rocketsauce

I wholeheartedly agree with the OP. And might I add that it would suck to be U-God in this group.

ManWithNoName

The Bus

“Hellz Wind Staff” has some of my favorite production of any Wu song. It sounds like something off RZA's score for Ghost Dog.

bootsy

Outkast, A Tribe Called Quest, Kanye, Nas, Jay-Z have all had better runs than Wu-Tang and I'm a huge Wu-Tang fan.

Throwing Copper

Damn shame about Outkast. Imagine if Andre Benjamin hadn't lost interest after the album in 2000.

Still think they could make a huge comeback.

My Other Self

That's arguable. Of the Hip-Hop acts you named, the only one I would agree with is Outkast. And I'm a fan of everyone you mentioned, too.

dadaluholla

I was unaware Nas had more than one good album.

My Other Self

Illmatic is obviously one of the most important albums to the evolution of hip-hop, but do you not feel It Was Written, Stillmatic, Street's Disciple or Untitled are any good?

Nastradamus is a dud given it's all leftover cuts from the It Was Written sessions, but other than that his albums are for the most part consistent. I'd say Life Is Good is my least favorite next to Nastradamus, but it's still better than Jay-Z's latest effort.

The Bus

Nas's Illmatic was good as was It Was Written (almost entirely on the back of “I Gave You Power”), but it ends there until he gets to Stillmatic.

Jay's output has been mixed since Vol. 3 and I covered my thoughts in the first paragraph. Plus you can't have a streak late in the game either, considering the absolute duds of Kingdom Come and Magna Carta Holy Grail.

PhantomStranger

Clearly the answer is Rza's streak cited in the first post. It's one of the greatest stretches on a per-album basis in musical history, since the Beatles in the 1960s. Money and side projects eventually brought it to an end.

Trelach24

WHAT!??

Ever heard of Ice Cube?

Straight Outta Compton
AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted
Kill at Will (EP)
Death Certificate
The Predator
--can stop here if you want--
Lethal Injection
Bootlegs & B-Sides

bootsy

No. Nas only misstep was Nastradamus. Everything else is good or really good.

My Other Self

I Am... is that album that really just threw him on to mainstream radio and MTV with Hate Me Now, but I would agree that the album was far from a dud. For Nas, it's a bit of a letdown.

To me, you can't compare Nas & Jay-Z. Jigga has put out a lot of garbage over the past decade. He really should've just retired after The Black Album and stuck to business ventures and occasional guest appearances. It's hard to top near-perfection.

Trelach24

Nas has the worst ear for beats ever. I wouldn't say that everything after Illmatic was a dud. Just.....blah

bootsy

It's funny that a lot of people say this about Jay-Z. I used to think it was silly to say this but the more sub-par albums he comes out with the more this statement becomes true.

dadaluholla

Agreed. His albums aren't necessarily bad, but it's usually a chore to have to sit through one from start to finish. Illmatic has been the only I've truly enjoyed.

Ringmaster

IMO, The best wu related album, post Wu-tang Forever, is this one



RZA's "Digital Bullets" is a close second to me.

PhantomStranger

Nas has never had the best taste in production, save for Illmatic. His choices in beats have always been erratic and rarely fit his style of lyricism. He would have been much better off hiring someone like Havoc (of Mobb Deep) or another NY producer like Pete Rock, to oversee all of his albums.
Supreme Clientele is the only WU album from a core member made after their golden age, to sound like it actually came from their most successful run. There are other recent solo albums which turned out decently, but many of them greatly deviate from the classic Wu sound.

Boba Fett

Ice Cube almost tops it:

"Straight Outta Compton" (w/NWA), "AmeriKKKas Most Wanted," "Death Certificate," "The Predator," "Lethal Injection (this one is pretty polarizing), "Bow Down" (w/ Westside Connection)

Boba Fett

Also, I'm not sure many would argue the Beastie Boys from '86 to '98 was a solid streak (5 albums). Frankly, I'd classify their entire output as a nearly flawless win.

Boba Fett

Didn't see your post before making mine.

I wouldn't really put Bootlegs and B-Sides though; it's a pretty hit or miss offering and it's mostly remixes, not terribly original.

Boba Fett

Couldn't you extend it further with Method Man's second album, Rza's first solo work and Gza's second offering?