The Vault: Classic Music Reviews Podcast

The crew takes a look back at Philly neo-soul artist Musiq Soulchild 's debut album Aijuswanaseing ; an unlikely success and "rags-to-riches" story that touched the hearts and minds of many with its depths of topics covering love, heartbreak, struggle and triumph over a soundtrack that was uniquely soulfully honest and authentic all the same. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Onlin...

B. Cox reviews Atlanta hip-hop group Goodie Mob 's 1995 debut album Soul Food . It is a foundational album for Atlanta and southern hip-hop and a gripping, yet brutally honest commentary of the ills within Atlanta and the black community at-large: mass incarceration, racism, gentrification, income disparity, and injustice. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Jo...

B. Cox and J. Owe take a look back at Wu-Tang Clan's GZA (The Genius) 1995 classic album Liquid Swords ; an album that arrived with less fanfare than its counterparts, but which soon grew in mythical proportion with its mind bending lyrics, haunting production and a all-star cast of guest spots which made it one of the era's most pivotal pieces of work. Visit The Vault Classic Music Review...

B Cox and Domo look back on OutKast's critically acclaimed classic fourth album, 2000's Stankonia , where the iconic Atlanta duo stretched the limits of creativity and what was possible to bend hip-hop into other genres such as funk, jazz and psychedelic soul. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Facebook Listener Group! https://www.facebook...

B. Cox and Domo reminisce about Reflection Eterna l's soulful, yet powerful 2000 debut classic album Train of Though t. It was album that nodded heads, shook spirits and educated minds about the battle for the soul of hip-hop and Black America at the turn of the new millennium. It was a defining moment for both Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultcl...

B. Cox and J. Owe look back Brooklyn emcee's AZ's highly anticipated and acclaimed debut album, 1995's Do Or Die; a highly impressive effort that built on one of hip-hop's most eagerly awaited debut since the classic album Illmatic that kicked off his now legendary career. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online  www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Facebook Listener Grou...

B. Cox and Domo take a look back at Kool G Rap solo album debit 4, 5, 6... , an effort that saw one of the most respected and influential emcees in the game throw his hat in the ring and show that he could still make a mark among his successors who he influenced and who respected him so much. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Facebook Listener Gr...

In a bonus episode introducing "Pop Culture Corner" B. Cox looks back at Friday , a cult classic film that has continued to serve as a pop culture phenomenon and an memorable moment in black cinema even 25 years after its initial release. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Facebook Listener Group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/6002560777...

In Part 2 of Tale of The Tape: Nas vs. Jay-Z , the Crew's continues to score the bout for the final 7 rounds until the conclusion of this match up, where you never know how the final score will end up! Part 2 features scoring and analysis of rounds 7-13. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Facebook Listener Group! https://www.facebook.com/group...

In this bonus segment of Tale of The Tape , this epic match up pits Nas against Jay-Z , two emcees that have the rare distinction of dominating both the 90s and the early 2000s, heightened by their rap feud in the early part of the new millennium. Despite their reconciliation, the debate between fans about who is the better rapper and emcee has persisted. The crew broke out the scorecards in an at...

The crew looks back at Faith Evans 1995 self-titled debut album, who gave Bad Boy Records a needed leading lady in a time and label that was known mainly for hip-hop. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Facebook Listener Group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/600256077743122 Support The Vault Classic Music Review on Buy Me A Coffee https://www.buym...

B. Cox and J. Owe look back on LL Cool J 's classic fourth studio album 1990's Mama Said Knock You Out ; an effort dubbed as his comeback album after a lackluster critical review of his third studio album Walking With A Panther . His collaboration with legendary producer Marley Marl paved the way for a standout album with excellent production and hard hitting rhymes that let his fans know...

In a bonus Segment of Cards, Dominoes, Drinks & Smoke , the crew discusses how the prevalence of new rap groups has disappeared over the last two decades. Hip-Hop was a culture that started largely with groups and crews. They ruled during the first 30 years of hip-hop. Why has the new generation not followed their predecessors path? Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassic...

The crew reviews Raekwon's pivotal 1995 debut album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... also more popularly known in hip-hop circles as "The Purple Tape" known for its distinctive color of the original cassette tape release. It was a project that innovated the Mafioso rap sub genre with tales of street life and crime enterprises crafted by superb rhyming, a flawless selection of beats and cast...

B. Cox and J. Owe review Bone Thugs-N-Harmony 1995 full length debut E. 1999 Eternal , a project that served as a landmark to Cleveland, a way of life and style never seen or heard before and the apex of a innovative and captivating group that made their mark in the game as they memorialized their mentor: the late great Eazy-E. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com J...

The crew looks back fondily at Jill Scott's 2000 debut album Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1, a classic piece that deals with themes of love, discovery, vulnerability and the human spirit that continues to set a standard for neo soul artistry to this day. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Facebook Listener Group! https://www.facebo...

B. Cox welcomes back Kahlil Wonda from the Reggae Lover Podcast to discuss dancehall and reggae icon Buju Banto n's pivotal 1995 album Til Shiloh ; a project that hit all of the marks for quality, consistency, impact and legacy and one that still serves as a standard for modern reggae music and the world 25 years after its release. Kahlil Wonda and the Reggae Lover Podcast Site. Follow them on...

B. Cox and J. Owe look back at D'Angelo 's 1995 masterpiece debut Brown Sugar and its impact on "breaking the dam" for the neo soul sub-genre and making a name for himself in an R&B genre badly needing a fresh sound. Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Facebook Listener Group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/600256077743122 Supp...

The crew reviews Nelly 's 2000 debut album Country Grammar , an album that introduced and opened the door for St. Louis to the hip-hop world and started a career of superstardom for an artist unique with a style all his own.  Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Facebook Listener Group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/600256077743122 Support The...

B. Cox looks back at Eric B & Rakim 's 1990 classic third album Let The Rhythm Hit 'Em ; a hard charging album with rhymes from one of the G.O.A.T.S lyrically and production that provided a soundtrack to a standout album that has stood the test of time in the three decades since its release.    Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Facebo...

Reunited!!! The crew is back together once again. They take a look back at the Slum Village 's 2000 "cult classic turned classic" second album Fantastic Vol. 2 and how a largely obscure underground group of talented emcees and a producer, in J. Dilla who would grow in legend, crafted one of the new millennium's sleeper hits that would only elevate in stature as time moved on.  Visi...

B. Cox looks back at Three 6 Mafia 's landmark fourth studio album 2000's When The Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1 ; an album which lifted the underground hardcore, horrorcore rap group out of the shadows and into the spotlight that would lead them to unparalleled heights over the next half-decade.   Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Faceb...

B. Cox looks back at Naughty By Nature 's third album 1995 Poverty's Paradise , which made history as the first album to win the Best Rap Album Award in 1996 at the Grammys.   Visit The Vault Classic Music Reviews Online www.vaultclassicpod.com Join our Private Facebook Listener Group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/600256077743122 Support The Vault Classic Music Review on Buy Me A Coffee...

B. Cox looks back at the brilliant, yet controversial third studio album by Eminem 2000's The Marshall Mathers LP ; a project that stretched the boundaries of censorship, angered people by it provocative and explicit content, yet provided a window into the mind of emcee who was hungry, troubled and destined to leave a mark on the industry for years to come.  Visit The Vault Classic Music Revie...

We have our first reggae album review!!! In this episode: B.Cox chops it up with special guest  Kahlil Wonda of Highlanda Sound & The Reggae Lover Podcast about reggae singjay Capelton 's 2000 album More Fire . They talk about how the albums brilliance and balance between dancehall and root reggae approach helped frame the tenets of dancehall as it moved into the new millennium. Follow Kah...