1350 Okie Doke Street: Five Overrated Hip Hop Albums

Being a Libra often means one thing: I prefer harmony and avoid confrontation like the plague--often to a fault.  However, being the man Big Dadi Scribbler helped to raise also means I have no problem defending my position if that's what I believe wholeheartedly.  Besides, when you've gone a significant portion of your life flying under the radar, having the occasional unpopular opinion is light work.  With that said, the inspiration for this new posting series came from one of those "one gotta go" memes featuring Sade, Erykah Badu, Beyonce and Lauryn Hill.  Mrs. Scribbler and I talked about how people often make those memes to target a certain artist they feel is overrated, i.e., it's always Beyonce who takes that "L".  However, I have been in some of the most virulent arguments over everything from hip hop needing to be a form of "edutainment" to what makes a quarterback "elite" to anything regarding the Dallas Cowboys to...well...Beyonce.  So as an ode to the now defunct Dream turned Love Nightclub--which was more hype than actual dope, especially since I once had to beg a DJ to play go-go music in a nightclub in D.C.--I welcome you all to the grand opening of "1350 Okie Doke Street" where "controversy create conversation".  First up: I present five hip hop albums which I love, like or tolerate, but believe have been vastly overrated.  Preparing to lose friends and followers in five...four...three...two...one...

#5 THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G., Ready to Die (Bad Boy, 1994).  Many Golden Era Hip Hop fans and enthusiasts of the King of Brooklyn/King of New York may consider this blasphemy, especially since I've mentioned how much I love this album.  When March 9th came around, I was blasting Ready to Die.  However, setting my nostalgic connection to this album, I've realized one simple thing: Biggie seemed more like a pitbull off the leash who was thankful for a record deal on his debut.  Granted, that's part of what made Ready to Die such a classic, but that bombastic delivery wore thin after a while.  Furthermore, Biggie's more mature and relaxed delivery combined with the endless amount of "zingers" (as one of my favorite Facebook friends always talks about) on Life After Death made his larger-than-life, King of New York persona more believable than ever.  Don't get me wrong: Ready to Die had that heat like "Gimme the Loot", "Warning", "The What", "Unbelievable" and "Suicidal Thoughts".  However, Biggie may have released the best double album in hip hop history with gems like "Somebody Gotta Die", "Kick in the Door", "Last Dayz", "What's Beef?", "N*ggas Bleed", "I Got a Story to Tell", "Notorious Thugs", "Ten Crack Commandments", "My Downfall" and "You're Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)".  Is it potentially unfair to compare a double album with a single joint?  Perhaps, but there are plenty of artists who have made single albums that poo-poo all over their double discs like the next entry...

#4 2PAC, All Eyez on Me (Death Row/Interscope, 1996).  In the latter half of the eleventh grade, everybody was bumping All Eyez on Me.  However, outside of having some awesome extracurricular activities, most of the eleventh grade inside the classroom was largely forgettable and so was one particular half of this "classic"--which is disappointing because this had the potential to be his best album.  "Ambitionz Az a Ridah"..."Got My Mind Made Up"..."2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted"..."No More Pain"..."Tradin' War Stories"...straight bangers and then some, slim.  The problem is Pac didn't have the foresight to take a page out of Jay-Z's book when he combined the best songs from The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse into one, so he loses points for packaging one really dope disc with a supremely lackluster one.  Like seriously...show me somebody who listens to Disc Two back to front and I'll show you somebody who simply needed any 2Pac album to be blasting while smoking that loud.  Furthermore, putting out The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory nearly nine months later didn't help matters because I've listened to that album at least once a year every year for the past 20 years.  On the other hand, I can go at least two to three years without listening to one song from All Eyez on Me--an album I knew wouldn't be my favorite of his when it was all said and done...

#3 KANYE WEST, Yeezus (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam, 2013).  Although he is still one of my biggest musical inspirations because he's arguably the most successful producer/rapper in hip hop history, one could make the case for Yeezy being overrated simply because he's usually the one grading himself with the highest marks.  Frankly, I should've known we were seeing the last of his best when he made a masterpiece in My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, but followed it up with the equally-if-not-more overhyped joint venture with "Big Brother" Jay-Z, Watch the Throne.  I'm all for artists taking chances and going against the grain, but experimentation doesn't work for everybody and no album in his catalog epitomizes that sentiment more than the extremely-overrated Yeezus--which I firmly believe critics and fans praise so much because it's "different" like 2 Chainz.  Believe me, I've given this album quite a few chances and, with "New Slaves", "Blood On the Leaves" and "Bound 2" as the strongest anchors, it's not the worst thing I've ever heard.  However, the album's greatest shortcoming is what was once Kanye's strength: production.  I know an artist must evolve and we as avid supporters of those artists must be willing to evolve with him or her, but similar to my disappointment in The Life of Pablo, the final product of Yeezus sounded much like its blustering fanfare: a bunch of noise barely saved by the voice of its creator...

#2 LUPE FIASCO, Lupe Fiasco's The Cool (1st & 15th/Atlantic, 2007).  Before the vast majority of my fellow hip hop lovers turn me into the charred end result of their Salem witch hunt, let me be perfectly clear: I acknowledge Lupe Fiasco is one of the most skilled lyricists to ever pick up a microphone.  Furthermore, Lasers is the only album in his catalog which is universally panned because it's the only one where I felt like he wasn't being true to himself.  With that said, I can't tell you how many people hyped up Lupe Fiasco's The Cool when it was released (and still do) like it was the long-awaited return of Jesus Christ.  Unfortunately, for the last nine years, I've been the unbelieving heathen watching everyone else disappear in the rapture.  It's not like I didn't enjoy the album at all because Lupe never completely cheats his listeners out of dopeness, especially considering "Paris, Tokyo", "Gold Watch" and "Dumb It Down".  However, Lupe Fiasco rarely makes an album which makes me wanna play it more than once or twice because I always feel like there's something missing with his albums, and The Cool is the epitome of that yearning for more from him.  Maybe I feel like it's overrated because it's the album I wanted to connect with the most, but it has never happened; in fact, I'd listen to Tetsuo & Youth well before The Cool even if it's simply to hear "Mural", which I'd contend is the best song in his entire catalog.  So if writing off anything by one of the game's most beloved MCs of the modern era is enough to revoke my I Love Hip Hop Club Membership Card, then I may never be eligible for reinstatement once you see who has the pole position...

#1 NAS, Illmatic (Columbia, 1994).  I know, I know...it's a groundbreaking album...Nas is a lyrical genius...he had Large Professor, Pete Rock, DJ Premier and Q-Tip producing on one album...in my Derrick Coleman voice, "Whoop-de-damn-do."  As dope as I think this album is in its own right and as much as Nas is one of my favorite lyricists of all time, Illmatic has never been my favorite Nas album.  Granted, I can go years in between listening to my favorites, but off the strength of "I Gave You Power" alone, I can listen to It Was Written way before Illmatic.  Off the strength of "Rewind" alone, I prefer Stillmatic over Illmatic.  Off the strength of "Made You Look" alone, I deal with God's Son well before I'm inclined to sit through Illmatic.  Maybe I'm still salty because the Large Professor Remix of "It Ain't Hard to Tell" was the version we heard on the radio, but a not-so-impressive version made the album (although also produced by Large Pro).  I'll give you "N.Y. State of Mind" (my favorite song on the album), "The World Is Yours", "Halftime" and "Represent", but even those aren't strong enough to increase the overall replay value.  Simply put, I can name at least 20-30 albums I'd rather hear than Illmatic because it's highly possible the next time I listen to this "indisputable triumph" could be its 25th or 30th anniversary celebration.

Are you stark raving mad and ready to dispute this list with every fiber of your being, or are you in agreement with my take about one, two or all of these albums?  Do you have your own list of overrated hip hop albums to spark even more debate??  Well don't be shy either way, ladies and gents...PLEASE take your best shot and drop some feedback in the comments.  Don't forget to return soon for another potentially infuriating party here at "1350 Okie Doke Street"!!!