Arts: Questlove Picks the Top 5 Hip-Hop Concept Albums

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Brow Beat Questlove Picks the Top 5 Hip-Hop Concept Albums By Forrest Wickman Posted Friday, Dec 09, 2011, at 08:23 PM ET The phrase "concept album" might conjure up rock classics like Tommy, The Wall, and Ziggy Stardust, but The Roots' Undun—out this week—reminds us that hip-hop too carries a proud legacy in that field. In fact, the concept album, in the sense of a pop opera, is perfectly suited for hip-hop: Rap is a more verbal art form than rock, and rappers tend to be better storytellers than rockers. The name Undun comes from the Guess Who song of the same name, but the primary influence the group has cited is Prince Paul's A Prince Among Thieves—a record that self-appointed "Dean of American Rock Critics" Robert Christgau called "the closest thing to a true rock opera you've ever heard." Both albums concern a well-intentioned protagonist who is driven into the drug trade and toward his own untimely death. (This wouldn't be a Slate article if I didn't make a comparison to The Wire, but Questlove himself has pointed out that the character was inspired by that series' Avon Barksdale.) Prince Paul looms large over the history of hip-hop concept albums: All his original solo releases can be considered as such, and he produced one of the first classics of the genre, 1991's De La Soul Is Dead. But Paul is not alone. Indeed, most hip-hop LPs could be called concept albums if one uses the broader definition of the term: They usually have a dominant theme—think of Kanye's trilogy of College ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Misery Caused by the Facebook "Feature" That Hides a Bunch of Your Mail Charlize Theron's Bitter, Mean, Fascinating Performance Carries Young Adult Be Very Afraid of a Pair of Bills That Threaten Internet Freedom	Advertisement
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