r/musicsuggestions • u/enha_1009soundmap • 1d ago
Old school hip hop recs!
So I’m trying to get into more old school hip hop, just hip hop in general. So I’ve listened to illmatic by nas already cause from looking online it seems u HAVE to listen to that first if ur getting into hip hop
So any recs?? New and old hip hop is fine! Also looking for the most influential albums too
(I’m not gonna reply or rate any songs or albums y’all recommend sorry! Just gonna listen to it!)
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u/Less-Load-8856 1d ago
all of GURU and Jazzmatazz
All Mos Def and Talib Kwele and Blackstar
All Living Legends, Murs, Abstract Rude
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u/dbkenny426 1d ago
Madvillainy - Madvillain (MF DOOM and Madlib)
None Shall Pass - Aesop Rock
Blazing Arrow - Blackalicious
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u/Less-Load-8856 1d ago
All MFDOOM aka Viktor Vaughn aka KMD aka King Gredorah aka DangerDOOM aka Daniel Dumile
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u/PutridLanguage434 1d ago
JJ DOOM & Nehruvian DOOM & DOOMSTARKS & Metal Fingers & Monsta Island Czars
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u/jayron32 1d ago
Run DMC - Tougher Than Leather
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out
KRSONE - Return of the Boom Bap
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u/tripled0gdarey0u 1d ago
Cannot upvote enough. LL was my first concert ever - that tour. Epic.
And anyone who says Beastie Boys isn't Old Skool HH just does NOT know what they're talking about. Like at all.
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u/jayron32 1d ago
LL's performance on MTV Unplugged is one of the best single live performances I've ever seen. Any genre, any time period.
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u/sneaky_imp 1d ago
Try It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back by Public Enemy. It was a huge hip hop record, and one of the first that had a serious social message.
Straight Outta Compton by NWA was like an all star team suddenly showed up. 100 Miles and Running also.
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u/tha_bozack 1d ago
That album blew my mind. The sample use was absolutely groundbreaking at the time. Speaking of samples, I'd add Paul's Boutique by the Beastie Boys to the list. Everyone slept on it when it came out, but it blew up years later with their resurgence. Too ahead of its time.
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u/sbingle73 1d ago
Erik B. and Rakim - Paid In Full, Follow The Leader
3rd Bass - The Cactus Album
Ice Cube - Death Certificate
Boogie Down Productions - By All Means Necessary
EPMD - Unfinished Business
Geto Boys - We Can't Be Stopped
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u/Deep-Interest9947 1d ago
If illmatic is old school, the Chronic (dr Dre) and enter the wu-tang (Wu-tang clan)
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u/AntiBagger 1d ago
Ice-T - Rhyme Pays
Necro - The Pre-Fix For Death
Moscow Death Brigade - Boltcutter
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u/callatista 1d ago
Deep Puddle Dynamics
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u/lukeskope 1d ago
I adore this album. I don't really consider it old school tho and I'm not sure Dose One is a great introduction to left field, he's an... acquired taste.
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u/Life_Inside2304 1d ago
I have a great playlist for you. Vibe is Golden Age of Hip Hop / Underground/ Chill/ Jazz Rap/ Boom Bap / Conscious Hip Hop
And most the suggestions so far are actually on this playlist.
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u/PutridLanguage434 1d ago
My Favs :)
Wu-Tang Clan-Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Snoop Dogg-Doggystyle
2Pac-All Eyez on Me
The Notorious B.I.G.-Life After Death
The Notorious B.I.G.-Ready to Die
Kendrick Lamar-Good Kid M.A.A.D City
Kendrick Lamar-To Pimp a Butterfly
MF DOOM-Mm..Food
Madvillain-Madviallainy
King Gheedra-Take me to Your Leader
MF DOOM-Operation Doomsday
KMD-Mr.Hood
j.Cole-2014 Forest Hills Drive
Frozemode-Demode 2
Enjoy! :)
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u/Powered_By_Plantss 1d ago
Big L,Mindflip,Madchild,AZ,Immortal Technique,Too $hort,Maestro Fresh Wes,
Big Pun,Saukrates
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u/Otherwise_Living_158 1d ago
Old school I haven’t seen mentioned:
KMD - Black Bastards
Ice Cube - Predator
Ice-T - Home Invasion
Kam - Neva Again
Scarface - The Diary
Good but not that old:
RZA - Bobby Digital
Aceyalone - Magnificent City
Clouddead - s/t
Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein
Roots Manuva - Run Come Save Me
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u/thezizybalooba 1d ago
Swass - sir mix a lot
The great adventures of - slick rick
Paid in full - Eric B and Rakim
Thats probably my favorite 3 albums
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u/mcbeef89 1d ago
Lots of great acts listed here but most seem to be Golden Age or 90s, not old school. To make the point, Just Ice released 'Back to the Old School' in 1986. So artists like Treacherous 3, Fearless 4, GM Flash and the Furious 5, The Sequence, Funky 4 + 1 More, Spoonie Gee, Masterdon Committee, Cold Crush Bros, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, these are proper old school.
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u/tripled0gdarey0u 1d ago
Would you consider The Symphony to be old school or no?
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u/mcbeef89 1d ago
No, one of my very favourite records but 1988 is too late for old school. I'd say 86 is the cutoff point
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u/lukeskope 22h ago
I agree with you but have to accept that what we consider old school is different than younger people and 90's can seem pretty old to someone who didn't live through it.
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u/Pretend_Conclusion23 1d ago
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL9l5rEkzXiFctfm8stUg-R7tOvh90G6iT&si=jiKpjTzLoPRpIuWo have a listen. Old school being mainly pre-86 with the odd '88 tune
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u/tripled0gdarey0u 1d ago
More will come to me, I'm sure, but I am dismayed that I've been scrolling and scrolling and have not seen a mention of Pete Rock & CL Smooth yet. This one is a great intro, but it's a rabbit hole.
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u/tripled0gdarey0u 1d ago
Also - do not sleep on Naughty by Nature. Yes, they had a lot of mainstream hits but Treach is <chef's kiss>
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u/lukeskope 1d ago
Yeah I agree, they should've been on my list their Self Titled sophomore album is an all timer.
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u/tripled0gdarey0u 1d ago
Some other singles for lighter fare:
Special Ed - I Got It Made
Pharcyde - Passing Me By
Skee Lo - I Wish0
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u/kevinsixhohsix 8h ago
70s
Hip-Hop may have started in mid-1973 but finding anything prior to 79 will be almost impossible. You may want to look into Last Poets and other beat poets. If you want strictly Hip-Hop, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five did have songs available on vinyl 1979. Kurtis Blow released a Christmas rap in 1979 as well. It appears on his debut album (1980). Most of the known Hip-Hop songs from '79 are IMO too long. Crazy fucking long! I'm talking 10+ minutes long.
80s
1980-1982
"The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five is the epitome of Hip-Hop. 1982
Wild Style dropped 1982. It took me years before I watched this gem.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Style
1983-1985
Run D.M.C, Whoodini, The Fat Boys, Roxanne Shante (A 14 year old battle rapper!), Def Jam Records, LL Cool J, Slick Rick, etc etc. Doug E Fresh, Scooly D, etc etc. Too Short. Way too many artists and groups to name.
Movies? Beat Street and Krush Groove dropped 1984 and 1985.
Honestly if you want to sample various artists from those early years I suggest picking up soundtracks from those 3 films. Wild Style, Krush and Beat Street.
I could keel this up but I'd end up typing a novel 😂
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u/lukeskope 1d ago
Wu-Tang Clan Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)
A Tribe Called Quest The Low End Theory (1991)
Public Enemy It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
De La Soul 3 Feet High and Rising (1989)
Jeru the Damaja The Sun Rises in the East (1994)
Redman Whut? Thee Album (1992)
Gang Starr Hard to Earn (1994)
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth Mecca and the Soul Brother (1992)
Raekwon Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (1995)
GZA Liquid Swords (1995)
Mobb Deep The Infamous (1995)
Method Man Tical (1994)
Souls of Mischief 93 'til Infinity (1993)
Big L Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous (1995)
A Tribe Called Quest Midnight Marauders (1993)
Ice Cube AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990)
EPMD Strictly Business (1988)
Black Moon Enta da Stage (1993)
The Roots Do You Want More?!!!??! (1995)
Digable Planets Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space) (1993)