I had always considered Buhloone Mindstate a classic album and still do, but since Disiskurt didn't think so, I had to give the album another listen from start to finish. Man, that album is super dope and if we go by "one song is enough to consider an entire album a classic," then I think this album would more than qualify. The songs on the album that I consider to be classic songs are: En Focus, Patti Dooke, Ego Trippin (Part Two), I Am I Be, and Breakadawn. However, I then compared Buhloone Mindstate to 3 Feet High and Rising and De la Soul Is Dead which came before it and I think I see why some people may not regard it as a classic; those two albums are Masterpieces. Now I'm remembering back in high school when Buhloone Mindstate came out how people were judging it by De la's previous albums. It may have been that it was considerably shorter in length than those two, and therefore caused some disappointment by people wanting more. For that reason, I don't think it became an instant classic within the hip-hop community, but with time they began to embrace it as such. On a side-note, I noticed that PUTS samples the same "Do It" vocals on Foolish People that De la used on Paul's Revenge.
As for EPMD's Strictly Business, man that's a tough one. I too had always considered it a classic album but Disiskurt got me thinking twice about this one. You Gots to Chill is no doubt a classic, but most of the other songs are just very good. This may be a case in which this one classic song overwhelmed people so much that they went ahead and labeled the whole album a classic. When this came out, you could hear this song being blasted everywhere everyday (and I'm not talking about through the radio or other media) for the next two or so years. For that reason, I still consider the album a classic.
Illmatic, I was there in1994, and I actually bought that album from Tower Records back then. I think most of the hype back then about it came from media sources such as The Source magazine. The World is Yours is a very good song, but not up there with You Gots to Chill to consider the whole album a classic. I think the combination of producers is also partially responsible for it being considered a classic.Other than NY State of Mind and The World is Yours, which are great songs, the rest of the songs are just good with the exception of One Time for Your Mind which I think is below average.
I was there for Black Star too, and I think a lot of its hype also came from media sources. At that time record labels signing people from within the hip-hop culture was nearing its end. Hip-hop music was heading back strictly to the underground like it had been in its first few years from its conception. Master P's No Limit records and Puff Daddy were in full swing putting out all sorts of garbage. Hip-hop culture was being obscured from the public eye. So for Black Star to be out in '98, it gave a lot of people an alternative to the garbage and so it really stood out; hence, its termed a classic. Back then, a lot of people had become accustomed to relying on the big record companies for their hip-hop music, and I think that's why these people overlooked some hip-hop culture artists such as PUTS, Ugly Duckling, and Jurassic 5. Personally, I think Black Star is overrated also and I don't consider it a classic; I constantly find myself skipping over their songs in my playlist.
