2 MC duos:

EPMD
Outkast
UGK

MC-DJ duos:

Gang Starr
Eric B & Rakim
Pete Rock & CL Smooth

Nice thread. You put me in a zone with this one; in fact, I'm bumping "Break North" as I type this. This album blew my mind back in '88. It was 'sick genius' defined. A lot of classic albums dropped in '88, but this one, PE's It Takes a Nation... and Stet's In Full Gear were in a dead-heat for the year's best.

An epic performance from Kurupt. He zones out in the second verse:

A common quote from gangsta/thug rappers, on dudes they fell out with:

"He's a a studio gangsta. He never shot nobody; never held a strap. I used to save him when he got his ass beat back in the day".

Funny how dude became a fraud after the gangsta rapper fell out with him, but the rapper was co-signing the fraud up till then.

2Pac = 11
LL Cool J = 11
Ice Cube = 9
Heavy D = 8
Scarface = 8
Nas = 7
Jay-Z = 7
Ice-T = 7
Big Daddy Kane = 6