Motown Philly: The Best Albums Outta Philadelphia

What's the word cats and dogs?!  This salute goes to another musically rich city, which has a long history of soul.  Artists such as Chubby Checker, Frankie Avalon, The Delfonics, Frankie Beverly and Solomon Burke paved the way for the next generation to follow, which would consist of the likes of Jill Scott, Az Yet, and the most commercially successful group to ever emerge from the city, Boyz II Men.  As you can tell, the mu8sical history of the city is as deep as Detroit, thus the term "Motown Philly".  In hip-hop, the legacy lies within musical variations.  From gangsta to straight lyrical to artistic and abstract, hip-hop has a huge part in the success of modern day Philly, and without any further distractions, let's get to the best efforts from the city of brotherly love.

20. The High & Mighty- Home Field Advantage

From the sub-terrain of Philly came two Caucasian boys, one DJ and one emcee.  DJ Mighty Mi and Mr. Eon were collectively known as The High & Mighty, and guess what people?  This DJ/MC act was nothing to sneeze at.  Their debut album, Home Field Advantage, was a delight for all backpackers, but it carried a lot of weight too.  Appearances by Pharoahe Monch, Evidence, Mad Skillz, Mos Def (these two on the lead cut "B-Boy Document '99" was sorely under-appreciated) and a then-still fairly underground Eminem helped this album became a cult favorite and ushered in a wave of highly talented White emcees that proved that there's a lot more 3rd Basses than Vanilla Ices in this game.

19. Schooly D- Schooly D

One of the early forefathers of the Philly hip-hop sound was Schooly D.  Considered one of the pioneers of the gangsta rap genre, his debut self-titled album contained two of his biggest hits: "Gucci Time" and "P.S.K. (What Does It Mean)".  He was often known for describing street situations and his sexual conquests, thus influencing emcees at this time such as Ice-T.  We got a first taste of realism from a streets perspective in the early eighties thanks to him and we salute Schooly D for his contributions to the game, and this album was ahead of the game.

18. The Roots- Game Theory

Let me put this out there: you'll see a lot of this act on this list.  With that being said, one of their most heralded releases came in the form of  their seventh album, Game Theory.  This album was the start of their move towards more socially conscious and thought-provoking subject matter material.  Dark in approach and in technical standards, this was an album that put a mirror up to the ills of society and the anger that resonates.  In spite of the bleak nature of the effort, this album was simply fantastic and was filled with passion and raw, reality-based rhymes and concepts.  Definitely among the truly best projects from the legendary Roots crew.

17. Eve- Scorpion

The self-professed "pitbull in a skirt" was no joke in the early millennium.  Former Dr. Dre-protege, turned Ruff Ryder, Eve, tasted success early with her very promising debut, Let There Be Eve: Ruff Ryders' First Lady.  In '01, she continued that momentum with her second effort, Scorpion, and it was every bit as dope as her debut.  With her breakout hits, "Who's That Girl" and the Dr. Dre-crafted, Gwen Stefani-assisted Grammy-winning single "Let Me Blow Your Mind", Scorpion was another platinum success, not to mention a Grammy nominated album, and proved once and for all that Eve Jihan Jeffers wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

16. Jedi Mind Tricks- Visions Of Ghandi

One of the more vicious acts to come from underground Philly is Jedi Mind Tricks, a group consisting of DJ/Producer Stoupe The Enemy of Mankind and emcee Vinnie Paz.  Sometimes they would also have on again/off again emcee Jus Allah with them as well to help compliment Vinnie.  On their third album, Visions Of Ghandi, they still continue their topics of conspiracy theories and anti-religion from their previous efforts, Violent By Design and The Psycho-Social...(trust me the title is long) album.  However, Vinnie also incorporates more tough guy talk that is pretty intimidating and attention-grabbing.  Also Stoupe's production is once again outstanding, showing that JMT was indeed a definite force to be reckoned with.

15. Army OF The Pharoahs- The Torture Papers

In '98, there was a collective of emcees from Philly's underground that was making heads turn.  They were known as Army Of The Phaorahs, and they were started by Jedi Mind Tricks.  The crew consisted of 7L, Esoteric, Chief Kamachi, Virtuoso, and Bahamadia originally, but then expanded to include acts such as Blacastan, Apathy, Outerspace, Celph Titled, and longtime Philly rhyme slayer Reef The Lost Cauze.  After years of anticipation, AOTP released their debut album, The Torture Papers, and it was every bit as brutal as we had anticipated.  Unrelenting and savage, this album was filled with anarchist-inspired rhymes and a cohesiveness that made one feel that this was another incarnation of the Wu, only with more of a chip on their shoulder as a group.  This is one project that wasn't for the delicate snowflake at heart.

14. Freeway- Philadelphia Freeway

At the height of the Roc-A-Fella era, there was a long-bearded gruffled-voiced emcee that cats were checking for named Freeway.  After impressing people on Jay-Z's The Dynasty: Roc La Familia album, the anticipation was pretty large for this emcee, and he met every single expectation with his highly impressive debut, Philadelphia Freeway.  Solely produced by then in-house Roc beatsmiths Just Blaze, Kanye West, and Bink Dogg, this was a wall to wall smash.  Led by the flames-inducing single "What We Do", this propelled Free's album to hit gold and it established yet another superstar within the Roc.

13. Jedi Mind Tricks- Violent By Design

After introducing themselves to the game with their left-brained, yet intoxicating, debut, The Psycho-Social..., they stepped it up musically, lyrically, and conceptually with their sophomore album, Violent By Design.  Introducing more of a Latin-esque feel, along with more morbid sounding production and very aggressive lyrics about death and conspiracy theories, Vinnie Paz and Stoupe bring it to your face wholeheartedly and unapologetically.  This became the officially start of their cult following, and this album still holds weight with any of their best work to this day.

12. Last Emperor- Music, Magic, Myth

Such an enigma is Jamal Grey, otherwise known as The Last Emperor.  After getting his amazing effort, The Legend Of Bigfoot, shelved dealing with Aftermath and then Rawkus, he ended up recording virtually an entirely new album under label Raptivism called Music, Magic, Myth.  While there were some leftovers from Bigfoot, there were mostly whole new tracks such as "Block Party" and the simply stunning "One Life", which featured late Gravediggaz member Poetic in what was revealed to be his last verse ever before succumbing to cancer.  This was an album that was practically every bit as incredible as Bigfoot, with or without any leftovers from Bigfoot.  We only wish we would've gotten a follow-up from this once highly touted and promising emcee.

11. DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince- He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper

Before there was any Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, Jeffery Townes and Will Smith were simple DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince and they were among the most popular and fun acts to come along during hte mid to late eighties.  Charming, wholesome, and occasionally quite amusing, this was the hip-hop your entire family could listen to, and with He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper, it solidified them as stars.  Containing the singles Nightmare On My Street", the anthemic "Parents Just Don't Understand", and the funky stylings of "Brand New Funk", the album ultimately sold three million units and showed that these two, especially Will, had what it took with their charm and fun appeal to be worldwide stars.  Boy, we had no idea just how much.

10. Eve- Let There Be Eve: Ruff Ryders' First Lady

In the late nineties, the ladies were handling their business every bit as strong as the men, and Eve was among the front runners.  Originally an Aftermath artist, she went to the double-R camp, and she didn't hit, she exploded.  Good looks and aggressive yet confident rhymes to match, Eve took the world by storm with her debut album, Let There Be Eve: Ruff Ryders First Lady.  She showed that she could definitely hang with the house that DMX made famous with cuts such as the melancholy "Love Is Blind", the Spanish-tinged "What Y'all Want", and the fire "Scenario 2000", and it was enough for her debut to hit double platinum units.  The next female up to bat was Eve, and for her debut, she knocked it out the park.

9. The Roots- Do You Want More?!??!

Philly was starting to really catch a buzz about this particularly talented assemblage known as The Roots.  With their major label debut, Do You Want More?!??!, they officially exhibit their abilities to the world, and did they ever.  Blending live instrumentation, jazz stylings, b-boy bravado, and an overall clever musicianship, The Roots was as fresh of a hip-hop act as you could find, and with their singles "Distortion To Static" and "Proceed", it showed that they could hang and bang with any incredible hip-hop act out and this was the big start.

8. Bahamadia- Kollage

Before Eve was heavy repping Philly for the ladies, Army Of The Pharoahs member Bahamadia was the one holding it down.  Down with the aforementioned AOTP, but also down with The Roots, her debut, Kollage, was a highly delightful purist hip-hop album in every way.  Known for her excellent singles "Uknowhowwedo" and "3 The Hard Way", Bahamadia presented a memorable, though highly underrated, album that deserves to be mentioned among the best debuts of the nineties.

7. Jedi Mind Tricks- Servants In Heaven, Kings In Hell

Already establishing a heavy following from prior efforts like Violent By Design, Visions Of Ghandi, and Legacy Of Blood, Jedi Mind Tricks hit pay dirt with their fifth album, Servants In Heaven, Kings In Hell.  Not only was this their most critically acclaimed album to date at that time, but was also their most commercially successful.  This was a lot more personal, painful, and vulnerable than in efforts in past, and the production was simply outstanding.  With all of their efforts, this still stands as arguably their most fluid and cohesive album and is perhaps the act's most prized possession.

6. Beanie Sigel- The Reason

Philly's biggest bully, Beanie Sigel, delivered one of the hardest debuts in years with The Truth in 2000.  After hitting gold, the highly respected Roc-A-Fella general brought forth his second effort, The Reason.  While just barely missing the same mark that made The Truth such an unforgettable debut, this was no slouch whatsoever.  In fact, with cuts like "What Cha Life Like 2", "Mom Praying", and "Man's World", you would swear you were in fact listening to the unofficial sequel.  Another acclaimed effort from State Property's finest.

5. The Roots- How I Got Over

When describing The Roots' ninth album, How I Got Over, the word 'human' comes to mind immediately.  This magnificent piece of work has the group detailing the common everyday struggles of the working man/woman with the hopes of overcoming their plights.  This was one of the most down-to-earth, blue collar albums to ever exist, and over some of the most compelling musical landscapes the group has ever delivered.  This has been regarded as the most substantial work they have ever put out to this day and with the times we've been in, How I Got Over was a sobering reminder that we still have a long ways to go in order to truly "get over".

4. The Last Emperor- The Legend Of Bigfoot

It's not often an album so full of anticipation and receiving widespread acclaim prior to release just ends up collecting dust and becomes an Internet classic.  That's what was the case with Philly rhyme animal The Last Emperor's original debut album, The Legend Of Bigfoot.  Starting with the bangin' and creative "Secret Wars", along with the compelling "Jungle Cats" and the lyrical servicing "Meditation", this album would've been the jump start of possibly a widely regarded career.  From top to bottom, this album was, and is, a complete gem.  Although it's not available as a retail album, it's not hard at all to find on the Internet and deserves to be heard if you haven't peeped it.  This should've been an underground game-changer.

3. The Roots- Things Fall Apart

After gracing the world with their astonishing third effort, Illadelph Halflife, many wondered could they repeat or outdo the acclaim of that effort.  The answer came in the form of Things Fall Apart, in which this served as their breakout album.  The album was every bit as fantastic and showed that Black Thought was indeed one of the game's truly gifted lyricists.  Complete with social commentary, poignant concepts, and irresistibly melodic instrumentation showed that The Roots were officially a threat within hip-hop and served as their first platinum album, as well as had them nominated for Best Rap Album at The Grammys.

2. Beanie Sigel- The Truth

When many mention 'hard' debuts, titles such as Mr. Scarface Is Back, The Infamous, and AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted come to mind almost immediately.  Add Beanie Sigel's The Truth to that same list.  Unapologetic and as raw as it gets, the former Roc-A-Fella "general" crafted an album that was among the most vivid and straight-forward debuts of the early millennium.  This gold-selling album was considered the best album not released by Jay-Z on the entire label and made Beans a star.  Titles such as "What Cha Life Like", "Die", and the video game-sounding "Mac Man" all show the exemplary talent Beans has and serves as a die-hard classic.

1. The Roots- Illadelph Halflife

In the year of '96, there were some incredible albums that got released including Hell On Earth, All Eyez On Me, Reasonable Doubt, ATLiens, and It Was Written, one album that had to be considered the best of the whole year was The Roots' third album, Illadelph Halflife.  Building another level off of their previous excellent work, Do You Want More?!??!, they beautifully craft jazz into their wonderfully orchestrated musicianship and created a true masterwork.  Also, Thought really started to come into his own as an emcee and pushes so-called artists to move beyond materialism, guns, and drugs.  This album is such a musically rich experience, it's impossible not to put this on the same level at or near landmarks such as The Low End Theory, Aquemini, To Pimp A Butterfly, or De La Soul Is Dead.  With all of the amazing efforts they've crafted, this is still the measuring stick.

Honorable Mentions

The Roots- Phrenology

The Roots- The Tipping Point

The Roots- Undun

The Roots- Rising Down
The Roots- Organix

Cassidy- I'm A Hustla

Jedi Mind Tricks- Legacy Of Blood

Jedi Mind Tricks- The Thief & The Fallen

Freeway- Free At Last

State Property- State Property

State Property- State Property II: The Chain Gang

The High & Mighty- Air Force 1 (EP)

Beanie Siegel- The B-Coming

DJ Jazzy Jeff- The Magnificent

DJ Jazzy Jeff- Return Of The Magnificent

Army OF The Pharoahs- Ritual Of Battle

Reef The Lost Cauze- Feast Or Famine

Reef The Lost Cauze- A Vicious Cycle

Outerspace- Blood Brothers
King Syze- The Labor Union
Eve- Eve-olution

As you can see, Philly contains a ton of fire, and aside from championship teams such as the 76ers, Phillies, Eagles, and Flyers, Philly has a much of a championship hip-hop legacy as anything else that is highly regarded and revered in this illustrious city.  Here's to looking for more outstanding efforts from the city.  Until next time!