Slick Rick

Rick the rulaa! The best storyteller in the biz, England-born Slick Rick had a hugely influential style that enlightened Snoop Dog, Tupac, Biggie, Nas, etc. He had a career de-railed by a trip to prison for shooting a innocent bystander in a crazy gunfight, was released, and took a while to collect his thoughts. The difference between 1998's classic The Great Adventures of Slick Rick and 1999's true sequel, The Art of Storytelling in terms of quality is nothing. They're both awesome. He's got a few scattershot albums out there, but on these he's just about the best there is in terms of flows, lyrics, hooks, and his cool, calm delivery.

Songs like "Children's Story" and "Mona Lisa" are two of the best songs in...aw hell, the entire pantheon of Western music. The Art of Storytelling has some classics too like "I Own America Pt. 1," "Street Talk (W/OutKast)," "Who Rotten 'Em," "2 Way Street" and "Unify (W/Snoop)." Thus making them both essential. Go buy/steal them. Just absorb them and compare all wack Mc's to Ricky D.

P.S. Slick Rick is now a landlord in the Bronx.

P.P.S. Slick Rick is probably a weird landlord.

(Left Click All Of These To Download)
MP3- Mona Lisa

MP3- I Own America

MP3- 2 Way Street

MP3- Children's Story

MP3- Unify (W/ Snoop Dogg)

MP3- Who Rotten 'Em?

MP3- Street Talkin' (W/ OutKast)

OutKast

The dilapidated state hip hop is in at the moment is mostly the cynical imagination of the disenfranchised music fan- there is dope shit out there, it's just not getting to the masses (like every genre, really). That said, hip hop needs heroes to rally around. Lil Wayne is amazing but polarizing, either you get him and love him or you lump him in with all the wack party rappers out there (for the record, I love Lil Wayne and think the fact that he's mainstream is a coup). No, we need more to enlighten the populous, we need to resurrect the dormant masters that the masses and the underground trust- OutKast. We need them to make people think about hip hop outside a party setting where it seems like words are clutter and the beat is king. They've been active lately releasing singles quietly and letting the internet masses hype it for them. Well they've been good to me over the years so I'll return the favor. 

On "Royal Flush" Big Boi and Andre 3000 sound hungry and ready to re-take the throne. Raekwon sounds equally determined and KILLS the second verse. If OutKast's new album is anywhere near as good as this song, we have a new classic on our hands. It sounds so refreshing to hear the boys spit out their words just like the old days with surgical precision and clarity.

MP3- Royal Flush Ft. Raekwon

In 2007, Andre made a big splash with his verses on UGK's International Player's Anthem, so here's that too (just so you're caught up). You might recognize this if you've heard Girl Talk's "Feed The Animals" because he begins and ends the mix with this song. 

MP3- International Player's Anthem Ft. OutKast

Though they've been taking their sweet time, the rumors are that Big Boi and Andre 3K are hitting us with solo albums as well as a collaborative effort in '09 so prepare to soil yourself at least 3 times in the coming months.