Prodigy – “H.N.I.C.”
Prodigy is most known as half of the iconic New York rap group Mobb Deep. The duo released a series of highly acclaimed and commercially successful albums which helped cement their place in the Mafioso rap sub-genre. However, in 2000 Prodigy got the itch to release his first solo album H.N.I.C. which featured him rapping to beats made by different producers, as well as a few tracks produced by his Mobb Deep partner, Havoc. The album was a commercial success and attained gold status for selling more than 500,000 copies in the US. He went on to release H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 in 2008 and H.N.I.C. in 2012 as his second and third solo effort respectively.
Bun B – “Trill”
Bun B, one half of the legendary southern group UGK, dropped his first solo album in 2005 titled Trill. It sold very well, peaking at number 6 on the US Billboard 200. He followed it up with II Trill in 2008 and it also performed well on the charts, peaking at the number 2 position. In 2010 he released his third studio album title which was cleverly titled Trill OG. This effort proved that third time’s a charm. The album was given the five mic rating by The Source magazine; a feat only a few others have achieved. I guess Bun should’ve stopped there in the Trill series but he decided to release a fourth album in the series which came in the form of 2013’s Trill OG: The Epilogue. It did not do nearly as well as the previous three albums, peaking at number 30 on the Billboard 200 and selling 11,000 copies in its first week.
S.O. – “So it Begins, So it Continues, So It Ends”
S.O. released his unexpectedly great album So It Begins in 2011 as a free digital download. The album helped create a lot of buzz for the Nigerian emcee who ended up signing with Lamp Mode Recordings. The album showcases S.O.’s knack for telling moving stories and great ear for production. It was followed up by So It Continues which continued the trend. He capped it off with So It Ends in 2015 which centered on themes of abandonment and endings of relationships and friendships.
Jay-Z – “The Blueprint”
Not much can be said about this series that hasn’t been already said. Jigga Man released one of the most iconic trilogy album series and on the way sold millions as well as gained a five mic rating in The Source magazine for the first installment. The Blueprint helped to solidify Kanye West and Just Blaze as hit-makers. It also featured the infamous beef song The Takeover which took shots at Nas and Mobb Deep and is one of the most prolific beef songs in hip hop.
Lil Wayne – “Tha Carter”
Love him or hate him Weezy is one of the best rappers to ever step behind a mic. His long and illustrious career has seen him work with best in the business, create some of the biggest hits in rap, influenced a multitude of the rappers who are active in the industry today and he has sold millions of records in the process. His Tha Carter album series is probably the most well-known of this list next to Jay-Z’s Blueprint series. He has to date released four installments with the fifth one being stuck in some political BS concerning the artist and the label. Whether it will ever see the light of day remains to be seen.
