I don't have the wealth of knowledge that some do on this but from what I've heard they would be:
1. Mr Lif - I Phantom/Emergency Rations
2. Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow/Nia
3. Brother Ali - Shadows on the Sun
4. Akrobatik - Balance
5. Aesop Rock - Labor Days
6. Sage Francis - Personal Journals
7. Black Star - Black Star
8. Eyedea & Abblities - First Born/E&A/Oliver Hart
9. The Perceptionists - Black Dialogue
10. Immortal Technique - Rev 1 & 2 (when he's not talking about killing fetus's and talking shit, he has some intelligent things to say).
I'm waiting for some of the real heads to put their lists down so i can put some more albums on my hit list.
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"The Capitol of this rugged slang is WU-TANG, Witty Unpridictable Talent And Natural Game". GZA
I don't like Immortal Technique very much, and I've never really listened to Blackalicious, but aside from that good. I'd definitely have the Mr. Lif, Aesop, Blackstar and Akrobatik albums
Here's 10 +1 that haven't been mentioned but deserve to;
Cunninlynguists - Southernunderground
El-P - Fantastic Damage
C Rayz Walz - Year Of The Beast
Jean Grae - This Week
Edan - Beauty And The Beat
Mos Def - The New Danger
Zion I - Deep Water Slang Version 2.0
Hieroglyphics - Full Circle
Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein
Viktor Vaughn - Vaudeville Villain
Aceyalone - Accepted Electric
I just got Brother Ali "Shadows on the sun", I've heard a few of his tracks like "Self taught", "Three day journey" and "Forest Whitiker" and was stunned by how good he is. As most of you know the album is awesome, he is brutally honest (which is laking in hip hop) and very articulate. My standout tracks are "Room with a view", "Win some lose some", "Blah blah blah", "Forest Whitiker", "Back stage pacin" and "Dorian". As you can see i have quite a few favorites, the whole album is great - no skip tracks for me. After hearing Eyedea and Brother Ali, Rhymesayers is my second favorite label after Def Jux, i hear they have some other artists that are worth a listen to so i'm gonna check them out in time. If i was reviewing Brother Ali's album i'd give it a 5/5, i really respect emcees that can be this honest and the production on the album is top notch.
I found a site with a great Brother Ali interview along with countless other artists you guys might be interested in, enjoy:
KMC Community Forums
Jun 8th, 2005 03:40 AM
