So why is Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
There’s a specific vibe that Gang Starr conjures.
With spare production, crisp breakbeats, and smooth jazz samples, Gang Starr is both groovy and slightly menacing, often at the same time.
Gang Starr really is its own thing. It’s music I reach for only in a very specific mood, but when I do I’m always satisfied that I did.
Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr captures a wide swath of the duo’s output and perfectly frames how I discovered their music. What I mean by that is that while I was vaguely aware of Gang Starr – and songs like “Work” – during the 1990s (the “decade” that Full Clip covers),it wasn’t until the streaming era of the 2010s that I was able to fully dive into and appreciate Gang Starr.
Speaking of, let’s get to “Work.” You can really see what sets DJ Premier apart in the hip hop game here. The sample is pulled from the horn and drum break from a jazz song called “The Watusi” by The Vibrations, and it sets a lighthearted, almost pretty backdrop over which Guru’s flat yet smooth flow is perfect.
It’s those horns though that really set “Work” apart, as do the superior lyrics that are clever, boastful, funny, and a bit unsettling in turn.
“Jazz Thing” has the incredible feel of a live jazz concert, and is an amazing example of the question I’ve often asked over the years: “Why isn’t there more jazzy hip hop to listen to these days*? One of the reasons I ask that question is because “Jazz Thing” is sensational.
* Part of the answer surely has to do with how much more difficult and expensive it is to secure the rights to sample music these days. That said, the good news is that the lo fi hip hop movement has succeeded wildly in recent years.
“The Militia,” featuring Big Shrug and Freddie Foxxx, is Gang Starr at its most menacing, exciting, and effective.
“Full Clip” was actually a previously unreleased track that was recorded specifically for this greatest hits compilation. It became one of Gang Starr’s most iconic tracks, despite never appearing on a prior album. “Full Clip” features Guru and DJ Premier trading verses over a hard-hitting sample from the 1971 blaxploitation classic, Shaft.
That’s the Gang Starr vibe in full: part laid-back jazz session, part lyrical strike force, forever equal parts chill and dangerous.
Some stats & info about Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rap, Hip Hop, East Coast Rap, Hip Hop Golden Age, Jazzy Rap
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – not ranked!
- All Music’s rating – 4.5 out of 5 stars
- When was Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr released? 1999
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #503 out of 1,000
Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from Full Clip: A Decade of Gang Starr that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Now I’m a start collecting props, connecting plots. Networking like a conference, ‘cause the nonsense is yet to stop.
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 review of 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.