What is the best rap album by a duo or group of all time?
Wu-Tang, Run-DMC, N.W.A, OutKast — some of hip-hop's greatest moments came from collectives. Which duo or group rap album is the best of all time?
Wu-Tang Clan – Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Wu-Tang Clan's 1993 nine-member Staten Island debut, one of the most influential group albums in hip-hop history.
N.W.A – Straight Outta Compton
N.W.A's 1988 debut, the West Coast group's bombshell that launched gangsta rap and rattled mainstream America.
A Tribe Called Quest – The Low End Theory
ATCQ's 1991 jazz-rap album featuring Q-Tip and Phife Dawg at their most electric, the gold standard of duo rap.
Outkast – ATLiens
Andre 3000 and Big Boi's 1996 cosmic breakthrough that established them as hip-hop's most visionary duo.
Eric B. & Rakim – Paid in Full
Eric B. and Rakim's 1987 debut, a duo masterpiece that set new standards for flow, sampling, and MC skill.
Run-DMC – Raising Hell
Run-DMC's 1986 third album that crossed hip-hop into rock audiences and featured the era-defining 'Walk This Way'.
Public Enemy – It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
Public Enemy's 1988 Chuck D and Flavor Flav-led sonic revolution, the most politically charged group rap album ever.
Mobb Deep – The Infamous
Prodigy and Havoc's 1995 two-man Queensbridge epic, a moody and violent duo masterpiece.
Pete Rock & CL Smooth – Mecca and the Soul Brother
Pete Rock and CL Smooth's 1992 debut, a duo classic blending jazzy samples with smooth introspective rapping.
Gang Starr – Step in the Arena
Gang Starr's 1991 album, a landmark pairing of DJ Premier's jazz sampling and Guru's understated wisdom.
Beastie Boys – Licensed to Ill
Beastie Boys' 1986 debut, the first rap album to reach number one on the Billboard 200.
De La Soul – 3 Feet High and Rising
De La Soul's trio debut in 1989, a playful psychedelic alternative rap classic built around sampling and humor.
EPMD – Strictly Business
EPMD's 1988 debut, a duo masterpiece of funk-heavy beats and tag-team rapping that was instantly influential.
Clipse – Lord Willin'
Pusha T and Malice's 2002 debut, a Neptunes-produced cocaine-rap classic with icy precision.
Run the Jewels – RTJ2
Killer Mike and El-P's 2014 free-release, an aggressive punk-rap duo record hailed as one of the decade's finest.
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – E. 1999 Eternal
Bone Thugs' five-member 1995 Cleveland album that blended melodic rap with their signature rapid-fire style.
Boogie Down Productions – Criminal Minded
BDP's 1987 debut that paired KRS-One's street philosophy with DJ Scott La Rock's production to create hardcore hip-hop.
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