Yeah I left out Gravediggaz as it’s not RZA producing (and has no other Clan on it?), the rest have that in common and there are so many MCs common to various records that they do feel part of a whole
But then you have to include some ‘lesser classics’ to get the five!
I’d definitely include Wu-Tang Forever, as there are so many bangers, more room for the MCs to breathe and even some of the weird filler tracks are generally interesting. One of those over-stuffed double albums from the late 90s that every hip-hop act was doing (2Pac, Biggie, Bone Thugz ‘n’ Harmony, lol Mase) - only Wu-Tang had the material to fill it and probably were as important as the double album suggests
Edit: Omg Mase’s second album, Double Up, was not in fact a double. I apologise for the misattribution (but the lol still stands)
Outkast is a good call actually- I think Speakerboxxx/The Love Below is a bit ‘flabby’ (as you put it) but the first four are all solid gold and S/TLB is a ‘classic’ of a sort - a massive seller, Grammy winner, top of all sorts of year end polls. It was arguably the first hip hop album to win the Album of the Year Grammy (depending on how you categorise the Lauryn Hill album). Newsweek apparently rated it as the best album of the decade.
There’s a mixtape and an album ‘proper’ before Good Kid. I’ve not heard the mixtape. The album is interesting but I don’t think anyone would call it a classic.
They’re a band that whichever of those albums I’m listening too (I’d probably include They Want My Soul in this too), I always think, “yep, this is their best album”
They are a strikingly consistent band - everything they release is reliably excellent. For me they fall slightly short of ‘classic’ status but it’s probably pointless to try and define the term further. Really only time will tell and I just don’t know whether they will still be listened to and appreciated in 20 years time (it’s impossible to say).
Probably my favourite band, everything since A Series Of Sneaks is 8/10 minimum. Hot Thoughts is probably the weakest since ASOS, an incredible run by any standards.
I take your point as to whether they are classics in comparison to some of the heavy hitters on this thread (Stevie, Bowie, Neil Young), but I will say I could listen to pretty much any of their albums at any given time. Undoubtedly my most played band/artist of the last 10 years or so, therefore the records are all standing up for me.
I like them too - I always buy their records when they come out and really enjoy them at the time but I don’t find they linger long in the memory for some reason. I’m always pleasantly surprised when a track comes up on shuffle though.
That’s possibly a bit harsh but I know what you mean. I just think that they’re not quite striking or original enough to quite be in the real elite class. They’re a really good band though.