The PLAY Lists >> Rap 2003

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Rap Music 2003

2004 __ Volume 5

The PLAY Lists >> The Best Rap Music CDs of 2003 — A Critical Consensus

Despite receiving some mixed reviews, the whole of Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was apparently much greater than the sum of its two solo parts—this record dominated the rap/hip-hop music listings and seemed to be either No. 1 (Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Mojo, USA Today) or No. 2 (Spin) on virtually every other poll published this year. The emerging artist 50 Cent (who took record of the year honors from Vibe) and the retiring Jay-Z were a pretty safe distance from the rest of the pack, themselves.

	The Best Rap Music of 2003
In a Class by Itself	OutKast. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. 2-CD set. (Arista) [Source=Mojo, Spin, RS, TS, Urb, USAT-R, VV, TW, XLR8R, XXL / Score=177]
First Purchase	50 Cent. Get Rich or Die Tryin'. (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope) [Source=Spin, USAT-R, Vibe, VV, XXL / Score=85.75] Jay-Z. The Black Album*. (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam) [Source=Mojo, Spin, S, USAT-R, VV, TW, XXL / Score=66]
Second Set	Perfuse 73. One Word Extinguisher. (Warp) [Source= Urb, TW, XLR8R / Score=42] David Banner. Mississippi: The Album. (SRC/Universal) [Source=TS, XXL / Score=37] Dizzee Rascal. Boy In Da Corner. (XL) [Source=Spin, VV, XLR8R / Score=34] Ludacris. Chicken-N-Beer. (Def Jam) [Source=TS(U=16.25), USAT-R(7=10), / Score=26.25] Missy Elliott. This Is Not a Test. (Elektra) [Source=Spin, USAT-R, VV / Score=24] Joe Budden. Joe Budden. Parental Advisory/Clean. (Def Jam) [Source=Spin, XXL / Score=23.75] Fabolous. Street Dreams. (Desert Storm/Elektra) [Source=XXL / Score=20.75]
Next Set	Lil' Kim. La Belle Mafia. (Atlantic) [Source= TS, XXL / Score=18.75] Fine Arts Militia. We Are Gathered Here. (Slamjamz) [Source=Mojo / Score=18] Freeway. Philadelphia Freeway. (Def Jam) [Source=TS / Score=16.25] Nas. God's Son. (Columbia) [Source=TS / Score=16.25] Talib Kweli. Quality. (MCA) [Source=TS(U=16.25) / Score=16.25] 2Pac. Better Dayz. (Interscope) [Source=TS / Score=16.25] Common. Electric Circus. (Universal) [Source=Mojo / Score=16] Pitman. It Takes A Nation Of Tossers. (Son) [Source=Mojo / Score=14]

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Quantifying Critical Consensus: Methodology >>

Three magazines—The Source, Vibe, and XXL—were weighted at 1.25 given their authority in this genre. The Source published an unranked list of its top ten CDs. The Vibe selection for album of the year was culled from the magazine's online archive. None of the CDs in the XXL Love/Hate year-end roundup received the highest possible rating ("XXL"), but six albums earned ratings of "XL" from the magazine with Jay-Z appearing first the the layout. The remaining sources were weighted at 1.0, including the Village Voice poll. I used Mojo's "Best Urban" category rather than the more expansive "The Best of the Year 2003" ranking.

See Quantifying Critical Consensus for more detail.

Sources >>

[Mojo] —"The Best of the Year 2003." Mojo Issue 122 (January 2004): pp. 56-63. [Note: See "Best Urban" listing on p. 58.]

[RS-MA] — "Rolling Stone Music Awards 2003." Rolling Stone Issue 938/939 (February 5, 2004): pp. 31-32.

[TS] — "Top Ten Albums." The Source No. 173 (February 2003): p. 49.

[Spin] — "40 Best Albums of the Year." Spin Vol. 20, No. 1 (January 2004): pp. 71-80.

[TW] — "2003 Rewind." The Wire Issue 239 (January 2004): pp. 38-49.

[Urb] — "2003 Rewind." Urb Vol. 13, No. 112 (January 2004): pp. 52-59. [Note: See "Top 20 CDs of 2003" listing on p. 58.]

[USAT] — "Outkast Doubled Our Fun, Benzino Was Boring." USA Today (December 31, 2003): Section D, p. 3.

[Vibe] —"Vibe Awards: And the winners are..." [ Online ] Vibe (November 22, 2003). Available: http://www.vibe.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=127

[VV] —"2003 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll." Village Voice (February 11-17, 2004): p. 91.

[XLR8R] —"The Best of 2003." XLR8R Issue 73 (December 2003): pp. 64-69.

[XXL] —"Critical Breakdown: Love/Hate 2003." XXL (January/February 2004): pp. 157-162.

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Despite receiving some mixed reviews, the whole of Speakerboxxx/The Love Below was apparently much greater than the sum of its two solo parts—this record dominated the rap/hip-hop music listings and seemed to be either No. 1 (Village Voice, Rolling Stone, Mojo, USA Today) or No. 2 (Spin) on virtually every other poll published this year. The emerging artist 50 Cent (who took record of the year honors from Vibe) and the retiring Jay-Z were a pretty safe distance from the rest of the pack, themselves.