My five favorite hip hop album openings:
1. Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle - Snoop chatting with Warren G over the smooth grooves of Curtis Mayfield. In a bathtub. It doesn't get any better than this.
2. Nas, Illmatic - Hennessy, subway noise, and hand guns - this track sets the tone for the entire album. And it does so over one of the best and most underrated beats on the LP, thick with heavy bass and driving percussion.
3. Drake, Take Care - One of the most brilliantly orchestrated album opening of all-time. A simple and daring declaration of what Take Care will musically be about. The piano starts with a simple riff, followed by the gentle tapping of a muted drum. By the time vocal part enters, we're in heaven.
4. Eminem, The Slim Shady LP - "Don't do drugs." Enough said.
5. Common, Be - An album opening that I personally go back and forth on... but the innovative approach here is undeniable. This opening lays out the formula that others (see Drake, Take Care) would perfect. The record starts with a single base line, completely exposed, and gradually builds towards a somewhat regrettable string part. But still, the courage and simplicity of Kanye's production, combined with Common's terrific flow, makes for one of the most distinctive intros ever.
Honorable mentions:
1. Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle - Snoop chatting with Warren G over the smooth grooves of Curtis Mayfield. In a bathtub. It doesn't get any better than this.
2. Nas, Illmatic - Hennessy, subway noise, and hand guns - this track sets the tone for the entire album. And it does so over one of the best and most underrated beats on the LP, thick with heavy bass and driving percussion.
3. Drake, Take Care - One of the most brilliantly orchestrated album opening of all-time. A simple and daring declaration of what Take Care will musically be about. The piano starts with a simple riff, followed by the gentle tapping of a muted drum. By the time vocal part enters, we're in heaven.
4. Eminem, The Slim Shady LP - "Don't do drugs." Enough said.
5. Common, Be - An album opening that I personally go back and forth on... but the innovative approach here is undeniable. This opening lays out the formula that others (see Drake, Take Care) would perfect. The record starts with a single base line, completely exposed, and gradually builds towards a somewhat regrettable string part. But still, the courage and simplicity of Kanye's production, combined with Common's terrific flow, makes for one of the most distinctive intros ever.
Honorable mentions:
50 Cent, Get Rich or Die Tryin
Jay-Z, Kingdom Come
Clipse, Hell Hath No Fury
Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Wu Tang Clan, Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers)
Jay-Z, Kingdom Come
Clipse, Hell Hath No Fury
Kanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Wu Tang Clan, Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers)
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