Step In The Arena

Thoroughly uninteresting.

Sounds like other things I like but not as good. The voice isn’t very good or interesting for rap. The beats are good but all pretty samey

Middle of the road hip hop, didn’t hate it but nothing really stood out about it.

Literally and breezy, it wash over me without connecting. Guru's vocal has no depth and the raps largely haven't much to say. DJ premier has not got much in the way of hooks. Who's Going To Handle The Weight is a great example. The opening about Knowledge and Power and Guru talking about being raised a Muslim gives me an expectation there's going to be some depth to this but it is quite literally rambling. The loops and beats go nowhere. The Disposable Heroes of Hip Hop which came shortly afterwards just blows this totally away. It is away too long. Breaking up the growing monotonous soundscapes, the ever so slightly What Do Yo Mean This Time has a wondrous horn driven swing and concerns the age old issue it is trying to get shit done when you have so many women throwing themselves at you. The album ends on a relative high with The Meaning of The Name which is at least delivered with some conviction. Overall, some heavy editing would've helped this record for me. It is a very long 50 minutes. A tight 38 dropping at least 3 tracks would help. It is just too much of too little

Mukavan analogista räppiä mut aika tasapaksua tbh

Yeah, I like this type of rap. This was probably a prelude to the Jazzamatazz records. I am not sure how much credit Guru recieves, but he deserves more

Good

I've grown to like hip hop (esp early 90's) more through this project. Had I got this album first it'd prob get a 4, but now I'm comparing it to others I liked even more (Tribe Called Quest, De La Sol, Wu Tang) so it gets a solid 3.

That's one cool cat That cat knows that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line

classic old school hip hop some great bases

Compared to Gang Starr's debut album, Step in the Arena feels much more grown up and yet still knows how to keep just enough playfulness around to still be taken seriously. The Jazz Rap filled tracks and Guru's very commanding demeanor across every single track here is truly hard to look away from. Even if the pacing of this album is a bit rough around the edges, it still manages to keep you close by and monitoring for when this iconic Rap duo pop off. All things considered this is a really solid step into the 90s for Gang Starr as they have found a way to keep their sound going while not sounding cheesy or dated. It is honestly quite impressive and I can't wait to see how this sound is built on with future releases. Step in the Arena is not anything super crazy to write home about, but it is the beginning steps of a Rap duo that would shake the game in just a few short years, so I guess everyone has to start somewhere right?

The flow is so relaxed it's practically horizontal. Which is a problem. An hour of horizontal starts to feel like a nap. Cool nap though. I'd take another one. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - Step in the Arena - Lovesick - Just to Get a Rep

Good flow and all the scratching you could hope for in a really good early 90s hip-hop record. Definitely picking up on a bit of Tribe Called Quest Vibe. Rhyming is pretty good, if not a little forced. Hadn’t heard of these guys before. Enjoyed it. Although it doesn’t land quite as impactful or groundbreaking as Tribe or De La, it’s still really great hip-hop.

The further I get into this journey, the more I realize there might only be about 290 albums I actually need to hear before I die. I'm sure there's someone out there who loves this album. That person is not me. I listened to the entire thing on my hot dad walk and didn't once feel compelled to check what song was playing. Just 18 tracks of slow rapping over beats that all started sounding the same. Nothing terrible, nothing memorable, and absolutely nothing I'll ever seek out again. 2/5.

Title track was hip for something in the '90s, and still is!

Good album but drawls on at times. Beats are FYE tho!

I saw the cover of this album and thought it was going to be dog shit. On listening, my prejudices weren't exactly blown away, but they were subject to a light breeze. Step in the Arena was a decent amount of fun in an old school hip hoppy way.

More like 3.5… Premier’s samples and beats are excellent.

Great beats sleepy raps

Name Tag (Premier & the Guru) n/a Step in the Arena 3 Form of Intellect 3.2 Execution of a Chump (No More Mr. Nice Guy Pt. 2) 3.1 Whio's Gonna Take the Weight? 3.1 Beyond Comprehension 3.3 Check the Technique 3.3 Lovesick 2.9 Here Today, Gone Tomorrow 3.2 Game Plan n/a Take a Rest 2.9 What You Want This Time? 3 Street Ministry 3.2 Just to Get a Rep 3.3 Say Your Prayers 2.8 As I Read My S-A 3 Precisely the Right Rhymes 3.2 The Meaning of the Name 2.8 Score: 3.08125

Love rhythm

Alright.

This was made for vinyl. Side 1 = shit, no real standouts, kept in pristine condition. Side 2 = full on bangers, worn out, needed a new copy. DJ Premier showing his class, he's up there with Dre when it comes to beats. I said what i said.

Bit long, agree the second half is much better. But overall pretty good

Not heard these lads before but I quite enjoyed this.

Really great vibe but didn't go anywhere.

The best hip hop album I've heard so far

I have not heard of Gang Starr before, but straight away their name sounds to me like something made-up for a rap band in an animated 1990s cautionary education video about not taking drugs, it's some of the most feeble wordplay I have ever heard. Anyway, very old-school rap with a conscience, it's not my favourite hip hop I've ever heard but I did enjoy it. I think relistening would be rewarding but it didn't grab me enough so that I want to do this any time soon. Also, shout out to the reviewer (9th highest rating of hundreds at time of writing!) who said "Oh the longing for Mozart this album causes ....." You pretentious, sniffy, elitist. I'm glad if you like Mozart, but may I suggest that you try to appreciate music and albums for what they are, and what they are not? I don't judge Gang Starr by the standards of classical music as I don't judge Mozart by the standards of hip-hop. "Die Zauberflöte, garbage, beats are too slow, doesn't deal with relatable contemporary issues, musical interludes go on way too long with no verses. Oh, the longing for Gang Starr this two-act opera causes...." I was going to say that if you're that close-minded, maybe this project isn't for you, but I see you rated a total of 39 albums in 2021, so looks like I'm winning the long game here. Anyway, three stars for Gang Starr, good stuff but not my favourite.

No es lo mío

First listen.

No fav song

Dimery does this thing when it’s clear he’s not familiar with the artist but feels they should be included where he just reverts to putting in their debut. No one things this debut is the best Gang Starr album. But Dimery has no actual idea about them, so it’s what he puts in. Thankfully, okay Gang Starr is still pretty good.

Decent classic 90s Rap. Mehr nicht.

2,5

A really great album. Definitely a classic rap album that deserves its place in history

Golden era hip hop albums are always a great draw on this list.

RIP Guru. Good shit.

A still somewhat unsung hip-hop classic, Step In The Arena is the perfect Gang Starr album, boasting the strange, the mundane, the old-school, the new-school, the monotone, & the unexpected. The reason why Premier & Guru work so well together is that the former is a movement unto himself while the latter is an utter original. What I mean is that it'd be difficult to find a producer more in touch w/ the boom-bap style than Premier. Sure, we have Pete Rock & Large Pro, but Preemo IS boom-bap. Guru, on the other hand, is 'bout as alien as they come. 'You better sit again, citizen / Weak MCs, I get rid of them.' Who else but Guru would inject 'citizen' into that rhyme? W/ great social commentary, Step In The Arena is superlative.

I do not recall this group but thus is the type of hip hop I love. Very much a reflection of the rap scene at thus time. It’s good, but doesn’t necessarily stand out amongst its peers at that time.

You can hear the effect Rakim had on the game loud and clear

Very chill old school conscious rap. I dig.

Not my vibe, but I enjoyed it for the most part

4.4

I enjoy chill hip hop more than angry hip hop, should take my time and really listen to and understand the lyrics... but I don't care enough

Eh? I don't get it. It all kind of sounds the same. Perhaps lyrically it's worthwhile but I'm not impressed. DNF (2)

Nah

Better than I expected. Some good storytelling in a rap album.

I am not really a fan of hip hop or rap, but this album was alright.

Worth buying

This feels surprisingly old-fashioned and a little out of step with its contemporaries. Surprisingly little misogyny, less reliance on violent imagery or references to guns, just fairly straightforward samples and well-delivered rhymes. The bravado and self-aggrandising is there, but it feels far less combative than say NWA or Public Enemy who were releasing their all-timers around then. This leaves me feeling a bit conflicted on how to feel about this album - it’s avoided a lot of the cliches that I dislike about the genre, but it’s left it a bit passionless. While I don’t like the violence, misogyny and homophobia that mars a lot of hip-hop for me, I do like the angry energy that it’s delivered with. By comparison, this feels a bit flat. I can admire the content more, but I was left with less to really click with.

That was quite nice, I liked the jazzy elements.

Flyter

Rappisti

Pretty chill. Very easy hip hop album to listen to.

Guru’s delivery is so even that I start tuning it out after a few tracks. That wouldn’t bother me as much if the instrumentals gave me something else to follow, but those leave me cold too. The beats change without giving the songs much individual character, and the rapping rarely breaks out of the same measured tone. I don’t need constant fireworks, but I do need something to get attached to. Here, neither the voice nor the production gives me enough. What might sound relaxed to someone else just feels flat to me.

Good stuff

A bit too long and wasn't feeling the raps but the beats were good tho

Just a laid back set of jams, for cruising 90s LA with the top down

It doesn't appeal to me.

Certainly like the west coast hip hop more. Just didn’t have a lot of artistic value to me

This is the kind of shit that couldn’t be made today because the literacy rate in America is too low. Like it says in the opening of Who’s Gonna Take the Weight? Knowledge is Power and knowledge can be the difference between life and death. When people say music is art, this is a prime example. Powerful piece of art this album is. Poetry with a DJ

idk, like, everyone online loves this shit but the raps are cringy and I don't think they have good flow at all. I didn't hate it. 2/5

Did not enjoy

# Album Name: Step In The Arena # Artist: Gang Starr # Rating: 4/5 # Comments: Cant exactly put my finger on it but this was an enjoyable hip hop album. Decent beats and tunes. Tad long but one of the more enjoyable listens on the journey # Top Tunes: # Would I listen to it again? Yes

Very average album. Doesn’t do much for me

2.5 Fine, not great.

🥞

Early 90s hip hop is a genre that has been in me periphery as I grew up but nothing I got deep in to at that time. So this list making me listen to artist from this time and genre that are unknown to me feels great. The album it self was easy to listen through and includes all the parts I expected. Smooth flow, record scratching and good lyrics. The subject of a lot of the songs kind of surprised me as I was expecting darker lyrics based on the time and album cover. Overall the album is good and the floor for the overall songs is really high. No stand out hits to me but an artist duo that I will look more in to after today.

I'm starting to feel bad about rating hip-hop albums here. Apparently, I don't like old school hip-hop all that much, even if it's considered super important. Similar to several other rap albums I've got to listen here, this one was too simple, too repetitive, and mostly unexciting. The production is fine, the rhythms are good, but it's all quite basic and the samples are not all that intriguing. Basically, the sound doesn't stand the test of time and it sounds dated in a bad way. Lyrically, the album feels like an hour of boasting that Guru is the best possible person in the universe and beyond. As good as his flow and rhyming are, the contents were mostly annoying to me. The few exceptions didn't help the overall experience. I'm now officially wary of hearing more old school hip hop.

Catchy, full of slick rhymes and a real element of relevance.

Very chill

I'm just a dog for double bass I think, other songs were good too

I don't claim to know much about 90s hip hop or an individual albums impact on what came after it, this is no exception. However, this is a bop of a record that I'll happily be coming back to in the future

Overall I find this era of rap to be monotonous; the lyrics over the top of a looped beat kind of get old quickly. But I did appreciate the way they incorporated record scratching; an art form when done correctly.

If you're jonesing for some hip hop that blends a bit of old with new, this is for you. It got a few head bobs and the lyrics seemed creative

Never heard of this duo, but if they're IGN's best hip hop album of the year... Well, that speaks for itself. In all seriousness, I could see how this album was kind of a stylistic origin story for a lot of the conscientious rap to come. The beats and samples are great, the lyrics are good enough, but it just doesn't have the same impact after all the amazing albums that came after. There's a lot of good things in this, but it suffers from the success of its time and gets left behind.

good dj premier stuff

3.5 Good but it does start to all blend together at a point

So very 90s, so very cool. Lyrics, lyrics, lyrics 💯

Jazzy hip hop is my favorite hip hop, but I still don’t care.

Sounds like "Viagens" by Pedro Abrunhosa

i can excel real well like a gazelle...

Rate: 9.5 /10.

Samples are amazing, rapping is a little pedestrian. I feel like anyone rapping over this would sound good.

Underrated poetry over classic boom bap beats

Solid hip hop with mind-blowing samples and production. It's just aged a ton, mostly in the simplicity of its lyrics. They hadn't built up that part of their prowess, and it's a taste of what might come later. Still, these beats rip, and it makes what could be utterly generic rap into a really listenable record.

Great

It's alright I guess, nothing to write home about.

Good stuff.

good beats, some interesting metaphors and turn of phrases. I probably enjoy some the tracks on other albums like, FULL CLIP, ABOVE THE CLOUDS, and MOMENT OF TRUTH

Smooth rap. Worth giving another go, but didn’t feel earth shattering

A little boilerplate but I like the boom nap production. Thought it sounded like Illmatic and lo and behold the dj on this was recruited by nas

Still not a hip-hop fan, but I liked this one more than I expected.

So good. Classic 90s hip-hop!

I have legitimately never heard of this artist or this album. Not a big rap guy, but this is the first non-Kanye rap album I've gotten in this project. Let's see how it goes. I really don't know what I'm listening for here. The beats are fairly catchy but everything's fairly slow paced and it kinda just blends together after a while to me. This sounds very much like generic 90's rap to me. It's probably a genre-and-sound defining record, but I don't understand the nuances of rap enough to know. It's pretty good music to have on in the background of my workday, but I don't know that I'd come back to this much.

Fuck yea. Love finding stuff like this Best Song: Check the Technique Rating: 7/10 Stars: 4

Such an amazing classic.

perfection

Gang Starr were one of the pioneering acts of early hip-hop, especially their infusion of jazz samples into their music. Guru and DJ Premier are also one of the foundational duos in the establishment of what became known as the New York Sound. Step in the Arena is full of confident swagger and well written rhymes. New audiences may struggle with the flow, but remember, these were different times and the delivery is nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, Gang Starr are well known as innovators in the genre! The album really only struggles a few times, mostly due to slow jams that break the momentum. As I usually do, II've got to call out the record for being a bit long in the tooth (with 18 tracks), but it's still a vital piece of East Coast rap history.

Good at what they do but there are thousands like this