
For this reason, and because he released a lot of terrible music himself (in the 2010s, mostly), we have often dismissed Lil Wayne. Even if he is not exactly a trap-rapper himself, it’s not a stretch to say he helped father the mumble trap genre, spawning an army of face-tatted Lil Clones who have been flooding the mainstream with an endless stream of generic braindead music. Lil Wayne is an icon, one of the most influential rappers of the last two decades. Tha Carter III is Lil Wayne’s sixth studio album, it follows Tha Carter II as well as a long string of mixtape releases and guest appearances on other Hip Hop and R&B artists’ records, helping to maximize Lil Wayne’s exposure in the mainstream, which was further aided by features appearances on this album from high-profile artists such as Jay-Z, T-Pain, Busta Rhymes, and Kanye West, among others.

Don’t sleep folks, this truly is a landmark album. Standouts tracks aplenty, but cuts like Brain Cell and Nothing To Give especially shine. APOS wasn’t meant to teach faith-infused lessons necessarily, but simply to deliver a story.”Ī Piece Of Strange offers excellent production and clever lyrics – the whole album is as good as it gets.

Deacon’s life growing up as the son of a preacher definitely led us to some of the insights and story molding that went on when we were making and recording the album, but as most moderate Christians will tell you…you have to relate the material as generally as possible without preaching and talking down to people. “This album is not meant to be overtly Christian in theme or presentation, but more so delivering an amoral slant to a storyline communicated through Hip Hop. Much darker and denser than their more light-hearted and fun first two albums, A Piece Of Strange takes us on a journey following the story of a man and those closest to him in their struggles with right and wrong, love and hate, while at the same time exploring the religion and racism that were (and are) so prevalent in the south. The 16 songs contain loose connections with certain defined Biblical numerics and their interpretations. This third CunninLynguists album is a masterpiece from start to finish. Ghetto D is the jewel in Master P’s No Limit crown.ĬunninLynguists – A Piece Of Strange (2006)

No Limit Records (together with Cash Money Records) opted for a quantity-over-quality business model that had them spamming the world with an endless stream of the same generic albums over and over again, but that doesn’t mean there were some defining albums among them – this album is one of those. The subject matter is kind of generic, but Master P and guests make it sound good, also thanks to energetic production provided by the Beats By the Pound crew, who did most No Limit production. This is an 80-minute masterpiece and a landmark album for Southern Hip Hop. Guests appear on every song, and mostly they are the New Orleans No Limit Soldiers, such as his brothers C-Murder and Silkk the Shocker, Mia X, Mystikal, Fiend, Mr. Ghetto D is the sixth studio album by New Orleans’ mogul Master P – his best album and one of the flagship albums of his No Limit Records empire. What do YOU think? Are your favorite Southern rap albums here? Do you think any essential records are missing? Share your thoughts in the comments! Also, check the honorable mentions section at the end – it was hard to limit this list to ‘just’ 100 albums. Let’s get into it – in this piece, you will find 100 rap albums – no mixtapes, no EPs – we consider to be essential works to come out of the South, not ranked but presented in release year order. Music from artists from cities like Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, and Memphis will make up most of this list, but since it’s also considered part of the Southern United States a number of albums of artists hailing from states such as Kentucky, North Carolina, and even Virginia will have a place on this list.

By the early 2000s, many Southern artists had attained national success, and as the decade went on, both mainstream and underground varieties of Southern Hip Hop became among the most popular and influential of the entire genre.] The music was a reaction to the 1980s flow of Hip Hop culture from New York City and the Los Angeles area and can be considered the third major American Hip Hop scene, alongside East Coast Hip Hop and West Coast Hip Hop. 100 Essential Southern Rap Albums: [ Southern Hip Hop is a blanket term for a regional genre of American Hip Hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, Memphis, and Miami-five cities that constitute the “Southern Network” in rap music.
