The Concept of the Hip Hop Concept Album
On my next birthday, I will be 34, so it stands to reason that my life has left me with plenty of access to hip hop music in my time. One thing that artists USED to try and actually pull off well was concept albums. No, I do not mean an album upon which the artist finds a reasonably central theme well and sticks close to that across the entirety of the album. With that in mind, Ready to Die, Only Built For Cuban Lynx and the like are off of the table. They were classically presented albums that stuck to their formulas well, but “Concept Albums” they were not. On the other hand, Prince Paul’s TWO concept albums A Prince Among Thieves and Politics of the Business , Kool Keith’s entire career and minor outlying and TERRIBLY slept-on Sporty Thievz Street Cinema should all personify what it is I am getting after. It’s not to say that artists from the little-known on up to megastars haven’t TRIED, just that many fail to pull it off. Let me lay it