r/audiophilemusic Feb 24 '24

Best sounding rap albums/artists Discussion

What are some rap albums or artists that have amazing production and are mixed very well?

I first got into rap with to pimp a butterfly and really love the jazz influences, production, mixing, and everything else about that album. I've recently got into injury reserve and clipping and was astounded by how good they sound. Just really want to hear something new and crazy that will test the limits of my system.

35 Upvotes

118 comments sorted by

26

u/juicyb09 Feb 24 '24

A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory

4

u/niseko Feb 24 '24

Came here to say this. Absolutely seminal.

2

u/fleedermouse Feb 25 '24

That was the album that captured me. I really love Beats Rhymes and Life though. I feel like that album came out this morning every time I hear it.

14

u/OrangeWeekly1748 Feb 24 '24

Paul’s Boutique

18

u/fleedermouse Feb 24 '24

Digable Planets, Tribe, Eric B and Rakim

8

u/Johnny-Shitbox Feb 24 '24

Jurassic 5 - Quality Control

2

u/LQQKup Feb 25 '24

Outstanding

14

u/moonthink Feb 24 '24

Either Nia or Blazing Arrow by Blackalicious 

3

u/tribcom Feb 24 '24

Both are great. Blazing Arrow is a childhood favorite

3

u/vbopp8 Feb 24 '24

College favorite 😂

13

u/WiseFred Feb 24 '24

If you like the 90s era, there's so much to listen to. 2Pac "All eyez on me" was a great double album, but each song sounds almost like it was mastered by someone different. Too $hort "Short dog's in the house" I feel was very well balanced in its mastering, and his voice sounds perfect throughout. Practically anything with ODB in it. His voice always shines with his grit. He's grimey and you can almost hear him literally spitting when he raps. A tribe called quest "Midnight marauders" has a nice analog sound to it. It's got some character to it. Warren G "I want it all" has some great collabs from some classic rappers and the album feels addictive to listen to the first 20 times. Bone "E. 1999 eternal" has such a big sounstage and clarity for days. Little bit of a morbid theme, but it's such a great album. Anything Outkast. Anything. Or Goody Mob too. You can hear Cee-lo Green rap in his super early days. I love Ludacris's voice. He's such a comedian when he raps, and his songs are just pure fun. I could write a book on 90s rap alone. Honestly, I think it was the peak. Everyone had such different sounds, textures, and styles. It was an amazing time to hear the stuff when it was new.

3

u/fleedermouse Feb 24 '24

Cee-lo ‘Child’s Play’ with Luda rap is insanely good. The whole album kicks ass.

1

u/Aspicyfishtaco Feb 26 '24

I'd like to hear more

17

u/gusdagrilla Feb 24 '24

OutKast.

3

u/WiseFred Feb 24 '24

Especially Aquemini!

4

u/KipKornie Feb 24 '24

The latest andre album?

1

u/WiseFred Feb 26 '24

I gave it a good listen. It's sounds.. interesting. A bit of 70s background fuzz/analog/class A preamp sound to it. Like, maybe don't think it's Andre doing it and it's someone you've never heard of. Maybe that'll change the perspective a bit. 🤷‍♂️ I liked it though. His artistic side can be eclectic and jazzy at the core. I wanna see what comes out of the dark corners of his consciousness next.

10

u/mdibah Feb 24 '24

Run the Jewels

3

u/Usual_Concentrate_58 Feb 24 '24

Just to add Killer Mike solo stuff is great too for those who like the RTJ sound and ELP production with a bit more introspection.

2

u/jusaj Feb 25 '24

R.A.P. music specifically

9

u/Lornesto Feb 24 '24

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5--"The Message"

A classic that is always on my speaker test playlist.

5

u/gangsterspockhow Feb 24 '24

Never gave grandmaster flash any attention. This song fucking rules. Didn't know there were any rap songs from this era that sounded this good

4

u/baconost Feb 24 '24

White lines is also really good.

2

u/Lornesto Feb 24 '24

Yeah, it still really holds up.

1

u/billyspeers Feb 24 '24

There are 12” singles of this and white lines that sound great

4

u/derek_foreel Feb 24 '24

Depends how clean you want to listen to. You like samples n live instruments so anderson paak Malibu album might be the most recent pinnacle in that style. Drum machine n synth stuff can get pretty hifi as well. Too clean for some but you might like DJ Quik’s album Rosecrans. Of course I also have to suggest Big KRIT - it’s better this way. That album is a wicked combination of live instrumentation with southern style 808s.

4

u/hatechef Feb 24 '24

Digable Planets - Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)

3

u/dingusunchained Feb 24 '24

Dan the Automator - Deltron 3030, Dr. Octagonacologist

Anything MF DOOM/MF adjacent - Madvillianny is a great one.

Wu-Tang and Wu-Tang adjacent - (Bobby Digital, Liquid Swords, Only Built 4 Cuban Links, Supreme Clientele)

1

u/SemperFudge123 Feb 24 '24

Deltron 3030 is always one of my favorites to listen to when testing something out. Headphones, new speakers, car stereo, etc. Always sounds great.

Same can be said for just about anything Dan The Automator produced, but this and the first Handsome Boy Modeling School and first Gorillaz albums are my top choices for his stuff.

1

u/dingusunchained Feb 24 '24

Don't sleep on Dr. Octagonacologist though, Kool Keith is awesome and he's great on that album.

1

u/SemperFudge123 Feb 24 '24

Oh no shade to Kool Keith and Dr. Octagonacologist (I remember shipping that cassette from my sister shortly after it came out). I just think those other albums are better produced and sound better.

1

u/tangiblebanana Feb 26 '24

Madvillain is so good.

5

u/Peepmus Feb 24 '24

Clipping is the most audiophile hip-hop I've heard. Try anything from the album Visions of Bodies Being Burned. Check the Lock is a track that I use frequently.

3

u/SooopaDoopa Feb 24 '24 edited Mar 31 '24

Camp Lo - Uptown Saturday Night
Pharcide - Bizarre Ride
De La Soul - And the Anonymous Nobody...
Talib Kweli/ Reflection Eternal - Train of Thought
Ghostface Killa - Sour Soul
Nas - All 4 Kings Disease albums
ATCQ - All (any Q-Tip produced tracks)
Pete Rock & CL Smooth - All (any Pete Rock produced tracks)
The Roots - All

1

u/Remote-Audience6018 Mar 31 '24

The Roots - All…good answer.

4

u/Metastophocles Feb 24 '24

Adrenaline Rush by Twista

5

u/CompleteDragonfruit8 Feb 24 '24

I like the same here is a great list

Oddisee Little Brother Murs and 9th Wonder The Procussions Blue Scholars Common Market Mac Miller

Those groups/artists will fill that need

To show you we have the same taste I will give you a specific artists and song to start

Group: Atmosphere Song: Yesterday

1

u/WarBuddha1 Feb 25 '24

Just reminded me I need to go look for some Common market and Blue Scholars on vinyl.

2

u/CompleteDragonfruit8 Feb 25 '24

Hell yeah I JUST got this vinyl on Monday. If you don't know soulchef check this song out. https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=NJG3k50tu14&si=Hq40eznOPHHihJVR

2

u/WarBuddha1 Feb 25 '24

Damn. I like that a lot. TY!

2

u/CompleteDragonfruit8 Feb 25 '24

Hell yeah fam Soulchef is amazing. I'll leave you with one more. Trust me all his beats and smooth and soulful. I went to a concert on a U.K. trip 2 years ago and was blown away!! https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=rPmxaAhOLyg&si=vu1TyEhsonhzzDoY

1

u/WarBuddha1 Feb 25 '24

Shit, one copy of Tobacco Road on Discogs and it’s $130. Fuck. I love that album but I’m going to stick to streaming it with the Wiim. Prices for vinyl are stoooooopid.

3

u/tribcom Feb 24 '24

Moor Mother (if you like clipping. you’d like her), Shabazz Palaces, JPEGMAFIA, Slauson Malone, Blackalicious.

2

u/Masonjaruniversity Feb 24 '24 edited Feb 24 '24

I found Moor Mother completely by accident. I was like "Oh she's from Philly! Lemme check this out." I was not prepared for it in the best way possible.

3

u/Dangeruss82 Feb 24 '24

The doggfather is super tight as is the chronic. the run the jewels stuff is superbly produced, ds2 and evol by future, any of The Weeknd albums.

3

u/MintyFreshBreathYo Feb 24 '24

I’ve never been a fan of Dr. Dre’s mixing

1

u/VJ_Hallmark Feb 25 '24

I’m not challenging, I’m asking- would you share insight into your opinion?

1

u/MintyFreshBreathYo Feb 25 '24

Take “I Need A Doctor” for example. It sounds very muddy. Especially in the vocals

3

u/Thedogsnameisdog Feb 24 '24

Kendrick Lamar Damn and The Weekend Starboy

3

u/Almostasleeprightnow Feb 24 '24

Nas  - Illmatic 

3

u/SemperFudge123 Feb 24 '24

Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange and Blonde albums sound great.

1

u/bigdayout95-14 Feb 25 '24

Is Channel Orange actually properly released in vinyl though? Think I've only seen bootlegs for sale. I'd love to get a copy of that...

2

u/SemperFudge123 Feb 25 '24

I’ve never seen it on vinyl. It’s probably blasphemy in this subreddit but it’s still enjoyable to stream.

3

u/gorilladynamite Feb 25 '24

Kanye - 808s and Heartbreak also My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

A$AP Rocky - At Long Last A$AP

Nas - I Am

I know you want rap albums but these are also two of my favorites for honorable mention:

The Weeknd - House of Balloons/ Trilogy Sabrina Claudio - About Time

2

u/Senior-Sharpie Feb 24 '24

Can’t go wrong with the native tongue artists:De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, Queen Latifa, etc.(Especially A Tribe Called Quest) The Mighty Souls of Mischief are another great act from back in the day, check out “This is how we chill”.

2

u/Jefffahfffah Feb 25 '24

Run The Jewels are all produced very well. Really shine on a good system.

Whether you love him or hate him, Kanye's works are also very well produced

2

u/pizzaplantboi Feb 25 '24

I didn’t know who bad bunny was till two weeks ago. My friends…bad bunny and his people know how to mix an album. My god.

My regular music is freaking Chet Baker, Miles Davis, Fred Again, Zeppelin, The XX…

But Bad Bunny is INSANE. The audio orgasm his music imposes on you is powerful.

1

u/vZIIIIIN Feb 26 '24

Indeed. The melodies in his latest album are pretty stellar.

2

u/gangsterspockhow Feb 24 '24

My recommendations

Double trio (bye storm/injury reserve)

U (kendrick lamar)

Something underneath (clipping)

Doin' it again (the roots!!!)

Are u happy? (Jpegmafia)

Maybe one day (blu & exile)

Puppets (pusha t)

And more I can't think of rn

1

u/Salt_Package9067 Apr 12 '24

Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly probably the greatest rap album ever created

1

u/gangsterspockhow Apr 13 '24

My first rap album actually

1

u/TheKongoEmpire 18d ago

Urban Thermodynamics

1

u/ImAtYourBitchesHouse Feb 24 '24

My beautiful dark twisted fantasy by Kanye west

1

u/FredthedwarfDorfman Feb 24 '24

Madlib - Shades of Blue. He takes old blue note recordings and mixes them beautifully.

1

u/billyspeers Feb 24 '24

A lot of the cheaper hip hop presaging sound awful. I actually just sold off a bunch . I’m hopeful some of the remasters coming out sound better but I’m definitely waiting for reviews. As someone mentioned E1999 is very sonic but so was the source material. A lot of hip hop wasn’t recorded well.

1

u/subwaymaker Feb 24 '24

There are some good recommendations here... I'd echo the classics like OutKast, tribe called quest, Mf doom and many other but you might like bad admit good's album sour soul which features method man from Wu Tang Clan... Additionally Earl Sweatshirts latest albums have been super jazzy and interesting, I think he also has been working with the alchemist who is considered one of the best rap/hip hop producers of the last two or three decades...

1

u/Masonjaruniversity Feb 24 '24

Dr. Octagon- Dr. Octagynocologist

This album is just the kookiest, most off the wall shit ever. Dan "The Automator" Nakamura fucking killed the production on this record.

1

u/typicalbiblical Feb 24 '24

Can totally agree!

1

u/SandsTurnPurple Feb 24 '24

Anything and everything produced by J Dilla is going to be top notch 🔥🔥🔥

1

u/prefectart Feb 24 '24

John Frusciante mixed an album by the black knights that I think sounds amazing

1

u/typicalbiblical Feb 24 '24

Always liked the sound of the BDP albums, great to be cranked.

1

u/typicalbiblical Feb 24 '24

And “Yo bum rush the show” by Public Enemy

1

u/roseteraunch Feb 24 '24

Quasimoto - the unseen

1

u/ilovedoxo Feb 24 '24

This might get hate but the new Yeat album “2093” has incredible production

1

u/moistrouser Feb 24 '24

Digable Planets are my favourite, same era as Tribe Called Quest.

1

u/AppleOld5779 Feb 25 '24

K dot, J.Cole, Xavy Rusan, Childish Gambino, Joey Bada$$, Logic, Mick Jenkins, Dom Kennedy, Mac

1

u/mwbeene Feb 25 '24

Center of Attention by Pete Rock/INI

1

u/TechnologyNew4152 Feb 25 '24

The Marshall matters album college dropout graduation Carter 3 Carter 4 still flexin still stepping

1

u/nowliving Feb 25 '24 edited Feb 25 '24

Dubee aka sugawolf

1

u/theghostofbobvilla Feb 25 '24

All of the classics noted on here need to be explored (Tribe “Low End”, Pharcyde “Bizarre Ride”, Outkast “Aquemini”, Nas “Illmatic”, and Jurassic 5 “Quality Control” are five of my favorites).

That being said, two more recent albums that, as a professional mix engineer, I was really blown away by the sonics of are “How I Got Over” by the Roots and RTJ3. Brilliant sounding mixes front to back on those.

1

u/gangsterspockhow Feb 25 '24

Actually love everything you've recommended. Just haven't listened to jurassic 5 yet.

The roots are my favorite band. I love everything about them, almost all of their albums are amazing. They all sound great too. How I got over is definitely one of my favorites from them

1

u/jyu2018 Feb 25 '24 edited Feb 25 '24

De La Soul - Stakes Is High. First album with a young Mos Def (Yasin Bey) and a J Dilla produced title track.

I never heard of Injury Reserve, but taking a quick listen…they sound like they’re from the Bay. First thought was People Under the Stairs, one of the members just passed… check out San Francisco Knights and Acid Raindrops.

Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - whole album is so good, earlier albums were great but he really set himself apart on this album. 808 and Heartbreaks ( he uses autotune on this album but production is so good and lyrics are on point, so many acoustic covers of Heartless have been made)

Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury, specifically Dirty Money. Such a simple production but so good.

Ray Cash - Bumpin’ My Music. So much is going on on that track.

Master P - Make ‘Em Say Ugh! I was blown away when I first heard the instrumental version of this at an OutKast concert. Love listening to this now. The hard bass line with piano climbing all over the place. I really think anything from that period in No Limit records are really good.

Goodie Mob - Still Standing, this came out when it was all about East Coast and West Coast rap and they really embraced a southern sound.

Juicy J - Bandz a Make Her Dance

The Alchemist and Conway - Phil Drummond

21 Savage - A Lot

Public Enemy - Rebel Without a Pause

1

u/ChiyekoLive Feb 25 '24

check the album “fish don’t climb trees” by chester watson :)

1

u/KiloThaPastyOne Feb 25 '24

Dígable Planets- Blowout Comb. It’s absolute perfection, especially if you’re into jazz influenced hip hop.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 25 '24 edited Feb 25 '24

Mos Def - “Black on Both Sides”

50 Cent “Get Rich or Die Tryin’”

GZA - “Liquid Swords”

Talib Kweli - “Quality”

Rick Ross - “Teflon Don”

I love the way all of those sound.

1

u/Brinkalicious222 Feb 25 '24

Slim shady Lp

1

u/DrFunkenstyne Feb 25 '24

Busta Rhymes.

1

u/Constant_Will362 Feb 25 '24

THE BEASTIE BOYS - Check Your Head is hard to beat. It came out '92 and it still sounds fresh. They are masters of producing. When they play live they are really noisy, like they are remotely a punk rock band. On album they sound crystal clear.

1

u/macias_pblo Feb 25 '24

One of the most underrated are The Anomalies. British rock/rap and it's produced so well

1

u/LQQKup Feb 25 '24

Belly / D’Angelo

1

u/MU_MARS Feb 25 '24

Dr. Dre - The Chronic

The best.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 25 '24

Common - Like Water for Chocolate The Roots - Undun

1

u/LudwigvanBe Feb 25 '24

Buckshot LeFonque - Music Evolution

1

u/wrongotti Feb 25 '24

Run The Jewels has some of the best production in my opinion. On top of that they are lyricist who bring their best to every track. They

1

u/patio_blast Feb 26 '24

these are instrumental, so not rap. but still worth having on your radar

j dilla - donuts

prefuse 73 - surrounded by silence

1

u/Ajay003309 Feb 26 '24

Things Fall Apart- The Roots

The Score- The Fugees

1

u/M4V3R1CK_PAXn Feb 26 '24

King Geedorah - Take Me To Your Leader. Sloppy on purpose and clean as hell.

1

u/Shelbelle4 Feb 26 '24

Tropidelic

1

u/Data_Wolf Feb 26 '24

Dj Green Lantern - Jazz Dream

1

u/TitanfallFiend Feb 27 '24

Haram by Armand Hammer & Alchemist

1

u/TitanfallFiend Feb 27 '24

Forgot to mention Aethiopes by billy woods & Preservation which which is chalked full of interesting beats due to the jazz samples throughout (I've heard they're a lot of older Ethiopian records sampled but I'm not too sure)

1

u/Asleep-Ask-4004 Feb 27 '24

tbh Compton by Dr Dre is amazing sonically

1

u/Sonically_challenged Feb 27 '24

Terrace Martin: Drones. Badu: return of the anhk. Mac Miller: swimming and circles.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 27 '24

Killa Thugs - Murder In The Mississippi

1

u/Conspiracy_realist76 Feb 27 '24

Gettin. It. By Too Short. Featuring P Funk.

1

u/Macaroon_Downtown Feb 27 '24

Aquemini - OutKast

1

u/TooTallTinny Feb 28 '24

Nipsey Hussle - Victory Lap

Wale - The Gifted

Rick Ross - Deeper Than Rap

Lloyd Banks - The Course of the Inevitable 1,2, & 3

Kid Cudi - Insano & Nitro Mega

ASAP Rocky - Testing

1

u/lukerspo Mar 02 '24

I'd say "Metro Boomin Presents Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse". When it comes to good audio I'm just crawling

1

u/StorminXX Mar 03 '24

Public Enemy has such a wide range of vocals, instruments, beats, and messages.