So I did a bunch of searches on the forum, but I couldn't find any relevant results. If there *is* a thread out there that I didn't find, someone link it to me!
Anyway, in addition to liking just about every other genre of music, I like some hip hop. I like people who rap about interesting things, or who have songs that are interesting.
Here's an example of the stuff I listen to. If anyone can recommend stuff similar they they like, please do!
Beastie Boys
Ugly Duckling
Eminem
Ludacris
MC Lars
Control Machete
Cypress Hill
Petey Pablo
Canibus
Here's the last thread, I think. It was a bitch to find.
http://www.quartertothree.com/game-t....php?p=1546868
P.O.S., Atmosphere, that whole midwestern Rhymesayers thing.Originally Posted by Athryn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEZseJ1Wuq8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJyVueJI5gM
I particularly liked the panpipes in the music. It was like, new age, country hip hop!
MC Frontalot is in the same general interest area as MC Lars. I actually like him better.
Everybody should try MF DOOM/DOOM/King Gheedorah/Viktor Vaughn/whatever he's calling himself now at some point. I've been running a hits collection I pressed of his stuff in my car for well over a month now. Madvillainy is a decent place to start (produced by Madlib), and Dangerdoom (produced by Danger Mouse) is excellent if you follow Adult Swim.
Das Racist- Post Modern Rap. Commentary on art and politics and pop culture and rap using the medium of rap itself. Hilarious and whip smart. their first "mixtape" is free at the link and it is well worth your time.
Bin Laden Blowin Up- "where is all the concious rap that was around in the 90s? it's all bitches an hos!" it's right here and it's angry. very, very, very angry. Not dissappointed like "come on guys we need to try harder" but more like "you fucked up, you continue to fuck up, you will forever fuck up, logically, why should we not wipe your family from the earth right now?" if you're scared of Obama, BBU will make you shit your pants. Also, hella danceable
Thank you! I listened to some other stuff and I think me likey. He reminds me a bit of Beck, who I like a lot.
I like MC Lars because I get most of his Bay Area references (White Kids Aren't Hyphy) and because he raps about literature, not just computer games.
I actually have a couple of tracks from P.O.S. and Atmosphere that I picked up from some mix somewhere.
That would definitely be a little bit different from Frontalot, though he also expands his material to skeptical areas (cryptozoology, etc.).
If you're familiar with the Bay Area, you probably owe it to yourself to sample some Hieroglyphics. That covers a lot of territory, since it's a recording label and a musicians' collective, so I'll try to hit the high points:
Del the Funky Homosapien - Probably the most famous guy from their group. He's Ice Cube's cousin. My favorite record of his is probably Future Development, but I'm not in the majority on that. If you're not familiar with the underground scene, he's the guy from the first Gorillaz record (Clint Eastwood rapper).
Casual - I like his style. This is off his first record, Fear Itself, which is arguably his best, though his latest (Smash Rockwell) has its good points, and I've got a soft spot for his hated second record.
Pep Love - I absolutely love this guy, but he's only got one record and he's taken approximately for damn ever on his second. He's well represented on their collective records, though. Ascension and the C-Sides CD that you can get are both pretty excellent (though Ascension took a while to grow on me - a little bit more laid back and not as catchy as I usually prefer).
Souls of Mischief - This is four guys, three of whom also have their own records. I actually like Opio's solo efforts better than anything they did together, but I think that '93 til Infinity got some air when it first hit. The other three are Tajai, A Plus (he produced that Mystic song - The Life - that MTV played pretty much non-stop on the weekend after 9/11), and Phesto Dee.
All Together - Both of their group records are pretty excellent in my opinion. 3rd Eye Vision is considered to be a fairly fundamental underground record for its time, and I love Full Circle.
I've been getting into Rap/Hip-hop again and here is the stuff I've found interesting lately:
Jay-z - The Blueprint: It's a great album and a great intro into why Jay-Z is so big in the hip hop community. It has the radio his H(izzo) V(izzay), but the rest of the album doesn't sound so much like it. Jay-z doesn't have immediate flow, but when you start listening to his word choice on repeated listens, it really comes together.
B.o.B. - The ballad of bobby ray: His first "album", but apparently he's done lots of mixtapes. I haven't had a chance to catch those, but the album that's here is pretty damn good. It's got the radio hits (nothing on you, Airplanes), but it's got some nice collaborations ( weezer ) and I dig his subject matter and word play. Dunno if he can sustain it for another album, but I like this one.
T.I. - The King: Fucking amazing. Go out and get this album immediately. It does have some "gangsta" rap ( i.e. drugs and such ) material, but he is just an amazing rapper with crazy flow. Almost every swing is a killer and it has the song "What you know". Awesomeness.
Drake - Thanks us later ( the mixtape ): Drake is another mixtape artist. His first mixtape "So far gone" had the hit "Best I ever had" but the rest of the album was good too. A discourse on fame and his ambivalence about it, Thank me later is his follow up album covering the same material. This is a mixtape and remixed verstion of that album. Great subject matter. I haven't heard the actual album as I havne't gotten it yet, but the remixed album is very good. It's a bit more even than his first one as far as pacing and the wordplay is very good.
Lil Wayne - No Ceilings (official mixtape): Again a mixtape, not an "album" but as good as any real album or better. Flat out awesome. Lil Wayne has some of the best puns in the business and he really is great on this mixtape. You gotta hear his remix of lady gaga's "poker face" Warning: The lyrics are not for the easiliy offended OR those who just don't like the whole "i'm a baller, women love to have sex" thing.
Biggie Smalls, come on.
I think Lupe Fiasco is definitely worth listening to. I hardly listen to any hip hop so someone else who does will have to explain why in better detail, but I found Streets On Fire to be captivating.
I saw the Coup open for Les Claypool a few years back, and they were pretty good to my non-hip-hop ears. Whoever they had supporting them on guitar was amazing. But they're a bit Marxist, so some may have an issue with that. Like Michelle Malkin (she hates them).
a bit marxist is very much an understatement.
the main problem with the coup is that they're making music for an audience which doesn't appear to exist anymore. they want to reach the same people that black radical music in the 60s and 70s reached, but find that the spirit just isn't there or they just can't reach it.
so when i see them, the audience is a bunch of people like me; white, educated, nerdy people playing small clubs to a small audience.
it may be different here in new york, i haven't seen them since i've moved here.
Boots Riley isn't a bit Marxist. He's a raving insanogram from the leftist underground possibly a touch further out than Zack de la Rocha. I actually like The Coup when they're not moralizing but are instead focusing on producing catchy music (Party Music was excellent), but their latest just didn't catch with me for some reason, and I didn't enjoy Boots and Tom Morello's collaboration very much either.
Aesop Rock is both interesting and good, though I haven't listened to his most recent album. Float, Labor Days, and Bazooka Tooth are all worth your time, though.
None Shall Pass (his latest) is absolutely wonderful and what got me into Aesop Rock, who I was coming into the thread to recommend.
Also second the recommendation of Dangerdoom (and I just listened to Madvilliany for the first time yesterday, jury's still out on that though).
And the last one before that (focuses more on the music than lyrics though)
http://www.quartertothree.com/game-t...ad.php?t=42328
and one from 2003 (with an old skool vibe)
http://www.quartertothree.com/game-t...ead.php?t=7631
(I searched the site for "Jurassic 5", because hip hop threads should contain that text.)
In that case, I have an album to buy. Thanks for the heads-up.
Aesop is great. I will also recommend EL-P and MF Doom (and all his various side projects such as Madvillain and Danger Doom)
Bonethugs, Wu-Tang, old Dre, also check out the Chronic, umm... I like MF Doom... Common, Kanye, ummm... others?
El-Producto is.......a bit of an acquired taste. His stuff is considerably noisier than I usually listen to, but I still like both of his records. You might try the original Company Flow CD first to see if you like him when he's collaborating with some other folks. Alternately, you might ask our own El-Producto where to start, because I think it would be awesome if he were the guy but have not bothered to ask yet.
One guy that I forgot that I should probably mention is Edan. I think of his sound as being more characteristic of the East Coast Underground, but it's unique, and I like it quite a lot.
A few more that fall under "that whole Midwestern Rhymesayers thing" that deserve specific mention: Brother Ali is amazing, particularly his newest. Love his stuff. Dessa is my favorite lady rapper/singer/whatevershedo since Lauryn Hill.
If you're into more "conscious rap", try some KRS-ONE for old-school flavor. Return of the Boom-Bap and I Got Next are excellent records. Obviously J5 is great, but take a peek at some Digable Planets as well -- they're more laid back but definitely a favorite of mine
Oh man, I completely forgot to mention Mos Def and Talib Kweli. Two of my absolute favorite rappers ever. Their combo record (Black Star) is freaking seminal, and their individual careers have put out some amazing stuff as well.
If you like Digable Planets check out Shabazz Palaces
Palaceer Lazaro is the lead who was "butterfly" in Digable Planets. Shabazz is a lot more forward thinking in song construction, couplets and beats than Digable Planets and it's just all around great stuff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMZKPaSF0GE
Atmosphere and the Rhymesayers artists have already been mentioned, but I'd like to highlight the Doomtree collective. 9 great artists from MPLS. P.O.S. is the most famous, but the whole crew is worth checking out -- especially Dessa and Cecil Otter for doing something a bit different, but damn good.
If you like your backpacker rap a little more angry, check out Sage Francis, and Cage, who isn't quite as good but has his moments.
The most recent hiphop I've been enjoying is Sapient's new album, Make More. Good stuff.
Check out this thread
Also... Solilaquists of Sound are the best thing to come out in years: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgZ3hJ4NUxQ
Looks like my favorite track of theirs, "As If We Existed" was pulled off YouTube :(
edit: Oh, that track is on their MySpace page: http://www.myspace.com/solilla
Both of their albums are amazing.
What, no Deltron?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deltron_3030
Also, the new Eminem is pretty damn solid.
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