Especially Ras Kass (on “Rise Of The Machines”) and Percee P (on “Walk With Me”) kill it, proving as they always do that they are two of the best emcees of all time. Also, there are a lot of guest rappers who add real value to the album, there are no more than two tracks on which Vinnie Paz handles the mic duties on his own – and with enlisting names like Tragedy Khadafi, Kool G Rap, Canibus, Ras Kass, and Percee P you know top-quality emceeing is pretty much a guarantee. Even if there’s some truth to all of the critical statements aimed at this album, we still feel Visions Of Gandhi is a dope album, especially when it is not compared to other JMT albums, but judged by itself.Īs polished as they may be, Stoupe’s soundscapes are mostly thumpingly excellent. It is also said that Vinnie Paz’s lyrics have become harder to stomach – less conscious, more repetitive and more intended to shock (his homophobic attitude does get tyring and only serves to make himself look kind of dumb). Critics say that after Jus Allah left JMT the group lost most of its intelligence and that Stoupe’s production has become too polished and more inconsistent, getting carried away at times with Latin-flavored and other sounds that don’t really fit Vinnie Paz’s rugged and rough style of rhyming. The long and short of it is: some hate Visions Of Gandhi, some love it.
This is an album that has always polarized opinions, especially among first hour Jedi Mind Trick fans.
Kno definitely is the key to CunninLynguists’ creative success, his work on the boards is all-around awesome, and with SouthernUnderground he delivers one of the best-produced albums of the year.Įven if SouthernUnderground was generally critically acclaimed it was commercially not nearly as successful as it should have been, making it one of 2003’s under-appreciated masterpieces. Other stand-outs include “Old School”, “Dying Nation,” “War,” and “Appreciation,” (about 9/11), and especially “Falling Down” – a creative musical masterpiece by Kno. SouthernUnderground may be best known for its single “Seasons” – which features Masta Ace – a classic cut that details that history of Hip Hop comparing different eras to seasons of a year. SOS to accompany on vocals for much of the album. For SouthernUnderground the trio employed Mr. SouthernUnderground is the second album from CunninLynguists, the trio hailing from Lexington, Kentucky a nd Atlanta, Georgia – consisting of Deacon the Villain, Natti, and DJ/vocalist Kno. Check out our list with 18 of the most under-appreciated albums of 2003, and let us know what you think. Readers of articles like this one will know better of course, but maybe even YOU will be surprised by some of the titles mentioned here (in no particular order). While 50 Cent’s classic sophomore album does make our Top 40 Hip Hop Albums Of 2003 (scroll down to see at which spot it lands), we feel there were a lot of albums better in 2003.Īlso: forget Lil Jon and the rest of the crunk legions who received too much of the spotlight this particular year – 2003 had plenty of excellent real Hip Hop to offer, even if you wouldn’t know it if mainstream popularity and commercial success were your only references. But was Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ among the best albums of 2003? Not if you ask HHGA.
A landmark album when it comes to sales figures, popularity and impact – and not a bad album at all, with a couple of great songs and tight production throughout. 2003 was the year of 50 Cent’s Get Rich Or Die Tryin’.