Black Bastards [Explicit Lyrics]
Black Bastardswas voted inEgo Trip's Book of Rap  Listsas the most notable rap album of all time that was never  released commercially, and with good reason. The fact that this  excellent album, slated for a 1994 release, has not seen the light of  day until 2001 testifies to a time when shortsighted industry  backlashes against records that inflamed Middle America were in vogue.  Elektra Records higher-ups canned the project due to its controversial  cover art, which shows a Sambo figure being lynched. Finally available,  this must-purchase concept album is worth the wait. From the jazzy,  hypnotic samples on the title cut to "Sweet Premium Wine," a farcical  ode to swigging 40-ounce bottles of brew (remember when drinking St.  Ides and Old English was trendy?), you know you've found rap heaven.  Classic headbanger "What a Niggy Know?" (and the remix featuring  partner-in-rhyme MF Grimm) is equally off the chain. "Constipated  Monkey" and weed anthem "Suspended Animation" are testaments to a time  in rap music when experimental beats and obscure sampling ruled the  roost.Black Bastardsis whereBrand NubianmeetsDe La Soulat the  local bodega, heads wear Muslim kufis for kicks, and "word to the  mutha'" actually refers to themes of pan-Africanism, repatriation, and  reparations. It's a place where Sambo-ism doesn't sell.--Dalton  Higgins