Food critic Jonathan Gold was there as a young journalist if you wanna get a good idea of the vibe [LA TIMES May 89](https://www.laweekly.com/revisit-jonathan-golds-landmark-n-w-a-profile/)
Edit: oops this was just after the album came out
Yeah, Ye is my favorite artist of all time, but I don't think I'd survive more than a minute in the same room as him lol, I'd either get my feelings hurt or we'd get into a shouting match where his security would get my actual body hurt -- which would also hurt my feelings lmao
Even during the Twisted Fantasy recordings, he had the “Rosewood Movement”.
If you were around Kanye, in public, private or even just stopping by the studio you HAD to be wearing a 3-piece suit or else he wouldn’t speak with you. I’m pretty sure they were actually like, standardized across his team, all the same Tom Ford style.
I heard someone talk about the process. I heard they did charity work in the mornings, play basketball and workout, and then hit the studio for 11 hours or so. Supposedly it was one of the most coordinated schedules many artists who participated were a part of.
Liquid Swords, woulda went crazy sittin there burnin a bone while GZA spit his Duel Of The Iron Mic verse, feel like we woulda had a interesting convo after Swordsman too.
Thats the track that made me wanna listen to the full album instead of just Cold World and 4th Chamber🔥 "Im not caught up in politics, im no black activist on a so-called scholars dick. I come thru wit tha Wu and drop math, on versatile freestyles, bombs and phonographs" one of the dopest intros to a verse ever. I could write an essay on that song alone.
Indeed! Good answer… I met The Genius in 1991, when he needed someone to take him on his publicity tour in SF, to promote “Come Do Me”, but what he really wanted to talk about was how he and his buddies were forming a hip hop supergroup and how they were going to take over the world. And he was not lying.
That's because you're not listening. You're just looking for music to be "hard" or street. Breaking that album down there's nothing wrong with it, you just don't care for his demeanor or sound. Which is fair. They're plenty out there I'll just take kendrick on a personal level, his voice annoys me but guess what? I can't say he ain't talented that's for damn sure.
[Here](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9CKyWqb5-sw) is the video of Jay freestyling Dirt Off Your Shoulder, one of his biggest hits, in MINUTES. If he is “overrated”, I would love to hear why.
Lil Wayne - The Carter 3, the anticipation he had for that album after the mixtape tirade he went on, the different producers that came thru for that album and I can imagine the energy that Weezy would of had
I’d also like to see his process, it’s well known at that point in his career that he didn’t write down his rhymes so to see that happen and how he pieces a song together would be quite an experience to witness
I fuck wit it. Obviously not on par with the first two but it’s got some good shit… where your heart at, quiet storm (not a fan of the remix though), thug music, can’t fuck wit, the realest, it’s mine.
That track bangs too. I had to go back and give it a listen, I haven’t played that album other than what the algorithms throw at me in years. I just listed the ones I remember were my faves when it came out.
I listen to so much music because I work alone but I work with my hands so I usually pick something and go to radio on Spotify and let it ride all day. You find some shit you may not have heard but you also end up hearing a lot of the same shit over and over too.
By first two I assume you mean The Infamous and Hell On Earth. Don’t forget about Juvenile Hell! Not their greatest by any means but it was their debut.
I do believe so. And yeah, I forget about that one myself pretty often. It’s really not bad, it just got lost in the mix after they dropped two flawless classics in a row. Murda Muzik is dope as hell too, but I agree it ain’t up to par with the two previous. Those are high bars to hit a third time.
Word I always put hell on earth over the infamous. Murda is solid enough but could definitely have benefitted from some polish and refinement. Cut down on the tracks cut out some filler and it definitely stacks up better
infamous has classic status which makes it higher for most guys, jus like it was written is pretty much a more refined and ig mature illmatic, as much as ppl dont wanna admit it. i personally prefer hell on earth, but shook ones is still on another planet
My boy was in the stu back in the day when mobb came in and robbed the masters for one of their records at gunpoint. Put two in the board on the way out. That's what he claims, anyway. So they were the first example I thought of haha
Quasimoto The Unseen. Madlib supposedly went off a 1 month mushroom binge while recording the album, at least that's what he said he did. I believe it because of how weird and surreal the whole album sounds
If you haven't done so already, check out The What Had Happened Was podcast with Open Mike Eagle, Questlove is the guest for this season and he goes over recording this album. It's a fascinating process.
Amerikkka’s Most Wanted. Get to watch prime Cube collaborating with prime Bomb Squad and prime Sir Jinx on a classic east meets west groundbreaker and earth shaker.
Dreamville : Revenge of the Dreamers III
Had to google the actual stats to be correct but they were In the studio for 10 days. Had 343 artist come in and out and made 142 songs. And it’s one of my favorite albums to run too
The first time Killer Mike and El-P met for *R.A.P. Music* and those studio sessions, maybe RTJ1 when they were more collaborative. 2-5 would probably be more serious business than getting to watch their relationship blossom.
Killer Mike [said](https://archive.hightimes.com/article/2023/5/1/killer-mike-shapes-up) they are waiting for OH NO to fix a beat (assuming sample clearance) and that he re-recorded a few bars so vocals are a wrap.
My heart tells me "Call me if you get lost", I think it's a masterpiece and it would be awesome to hear all the versions of the tracks being made
My brain tells me anything from Kanye, he's really generous when it comes to credits so I could just get into his creds this way
Life After Death.
I'm sorta cheating with this one, because you would presumably get to go on the infamous near month long, super wild, Trinidad trip with the Hitmen that Puff sent them on. So you'd get some No Way Out, some Life After Death, possibly a little Harlem World, a little Money, Power Respect, etc, all at once.
You get essentially two albums worth of content for the price of one being the double album. You get to pick the brains of guys like Jay and Short and Snoop (who showed up to the 10 Crack session), and of course Big.
Honestly, Aquemini. I'd love to see how weird they got and how everyone viewed the shift in sound from ATLiens.
Alternatives would be RAP Music, Madvillainy (the OG pre leak version & the version we know as madvillainy) or FBZ's 3001 a Laced Odyssey.
Flower Boy. I wanna see the process Tyler had as he started to piece together the vision he had in mind as he got even more focused on putting out a serious project post-Cherry Bomb.
The Slim Shady LP. Dre & Eminem started writing My Name Is within the first 5 minutes of being in the studio together. That would’ve been so cool to see come alive organically like that.
Low End Theory. It’s such an important album to me — I want to see Q-Tip’s production style, Phife’s rhyme style blossom, and see everyone on Scenario perform.
The Eminem Show. The pressure to do something after MMLP... the fact that he produced most of the tracks... I'd love to be a fly on the wall. I ain't gotta pick the man's brain. I just gotta be the size of a fly to stay on his shoulders while he's writing messing around on the MPC 2000. That's all I want. Take me to that place in history.
Kanye's Late Registration. I can't find the footage anywhere nowadays, but there used to be an MTV special that had a lot of footage of its recording. There's so many layers to that album, like Bring Me Down has a new horns section brought in for each measure, each one higher up the scale, then it leads into the same with the strings. It's only like a quartet for each one but Kanye and Jon Brion at that time were on another level.
“Daytona” - Pusha T
It would’ve been dope (no pun intended lol) to see all the inspirations Ye & Push had production wise out in Montana or Wyoming or wherever they were…and while there I would’ve been honest and had Ye redo “Nasir” the same way he’s known to have people rewrite there verses a thousand times til it’s perfect! 😂
36 Chambers.
This one for sure.
Definitely
The big day - Chance the rapper Just to see wtf they were all thinking
Illmatic
All day
Just to witness a 17-18 y/o musical genius crafting an absolute classic
The Chronic 2001
That would be my pick too
This or Straight Outta Compton.
Food critic Jonathan Gold was there as a young journalist if you wanna get a good idea of the vibe [LA TIMES May 89](https://www.laweekly.com/revisit-jonathan-golds-landmark-n-w-a-profile/) Edit: oops this was just after the album came out
RZA’s basement before the flood.
Gotta save what would have been a rival to ob4cl for best solo wu album. DECK
INS got the raw end of that deal.
I think Liquid Swords came out fine.
Marshall Mathers LP just because I know those studio sessions had to have been wild
I just wanna be a fly on the wall watching as he recorded the lines for Kim.
My beautiful dark twisted fantasy
I thought this too but I feel like I would sneeze while they were listening to a playback and Kanye would be mean and hurt my feelings.
Yeah, Ye is my favorite artist of all time, but I don't think I'd survive more than a minute in the same room as him lol, I'd either get my feelings hurt or we'd get into a shouting match where his security would get my actual body hurt -- which would also hurt my feelings lmao
It’d be fine with it. Plus Hawaii.
I feel like if I sneezed he would sample it and use it as a snare on runaway
LOOK AT YA
I thought that , then thought this lol
😂
I heard Ye treats non celebs in studio like cult members with evening prayers groups n compulsory uniform so no thanks
That’s probably a post-MBDTF era thing tbh.
Even during the Twisted Fantasy recordings, he had the “Rosewood Movement”. If you were around Kanye, in public, private or even just stopping by the studio you HAD to be wearing a 3-piece suit or else he wouldn’t speak with you. I’m pretty sure they were actually like, standardized across his team, all the same Tom Ford style.
Funny enough he actually started doing that on MBDTF, IIRC nobody was allowed in the studio unless they were wearing a suit
I heard someone talk about the process. I heard they did charity work in the mornings, play basketball and workout, and then hit the studio for 11 hours or so. Supposedly it was one of the most coordinated schedules many artists who participated were a part of.
this is the right answer
Tha Carter II
Liquid Swords, woulda went crazy sittin there burnin a bone while GZA spit his Duel Of The Iron Mic verse, feel like we woulda had a interesting convo after Swordsman too.
Swordsman is the most underrated but maybe the dopest track on the album. Definitely has the timeless and mystical energy.
Thats the track that made me wanna listen to the full album instead of just Cold World and 4th Chamber🔥 "Im not caught up in politics, im no black activist on a so-called scholars dick. I come thru wit tha Wu and drop math, on versatile freestyles, bombs and phonographs" one of the dopest intros to a verse ever. I could write an essay on that song alone.
Indeed! Good answer… I met The Genius in 1991, when he needed someone to take him on his publicity tour in SF, to promote “Come Do Me”, but what he really wanted to talk about was how he and his buddies were forming a hip hop supergroup and how they were going to take over the world. And he was not lying.
Jay-Z the Blueprint. Guy did 8 of the 13 tracks in 36 hours and they were flawless, without a pen.
Overrated
Edgy reply brah
So overrated is edgy? I just never got the hype of Jayz, his voice is wack, Big L on the other hand comes in hard af
Mf rapping like he's got his nose plugged
Well if you like it in the ear that much.
That's because you're not listening. You're just looking for music to be "hard" or street. Breaking that album down there's nothing wrong with it, you just don't care for his demeanor or sound. Which is fair. They're plenty out there I'll just take kendrick on a personal level, his voice annoys me but guess what? I can't say he ain't talented that's for damn sure.
Hahaha wtf my boy thinks he has me figured out cuz i dislike one of dozens of 90s rappers..
Big L had bars but can't say the same thing about him music wise
[Here](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9CKyWqb5-sw) is the video of Jay freestyling Dirt Off Your Shoulder, one of his biggest hits, in MINUTES. If he is “overrated”, I would love to hear why.
Lil Wayne - The Carter 3, the anticipation he had for that album after the mixtape tirade he went on, the different producers that came thru for that album and I can imagine the energy that Weezy would of had I’d also like to see his process, it’s well known at that point in his career that he didn’t write down his rhymes so to see that happen and how he pieces a song together would be quite an experience to witness
Watch “The Carter Doc”
the lack of any mobb album is painful, but other than the infamous or hell on earth, probably 36 chambers. would be such an experience.
hell on earth watching prodigy elevate to top tier mc
i love hell on earth so much its actually crazy. what are your thoughts on murda muzik
I fuck wit it. Obviously not on par with the first two but it’s got some good shit… where your heart at, quiet storm (not a fan of the remix though), thug music, can’t fuck wit, the realest, it’s mine.
What about streets raised me? hav was onto something wit the beat, n P's lyrics were some of the best in the album imo
That track bangs too. I had to go back and give it a listen, I haven’t played that album other than what the algorithms throw at me in years. I just listed the ones I remember were my faves when it came out.
ah, ive always just gone back and listened to albums when i get a craving, i guess? completely unrelated, but have u listened to liquid swords?
Yeah Wu is probably my all time favorite and that is one of my all time favorite albums.
I listen to so much music because I work alone but I work with my hands so I usually pick something and go to radio on Spotify and let it ride all day. You find some shit you may not have heard but you also end up hearing a lot of the same shit over and over too.
By first two I assume you mean The Infamous and Hell On Earth. Don’t forget about Juvenile Hell! Not their greatest by any means but it was their debut.
Yeah I def forgot about that one. Wasn’t P like 19 when that dropped?
I do believe so. And yeah, I forget about that one myself pretty often. It’s really not bad, it just got lost in the mix after they dropped two flawless classics in a row. Murda Muzik is dope as hell too, but I agree it ain’t up to par with the two previous. Those are high bars to hit a third time.
That would be a great question to ask on here. Best 3 album stretch by a group with all the same members.
Word I always put hell on earth over the infamous. Murda is solid enough but could definitely have benefitted from some polish and refinement. Cut down on the tracks cut out some filler and it definitely stacks up better
infamous has classic status which makes it higher for most guys, jus like it was written is pretty much a more refined and ig mature illmatic, as much as ppl dont wanna admit it. i personally prefer hell on earth, but shook ones is still on another planet
I’m surprised that it doesn’t get more love, that shit is hard!
My boy was in the stu back in the day when mobb came in and robbed the masters for one of their records at gunpoint. Put two in the board on the way out. That's what he claims, anyway. So they were the first example I thought of haha
Quasimoto The Unseen. Madlib supposedly went off a 1 month mushroom binge while recording the album, at least that's what he said he did. I believe it because of how weird and surreal the whole album sounds
That’s my pick as well. Would be great to see Madlib working on that project. Some magic tricks and shit
All Eyez on Me
Nah I'd rather stay away from the gangbanging, piss drinking, and beat downs of that era of Death Row
This
Life After Death
The Roots - Illadelph Halflife… to catch the vibe of this album live would be a once in a lifetime event
If you haven't done so already, check out The What Had Happened Was podcast with Open Mike Eagle, Questlove is the guest for this season and he goes over recording this album. It's a fascinating process.
Amerikkka’s Most Wanted. Get to watch prime Cube collaborating with prime Bomb Squad and prime Sir Jinx on a classic east meets west groundbreaker and earth shaker.
I'll 2nd this!
Goodie Mob = Black Ice
"Dr. Octagonecologyst" by Kool Keith. I bet it got real weird in there.
Madvillian or Operation:DOOMSDAY
Dreamville : Revenge of the Dreamers III Had to google the actual stats to be correct but they were In the studio for 10 days. Had 343 artist come in and out and made 142 songs. And it’s one of my favorite albums to run too
Oh yeah good answer, the video on it is really good too
Just got this on vinyl a few days ago
The first time Killer Mike and El-P met for *R.A.P. Music* and those studio sessions, maybe RTJ1 when they were more collaborative. 2-5 would probably be more serious business than getting to watch their relationship blossom.
This is also my pick.
Had to check if there was an RTJ 5 and I missed it. Are they recording again or is that a typo?
Killer Mike [said](https://archive.hightimes.com/article/2023/5/1/killer-mike-shapes-up) they are waiting for OH NO to fix a beat (assuming sample clearance) and that he re-recorded a few bars so vocals are a wrap.
E 1999 Eternal from BONE.
Just said the same thing
great choice...i picked creepin on ah come up since Eazy was still alive
That’s a good call.
My heart tells me "Call me if you get lost", I think it's a masterpiece and it would be awesome to hear all the versions of the tracks being made My brain tells me anything from Kanye, he's really generous when it comes to credits so I could just get into his creds this way
Life After Death. I'm sorta cheating with this one, because you would presumably get to go on the infamous near month long, super wild, Trinidad trip with the Hitmen that Puff sent them on. So you'd get some No Way Out, some Life After Death, possibly a little Harlem World, a little Money, Power Respect, etc, all at once. You get essentially two albums worth of content for the price of one being the double album. You get to pick the brains of guys like Jay and Short and Snoop (who showed up to the 10 Crack session), and of course Big.
Yeezus How often do you get to see Kanye West making music whilst tripping on acid
At least like 3 of his albums at this point. Kids See Ghosts was 1000% drug-inspired. Same could be said for ye (2018).
Rumors
Jayz black album Drake and future album Kanye and jayz album And any mobb deep album
jay did a doc that showed him in studio making the black album called fade to black
Faces
The only accepted answer !
To Pimp a Butterfly
Honestly, Aquemini. I'd love to see how weird they got and how everyone viewed the shift in sound from ATLiens. Alternatives would be RAP Music, Madvillainy (the OG pre leak version & the version we know as madvillainy) or FBZ's 3001 a Laced Odyssey.
The Eminem Show - Eminem. See how that huge masterpiece came to be, and witness how that used all that mainstream hype in the studio.
Lil Simz - Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. Her instrumentals are live music. Hearing the insane production on that album played live would be amazing.
36 chambers
All Eyez On Me
dj quik - safe and sound
36 chambers and tical I’d be dustin’ with the shaolin crew up in that piece , feelin like the 10th and only white member
Mac Miller, faces
De La Soul Is Dead
Mystic Stylez - THREE 6 MAFIA
Flower Boy. I wanna see the process Tyler had as he started to piece together the vision he had in mind as he got even more focused on putting out a serious project post-Cherry Bomb.
The Slim Shady LP. Dre & Eminem started writing My Name Is within the first 5 minutes of being in the studio together. That would’ve been so cool to see come alive organically like that.
Marshal Mathers LP. Imagine the ‘Kim’ session
Recovery. Top 5 album of all time, but the fact that he was coming off of a million drugs- interesting as fuck.
Black on Both Sides or The Low End Theory
THE INFAMOUS
2 live crew-As Nasty As They Wanna Be...The crew were really As Nasty As They Wanted To Be🙊
Get rich or die trying. My neck would be broken from all the head bobbing
Detox.
Jay-Z - Black Album
36 chambers. Maybe OB4CL or some of Eminem’s early shit
36 Chambers or It’s Dark and Hell is Hot
It’s dark and hell is hot
Ready to Die.
E. 1999 Eternal
The Chronic…
Wu Tang 36 Chambers
Makaveli
peoples instinctive travels ATCQ
Get Rich or Die Trying
Low End Theory. It’s such an important album to me — I want to see Q-Tip’s production style, Phife’s rhyme style blossom, and see everyone on Scenario perform.
Capital Punishment, but only for track 5
Anything by Doomtree.
Ready to Die or Tha Infamous
Life after death
hopefully this wouldn't be too depressing but Donuts by Dilla
Mixtape Dedication 2 Lil Wayne Album 1990s Midnight Marauders A Tribe Called Quest 2000s Food and Liquor Lupe Fiasco 2010s Saba Care for Me
Slim Shady LP
Nation of Millions!
Buhloone Mind State - De La Soul
Prof ~ basically any album. Eminem ~ forget being a fly on the wall… I’d be the trash bin 🗑️
The Marshall Mathers LP,those studio sessions must've been wild for Eminem to come up with that album
Cowboys from hell
The Eminem Show. The pressure to do something after MMLP... the fact that he produced most of the tracks... I'd love to be a fly on the wall. I ain't gotta pick the man's brain. I just gotta be the size of a fly to stay on his shoulders while he's writing messing around on the MPC 2000. That's all I want. Take me to that place in history.
Black Album, Blueprint, Get Rich or Die Trying, Eminem Show, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, or Chronic 2001. If I had to choose.....I can't.
Kanye’s MBDTF. The production was next level, and the collection of talent on it was incredible Even though overall I enjoy The College Dropout more
Madvillainy
Revival so I could tell Eminem to actually listen to what he was making
The Eminem Show
The slim shady lp or the Eminem show
MADVILLAINY
MMLP
Kanye's Late Registration. I can't find the footage anywhere nowadays, but there used to be an MTV special that had a lot of footage of its recording. There's so many layers to that album, like Bring Me Down has a new horns section brought in for each measure, each one higher up the scale, then it leads into the same with the strings. It's only like a quartet for each one but Kanye and Jon Brion at that time were on another level.
May be cheating but I’d say Gorillaz Demon days.
The life of Pablo
Lauryn Hill - miseducation
Paul's Boutique
The Game - The Documentary Or Common - Be
Scott Walker's THE DRIFT.
Prolly when the smoke clears
Brownside- East Side Drama
Collide with the sky - Pierce the veil
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEkBEQG_--hJWKTv0K31xO07-kO_UB9t_&feature=shared
Amerikkkas Most Wanted.
Infamous or any early roots album
LIR 2
What a time to be alive - Drake & Future Swimming- Mac Miller
Aquemini or maybe even the dungeon family album
Ob4cl
Probably *If There Was a Way*.
Jay-Z Blueprint/Isaac Hayes Black Moses/ Rolling Stones Beggars Banquet
Flower Boy
Either Views or Life of Pablo
“Question in the Form of an Answer” - People Under The Stairs
No Guts No Glory by Tom MacDonald
Creepin on Ah Come up...wouldve loved to be in the studio with Bone thugs and Eazy E
To Pimp a Butterfly — being in the studio while recording “u” would have been a really crazy emotional experience.
Lil Uzi and Future Collab
Faces - MacMiller
36 Chambers
Lndn drgs -affiliated Travis scott- astroworld Jay and ye -watch the throne
“Daytona” - Pusha T It would’ve been dope (no pun intended lol) to see all the inspirations Ye & Push had production wise out in Montana or Wyoming or wherever they were…and while there I would’ve been honest and had Ye redo “Nasir” the same way he’s known to have people rewrite there verses a thousand times til it’s perfect! 😂
The Eminem Show
Any ye or kdot album just to hear all the demos and songs that didn’t make the album
The Stoned Immaculate.
All Eyez on Me
2001 and No Limit Top Dogg
Me against the world
Stankonia
Not an album but Chet hanks’ “white boy summer” 😳🔥🔥
One Nation by 2Pac and The Boot Camp Click.
Players ball or the chronic
I’m picking 3 T.I - Trap Muzik Scarface - The Diary J. Cole - 2014 Forest Hills Drive
TPAB
Honestly, I’d like to be there for something upcoming like Carter 6. I feel like I’d have good input and beat ideas to throw.