The best southern rap album I have heard in a long time.
581045
Lateley Cash Money and No Limit have ruled the southern rap seen.  But, now Nelly has broken threw into the southern rap seen.  He has already put St. Louis on the rap map.  This CD will undoubtedly go into the list of  best southern rap CDs ever.  I strongly recomend you buy this CD.  You won't  be sorry it's bazin
2694814
Well Mike Jones is one of my all time favorite southern rappers. I believe that this is a great debut album. The chopped & screwed disc is pretty dope. DJ Michael "5000" Watts did a great job chopping up Mike Jones tracks for the second disc.
4058143
Seriously theeee Best Rap album, I've listened to. Its a powerful message, great musicality, and  crosses genres and generations. Buy it! Now!
1367690
I bought this CD after I heard Compton. The album is great and being from the Westcoast its one of the best albums I've heard in a longggggggggggg time! Every rapper is doing the same thing and Black brought a different flava even though he gets in touch with his softer side. I know everyone immediately thinks he's trying to be B.I.G.(RIP) but he's not. His flow is completely different from Biggie. Biggie had catchy phrazes that were intelligent and creative. Black has a dope flow but he keeps it simple. I am not knockin Black because he's bringin something to the table that most rappers aren't....originality. He talks about everyday life and in a way this album kind of reminds me of Illmatic from Nas...its unforgetable and it doesn't feature too many other artists. This album features Black and that's something that rappers need to get back to.....getting to see their style and who they really are on a record. The only way most rappers now adays blow up is if they have a collaboration with a big name rapper already in the game.....also another one gonna bring heat this January is the Game...like em or hate em...he's gonna bring heat, and that's what the west needs. Heavy hitters like Black and Game. Its gonna be a new era everyone!!!!!
820092
Somewhere along the line rap and hip hop fans came to expect rap to give reverence to other forms of black music.  Jazz is all over A Tribe Called Quest, the P-Funk sound is the predominant sound in gangster rap, and soul and R&B show up in almost every rap release.

Well El-P's Fantastic Damage doesn't give reverence to black music.  It's sound is more along the lines of a soundtrack to a twisted sci-fi movie.  The music is dense, with many layers of production and sound for a careful listener to pick apart. If I had to compare it something else, I would compare it to the Bomb Squad, but even that isn't really accurate.

As a rapper, El-P's flow has vastly improved from his Company Flow days.  His verses are dense and they come at you at tremendous speed.  The subject matter ranges from typical battle rap stuff to lyrics about totalitarian regimes, sci-fi movies and conspiracy theories.  The various guest stars sprinkled over the album also add to the feel and the flow of the album.

An emblematic song of the album is Delorian.  The song starts out with a rapid fire verses from Aesop Rock and El-P.  The two exchange raps for the first few minutes before the song digresses in to scratching for the bridge.  Then the song comes back with a wallop, reprising the first verse.  At the end of the song, the music desolves in to an hilarious chorus about Back to the Future (Great Scotts!!!).

If you can take a little experimentation with an open mind then you might like this album.  It's dense, and takes many listens to fully understand, but once you do, it's very rewarding.  If your a fan of the more mainstream stuff, then stay away.  There are no raps about hos, 40s, and blunts, so you might not get your fill of ghetto culture.  But if your looking for something different, this is a damn good listen.
2216689
When Raheem got his own label he was confident to see success. Raheems first project was Drama. Drama's album,Causin Drama,shot straight up the charts selling one mill plus. After that he got his newest artist and Drama and formed Tight IV Life and releases Training Camp.
This is album is a dirty south classic consisting of many tight lyric flowes & beats. Startin off quckly with "They Cant Stop Me".This Songs basically introduces everybody and features them as well. It's followed up by "Tight IV Life" which has got a decent beat,lot of bass and again features about everybody in the krew. The 4th track on the album is one of the most talked about songs around,"Its On Da Map." This Song Features GA's own Pastor Troy. This Song is basically telling they put GA on da map,which in my opinion they did. The beat is really laid back and don't really have a solid pace to it. Bass pounds though. Song 6 & 7 both Dros' songs basically introducing him. Track 6 is "Stop Playin " which is a really tight song,In these song as well as the others Dro really impresses me how he can rap like this and now is just gettin his time on the mic. My favorite outta Dros' songs is #7 "Blame It On The Dro."Its just one of those songs that would raddle the screws in your trunk,Raheem even has his time on this song. My favorite song on tha album follows titled "Ana" this song has a strong appereance by Tommy Gunn & Raheem. Song 10 is just Tommy Gunn & Fabo.......Just listen to it. Tommy Gunn can rap fast as hell sometimes and with Fabo's rough sounding voice and style of his own makes this song is somethin to listen to.
This album is a pretty tight and solid cd. Strong appereances by everyone and great production by Raheem,And if you don't "Cooly C" makes and mixes most da beats and songs so give him big ups. This album is a a definite one to add to your collection. But one thing that this album lacks is the amount of songs,it only has 12 including an intro,outro and 2 of the same tracks just remix's.
3975447
"Da Unbreakables" was an album that took some time to grow on me.  Past Three 6 albums (The End, Chpt 2, Mystic Stylez) were instant classics in my mind, but this one took some time for me to like.  After listening to it thru a couple times, i can say this is a pretty badass record.  It's noticably missing Gangsta Boo, but they manage well w/o her.  My Fav tracks are "Bin Laden", "Dangerous Posse", "F**k dat S**t", "Testin' My Gangsta", & "ghetto Chick".  Album has guest appearences from Lil Flip, Project Pat, & Pimp C....So u know Three 6 is reppin the south on this one.  Check it out
341124
Okay okay,i'll admit to being a fan of Timbaland's production but in an industry flooded with lyrics about ice,guns&sex,bubba 'delivers some unique material. Believe me,EM is not the only skillfull white rapper around. I'll ride with you bubba. This is your best album ever
4839315
Just when everyone thought that rap couldn't get any worse, OutKast released his album "Aquemini" to turn the world upside-down. This album essentially comes out of left-field considering that every other mainstream rap album is boring gangster club rap. The fact that this was a critically and commercially popular artist and album definitely helps the future of rap. OutKast is a surprisingly good and charismatic Southern rapper who, although he's not as distinctive as, say, Eminem, will certainly win you over. What's great about his delivery is how odd and how FAST he is - he's definitely a unique personality in the rap world. He can spit incredibly complicated words so fast that you'll have no idea how he manages to do it. The lyrics are also surprisingly good and definitely catchy which helps things a great deal (they aren't necessarily "deep" all the time, but they're pretty funny and fun to listen to). Only one hit is included on this album, "Rosa Parks", and the rest up hold very well as the production is top-notch. This is definitely one of the most creative rap albums to come out in recent years, and if you're a rap fan then you're doing yourself a disservice by not checking this out (get "Stankonia" too!). Highly recommended!

Highlights include:
the entire album!
718969
I really love this album. The production is beautiful
and the rhyming is deep. A very easy album to listen
to. The production is so crisp and so smooth you will
be taken away before the first eloquent words flow
softly out of Afu-Ras mouth. Spoken with such
aureate capacity, Afu-Ras rhymes and flows are
uplifting and simply magnificent. Any hip-hop fan will love the production as well. This album has over 10 well known producers in it (DJ Premier, DJ Roach, Mike Rone, True Master, Muggs). Overall this is an excellent album full of nostalgia and wisdom. A definite listen.
4878669
88 Keys album the Death of Adam is definitely a great hip hop album (with splashes of R&B) with a great message, amongst todays over saturation of meaningless Rap music infesting the airwaves.  The beats are great the lyrics all flow together and there is a great story which ties it all together and the end of every song.  This album will stay in my deck for months to come.  You will not be disappointed with this album.
4213594
I predict this will be the album of the year. I am listening to it now and am only on track 9 so I can hardly wait to finish it. I am an old geezer that never liked country music until I married, now I am a huge fan of today's country music. I feel this album will win all kinds of awards because of the production and diverse style of music (after all the title is Jekyll + Hyde). It still has the Zac Brown feel but it stands out because it is very unique.
4560621
Ignoring the few 'whatever whatever' tracks, this album is for the most part FIYYYYAAAAAH. Dro is a talented MC with fierce on-wax presence and creative lyrical construction. If you like bumpin' in your ride, this album is for you. Dro definitely stomps out most other southern MCs, even T.I. Pick this up if you're looking for bangin' southern rap with a fresh lyrical twist. Standout tracks: "Presidential," "What It Is," "High Five," "Gangsta."
2046336
This album fires on all cylinders, lyrically, flow wise, subject matter, beats, production, it's got it all going on. Dreddy Kruger did a great job being the one behind this and the Wisemen themselves are amazing. Bronze Nazareth, Kevlar 7, Salute, and Phillie really do rap about important things and are talented while they do it. The guest spots by Wu tang members and Cannibal Ox etc are all great but the Wisemen do a great job all on their own. They even address the fact that rap in the mainstream is about nothing and does nothing for the greater good of the people and they're damn right. I hope that they get the exposure they deserve. For any Wu-Tang fan this is a must get, def buy it. I would recommend this to any rap fan in general because this is what real, GOOD rap is supposed to sound like. Peace
1016179
The beats are heavy hitting, the music flows from each track smoothly, and the guests are on point. The album can be listened from start to finish, without skipping any songs (rare, sadly in today's single-driven world). I also enjoyed the interludes; I think Madlib has got an awesome sense of humor.

Overall, this man is super creative. Although this isn't an all-time classic (the rappers aren't all my style), I would highly recommend it to hip-hop aficionados. Samples are off the charts, and the instrumentals are deep. I am happy with this purchase.
578754
If only people would listen to some real hip-hop/rap. Instead of soulja boy, please buy this album and support a real artist who is doing it for the music.

This album is better than his freshman album, Food & Liquor, food representing the good and liquor representing the bad. Now this album follows the concept from a song called "The Cool"off of his first album.

Each track is very memorable and different from one another, production is great, Lupe's lyrical flow is undeniably one of rap's finest. How can you not like this?

Very innovative, easy to listen to, this music grows on you to enjoy unlike one time dance crazes like "Crank Dat".
506437
DJ Mugss(producer of one of my fav hip hop groups ever, Cypress Hill) and the Genious GZA(I aint even gonna go there all a yall know who this cat is and the amazing group that was once THE WU TANG CLAN)join forces to bring you one of the best rap albums to come out in 2005, GRANDMASTERS.  Honestly I'm so incredibly impressed by GZAs lyrics in this album(listen to Queens Gambit!!)and Muggs beats(I haven't heard muggs this freaking good since Cypress Hill 4th album)...if anyone tells you these 2 don't mesh there either on the influence of really REALLY strong drugs or they have no clue what the hell there talking about.  THIS ALBUM SPELLS THE WORD C-L-A-S-S-I-C!!...When I first popped in this cd i really wasn't feeling tracks like "Those thats bout it" and "advance pwns" and some others, but soon after a few more listens all i can simply say is WOW!!!...THESE 2 NEED TO RELEASE ANOTHER ALBUM TOGETHER, HECK a Wu Tang Meets Cypress Hill album if thats the case?!...

alright let me get down to it

2. Those That's Bout It  - 4.5/5

3. Destruction of a Guard - 5/5

4. Exploitation of Mistakes - 5/5

5. General Principles - 5/5(MUGGS IS A GENIOUS AT BEAT MAKING)

6. Advance Pawns - 5/5

7. Queen's Gambit - 1000000000/5(BEST TRACK on the album, oh my god you have to listen to GZA's lyrics so many football metaphors, reminds me of "clan in da front")

8. All in Together Now - 100000000000/5(2nd best track on the album, oh my god and it has one of the best intros ever by RZA!)

9. Unstoppable Threats - 5/5(THIS IS HIP-HOP)

10. Unprotected Pieces - 4.0/5(eeeeeh the last 3 tracks arnt as strong as the rest of the album)

11. Illusory Protection - 4.5/5

12. Smothered Mate - 4.6/5(A perfect way to end the album)

Overall I gotta say I'm really impressed by GZA his lyrics are so dope and match Muggs Beats perfectly.  I aint even gonna start with  the stand out tracks THERE ARE TOO MANY.  One of the best Rap albums in 2005, simple as that

4.9/5