As 50 years of Hip Hop recently came to a closing, many albums have come and gone yet few have remained to test time. Here is a rundown of 5 classic albums that have soldiered its Hip Hop and rap’s legacy as a strong and vivid way of storytelling.

Ready to Die —- The Notorious B.I.G 

Release Date: (September 13th, 1994)

This lyricist is your rapper’s favorite rapper, B.I.G’s storytelling is a form of which many have tried to duplicate yet even the best can only intimidate. “Ready to Die” is one of extreme excellence and a masterful mix of mainstream music hits such as “Juicy”, “Big poppa” and “one more chance” to flexing his lyrical prowess.

Seen on tracks such as “warning” and “gimme the loot”. With a “kickback” flow and intricate wordplay. a skill few have yet to match on the same level to this day. This album had given us a line on what a hit debut album should consist of, a rugged production to thought provoking songs and storytelling, along with a persective into his world. “Ready to Die” would be the only album released during his lifetime as on March 9th 1997. He was assassinated while on a visit to Los Angeles to promote his second album. Another classic called Life after death  in the midst of conflict between East and west Coast hip hop labels.

Ready to die gives a chilling perspective of ones view of the world and leaving his mark long after he died. Before we jump into later on, we must go back a few months for what inspired B.I.G and the other artists on this article.

Illmatic —- Nas

Released: (April 19th, 1994)

Earlier in 1994, while B.I.G was recording his debut album, Just a few months earlier, a young 20 year old from Queens bridge named Nasir Jones dropped an album that would become one of the best albums of all time and even inspiring rap icons The Notorious B.I.G and Jay-Z.

Originally working on it around 16 years old, for four years he wrote about life in Queens, although originally from Brooklyn, he uses fantastic storytelling about an era of New York of major gang rivalries, desolation and ravages of urban poverty. To extend] its legacy, Nas had changed and make iconic phrases yet also expanding on how instead of one producer there would be several producers, revised the east coast sound of Hip hop and set a high bar for ambition drive. Illmatic has stamped its bar for changing the hip hop game permanently.

Reasonable Doubt —- Jay-Z

Released: (June 25th, 1996)

Many Know Jay-Z as an icon, a billionaire and a force in the music industry yet back in 1996, he was Shawn Carter. Carter was already rapping for years with local singles in Brooklyn yet it was this album that made him a name to be reckoned with.

It was a massive shift from the popular music released by The Notorious B.I.G’s record label, Bad Boy Records or the household label Def Jam. Carter’s debut album consisted of tracks about life in Brooklyn, hustling, Friends and Foes and an era of crack cocaine running rampant in New York.

Reasonable Doubt is an album that insights into a man from dangerous housing projects in Brooklyn to becoming a worldwide star and one who would become an icon that would start a legacy which has stood over twenty years and has stood the test of time.

The Infamous —- Mobb Deep

Released: (April 25th, 1995)

Mobb Deep was a duo from Queensbridge, New York, where fellow Illmatic rapper Nas was raised. Mobb Deep’s second album is a classic treasure that also played a role in shifting hip hop production.

The duo’s dark style being defined by its haunting melodies, rugged beats and thought provoking lyrics on crime in inner city neighborhoods in New York. Furthermore, the album is credited with redefining hardcore hip hop by using eerie piano loops, distorted synthesizers and minimal filtered baselines. It is an album that divulges into the ruggedness of New York and putting Queens as a major spot for Hip Hop Music as well as being a great blueprint for the production of instrumentals.

Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)

Released: (November 9th, 1993)

Wu Tang Clan is a name synonymous for many with being called one of the greatest hip hop groups of all time yet it could have very well not have happened. Before the formation, young men from Staten island and Brooklyn were torn between music and crime as ways to survive. Amid the dangers and excesses that came with the crack cocaine epidemic at that time, a group of nine MC’s Craft one of the best debuts of all time.

The album created a new standard for hip hop at a time when hip hop music was dominated by the jazz-influenced styles and the rise of west coast music, combined with telling stories with serious and witty verses to battle rhymes and a mix of humor along with tales of urban violence and drug use, Their debut album was designed to be an impact and assertive to establish the band as a force to be reckoned within the music industry that has stood the test of time.