thebiglebowski Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Not sure if "thematic" is the right word, but I have a couple of rap albums I listen to regularly (Deltron 3030, A1 - After school special). I think I like that these have themes to them (Deltron has a futuristic/space travel theme and A1 is based off 90s TV shows). So, are there anymore good rap albums that have themes that tie all the songs together rather than just a collection of random thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gutzonborglum Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Classified - Self Explanatory is a pretty solid 'Name your own adventure' themed album. All the songs intertwine, and you have the option of skipping ahead to certain tracks depending on how you want the story to turn out. Sounds kind of campy, but his musical ability is great, along the line of Atmosphere. Good Canadian hip hop, with a theme! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saxamaphone Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Dr. Octagon - Dr. Octagonecologyst CunninLynguists - A Piece of Strange Handsome Boy Modeling School - So... How's Your Girl? Little Brother - The Minstrel Show Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexH. Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Is the phrase you're looking for "concept album"? Tyler, the Creator's albums follow a loose continuous narrative if you can stomach rape references. Also, Kanye's first 3 albums are kind of thematic. 808s & Heartbreak is too, but it's more of an R&B record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebiglebowski Posted December 17, 2011 Author Share Posted December 17, 2011 Thanks for suggestions. Will look into them. "Concept album" is probably a better phrase. I guess technically club rap has a "concept," just a dumb one. But yeah, a concept album with a studio feel (as opposed to laptop rap type stuff like MC Lars, which isn't bad but doesn't stick with me). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almightyseancore Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 pretty much every icp album is a concept album. jus' sayin'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriss Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 var ads = new Array("300x250-1.png","300x250-2.png","300x250-3.png"); var num = Math.floor(Math.random()*ads.length); if(Math.floor(Math.random()*2) == 0) { if(Math.floor(Math.random()*2) == 0) document.write('+':vutoprad]'); else document.write('+':vutoprad]'); } else { document.write(''); } Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrangerwithcandy Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 MF Doom does a lot of stuff like that (MMFood and Dangerdoom) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriss Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 ^ yes! I have the Special Herbs box which is just great if you want solid instrumental hip hop. His Madvillain album with Madlib is probably one of the best underground hip hop records of all time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bathroommonkey Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 aceyalone - the book of human language kunga 219 - tharapa's transcrips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imaminorthreat Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 mf doom's food album is fucking amazing. all of del's shit is worth having as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasma36 Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Digital Underground - "Sex Packets" Wu-Tang Clan - "36 Chambers: Enter the Wu-Tang" Both are essential hip-hop albums, and both are meant to be listened to as full albums. "Game Theory" by The Roots doesn't follow much of a story but it, along with most Roots albums, has overlying themes in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manicdogbert Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriss Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Digital Underground - "Sex Packets"Wu-Tang Clan - "36 Chambers: Enter the Wu-Tang" Both are essential hip-hop albums, and both are meant to be listened to as full albums. "Game Theory" by The Roots doesn't follow much of a story but it, along with most Roots albums, has overlying themes in it. I know it's probably lacking in terms of overarching theme, but the first Roots record that they did back in the early 90's is some seriously incredible stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hickey Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 Prince Paul - A Prince Among Thieves. This wins the "concept album" category for rap records. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moe Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 The Goats - Tricks of the Shade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasma36 Posted December 20, 2011 Share Posted December 20, 2011 The Streets - A Grand Don't Come For Free Damn, how did I forget about this? That album is incredible and everyone should own it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicole Posted December 22, 2011 Share Posted December 22, 2011 Classified - Self Explanatory is a pretty solid 'Name your own adventure' themed album. All the songs intertwine, and you have the option of skipping ahead to certain tracks depending on how you want the story to turn out. Sounds kind of campy, but his musical ability is great, along the line of Atmosphere. Good Canadian hip hop, with a theme! my first thought, exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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