Every so often, some entity releases a list of the best ever hip-hop albums. This time the 200-album list comes from the Rolling Stone team. Hip-hop fans flocked to see how the magazine ranked the different albums. Rolling Stone shared the list on social media, and hip-hop fans couldn’t wait to express their opinions about the rankings.
A Disappointing List by Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone dropped the list on June 7. Tupac, Dr. Dre, Missy Elliott, Eminem, Lil Wayne, Nas, and The Notorious B.I.G. all made this list. Hip-hop fans appreciated seeing these familiar favorites, but heated debates surround the rankings.
The trailblazing Tupac album “All Eyez on Me” only made it to number 29. Eminem, arguably the greatest rapper ever, doesn’t have any albums in the top 10. None of his albums even made it into the top 24! Slim Shady, who changed the game with his work, also could have received higher rankings for his contributions.
Another questionable ranking was given to “Illmatic” by Nas. Rolling Stone faced backlash for ranking the album at number 24 on the list.
Nas, Eminem, and Tupac were ranked lower than expected, but others didn’t even make the list of the Greatest Hip-Hop Albums. KRS-One, MC Lyte, The Lox, and Ludacris didn’t have one album on the list. Fans also didn’t appreciate Rolling Stone’s disrespect to many hip-hop legends.
Outrage Against Cardi B’s Ranking
The most significant outrage emerged over a Cardi B album. “Invasion of Privacy” received a ranking of 16. No one disputed that the album should be on the list someplace, but its high order caused a stir. “Invasion of Privacy” was ranked higher than “All Eyez on Me,” “Illmatic,” “Straight Outta Compton,” “Supa Dupa Fly,” and “The Chronic.” These albums don’t just include a few names; many fans find them much better than “Invasion of Privacy.”
All and all, the list disappointed the hip-hop community. The Rolling Stones 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums list missed a significant margin. The list’s order — and the albums that didn’t make it at all — ignited a vocal outcry. Hopefully, the following list created by Rolling Stone won’t upset fans. Until then, Rolling Stone has to live with the backlash.
Xavier “Writer X” Griffin | Facebook @WriterX93 |Twitter @WRITER_X_713
