10. KMD – Black Bastards

KMD was one group in the New York scene whose time was cut far too short. Nowadays, KMD records are revisited by indie-hip hop fans who have discovered the glorious intellect of MF Doom, but before he was Doom, he was Zev Love X. He and his brother, DJ Subroc, created their second album and its controversial cover between just the two of them. Along with creating the album, they perfected the jazzy, gritty New York style that every artist was going for at this point.

Maybe everybody doesn’t own this record, but I feel that soon enough, it will develop cult status due to Doom’s rising popularity. Tracks like “What a Niggy Know”, “Sweet Premium Wine”, and “Plumskinz” took the slummy New York feel to a new level of lo-fi rap music, and this material was rawer than anything else being produced in 1993. However, the album hardly saw the light of day due to controversy over the lyrics and cover, though it eventually got a release several years down the road. But it perfected the New York style…if only for a moment.

Some things are meant to be heard, and this album is one of them.

9.  Mobb Deep – The Infamous

In The Rolling Stone Guide to Albums, the critic described this album as a “dark and deserted Queensbridge playground.” This is an accurate description. In my article for CoS a year or so back, I called it “Mobb Deep’s sole achievement.” This also might be seen as accurate, depending on your opinion of the group’s later material. Whether or not those are your thoughts, it’s hard to deny that this album is one of the finest to come out of New York.

For one, consider the collaborations. Raekwon the Chef was featured on two tracks, and one of them also featured Nas (“Eye for an Eye”). Ghostface showed up at one point, Big Noyd had two tracks, and oh yeah, they got Q-Tip to sing about boozing it up on “Drink Away the Pain”. Yes, these are all exceptional guests, but the Infamous Mobb Deep themselves produced some of their best raps on this album, like “Shook Ones Pt. II”, “Survival of the Fitt”, and “Cradle to the Grave”, with Havoc’s bone-chilling production, and his and Prodigy’s young and fresh flows. All their creepy samples, extremely violent lyrics, and even their art-school demeanor did indeed change up the rap game on the 41st side, as such violence and intellect had yet to be paired up on a record as honest as this one.

Mobb Deep may have gone from dark truths to club anthems, but this album certainly stands out as one of the finest to come from the Big Apple and paints the most accurate picture of Queensbridge.

8.  Jay-Z – The Blueprint

I can honestly say that it was not easy to pick which Jay-Z album to put on here. Whether you love him or hate him, it’s undeniable that he’s one of the kings of modern rap music. At this point, Hova was a force to be reckoned with in NYC, having a beef with Nas and claiming that Roc-a-Fella Records was the start of a new era. While I loved his old style on Reasonable Doubt and thought he exceeded many expectations on The Black Album, this record seems to illustrate Jay-Z’s entire mission statement…he’s taking over.

On this album, Jigga’s presence became much more apparent. He was here as the new king of the NYC rap scene, and he seemed quite aware of his rise in status. He announced his conquering on “The Takeover”, declared himself the 8th wonder of the world, and his new nickname on “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)”, and he also showed his bad-boy side by teaming up with Eminem on “Renegade”. This was a new era for New York, and Jay-Z wanted to carry the torch whether we liked it or not.

And that’s what good rappers are supposed to do: take over.

7.  Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

It’s hard to talk about this record modestly, because it’s probably my personal favorite hip-hop album of all time. It’s safe to say (under author Jason Hartley’s criteria) that the Wu-Tang Clan is a very advanced form of NYC hip hop. However, before the clothing line, solo projects, film scores, film appearances, video games (!), stocks, bonds, and opening of Wu-Tang Financial, the Clan was underground, raw, and one of the most hardcore groups with a debut that pretty much blew everybody’s minds (and continues to do so).

Consider Inspectah Deck’s opening line: “I rip it hardcore like porno flick bitches.” This pretty much set the standards for the entire album. It was dirty, bleak, and dark, but also sonically beautiful and intellectual. “C.R.E.A.M.” will remain one of hip hop’s staples as long as the genre is popular. “Bring Da Ruckus” is the most bad-ass song the group put together, proving they were the ninjas of NY that you didn’t want to mess with. And tracks like “Da Mystery of Chessboxing” and “Protect Ya Neck” showed how diverse and smart all nine of these guys from the five Burroughs were.

By the end of this record, you realize that Wu-Tang Clan really was something not to mess with, and that they will forever lurk in the shadows of the Staten Island alleyways (and our collective subconscious).

6.  Nas – Illmatic

I don’t think any rappers have ever made an album as honest and pure as this– especially in New York City. Nas was still a young kid when he made this record, and was years away from trying to fight Bill O’Reilly, spread the word of African genocide, or do violent duets with Puff Daddy (anybody remember “Hate Me Now”?). At this time, Nas was just a young man with some things on his mind. But those things would go onto be some of the most sincere and sociological rhymes to ever come out of New York.

“NY State of Mind” collectively binds the album – and in the first five minutes, no less. “Nothing’s equivalent to the New York state of mind,” Nas tells us, and with an album like this as his debut, you know he means it. Tracks like “The World is Yours” demonstrate one’s ability to rise up. “Memory Lane” paints a portrait of the yesteryear of a city that has continued to inspire and dazzle. And “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” is by far the most honest and poetic depiction of the city one could locate while exploring hip-hop.

Somebody much wiser than myself once said, “You have your whole life to make your first album, and one year to make your second.” This could not be much more truthful when it comes to Nas, as his first album was filled with the poetic grit and honesty that truly demonstrates the NY state of mind.

5. Notorious B.I.G. – Ready to Die

It should be noted that when this album came out, people had no idea who Big Poppa was. In the years since Biggie’s life and death, this album has reached an iconic status in hip hop folklore. Notorious B.I.G. was said to be a larger-than-life MC, and this album demonstrates that in true New York fashion, with jazzy, almost aquatic sounding beats (“Big Poppa” has always made me feel as though I were submerged in water), and a smooth, velvet-like flow that could lull you to sleep.

Consider how many classic Biggie songs are actually on this album. Tracks like “Juicy”, “Big Poppa”, “Warning”, and “Gimme the Loot” all still get played regularly at clubs, bars, parties, and even in the movies (not to mention in all the kids’ cars). But then you have songs on here that express Biggie’s deeper and more intellectual side, like “Machine Gun Funk”, “The What”, and “Everyday Struggle”. Biggie wasn’t just a hit producing, sellout gangster; he was a smart man with a lot of great and beautiful things to say about the way things really were (or still are?).

Biggie was a gangster, a poet, a teddy bear, and a genius all rolled up into one Philly Blunt of pure New York hip-hop.

4. A Tribe Called Quest – The Low End Theory

According to Chris Rock, “They never got to this level again.” Amongst the Tribe fan base, that might be arguable, but I have to agree with Mr. Rock on this matter. The Low End Theory was the point in NYC hip hop where its sound got perfected. Q-Tip and Fife have always had some of the best voices and flows within the history of the genre, and their production sounded so raw, yet crisp at the same time.

It was here that the jazz-based hip-hop really took on a form of its own. Prior to this, rock, soul, funk, and Motown had all been sampled quite regularly, but nothing as lush and smooth as The Low End Theory had ever graced the streets of New York. “Check the Rhyme” will always be one of the band’s most signature and autobiographical tracks. “Verses From the Abstract” was the moment where Q-Tip went from rapper to lyricist extraordinaire. “Jazz (We’ve Got)” emphasized truly how much their style was shifting. And the appearance of Busta Rhymes on tracks like “Buggin’ Out” and the action-packed finale “Scenario” seemed not only appropriate but essential to the album’s overall punch.

People who don’t even like rap can still enjoy The Low End Theory; it’s practically a prerequisite for being a person.

3. Beastie Boys – Licensed to Ill

I don’t know how much I can really say about this album, other than the fact that I don’t think my life would be complete without it. Anybody who listens to the Beasties religiously knows the story: Rick Rubin teamed up with one of New York’s (practically failing) hardcore punk bands, turned them on to rap (which was where they were heading anyways), and made them superstars. Yes, this story is all good and true, but it’s not what’s important here when discussing why Licensed to Ill is amazing.

What the Beastie Boys brought forth on this album was the punk rock attitude and aesthetic (no kids, Odd Future is not the first). They were bratty and immature, causing chaos and fighting for their right to party, and at the same time, slapping together samples from Led Zeppelin, Joan Jett, and a few obnoxious licks of their own (I am obviously referring to “Girls”). Hip hop was all about the harsh realities of life, but the Beastie Boys breathed a bit of fun into the mix. With jams like “Paul Revere”, “Rhyming and Stealing”, and “Slow and Low”, they forged their own breed of rap. And they hit the big times, creating chart-topping singles like “No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn”, “Fight for your Right (To Party)”, and “Brass Monkey”, all of which still get constant airplay to this day.

With Hot Sauce Committee Part II out and the release of Fight for Your Right (Revisited), it’s easy to see that the Beastie Boys have been making important records for years.

2. Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back

Rap has always been about social change and stating the hard realities of life, but I don’t think anybody was more brutally honest than Public Enemy on their 1988 release. Produced by Rick Rubin (God, this guy is everywhere), this album featured some of the best work from the iconic Flavor Flav, the uber-intellectual Chuck D, and the cutting-edge hands of Terminator X. In the past few years, Chuck D has become a very active political voice in America, while Flavor Flav has had specials on Comedy Central and VH1, but here was the point where their youth and abilities were fresh.

For one, this album features the first version of “Bring Da Noise”, a song Anthrax would later collaborate with them on, that would go on to change the history of rock and roll. Chuck D told us not to listen to the news on “Don’t Believe the Hype”, and things got pretty intense on jams like “She Watches Channel Zero?!”. The fact remains that this was an extremely hard album for its time. At this point, NWA was on the West Coast causing a stir, but Public Enemy were stomping their feet louder, harder, and with wiser words all over New York City.

(I like to imagine that this is what Spike Lee’s character Radio Raheem (of 1989′s Do the Right Thing) had in his boombox prior to the “Fight the Power” single…it would explain why he was so hard.)

1. Run-DMC – Raising Hell

“Kings from Queens/From Queens comes Kings/Raising hell like a class when the lunch bell rings” are the first lines of the title track to one of hip hop’s first masterpieces. There were most certainly other New York rappers and albums that came before and that helped make progress, but Raising Hell was the first rap album to do something unfathomable: invade the public’s homes. Chris Rock once called it “the first great rap album ever,” and he honestly wasn’t too far from the truth.

Rick Rubin’s production has always been appreciated within the New York hip hop community, and on this album, he really shined through. But of course, the real talent came from Run, DMC, and their superstar DJ, Jam Master Jay. They spit lines about their shoes (“My Adidas”), how hard Queens was (“Raising Hell”), the over-abundance of female fans invading their personal lives (“It’s Tricky”), how despite being rappers, they were the kings of rock (“Hit it Run”), not to mention that they also covered Aerosmith. It was abundantly clear that this was a group not to be messed with.

But at the same time, something was enjoyable and friendly about Run-DMC. As raw as Raising Hell was, it was 100% accessible, and it was off the streets of New York City. Why was it so easy to just bring Run-DMC into our homes, though? At the time when this came out, rap music was all about expressing the truths of the ghetto, the class struggle the black community faced, and how to get down and groove. What Run-DMC brought to it was something that became the staple of New York hip hop: intellectual lyrical expression. This album maintained the sort of gangster appeal and combined it with pop sensibility by rapping about things that were interesting, engaging, and even kind of funny at times. Run-DMC made New York hip hop what it is today.

When anybody starts listening to hip hop, one of the first groups one automatically learns is awesome is Run-DMC. And this album is a testament to show that. I’ll be passing this one onto my children at some point because everybody needs to hear this album just to understand the building blocks and foundations of hip-hop. Plus, this is what set up the New York state of mind, and whenever you’re in the city, it’s important to understand that.

Honorable Mentions:

• Erik B. and Rakim – Paid in Full: One of the most important albums in the history of hip hop. Unfortunately, not one I see on too many people’s iPods.
• The Fugees – The Score: Not entirely from New York, but a staple of jazz hip hop from the Tri-State area nonetheless.
• De La Soul – Buhloon Mindstate: Their finest hour, raw and totally underrated.
• LL Cool J – Mama Said Knock You Out: It was hard to leave this one off my top 10 (I did, after all, only have 10), but this record had been buried in the stacks, which is too bad, because it’s amazing.
• GZA – Liquid Swords: I could have had a whole list for just Wu-Tang records, but this one was by far the best solo effort from the group.
• Gravediggaz – 6 Feet Deep: RZA and Prince Paul in a group rapping about zombies and sniffing glue? Where do I sign up?