Well, some artist fall victim to the "Sophomore Jinx" or slump while other MC's follow up great debut albums with projects just as potent. Some of these MC's actually surpass a very DOPE debut effort with a follow-up that starts a streak of great projects. Great projects can push an MC into legendary status. Below are The 10 Greatest Sophomore Rap Albums of all Time according to Da Dome. Give us your thoughts and also feel free to list some of your own. So, to keep things short and sweet lets get it started!
1. Outkast - Atliens: Now listen, I'm a huge fan of Outkast debut album. After years of dissecting Atliens, this could possible be the greatest Sophomore Rap Album ever. There are 3-4 that could be placed here. Atliens is simply amazing and a step up lyrically for Andre and Big Boi.
2. A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory: As much as I love People Instinctive Travels, The Low End Theory was stellar. Dr. Dre stated in the past that hearing this album made him concentrate even more on The Chronic. Need I say more?
3. Kanye West - Late Registration: As great as The College Dropout is, Late Registration was even more polished. I actually believe that it possibly aged better than Ye's debut. Some people feel that this is his best album. A friend of mine sent a text the other day saying this very thing.
4. Eric B. & Rakim - Follow The Leader: Yes, Paid In Full is monumental but Rakim was actually an overall better MC on Follow The Leader which was lyrically amazing when it dropped.
5. Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid M.A.A.D City: I personally thought Section 80 was stellar but when I heard Good Kid Mad City, I knew K-Dot was here for the long haul.
6. Biggie Smalls - Life After Death: Biggie finally put it all together on LAD. Every aspect of Mcing was perfected. Turn LAD into a Single Disc & it's Top 10 of all time.
7. Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back- I don't need to say anything here.. Yo Bum Rush The Show was a great LP but the follow up = Amazing
8. Gang Starr - Step In The Arena - No More Mr. Nice Guy was a good introductory album for GURU and PREMO but the follow-up was the start of a legendary run!
9. Mobb Deep - The Infamous - Casual Rap Fans don't know that The Infamous is Mobb Deep's 2nd album. The debut Juvenile Hell was overlooked and we understand why..
10. Boogie Down Productions (BDP) - By All Means Necessary : As I've said for years, By All Means Necessary is simply better than Criminal Minded. KRS stepped up the lyrics and production.
The list above are some of the ones that come to mind. Other MC's who had great sophomore albums were The Roots, The Fugees, De La Soul, Fat Joe, NAS, Ghostface Killah, Too Short, T.I., EPMD, Masta Ace, The Beastie Boys, Redman, Eminem and of course Ice Cube with The Death Certificate.
What are some that come to mind for you???
T-Hanes
Ha! Kanye on there playa..lol. That albums was GREAT!
My bad..You listed it...good spot for it.
Can't believe you left off Late Registration
Yeah bro, that's a good point. I pretty much did this is off the top o my head. If you have more that I missed, let me know. I'm always curious.
I'm not mad at this list at all! Part of me has the Fugees - The Score at that 3 spot with Late Registration at 4. I would wager that The Score was the introduction to many of the Fugees' fanbase. To this day, I can't remember ever before hearing so many people bumping one album. 1996 was a great year in Hip Hop music...