This feature originally ran in 2013 and has since been updated.
Some stars shine brightest as part of a constellation, and others burn stronger on their own. Of course, there’s no telling which category an artist falls into until he or she drops that solo album. With Wu-Tang legend Raekwon just releasing his latest in a string of strong independent outings, The Wild, we turned our minds to thinking about some of our other favorite solo efforts.
But before we digress, allow us some context: An album was eligible for inclusion here only if its creator was better known as a member of a group at the time of release. Inevitably, that left some gray area, as we reluctantly ruled Snoop’s Doggystyle ineligible, but, in a previous installment of this list, decided Juicy J’s Stay Trippy was fair game, even though Juicy has been better known in the past couple years than he ever was with Three 6 Mafia.
So, here they are: our updated Top 20 Hip-Hop Solo Albums.
20. Q-Tip – Amplified (1999)
Member of: A Tribe Called Quest
You wouldn’t call Q-Tip a minimalist, but Amplified – even more so than his work with A Tribe Called Quest – was decidedly stripped back. It’s also the quietest record on this list; Busta Rhymes’ cameo on “N.T.” is the only surge of energy over its 47 minutes. Then again, Tip always thrived in sedative moods (think of Tribe’s “Electric Relaxation”), and its smoothness is what makes Amplified such a cohesive listen. A decade later, Tip would be enlisted by Kanye to work on the decidedly maximal My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. But Amplified, though its sound wouldn’t likely interest the masses if released today, was a thoroughly characteristic album from one of the ’90s’ most fluid MCs. –-Mike Madden
19. Eazy-E – It’s On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa (1993)
Member of: N.W.A.
Some may point to Eazy-E’s Eazy-Duz-It as his definitive statement as a solo artist. Produced by Dr. Dre, it certainly feels like a spiritual successor to N.W.A.; however, it was the record that he dropped after he began feuding with Dre that is the most notorious. While most rappers dedicate a lyric or verse to diss their nemeses, It’s On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa is a concept album about how much Eazy, never one for subtlety, hates his former producer. Every track – except the porn-pop novelty “Gimme That Nutt” – is volatile and anarchic, raw and uncut. –Jon Hadusek
18. KRS-One – Return of the Boom Bap (1993)
Member of: Boogie Down Productions
Now aggressively anti-everything, there was a time KRS-One mixed accessibility and the ruckus quite well. The Bronx rapper was unapologetically street in Boogie Down Productions’ Criminal Minded and socially conscious By All Means Necessary (sadly only after group member DJ Scott La Rock’s passing). KRS-One combined elements of the two and injected jazzy and funkdafied production for young and hungry Kid Capri and DJ Premier in The Return of the Boom Bap. KRS-One made sure his voice was heard throughout even though it was his first time fully commanding a project as an MC, whether it’s in the Jamaican patois weaved into the finger-pointing “Black Cop” or the intensely confident title track. By the time he left his soapbox, many were left inviting him right back on. –Brian Josephs
17. Wyclef Jean – The Carnival (1997)
Member of: Fugees
Wyclef Jean isn’t a commanding rapper on The Carnival, by any means, which should be a big downfall if we’re listening to the dude for more than 70 minutes. This isn’t your regular rappity rap ’90s album, however; the album’s main rapper’s main focus isn’t on rapping. Jean switched up the intensely focused, forward-pushing formula of the multiplatinum The Score for a body of work that’s more expansive. Jean plays a maestro conducting the sounds of the corners of the ghetto and the Caribbean, and succeeds in doing so not only because of his versatility, but his control. It’s hard to imagine any artist with the balls to take “Stayin’ Alive” and turn it into a convincing braggadocio cut while interpolating “Top Billin’” on “We Trying to Stay Alive”. Or what about switching up a Cuban anthem for a poetic, tense look at the fairer sex with a then-potent Lauryn Hill on “Guantanamera”. There’s an effervescence that ties everything together on even the more doleful cuts (“Gone Til November”). It’s more about feeling than making a statement, which makes it easier to dive into the festival of the final three tracks, which are performed in Haitian Creole. –Brian Josephs
16. Bun B – II Trill (2008)
Member of: UGK
Bun B was an elder statesman in the rap world by the time II Trill came out, and the guest list he assembled confirmed the respect a younger generation had for him – there’s Lil Wayne, Lupe Fiasco, Rick Ross, and Sean Kingston, and that only covers the first few songs. But, more important than appearing vital in Southern rap’s era of one-hit wonders was remaining faithful to UGK’s style after the December 2007 death of the Texas duo’s other half, Pimp C. Pimp handled most of UGK’s production, concocting rich beats from soul samples and two-string licks. II Trill‘s producers took many cues from Pimp’s sound and updated it, as the album had a digital whoosh that none of UGK’s own, organic releases did. Mostly eschewing mournful digressions and sentimentality, Bun sounded even more authoritative than usual without taking things too seriously. Ninth track “Pop It 4 Pimp”, a strip-club anthem dedicated to a real ladies’ man, is the most fitting one-track homage possible, but on the whole, II Trill furthered UGK’s legacy while proving Bun to be a dependable one-man act. –Mike Madden
15. Elzhi – Elmatic (2011)
Member of: Slum Village
Few tasks are as demanding as the one Elzhi undertook with Elmatic, a remake of Nas’ 1994 masterstroke. Directly or otherwise, Illmatic would influence every “lyrical” MC to follow, and some of its beats were among the most recognizable of the ‘90s. With help from Detroit outfit Will Sessions, who enriched the patterns of the original beats with horn blasts and sharp guitar licks, Elmatic did its predecessor justice. His mind may have been older, but Nas was only 20 at the time of Illmatic’s release; Elzhi was 32 and sounded that much more world-weary and wizened. By the time Pete Rock, producer of Illmatic’s “The World Is Yours”, shows up for an endorsement as the album winds down, it ain’t hard to tell that Elzhi is, indeed, one of the “illest Detroit MCs.” –-Mike Madden
14. Prodigy – Return of the Mac (2007)
Member of: Mobb Deep
Return of the Mac still stands as Prodigy’s best solo project, and at times it’s even at the same caliber as Mobb Deep’s works. That’s not to say he’s seeking to revere the golden era or trying to bring back “real hip-hop.” Prodigy and The Alchemist are moreso channeling those days in an album that reeks of inner city grime and a matter of factness that’s definitely New York. The duo pulls no punches here, and each of them lands hard. The Alchemist provides Prodigy with laidback production, as the rapper guides the listener through his reality in a way that’s both accessible and haunting. Prodigy finds a bit of cathartic joy within Alc’s backdrop as he spits revenge fantasy-filled lines with a smirk, like in “Mac 10 Handle”: “Smokin’ dope, loading bullets in my clip for you/ I ain’t even wiping my sweat, it’s keeping me cool.” At just under 40 minutes, Prodigy and Alc created an album that’s unapologetically blunt, but endlessly replayable. —Brian Josephs
13. Earl Sweatshirt – Doris (2013)
Member of: Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All
It’s hard to overstate the expectations that Earl Sweatshirt’s fans had for the unbelievably precocious rapper’s debut album, Doris, and how thoroughly he delivered on those expectations. In 2012, Earl returned from his exile of sorts to Samoa, warmly greeted but overwhelmed by the attention OF gained while he was away from the States. Accordingly, he directly addressed connected topics on the album, particularly over the piano-creep of “Chum”: the aforementioned exile (including venom spat at the “Complex fuck niggas” that located his previously unknown whereabouts), fans’ sky-high hopes for his young rap career, and his relationship (or lack thereof) with his estranged father, famed South African poet Keorapetse Kgositsile. But while Earl’s penmanship was never less than sharp, the best part of it all was how the album encapsulated the sheer insurgent creativity that made the entire Odd Future crew so exciting in the early 2010s. –Mike Madden
12. The D.O.C. – No One Can Do It Better (1989)
Member of: Fila Fresh Crew/N.W.A. and the Posse
Before a car accident rendered his voice closer to that of a smoker from those harrowing CPD commercials, Dallas’ D.O.C. was one of rap’s funkiest songwriters – seemingly every line on No One Can Do It Better track “Mind Blowin’”, for instance, was a hook in and of itself. Entirely produced by Dr. Dre (DJ Yella gets a coproduction credit on closer “The Grand Finale”), No One had a delightful energy that so many of Tracy Curry’s g-rap peers avoided. When he dropped his sophomore outing Helter Skelter seven years later, things were understandably bleaker – but that only highlighted its predecessor’s status as one of hip-hop’s eternally danceable classics. —Mike Madden
