Écoutez:Five Albums You Should Have Heard by Now.

These are five classic albums that I would say you should have heard by now. I certainly have not always done my homework when it comes to hip hop history but after hearing De La Soul's 3 feet and Rising I get the hype behind this trailblazing trio of socially concise lyricist. The same goes for Mos Def's Black on Both Sides, It literally shines a light on everything that we remember about the late 90's and new millenium.Besides the fact that when I play it now the issues discussed are still relevant which in the case of tracks like "New World Water" and "Mr.Nigga" Erykah Badu's Baduizm is just mind blowing ,Badu pulls you in with her deep beats and melodic harmonies leaving you wanting more. Her newer records have more of a political stance showing her changing interests over the years. Like Water for Chocolate is the album that lives in my heart, I remember first listening to this in middle school, An hundreds of times in college. I was amazed at how deeply I was touched by the lyrics and how my understanding of them changed overtime, Obviously "The Light" is a great song about an enduring love. Other stand out tracks include "6th Sense", "Thelonius", and "Nag Champa". As for Illmatic I think the name speaks for itself.