Built around brutal honesty, the refusal to smile, to give in, and one guitar layered on top of another, ‘Siamese Dream’ is dense and emotionally taxing, even three decades later.
Read moreEric B. & Rakim’s ‘Follow the Leader’ Turns 35 | Album Anniversary
While the duo’s debut LP ‘Paid in Full’ (1987) remains the stronger overall album, Rakim’s lyrical performance on ‘Follow the Leader’ is arguably superior.
Read moreFat Joe’s Debut Album ‘Represent’ Turns 30 | Album Anniversary
Although those involved in its creation would not quite have realized it at the time, everything about ‘Represent’ drips with the aesthetics of a classic early ‘90s hip-hop album.
Read moreLightnin’ Rod’s ‘Hustlers Convention’ Turns 50 | Album Anniversary
A revolutionary release for its time, few albums had so thoroughly documented life on the margins in the ghettos across the country so viscerally and without varnish.
Read moreCanibus’ ‘Rip The Jacker’ Turns 20 | Album Anniversary
Canibus’ peak achievement as an artist to date, ‘Rip The Jacker’ finds the gifted emcee delivering a fair share of top-notch lyrical exhibitions, further elevated by Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind’s agile production work.
Read moreRasco’s Debut Album ‘Time Waits For No Man’ Turns 25 | Album Anniversary
Rasco’s commitment to making superior, uncompromised music resulted in a superior, uncompromised album that both walked the walk and talked the talk.
Read moreThreat’s Debut (and Only) Album ‘Sickinnahead’ Turns 30 | Album Anniversary
Threat’s lone album ‘Sickinnahead’ is something special, and it would have been gratifying to see how he could have followed it up.
Read moreCypress Hill’s ‘Black Sunday’ Turns 30 | Album Anniversary
Even 30 years later, Cypress Hill’s sophomore LP remains hard to classify, and feels darker and less accessible than their eponymous debut album that preceded it.
Read moreCatherine Wheel’s ‘Chrome’ Turns 30 | Album Anniversary
While ‘Chrome’ bears many of the hallmarks of early 1990s rock, a convincing case can be made that it’s a quintessential rock album that holds its own, independent of time.
Read moreThe Hold Steady’s ‘Stay Positive’ Turns 15 | Album Anniversary
The Hold Steady’s great promise is redemption. But you can’t have redemption without belief in that which promises to redeem you. ‘Stay Positive’ is an album for believers.
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