Skip to main content

Rap Expo Part 2: The Groups

·         G-Unit- 50 Cent and company were once a dominant force in rap. The group released their first album Beg For Mercy in 2003. It was a pretty good album. Their 2nd album Terminate on Sight, wasnt as good. In fact it was terrible. Solo wise, just about every member of G-Unit has found alot of success. Right now however, it seems now that their not on Shady Aftermath anymore, the group is a thing of the past.
B+
·         Wu-Tang Clan- I'm not a huge Wu-Tang fan, but i really like Ghostface Killah and Raekwon. They are great lyricist that are still relevant today. Wu Tang's latest album wasnt all that great(I heard) but its hard to say that the group is done....I'm not saying it. Their body of work in the past was very impressive such as their first album 36 Chambers.
B
·         Slaughterhouse- Royce Da 5'9, Joel Ortiz, Crooked I, and Joe Budden are known as a rap supergroup. Their first 2 albums were very good. Their most recent mixtape wasnt bad...but notthin special. Each one of these guys raps on a high level, and they seem to do better when Eminem shows up to assist.
B-
·         D-12- A group that predates Slaughterhouse, but isn't really on that level. D-12 consists of Eminem and some other guys. R.I.P. Proof. Eminem is easily the best member of D-12 and really the only reason they get recognition. The last D-12 album came out way back in 2004. The group has had some commercial success however.
C-
·         Black Hippy- Also known as the Top Dawg Entertainment, this is a west coast group. They are led by lyrical wordsmith Kendrick Lamar. The group also has Ab-Soul, a kind of West Coast Nas(wannabee lol), Jay Rock, and School Boy Q. The group has found major success in just 3 years and i predict they will do even better in the future. Yak YAK YAK!
A-
·         St. Lunatics- Nelly's group is ok, but honestly they may be one of rap's weakest crews. I like Murphy Lee too but that's about it. They are done, Nelly was a brightspot but he's done career wise too.
D-
·         Disturbing The Peace- I'm going to include Chingy and Shawna to this group. Ludacris is the leader of DTP and he did a great job of puttin his group members out there. Only since about 2010 did the paint begin to come off the walls however....This dirty south crew used to be one of rap's freshest groups.
B-
·         PSC- T.I.'s Pimp Squad Click is pretty lame...im not going to front. They've got one of the best rappers' ever in TI but aside from that the only bright spot is Young Dro, who's solo album came out in 2006. PSC might be the worst rap group i've listed here.
F
·         MMG- Rick Ross' group is decent. It consists of Wale, Meek Millz, and Omarion(the singer). They are ok, but all 3 of their albums are pretty forgettable. Rick Ross has proved to be one of the decade's best rappers, but the other members have a lot to prove....
C+
  The Roots-I've only been a Roots fan since 2010, but man oh man are they a great group. Their music is conscious and inspiring. They are led by one of rap's best lyricists, Black Thought. The other rappers aren't slouches either. Their latest album was rather dark and lyrically not all there, but it wasnt bad. When your that consistent you don't really wonder if they can make another good album.
A

Popular posts from this blog

Nas Albums Worst to Best

20)      Nastradamus (75)- It really shouldn’t be a surprise to see this one ranked so low. The lyricism isn’t abysmal but everything is pretty average. How does a song like “Big Girl” make it to a Nas album?? It’s just a boring album plain and simple….I don’t really have a lot to say about it. 19)          Street’s Disciple (82) -I hate having this one so low. I honestly like a lot of the songs on this double disc. Unfortunately there’s quite a bit of filler here just like with Jay-z’s Blueprint 2. Disc one has hits like “Nazareth Savage”, “American Way”, “ Just a Moment” and “ You Know My Style”. Disc 2 has some heat on it too: “Suicide Bounce”, the title track, “Virgo”, “Bridging the Gap” and “Thiefs Theme”.   18) T he Lost Tapes 2 (86) -This one I admit I haven’t heard that much…but its pretty decent. It gets off to a good start with songs like “Vernon Family” and “Jarreau of Rap (Skatt Attack)”. A lot of these songs are ok….but not muc...

Album Review: Kid Cudi-Insano (regular version)

 I gotta admit I didn't like this album that much when I first heard it over half a year ago. I've heard that Kid Cudi doesn't exactly play to his strengths....that's partly true. I do like his rapping here tho. Honestly most songs here kinda blend together....."Keep Bouncin'" is really hype....and it gets the album off to a good start. "At The Party" with Pharrell Williams and Travis Scott may be my favorite song. "Wow" with A$AP Rocky is another highlight. Overall tho I feel this album tries too hard to be trendy. Cudi needed to put more of his pain into it. I mean a happy Cudi album isn't a bad thing but it really seems odd to me. You're not getting alot of singing or hums here know what I mean? However the production I found to be very good. Cudi is one of my favorite rappers like top 20 and I guess this will do for 2024. Lyrics 20 Beats 23 Depth 21 Tilt 21 Verdict 85

Album Review: Lupe Fiasco's Tetsuo & Youth

Lupe has come back, and with a classic album. He seemed to be back on tracks with Food and Liquor II, but F&L2 wasn’t as fun to listen to as his earlier albums. Even LASERS was more fun. This album however, is very complex and fun to listen to. It’s also incredibly well produced. Lupe proves he’s still a top lyricist in the game. Check out his lyrical showcase on Mural, or storytelling on  Prisoner 1 & 2. He’s got a really long song called Chopper which features a lot of guests but its all good. The last song might be the weakest which features Ab-Soul. No Scratches feat. Nikki Jean is one of my favorite songs here. The interludes are pretty intersing, but ultimately skippable. This album is already up for album of the year, and honestly it will be hard for anyone to match this effort. The verdict... its 10/10 for me. This is a great album