As mentioned previously, here’s Brandan’s (from Recognize the Real) top 25 list. Let him know how you feel in the comment section.

1. Notorious B.I.G. - Ready To Die

It was ‘94 and me and my brother was with my mother at the car wash listenin to the radio while our car was getting washed. And then me and my brother heard those lyrics “super nintendo, sega genesis, when I was dead broke man I couldn’t picture this!”. Now remember I was in the 7th grade at the time and my brother was still in elementary school, and as we know video games was the sh*t then and for a rapper to use those lyrics was crazy! So I was kinda hooked right after I heard ‘Juicy’. Then a couple weeks later I seen the video and I was intrigued even further. But what blew it open for me was “Big Poppa” & “Warning”, the images from those videos just stuck in my head forever. So me being in 7th grade was now exposed to the finer things in life that BIG was talkin about but also the dangers that come with it. Then the ultimate party jam was “One More Chance remix”!! I was grounded that summer when that video came out, I must have recorded that video at least 8-9x. That was the jam man, I remember a friend of mine that lived down the street had the cassette single of One More Chance and his parents had a Lexus. Now none of us knew how to drive, so we just chilled in the ride that night popped in the cassette and put the volume on full blast jammin that tape from front to back!! It was like a worldwide event at that time listenin to that tape. When I was able to get my hands on the LP when it dropped and I was blown away by the album. It was like listenin to a movie and visualizing it in your head!! There was no need to skip any tracks on there, every track complimented each other. I mean it was perfect and I couldn’t stop listenin to that LP. It was a great time in hip-hop when that dropped, and it just gave me a perspective what it was like to grow up in rough situations but comin out of all of that and makin it good! BIG was the ultimate success story and he was a very cool down to earth person, u never heard one wack rhyme that ni99a spit. He is truly the greatest hands down!

2. Nas - Illmatic

3. Wu Tang Clan – Enter the Wu Tang (36 Chambers)

4. Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx

5. Jay Z – Reasonable Doubt

6. Notorious B.I.G. – Life After Death

7. A Tribe Called Quest – Midnight Marauders

8. Mobb Deep – The Infamous

9. Group Home – Livin Proof

10. Puff Daddy & The Family – No Way Out

now the rest is in no order:

11. CNN – The War Report

12. De La Soul – Stakes Is High

13. Nas – It Was Written

14. LL Cool J – Mr. Smith

15. Black Moon – Enta Da Stage

16. Common Sense – One Day It Will All Make Sense

17. Dr. Dre – The Chronic

18. Boogie Down Productions – Criminal Minded

19. Big Daddy Kane – Long Live the Kane

20. Jay Z – In My Lifetime Vol. 1 / Vol.2 (hard to choose between them)

21. A Tribe Called Quest – The Low End Theory

22. Mobb Deep – Hell On Earth

23. Ghostface – Ironman / Supreme Clientele (hard to choose between them)

24. Fat Joe – Jealous One’s Envy

25. Camp Lo – Uptown Saturday Night

~Vincent~