Best Music Runs in Recent History

As I was driving into work a few days ago I had an internal monologue with myself. I said "Self...who has the best run of albums in your lifetime?" And for the life of me I couldn't come up with a definitive answer. I looked for some music writer who has sat down and reviewed the music and written a thoughtful look into what I thought was a pretty interesting query. Well then I had another internal conversation with myself. I said "self, people suck for the most part. You should write it because hey at least you'll like the writer of the list." Thus my dive into the music of my playlists, thoughts and twitter feed happened, and the following list was birthed. Enjoy. Or don't. It's a free country. 

Ludacris: Back for the First Time, Word of Mouf, Chicken N Beer.

There may not be a more entertaining rapper to me than Ludacris. An example of this? Why look no further than his song "Ho" from Back for the First Time. Is it problematic? You bet. That however does not take away from the sheer hilarity of the song to me. 

"Y'all professional like DJ Clue, pulling on my coat tail

An why do you think you take a ho to a hotel?
Hotel everybody, even the mayor
Reach up in the sky for the ho-zone layer"

"Ho" aside, you have What's Your Fantasy, Phat Rabbit, and the ultimate banger Southern Hospitality. Throw Word of Mouf and Chicken N Beer in and you have 3 albums with nary a skippable track. 

MVP Track of the Run: Stand Up

T.I.: Trap Muzik, Urban Legend, King

Tip catches a lot of hell for using big ass words almost as if he had a word of the day calendar and had to use the newfound vocabulary immediately. That said, I cam remember the first time I heard a single from Clifford. I was in the lounge of my dorm, BET was on and the video for Be Easy came on. From the moment you hear the piano and his southern drawl it was just this cool ass video with a rapping ass dude with a too big shirt on and a hat that somehow balanced on the side of his head like Adebisi from Oz (Google the character, not the show). The next album gives us U Don't Know, ASAP, and Bring Em Out. May not have been the music critic's fave or the darling of the backpack crowd but put on TIP and you'll be hard pressed to skip any tracks.

MVP Track of the Run: Be Easy

Kanye West: College Dropout, Late Registration, Graduation, 808s and Heartbreak, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

This one hurts to put on here. Because since their release dates Yeezy has become damn near unrecognizable. And a lot of my disappointment in the man comes from me projecting things onto him that he may not have felt himself. THAT said, his first five albums are as close to perfect production wise that I have heard. All Falls Down, Jesus Walks, Get Em High, Spaceship, Through the Wire and we haven't even gotten to Late Registration and Graduation which gave us Diamonds from Sierra Leone, Touch the Sky, Stronger, and on and on and on. We get to 808s and MBDTF, which were a change in his sound but gave us Love Lockdown, Paranoid, Heartless, Power, Devil in a New Dress and Flashing Lights, a song so good it played at my wedding. Numerous times.

MVP Track of the Run: Devil In A New Dress

Jay-Z: The Blueprint, The Blueprint 2, The Black Album

Jay-Z's best album to me, which if we're being honest is the only opinion that matters since I'm writing this was probably Reasonable Doubt. That said, the best run of albums for the Jigga Man was from the Blueprint to the Black Album. From the Blueprint when you say The Ruler's Back is the weakest track on an album, that's not a knock on the track, it just goes to show how damn amazing that album is! Then we get the Blueprint 2: The Gift and The Curse which successfully did something most double albums can't, and give us completely different moods and feelings on different discs. Not just a random assorting of songs just to fill out the cds. And what should have been his swan song, the Black Album. Just an amazing album, Change Clothes, Threat, 99 Problems, and if it had been his last album My First Song is probably the best damn send off of any artist regardless of genre. 

MVP Track of the Run: Takeover

Outkast: THE WHOLE DAMN DISCOGRAPHY

I tried to come up with what would be Outkast's run by album and I couldn't do it. You know why? Because everything they have put out is the hottest of fire. And if you disagree, go argue with your mama so she can tell you that you're an idiot too. Player's Ball, Southernplayalisticadilacmuzik, Elevators, Da Art of Storytelling, Rosa Parks, B.o.B, and I have barely cracked into their wallet of hits baby! I understand that music is subjective, and it's quality is determined by the listener. That said there are exceptions to every rule, and if one does not like Outkast, I do not trust you in the slightest. Andre was out here dressing in furry pants and shoulder pads and dropping hotter verses than anybody on this mortal coil. And Big Boi? If you look up "rapping ass bastard" in the dictionary it will be a picture of Antwan Patton. Because that is a rapping ass bastard. Every Kast album has it's own feel and sound that is nothing like the previous one. Hell, they don't even have singles that resemble each other! Diverse array of tracks? Check. Impeccable production? Check. Consistent verbal excellence? CHECK! 

MVP of the Run: Da Art of Storytellin' Feat. Slick Rick

Better than your favorites.

Well folks, there you have it, the unsolicited opinion of a man who often has long form conversations with himself during his commute. So let me know what your favorite run of albums may be, I realize mine are all hip-hop but damn it that's what I listen to. So until next post, ya'll be easy. Peace.