Dropping from #2 last week to #3 this week, ATLiens by Outkast is their second studio album and first to reach the top ten in sales. Additionally, this album is the first of three consecutive Outkast albums that are on the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.

I like Outkast and I'll admit that I came to them fairly late. I certainly wasn't listening to them when this album came out. Most of my listens have been from Stankonia and Speakerboxxx/The_Love_Below. I think that I need to include ATLiens and their next album, Aquemini, in my rotation more often. All of their stuff is quite excellent.

It's been a busy week and this review is being posted less than four hours before it would be considered late. I have reasons to keep this short. Beats, Rhymes & Life by A Tribe Called Quest debuted at #1 and went on to sell over one million copies.

In my opinion, it's a decent album, but not as good as The Low End Theory.

This week has been a bit of a "staycation" for me and my family. Originally we were planning on driving through southern Colorado for a few days, but there are a number of wildfires there and we decided against that. The fires have been burning for some time, and we might have done something else, but we never got our act together. It's just as well because as it turns out, I've had to do at least a little bit of work each day of the week. Monday I actually went to the office to finish something left over from Friday. I've been doing my best to not do work, and mostly succeeding.

All of this is to say that this week has been a bit unusual. Nevertheless, I will give you what you came for, a review of this weeks #1 album, It Was Written by Nas. I can make this brief: I have no interesting thoughts about this album. It's standard mid-90s rap. I've never been big into Nas, and this album didn't change my mind. Meh.

I don't have much to say about this week's #6 album. I was never all that into Geto Boys, and The Resurrection didn't change my mind. Perhaps the most notable thing about the album is that the second song on the album, "Still", was used in the famous printer smashing scene of the movie Office Space. I have no strong opinions if you should listen to this album, which I suppose means it's probably not worth your time.

A few months ago I reviewed the soundtrack for the movie Dangerous Minds and wrote "the album is defined by and entirely worth the value of (the song) Gangsta's Paradise, and the rest is worth forgetting." While this week's #9 album Gangsta's Paradise by Coolio does have the song of the same name, it contains more hits than the movie soundtrack. In addition to (the song) Gangsta's Paradise, 1, 2, 3, 4 (Sumpin' New) charted quite well, as well did a cover of Too Hot.

This album isn't half bad. I'm not sure I'll listen to it much going forward, but I didn't find it objectionable. I suppose that's faint praise, but compared to soundtrack, it's much more worth your time.

This review is a week late. Last week was spring break and I went on vacation. I'll keep this short!

Hitting #3 in its third week on the charts, The Score by Fugees is their second and final studio album.

Despite the popularity of The Score, the only song I think I've heard before is the cover Killing Me Softly. That song was everywhere in 1996. Two of the members of Fugees, Lauryn Hill and Wyclef Jean, have gone onto even better things post-Fugees. The third Fugee, Pras, did not go onto better things. He is in prison for funneling foreign money to Obama's second presidential campaign.

Overall, it's good hip-hop and worth a listen.

Hitting #1 in its first week, All Eyez On Me by 2Pac, is one of the most highly-regarded rap albums ever. 1996 was peak Gangsta Rap, 2Pac was a genre-defining Gangsta Rap performer, and All Eyez On Me is one of the best examples of the genre.

I've never been that into 2Pac. I'll enjoy a play of California Love from time to time, but I am not a 2Pac aficionado. The last rap album I reviewed (by Easy-E) I didn't particularly like and I felt it was poorly made. Conversely, I can tell that All Eyez On Me is a high-quality album, and while I don't listen to it very often, I don't think I will never again listen to it. If you want some Gangsta Rap, you can't go wrong with this album.

Released nearly a year after his death in March 1995, Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton by Easy-E hit #3 in its first week on the charts. I was never that into Easy-E when he was actively popular, and thirty years later my taste hasn't changed in this regard.

The album was unfinished at the time of Easy-E's death. It had to be cobbled together with whatever material was available, which almost certainly reduced the maximum achievable quality. There are some albums that I don't like but I can tell are well made. This one, I'm afraid, is not a quality album. This album can be ignored; I certainly won't be listening to it again.

This week's #1 album, Dogg Food, is by the Snoop (Doggy) Dogg-adjacent Tha Dogg Pound. Apparently the album has done quite well, having sold over two million copies as of 1996. Despite this success, I can't say that I recall ever hearing any of the songs before.

I have no strong opinions about this album. It's pretty typical hip hop from the era, nothing outstanding, and nothing horrible. It didn't grab my attention at all. I'll probably never listen to it again.

It's been a busy week, and I am five days late on this review. Luckily I don't have much to say about this week's #8 album. Apparently there were a couple hits off of Conspiracy by Junior M.A.F.I.A., but listening to the album didn't jog any memories. I am not disappointed because I didn't find the album terribly entertaining. I cannot endorse listening to this album, and I will never listen to it again.

If you were alive in 1995, you heard the song Gangsta's Paradise everywhere. The popularity of this song propelled the soundtrack to the movie Dangerous Minds to #1. The song made Coolio's career, although playing Kwanzaa-bot on Futurama was pretty great, too. I'm fairly certain I have never seen the movie Dangerous Minds, but I have heard Gangsta's Paradise many, many times.

None of the other songs on the album amount to much. I guarantee that you would not recognize any of the non-Coolio artists on the album. Gin & Juice by DeVanté is far, far inferior to the Gin and Juice by Snoop Dogg you're thinking of. A Message For Your Mind by Rappin' 4-Tay samples I Want You Back by The Jackson 5 and completely misses the mark, somehow having none of the joyous energy of the original song. The final song (which I suspect was played during the closing credits), This Is The Life, is a non sequitur. It's a ballad by two white women who were part of Prince's The Revolution band. There's nothing wrong with being female, white, or working with Prince, but none of those things match anyone nor anything that came previously on the album.

In summary, the album is defined by and entirely worth the value of Gangsta's Paradise, and the rest is worth forgetting.

Finally, check out this episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver from a few weeks ago. It's about law enforcement gang databases, and a connection to Gangsta's Paradise comes out of left field.

The #4 album this week is the solo debut of Raekwon, a founding member of Wu-Tang Clan. Like the last album I reviewed by a Wu-Tang Clan member, my summary is that while I recognize that Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... is an important and well-regarded rap album, it's not my preference. I will almost certainly never listen to it again.

I'm a few days late on this review. Oh well!

There's only one song off the #1 album this week worth listening to: 1st of Tha Month. It's one of the songs I play to wake up anyone who needs waking up. My last.fm play history has only one play after 10am, and it was when I listened to this album for 30 Years On. It's fun that even after 30 years the overall last.fm play history for the song shows a spike in plays at the beginning of each month:

My advice is to ignore the album, but 1st of Tha Month is forever.

It's been over a month since the last album review, but finally the slow summer of music in 1995 has delivered some new albums in the top 10. This week debuting at #3 is Poverty's Paradise by Naughty by Nature.

Like anyone alive in 1991, my first exposure to Naughty by Nature was their huge hit O.P.P.. The only song I am sure I have heard before off of Poverty's Paradise is Feel Me Flow, which does have a good flow, so I'm happy to feel it.

I don't think about Naughty by Nature much, and my play history confirms that. Before I listened to this album I had only 15 plays since 2018. Listening to this album has reminded me that I like Naughty by Nature's kind of hip-hop, and I should listen to them more when I am in the mood for hip-hop. This is an unusual thing, and is the best outcome of listening to music from 30 years ago.

My recommendation is to check out this album and remind yourself why O.P.P. was such a big hit.

I'm not going to belabor this. This week's album at #2 is the soundtrack for the 1995 buddy comedy Friday. I have not seen the movie, but the consensus seems that it wasn't horrible. The soundtrack is nothing special. Apparently the track Keep Their Heads Ringin' was a hit although I don't remember it.

You can skip this album.