This album is classic and LL's best...

Shyne · 06-23-2009, 02:40 AM

Long read, excerpt from my upcoming Blog post

Ive been a huge fan of LL for what seems like my whole life, ive followed his career very closely and checked out every album he's ever dropped, he has countless classic songs and a handful of dope albums. Whenever the subject of LL's best or classic albums is brought up though only 3 get the nod, 'Radio', 'BAD', and 'Mama Said Knock You Out', and while I agree with all 3 of those being classics I think this is L's best album by far.

Early on in LL's career he was a lyrical force that had to be taken seriously, Radio and BAD showcase this LL. He's very hungry and very focused, ripping through verse after verse with an energy you only get from youth, and yet what he had in mc skills he lacked in songwriting, true he still had countless classic songs on both albums but from a songwriting perspective they really weren't technically that impressive, often letting the beats and very simple hooks carry the weight of the actual song structure.

Later in LL's career he would see a decline in his lyricism but at the same time see him elevate as a song writer, penning pop hits and underground classics alike, so while he finally mastered the craft of creating great hooks, bridges and the overall package of the song he left much to be desired with his actual mc'ing. 'Mama Said Knock You Out' was the first album LL displayed his ability to craft truly amazing songs and rip the mic, but at the same time a the album as a whole felt slightly unbalanced, while some tracks would prove to be the pinnacle of what L had to offer others seem to just be there, taking up space without really contributing much to the overall product.

Enter Mr. Smith, LL's '95 underrated classic. Album had somthing for everyone, for the pop fans LL provided the classic tracks in the form of 'Hey Lover' and 'Doing It', both if which would see the matchings of fantastic beats, amazingly catchy hooks and LL doing what he does best...talking smooth to the ladies. On the flip side of the coin you had the instantly classic 'I Shot Ya + Remix' which saw Uncle L ripping through a classic beat with flows and lyrics he would never again match. This album was truly the perfect mixture of radio friendly tunes (good ones at that, hard thing to do) and raw underground rhyming, LL rhymed, flowed and crafted songs on this in ways his fans had never heard and in doing so created what is easily his best album.

Overall 5/5

Grandmaster G · 06-23-2009, 03:07 AM

im too old school wit some artists....but i like his radio and mama said knocc u out album......but i should revisit his shit, cause im too biased wit LL and its good to see what LL has done anyway

06-23-2009, 02:40 AM	#1
Shyne Sons Of Liberty Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Iowa Posts: 5,522 Repped: 3 Repped 2,004 Times in 839 Posts Neg Reps: 0 Neg Repped at 142 Times in 92 Posts	This album is classic and LL's best... This album is classic and LL's best... Long read, excerpt from my upcoming Blog post Ive been a huge fan of LL for what seems like my whole life, ive followed his career very closely and checked out every album he's ever dropped, he has countless classic songs and a handful of dope albums. Whenever the subject of LL's best or classic albums is brought up though only 3 get the nod, 'Radio', 'BAD', and 'Mama Said Knock You Out', and while I agree with all 3 of those being classics I think this is L's best album by far. Early on in LL's career he was a lyrical force that had to be taken seriously, Radio and BAD showcase this LL. He's very hungry and very focused, ripping through verse after verse with an energy you only get from youth, and yet what he had in mc skills he lacked in songwriting, true he still had countless classic songs on both albums but from a songwriting perspective they really weren't technically that impressive, often letting the beats and very simple hooks carry the weight of the actual song structure. Later in LL's career he would see a decline in his lyricism but at the same time see him elevate as a song writer, penning pop hits and underground classics alike, so while he finally mastered the craft of creating great hooks, bridges and the overall package of the song he left much to be desired with his actual mc'ing. 'Mama Said Knock You Out' was the first album LL displayed his ability to craft truly amazing songs and rip the mic, but at the same time a the album as a whole felt slightly unbalanced, while some tracks would prove to be the pinnacle of what L had to offer others seem to just be there, taking up space without really contributing much to the overall product. Enter Mr. Smith, LL's '95 underrated classic. Album had somthing for everyone, for the pop fans LL provided the classic tracks in the form of 'Hey Lover' and 'Doing It', both if which would see the matchings of fantastic beats, amazingly catchy hooks and LL doing what he does best...talking smooth to the ladies. On the flip side of the coin you had the instantly classic 'I Shot Ya + Remix' which saw Uncle L ripping through a classic beat with flows and lyrics he would never again match. This album was truly the perfect mixture of radio friendly tunes (good ones at that, hard thing to do) and raw underground rhyming, LL rhymed, flowed and crafted songs on this in ways his fans had never heard and in doing so created what is easily his best album. Overall 5/5 __________________ myspace.com/vocabthemc http://coldglassofoj.blogspot.com Last edited by Shyne; 06-23-2009 at 02:43 AM.

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06-23-2009, 03:07 AM	#2
Grandmaster G Veteran Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: . Posts: 8,274 Repped: 1 Repped 105 Times in 69 Posts Neg Reps: 4 Neg Repped at 9 Times in 7 Posts	im too old school wit some artists....but i like his radio and mama said knocc u out album......but i should revisit his shit, cause im too biased wit LL and its good to see what LL has done anyway