"I said-a hip, hop, the hippie, the hippie" - The Hip Hop Thread

[revbob]

This might be a better entry for this board since it's a live band with a strong rock/r&B/soul influence and just a really cool live arrangement.

This was way better than the SNL clip previously posted.

[WestwayKid]

Just a casual fan but, in addition to some of the ones mentioned, shout outs to:

- Black Star
- Cannibal Ox
- Clipse
- The Streets
- Digable Planets
- Dream Warriors
- Jurassic 5
- Madvillain
- Young Fathers

Also, the below is sort of apropos for this thread:

I do love Black Star. Their debut was incredible, the long awaited follow up was good, but not groundbreaking. Yasiin and Talib have great chemistry.

[WestwayKid]

Not a bad name mentioned so far - love all of them. American rap wise, as he's very aware, Kendrick has the crown. Kanye's anti-Semitism means he's definitely crossed the line to the point I can take no pleasure in his work and the work since Yeezus was kind of doing enough of that anyway.

JID is a great up and comer. Future is one of the few guys with an autotune that I can stand, because there's lyrical integrity and skill under there.

Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Tupac, the DOC, LL Cool J, and (he sounded American, despite being from London. He sounded like he was born in the Wu Tang Clan) MF Doom are guys I have in rotation who I don't think have been mentioned yet.

Good call on Busta. He is legendary, but overlooked.

[Silent Majority]

Not a bad name mentioned so far - love all of them. American rap wise, as he's very aware, Kendrick has the crown. Kanye's anti-Semitism means he's definitely crossed the line to the point I can take no pleasure in his work and the work since Yeezus was kind of doing enough of that anyway.

JID is a great up and comer. Future is one of the few guys with an autotune that I can stand, because there's lyrical integrity and skill under there.

Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Tupac, the DOC, LL Cool J, and (he sounded American, despite being from London. He sounded like he was born in the Wu Tang Clan) MF Doom are guys I have in rotation who I don't think have been mentioned yet.

Good call on Busta. He is legendary, but overlooked.

Same as Ludacris, for that matter.

[matedog]

Not a bad name mentioned so far - love all of them. American rap wise, as he's very aware, Kendrick has the crown. Kanye's anti-Semitism means he's definitely crossed the line to the point I can take no pleasure in his work and the work since Yeezus was kind of doing enough of that anyway.

JID is a great up and comer. Future is one of the few guys with an autotune that I can stand, because there's lyrical integrity and skill under there.

Lil Wayne, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Tupac, the DOC, LL Cool J, and (he sounded American, despite being from London. He sounded like he was born in the Wu Tang Clan) MF Doom are guys I have in rotation who I don't think have been mentioned yet.

Good call on Busta. He is legendary, but overlooked.

Same as Ludacris, for that matter.

Lil Wayne's run in like 07-09 was tremendous. Never did a deep dive on Luda, but he had some really fun singles.

[matedog]

Run the Jewels was mentioned earlier, but I think they are a more approachable modern hip hop and have released four stellar albums. They are a "supergroup" of sorts in that they are two independently well established artists - EL-P who I only knew as a indie hip hop head kind of rapper and Killer Mike who I mostly knew from his work with Outkast in the early 2000s, who came together and put out some great material.

[WestwayKid]

Nas' newest album King's Disease III was excellent.

[matedog]

I like the Beastie Boys and Run DMC but that's about it. I wouldn't know Kendrick Lamar from Eminem from Drake from Kanye. The fact is that I simply cannot relate to the underlying environment that "most" rap deals with. I did not grow up or ever live in a ghetto. I dislike guns with a passion. I dislike "gangsters" of any kind. So, while I do like the musicality of some hiphop, like the Beasties and DMC, I just can't get into it on anything other than a casual level depending on the musicality of the track.

And that's fine with me really, just as most parents when I was a kid didn't understand or "get" the Beatles. Sure I know i'm missing out on some quality stuff but i'm OK with that. The whole "gangsta" shit simply does not resonate with me whatsoever, as a matter of fact its a huge turn-off.

I get your greater point though I would suggest distaste likely has to do with your roots in the rock genre as hip hop is less melodically driven, specifically repetitive chorus melodies. It reminded me how ages ago, eumaas mentioned that he loved jazz because he grew up listening to it. I didn't, so appreciating jazz takes a lot of work for me. And the same can be said for hip hop for me since I grew up listening to way more repetitive melody based music, particularly of the guitar-bass-drums-vocals variety. I can and do enjoy hip hop, though it requires way more effort for me.

Furthermore, your description of hip hop lyrical content seems a bit stuck in 1996. I only bring this up, because I feel like hip hop has evolved substantially since then. I keep bringing up Kendrick, but "Swimming Pools" deals with alcoholism and is brutally honest in his admissions of insecurities and hypocrisy, Jesus, the last lines of "Blacker the Berry":

So don't matter how much I say I like to preach with the Panthers
Or tell Georgia State "Marcus Garvey got all the answers"
Or try to celebrate February like it's my B-Day
Or eat watermelon, chicken, and Kool-Aid on weekdays
Or jump high enough to get Michael Jordan endorsements
Or watch BET 'cause urban support is important
So why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was in the street
When gang-banging make me kill a nigga blacker than me?

Or "How Much a Dollar Cost" where he meets a homeless man at a gas station who asks for a dollar. Kendrick refuses and self reflects about how his selfishness is the cause of his success though the big reveal is that the homeless man is actually God and Kendrick's selfishness costs him a place in heaven. I mean, this is some deep shit.

[Silent Majority]

Run the Jewels was mentioned earlier, but I think they are a more approachable modern hip hop and have released four stellar albums. They are a "supergroup" of sorts in that they are two independently well established artists - EL-P who I only knew as a indie hip hop head kind of rapper and Killer Mike who I mostly knew from his work with Outkast in the early 2000s, who came together and put out some great material.

Second the recommendation.

[WestwayKid]

Furthermore, your description of hip hop lyrical content seems a bit stuck in 1996. I only bring this up, because I feel like hip hop has evolved substantially since then. I keep bringing up Kendrick, but "Swimming Pools" deals with alcoholism and is brutally honest in his admissions of insecurities and hypocrisy, Jesus, the last lines of "Blacker the Berry":

Great point. There is a mindset that all hip hop is "Gangster Rap" and that just isn't true. I've always been a big fan of progressive hip hop and you can hear the influence of Tribe, De La Soul, and so on in a lot of really great current hip hip like Kendrick Lamar. I just mentioned the recent Nas album and he's got some heavy lyrics on that release, digging and poking at society, asking why things are the way they are and how can we be better. There is a lot of power in hip hop - it's such a dynamic genre and in many ways it's at the top of the list when calling for social change - beyond rock and other genres.

[weller259]

Furthermore, your description of hip hop lyrical content seems a bit stuck in 1996.

Yes that sounds right and I do not in any way deny that. I have not delved into hiphop much since then because where it was at just totally turned me off lyrically, not to mention I cannot understand what they are saying since i'm not up on the slang , the violence of hiphop/rap back then just sort of ruined it for me. Its only music, no need for "fronting" or posing how tough one is when they rap, the whole scene just isn't me or my place. I have no problem with hiphop or rap as it were but its just not for me and that's fine.

[JennyB]

Can't say I know a great deal of hip hop / rap artists, but I saw Run DMC & the Beastie Boys way back when (1987?) and it was amazing.

I saw that tour too. One of my all time favorite concerts.

[Sparky]

Can't say I know a great deal of hip hop / rap artists, but I saw Run DMC & the Beastie Boys way back when (1987?) and it was amazing.

I saw that tour too. One of my all time favorite concerts.

There was more security present than I was accustomed to seeing, even at a punk rock show. I guess the police were expecting gangbangers, but it was a very well behaved crowd, just interested in checking out the new sounds.

[BostonBeaneater]

Can't say I know a great deal of hip hop / rap artists, but I saw Run DMC & the Beastie Boys way back when (1987?) and it was amazing.

I saw that tour too. One of my all time favorite concerts.

There was more security present than I was accustomed to seeing, even at a punk rock show. I guess the police were expecting gangbangers, but it was a very well behaved crowd, just interested in checking out the new sounds.

I saw the Beasties in 1992 just days after Check Your Head was released. I girl a year ahead of me in school invited me after one of her friends bailed. We got right up front and I spent the whole show braced against the stage trying not to get her and I crushed. Almost 31 years ago


WFNX history lesson: (April 15, 1992) Two days after the release of Check Your Head, the Beastie Boys headlined a Lansdowne Street show that nearly ended in a riot. "I booked the Beasties to play right before Check Your Head came out," music director Kurt St. Thomas recalled. "The Bosstones opened the show. I have never seen a pit like this before. The roof felt like it was going to blow off of Avalon. The band was amazing. I was hanging in the upper loft, watching the bodies fly off the stage. It seemed like everybody knew every word of the Beasties' songs. One of the best concerts I have ever seen."

[sonnyburnit]

I put this out a month ago or so, some killer all old school joints, all NYC affair. It’s in more of a classic mixtape style than true hip hop mix with scratching, effects, etc. I’m admittedly not overly technically savvy on the decks, never did have the time to learn how to be like qbert but in the end, for me at least, it’s about selection… and this one’s got all that & more!!! Enjoy!