Well this is a big question to ask, but I’m glad you asked.

Rap as a genre is a lot harder for someone to get into, simply because it does not have as much history as the popular genres that came before. You first learn about music from your parents, family, people around you, listening to the radio in the car when you were a kid and things like that and it is fairly likely that your parents had it tuned to oldies and classical rock, as most do, so you’re already having to go out on a limb to get into it.

Let me be the first to say that Mm..Food is one great album, absolutely fantastic. Because you started off there, it makes things a lot easier. MF DOOM is my favorite rapper and I think you should get all of his albums immediately, and in this order.

1. Madvillain - Madvillainy. This is on most days my favorite DOOM album, colab with Madlib (we’ll get to him later) that is absolutely 10/10, A+, 5 stars.
2. Dangerdoom - The Mouse and the Mask. I may get some flack for this, and let me remind people I’m not ranking in the best order here. This is just more relatable. Fantastic album with great co-labs, adult swim based with cameos from all their TV characters, funny, witty great album.

From there on get Operation: Doomsday, which is his first release under the MF DOOM label, it’s raw, but the lyricism is amazing. Then get both of his albums under his alterego Viktor Vaughn, both highly underrated albums that have a bit darker of a tone, then go ahead and pick up Born Like This and Take Me To Your Leader (King Geedorah).

Now once you’ve acquired your MF DOOM collection you can start branching out into other great stuff. I find it easier to start from the “roots” up. I could go on for 50 pages about what artists you should check out, but I’ll try to keep this brief.

Here’s your starters list of albums to get as far as getting into hip-hop goes:

1. A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory & Midnight Marauders. 
2. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter The Wu-Tang 36 Chambers.
3. Nas - Illmatic.
4. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.
5. Eric B. & Rakim - Paid In Full.
6. OutKast - Aquemini.
7. Beastie Boys - License to Ill.
8. Common - Resurrection.
9. Black Star - Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star

Those are 10 albums (2 Tribe) that you must own as someone who’s trying to get into hip-hop and are not debatable. No disrespect meant towards Tupac and B.I.G. but in my opinion I feel like people who get into the above albums go on to understand, love, and look for hip-hop much more successfully whereas people who start with Tupac and Biggy fall into a pothole that loops them right into mainstream rap bullshit all over again. I’m not a giant fan of either, that’s just my opinion.

Once you have those 8 albums, your MF DOOM, you’ll want to start branching out into more underground and indie rap stuff, as well as more old school stuff. Get every OutKast album, get every Beastie Boys album, all of Mos Def’s albums for the most part are great, and same with the always consistent De Le Soul. I also recommend getting all of J. Dilla’s work as well as every one of Nujabes albums. They two of the top 5 producers of all time who both have recently died, but put out some of the most outstanding work in hip-hop history; most of their albums are beats and instrumentals but there is also a high amount of colab work with rappers. You’ll also most likely be interested in checking out The Roots as well as Heiruspecs. Two rap groups (The Roots of course being the LEGENDARY Roots) who use live instruments and musicians as well as rap.

Again, I could name about 50 artists that you will enjoy branching out of this but it would get to be an obnoxious post that I’d never let end because I’d think of another great artist, my suggestion, www.pandora.com, Mm..Food or MF DOOM channel, and listen to stuff. You’ll find a ton of new music, hell it will all be new because you’re just getting into it and you can pick and choose what you like apart from what I’ve been talking about here.

Once you’ve spent quite a while around good rap and hip-hop you will naturally fall in love with the beats and that will bring us to another post in the future.

I tried to keep this as brief as I could, yes I know I’m missing a lot of artists, but this is just the start, and this is what I’d recommend. Really glad to hear there are people getting into this music the “right” way and looking to find quality stuff instead of flipping on the radio, and I’m really glad to help.

Any other questions you have don’t hesitate to pop them in the ask box or AIM me at Prophetized.