Anyone listen to rap? (1 Viewer)

[Holadem]

Is it a coincidence that most HTF members are not black and so it's black music that gets attacked? Maybe not, I don't know, but it sure seems odd that there is never a thread about rap that doesn't get crapped on like this.

Hehe, you will never get anyone to admit this. I have never felt anyone express such a visceral hatred for any other kind of music. Oh well, it's not even worth mentioning after all as it is venturing in dangerous territory.

--
Holadem

 

[MikeH1]

I'll try to steer the thread in the right direction before the lock comes on.
A few days ago I just purchased the Colors soundtrack and Schoolly D's Jive collection on CD. I had ordered these for its hard to find many 80s rap discs.
I love that old skool. Growing up its what me and my suburban teenage buddies listened to. The new stuff, I really couldn't care for it. Maybe its because I'm getting older or maybe the message in the music is getting blurred. Not that the message is really changed, I mean its still all about dollars, sex, guns and the like. But now its commercialized and very "pretty". Its too neat. Sure, theres good underground but I guess my tastes have changed.
Eminem? He does have some catchy songs and thought provoking lyrics. Hatred in a day when we all have our rights will surely spark controversy. He hit the nail right on and will be able to retire early. yee-haw :rolleyes

 

[Christ Reynolds]

snoop and dr dre, public enemy, and doctor octagon (aka kool keith) i wish doctor octagon made more albums, its pretty creative

CJ

 

[JasonK]

doctor octagon (aka kool keith) i wish doctor octagon made more albums, its pretty creative

Christ, you may know this, but if not...I hate to break it to you, but you will NEVER see another Dr. Octagon album.

Kool Keith got very irate when Dreamworks reissued Dr. Octagon with some Bonus Tracks, citing how he was never consulted as to whether or not they should be put on.

Plus, Keith enjoys working under various aliases. He got so sick of people asking "When's the next Dr. Octagon joint coming?" that he came out with a 'sequel' album of sorts, called Dr. Dooom. (Produced by Kut Master Kurt)

On the very first track, Dr. Dooom is in Dr. Octagon's office, and he shoots Dr. Octagon a few times and kills him.


But, there is good news! Dan the Automator produced Deltron 3030, with Del doing vocals and Kid Koala on turntables. Think of it as a less-perverted Dr. Octagon. It's a great great disc.

But, if more Keith is what you're after, seek out Dan the Automator's "A Much Better Tomorrow" CD. Keith raps on half the tracks, under the alias of Sinister 6000. Cartoon Capers is a classic Keith track.

Or, check out his work with Ice-T on the CD "Pimp to Eat" by the Analog Brothers.

He's done a helluva lot of other stuff as well, way too much to list in this post alone.

 

[Scott Wong]

I enjoy rap music quite a bit. It's the majority of what I listen to... *shrug*

Wu-Tang Clan kick ass. Eminem kicks ass. Dr. Dre. kicks ass. Ludacris kicks ass. Anyone on the So-So def label kicks ass. DMX is God. Jay-Z is the jigga of all jiggaz. (when's his new album coming out?). N.E.R.D. The Notorious B.I.G. Ice Cube. All of their music is insanely hypnotic and catchy. I may not necessarily agree with *everything* they say... I'm 27 years old and I know it's entertainment and ear candy. That's it.

While I don't think it's wrong for someone to come into this thread and state they hate rap... I mean, really, what's the point? The thread is clearly for people who *do* listen to it. I wouldn't "barge" into the Home Theater Hardware section of the forum in a thread that says "Anyone have a Denon receiver?" and then reply by saying "Denon sucks and I hate their receivers and blah blah blah..."

Other than to cause problems and waste space... what's the point?

Just my two pennies...

scott.

 

[Kevin Farley]

Ahh. . Where to begin. Well, I guess with Andrew.

Sorry to barge on this thread, but rap is the most untalented, shallow music possible and is an insult to real artists who actually put some effort into what they do.

What do you guys think of Miles Davis? So, by your argument, he's not a "real artist". Paraphrasing a quote from Miles concerning his last album before he passed away, he talked on the album on what influenced him to branch into hip-hop. He was feeling out of touch with music, and felt that jazz hadn't been evolving, like the muse that created it had moved on. He moved back to a cheap flat in Brooklyn, and sat out on the fire escape in the summer, listened, and meditated on the sounds of the city. What he heard was hip hop, from the cars, and boom boxes, and he understood that it was the new jazz, the new music of the streets. The city, rough and dirty, was expressed artistically in this new music. He felt that he needed to get in, to be a part of this new scene. Making some calls, he hooked up with some hip hop producers, and made Doo Bop, a great album. But obviously, Miles is "untalented" and "doesn't put any effort into what (he)... does. Or how about Quincy Jones? What about Chuck D? Q-Tip? Run DMC? The Roots? Snoop? Biggie? Tupac? Oh yeah, they don't put ANY effort into what they do. I'd like to see you or any nonbeliever hang with them in the studio, write some verses, and to lay them down on a track. I'm a percussionist, drumming in all areas, from Classical and Jazz to Punk, and I'm blown away with the timing, rhythmic complexity, and delivery of the great rappers.

Some hip-hop is about partying, some about social change, some about anger, some about braggadocio. It's a Style thing. Like blues is all about how life sucks. That's boring and depressing, right? wrong. Why does it still thrive? Why is blues so vital? Do you see how the stereotypes are ridiculous? Braggadocio and competition (I'm badder than you) is just part of the art form. It's a long tradition in black music and culture. (During Paul Simon's and Ladysmith Black Mambazo's Graceland, one of Ladysmith's passages is translated as saying they are the greatest of this vocal style, and no one can compete. Don't even try.) Contests of verbal judo and wit go back to the griots and storytellers forever. I get on this topic due to all that are saying that rap is all about I'm better than you.

I'd suggest going back to Rappers Delight. (I know, King Tim was first before them. I've not heard it yet, but I will.) There's bliss in that song. It's peaceful, and damn good. Run DMC is all good, and very positive. Public Enemy is deep, angry, political, but funky. Listen from the beginning, and you will see the context of where a lot of Rap comes from. I agree with the article linked above by Greg Yurkovic, that you have to listen very deeply, and not take the music out of context. It's beautiful, complex, sometimes heavy, sometimes light, but definitely a serious and great art form.

Peace!

Kevin Farley

 

[Andrew Chandler]

The only rap I listed to for a long time was Outkast. This is one of the few mainstream rap groups that actually put out thought provoking work (ex. their single "The Whole World" addressed their feelings after Sept 11). Ive recently added Blackalicious to my rap collection. Their new album Blazing Arrow is awesome- and I dont think they mention Escalades or hoes in any song.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

Christ, you may know this, but if not...I hate to break it to you, but you will NEVER see another Dr. Octagon album

jason thanks for all the good info on dr. o, i didnt know i would never see another album. guess i was just hoping it was talking years to fit in all the creativity for the next one and i will certainly look into your reccomendations, thanks again
"taking the patients out of bed into water! thats right, get in the water and touch the 'lectric wires!"
CJ

 

[Mike Broadman]

Kevin:
Best
Post
Ever

As for Miles Davis, don't even get me started on the general perception people have towards him. Most jazz aficionados would tell you that he "lost it" or "sold it" in 1967, 1969, 1975, 1981, 1989... take your pick. Yeah, like one of the greatest musical minds can just lose it all of a sudden.
Doo-Bop isn't a masterpiece by any stretch, mostly due to the, IMO, sub-par rapping on the album, but the idea was there and it is a fun listen. It would only have gotten better had Miles lived long enough to continue that.
The first step towards truly enjoying and appreciating music is divorcing yourself from labels- all labels. Testimony from a recovering progger and jazz snob.
NP: Joe Satriani, Strange Beautiful Music

 

[Max Knight]

I listen to a lot of rap, though like many of the posters here not too much of what I like finds its way to MTV. Some of my favorite groups are:

Outkast
Deltron 3030
Mr. Lif

If you haven't heard Mr. Lif, you owe it to yourself to take a listen. He's got 3 albums out right now (2 EPs and one live album), and it's very interesting work. Very political, yet uplifting. His style is unique.

 

[Imbi]

I'm not really a fan of that kind of music, but i do respect artists like Outkast and the late Tupac Shakur.

 

[Jeremy_Watson]

Hey all, I'm a bog fan of hip-hop. I'm not even going to get into the battle going on over whether rap is just angry crap or whatever, because those of us who enjoy it know that it isn't. But, I figure I'd throw out some names for fans or people just interested in the hip-hop genre:
1. The Coup - amazing group out of Oakland, MC is a communist and raps a lot about the economic structure of America, is it fascinating to listen to.
2. Del - whether it be on the Deltron disc, his own, or even the Gorillaz album, he has one of the best flows around, just incredibly smooth.
3. OutKast - one of the few mainsteam acts I like, and if you can't have a good time listening to their stuff you'll never like rap
4. Jurassic 5 and Black-Eyed Peas - great SoCal groups, keep things very positive
5. Aesop Rock - a little harder than the above acts, but their music is very real, new lbum is incredible
I advise anyone interested to check those acts out, as well as A Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Wu-Tang, Biggie, Blackalicious, De La Soul and too many others to name here. Keep the names coming, I'm always looking to hear new stuff.

Jeremy Watson

 

[JasonK]

CJ,

Even though Dr. Octagon has been laid to rest, there is still a chance (albeit a very small one) that Dan the Automator and Keith will do another project together, with Keith choosing yet another alter-ego.

Kool Keith's last album, "Spankmaster" was sub-par (at best) and his best work was done with the Automator.


I'm really glad to see Blackalicious mentioned on here. I think "Blazing Arrow" is one of the best albums of 2002.
I'm really looking forward to the new Jurassic 5 album, and El-P's solo album is supposed to be outstanding. (Has anyone heard it yet?)

Back to the Blackalicious discussion:

They (Gift of Gab + Chief Xcel) got their start on a small label out in California called SoleSides. All of the records/cd's are OOP, but there is a really good compilation CD that Ninja Tune put out.

In addition to Blackalicious on the SoleSides disc, you get early DJ Shadow tracks, Lyrics Born, Lateef the Truth Speaker, DJ Zen and more.

And, after SoleSides was disbanded (according to DJ Zen because they didn't want to have contracts ruin their friendships) Quannum was born.

Quannum had many of the same artists, and the CD "Quannum Spectrum" is terrific. Jurassic 5 shows up on it as well.

Aesop Rock - a little harder than the above acts, but their music is very real, new album is incredible

Jeremy, I agree. I just picked up "Labor Days" a bit ago, and have been very impressed. The lyrics on each song require close listening, but you'll be rewarded with some damn fine lyrics for paying attention.

I just ordered "Float" last week, it's OOP, but I found one on Ebay. I'm really looking forward to hearing it.


Excellent discussion homies, let's keep it up.

 

[Mike Broadman]

Has anyone heard the new Public Enemy album?

 

[JasonK]

The local "Late Night Hype" show played a single of the new PE album a week or 2 ago. I liked it. I haven't bought any 'new' PE in some time, but may have to give this new disc a shot.

 

[Reginald Trent]

Rich Romero wrote:

Sorry to barge on this thread, but rap is the most untalented, shallow music possible and is an insult to real artists who actually put some effort into what they do.
--------------------------

Rich, it sounds as if you have very limited listen experience with Rap. Keep in mind, one could say the same thing about Rock, Grunge, Techno, Disco, Blues and Country.

Bottom line, there are weak artist in every genre of music. Aparently you have listened mostly to the weaker artist in Rap.

Care to name the Rap artist you consider untalented?

 

[Neil Joseph]

- Salt N Pepa
- Eve

to answer original post.

 

[Josh Lowe]

I swear the title of this thread was "Anyone listen to rap?", not "Bigots please come in and bash rap using the same old tired excuses used to bash rock and roll 50 years ago."

But I could be wrong!

And yes, I do listen to rap. I love A Tribe Called Quet, The Roots, Wu-Tang's first album (36 chambers), the first two Eminem albums (the new one hasn't grown on me yet), and quite a lot of other stuff. The "bling bling cash money" stuff doesn't do much for me, though.

I've yet to hear a morally-justified argument for why misogyny, sexism and the advocation of cop-killling is anything worthy of praise.

Based on those criteria for moral justification, I'd say that rock and roll should be checked straight off your list, too.