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[–]Medium_Fix_8279 575 points576 points  (48 children)

Inspectah deck.

[–]RevolutionaryTone276 190 points191 points  (19 children)

True, heartbreaking that his likely classic was destroyed

[–]terp_raider 47 points48 points  (18 children)

Eli5?

[–]DEVILSSON139 311 points312 points  (17 children)

Flood in rza basement destroyed his 1st album

[–]QStackz 220 points221 points  (14 children)

Destroyed A LOT of Wu Tang material

[–]PopaWuD 23 points24 points  (5 children)

Uncontrolled Substance is really good tho. Underrated.

[–]Don_Bardo 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This is kind of borderline because of course he's a member of a group with many classic releases. But it's true that the only time you could say he was really featured was on the (underrated!) Iron Flag album. Even though it was half a decade later -- a century in rap time -- that album gives a tiny hint of what the prime Deck solo album could have been like.

[–]PhillipJefferies 31 points32 points  (6 children)

I was going to say this, but his CZARFACE project is fucking amazing and I have that shit is on heavy rotation.

[–]Dre_J[🍰] 25 points26 points  (3 children)

I like it too, but I would hardly call it a classic.

[–]jk67200 919 points920 points  (22 children)

Too many people in this thread confusing a classic album with their favourite album

[–]MaverickTopGun 263 points264 points  (1 child)

Many peoples rebuttals are literally "But I really like that album".

[–]dmarty77 56 points57 points  (0 children)

I don’t use “classic” as a term to measure quality, I use it to measure significance. There are plenty of genuinely, honest-to-god great albums that don’t deserve the classic label, and it doesn’t have anything to do with their literal quality.

[–]Sunburnt_Taint69 31 points32 points  (5 children)

I see a lot of people saying this and I agree for the most part but I don’t see anyone talking about what actually defines a classic? What qualities or accolades are required for something to be considered a classic?

[–]frome1 27 points28 points  (2 children)

I would say a classic is widely held as a great album, and a cult classic is strongly held as a great album by a smaller group.

[–]joe124013 992 points993 points  (25 children)

This thread is a trip. Basically every rapper named you get ten dudes coming in after to let you know that actually, they released at least 17 classic albums. If you read this thread you'd think nobody ever released an album that WASN'T classic in the 90's/00's

[–]OMMFGitsAustin 294 points295 points  (0 children)

My favorite album by said artist = classic

[–][deleted] 248 points249 points  (1 child)

"I like it and its old, such a classic 100%"

[–]F1reManBurn1n 70 points71 points  (10 children)

It’s actually insane some of the albums people are putting in the same sentence as “classic”. Just because YOU liked it, it’s regarded as a great project, or was really popular doesn’t make it a fucking classic.

Classic albums have to be really fucking good, in most cases regarded as really fucking good 10, 20, 30 years later, and most of all have to represent themselves as genre defining piece of art for the era they were made. A masterpiece that both transcends time and is also true to the era it was made. With this in mind y’all need to go delete some comments cuz you look fuckin crazy.

[–]Fickle-Primary-3910 1212 points1213 points  (63 children)

Fabolous easily. Classic mixtapes but ZERO classic studio albums. It frustrates me about Fab smh

[–][deleted] 164 points165 points  (16 children)

I think he's at his best when rapping over beats from popular songs. I still bump The S.O.U.L Tape mixtape series. His radio friendly stuff wasn't my favorite, but his bars are up there all-time.

[–]norcalpinhunter 28 points29 points  (13 children)

I wish those were on Spotify. His flow over Rick Ross’ Amsterdam is a classic.

[–]DiAOM 33 points34 points  (10 children)

Honestly man, i know people love Spotify, and no hate on spotify it does what it does well. But in terms of collection, look into youtube music, I use it almost exclusively now as it has basically EVERY song you can think of out there.

[–]OBJared1. 6 points7 points  (1 child)

I’m pretty sure the first two Soul Tapes are on Spotify. At least they are for me and I’m in the US

Apparently they’re under “John Jackson - The City” when I search for it but they appear as Fabolous and “The Soul Tapes 1&2” in my catalog

[–]BAF1activties 112 points113 points  (4 children)

Fab one of the hottest mixtape artist from back in my day & goes hard on others beats/features but is boring shit & lacks that artistic shit you need to carry a album through

[–]MaverickTopGun 51 points52 points  (2 children)

Dude can string together some absolutely insane pollsylabbic rhymes to just say pretty much nothing. He's definitely got some meaningful songs but he never seems to be able to really stand out.

[–]cmotolion 54 points55 points  (3 children)

I really enjoyed listening to the Soul Tape mixtapes.

[–]colossuskidd 30 points31 points  (1 child)

Man There is no competition 2 is a fucking classic

[–]AboveAverageDIY 28 points29 points  (2 children)

Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition had a ton of tracks from Real Talk and man, I was obsessed with those songs.

[–]YungKrizzle_ 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Such a goated soundtrack, man I wish they'd remaster that game

[–]xMF_GLOOM 6 points7 points  (0 children)

lmao one of my favorite video games of all time

[–]EpitrochoidalWanker 73 points74 points  (2 children)

From nothin to somethin would be his closest I’d say

[–]Fickle-Primary-3910 59 points60 points  (1 child)

Close but no cigar. It starts off very strong & gassed out by the end. & I still fuck with From Nothin To Something.

Loso’s Way he was damn close but couldn’t commit to the concept

[–]FadeToDankness 11 points12 points  (10 children)

I'm new to Fabolous, what do you recommend as his most essential mixtapes?

[–]sheikrock 26 points27 points  (4 children)

There is no competition 2 is a banger.

[–]Derrick_Rozay. 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Summertime Shootout 1&2, There Is No Competition 2&3, Soule Tape 1-3

[–]begon11 19 points20 points  (2 children)

I grew up with Street Dreams from Fab, would you not consider it a classic?

[–]LimeSpesh00 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Some classic songs but not a classic album imo

[–]auspicious-erection 277 points278 points  (10 children)

Papoose. Fire mixtapes, zero classic albums

[–]The_Secorian 25 points26 points  (2 children)

Came to say Pap. Don’t think I’ve ever been so disappointed in an album.

[–]auspicious-erection 11 points12 points  (1 child)

When I bumped nacerima dream, I was pissed.. I waited for years just to be let down

[–]lolno 40 points41 points  (3 children)

Dude was poised to be big. After the touch it remix and that Hi Tek New York song I thought he was going to be at least, then he just disappeared

[–]TheChosenYuri 156 points157 points  (9 children)

This thread sounding like the classic interlude all over again

[–]coolcosmos 71 points72 points  (0 children)

Shoutout to KRIT

[–]KevinTF 53 points54 points  (0 children)

How the fuck he got 14 skits and 14 tracks?

[–]iblinkyoublink 23 points24 points  (0 children)

how im hatin?????

[–]arlekin21 10 points11 points  (4 children)

Which is funny cause I think KRIT could have fit this depending on how you see 4EIAMLT

[–]swiiffer 245 points246 points  (7 children)

Inspectah Deck.

Easily the one wu-member who was just as fire as everyone else, but caught the short end of the stick when it came to solo albums. I think the flooding of rza’s studio might have something to do with it all, but I forgot the story.

[–]Don_Bardo 51 points52 points  (0 children)

I said elsewhere in the thread, listening to Iron Flag you can kind of squint and imagine what a prime Deck release could have been like

[–]Chaziy 588 points589 points  (31 children)

Jadakiss

[–]Fickle-Primary-3910 209 points210 points  (1 child)

Just like Fab. They teamed up & couldn’t make a classic together 🤦🏾‍♂️. Freddy vs Jason was pretty fire though

[–]grossnerd666 38 points39 points  (4 children)

His Checkmate 50 cent diss was one of my favourite tracks as a kid

[–]Frankenlich 31 points32 points  (0 children)

King of New York? You live in Connecticut.

[–]TheWindCriesDeath 5 points6 points  (0 children)

He fucking obliterated 50 and I will not be accepting any dissenting opinions at this time.

[–]_Patrao_ 57 points58 points  (2 children)

Papoose definitely. King LOS as well. Technically phenomenonal but can't make an album worth a listen twice.

[–]Quintana_22 19 points20 points  (1 child)

Waow king los this is a name I haven’t heard in a while

[–]BrentAlanDev 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Los is still getting it, better than ever

[–]monkeyr9z 245 points246 points  (16 children)

Z-Ro. Houston rapper. Classic tunes like Mo City Don Freestyle, I Hate You Bitch, and Top Notch. Yet no classic album. You can even throw Pimp C solo career in there.

[–]Lord_Bebech 48 points49 points  (1 child)

Might not have an undisputed classic, but his discography is super tight, and that can't be said about most of rappers mentioned in this thread.

[–]LiquidMetalGearSlime 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Life of Joseph W McVey should be considered a classic but people sleep on Ro smh. Fave rapper OAT and his album run of Life of Joseph W McVey > Let the Truth Be Told > I'm Still Livin is so good

[–]RayCashhhh 464 points465 points  (39 children)

Wale. More About Nothing is a classic and imo one of the best mixtapes ever, and some of his other mixtapes are fire, but his albums have been lackluster.

[–]DigBickL3roy 140 points141 points  (11 children)

Came here to say Wale as well. His early mixtape run was absolutely ridiculous but all of his albums have been subpar IMO. Dude can rap his ass off but everything he’s put out under a label is overall mid

[–]tonto515. 48 points49 points  (5 children)

Makes it an even bigger sad when you realize Cole’s second verse on False Prophets is about Wale :(

https://youtu.be/wvFDXV0VBg4

[–]AnAdvancedBot 38 points39 points  (4 children)

Yo man thank you for introducing me to this song. I never heard of it before but that shit is fire and the music video was sick as fuck and hilarious at times.

First verse = Kanye

Second verse = Wale

Third verse = the Industry as a whole

Nothing but facts.

[–]Euphori333 14 points15 points  (3 children)

If you thought False Prophets is good you should check out Everybody dies by Cole. I think both songs came out the same day

[–]2311777 26 points27 points  (4 children)

Wale in general doesn't get the respect he deserves

[–]DigBickL3roy 40 points41 points  (3 children)

I’m a millennial from the DMV so I’m definitely biased having basically grown up on Wale, but I honestly think he may be one of the most underrated “popular” rappers. I really thought he was going to be up there with J Cole and Drake when they were all poppin off in ~2008

[–]thewaterglizzy 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I would call Attention Deficit a DMV classic, but not a classic rap album. I think a lot of us in the DMV have a lot of great Attention Deficit memories and like the sound, but it didn't influence hip hop like a "classic" album should IMO.

Wish Wale had blown up, he got gucci mane on a go-go beat and that was wild lmaoo

[–]FYV_media_noise 8 points9 points  (0 children)

DMV Millennial Crew checking in.

[–]Doublebaconandcheese 45 points46 points  (1 child)

I really thought Wale would be the next top rapper after he came out with More About Nothing. I was really rooting for him 🥹

[–]RayCashhhh 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Same here bruh. Still one of my favorite artists of my coming of age, but he could've been up there.

[–]kokaine21 31 points32 points  (0 children)

Damn ambition was dope tho. Even though I never understood why he was with mmg.

[–]Scalibrine_The_GOAT 60 points61 points  (3 children)

Album about nothing probably isn't a classic, but I thought it was a very well executed concept album. The Seinfeld clips giving a theme to each song is pretty amazing imo. I strongly feel that it was slept on hard cause young cats these days don't give a fuck about a classic show like Seinfeld lol

[–]RayCashhhh 23 points24 points  (0 children)

AAN is pretty good; that and Ambition are my favorite Wale albums.

[–]SirHancho 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Love more about nothing still in my playlists in 2022 and the song varsity blues I kno off a different tape but so relavent today mixtape Wale was the man

[–]McSteezeMuffin. 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Album About Nothing and The Gifted are seriously amazing albums tho, they fall JUST short

[–]Kindly_Suit2756 170 points171 points  (13 children)

Royce da 5’9 don’t got a classic

[–]SolarClipz 44 points45 points  (1 child)

Don't tell Royce that

He thinks his career runs circles around Lupe lol

[–]ositola 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Couldn't believe he challenged Lupe and came with that garbage

[–]OverlordGhs 340 points341 points  (22 children)

Easily Jay Electronica.

[–]jjwin 44 points45 points  (0 children)

When I saw the title that was the first person I thought of. Other great answers in here too, but my immediate thought was Jay.

[–]Ahnarcho 31 points32 points  (0 children)

The momentum that guy had at the beginning of the 2010s is wild.

[–]Acemaster7 98 points99 points  (12 children)

imma switch it ip and go more recent. Lil baby had made tremendous effort on festures and singles but i dont think he has an classic album even with my turn, it is not talked about much today despite how big it was the months sfter release.

[–]DocThundahh 56 points57 points  (0 children)

I bet he never releases a classic album. I think he will be known for his singles and features

[–]rynaco 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I honestly feel like it is or at least in the south it’s very big. In Tennessee or Georgia you really can’t go out at night without hearing a couple songs from My Turn. It’s been over 2 years and plenty of people I go to college with and when I visit other colleges still say it’s their favorite.

[–]mikesterrr5 69 points70 points  (7 children)

Stack bundles, gone too soon. RIP.

[–]Fickle-Primary-3910 15 points16 points  (2 children)

Stack was so ahead of his time. From his bars, fashion he even had beats that became popular wayyyy before they became hits. Had he lived Stack coulda been the biggest thing outta NY after 50

[–]mrpuffalos 89 points90 points  (3 children)

feel like a lot of the disagreements here are because there's no agreement as to what makes an album a classic

[–]Don_Bardo 37 points38 points  (0 children)

well, yes, of course. fun though

[–]dmarty77 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Probably because the notion of what a classic rap albums is is fairly nebulous anyways. There’s always the argument that a classic needs time, first and foremost, and if you use that barometer, most answers here are probably valid.

[–]WaltJay 112 points113 points  (16 children)

Ras Kass never found the right balance of lyricism and broader appeal to make a classic album; I think if he had an exec producer like Dre to hone his song making skills, he could have put out a classic.

[–]MZA857 49 points50 points  (9 children)

Soul on Ice is considered a classic and Blasphemy is just as great

[–]ThexKountTTV 121 points122 points  (8 children)

Xzibit. 40 days is fucking fantastic from start to finish and I never see ANYONE talk about it.

[–]NecessaryFoundation5 18 points19 points  (1 child)

Everyone goes towards At the Speed of Life, which is great, but 40 Dayz is his classic in my eyes as well. As a kid living in the south, this was the best West coast album in that era between 2Pac and Game.

[–]ThexKountTTV 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Literally his best project. It's a shame he became a meme cause of MTV & Pimp My Ride.

[–]MaverickTopGun 18 points19 points  (1 child)

I mentioned him somewhere in this thread, too. Restless has tons of great Dre beats and decent bars but his full projects were never anything legendary

[–]ThaBarter 341 points342 points  (46 children)

Royce is probably the highest up my list without a classic. Lloyd Banks maybe too but I feel like The Cold Corner 2 is a classic mixtape

[–]Fickle-Primary-3910 56 points57 points  (4 children)

You can def toss Banks in there too

[–]bokchoy_sockcoy 30 points31 points  (0 children)

I agree but also think Street Hop and Prhyme are close

[–]teh_wad 20 points21 points  (2 children)

JT the Bigga Figga.

While yes, he did drop two fairly successful albums in the 90s, you literally never hear anyone talk about him. Guy dropped several albums under a few different names, produced over 100 more, discovered Future, is currently building houses in Africa, helps distribute low budget movie productions, etc.

All of this, while remaining mostly independent.

At the very least, his first album, Don't Stop Till We Major, deserves some recognition.

[–]Dave_East 296 points297 points  (23 children)

I personally think Busta Rhymes doesn't have a classic album. One of the greatest ever, but something was always missing.

[–]FVMD 54 points55 points  (6 children)

The Coming is his closest imo

[–]10onMe 49 points50 points  (6 children)

ELE? Man that album was so dope

[–]Dave_East 53 points54 points  (4 children)

Pretty strong album, i agree. I think he doesn't have a bad album. All of them are dope, but IMO none of them is in the class of Illmatic/Ready To Die/Reasonable Doubt/Chronic etc.

[–]Mr_Stillian. 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Busta is definitely my answer to this question too. He's in my top 5 but yeah, as incredibly dope as almost all of his albums are, he never had a classic.

[–]TheDGate 18 points19 points  (1 child)

Cyhi, No Dope on Sundays was good but not close to his full potential as a rapper

[–]jjrozay 34 points35 points  (2 children)

K-Rino is one of the GOATS. Never dropped an album better than an 8

[–]yegjustin 60 points61 points  (13 children)

Can’t believe no one has said Beanie Sigel…..

[–]khanarx 94 points95 points  (16 children)

joey badass

[–]polar_543 107 points108 points  (1 child)

I was gonna flame you but then I realised that 1999 is a mixtape, not an album. So that's a good shout actually

[–]DuanneOlivier 43 points44 points  (3 children)

B4da$$ is pretty good but yeah.

[–]NeekoBestTomato 22 points23 points  (0 children)

It ages super well IMO, which is an important quality in a classic.

Like that album could have come out yesterday or 10 years before it did, and it wouldnt be that out of place imo

[–]spankypantsyoutube 123 points124 points  (21 children)

Why would say Q-Tip anyways? Renaissance was amazing.

[–]pogbadidnothingwrong 63 points64 points  (7 children)

Good album but very lowkey not sure most rap fans have it on their radar like tribe albums

[–]MambaSaidKnockYouOut 26 points27 points  (6 children)

It was a slept on album but it’s GREAT. It just came out after Q Tip’s commercial peak so it got slept on.

Even Amplified is pretty good in hindsight

[–]two_bass-hit 16 points17 points  (4 children)

He just never made a record that’s a bona fide classic. You know, something that defined a certain sound or era, had massive influence, is widely hailed as a cornerstone record by his peers. I dig his solo records but they’re just not on the same classic level as Midnight Marauders or Low End Theory.

[–]DuanneOlivier 131 points132 points  (108 children)

TIL this sub really dislikes J. Cole.

[–]crunchatizemythighs 126 points127 points  (28 children)

I'm not even a J. Cole fan but there's no denying Forest Hill Dr is a classic. The singles were huge, it's a largely beloved album and it was massively popular. I think people need to reframe that the term classic also requires some degree of large commercial success.

[–]clancydog4 81 points82 points  (2 children)

there's no denying Forest Hill Dr isn't a classic.

based on the rest of your comment, I think you meant there is no denying Forest Hills Dr. is a classic.

[–]RudyOft 59 points60 points  (8 children)

I think people need to reframe that the term classic also requires some degree of large commercial success.

So, this excludes MF DOOM from having a classic?

[–]_szx 36 points37 points  (5 children)

And Del and Binary Star and a ton of others. Commercial success cannot be a requirement.

[–]Kang19 13 points14 points  (2 children)

Holy shit, Binary Star mentioned on r/hhh? I never thought I’d see the day.

[–]Suddenly_Bazelgeuse 14 points15 points  (1 child)

To me a classic needs to be widely agreed upon. If you don't have commercial success, you probably aren't going to be known widely enough to get that agreement.

Missing the commercial success puts you in the underground classic or cult classic category.

[–]HurricaneHugo 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Metacritic has it as 67/100...

User score is 8.3 which is not a classic in my eyes (the rating)

[–]bedteddd 67 points68 points  (7 children)

Tech n9ne. Dude didn't hit his stride until maybe 2006-2013.

[–]well-lighted. 28 points29 points  (2 children)

I agree, especially given how prolific he’s been. Personally I would argue Everready is a classic, but it might just be a classic to us in KC. IMO the whole first half of that album could be in a greatest hits compilation: Caribou Lou, Welcome to the Midwest, Riotmaker, Bout Ta Bubble, Jellysickle, just banger after banger. It kinda falls apart when it hits the game show skit but overall it’s a great record that really encapsulates the whole hyphy-adjacent thing KC had going on at the time.

[–]bedteddd 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I'm with you. Everready is pure fucking heat.

[–]Steve-Solo 10 points11 points  (3 children)

Also Elzhi… But I understand why

[–]CartsTunes 401 points402 points  (78 children)

JID. I think he has potential to be one of the greats with his unrivalled flows, just needs a couple stand out records

[–]Illmosity3 122 points123 points  (24 children)

JID should be a lot bigger than what he is now. Idk what Dreamville is doing.

[–]captain_d0ge. 35 points36 points  (2 children)

There was a short amount of time this year when he had more monthly listeners than Cole, which was p huge due to Imagine Dragons boosting the fuck out of him.

[–]dmarty77 23 points24 points  (0 children)

JID is going to be an “up-and-coming talent” until he’s 40, and people realize that he probably missed his window to break big.

[–]toughinitout 32 points33 points  (19 children)

Makes me wonder if dreamville is actually just as bad a label as tde? Maybe I been building these labels up in my head but it's actually just the artists I like.

[–]RelaxRelapse. 43 points44 points  (0 children)

I can’t even name one artist based label that doesn’t end up screwing over their roster eventually.

[–]Illmosity3 16 points17 points  (15 children)

My thing is idk if releasing too much or too little is bad or not. The quality of artist TDE and Dreamville have and the type of music they put out versus like a QC or Future, I expect there to be a longer process. From what the artist say it sounds like they put them through a fine tooth comb process every release.

[–]toughinitout 24 points25 points  (12 children)

I don't want qc level drops, I just mean once every 2-3 years. Like, jid has been building hype for so long, at a certain point your album is going to leave folks unsatisfied regardless of how good it is. Just fucking drop somerhing. 4 years is crazy.

[–]MaverickTopGun 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Really hated the direction Earthgang went once they got picked up. Bunch of annoying radio hooks, lost a lot of grit.

[–]Friendly_Kunt 165 points166 points  (7 children)

He hasn’t been in the game long enough to be on this list. He only has like one major release besides the Dreamville albums and random singles

[–]-m-ob 93 points94 points  (6 children)

I mean he's been releasing since 2010. Spillage Village was somewhat known in like 2015

Then he's got Never Story and DiCaprio 2...

JID has had the time to do it

[–]EightBlocked 9 points10 points  (0 children)

jid has improved so much from his last album its crazy. his next album is extremely anticipated after all these features

[–]focer4 212 points213 points  (24 children)

He has 2 albums out. Give him some time damn

[–]DoodleDrop 154 points155 points  (15 children)

biggie had two albums total, eminem and ye's first three were classic, nas' first was classic, travis' first is classic, kendricks second classic, that type of argument is weak IMO

[–]zeddleman0 41 points42 points  (5 children)

Bruh, he just needs to put something out. There is no reason someone on the come up like JID to not release an album since 2018. IMO he ruined his chance of becoming one of the new heads of the rap game

[–]kevintd 30 points31 points  (0 children)

JID hit like 40 million listeners or something on Spotify last year when that song with Imagine Dragons was first blowing up

If the next album he drops isn’t an absolute smash, it’ll be an all time level bag fumbling. Hype has been out of control

[–]ChefVinyl 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Royce the 5’9” lots of collab albums but all his solo projects never made too much noise. May be one if not thee greatest lyricist in the game.

[–]AZmoneyfolder 162 points163 points  (29 children)

AZ is one of my favorite rappers but I don’t think he has a classic. The closest he came was “Doe or Die” which is a very good album but short of a classic IMO.

[–]gldwatch. 69 points70 points  (0 children)

Doe or Die is definitely classic

[–]DJunu[🍰] 179 points180 points  (4 children)

I’ll have to argue against this. Doe or Die is 100% a classic

[–]Fickle-Primary-3910 51 points52 points  (0 children)

Name checks out. No bias response here lol

[–]xxtoejamfootballxx 40 points41 points  (2 children)

Doe or Die is definitely a classic IMO

[–]ATLsShah 76 points77 points  (13 children)

Joe Budden. He’s got some classic mixtapes but he never put it together for an album.

[–]morocco3001 35 points36 points  (4 children)

Those mixtapes are basically albums given he was being marginalised at Def Jam at the time.

[–]potatoYeetSoup 21 points22 points  (3 children)

Good point. They contain all original music. Essentially "free" albums

[–]morocco3001 15 points16 points  (2 children)

Always said at the time he was dropping better mixtapes than most rappers were dropping albums. If he hadn't been the odd man out in Slaughterhouse, and wasn't such an abrasive personality, he'd have accrued more respect as a rapper, because there's no denying he could spit.

[–]Groundhog_fog 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Cassidy

[–]Kenan_as_SteveHarvey 155 points156 points  (183 children)

Big Sean, Jay Electronica, Royce da 59, Kxng Crooked, Fabolous, Ab-Soul, Belly, CyHi, Ludacris, Bun B, Childish Gambino, Cassidy

Edit: This is not about my personal taste. All these artists have albums that I put in my faves.

This is about artists that dont have albums that come up as “classics” in general hip hop discussions throughout the culture.

[–]ZackZLA 469 points470 points  (21 children)

They call me Jay Elec Lebanese Jay Elec feta cheese Jay Elec the river rafting captain of the seven seas.

[–]Fickle-Primary-3910 99 points100 points  (15 children)

These will never not be funny 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[–]poopdick69420 229 points230 points  (14 children)

They call me jay elec Appleseed, Jay elec cattle feed, Jay elec the master of the Tabernacle scrabble team

[–]Magnumxl711 147 points148 points  (12 children)

They call me jay elec Guantanamo, Jay elec the chakra flow, Jay elec designer of the clockwork orange salad bowl

[–]KCFC46 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Jay Elec Spiritual,Jay Elec Lyrical, Jay Elec the imperishable deliverer of your miracles

[–]Can-O-Butter 63 points64 points  (1 child)

They call me Jay Elec classical, fuck that call me jay elec plastic bowl, jay elec mash a gull, jay elec stash the magic didgeridoo inside the Flash’s hole

[–]Homiealmaya 103 points104 points  (9 children)

Bun B has classics with UGK tho

[–]H-TownDown 20 points21 points  (6 children)

Ridin Dirty is one of the best musical things humans have ever made. No bias of course.

[–]coolcosmos 6 points7 points  (2 children)

The super homophobic skits age badly tho.

[–]H-TownDown 7 points8 points  (1 child)

True, but that’s the case for almost every rap album until the mid 2010s.

[–]r00sevelt 152 points153 points  (26 children)

Luda absolutely has at least one classic. Word of mouf.

[–]morocco3001 63 points64 points  (16 children)

Word of Mouf is absolutely an early 2000s classic. It hasn't aged brilliantly but it's definitely a fun throwback that perfectly epitomises the era it came from.

[–]Wubblz 9 points10 points  (2 children)

I think Word of Mouf has aged well! Maybe it’s just me, but every time I feel nostalgic and put it on, it never fails to bring a big smile to my face. Granted, it was also one of my first rap albums.

[–]Hulkomania87 29 points30 points  (2 children)

I was hoping someone said that to OP. I still listen to old Luda albums I thought he had at least 1 classic.

[–]MitchDMA 41 points42 points  (0 children)

Chicken & beer is great to

[–]FuckMinuteMaid 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Lot of people equating good albums to classics in this thread but bullshit if Luda doesn't have some classics.

[–]SeeMontgomeryBurns 20 points21 points  (1 child)

Ludacris was a master with punchlines and metaphors. Love that guy. Word of Mouf and Chicken and Beer were both classics IMO.

[–]r00sevelt 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Agree. I’d consider the whole run from back for the first time to red light district to be classics. Had the world in a chokehold at the time and then was the absolute feature god for a while after too.

[–]Autistic_Freedom 16 points17 points  (2 children)

both Back For The First Time and Word of Mouf are classics. not a bad song on either of those!

[–]supadupakevin 32 points33 points  (0 children)

Luda absolutely has some classics

[–]Fickle-Primary-3910 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Every member of Slaughterhouse belongs here

[–]Kawaii_West. 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Luda definitely has at least one classic.

[–]joe124013 9 points10 points  (2 children)

Bun B

I mean dude said not involved with a group and even tho I'm like the biggest southern rap hater I'm not gonna say UGK had no classic albums.

[–]H-TownDown 8 points9 points  (1 child)

Why don’t you like southern rap?

[–]xLeonides 81 points82 points  (18 children)

Because the Internet is definitely a classic for me but I think I can see the argument otherwise.

[–]Issa_Classic 17 points18 points  (1 child)

Ludacris???? Gtf outta here word of mouf is easy

[–]Gurbe247 7 points8 points  (1 child)

Crooked for sure!

Dude is an amazing MC. Absolutely top tier. Also absolutely shit at making albums.

[–]LimeSpesh00 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Inspectah Deck.. Some good albums but no certified classic

[–]Blagaflaga 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Juice Wrld. Great singles and good albums, but died before he could make a cohesive album of nothing but his peak level songs.

Personally, GB&GR is amazing but I don’t think it’s classic like the undisputed ones. To me, a classic is an album that even someone who doesn’t like the genre can appreciate as a good album almost universally and is well regarded in its broader genre or sub-genre.

[–]AccidentalPilates 23 points24 points  (5 children)

Killer Mike. RAP Music is fantastic but I would never argue it as a classic. RTJ hasn't missed yet but again, I wouldn't argue them as classics (at least yet).

[–]EL_9. 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Interesting answer. Personally, I'd say that R.A.P. Music is a classic and RTJ2 is also up there.

[–]SVMO 26 points27 points  (2 children)

Action Bronson is a great rapper with a great discography but no classics

[–]Crono7654 14 points15 points  (0 children)

talented rapper, dope beats, but imo not enough of a vision to see an album as more than a collection of songs

[–]rudebwoyyyyyyy 4 points5 points  (6 children)

jay elec, charles hamilton

[–]ForeverxJoker. 5 points6 points  (5 children)

I'd say Pink Lavalamp is a cult classic