Hip Hop & Rap recommendations for Taters


There is a rather heated thread that is fairly universally bashing rap & hip hop here in the music section of the Audiogon forums.  This is a thread to search for the best that the genre has.  Please recommend artists, albums, and songs that you feel are the best that hip hop & rap have to offer.  What tracks would you recommend to someone who enjoys music, but is quite far outside of the usual listening audience for hip hop and rap?

Here is the thread that inspired this post:
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/when-rap-came-out-30-years-ago-i-thought-it-was-just-a-fad?la...

So, to start it off, I'll offer up a few of my favorites.  I'll surely come up with a few more, but for now, this is where I would start.  I hope you enjoy this challenge!

- Mark


Format:
Artist
Album
Track


A Tribe Called Quest
People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm
Bonita Applebum

Mos Def
Black On Both Sides
Hip Hop

Mos Def
Black On Both Sides
Ms. Fat Booty

Us 3
Hand On The Torch
It's Like That

Common
Like Water For Chocolate
The Light

Kanye West
The College Drop Out
All Falls Down

Digable Planets
Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)
Where I'm From

2 Pac
All Eyez On Me
Only God Can Judge Me


marktomaras
 Oh boy, here come the haters. That didn't take too long! As this is a thread dedicated to recomeding quality in a genre, I hope those who don't have anything positive to add, would mind not adding anything at all.  Thanks!
Eric B & Rakim
Paid In Full
Paid In Full (Coldcut Remix)

Digable Planets
Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)
Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)


Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
E. 1999 Eternal
Tha Crossroads


Mos Def
Travelin' Man (DJ Honda Remix)

A Tribe Called Quest
The Low End Theory
Excursions

Eric B & Rakim
Don't Sweat the Technique 
Don't Sweat the Technique
Don_c55,

I have been going to Audiophile meetings for 15 years. We usually go to a different dealer every month and listen to a system that is set up for the meeting. Sometimes they will have a guest speaker from one of the audio companies come and talk to us and answer any questions we may have. In all these years No one has requested to play a rap or hip hop song. After the meetings we usually have lunch and talk about equipment and music. Not once in all these years has anyone talked about rap or hip hop music.

I have also been going to Audiophile shows since the late 80's and I have never heard them demo gear with hip hop or rap. At the shows they are happy to demo the music you bring with you and not once has anyone asked to play a rap or a hip hop song.

When I wrote the original thread I was being really serious when I said "Why do you need a high end system to listen to rap or hip hop.
The statement had nothing to do with racism or any other stereotype they have been trying to lay on me. I also said I thought rap or Hip Hop would sound better on a mid-fi system. Personally I think rap or hip hop would sound the best on a high powered car audio system with sub-woofers.

For me the only reason to have a high-end system is to listen to Jazz, Classical or the blues. If I didn't listen to that type of music I would not bother with owning a high-end system. The equipment is very expensive and the maintenance of changing tubes and phono cartridges cost a nice chunk of change.

I will give the op credit by trying to have a civilized discussion about rap music or hip hop without without making me the bad guy. I do appreciate your effort in starting this thread. Unfortunately I have heard rap and hip hop music since it's inception and I have never liked it from day one. It's just not my thing. I saw a show about Soul Train on one of the cable channels and they talked to Don Cornelius who was the originator of the show. He said when the rap music and hip hop became popular he turned the show over to someone else to host it. He said he was old school and could not relate to that genre. Well I am just like Mr. Cornelius. I am also old school. I love the soul music from the 60's and 70's.

I don't expect young people to like Jazz or Frank Sinatra. Most of them didn't grow up with it and can't relate to it. I know there are a minority of young people that do like that kind of music. A man once told me that most people like the kind of music they grew up on. I think for the most part he is correct. Of course they are always exceptions to the rule.