Foundation

Onetime hip-hop representatives for the black boho intelligentsia, Brand Nubian--made up of the core quartet of Grand Puba, Sadat X, Lord Jamar, and DJ Alamo--disbanded in 1990 before reuniting in 1998 for this album. While all the artists have successfully survived apart, their chemistry together still works wonders. With its odd mix of black-power politics, feel-good party songs, and straight lyrical bravado, Foundation surprisingly emerges as one of 1998's better rap albums. Brand Nubian invigorate everything from dance tracks ("Back Up off the Wall") to underground gems ("The Return"). They even manage to update James Brown's anthem "I'm Black and I'm Proud" while sounding less dated than you'd expect. --Oliver Wang