Real Talk: The Chronic vs. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx

[heitkamp94]

Re: Real Talk: The Chronic vs. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx

Great point, Chronic also had mainstream appeal.

I thing the Chronic is great but its mainstream appeal has lead to the crap mainstream stuff we get today.

[ehh]

Re: Real Talk: The Chronic vs. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx

I think OB4CL is both a better album and more influential, and I don't think it's all that close. I could see someone making a decent argument that The Chronic was more influential but I would say only on the mainstream level. I don't see how anyone can make an objective argument that The Chronic is a better album.

The G-Funk Era has long been dead, the mafioso/drug theme is still everywhere in hip-hop and was spread wider than anything from The Chronic or the G-Funk Era. Sure, Kool G. Rap was the pioneer for mafioso but OB4CL did it best and got the most notariaty for it. Heck, just look at Nivek's post, "Have you ever heard of Live and Let Die?". The answer is no, most people haven't, while OB4CL really popularized it.

As for the actual merits of both albums, I think OB4CL is easily better and my train of thought is similar to the_future's.

Personally I think tons of "hip-hop heads" never got into OB4CL. It takes quite a while to grow on you and it isn't for everyone. The damn thing is genius. The Chronic is a fun album to party to but lyrically it's average and the beats are mostly straight-jacks from George Clinton.

Basically, I agree with this....

For several years afterward you couldn't find a rap thug who wasn't 'politicking', slinging cut-up gangland narratives like a ghetto John Woo or Martin Scorsese, doling out guest appearances to his crew like loot from a job, and striving all the while to keep it as raw yet richly detailed as Rae did... Raekwon's storytelling evokes senses of rapid motion, kamikaze faith, loyalty, and focus in the midst of high-stakes tumult that, together, convey more about his mindstate than any straight autobiography could have. RZA wanted Cuban Linx's music to transport listeners into Rae's transcendent point of view, and he succeeded so spectacularly that thousands of rap fans—the ones who do not look to hip hop for an out-of-body experience—will never fully comprehend all the undying fuss about this album.