SRC

You may not know this about me but I love Rap. Ever since a friend of mine introduced me to this sound back in 1992 I have been addicted! So many new artists and huge artists in the industry are all about the money, now dont get me wrong, everyone deserves to get paid. I am talking about their raps, there is very little story in there for the listener to enjoy. I love to be taken on a journey into sound through the beats, hooks, and lyrics of a great rap song. Below are just a few of the, (in my opinion), great rap story tellers.

In no particular order

W.C. AKA,William Loshawn Calhoun, Jr

The song that gets W.C. on to this list is "lets make a deal", this track features on his 2002 album Ghetto heisman

The intro Translation : girl: "son of a fucking bitch! Son of a fucking bitch. The middle man was fucking up our business. Ernesto, what are we going to do?" Ernesto : "we are going to slaughter all them motherfuckers with our AK47s"

The song tracks the exploits of 2 drug dealers who kill their connect to get to the "direct source" Ernesto. The song sucks you in and immerses you in this world, if only for a brief moment. You can feel the fear and apprehension of W.C. in the beginning of the track with lines like "Hands trembling, cause I'm caught in the mix of the game". The beat and Caribbean drums on this track make it one that you will want to blast out of your speakers at 11. (for the spinal tap fans)

If you are checking out W.C. I highly recommend the track "Something 2 live 4" also featured on Ghetto heisman. It is a story of loss that really cuts deep.

The Mighty Mos Def, AKA Yasiin Bey, AKA Dante Terrell Smith

The song that gets Mos Def on to this list is actually his most popular one "Miss Fat Booty", the track features on his 1999 album "Black on both sides".

This track is a love song, It is actually a track that I associate heavily with my now wife. The track goes through Mos's introduction, infatuation, dependency and ultimate break up with Miss Fat booty "Sharice". This track featured heavily in my own courtship of Natasha and has a real place in my heart.

The whole black on both sides album is a master class (bar umi says and climb, only as they are more songs than raps). There are such great tracks on this album from "Mr Nigga" to "New world water" The album is an eyeopener and incredibly political, it is an anarchists dream! I mean when is the last time you heard a rap artist talk about corporate greed and waste and subsequent aquatic pollution?

Slick Rick AKA Richard Martin Lloyd Walters

Arguably one of raps greatest story tellers, slick ricks entry for this list is "Who Rotten 'Em" from his 1999 album "the art of story telling"

The art of story telling is Slick ricks final studio album. In my opinion this album is a masterpiece, there are some really amazing tracks on this album. The one that I have picked for this list is Who Rotten Em, this track details the rise of a slave child working in the fields to the position adviser to the pharaoh.

Slick rick is also the most sampled rap artist of all times. His music has been sampled and interpolated over 600 times! My original introduction to Slick Rick was Via Snoop Dogg with his cover of "La di da di" on his 1993 seminal album "doggystyle". If you are looking for a great story rap you should also check out "The Moment I Feared" from Ricks 1988 album "The Great Adventures of Slick Rick" This track details ricks worst nightmares where his world is flipped upside down and all his strengths become his weaknesses.

Gang starr, Guru AKA Keith Edward Elam and Dj Premier AKA Christopher Edward Martin

Gangstarr is a rap group but you cant even speak about the lyrics without talking about the mastermind that is DJ Premier. The track for this list is "Above the clouds" form their 1998 album "Moment of truth" featuring Inspecta Deck

The track is arguably one of Gangstarr's best in my opinion. This track is about life and death on the streets. They speak about "Seeking everlasting life through this Hell for what it's worth", "The righteous pay a sacrifice to get what they deserve" and "Experience the best teacher, thoughts will spray like street sweepers Little Daddy street preacher" all from Guru's verse. The depth of lyrics like this, thoughts are like Uzi's that preach to the streets. Simply fantastic. Then when Inspecta Deck hits the mike with lines like "Ayatollah rest in the sky, the cloud's my sofa" "Stand like Collossus, regardless to whom or what" and "Numerous attempts at my life, so who to trust" the paranoia of street life is palpable. Another of Gangstarr's tracks that I highly recommend is "full clip" It is just a Monster!

Ice Cube AKA O'Shea Jackson

Many of the younger generation would know Ice cube as a mediocre actor, not to knock the guy in any way, he just isn't going to win any Oscars and is type cast in almost every roll. But before his prolific acting and indeed directing career Ice cube was a bad ass rapper, he first hit the scene with NWA but shortly after carved his own career in the rap industry. The track for this list has to be "it was a good day" from his 1993 album "The Predator."

Picture a day where everything goes just the way you would have wanted it to go. For Ice Cube this is him getting laid, wins a pickup game with a triple double, runs a red light and doesn't get pulled over by the onlooking cops, wins a game of craps, passes rival crews with no beef, Drinks heavy and doesn't throw up, party's with Too $hort and even manages to hit up his favourite "fat burger" for a late night meal. All this for a young black man in early 1990's south central LA. Oh and in case you were wondering is there any real day that was Cubes "Good Day" was based on? So was This Guy who actually got to meet Cube because of that post!

So there is it folks the beginning of a great list that I would love to hear your additions to.