Random Rap Thoughts

Notes from putting 35,000 hip-hop songs on shuffle

I respect all music, but I’ve been a hip-hop head all my life.
The other day, I put every song on my iPod Classic and hit shuffle.

Here are my thoughts in no particular order, rhyme or reason:

• We need at least one more Clipse album
• Kurupt has always been my favorite non-NYC MC (though he was born in Philly)
• As I get older, I find myself disagreeing with music critics more than ever
• MC Lyte is the greatest female MC ever…
• …but Nicki Minaj is quickly building a strong case
• The Gang Starr freestyle on Green Lantern’s Invasion mixtape is an underrated gem
• I remember having DMX vs. Jay-Z and Swizz Beatz vs. DJ Premier debates with Ruff Ryders fanatics (I was right)
• No one will ever have the impact of Rakim in 1986

• I don’t love Kendrick Lamar, but I understand why others do…
• …meanwhile, I still don’t get Drake
• Scarface is the greatest southern MC of all time…
• …I don’t know who would be second — Andre 3000? T.I.? Bun B?
• I’ve always respected Busta Rhymes’s talent and certainly enjoy and appreciate his originality, but I’ve never been a real fan of his
• 2002–2003 Eminem was unbeatable
• It’s sad to say, but if J. Dilla hadn’t died, I don’t think he’d be as revered as he is today
• Nate Dogg improved any song simply by being on it
• I wonder how differently things would have turned out if Illmatic had been more successful (both in sales and Source awards)…
• …and I wonder how differently things would have turned out if the original I Am…The Autobiography double disc had never been bootlegged and leaked…
• …but a double disc is a little too much for any one artist to tackle
• Onyx’s third album, Shut ‘em Down ‘98, is superb
• 19 year-old Snoop was the coolest dude in rap history
• Inpectah Deck deserved a pre-Wu-Tang Forever debut (stupid flood)
• Both 2Pac and B.I.G. would have fallen off eventually — it happens to everyone
• From 1997 to ’98 Canibus was a lyrical monster and I can’t choose between his verse on “Beasts From the East” or “Fantastic Four”
• Public Enemy was a perfect rap group
• I’ll never understand why Prodigy started rapping without actually making words rhyme in the 2000's because from 1995–1999 he was lethal
• The Juice Crew is the 1929 Yankees of rappers

• Pretox is a hell of an unofficial mixtape
• I don’t remember such a chasm between so-called commercial and non-commercial rap since MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice were going diamond
• By my count, Jay-Z has promised retirement three times — after Reasonable Doubt, after Vol. 2, and after The Black Album
• Loyal to the Game is one of the best posthumous albums ever, thanks largely to Eminem
• I would have done anything for Foxy Brown in 1996
• A collection of LOX mixtape tracks from the early ‘00s is better than any LOX album
• Kanye’s first two albums had too many tracks
• The first half of Life After Death isn’t great, but the final three songs are flawless
• Lloyd Banks and Fabolous are punchline rappers, but those punchlines are often great
• Doe or Die should be listed alongside the other mid-’90s NYC debuts…
• …the same goes for Word…Life
• Both the original “John Blaze” beat and Nas verse were better than the album version
• In hindsight, it’s amazing the reach and influence DJ Clue? tapes had considering he was one guy and they weren’t sold anywhere legit
• Late ‘90s Rawkus was lightning in a bottle
• They’re almost two halves of one big LP, but The Chronic is better than Doggystyle
• For someone that doesn’t really care about rapping, Puff has quite a few classic verses
• Jay-Z’s “October 30, 2006” Freestyle on Funkmaster Flex is one of the best live radio performances in rap history
• Large Professor had a lasting impact on the genre
• Moment of Truth is Gang Starr’s best album

• Has anyone worked with such a range of artists — and gotten the best out of them — that Pharrell has?
• Kool G Rap is a criminally overlooked legend
• RZA’s five-year plan becomes more impressive with each passing year (and each passing subpar Wu release)
• Freeway’s The Stimulus Package may be my favorite album by a State Property member
• Is it possible Common is still underrated?
• The 2nd verse on Jay-Z’s “Moment of Clarity” is a clinic in lyricism
• Maybe it’s better that The Fugees never recorded a follow-up to The Score because it’s hard to imagine anything topping it
• The first ten Street Wars mixtapes were superb
• Jim Jones is, was, and always will be a terrible rapper, but his voice is great
• Not all MC’s should sing their own hooks (looking at you, J. Cole)
• Stillmatic should’ve stopped at 10 tracks too
• The D.O.C. should have been one of the all-time greats
• Diggin’ in the Crates (D.I.T.C.) crew deserved more publicity
• Hell on Earth > The Infamous barely (with Murda Muzik a very close third)
• Premier’s scratches are an instrument all their own
• Based on their post-Death Row output, there’s no way Daz ghost-produced anything for Dr. Dre
• LL is on two of the ten greatest posse cuts in history — “Flava in Ya Ear” [Remix] and “I Shot Ya” [Remix]

• The first Westside Connection album is an absolute classic
• Hittman’s ubiquity hurts the legacy of 2001
• What if Roc-A-Fella had stayed together?
• Relapse (and Refill) has aged well; Recovery has not
• Lupe Fiasco and Wale are two artists that I respect but find it difficult to enjoy
• If anyone else had made The 18th Letter, it would have been critically acclaimed, but Rakim had set the bar impossibly high for himself
• Even in this culture in which every song is available, far too many performances are overlooked
• Pete Rock and CL Smooth sounded perfect together like Snoop and Dre or Guru and Premier
• I still believe Slaughterhouse can make a classic LP
• More people should listen to Skyzoo
• I wish I knew more about music and producing so that I could better identify and describe sounds
• “Rap God” is amazing, but Em clearly jacked Big Pun’s flow on it
• Who’s better, Red or Meth? My opinion changes by the song
• “Troublesome ’96” proves ‘Pac was still getting better when he was killed
• Black Rob’s Life Story is underappreciated
• The Game’s obvious fandom was a refreshing change after hearing artists like Beanie Sigel and others say they never listened to hip-hop
• I would buy a Firm reunion album
• Still can’t believe Jermaine Dupri snagged Janet

and, finally…

• I’m old and the music has passed me by, but I’ll always love hip-hop

Christopher Pierznik’s nine books are available in paperback and Kindle. His work has appeared on XXL, Cuepoint, Business Insider, The Cauldron, Medium, Fatherly, Hip Hop Golden Age, and many more. Subscribe to his monthly newsletter or follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

To My iPod