5 hip hop albums that changed my life

1. Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Blackstar
This album opened up my world to a new hip hop. A world in which the girls are clean, bling ain't tahat important and the emcees are intelligent. This album is solid through and through. Songs like Definition, Astronomy and Thieves in the night opened my eyes and I started to become hungry about hip hop. The shit I listened to before this was garbage. This album was my gateway drug.

2. Lauryn Hill - MTV Unplugged Recordings
Lauryn is my favourite female artist of all time. This album really helped me discover my own self when I first heard it. Lauryn drops some knowledge in this compilation. Most of it is songs but every now and then she just talks to the live audience and you get to see her as a person. She says some shit that just makes you stop and say yeah.. what the fuck have i been worrying about that for. She's right, i don't care what someone else thinks. fuck them. my life! I am indebted to Lauryn for this joint cuz it taught me so much about others and most importantly, about myself. If I wasn't so lazy, I'd pray every night for a new Lauryn Hill album. Rumour has it that she is working on one for next year.

3. Wu Tang - Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers)
WU motherbitches! This album is tite. These guys don't get half the respect and props they deserve. Probably because as a collective, they have never been able to top this debut album. But regardless of that fact, this album is dope from start to finish. This album opened up a new lair of hip hop for me, violent -just an all around darker side to hip hop.

4. Grouch and Eligh - No More Greener Grasses
This album was my first major foray into underground hip hop. Whenever I put this album on nowadays, it immediately takes me back to last summer. This joint provided the soundtrack for that summer. I was constantly on it, singing along. I remember one time, I was on a bus humming along when I realised that everyone was looking at me, turns out my humming had morphed into full fledged rapping with hand gestures .. all with my eyes close and big dopey grin on my face. This album showed me what underground was, and I haven't looked back since. If Blackstar got me hooked to hip hop, then this album got me hooked to underground.

5. J- Dilla/Jaydee - Welcome 2 Detroit
The first time I heard this album was just a few days after a few beat-making experiences I had with various friends. Then I heard this joint which deature Jaydee's awesome beats. I was hooked. This album opened another avenue of hip hop to me, production. I started viewing all music differently after this, it all made sense and looked so much more that just spitting rhymes now. It had to flow, it had to be the right pitch, it needed to have a soul before someone spit 16 bars on it and made it gold. This album got me psyched about making music. If you ever catch me beatboxing to myself.. you can thank Dilla.

Honourable mentions:
Common - Like Water for Chocolate
Outkast - Aquemini
Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation of Millions