Rap

[1_man_army]

Wait, this is a music forum. Why is there a rap thread here?

 

 

 

No it's comedy forum. Either way you fail you clown.

[WookieeMania12]

Wait, this is a music forum. Why is there a rap thread here?

 

 

 

Because rap is music, just not music you enjoy.

[Skull]

Wait, this is a music forum. Why is there a rap thread here?

 

Try listening to some of the artists posted on here, I bet you'd like at least one.

[ElkNight]

Wait, this is a music forum. Why is there a rap thread here?

 

.....really?

[Horatio666]

I don't really get rap...it's not my type of thing I guess

[1_man_army]

I don't really get rap...it's not my type of thing I guess

 

 

 

Not liking a genre is fair enough, everyone has their own taste. The only time I'll criticise somebody is if they completely dismiss a genre and claim it isn't valid music because they don't like it.

[88_click]

always strapped-lil wayne and birdman....KILLEd it!

[Intriguing]

Madvillain got me into Hip-Hop. There are quite a few artists I really enjoy, but then there are a lot that have been huge disappointments to me given the hype, e.g. A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan.

[MoodJuice]

My favorite hip-hop albums, in no particular order...

 

 

 

The Low-End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest

 

Illmatic by Nas

 

Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) by the Wu-Tang Clan

 

Liquid Swords by GZA/The Genius

 

Deltron 3030 by Deltron 3030

 

 

 

I'd definitely suggest these to anyone who doesn't know much about hip-hop, and is looking for a place to start.

[Quoi_Tu]

Madvillain got me into Hip-Hop. There are quite a few artists I really enjoy, but then there are a lot that have been huge disappointments to me given the hype, e.g. A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan.

 

Wu-Tang was a disappointment? :(

[deathdrow]

Madvillain got me into Hip-Hop. There are quite a few artists I really enjoy, but then there are a lot that have been huge disappointments to me given the hype, e.g. A Tribe Called Quest, Wu-Tang Clan.

 

Wu-Tang was a disappointment? :(

 

Wu tang is absolutely awful.

[Necrobean]

I've been gone for a long, long time so here goes, prepare it's going to be a long post;

 

 

 

Don't take this is a strict guide of what to listen to. I haven't heard it all, I don't have the time to listen to every single thing I get recommended to right away. Music is also subjective, so I may like some things you guys may not, or you may like some things I may not. This is just simply a listing of what I would recommend to people just getting into hip hop/rap (mainly underground which is all anyone posts about here anyway.)

 

 

 

Without further ado, here is a list of artists and groups I recommend to those of you looking to expand your horizons:

 

 

 

MF Doom - Very well may be my personal favorite MC. Works under plenty of aliases (Viktor Vaughn, King Geedorah, Zev Love X, produces under Metal Fingers, and others.) Listen to Operation: Doomsday.

 

 

 

Aesop Rock - One of the many talented and popular artists off of the Definitive Jux record. Def Jux is where I got my start listening to hip hop, and it's probably the most popular underground label. A lot of people like to think they're cool or hip or some [cabbage] because they know about Def Jux artists. Don't let yourself fall into this, while Def Jux has a lot of strong people, they also have weak [cabbage] in my opinion, and there is sooooo much great stuff beyond Def Jux. My favorite Aesop works are actually before he was on Def Jux though. Food for Earthworms and Appleseed are a little harder to find, since they were before he was anything, but definitely my two favorite releases by him.

 

 

 

Since I just mentioned Aesop, I'll mention the rest of the Def Jukies that I enjoy.

 

 

 

Mr. Lif - One of the two first people I started listening to. More politically minded, and he has sick dreads.

 

 

 

Akrobatik - The other person I first started listening to. His old stuff is awesome in my mind, pure boom-bap braggadocio, but still clever.

 

 

 

Together with DJ Fakts one, Mr. Lif and Akrobatik (they're both from Boston, by the way, and have been doing stuff together forever) form the group (supergroup in some people's minds) The Perceptionists. Their first LP was pretty critically hailed, even by the glossy magazines like Rolling Stone.

 

 

 

Murs is solid, someone I definitely don't listen to enough. Together with 9th Wonder he puts out some really good albums.

 

 

 

El-P - Owner of Def Jux. Used to be part of Company Flow (check them out too, good [cabbage].) Probably best known for his spacey and futuristic production, he also can do a decent job on the microphone. His newest album, I'll Sleep When You're Dead, or his first one, Fantastic Damage, are both worth checking out.

 

 

 

Cannibal Ox - Only put out one album in 2001, The Cold Vein produced by El-P, but it's still a fantastic album. Cannibal Ox is made up of Vast Air, who still releases solo albums and does other work, and Vordul Mega.

 

 

 

Cage - I'm not a huge fan of his, but I'd say he's worth checking out if you're looking for new stuff to get into. He's kind of an angsty white dude (similar to Eminem in some ways) and he's good, just not necessarily what I like. I do own some of his [cabbage] though, I would recommend checking out Hell's Winter, his debut on Def Jux, or any of his earlier stuff.

 

 

 

And, my personal favorite, Del the Funkee Homosapien. He just signed to Def Jux recently I'm pretty sure, and he's [bleep]ing awesome. A lot of people on these boards would include him as one of their favorite rap artists. Also raps under the alias Deltron 3030. If you've heard the Gorillaz song Clint Eastwood then you've heard Del before (he does the rapping part, if you couldn't figure that out.)

 

 

 

Moving from Def Jux, but flowing from Del, is the group Hieroglyphics, which Del is a member of. Check out their album Full Circle, it's pretty good.

 

 

 

Of course there's the legendary Wu-Tang Clan. For a whole group, I would recommend starting where they started, with Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers. Classic [bleep]ing album. They just released a new album for the first time in a while, too, called 8 Diagrams. Definitely worth checking out.

 

 

 

When it comes to solo Wu-Tang, nothing beats GZA's Liquid Swords. In my opinion it's the best hip-hop/rap album ever. Nothing tops it. It's produced by RZA (Wu's legendary producer) so the beats solid too.

 

 

 

Ghostface Killah may be my favorite Wu member overall. His three most recent LP's, The Big Doe Rehab, More Fish, and Fishscale (from newest to oldest) are all solid albums, More Fish is a little weaker than the other two though, so start with Big Doe and Fishscale.

 

 

 

Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, Raekwon the Chef make up the rest of the remaining Wu-Tang members, along with the deceased (:sad:) Ol' Dirty Bastard. There are also tons of Wu-Tang affiliates, including my favorite Cappadonna. Since I don't feel like writing all day about Wu and their affiliates you can find plenty of info on all of that [cabbage] on Wikipedia. Just go to Wu-Tangs page and wander from there.

 

 

 

Next is the legendary Roots. Awesome, awesome hip-hop. It's a full band, the most notable member is ?uestlove the drummer. If you've seen a big dude with a [cabbage]ty 'fro and a pick talking about rap/hip-hop on VH1 or MTV, chances are it was him. They also have a bassist, keyboardist, percussionist, guitarist, and the MC Blackthought. I don't remember all of the members names, you can look it up if you want. I'd really recommend any album, but lately I've been listening to their newest one Game Theory. Also, if you ever get the chance, check them out live. Kind of like a hip hop jam band, all of the guys are really talented and Kirk (guitarist) can really work the crowd.

 

 

 

A group I'm not too fond of but have a really solid following none-the-less is Jedi Mind Tricks. Along with Lif and Akrobatik these guys really got me into this music, but I rarely listen to them anymore. I'd recommend Violent by Design as a place to start. That was the last album with all three of the members; Jus Allah, Ikon the Verbal Hologram aka Vinny Paz and Stoop the Enemy of Man Kind, who is a pretty solid producer. After this Jus Allah had a big fallout with them and released a [cabbage]ty solo album and then had a fallout with some other people. Last I checked him and Jedi Mind Tricks have solved their differences, they may even be recording together again, I don't know. Jus was definitely the glue to that group though, everything after VBD is garbage in my mind.

 

 

 

Someone I'm rather fond of that I find really isn't too popular is Tame One. He kinda runs with Cage, they've recorded together before, but I think he's way better. Before he did solo stuff he was one half of Artifacts, a solid semi old school duo worth checking out. As for his solo stuff I would recommend When Rappers Attack, or if you want a more "out there" album check out Spazzmatic, definitely cool but [bleep]ing weird.

 

 

 

Probably my favorite rap group would be Cunninlynguists. I absolutely love these guys. Kno, the main producer, puts together awesome [bleep]ing beats, and has gotten recognition from pretty major media outlets like URB. Deacon the Villain also does some of the production, but is better known as an MC. Along with those two, who have been on every CL album, is Natti who has been with them for the last few years, and in their early years Mr. SOS was with them. I'd recommend A Piece of Strange. I would put this in my top 3 favorite hip hop albums.

 

 

 

If you're looking for odder [cabbage], along the lines of Spazzmatic if you've checked that out, I would tell you to turn to Kool Keith, more specifically his Dr. Octagon releases. Dr. Octagonecologyst is a classic psychedelic hip hop album, and probably the only one I listen to. When looking for Kool Keith [cabbage] you may stumble across Dr. Dooom, don't confuse this with MF Doom, Dr. Dooom is one of Kool Keith's billions of aliases (if you thought MF Doom had a lot, it doesn't even [bleep]ing compare to how many Kool Keith has.)

 

 

 

Another one of my favorite artists has to be Edan. Both a producer and MC, he is just awesome. Check out his album Beauty and the Beat. I think he would be my first recommendation to people on these boards. You can also find some pretty sweet videos online of him working the mic and turntables at the same time, which I think is pretty impressive.

 

 

 

Immortal Technique is another oft-mentioned artist when it comes to underground rap, especially on this board. Frankly I'm not nearly as fond of him as a lot of people, but he's still worth checking out. Revolutionary Volume 1 and 2 are both worth checking out.

 

 

 

Jurrasic 5 - Another group I'm not as fond of as most, but once again look into them. Power in Numbers is a good album.

 

 

 

Lupe Fiasco isn't underground really, but I still enjoy both of his albums and would recommend them to people who are looking for new [cabbage].

 

 

 

Blackstar, made up of Mos Def and Talib Kweli is a pretty popular duo. To be honest I don't know if they've released more than one album together, but their solo stuff is also worth checking out. I personally like Talib Kweli far more than Mos Def, but Mos Def's Black on Both Sides is a really popular album. As far as Talib, he just put an album out this year that's been getting lots of praise called Eardrum.

 

 

 

People Under the Stairs is a group that I honestly don't know [cabbage] about. I don't even know how I found out about them. All I know is I have a few albums of theirs on my computer, and I really like 'em. Listen to some of there stuff, and look 'em up on Wikipedia if you want to know more, I probably will once I finish this long [bleep]ing post.

 

 

 

Platinum Pied Pipers is another group I'm not sure how I found out about, but I really like the [cabbage] they put out. I'm pretty sure it's just a production duo from Detroit (maybe I got to them through J Dilla), but if I'm wrong I apologize. Either way check 'em out, cool [cabbage].

 

 

 

As per Mattz request, I'll throw Canibus up on here. Honestly I'm not a huge fan, although I will say that the album Rip the Jacker is pretty [bleep]ing solid.

 

 

 

Lastly, three producers I think you should look into.

 

 

 

J Dilla :sad: It's really too bad so many people didn't start finding out about him until after he died. Amazing [bleep]ing producer. I don't even know what to recommend, just make sure you listen to his stuff.

 

 

 

Madlib Another awesome producer. Has put out tons of great collaboration albums. My two favorites are Madliberation with Talib Kweli and Madvillainy with MF Doom (together they are known as Madvillain.) He also put out and album with J Dilla under Jaylib, some people like it, some people don't. If I remember correctly Madlib strictly handles the production (I'm sure J Dilla had some say, but it was mostly Madlib) and Dilla stuck to the mic.

 

 

 

Last is Peanut Butter Wolf, who is also the owner of Madlib's label Stone's Throw. He makes some realllllllly weird/spacey [cabbage], but I find it particularly enjoyable if I'm in the mood for it.

 

 

 

 

 

So there's a list of places to start looking. It's actually quite shorter than I could have made it. Partially because I didn't want to be writing this all day, partially because I forgot [cabbage], and partially because there's really a lot of great stuff out there (I'm told) that I haven't heard yet. If you read this and there isn't an artist mentioned that you think should be.

[nine naked men]

That's an awesome post, Necro. Some stuff I've heard and loved, some I'll have to check in to, when I have the time. D:

[RayOxide]

Wait, this is a music forum. Why is there a rap thread here?

 

 

 

+1

 

 

 

Not liking a genre is fair enough, everyone has their own taste. The only time I'll criticise somebody is if they completely dismiss a genre and claim it isn't valid music because they don't like it.

 

 

 

Well, rap literally isnt music. Music does require instruments/whatever you call whats made from a turntable, or just noises.

 

Rap is *rap* not music.

[ElkNight]

Wait, this is a music forum. Why is there a rap thread here?

 

 

 

+1

 

 

 

Not liking a genre is fair enough, everyone has their own taste. The only time I'll criticise somebody is if they completely dismiss a genre and claim it isn't valid music because they don't like it.

 

 

 

Well, rap literally isnt music. Music does require instruments/whatever you call whats made from a turntable, or just noises.

 

Rap is *rap* not music.

 

Rap is music.

[Necrobean]

Wait, this is a music forum. Why is there a rap thread here?

 

 

 

+1

 

 

 

Not liking a genre is fair enough, everyone has their own taste. The only time I'll criticise somebody is if they completely dismiss a genre and claim it isn't valid music because they don't like it.

 

 

 

Well, rap literally isnt music. Music does require instruments/whatever you call whats made from a turntable, or just noises.

 

Rap is *rap* not music.

 

 

 

Hi, I'm RayOxide. I like to play Runescape because really it makes me totally awesome, other then that I like to look down upon other genres of music. Why? Because I like a flame war started by my stupid arguments. Yes, I know. It really does sound idiotic but that's just who I am. Nothing can beat me!

 

 

 

You're cool, you're cool...

[Necrobean]

That's an awesome post, Necro. Some stuff I've heard and loved, some I'll have to check in to, when I have the time. D:

 

 

 

I have way, way more. But I don't think you'd like that; mostly G-funk/Gangsta from the 90's and some psychedelic hiphop and artists like A tribe called quest. I could sum up some more if you want. Always willing to help a fellow fan out!

[Nadril]

Wait, this is a music forum. Why is there a rap thread here?

 

 

 

+1

 

 

 

Not liking a genre is fair enough, everyone has their own taste. The only time I'll criticise somebody is if they completely dismiss a genre and claim it isn't valid music because they don't like it.

 

 

 

Well, rap literally isnt music. Music does require instruments/whatever you call whats made from a turntable, or just noises.

 

Rap is *rap* not music.

 

 

 

 

 

mu?sic

 

? ?/?myuz?k/ [myoo-zik]

 

noun

 

1. an art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color.

[pryomancer]

Well, rap literally isnt music. Music does require instruments/whatever you call whats made from a turntable, or just noises.

 

Rap is *rap* not music.

 

Your voice counts as an instrument. Rappers use their voices, using their intelligence and creativity to create lyrics. Therefore it is music. You should probably learn things like this before you post.

[venomai]

Good post, Necro. All good artists. :thumbup:

 

 

 

If you haven't already heard them, I'd highly recommend CYNE, J-Live, Flying Lotus, Blu and Dr. Octagon.

[1_man_army]

 

Not liking a genre is fair enough, everyone has their own taste. The only time I'll criticise somebody is if they completely dismiss a genre and claim it isn't valid music because they don't like it.

 

 

 

Well, rap literally isnt music. Music does require instruments/whatever you call whats made from a turntable, or just noises.

 

Rap is *rap* not music.

 

 

 

You literally don't know what you're talking about...again.

[Kalphite]

Necro, awesome post, though I was a bit surprised at the lack of Atmosphere for some reason.

[Lenticular_J]

Well, rap literally isnt music. Music does require instruments/whatever you call whats made from a turntable, or just noises.

 

Rap is *rap* not music.

 

We should get you in a rap battle. Loser gets jumped!

 

 

 

I've been listening to a good bit of Nas and MF Doom lately. I especially liked Nas' One Mic. Very interesting.

[warri0r45]

Wait, this is a music forum. Why is there a rap thread here?

 

 

 

+1

 

 

 

Not liking a genre is fair enough, everyone has their own taste. The only time I'll criticise somebody is if they completely dismiss a genre and claim it isn't valid music because they don't like it.

 

 

 

Well, rap literally isnt music. Music does require instruments/whatever you call whats made from a turntable, or just noises.

 

Rap is *rap* not music.

 

 

 

Are you talking about the vocal style of rapping? Because that obviously doesn't incorporate instruments, turntables or any noises apart from the human voice, which some would say is an instrument anyway. But that's really beside the point that 1_man_army was obviously talking about rap music (i.e. hip hop) complete with rhythm and melody. So either you've got poor comprehension skills or you're just being a smart [wagon] because you want to make a cheap point about how you don't like rap music.

[Erk02]

Well, rap literally isnt music. Music does require instruments/whatever you call whats made from a turntable, or just noises.

 

Rap is *rap* not music.

 

You're calling a capella singing not music. You have to be a troll. Anyways, I've recently grown to like Slick Rick, and stuff like that.