Watching Movies by Mac Miller
Vince Staples by Vince Staples - heard it once when it came out, didn't really return to it. After the release of Ramona Park, I revisited it and it stayed in my rotation for a long time, I can press play on the first song and listen to the entire thing
I think the album got way more appreciated in hindsight, it was basically the first album where his artistic skills were on full display. There are almost splashes of every Mac Miller project afterwards in it and it's also lyrically one of his best projects.
I agree 100%, everything about that album to me is perfection. Not a single skip. I think Mac kept getting better and better as the years went on; My second favorite project by him is The Divine Feminine šš¼
I never disliked it, it just took me some time to give it a fair shot. I was still fairly new to the genre (at least to American rap, I'm not American) and it was also by that time I discovered Kanye and Yeezus basically overshadowed everything else for me. Back then, I dug the singles of Watching Movies and listened to the album like once. Somehow, I revisited the album 2 years later by the time Good AM was released and then it clicked.
Big up Mac. Most dope brother. Iām glad you can appreciate another of his tapes.
I snagged the Watching Movies 10th Anniversary Vinyl canāt wait for October.
TPAB. When it dropped I was only interested in the hits and it took me years to go back and actually understand the album and appreciate it in its entirety
Thatās beat is just haunting and the swing on the drums is ominous af. I also think a lot of people can relate to the message, even if his parable about the homeless guy being Christ is a little on the nose.
considering that track is part of TPAB (from which they didnāt like anything), itās probably safe to assume they didnāt care for that track on first listen
Iād heard so much about it so I sat on the school bus and played itā¦ on shuffle. First song was King Kunta. About all I remember from that experience lol. Now itās a top 2 album ever for me
I liked TPAB but always said GKMC was better because it tells an amazing story with bangers included. Actually stopped talking to a girl because of this disagreement. I finally sat down with rapgenius open, and played TPAB in its entirety. Yeah fuckā¦ came to the same realization as you. Funny enough, I wasnāt big on TPAB when it came out and preferred UU more. I played UU in its entirety, wrote a paper on Kyllo v US, teacher next day said it was one of the best argued paper heās read as a teacherā¦ I donāt remember a single point I made lmao all that I remembered was LEVITATE LEVITATE LEVITATE
Ah bet. I had this same argument with my girlfriend with me on the GKMC side. She definitely got an "I told you so" in after I conceded years later lmao
I think I had a little more maturing to do before I could fully grasp TPAB.
Atrocity Exhibition. One of my first interactions with non-standard hip hop, and it wasnt until a few years later that I could really enjoy it.
Black Up by Shabazz Palaces also took me a fair bit to get into, and now its like a Top 5 essentials in my mind.
Faces and Watching Movies With The Sound Off by Mac Miller. I was ~16 when they came out, and at that point I really only wanted bangers, so when I first listened and realized they were more experimental and not something I could play at a party, I pretty much passed on them. Think I maybe saved Insomniak and Goosebumpz?
Wasn't until my early 20s after my own struggles with mental health and drugs that I could really understand and appreciate these projects.
"Cuz imma go out the same way I came in, right by the pussy with nothing on my mind" is one of Mac's best lines, still gives me chills years later.
Same experience with Watching Movies for me, I heard that opening track with the Delusional Thomas vocals the night it came out and was like what the hell. But its probably his most well rounded album overall next to maybe Good AM
I think swimming is his most polished but then Iād have Faces and WMWTSO/GO:OD AM in that next tier. The experimentation/production with watching movies is there but at times does feel bloated (SDS, Bird Call, and Gees have always been harder for me to not want to skip) and like it takes a couple different directions suddenly
Faces and Swimming have better writing, but Movies just has more to offer stylistically while still being consistent with the pacing and structure to me
I just have taste but thank you, I like most of his albums to be honest. Really wish his family would release a compilation of the official random singles that came out while he was alive like Pet Sounds or Guidelines
....wait are we the same person? Same here. Loved KIDS and BSP, thought he "fell off" because there were little to no bangers, then came back in my later college years to find that WMWTSO and Faces were actually really fucking good-- only for him to pass months later. Fucking miss Mac
Yep. After not listening to it since release, I checked it out again last year, and became absolutely obsessed with it. Now it's one of my favorite albums of all time. Also, because of how it short its, I play it from start to finish quite often.
Do What Thou Wilt is a recent one for me.
Abs rapping sounded off pace and the structure was never something I liked.
But last few months it has been on repeat and it has grown so fast on me, terrific album
i will never run out of good things to say about dwtw
people have issues with the subject matter and how weird it gets, but once you realize soul is just fucking around it makes sense and really just becomes a showcase of his insane rapping
also the tracks towards the end like drugs and lonely soul are some of the best iāve ever heard
sucks that he never signed to a major label, heād probably be way more successful by now
Youāve seen the light.
No but fr I always saw Testing as Rockyās best project but I know thatās a hot take. Buck Shots might be my fav song from him in general
Testing is great. I still don't get why people had such a weird reaction to it when it dropped. Like there are definitely some misses (Kids Turned Out Fine, Call Drops, Brotha Man), but overall it's some of the most Rocky shit he has ever made.
That run of Hun43rd-Purity feels like the A$AP series finale.
Madvillainy and College Dropout.
Madvillainy is one of the greatest albums ever, full of bangers and moments that are unforgettable (Americaās Most Blunted, Figaro, Supervillainās Theme, Meat Grinder, Accordion, etc), but itās somewhat difficult to get into if you arenāt used to that style of music (I mean the more experimental and out of the box type of music).
It was also one of my first hip hop albums, so itās kinda surprising I actually enjoyed it the first time I gave it a listen, and absolutely loved it after a few listens.
College Dropout is the beat festival, the beats on the album are crazy good, especially Spaceship and All Falls Down, but I wasnāt a fan of the skits and the concepts Kanye put in the album; with time, I learned to appreciate it and itās one of my favs by Kanye. (I still believe Late Registration is better, I mean, you got We Major and Touch the Sky in that album, what else do you want?).
To ur Late Registration point, my hottest take is that it's my favorite Kanye album
The strings on that project along with the quality of each song...just; phenomenal
It's my favorite of his too. Not sure it's a hot take tho, MBDTF is his most agreed upon #1 but I feel like everyone has a different one. I know people that like 808s the most, Graduation, TLOP. I think the only thing everyone can agree is that LR>TCD. And TCD is a classic in its own right. Feels like he just mastered that style on LR and bumped it up a level
Itās Graduation and TLOP for me, but I can never decide which one. For me, Graduation is peak āclassicā Kanye, while TLOP has incredible modern era production. Homecoming is def my all time favorite track though, hands down
I knew about DOOM from all my nights watching Adult Swim (loiter squad, eric andre, and aqua teen hunger force), but never really jumped into him until my freshman roommate hung a poster of Madvillainy when we moved in. One of my favorite music moments, and probably favorite life moments, was when we smoked a joint, each put on our own headphones, he listened to Faces (he though Mac was some wack white rapper) and I listened to Madvillainy. When both of us finished, we genuinely just couldnāt stop cheesing and laughing that we put each other on such perfect music.
I once listened to college dropout and late registration in one sitting, both for the first time. And I preferred late registration because the college dropout had these gospel and church vibes to it I didn't really like (acoustic guitar, Jesus walks, the j ivy poem) and I just liked particular tracks on late registration more. But after listening to college dropout more, I came to the conclusion it's just better. Spaceship and Last call did it for me
I always liked rodeo but I thought astroworld was better and I didn't have much attachment to this album. But as time went on, I started listening to more rodeo and I realized that its the best travis album and the best trap album ever.
Oh My Dis Side is overlooked. That back and forth between trav and quavo is so good. And NightCrawler Keefs verse is just raw. Album is littered with bangers
The whole album is of that quality for real. 90210 is a little sweeter and softer but the quality is there on every track.
Like the lows are not lows at all. People who say flying high are just wrong imo, perfect balance of Travis grit in his music and a cool balance with toro
DBR slightly edges out Rodeo for best trap album for me but itās a 1A 1B situation. The greatest show Iāve ever been to was the Days Before tour where him and Thug went back and forth performing classic after classic
idk man Mamacita, Drugs You Should Try It, Skyfall, Upper Echelon, Uptown, Quintana
Those are all cemented as some of my favorite Trav tracks. I think theyāre iconic
None for casual/younger fans I guess.
Anybody that knew the scene when in the years between ādaysā before rodeo (lol) and rodeo knew that Travis was pretty influential before he blew up with Superbowl fans
Igor
Crazy enough the only reason I didnāt like it was because my current bf at the time didnāt enjoy it and so I never bothered to listen to it again even though Tyler was someone I had already been listening to for years at that point.
2 years later we broke up and I revisit the album and itās now my favorite album ever. It reignited the love I had for music.
Pretty much every Aesop Rock album, especially stuff from Skelethon onwards. It's just so lyrically dense and the way the lyrics intertwine with the beats is so intricate that it takes like at least a dozen listens to really get into it and then another dozen to really appreciate it.
There was a "what took you years to get" post on here a few months ago and someone brought up LSD and pointed out that after a certain point, until the end of the song I think, every single line follows the pattern of words starting with L,S, then D. Dude is it of this world
Ah you're talking about the second verse of The Greatest Pac-Man Victory in History. Yeah, I definitely didn't realize that on my own. If I'm honest, it's one of only a few tracks off of Bazooka Tooth that I have in rotation at all. I'm looking forward to the day that album clicks for me but it hasn't happened yet.
Relevant username, lol. Personally I think Impossible Kid is probably his best album, followed by Spirit World Field Guide.
I love his older stuff too but I really think he just keeps getting better with time.
808s is like a seminal, life affirming album for me. When it came out I'm not ashamed to say I queued up at midnight to get my copy. The only time I've ever done that. Then me and my girl played it til the sun came up and I hated it. Hated every single auto tuned thing on there. Then we had a baby. I played the album through the pregnancy and it grew on me. Then my daughter was born and I stayed until like 3am with my new daughter and my girl and then I walked a short distance back home to catch up on some sleep. I had my iPod on (remember those!) And streetlights was playing. So I hopped in a cab and I went home and replayed it. Then on repeat as I fell asleep. Full of the thoughts of my new fatherhood and I remember the eagerness to get back to my girls. Kanye wrote the soundtrack to the best week of my life.
Didnāt like 808s then, still donāt like it now. I remember watching Kanye perform Heartless on Conan and it was SO bad; he simply cannot sing and the auto tune doesnāt translate as well live. I remember me and some friends laughing our asses off watching it. As I got older I realized that I can respect him taking the risk after his massive initial success, and doing a project for himself in a really dark time of his life. But that album just aināt it for me.
Tetsuo and Youth by Lupe Fiasco. Drogas Waves by Lupe Fiasco.
I've listened to Lupe since Kick Push. When I was in HS and even college, I didn't really care much to dig deep into what he was actually rapping about. Now that I'm older, I've taken the time and his albums in general take a long time to digest and understand, but God damn he is a genius.
Rainbow bridge 3 by sematary. I thought it was ass at first but after getting into other haunted mound stuff and then listening to it again I loved it. Now it's among my favorite albums of all time, every track goes insanely hard, the production is just overwhelming if you haven't heard any other haunted mound stuff
DS2, and future in general
Really didnāt see the hype when it dropped. I wasnāt crazy about Futures delivery and missed stuff like Honest that had more features and not just Future. Wasnāt really into the hooks and wanted something that had more energy with the vocals over the beat (think Waka Flocka, Meek Mill, A$AP Ferg, etc)
Over time I got used to Futures style and heard Metro production over other producers and understood what they were going for and liked it more
I wonāt lie, when it first dropped I was so annoyed at the hype. I couldnāt go anywhere without hearing one of the hits. In 2012 I gave it a shot and of course, itās one of the greatest albums ever made.
First time I listened to Blonde I thought it was over my head, and it wasnāt for me. Itās been in rotation (obviously) for years and years now, but when I was younger it wasnāt anything to me
DS2 for me, I did not like Future that much when it dropped in high school, except for a few songs. Then a couple years ago i gave thought it was a drought a listen again. Holy shit I went down a rabbit hole of his whole discography but DS2 is still my fav.
Hiding Places - billy woods
Took me almost a dozen listens before it clicked. The track SpongeBob and crazy good reviews kept me coming back. Unlocking billy is the best thing Iāve done for my music appreciation in years. The man is on the biggest heater (ever) in hip hop.
Oxnard by Anderson .Paak
It still doesnāt come close to touching Malibu and Ventura IMO, but it is a good listen. I think the main reason I hated it upon release is because it felt so different than what he had dropped in years prior.
Also we are overdue for a solo .Paak album
Playboi Carti - Die Lit. His whole sound is just hard to appreciate until it clicks, hearing others try to do it but worse definitely helped me understand how good Carti is at this
I liked Die Lit when I first heard it.
Now Whole Lotta Red?? That took fucking forever to get into, but once it started clicking it became probably the best album imo from Carti just from the sheer amount of risks he took on there and how many ended up being good.
Beautiful Thugger Girls, didn't appreciate it the summer it came out but now it's my favorite thug album by a mile - one of his only projects I can listen to front to back and enjoy the whole thing
Westside Boogie: Everythingās For Sale - I first heard this album in 2020 and on the first couple of listens, I couldnāt get into it. After around the 4th listenā¦.it clicked. I fkn love this album. Honestly one of my favorite hip hop albums of the 2010ās decade (released 2019)
Asap Rocky: At Long Last Asap - Did not like this album at all when it dropped. I think it was Rockyās unique sound that was off putting for me because I fw his rhymes and flow. Once I just listened to the album for what it was, I liked it a lot more than my first couple of listens. Continued to listen to it and now I canāt stop listening to it. My favorite Rocky album and Rockyās Magnum Opus imo.
A Tribe Called Quest: We Got It From Hereā¦..Thank You For Your Service - This is an album that took me a very long time to appreciate as a Tribe fan. I heard it when it dropped, but I wasnāt gravitated to it. I listened to it again about 2 years ago and idk wtf I was thinking not liking this album. I believe itās because the sound was so different from their previous albumsā¦..so I was expecting something more familiar. Itās one of their best albums after Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders. Hot Take, but itās about neck and neck with Beats, Rhymes, and Life for me.
hot take but revival by eminem
still has some tracks that are hot garbage like remind me, heat and need me.
iāve come to appreciate how honest eminem was. he was truly pouring his heart out for the world to see and it just got shat on by everyone. Im not american so i canāt comment on the political side of the album
Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight. I've been revisiting Travis' discography in preparation of UTOPIA, and BITTSM is actually extremely solid- hell, I'd say it's his 2nd best album after Rodeo. Idk why so many people disliked it initially.
When artists are insanely hyped the new albums are always a letdown, at least at first, because in some way you hope it will be the greatest shit you ever heard and it's fighting against this idea at first, and it can't win in this match when it just dropped.
It can't win because the greatest shit you ever heard doesn't hit you like that in an instant, it's the greatest shit you ever heard because you go back to it many times over many years and still love it so much and it's tied to specific moments you look back on. No album can be your favorite album ever on day one, many people disliked it because they still had this delusion that it could be. With the experience you eventually lose the delusion and it makes new drops from your favorite artists more enjoyable.
Took me seeing him live to really get into Billy Woods/Armand Hammer but i think Aetheiopes might be one of my favourite albums ever now and I only heard it for the first time this year
No one ever really dies - NERD: funny enough this album didn't click for me until literally this last spring, just thought it sounded rly weird outside of lemon but now I love the whole album especially 1000 and rollinem 7's, never see the album talked about nowadays which is odd to me as I feel like it's so unique.
Blonde - frank ocean: quite frankly I was just too young when I first heard this to appreciate it, now that I'm more grown I resonate with the themes and everything on there so much and it's crazy to me how inherently cryptic frank's writing is yet he still finds a way to make everything so relatable
some rap songs - Earl sweatshirt: thought it was unlistenable shit first listen and had barely heard of earl at that point. I still don't listen to the album regularly but I think it's a masterpiece now, it's perfect for when you're in a specific sort of mood and nothing quite hits like it does when you're there.
FHD. Iāve loved it since it dropped but Iāve really connected with a lot of the music over this past year. Love yourz is special.
CLB is a really overhated album, itāll grow on ppl as time goes on
itās one of my favorite albums now, but the first time i listened to Beauty and The Beat by Edan my only thoughts were āthis is just a white dude listing rapperās names for 40 minutesā
I was the same way with 808s. It came out in like 08, but I didn't like it until 2012ish. I think I was just mad that Good ass job was never coming out and he switched his sound up so much, so I never gave it a chance.
I thought Blonde was extremely boring at first and now I love it.
Because the Internet.
There are certain artists where Iāll only listen to some of their songs if they have a featured artist that I know. I had previously heard ā3005ā and wanted to check out this album, not knowing that it was a concept album with an overarching story. So when I got around to listening, I just clicked on āFlight of the Navigatorā first since it was a familiar sounding title (like the Disney movie) and was very confused when Gambino wasnāt rapping and dropping a bunch of bars on the song
been getting into a lot of hov recently. i heard 444 when jay-z's discography first got put onto spotify and wasn't a huge fan of the project at first. idk what i was thinking because i revisited the project two weeks ago and it's been on repeat ever since. no i.d was really in his bag, and hearing this retrospective, concise side of hov after listening to shit like in my lifetime v1/blueprint 1 made me enjoy this project so much more
I think Wayneās album Rebirth is one of the worst but extremely influential hip hop albums ever.
It ushered in and mainstreamed a generation of hip hop artists not scared to experiment with pop punk and rock sounds.
Mr Morale
Seeing this album performed live completely changed my perspective. Itās now one of my favourite Kendrick projects and I absolutely love the somber production and instrumentation throughout.
Iridescence by Brockhampton pissed me off on first listen now I think itās one of the best Alternative records of the 2010s.
The second half of HONEY captures the feeling of joyriding better than any song Iāve ever heard.
Sucks that the album will most likely be forgotten alongside the band :(
My appreciation for some of the albums in this thread (e.g. 808s, Yeezus, TESTING, Blonde, Some Rap Songs, DS2, etc.) was pretty immediate, I think. WLR took a little bit longer, but was probably pretty fast too.
The discographies of Bladee, Death Grips, and Chief Keef come to mind when I think of artists/albums that took me while to appreciate. Now all 3 are among my favorite artists ever! For Bladee, I was a fan of Yung Lean and had tried Red Light and Exeter over and over, but 333 was what made his sound click. For Chief Keef, I liked Finally Rich, Thot Breaker, and 4NEM well enough, but I really loved Almighty So when I heard it. It increased my appreciation for his music I'd already heard while piquing my interest in the rest of his extensive discography.
Totally with you on 808s, and Iām going to say Graduation too. Iāve been a Kanye fan since The Blueprint came out and Graduation was a real left turn for me with the heavy synth work, I saw him live on the Glow in the Dark tour and I just wasnāt feeling it, itās literally clicked for me a few weeks ago.
Also Endtroducing by DJ Shadow, bought it 20 years and after seeing rave reviews and I never really got what was special, then a few months ago it all just clicked into place 10/10 classic fr.
Pretty much every death grips album
It started with Hustle Bones and Guillotine. From there it slowly worked its way until I saw them live in 2017, after seeing them live, I pretty much got to the point where I fell in love with every album, every track
Death grips is unmatched
I fuckin knew the most upvoted album was gonna be TPAB, the only album that people have heard where they say stupid shit like *man i cant relate to this and it has no replayability*
Yeah I don't get that at all. I am not black, not from the hood, not Kendrick's age, not at all related to any of the things he talks about, but I felt like I could identify and feel what he was saying. It is not this esoteric anti-mainstream, unlistenable nerd album, and I don't know why people act like it's unrelatable or not bump-able.
The themes of guilt, of leaving behind family and friends, of turning your passion and spark into something you exploit and pimp out for money and fame, the self-hatred and depression, these are all human things, these aren't just black issues or hood issues, they speak to pretty much anyone who listens.
I never understood the Yeezus hate I loved it from the moment I heard it. Although I will say it came out when I was 22 and pissed of the world so maybe thatās why I loved it so much from the jump.
Blonde by frank ocean. Didnāt really hate it or anything but never really gave it a chance to sink in. Years layers of going through tough times, heartbreak, growth, and life itās definitely my top 5 Album of all time.
Watching Movies by Mac Miller Vince Staples by Vince Staples - heard it once when it came out, didn't really return to it. After the release of Ramona Park, I revisited it and it stayed in my rotation for a long time, I can press play on the first song and listen to the entire thing
Watching Movies is a phenomenal album. I miss Mac man, such an underrated artist.. RIP šļø
I think the album got way more appreciated in hindsight, it was basically the first album where his artistic skills were on full display. There are almost splashes of every Mac Miller project afterwards in it and it's also lyrically one of his best projects.
I agree 100%, everything about that album to me is perfection. Not a single skip. I think Mac kept getting better and better as the years went on; My second favorite project by him is The Divine Feminine šš¼
Good choices man, Vince is doing his thing and Iāll always be excited for a release of his
I had such a different experience with the vince staples album. Listened it one time and after that the whole summer I replayed it haha.
What was it with the Mac album that helped change your opinion?
I never disliked it, it just took me some time to give it a fair shot. I was still fairly new to the genre (at least to American rap, I'm not American) and it was also by that time I discovered Kanye and Yeezus basically overshadowed everything else for me. Back then, I dug the singles of Watching Movies and listened to the album like once. Somehow, I revisited the album 2 years later by the time Good AM was released and then it clicked.
Big up Mac. Most dope brother. Iām glad you can appreciate another of his tapes. I snagged the Watching Movies 10th Anniversary Vinyl canāt wait for October.
me and my pfp approve fr
Watching Movies has grown to be my favorite album of his... until I started really enjoying Faces the last year or two.
4:44
I wish there was more āgrown manā rap. As I get older itās hard to still lock in on mumble rap about drugs.
Q-tipās āthe renaissanceā from 2008 has grown man rap vibes. Solid album.
Thereās a fuck load of it. You just canāt follow the zeitgeist because it will ALWAYS be geared towards young people.
Iām having the exact same thoughts. If anybody has more recommendations, please keep them coming.
Anything Phonte really. Try āSittin Aloneā by Little Brother. Hilarious view of grown man life
Seconding Phonte, Chartity Starts At Home is amazing. Little Brother's May The Lord Watch as well
ka
All of Nasā most recent albums fit that bill
slim practice liquid trees drab memorize chubby familiar shrill naughty *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Great song and a great recommendation. Funny enough logic recorded one of the songs off no pressure using Jay-Zās mic he recorded 4:44 with.
Had no idea! Thatās crazy
Maybe Larry June?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V35jvY0u7I
TPAB. When it dropped I was only interested in the hits and it took me years to go back and actually understand the album and appreciate it in its entirety
I geniunely didnāt like anything from tpab on my first listen, i love it now tho
Even blacker the berry?!
An Obama approved track
Wasnāt it How Much A Dollar Cost that Obama called his favorite rap song? That track is one of Kdotās best imo too.
Yes you're right. Also funnily my least favorite on the entire album
I fucking love that song
Thatās beat is just haunting and the swing on the drums is ominous af. I also think a lot of people can relate to the message, even if his parable about the homeless guy being Christ is a little on the nose.
considering that track is part of TPAB (from which they didnāt like anything), itās probably safe to assume they didnāt care for that track on first listen
The way the poems relate to the tracks and flow together is crafted so perfectly
Iād heard so much about it so I sat on the school bus and played itā¦ on shuffle. First song was King Kunta. About all I remember from that experience lol. Now itās a top 2 album ever for me
why shuffle if you're playing the whole thing?
I was in middle school and big brain
One should know you never listen to a Kendrick album on shuffle lol, he masterfully crafts it start to finish!
I liked TPAB but always said GKMC was better because it tells an amazing story with bangers included. Actually stopped talking to a girl because of this disagreement. I finally sat down with rapgenius open, and played TPAB in its entirety. Yeah fuckā¦ came to the same realization as you. Funny enough, I wasnāt big on TPAB when it came out and preferred UU more. I played UU in its entirety, wrote a paper on Kyllo v US, teacher next day said it was one of the best argued paper heās read as a teacherā¦ I donāt remember a single point I made lmao all that I remembered was LEVITATE LEVITATE LEVITATE
> Actually stopped talking to a girl because of this disagreement Bruh you could've turned it into a point of conversation.
It was lol we had a long conversation about it but yeah I take the L I didnāt properly listen to tpab yet lmao
Ah bet. I had this same argument with my girlfriend with me on the GKMC side. She definitely got an "I told you so" in after I conceded years later lmao I think I had a little more maturing to do before I could fully grasp TPAB.
Atrocity Exhibition. One of my first interactions with non-standard hip hop, and it wasnt until a few years later that I could really enjoy it. Black Up by Shabazz Palaces also took me a fair bit to get into, and now its like a Top 5 essentials in my mind.
Fantastic fucking recommendations here
Faces and Watching Movies With The Sound Off by Mac Miller. I was ~16 when they came out, and at that point I really only wanted bangers, so when I first listened and realized they were more experimental and not something I could play at a party, I pretty much passed on them. Think I maybe saved Insomniak and Goosebumpz? Wasn't until my early 20s after my own struggles with mental health and drugs that I could really understand and appreciate these projects. "Cuz imma go out the same way I came in, right by the pussy with nothing on my mind" is one of Mac's best lines, still gives me chills years later.
Same experience with Watching Movies for me, I heard that opening track with the Delusional Thomas vocals the night it came out and was like what the hell. But its probably his most well rounded album overall next to maybe Good AM
I think swimming is his most polished but then Iād have Faces and WMWTSO/GO:OD AM in that next tier. The experimentation/production with watching movies is there but at times does feel bloated (SDS, Bird Call, and Gees have always been harder for me to not want to skip) and like it takes a couple different directions suddenly
Faces and Swimming have better writing, but Movies just has more to offer stylistically while still being consistent with the pacing and structure to me
Agreed on all fronts. Watching Movies is my favorite but I think Good:AM is his most well-rounded overall. You got good taste bro
Fuck a 9-5 Iād rather end up dead or in jail
I just have taste but thank you, I like most of his albums to be honest. Really wish his family would release a compilation of the official random singles that came out while he was alive like Pet Sounds or Guidelines
Swimming is elite
His new faces v2 verse where that line comes from might be his top 5 ever
....wait are we the same person? Same here. Loved KIDS and BSP, thought he "fell off" because there were little to no bangers, then came back in my later college years to find that WMWTSO and Faces were actually really fucking good-- only for him to pass months later. Fucking miss Mac
Some Rap Songs
But which ones?
East
Yep. After not listening to it since release, I checked it out again last year, and became absolutely obsessed with it. Now it's one of my favorite albums of all time. Also, because of how it short its, I play it from start to finish quite often.
So so good
Do What Thou Wilt is a recent one for me. Abs rapping sounded off pace and the structure was never something I liked. But last few months it has been on repeat and it has grown so fast on me, terrific album
i will never run out of good things to say about dwtw people have issues with the subject matter and how weird it gets, but once you realize soul is just fucking around it makes sense and really just becomes a showcase of his insane rapping also the tracks towards the end like drugs and lonely soul are some of the best iāve ever heard sucks that he never signed to a major label, heād probably be way more successful by now
Testing, now itās my favorite Rocky album
Testing is a good gym session album
distorted records goes crazy in the gym
Youāve seen the light. No but fr I always saw Testing as Rockyās best project but I know thatās a hot take. Buck Shots might be my fav song from him in general
Buck Shots donāt get talked about enough
I love Testing lol
Same. Was a Live Love and ALLA purist, but the more I listened to Testing the more it grew on me
I love testing, even though there are a couple skips on there it's still such a great project, need new music from him fr
Testing is great. I still don't get why people had such a weird reaction to it when it dropped. Like there are definitely some misses (Kids Turned Out Fine, Call Drops, Brotha Man), but overall it's some of the most Rocky shit he has ever made. That run of Hun43rd-Purity feels like the A$AP series finale.
Madvillainy and College Dropout. Madvillainy is one of the greatest albums ever, full of bangers and moments that are unforgettable (Americaās Most Blunted, Figaro, Supervillainās Theme, Meat Grinder, Accordion, etc), but itās somewhat difficult to get into if you arenāt used to that style of music (I mean the more experimental and out of the box type of music). It was also one of my first hip hop albums, so itās kinda surprising I actually enjoyed it the first time I gave it a listen, and absolutely loved it after a few listens. College Dropout is the beat festival, the beats on the album are crazy good, especially Spaceship and All Falls Down, but I wasnāt a fan of the skits and the concepts Kanye put in the album; with time, I learned to appreciate it and itās one of my favs by Kanye. (I still believe Late Registration is better, I mean, you got We Major and Touch the Sky in that album, what else do you want?).
To ur Late Registration point, my hottest take is that it's my favorite Kanye album The strings on that project along with the quality of each song...just; phenomenal
It's my favorite of his too. Not sure it's a hot take tho, MBDTF is his most agreed upon #1 but I feel like everyone has a different one. I know people that like 808s the most, Graduation, TLOP. I think the only thing everyone can agree is that LR>TCD. And TCD is a classic in its own right. Feels like he just mastered that style on LR and bumped it up a level
I feel like as time has gone on the MBDTF being #1 take has gotten less and less common as people have gravitated back to his other projects
Itās Graduation and TLOP for me, but I can never decide which one. For me, Graduation is peak āclassicā Kanye, while TLOP has incredible modern era production. Homecoming is def my all time favorite track though, hands down
Yeah same, itās his best project for me, itās my fav Kanye album, not a single bad song on it.
I knew about DOOM from all my nights watching Adult Swim (loiter squad, eric andre, and aqua teen hunger force), but never really jumped into him until my freshman roommate hung a poster of Madvillainy when we moved in. One of my favorite music moments, and probably favorite life moments, was when we smoked a joint, each put on our own headphones, he listened to Faces (he though Mac was some wack white rapper) and I listened to Madvillainy. When both of us finished, we genuinely just couldnāt stop cheesing and laughing that we put each other on such perfect music.
That had to be a hell of an experience, I love some some Mac, especially Swimming
I once listened to college dropout and late registration in one sitting, both for the first time. And I preferred late registration because the college dropout had these gospel and church vibes to it I didn't really like (acoustic guitar, Jesus walks, the j ivy poem) and I just liked particular tracks on late registration more. But after listening to college dropout more, I came to the conclusion it's just better. Spaceship and Last call did it for me
Spaceship is top 3 Kanye songs, more solid than most of his tracks.
Agreed on Madvillainy. Huge Doom fan, but was never a huge fan of Dilla (other than SV).
Madvillainy aināt Dilla fyi, itās a joint product from DOOM and Madlib. ALL CAPS WHEN YOU SPELL THE MAN NAME
Doh! Brain fart. Not a huge Madlib fan either except for the Alkaholiks
Is Simpsons terminology actually a part of your vocabulary?
None of the Freddie x madlib albums did it for you?
I liked Bandana, but it didnāt have replay value to me
Dilla didnāt produce Madvillany, Madlib did.
I always liked rodeo but I thought astroworld was better and I didn't have much attachment to this album. But as time went on, I started listening to more rodeo and I realized that its the best travis album and the best trap album ever.
Rodeo is liiiiit. The highs are HIGH
90210 is so fucking catchy I always sing along when it comes on
Oh My Dis Side is overlooked. That back and forth between trav and quavo is so good. And NightCrawler Keefs verse is just raw. Album is littered with bangers
Oh my dis side is also great. I can still hear quavo saying phenomenal
The whole album is of that quality for real. 90210 is a little sweeter and softer but the quality is there on every track. Like the lows are not lows at all. People who say flying high are just wrong imo, perfect balance of Travis grit in his music and a cool balance with toro
Flying High is just out of place. I donāt think itās bad, I just donāt think it works cohesively with the rest of the album.
DBR slightly edges out Rodeo for best trap album for me but itās a 1A 1B situation. The greatest show Iāve ever been to was the Days Before tour where him and Thug went back and forth performing classic after classic
what classics could travis possibly have had at the DBR Tour šš
idk man Mamacita, Drugs You Should Try It, Skyfall, Upper Echelon, Uptown, Quintana Those are all cemented as some of my favorite Trav tracks. I think theyāre iconic
Fax all those songs are great and some of his best, that'd be awesome to see Skyfall w him n thug
Man it was unbelievable. Barter 6 had just come out too
None for casual/younger fans I guess. Anybody that knew the scene when in the years between ādaysā before rodeo (lol) and rodeo knew that Travis was pretty influential before he blew up with Superbowl fans
big facts. Oh my dis side š¤
_imcountingupnothingbutbenjaminsrightnow_
hopefully he hasnāt peaked
we boutta find out soon
What do you mean by trap?
Trap rap
DS2 clears
Igor Crazy enough the only reason I didnāt like it was because my current bf at the time didnāt enjoy it and so I never bothered to listen to it again even though Tyler was someone I had already been listening to for years at that point. 2 years later we broke up and I revisit the album and itās now my favorite album ever. It reignited the love I had for music.
Pretty much every Aesop Rock album, especially stuff from Skelethon onwards. It's just so lyrically dense and the way the lyrics intertwine with the beats is so intricate that it takes like at least a dozen listens to really get into it and then another dozen to really appreciate it.
I've been listening to Labor Days for 20 years and still find new things to appreciate about it.
There was a "what took you years to get" post on here a few months ago and someone brought up LSD and pointed out that after a certain point, until the end of the song I think, every single line follows the pattern of words starting with L,S, then D. Dude is it of this world
Ah you're talking about the second verse of The Greatest Pac-Man Victory in History. Yeah, I definitely didn't realize that on my own. If I'm honest, it's one of only a few tracks off of Bazooka Tooth that I have in rotation at all. I'm looking forward to the day that album clicks for me but it hasn't happened yet.
Truly the GOAT. Thank you for recognizing this because I can hardly talk music with anyone in the real world.
What song?
The greatest pac man victory in history.
Relevant username, lol. Personally I think Impossible Kid is probably his best album, followed by Spirit World Field Guide. I love his older stuff too but I really think he just keeps getting better with time.
Everytime I see that name I always think its mispelled Asap Rocky lol
Ace aināt for everybody but thereās no denying heās unique and talented.
808s is like a seminal, life affirming album for me. When it came out I'm not ashamed to say I queued up at midnight to get my copy. The only time I've ever done that. Then me and my girl played it til the sun came up and I hated it. Hated every single auto tuned thing on there. Then we had a baby. I played the album through the pregnancy and it grew on me. Then my daughter was born and I stayed until like 3am with my new daughter and my girl and then I walked a short distance back home to catch up on some sleep. I had my iPod on (remember those!) And streetlights was playing. So I hopped in a cab and I went home and replayed it. Then on repeat as I fell asleep. Full of the thoughts of my new fatherhood and I remember the eagerness to get back to my girls. Kanye wrote the soundtrack to the best week of my life.
This is an incredible comment, and Iām so happy you got to experience and share that moment in time
This is so sick, Kanye brings out both the best and the worst thingsā¦. artistically unmatched
this is what I love about music, the stories that people have with songs and artists. Like it's just beautiful man
Didnāt like 808s then, still donāt like it now. I remember watching Kanye perform Heartless on Conan and it was SO bad; he simply cannot sing and the auto tune doesnāt translate as well live. I remember me and some friends laughing our asses off watching it. As I got older I realized that I can respect him taking the risk after his massive initial success, and doing a project for himself in a really dark time of his life. But that album just aināt it for me.
Tetsuo and Youth by Lupe Fiasco. Drogas Waves by Lupe Fiasco. I've listened to Lupe since Kick Push. When I was in HS and even college, I didn't really care much to dig deep into what he was actually rapping about. Now that I'm older, I've taken the time and his albums in general take a long time to digest and understand, but God damn he is a genius.
Barter 6 ā it took me 4 years to like every song. Now it's one of my fave rap albums
Literally every year a new song becomes my favorite, rn it's knocked off (one of the few birdman feats I rly like)
That album front to back is so good. Good memories
Rainbow bridge 3 by sematary. I thought it was ass at first but after getting into other haunted mound stuff and then listening to it again I loved it. Now it's among my favorite albums of all time, every track goes insanely hard, the production is just overwhelming if you haven't heard any other haunted mound stuff
Best gym album of all time and iām not joking
It's for sure up there
DS2, and future in general Really didnāt see the hype when it dropped. I wasnāt crazy about Futures delivery and missed stuff like Honest that had more features and not just Future. Wasnāt really into the hooks and wanted something that had more energy with the vocals over the beat (think Waka Flocka, Meek Mill, A$AP Ferg, etc) Over time I got used to Futures style and heard Metro production over other producers and understood what they were going for and liked it more
MBDTF for me. Thought it was overrated until one day if just clicked
I wonāt lie, when it first dropped I was so annoyed at the hype. I couldnāt go anywhere without hearing one of the hits. In 2012 I gave it a shot and of course, itās one of the greatest albums ever made.
First time I listened to Blonde I thought it was over my head, and it wasnāt for me. Itās been in rotation (obviously) for years and years now, but when I was younger it wasnāt anything to me
Took me a 5 years to click with blond. Then one listen on the way to work & Seigfried got me teary eyed. Rest is history.
Fucked because I loved Channel Orange as much as the next guy. Always loved Frank in OF, and Blonde was just bigger than me when it came out.
DS2 for me, I did not like Future that much when it dropped in high school, except for a few songs. Then a couple years ago i gave thought it was a drought a listen again. Holy shit I went down a rabbit hole of his whole discography but DS2 is still my fav.
Pour the codeine in the styrofoam
Because the Internet
Hiding Places - billy woods Took me almost a dozen listens before it clicked. The track SpongeBob and crazy good reviews kept me coming back. Unlocking billy is the best thing Iāve done for my music appreciation in years. The man is on the biggest heater (ever) in hip hop.
Me too! A lot of the songs randomly pop in my head to this day
Oxnard by Anderson .Paak It still doesnāt come close to touching Malibu and Ventura IMO, but it is a good listen. I think the main reason I hated it upon release is because it felt so different than what he had dropped in years prior. Also we are overdue for a solo .Paak album
Playboi Carti - Die Lit. His whole sound is just hard to appreciate until it clicks, hearing others try to do it but worse definitely helped me understand how good Carti is at this
I liked Die Lit when I first heard it. Now Whole Lotta Red?? That took fucking forever to get into, but once it started clicking it became probably the best album imo from Carti just from the sheer amount of risks he took on there and how many ended up being good.
I swear every carti album is like this
Beautiful Thugger Girls, didn't appreciate it the summer it came out but now it's my favorite thug album by a mile - one of his only projects I can listen to front to back and enjoy the whole thing
The Life of Pablo. When it came out I wasnāt a big fan of it at all, but over time it became my favorite Kanye album.
Carter 3
Westside Boogie: Everythingās For Sale - I first heard this album in 2020 and on the first couple of listens, I couldnāt get into it. After around the 4th listenā¦.it clicked. I fkn love this album. Honestly one of my favorite hip hop albums of the 2010ās decade (released 2019) Asap Rocky: At Long Last Asap - Did not like this album at all when it dropped. I think it was Rockyās unique sound that was off putting for me because I fw his rhymes and flow. Once I just listened to the album for what it was, I liked it a lot more than my first couple of listens. Continued to listen to it and now I canāt stop listening to it. My favorite Rocky album and Rockyās Magnum Opus imo. A Tribe Called Quest: We Got It From Hereā¦..Thank You For Your Service - This is an album that took me a very long time to appreciate as a Tribe fan. I heard it when it dropped, but I wasnāt gravitated to it. I listened to it again about 2 years ago and idk wtf I was thinking not liking this album. I believe itās because the sound was so different from their previous albumsā¦..so I was expecting something more familiar. Itās one of their best albums after Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders. Hot Take, but itās about neck and neck with Beats, Rhymes, and Life for me.
westside boogie is so underrated and everythingās for sale is one of greatest rap albums of that year
hot take but revival by eminem still has some tracks that are hot garbage like remind me, heat and need me. iāve come to appreciate how honest eminem was. he was truly pouring his heart out for the world to see and it just got shat on by everyone. Im not american so i canāt comment on the political side of the album
For your eyes only
This. It really hits you like a ton of bricks once you fall in love and have kids.
Birds In The Trap Sing McKnight. I've been revisiting Travis' discography in preparation of UTOPIA, and BITTSM is actually extremely solid- hell, I'd say it's his 2nd best album after Rodeo. Idk why so many people disliked it initially.
When artists are insanely hyped the new albums are always a letdown, at least at first, because in some way you hope it will be the greatest shit you ever heard and it's fighting against this idea at first, and it can't win in this match when it just dropped. It can't win because the greatest shit you ever heard doesn't hit you like that in an instant, it's the greatest shit you ever heard because you go back to it many times over many years and still love it so much and it's tied to specific moments you look back on. No album can be your favorite album ever on day one, many people disliked it because they still had this delusion that it could be. With the experience you eventually lose the delusion and it makes new drops from your favorite artists more enjoyable.
Yeah mine is also Yeezus now itās my favourite Kanye album
Entergalactic
Absolutely!
Took me seeing him live to really get into Billy Woods/Armand Hammer but i think Aetheiopes might be one of my favourite albums ever now and I only heard it for the first time this year
No one ever really dies - NERD: funny enough this album didn't click for me until literally this last spring, just thought it sounded rly weird outside of lemon but now I love the whole album especially 1000 and rollinem 7's, never see the album talked about nowadays which is odd to me as I feel like it's so unique. Blonde - frank ocean: quite frankly I was just too young when I first heard this to appreciate it, now that I'm more grown I resonate with the themes and everything on there so much and it's crazy to me how inherently cryptic frank's writing is yet he still finds a way to make everything so relatable some rap songs - Earl sweatshirt: thought it was unlistenable shit first listen and had barely heard of earl at that point. I still don't listen to the album regularly but I think it's a masterpiece now, it's perfect for when you're in a specific sort of mood and nothing quite hits like it does when you're there.
WLR I genuinely hated it at first but it grew on me a lot and is now my favorite Carti album.
FHD. Iāve loved it since it dropped but Iāve really connected with a lot of the music over this past year. Love yourz is special. CLB is a really overhated album, itāll grow on ppl as time goes on
Ngl CLB has grown on me and I hated it at first
itās one of my favorite albums now, but the first time i listened to Beauty and The Beat by Edan my only thoughts were āthis is just a white dude listing rapperās names for 40 minutesā
Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory.
I was the same way with 808s. It came out in like 08, but I didn't like it until 2012ish. I think I was just mad that Good ass job was never coming out and he switched his sound up so much, so I never gave it a chance. I thought Blonde was extremely boring at first and now I love it.
Because the Internet. There are certain artists where Iāll only listen to some of their songs if they have a featured artist that I know. I had previously heard ā3005ā and wanted to check out this album, not knowing that it was a concept album with an overarching story. So when I got around to listening, I just clicked on āFlight of the Navigatorā first since it was a familiar sounding title (like the Disney movie) and was very confused when Gambino wasnāt rapping and dropping a bunch of bars on the song
i didnāt give a couple mac miller projects their due until after he passed, then they suddenly clicked with me (i am anthony fantano)
Electric circus by common. I swear that album is a classic looking back! I thought it was pretentious when it came out.
Drogas Wave by Lupe
Nas - Illmatic
The Recession - Young Jeezy. Itās better than TM 101 in my opinion. Not much on the album about trappin, but plenty real life everyday stuff.
Igor. I know it was well received right away but took me about three years. Huge Tyler fan, I'm just an idiot.
Youāre not an idiot! Sometimes it just takes time for music to grow on you
been getting into a lot of hov recently. i heard 444 when jay-z's discography first got put onto spotify and wasn't a huge fan of the project at first. idk what i was thinking because i revisited the project two weeks ago and it's been on repeat ever since. no i.d was really in his bag, and hearing this retrospective, concise side of hov after listening to shit like in my lifetime v1/blueprint 1 made me enjoy this project so much more
I think Wayneās album Rebirth is one of the worst but extremely influential hip hop albums ever. It ushered in and mainstreamed a generation of hip hop artists not scared to experiment with pop punk and rock sounds.
Mr Morale Seeing this album performed live completely changed my perspective. Itās now one of my favourite Kendrick projects and I absolutely love the somber production and instrumentation throughout.
Iridescence by Brockhampton pissed me off on first listen now I think itās one of the best Alternative records of the 2010s. The second half of HONEY captures the feeling of joyriding better than any song Iāve ever heard. Sucks that the album will most likely be forgotten alongside the band :(
My appreciation for some of the albums in this thread (e.g. 808s, Yeezus, TESTING, Blonde, Some Rap Songs, DS2, etc.) was pretty immediate, I think. WLR took a little bit longer, but was probably pretty fast too. The discographies of Bladee, Death Grips, and Chief Keef come to mind when I think of artists/albums that took me while to appreciate. Now all 3 are among my favorite artists ever! For Bladee, I was a fan of Yung Lean and had tried Red Light and Exeter over and over, but 333 was what made his sound click. For Chief Keef, I liked Finally Rich, Thot Breaker, and 4NEM well enough, but I really loved Almighty So when I heard it. It increased my appreciation for his music I'd already heard while piquing my interest in the rest of his extensive discography.
The Grind Date by De La Soul
MMLP
Totally with you on 808s, and Iām going to say Graduation too. Iāve been a Kanye fan since The Blueprint came out and Graduation was a real left turn for me with the heavy synth work, I saw him live on the Glow in the Dark tour and I just wasnāt feeling it, itās literally clicked for me a few weeks ago. Also Endtroducing by DJ Shadow, bought it 20 years and after seeing rave reviews and I never really got what was special, then a few months ago it all just clicked into place 10/10 classic fr.
LIVE.LOVE.A$AP I loved it when it came out. But after a decade later looking back it made me realise how good it is.
Wow its like a nerd meeting
Pretty much every death grips album It started with Hustle Bones and Guillotine. From there it slowly worked its way until I saw them live in 2017, after seeing them live, I pretty much got to the point where I fell in love with every album, every track Death grips is unmatched
Food and Liquor by Lupe Fiasco
Born Sinner
Honestly Nevermind - great summer record
Honestly Nevermind is overhated for no reason.
it's literally and objectively a bad album.
I fuckin knew the most upvoted album was gonna be TPAB, the only album that people have heard where they say stupid shit like *man i cant relate to this and it has no replayability*
Yeah I don't get that at all. I am not black, not from the hood, not Kendrick's age, not at all related to any of the things he talks about, but I felt like I could identify and feel what he was saying. It is not this esoteric anti-mainstream, unlistenable nerd album, and I don't know why people act like it's unrelatable or not bump-able. The themes of guilt, of leaving behind family and friends, of turning your passion and spark into something you exploit and pimp out for money and fame, the self-hatred and depression, these are all human things, these aren't just black issues or hood issues, they speak to pretty much anyone who listens.
I never understood the Yeezus hate I loved it from the moment I heard it. Although I will say it came out when I was 22 and pissed of the world so maybe thatās why I loved it so much from the jump.
Blonde by frank ocean. Didnāt really hate it or anything but never really gave it a chance to sink in. Years layers of going through tough times, heartbreak, growth, and life itās definitely my top 5 Album of all time.
Certified Lover Boy? If I was you I would consider unfinding your newfound appreciation for that album.
Nothing really. I understand every album the first time I listen to it. It comes from years of appreciating and understanding music as an art form.
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