Why is 9th Prince’s Prince of New York on my best 1,000 albums ever list?
Wu-Tang Clan and RZA vibes await.
What does 9th Prince’s Prince of New York mean to me? What does it make me feel? Why is it exciting or compelling?
It’s a huge compliment in my book to say that a song has a “Wu-Tang Clan vibe.” And in the case of 9th Prince, this makes perfect sense, as the hip hop artist is the younger brother of the immortal RZA himself, in addition to being a founding member of the “Wu-affiliated” hip hop crew, Killarmy.
“Street Pharmacists,” featuring Tommy Whispers, Paradox, and Trife Da God (the latter of whom shows up on many hip hop tracks that have piqued my interest over the years) in addition to 9th Prince, fits the “Wu-Tang vibe” very strongly indeed and, perhaps unsurprisingly, is my favorite track on Prince of New York. While I wasn’t able to track down who produced the album, the production has a very RZA-at-his-best vibe, and the entire song just pulses and grooves exquisitely.
“The Writer” is a more ruminative affair, with an excellent piano and string arrangement that allows 9th Prince’s legitimate rapping chops shine. The RZA vibe is real here (which is king of a special category beyond “Wu-Tang vibe”?).
Meanwhile, “Sniper Challengers,” featuring Islord and 9th Prince, is a more aggressive number with wild strings and horn arrangements that are pulled from Fantasia’s “Night on Bald Mountain” of all things (I picked this up by way of a smart YouTube commenter, I’m not ashamed to report!).
This album also sounds like
If it must be illustrated again, see: Clan, Wu-Tang, and… ZA, R.
Some stats & info about 9th Prince – Prince of New York
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? hip hop, rap, underground hip hop, east coast rap
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked
- All Music’s rating – not rated!
- When was Prince of New York released? 2008
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #941 out of 1,000
9th Prince’s Prince of New York on Spotify
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective take on what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.