Hip-Hop Must-Haves

When purchasing hip-hop for library collections, it's tempting to get caught up in the now. This summer's hot track, however, inevitably becomes fall's "Who's that?" and then we're left with ringtone singles and flash-in-the-pan gangsta overkill collecting dust on our shelves way past the sell-by date.

There is definitely a hip-hop core canon most libraries should own. Every popular music collection, for example, should include a copy of Public Enemy's It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988), Tribe Called Quest's The Low End Theory (1991), or Wu-Tang Clan's Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993), among others.

Bill Piekarski's collection development primer on this music genre ("The Rap on Hip Hop," LJ 7/04), which includes the aforementioned titles, is still a fine resource for building a hip-hop collection from the ground up. But that's just the beginning!

Here, I dig a little deeper into rap's storied past for some defiantly original classics as well as a few unique takes on hip-hop's future. You won't find much in the way of outrageous consumerism or gangsta posturing, just a seemingly endless possibility of voices and beats from fearless innovators who hew more closely to the jazz rebels of the 1950s, with a focus on freewheeling improvisation and individual creativity.

Depending on your users' sensibilities, there will be some concern over content. Though some of these albums feature abrasive language and gritty themes, they're no more heavy than what you'd find on a typical evening of cable TV.

That said, wigs may indeed be flipped, so do your homework. There are copious sources for good reviews and sample listening. (The complete version of this article, on www.libraryjournal.com, includes a selection of these resources.)

Finally, especially today, when it's possible for the entrepreneurial artist to knock out a CD at home that looks and sounds every bit as good as what's on the radio, make a conscious effort to add the work of local hip-hop artists to your collection.

Aesop Rock. Labor Days. Definitive Jux. 2001. UPC 6-00308-88402-1.

Aesop Rock strayed from hip-hop's sonic blueprints (check out the classical music!) with this third album; the storytelling is impressive.

Black Star. Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star. Rawkus. 1998. UPC 0-08811-28972-0.

MCs Mos Def and Talib Kweli united for this one-off album bursting with politically conscious rhymes and making both their reputations.

Boogie Down Productions. By All Means Necessary. Jive. 1988. UPC 0-12414-10972-9.

Led by KRS-One, these overlooked hip-hop innovators discarded "street" posturing with this groundbreaking album devoted to social and political commentary.

Company Flow. Funcrusher Plus. Definitive Jux. 1997. UPC 6-00308-81772-2.

This Brooklyn group's gauntlet-throwing debut album set the tone for underground hip-hop with its dense, deft rhymes and avant-garde beats.

Dr. Octagon. Dr. Octagonecologyst. Dreamworks. 1996. UPC 6-00445-00212-8.

Rap vet Kool Keith paired his "Dr." persona with ethereal trip-hop beats, effortlessly spinning surreal and disturbing tales.

Eric B. & Rakim. Paid in Full. Island. 1986. UPC 6-02498-80422-3.

Eric B. mines vintage soul records for beats, and Rakim's delivery is smooth and confident in this commercial and critical success.

Gang Starr. Daily Operation. Capitol. 1992. UPC 0-94632-19102-1.

DJ Premier and Guru's breakthrough third album features scratching and jazzy beats and a commanding delivery.

MF Doom. Operation: Doomsday. Metal Face Records. 1999. UPC 8-29357-45132-3.

Donning a metal mask and becoming a bona fide rap supervillain liberated MF Doom creatively both on this impressive debut and in his later material.

Mr. Lif. I, Phantom. Definitive Jux. 2002. UPC 6-00308-88602-5.

Indie rap luminary Lif's debut LP is a masterpiece, a concept album about work and life in a capitalist society.

Quasimoto. The Unseen. Stones Throw. 2000. UPC 6-59457-21252-0.

Warped psychedelic beats clash with West Coast DJ/producer Madlib's fragmented alter ego, Quasimoto, his voice speeding up to a high, nervous blur.

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PRINT RESOURCES
There is no single, catch-all print resource for building your hip-hop collection, even less so for unearthing rare gems. The All Music Guide to Hip-Hop (Backbeat Bks., 2003) is out-of-date and out of print, and I have yet to locate a similarly thorough book. But, consulted collectively, the following resources should be helpful.

And It Don’t Stop: The Best American Hip-Hop Journalism of the Last 25 Years. Faber & Faber. 2004. 384p. ed. by Raquel Cepeda. ISBN 978-0-571-21159-3. pap. $19.
A collection of 29 essays and articles from across the spectrum of music writing, from hard-hitting exposé to first-person reminiscing to probing Q&A.

Chang, Jeff. Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation. Picador. 2005. 560p. ISBN 978-0-312-42579-1. pap. $17.
Journalist Chang reconstructs the political, geographical, and sociological contexts around which hip-hop’s greats arose; eminently readable.

Coleman, Brian. Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies. Villard. 2007. 528p. ISBN 978-0-8129-7775-2. $18.
These first-person stories behind the making of at least 30 classic rap albums give the music genre its historical due.

ONLINE RESOURCES
For those researching hip-hop online, www.allmusic.com and the web sites of Rolling Stone (www.rollingstone.com), Billboard (www.billboard.com), and Vibe (www.vibe.com) are good places to start. However, perhaps the best way to keep track of hip-hop is through regularly updated blogs that post the newest tracks and follow emerging artists. Tread carefully, though—most have NSFW (Not Safe for Work) elements!

Blunt Rapps 
www.cocaineblunts.com
This popular site focuses on new and old, national and local, with equal enthusiasm. It includes a regularly updated blog, excellent commentary, downloadable mixes/compilations, interviews, and archived material dating back to 2003.

Fader
www.thefader.com
Though not specifically a hip-hop music site, Fader always seems to have impeccable taste in rap and other urban musiques. Full tracks are often available for download and video clips for watching.

Nah Right
nahright.com/news
Rated the No. 1 hip-hop blog by Vibe magazine, Nah Right offers downloadable tracks, performances and interviews on video, and up-to-the-minute news.