10 Rap Cult Classics You Need to Hear (Part 1)

When this writer first had access to the Internet, the availability of cult classics, like the albums on this list, was eye-opening.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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In the 1990s and early 2000s, when rap fans first started writing and reading about hip-hop online, there was a sense among us that we were looking for something different.

Sure, we rocked with what was on the charts, too. But there was an excitement about the possibilities that the Internet had opened up. You could talk to fans from different regions and areas, trade music, find out about what tapes were hot in Texas, in the Bay, and which classics existed in Atlanta that hadn't received wider exposure. You could hear how the music changed from region to region.

We found out about cult classics, obscurities, and everything in between. Sure, some could fall down the rabbit hole and forget that whichever MC they'd found out about online was a fairly marginal figure, or a 6th-degree knockoff of a much more popular (and better) rapper. But as long as you kept perspective, the Internet let you see how much more was really out there.

In recent years, though, as tastes diversified and the number of channels providing music multiplied, it seemed like the music that was discussed became narrower in scope.

Instead, fans seek that sense of communal approval, of consensus. Without a single TRL/BET "mainstream" to react to, human nature seems to guide most hip-hop fans, whether through nostalgia or some lonely imperative, to a singular view of what's worth talking about (whether in favor or against). 

Reading about rap is different now. Not better or worse, per se. But when this writer first had access to the Internet, the availability of cult classics, like the albums on this list, was eye-opening. Many of them don't have much of a profile outside of their region, or amongst a certain group of hardcore fans. But they're definitely worth hearing.

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Mac Mall Illegal Business? (1993)

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Label: Young Black Brotha
Killer Cuts: "Sic Wit Tis," "Illegal Business," "Ghetto Theme"
See Also: Young Lay Black 'N Dangerous

Mac Mall was one of the standout stars on the Young Black Brotha record label, and his debut Illegal Business? remains one of hip-hop's most underrated LPs, at least on a national level. Young Black Brotha revolved around a small group of artists who, alongside E-40's Sic Wit It crew, would help define the popular sound of the Vallejo region in the mid-1990s. Producer Khayree did the bulk of the production. Amazingly, he cut his teeth making beats for the diamond-selling Vanilla Ice LP To The Extreme, producing songs like "Hooked" and "It's a Party." But he built his career working with the Young Black Brotha crew, included Ray Luv, whose Forever Hustlin' featured smooth summertime gem "Last Nite," and Young Lay, who released the excellent Black 'N Dangerous. Oh yeah, and future legend Mac Dre was also in the fold.

In the mid-1990s, though, it seemed like Mac Mall was the breakout star. Illegal Business? sold 200k independently, got MM a gig with Relativity Records for his sophomore effort, and was a favorite of Tupac, who offered to shoot the video for the album's second single, "Ghetto Theme." That song's mournful cry was less typical of the record than lead single "Sic WIt Tis." Dexterous party raps over Khayree's searing synthesizer-funk beats perfectly capture the platonic ideal of the era's sound. Meanwhile, the album's title track closed out the record with harrowing and dramatic narrative on par with any east coast classic.

Ghetto Mafia Draw the Line (1994)

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Label: Ichiban
Killer Cuts: "Life of a Sniper," "Everyday Thang In Da Hood," "Downtown Glory"
See Also: Kilo Ali Organized Bass

OutKast were emerging as national artists at the same time that Ghetto Mafia released their debut LP Draw the Line. OutKast's eccentricities made them stand out on a national scale. But as Ghetto Mafia built up their fanbase throughout the 1990s, they became one of Atlanta's definitive regional acts, never breaking through on a commercial level, but becoming hometown favorites. By the time of "Straight from the DEC," they proved that Decatur had its own place in the city's hip-hop scene.

The record's sound is close to the generalized street rap of the mid-1990s, when g-funk and hood cautionary tales became a dominant template throughout the South, the West Coast and the Midwest. In fact, Detroit MC Breed—who could easily claim a spot on this list himself for his 1993 LP The New Breed—showed up on Draw the Line for album highlight and single "Everyday Thang in the Hood." Nino and Wicked may have epitomized the mid-'90s "regional rap" style, but they also excelled at it; check Wicked's flawless double-time delivery on "A-Town." They hit the street rap template of early-mid '90s hard, railing against self-interested political figures ("Mr. President") while spitting the kind of cinematic street narratives that made hip-hop the best action movie that never was ("Downtown Glory," arguably a better flip of that sample than "I'm Kurious").

A.Z. Street Wise (1991)

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Suga Free Street Gospel (1997)

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Label: Island Black Music
Killer Cuts: "Why U Bullshittin'?," "If U Stay Ready," "Dip Da"
See Also: 2nd II None Classic 220

Suga Free is one of hip-hop's most original, most distinctive stylists. He's also a rapper who embodies contradictions, which makes him quintessentially hip-hop. He's a technically-dexterous rapper, with well-written lines precisely delivered. At the same time, he makes big, personality-filled gestures, a true character with a unique, exaggerated persona. He wasn't a pimp-rapper, he played a pimp, and did so with humor, insight and talent.

And as ever with hip-hop, the question of glorification vs. "portraying reality" is a major question. Again, Suga Free manages to have his cake and eat it too, at least for those willing to engage with his work in the first place. As much as pimp rap can glorify or trivialize some very real societal problems, Suga Free, particularly on his debut, manages to humanize the characters in his stories, even if those characters are only intermittently women. This is never more true than on the emotional tour de fore of "Dip Da" that closes the album, a story about abuse and family that strikes directly at the heart without sounding like a mea culpa.

Kam Neva Again (1993)

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E.S.G. Sailin' Da South (1995)

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Label: Perrion Entertainment, Priority Records
Killer Cuts: "Crooked Streets," "Swangin' and Bangin'," "Baller of the Year"
See Also: Fat Pat Ghetto Dreams

In the mid 2000s, just as hip-hop was starting to stumble a bit after its Billboard domination in the early '00s, Houston had a moment. What exactly this meant is arguable, but that city's scene did undeniably capture the media's attention. Suddenly, hip-hop fans across the country became fascinated by the funny punchlines of Lil Flip, Paul Wall, and Chamillionaire, the gives-no-fucks guerrilla marketing tactics and anti-rap style of Mike Jones, the beats by Salih Williams, and of course the growing legacy of DJ Screw. This moment had a major impact down the road, as the Internet played the telephone game with these regional sounds for future stars from A$AP Rocky to Drake.

E.S.G. was one of Houston's older, more established stars, and despite his prominent placing on Screw tapes, the vet duo from Port Arthur managed to grab onto more of that mainstream respectability than he did. E.S.G.'s first LP, Ocean of Funk, had some jams, but his follow-up, Sailin' Da South, has a higher hit rate. There was, of course, the unforgettable hook-y anthem "Swangin' and Bangin'," a true classic single. But there was also the seething "Baller of the Year," which had a lethargic swag even before Screw put his slowed spin on the record. There was "Crooked Streets," a song of paranoia and distrust that strikes a note melancholy resignation, rather than fear. And there was the record's one moment of relaxed warmth, a stoner's redux of "Float On," naturally titled "Smoke On."

Potna Deuce Heron Soup (1996)

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One Gud Cide Look What the Streets Made (1995)

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Concentration Camp II Da Halocaust (1998)

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Akinyele Vagina Diner (1993)

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