Born to Mack (Jive, 1987) by Too $hort

The memorable contribution to hip-hop from this set is "Freaky Tales."  The nine and a half minute rap about sexual escapades cemented Short Dog as a playboy in hip-hop culture.  The bass of the beat and the dirty raps are timeless.  There are rappers who adopted a similar approach later, but no one did it as well as $hort's original.  The album cover is really cool too with the clear picture of the Cadillac and Too $hort barely in sight.

Criminal Minded (B-Boy Records, 1987) by Boogie Down Productions

"Di-di di-da, di di-di, dida di-day, aiy!/All you sucka mcs/won't you please come out to play, cause/Here's an example of krs-one, bo!/Here's an example of krs-one/They wish to battle bdp, but they cannot/They must be on the dick of who? dj scott larock/Cause, we don't complain nor do we play the game of favors/Boogie down productions comes in three different flavors/Pick any dick for the flavor that you savor/Mr. magic might wish to come and try to save ya/But instead of helpin ya out he wants the same thing I gave ya/I finally figured it out, magic mouth is used for suckin/Roxanne shante is only good for steady fuckin/Mc shan and marley marl is really only bluffin/Like doug e. fresh said "i tell you now, you ain't nuthin"/Compared to red alert on kiss and boogie down productions/So easy now man, I me say easy now mon/To krs-one you know dem can't understand/Me movin over there and then me movin over here/This name of this routine is called live at union square/Square, square, square, ooooooooooooooooooooooo/What's the matter with your mc, marley marl? Don't know you know that he's out of touch/What's the matter with your dj, mc shan? On the wheels of steel marlon sucks/You'd better change what comes out your speaker/You're better off talkin bout your wack puma sneaker/Cause bronx created hip-hop, queens will only get dropped/You're still tellin lies to me/Everybody's talkin bout the juice crew funny/But you're still tellin lies to me"

-KRS-One (of Boogie Down Productions), "The Bridge is Over"

Rhyme Pays (Sire, 1987) by Ice-T

Ice-T is an incredibly underrated emcee.  He is a fantastic storyteller.  "6 in the Mornin'" is one of the best records in hip-hop history and one of the first gangsta rap records ever.  And never mind the "Cop Killer" controversy, I'm not surprised Body Count, Ice-T's rock band, came about because Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" is sampled at the beginning of Ice's debut hip-hop album, Rhyme Pays.  Rhyme Pays was ahead of its time. And when analyzing the cultural significance of acts like hardcore rappers such as N.W.A or the fusion of rap and rock, i.e. Limp Bizkit, it is foolish to not acknowledge Ice-T and Rhyme Pays and how they helped shape the sound of so many acts that followed. 

Paid in Full (4th & B'Way, 1987) by Eric B. & Rakim

"I ain't no joke, I use to let the mic smoke/Now I slam it when I'm done and make sure it's broke/When I'm gone, no on gets on, cause I won't let/nobody press up, and mess up, the scene I set/I like to stand in the crowd, and watch the people wonder "Damn!"/But think about it, then you'll understand/I'm just an addict, addicted to music/Maybe it's a habit, I gotta use it/Even if it's jazz or the quiet storm/I hook a beat up, convert it into hip-hop form/Write a rhyme in grafitti and, every show you see me in/Deep concentration, cause I'm no comedian/Jokers are wild, if you wanna be tamed/I treat you like a child, then you're gonna be named/Another enemy, not even a friend of me/Cause you'll get fried in the end, when you pretend to be competing, cause I just put your mind on pause/And I complete when, you compare my rhyme with yours/I wake you up and as I stare in your face you seem stunned/Remember me?  The one you got your idea from/But soon you start to suffer, the tune'll get rougher/When you start to stutter, that's when you had enough of/biting it'll make you choke, you can't provoke/You can't cope, you shoulda broke, because I ain't no joke {*echoes*}"

-Rakim, "I Ain't No Joke"