Apr 29, 2025 at 10:00 PM

215. Joey Bada$$ - 1999 (2012) [April 29th, 2025]

1999 holds a strange place when it compared to early 2010's rap projects. Records like Live.Love.A$AP, good kid, m.A.A.d. city, Take Care etc. are still commonly talked about and revered today because of how they pioneered the greater hip-hop sound. 1999 does the opposite, as it very clearly harkens back to an earlier 90's-2000's era of primarily boom bap beats and atmosphere. While this definitely serves as one of the projects strong points, I do think that it might've hurt Joey's mainstream-appeal, but I'll go into that later.

Rap-wise, Joey and the rest of Pro Era are great on this record. STEEZ absolutely shines on "Survival Tactics" and tracks like "Snakes" and "Suspect" contain some incredible verses from everybody involved. 1999 also shines in its production. Seriously, Statik Selektah, MF DOOM, J DILLA!!!! This project has an incredible atmosphere, and its a great throwback to the 90's era of hip-hop...

...but I feel like being a great throwback to the 90's era of hip-hop might've slightly hurt Joey's career. I started feeling this way after he dropped "The Ruler's Back" last year, but despite being an absolutely killer MC, it feels like Joey's at a strange place compared to other rappers. Artists like Kendrick, Rocky, Danny etc. feel like they've made a much greater impact, even though Joey's been around for about the same amount of time. I probably could've worded this better, but despite Joey's strange place in modern hip-hop, I still think that 1999 is a great project, and a must-listen when it comes to the early 2010's era of hip-hop

 

Apr 29, 2025 at 10:19 PM

Columbine?

 

Apr 30, 2025 at 11:24 AM

212. Jay- Z - Vol 2... Hard Knock Life (1998) [April 30th, 2025]

Oh boy, this is gonna be an unpopular one. This is the album that made me become a Jay-Z fan. I already loved Reasonable Doubt, Blueprint, Black Album and 4:44, but I didn't really "get" Hov until this record. I know this is very unusual, and despite being his best selling record, most people barely talk about this album.

Whenever I listen to Vol 2, the biggest takeaway is this: Jay-Z is the coolest MFer alive, and you automatically feel cool as h--- by listening to it. The cover art itself, just oozes coolness man. The lack of direction that kinda soured Vol. 1 is now longer here, and the Shiny-Suit sound is all over this record. Thankfully, the production on this record is much better than what you'd find on a Puff Daddy record lmao. All the features are (mostly) incredible on this record, but my favorite guest has to be Jadakiss on the project's best track "Reservoir Dogs"

"Now if I k--- you I probably do ten in the box
Come down on appeal then I'm killing your pops
You feeling The LOX, n-----, why you grilling The LOX?
If this rap s--- don't work n----s still in the spot
You bring it to me, I gotta lose your family
Gangsters don't die, they get chubby, and move to Miami
s--- is deep now dog but it gets deeper
f--- it, the weather's nice and the price is much cheaper"


But yeah, despite being Hov's most commercial album up to this point, I still think that Vol. 2 is a great time, and a certified classic

 

Apr 30, 2025 at 4:09 PM

213. Valentin Elizalde - Vencedor (2006) [April 30th, 2025]

Yet another record that nobody on this forum has probably ever heard (except for Marsh maybe). This is the music I grew up hearing, so it was pretty nostalgic to finally check this out. "A Mis Enemigos" is probably the standout [considering that it basically got Elizalde killed] but as a whole, this record was very fun.

 

Apr 30, 2025 at 4:12 PM

214. Simon & Garfunkel - Sounds of Silence (1966) [April 30th, 2025]

False advertising!!! these songs are NOT silent!!!

Jokes aside, this is obviously a great album, "Richard Cory" is underrated!!! Although its impossible for me to listen to the title track withouT thinking of The Graduate

ELAINE! ELAINE!

 

May 1, 2025 at 3:09 PM

215. Jay-Z - Vol 3... Life and Times of S. Carter (1999) [May 1st, 2025]

And finally, the last "Volume" album. Vol 3 is kinda like Juvenile's 400 Degreez or Lil Jon's Kings of Crunk for me. They're not records that are talked about frequently nowadays aside from a couple tracks, but for some reason, I personally think that they're all great albums. Vol 3 shows Hov at the height of his first peak, and "success" is felt all throughout the record.

The first few times I listened to this record, I detested the first 5 tracks. Nowadays though, I've come to appreciate them (still iffy on "Things That U Do"...Mariah sounds weird on the chorus) But once "Snoopy Track" starts, the album REALLY gets going. There are some absolutely incredible tracks on here like "Watch Me", "There's Been A Murder", "Come And Get Me" and "NYMP". As a Houston fanboy, I absolutely love "Big Pimpin'" of course, p---- C's verse is magical mane.

Vol. 3 is pretty hard to discuss though, since there are two radically different tracklistings out there. The European version has some pretty good tracks like "Hova (Interlude)" and "Is That Yo b----" but as a whole, I prefer the American release. Then there's some bonus tracks, that are fine. I've always thought that it's f---ing stupid to judge an album badly for bonuses, but I digress. As a whole, Vol. 3 s one of my favorite Hov albums (despite the fact most people wouldn't agree), and I have a blast everytime I listen to it.

 

May 1, 2025 at 3:36 PM

"I like my women friends feminine
I like my hoes on "X" like Eminem, s---!"

 

May 1, 2025 at 4:38 PM

216. Miles Davis - On the Corner (1972) [May 1st, 2025]

I-I-I think this is the best jazz record I've ever heard. It's wild to me that people HATED this record when it came out. I've honestly had more fun with this record after one listen than I have with albums like In A Silent Way or Milestones.

On the Corner just "feels" like a city. It literally feels like background music for a busy street, and it does this perfectly. The whole record is also incredibly cohesive, and aside from Kind of Blue (I'm a basic bitchhhh) this is my favorite Miles record.

 

May 1, 2025 at 11:26 PM

Checking out a couple albums tomorrow, and I think one of them is going to make @Minato very happy...

 

May 2, 2025 at 11:33 AM

 

May 2, 2025 at 3:06 PM

217. Swans - The Great Annihilator (1995) [May 2nd, 2025]

I know that I've said this for every single Swans log, but it's mindblowing that this is the same band that was making albums like Filth and Holy Money. The Great Annihilator is far from being my favorite Swans record, but it has some great tracks like "Celebrity Lifestyle", "Blood Promise" and "Telepathy". I'd still recommend it, even if I wasn't 100% in love with it or anything