Two albums that aren't classics
So it looks like it's that time of year again. In a post at the graveyard that is Hip Hop Blogs, Hashim suggests TI's King is "a classic" and "an album we'll be enjoying a decade from now." Meanwhile, Ghostface Killah's Fishscale has received one of the most fawning reviews from Pitchfork since they let Sean "Hurricane" Fennessey review Late Registration.
As much as I hate to interrupt happy time, I'm going to have to call bullshit on this one. Both of these albums are pretty good as far as modern rap albums are concerned, but neither one of them is really worth more than maybe an 8 out of 10. I definitely wouldn't refer to either one of them as a classic.
As I mentioned in the comments at Hip Hop Blogs, the last 6 tracks on the TI album are pure unadulterated shit. And it's not like the first 12 constituted Illmatic either. The Ghostface album, on the other hand, is just kinda meh throughout. I like it well enough, but I can't believe people are comparing it to Supreme Clientele. Bulletproof Wallets might be a more apt comparison.
One fellow in the comments to my Fishscale review wondered if the "Haterade" had gotten the best of me. I can assure you this isn't the case. Just because there's been a dearth of listenable rap albums these past couple of years doesn't mean we can arbitrarily declare any old half-assed album that comes out a classic. That kind of logic only applies to dating.
For more hip-hop related madness, you might want to check out my posts so far this week at XXL, especially today's post about Jay-Z.
And on an unrelated note (mostly), the Lesbo Johnson incident continues to play out elsewhere in the blogosphere. Perhaps I'll revisit it later in the week.
- Bol vs. The World [jimbrah izrael]
- Blogging While Black Backlash [gay brotherlove]
- Blogging While Black? [The Couch Sessions]
Oh, and I wrote a post today for the infamous Weed Carriers blog. I may add links to it in the sidebar so people can keep up. These are heady times in the weed carrier community to say the least.
No homo.
