I started off this year with around 1000 followers and now I have 50k. This community goes the most crazy THANK YOU

For an insight into how I ended up on here, here's a list of albums (whose scores add up to 50) essential in getting me deeper into hip hop.

A thread:

DAMN (8)

I grew up in the “party” era meaning most of the music I listened to was decided by what was on the radio or a popular playlist purely so I could keep up with what was hot. Besides that I never had the disposable income to afford albums when I was younger.

Yt Converter held me down when I needed songs but rarely albums. Music wasn’t my priority as a kid. DAMN changed that. Fresh off finally having a premium spotify (unless you've had an advert play while you have a girl over you'll never know my pain) I decided to check it out

At the time I wasn't a big fan of Kendrick at all. I liked his singles I had heard on the radio but trying to get into his albums was difficult for someone whose ears at the time were tuned for just straight bangers. This is why DAMN is such a special album to me. In 2017 DAMN

was replayed by me just as much as banger albums like Culture. It had a commercial approach that was immediately easy for me to digest but also had layers to it that opened my eyes to how satisfying deciphering subtle complexities and hidden meanings in music can be.

DAMN helped mature my ears and I was able to go back to GKMC & TPAB - and any other album - and truly appreciate them for their art.

The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (10)

One of my favourite albums of all time, I first found out about the album via a vine of two girls covering Doo Wop. The song was so catchy that I had to find out where it was from. I remember having the album on in the background at Uni while

I played my ps4. I didn't pay it my full attention but Doo Wop continued to stick with me on repeat for weeks until one day I sat down and listened to the album in full. The album blew my mind by how catchy but densely emotive & knowledgable every song was.

The Score (10)

After enjoying Lauryn's performance on TMOLH immensely I was hungry for more, so the Fugees was next. At this point The Score & TMOLH were now the oldest hip hop records I ever listened to. Although it was released in 1996 it sounded so fresh and not dated at all.

The songs were rooted in powerful themes and narratives of independent thought and rebellion yet, quite like what Lauryn would go on to achieve two years after it's release, no melody was sacrificed to achieve this level of substance. Every song was memorable and amazing.

Reasonable Doubt (10)

Blueprint was actually the gateway album for me as the first listen to RD pretty much went over my head. Blueprint was easier to digest and I replayed that mf constantly. However going back to RD was just different.

If Blueprint had taught me a little more about Jay Z - his style, his persona, his skill - RD had taken me to the root: Jay Z in his rawest form. The coke bars, the wordplay and double entendres, all of it now made sense. My ears now caught all these things better than ever.

Illmatic (10)

I took my time getting into Illmatic. Although my ears were now better adjusted to 90's hiphop, the anticipation of digesting the most highly regarded hip hop album of all time was something I took seriously. When I was sure my ears wouldn't have a bias against it

I went into it. Everything about this album shocked me. Like Jay Z had done on RD, Nas was able to convey philosophies in ways I had never heard anyone do before, the imagery of cheetahs, assassins, a jailed man reading a letter, drinking Medusa under the table.. I saw all of it.

Total Xanarchy (2)

There's nothing good about this album. It's just so trash that it makes me appreciate how good music can actually be.

Thanks again for fw me mf’s I appreciate it a lot. I never came on here wanting anything but to share some opinions, I’m more grateful for the people behind the numbers than the number itself.

End of thread.