17. Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Return to the 36 Chambers
Who else but Ol’ Dirty Bastard would be crazy or bold enough to make his New York City public assistance card the cover of their debut album? When Dirty dropped Return to the 36 Chambers in 1995, people were aghast at the highly personal reveal … but not those who truly understood the realness of the “Brooklyn Zoo ” emcee. His honesty was on full display with the release of The Dirty Version but few understood the deep (unpopular as it might be) social commentary on welfare as reparations. He said once, “The people that want to cut off welfare, man, I think that’s terrible. You know how hard it is for people to live without nothin’? You owe me 40 acres and a mule anyway. For real.”