15 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of Past 15 Years: #14: Capone-n-Noreaga: "The War Report"

Just a heads up I should have posted this yesterday.  In order to make it "fair", I am only going to include one album per artist.  While certain artists have probably had more than one classic in this time frame, I will be making the tough decision of narrowing it down to one album per artist.  So if you don't see your favorite album on this list, well, I will do my damndest to explain why one was chosen over another.  Without further ado, let's get to #14....

#14:  Capone-n-Noreaga: "The War Report"  (1997) (Tommy Boy Records)

Before NORE became a household name with his trademark "What, what!" and wacky off the wall lyrics, this album was one of the cornerstones of grimy, hardcore NY hip-hop in the late '90's heading into the 2000's.  Along with Mobb Deep, Black Moon and MOP, Capone N Noreaga laid the groundwork for a style that dominated airwaves in the early half of the century.

Nore would expand on the vibe this album created on his solo debut "N.O.R.E" which would drop the next year after Capone was incarcerated.  If you took the gritty, hard hitting drums and dusty samples from this album and polished it off you would have "N.O.R.E".  I absolutely loved "The War Report" from the first time I heard it.  Vibrant, detailed stories of drug dealing, murders and just general tales of woe from the block, it was like visualizing a Donald Goines novel on wax.  The production, I cannot give enough props to.  Cinematic, soulful, grimy, all these adjectives could be applied.  The production credits read like a who's who of NY hip-hop at the time: Buckwild, Marley Marl, Hitmen, Havoc, EZ Elpee, Clark Kent...in '97 you couldn't ask for a better line-up.

There are albums that can you take you back to a certain era, that can encapsulate a time and feel perfectly.  For hardcore NY hip-hop leading into the turn of the century, I will go out on a limb and say this is the pinnacle; Mobb Deep set the bar with "The Infamous" and CNN took it to the promised land.

KEY TRACKS:  "Bloody Money", "Driver's Seat", "TONY", "LA,LA", "Stick You", "Closer", "Illegal Life", "Channel 10"