M.O.P.

How about some hardcore? It's all you get from this punishing Brooklyn duo. Made up of Billy Danze and Lil' Fame, M.O.P. spent the better part of a de-cade refining their raw, punishing brand of hip-hop. Mainstream rap's pendulum has swung between thugged-out street drama and fantastical materi-alism, but M.O.P. has always remained the same. Harkening from the same generation as Nas and Notorious B.I.G., the group has stuck to their tried-and-true formula -- menacing beats from the likes of Gang Starr's DJ Premier, plus their hyperactive delivery -- to make some of rap's most arresting albums.

Powered by their seminal single, "How About Some Hardcore," To the Death is a striking if somewhat unrealized debut. Larceny anthems like "Downtown Swinger" and "New Jack City," and a step up in beats (some from Premier), make Firing Squad the best place to start. The fireworks really start with 1998's First Family 4 Life, which was overseen by DJ Premier. Jay-Z guests on the "Eye of the Tiger"–sampling "Four Alarm Blaze," while Premier remixes the street anthem "Handle Ur Buzness." When it was first released, First Family was an antidote to Puffy Combs' bling age; it still sounds fine today.

The group finally found some of the critical acclaim (and commercial payback) they had long deserved on 2000's Warriorz. The nuclear single "Ante Up" is a live-wire hip-hop classic. Premier and fellow beatsmith Dr. Period fashion dense boom-bap as Danze and Fame's interplay reaches a stunning new level of sophistication. 10 Years and Gunnin' collects "Ante Up," "Eye of the Tiger," and eight other stellar examples of how harrowing New York street rap can get. (CHRIS RYAN)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide