No. 8 Live and Let Die by Kool G Rap & DJ Polo (1992)
Kool G Rap was the most hardcore member of the late 80s Queens-based Juice Crew collective. As the 90s progressed, the rapper who more or less invented East Coast “street hop” began to refine his persona and on this album, his penchant for grim crime tales and Mafioso themes reached its zenith. An obvious benchmark in hardcore hip-hop, its bleak undercurrent and gritty narratives provided a template for later classics by fellow legends like the Notorious B.I.G. and Raekwon.
