Ranking the Best Sean Price Albums

I’m not big into gatekeeping but sometimes I gotta keep it real for the children and the vultures: If you stumble around this here Internet claiming to be a hip-hop expert yet you have no knowledge of Sean Price’s catalog, career or talent, dismiss yourself from our table.

Let the grown folks talk.

When we lost Sean “Ruck” Price in 2015, we lost one of the greatest East Coast rappers who never received the mainstream shine he deserved. His run with Rock as half of Heltah Skeltah and as a member of the Boot Camp Clik was already one for the books. But when he reinvented himself in the mid 2000s during his solo run, he took things to another level, transforming himself into rap’s antagonistic OG that you couldn’t help but love, even when he was cussing you out.

Today, let’s look back at an MC’s MC – a man with more nicknames than Puff, more punchlines than Mixtape Wayne, a distinct delivery on par with legends like Method Man and legit underground classics to his name.

A rapper so dope, you don’t even need to say his name, just a sound effect.

Long live P.

10. Magnum Force (1998)

Soul in Stereo rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Edd said: If you’re a Heltah Skeltah fan, you probably saw this one coming. It’s a pretty infamous story, after all. While the group received widespread acclaim for their stellar debut, reception to this one was … quite the opposite. Fans accused Rock and Ruck of dumbing down their intricate flows for mainstream notoriety. See, kids, that was an era where that was considered a BAD thing. Today y’all would being dropping Twitter threads about how genius that move was while remixing their songs for Tik Tok. However, this is STILL Rock and Ruck we’re talking about and they’re still ahead of the pack even at half speed. Objectively, Magnum Force is an OK album, it’s just a disappointingly generic release from two MCs known for their creativity. Plus it’s LONG.

Forgotten favorites: “Worldwide (Rock the World),” “I Ain’t Havin That,” “Black Fonzerelliz”

9. 86 Witness (2019)

Soul in Stereo rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Edd said: P was in the midst of working with producer Small Professor on this project when we tragically lost him. That left Small P having to fill Big P’s gaps for its 2019 release. Set as a loose homage to hip-hop’s golden era, Sean is as entertaining as always but due to the circumstances the seams often show. A few recycled bars pop up, Small Professor has to pad out the runtime with remixes, etc. It’s still a fun time but obviously feels incomplete.

Forgotten favorites: “Refrigerator P,” “John Gotti,” “Word to Mother”

8. Price of Fame (2019)

Soul in Stereo rating: 4 stars out of 5

Edd said: Heltah Skeltah + MOP = CHAOS and I’m here for it. Price of Fame posthumously unites Sean Price with Lil Fame of the Mash Out Posse, an MC who definitely can hold his own with a presence as threatening as Price. Their chemistry is great and, surprisingly at the time, P had enough unused material for this not to feel like a retread of former songs – this is no Biggie Born Again, and thank the gorilla gods for that. It’s kinda sad to hear the obvious weariness in Sean’s voice but Fame holds the project together, making this is a respectful celebration of two underground titans.

Forgotten favorites: “Enemy of the State,” “They Ain’t F***ing with Us,” “Peter Pop Off”

7. D.I.R.T. (Da Incredible Rap Team) (2008)

Soul in Stereo rating: 4 stars out of 5

Edd said: I’ve gone back and forth on this one, the final Heltah Skeltah album, and I’m SURE someone will put a hex on me in the comments, but we’ll go with this ranking for now. First thing’s first – it’s a definite improvement over their beleaguered sophomore set. Ruck had officially transformed into the Great Ape Sean Price by this point so the dynamic is slightly different but the chemistry with Rock hasn’t been lost. Clearly they’re having a ball. I wasn’t a big fan of this album at the time but, on this relisten, it works better than I remembered. The first half of the album is just OK but once they start rapping over Goldust’s entrance theme, this picks WAY UP, with every song outdoing the last. A divisive release for sure, but it’s a nice way to wrap up the group’s trilogy.

Forgotten favorites: “That’s Incredible,” “Smack Muzik,” “Hellz Kitchen”

6. Random Axe (2011)

Soul in Stereo rating: 4 stars out of 5

Edd said: Random Axe might be the best rap supergroup you’ve never heard of. Producer Black Milk and MC Guilty Simpson connected with SP for their one and only album in 2011. I was a pretty big Black Milk stan at the time so I ate this up. Front to back it’s an extremely solid lyrical exhibition. It’s only shortcoming is that it doesn’t have the wicked personality that Ruck’s best works boast.

Forgotten favorites: “Random Call,” “Chewbacca,” “Another One”

5. Imperius Rex (2017)

Soul in Stereo rating: 4 stars out of 5

Edd said: Say “posthumous release” to a hip-hop fan and watch them go into convolutions. Thankfully, Imperius Rex, Sean’s first release two years after his death, isn’t the usual corporate Frankenstein job – in part to the oversight of his queen and widow Bernadette Price. This feels just as a P album should – bars that will make you laugh, make you mean mug and make you realize he’s still one of the best, even in the afterlife. A very strong array of guest stars keep the energy flowing too. Imperius Rex turned out way better than most of us expected.

Forgotten favorites: “Definition of God,” “Clans & Cliks,” “The 3 Lyrical Ps”

4. Jesus Price Supastar (2007)

Soul in Stereo rating: 4 stars out of 5

Edd said: HS may have suffered from the sophomore slump, but Decepticon Sean wasn’t going out like that on his solo effort. On his second album, the Groddfather delights in making the most soulful beats absolutely disgusting. As you might expect, he leans into the holy ghost theme with a few concept cuts here and there but overall it’s your typically belligerent P album, which is what we signed up for.

Forgotten favorites: “P Body,” “Violent,” “You Already Know”

3. Monkey Barz (2005)

Soul in Stereo rating: 4 stars out of 5

Edd said: “What you about to witness here, my brother, is ignorance at its finest.” Sean didn’t lie. Monkey Barz was a new beginning for the Brownsville bomber, who reinvented himself into the bar-barian we know and love. Seriously, he didn’t even sound like the same Ruck from a couple of years prior. His lyrical acumen was as sharp as ever but it was his effortless delivery and bombardment of punchlines that really took this to another level. And let’s not forget that P is the author of some of the most hilarious bars you’ll hear. I mean, the dude has a song called “Fake Neptune” with a knockoff Neptunes beat and Pharrell clone. That self-awareness is what took him from “great rapper” to the people’s champ.

Forgotten favorites: “Heartburn,” “Peep My Words,” “Monkey Barz”

2. Nocturnal (1996)

Soul in Stereo rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Edd said: 1996 was a STACKED year for rap and R&B excellence, so much so that several gems fly under the radar when y’all engage in your Twitter squabbles about the year’s best. One album that needs entirely more love is Heltah Skeltah’s debut. The twin towers of Boot Camp Clik hit hard with this one, a masterclass in lyrical warfare that defined 90s East Coast rap. Foreboding, gritty production and an unrelenting delivery makes this the forefather of all those Griselda-esque releases that get so much acclaim today. It’s renowned as an underground hip-hop classic, and while it ain’t for everyone, it’s easy to see why. Rock and Ruck were kings of a bygone era.

Forgotten favorites: “Sean Price,” “Letha Brainz Blo,” “The Square (Triple R)”

1. Mic Tyson (2012)

Soul in Stereo rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Edd said: Some will say Monkey Barz, a few may point to Jesus Price Supastar but, for me, Sean Price’s final album is his most defining solo work. It’s a no-frills affair – most of the tracks have a relatively short runtime – but P doesn’t let a single syllable go to waste. 9^th Wonder, Alchemist, Evidence, Khrysis and more provide the best production of Price’s career while he unloaded with punchlines that hit like King Kong. One minute he’s cosplaying as Solomon Grundy as he rampages through a graveyard, the next he’s doing unspeaking things to your mom with barbecue sauce – all while threatening kiddie rappers in tight pants, of course. It’s off-the-wall, it’s offensive, it’s hilarious and it’s P’s greatest work. And it’s one of many reasons why the game still misses this man.

Forgotten favorites: “STFU Part 2,” “Solomon Grundy,” “BBQ Sauce”

What are you favorite Sean Price albums and moments? Let us know below.