The greatest rap albums of all time, according to Busta Rhymes
It always takes effort to pick favourites. Whether it’s concerning albums, artists or instrumentals, it’s definitely a challenging task. However, some have their most cherished projects set in stone and haven’t changed for over three decades. That said, in several interviews with SPIN magazine, artists, including the likes of Tech N9ne and Busta Rhymes, revealed some of their favourite albums of off time.
Missouri lyricist Tech N9ne named one album that he hails as the best of all time. Surprisingly, he named BDP’s debut album Criminal Minded as his favourite album of all time. Explaining why, he began, “It’s crazy that after decades, I still find myself going back to listen to Criminal Minded 1987 by Boogie Down Productions.”
He continued, “So many bangers that take me back to a time when hip hop was ON FIRE with every release damn near. They came straight out of the gate with the song ‘Poetry’ with that beat I make with my mouth from day to day with my 4-month-old. It calms her, actually!”
Tech N9ne then began to name some of his favourite songs, unveiling, “[I like] jams like ‘The Bridge Is Over,’ ‘South Bronx,’ ‘9mm Goes Bang’ and so many others. Come on, man, THE P IS FREE! The whole album goes, in my opinion, and I still enjoy it like it’s my first listen every time I run it.”
However, New York legend Busta Rhymes had five interesting picks concerning his favourite albums. He took fans back to the 1980s and 1990s, beginning with Slick Rick’s The Great Adventures of Slick Rick. Opening up about the project, he stated, “My greatest influence in this shit, from the way I dress and the jewellery down to the pockets in the beats where I choose to rhyme.”
He also referenced Big Daddy Kane’s It’s a Big Daddy Thing. However, he admitted that he enjoyed working with A Tribe Called Quest and loves The Low End Theory. Explaining this, Busta detailed, “[They’re] my brothers, all because I took this little gamble and pulled up on Greene St. Studio.”
As well as Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Busta Rhymes concluded that his favourite album of all time is DMX’s Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood, labelling it as “The most exciting and challenging shit on the planet, and the start of Swiss busting ass for three decades.”
You can listen to Busta Rhymes’ favourite album below.