Lyricist Lounge

In the tradition of great hip hop indie labels like Cold Chillin' and Wild Pitch Records, emerged Rawkus Records in the late 90's in reaction of the gangsterism and the cheesy pop rap that infested the genre in the same period. Though the label didn't achieve a large level of sucess, it played by its own rules and let it artists flourish on their own merits. Natrually this comlilation is heavy on Blackstar, Mos Def and Talib Kweli tracks, so newebies get this and go get the label's essentals, namely "Mos Def and Talib Kweli as Blackstar", Mos Def's "Black On Both Sides", Reflection Eternal's "Train Of Thought", Talib Kweli's "Quality" and the Soundbombing compilations. Here are the true gems of the Rawkus collection...The Lyricist's Lounge CD's. Lyricist Lounge Vol. 1 (2CD) (Tracklist)Rawkus did a great job making this cd.... they bring in a mix of underground and mainstream musicians. With the classic Rawkus crew Mos Def and Talib Kweli and DJ Hi Tek as Reflection Eternal, Skillz and Pharoahe Monch. They also throw in a off the chain freestyle features thirstin howl and j-treds, and is wow, then you got wordsworth, punchline, and a lot of underground burners. the second disc is hosted by keith and menelik which is cool, but fewer strong tracks. cia is a stone cold classic.
Lyricist Lounge Vol 2 (Tracklist) After hearing Vol. 1 I had to cop this album and I must say I was far from dissapointed. I know we all buy albums with a few good songs but all of these tracks won't dissapoint. From Mos Def, Gangstarr, MOP w/ Kool G Rap, Redman, Dilated peoples (beat is intense) et cetera, et cetera, I think they dished out the best. Granted, not all tracks will top your radio charts, but Hip Hop Fans and freestyle lyricists like myself will not be dissapointed with the amazing beats and great lyrical flow, possibly some of the best these guys have dished out. I think the bar has been raised in terms of lyrics here reppin the lyricist lounge cause I haven't heard rhymes like this from these guys for a minute. Some of you may not recognize the talent here and you'll definitely be surprised. Rawkus Records presents Best Of Decade I 1995-2005 (Tracklist)Ok, first off Rawkus Records was one one of the top independent hip hop record labels of the late 90's. It got some mc's careers started like conscious rappers, Mos Def and Talib Kweli. The label also offered a lot of underground hip hop that went against the mainstream. This album is basically a showcase of the artists who made what Rawkus is today. But there are some songs missing that this greatest hits could have benefited from. Company Flow's 8 Steps to Perfection or perhaps The Fire in which you burn, Umi Says, Simon Says, I Try, Kool G Rap's My Life, Any Man, etc. But nonetheless, this is a good summary of what Rawkus did in 10 years and hopefully they will put some more underground hip hop after being shut down for awhile.

Lyricist Lounge Vol. 1 (2CD)(Download)
Lyricist Lounge Vol. 2 (Download)
Best of Decade I - 1995-2005 (Download)