This band would have to have the most diverse songs. There are some I love such as, Aerials, and then they can make songs I loath. This LP is a mixture also. Best Tracks: Violent Pornography, Old School Hollywood, Lost in Hollywood

Cormega returns for his first album in three years. The topics probably haven't altered a lot from before, being mostly about the state of hip hop, the culture and race issues, but Mega does it in more detail than most and it's different enough to catch the ear. He also flows brilliantly on some songs such as 'Rap Basquiat'. The beats, by the legendary Large Pro, aren't as great as the ones on his most recent solo album, Professor @ Large, but he doesn't disappoint too much. The only real negative is Cormega's voice. While it's a helluva lot better than being annoying or bad, it just doesn't have that distinctiveness or power to it which is something I have felt with other Cormega projects I've checked as well. A good album though. The vets are still doing it. Best Tracks: MARS, Industry, Rap Basquiat.

It seemed more difficult to create poor albums than good ones in '94. The consistency is so high from the golden age. This is another nice east coast/boom bap/jazz-rap album. For a 14-15-year-old, the rapping is great, and unlike other young rappers from back in the day, the lyrics aren't dumbed down for a younger audience, nor is there pop-rap. Shyheim actually spits some gangsta lyrics and curses. Another good boom bap album without reaching any outstanding moments. Best Tracks: On and On, Pass It Off, You the Man, The Rugged Onez

NBN are my favourite rap group, but this album came as a surprise to me when I stumbled upon it. Considering that it was only two years between this and their NBN debut, the quality in beats is quite large, with this being pretty much what you'd expect to hear from a standard '80s hip hop album, while their Naughty debut sounds quite fresh for a '91 release. The other difference is their ability to craft songs. NBN's strength was their anthems with some excellent catchy choruses among their best work, but there really isn't much memorable on this. It's still pretty consistent though, with some great rapping, as Treach is a beast on the mic, but the beats leave too much to be desired. Best Tracks: Scuffin' Those Knees, Start Smokin', Can't Win for Losing, Independent Leader, Bring the Rock

Three absolute classics are on this album with 'Xplosion' being the closest thing from the rest, but much of the rest has never jumped out at me. Also, some of the ones I don't like are Outkast's least likeable songs. Best Tracks: So Fresh So Clean, B.O.B., Ms. Jackson.