Published on Nov 29, 1999
Show me a compilation of the best in the world of rap music
today, and I’ll show you a hundred kids who have homemade mix tapes
that will claim otherwise.
To be fair, rap music is quite possibly the most subjective type
of music there is out there. While one person might like one
particular track from an artist, a second person could claim a
different track represented the same artist’s best work. Just
because I love Eminem’s “Gulity Conscience” doesn’t mean the rest
of the world will hail it as his best track.
With that in mind, I take issue with the recently-released
The Best Of Rap City. Granted, I’m not as schooled in rap
music as I once was, and that I’m probably not the best person in
the world to be spouting off his views about this genre. But I just
wonder how many people would have selected different tracks from
the 17 artists featured in this collection — indeed, how many
people would have put in other artists?
I mentioned Eminem before — and he’s represented here with the
track “My Name Is… Slim Shady”. Interesting to note: this version
is different than the version I have on my MP3-version of
The Slim Shady LP. How many different versions of this song
are there out on the market? Oh well, doesn’t matter, ’cause
I still love this track.
And I’ll go on the record to say that I’m intrigued enough now
to check out such artists as Fat Joe (“Bet Ya Man Can’t”), Busta
Rhymes (“What’s It Gonna Be?!”, featuring the artist formerly known
as Janet Jackson), Nas (“Nas Is Like”) and Silkk The Shocker (“It
Ain’t My Fault 2”, featuring Mystical), who all impressed me with
their contributions. I’ve had some discs from Gang Starr in my
collection for some time, but I’ve just never gotten around to
listening to them. After hearing “Discipline,” I’m more inclined to
do so — in fact, keep an eye out in the next few weeks for a
review of their two-disc best-of.
But with some of the other selections on
The Best Of Rap City, I just have to wonder if I’m really
hearing the best, or what one person claims to be the best. Take
Foxy Brown, for example – another artist I’ll admit not having a
lot of knowledge about. “Hot Spot” is an okay track, but I’ve heard
snippets of other tracks courtesy of Chris Rock, and I wonder if
those tracks wouldn’t have made better selections on this disc.
Same goes for Master P – I liked “Make ‘Em Say Uhhh,” but is this
really the best example of what this guy is capable of? (Yes, I’ll
gladly take educated opinions on this subject — e-mail me with
your suggestions.)
Mixed in with the names I’ll admit I know nothing about were a
few blasts from my past, like DJ Quik — man, I hadn’t heard
him since I reviewed
Way 2 Fonky as a college journalist. Guess I’ll have to dig
that one out of mothballs thanks to “Hand In Hand” rekindling my
interest.
And while gangsta rap is not the force it once was in the
industry, it does seem like there’s too much style jumping in
between these tracks. It feels like you’re going in one direction
one minute, then you’re being thrown into reverse with Beenie Man
(“Tell Me”) or Sporty Thieves (“Cheapskate”) — and that’s not the
most comfortable position to be in.
I don’t want to discourage labels from putting together
compilations like
The Best Of Rap City, but they should be aware that “best”
is open to a lot of debate in this field. With that in mind, let
the debates begin.