albums ever, although I know there's a lot of Jay-haters who'll be quick to bash me. I can still listen to that album after god knows how many times and hear some dope wordplay or clever metaphor that I missed before, the way Jay hides those lyrical techniques in that album is classic in itself. This surely must be a favorite of any true fan of lyricism.

Although with that said neither Blueprint, nor the Black Album for that matter are classic in my book.

I feel you i can see why people think its a classic its just me i guess but i liked the pre RD jay-z more. A 1993/1994 album from Jay would be a definite CLASSIC jay killed that shit

If you haven't already you might want to check out the Early Hova part of the "Library of a Legend" collection in that case. I can find you a link if you want.

I agree with D-Nice on 2001, production-wise the album is insane, and I remember the first time I got high and bumped it I was thinking about how much of a classic it was, but as time passed that thought faded a lot, it is a hard one to judge overall I think. If we're talking about the real elite bracket of hip hop albums, such as where I would put RD, Ready to Die, Illmatic etc I would have to say that 2001 misses out.  

By the way, I'm suprised at some of the criticism which Eminem gets for the Eminem Show. I know it was hard to follow up the Marshall Mathers LP but IMO the Eminem Show was Em really starting to blossom with his multi-syllable style. MMLP for me though would be a classic, dude gets a lot of heat from "hip hop heads" for being white but if Nas was spitting those crazy Em tracks, telling a story and spitting his feelings with that kind of lyricism people would be saying it was the best shit since Illmatic.

Eminem Show is a personal classic to me. Had little to almost no guest appearances, which I digged about it, and like you said his bars were sharp on there. Squaredance a is perfect example of that. Had a couple goofy ass tracks but not as much as Encore. That was also the last album you seen from Em that had heavy production from him.

While im not the biggest fan of eminem show for the vibe in some ways thought i do agree there was some great moments of growth/maturity from eminem, one of my favourite eminem tracks is on that album. Soldier.

For the record I don't consider it a hip hop classic, but one of those I personally think is, but yeah I agree. I think Nas' last album is a bit overrated as well. Dope as fuck but not a classic and it is waaaaay too early to gauge.

I agree, nas' last album was dope but not a classic. Would not even come into consideration from me!