Members Mintbeetle Posted April 18, 2004 Members Share Posted April 18, 2004 I know a lot of people here like to diss hip hop / rap, and in some ways i agree-- most mainstream rap these days is total garbage. BUT there are lots of great hip hop groups that you'll really miss out on if you blanket the whole genre with one opinion. Here are some of my favorite hip-hop artists: -Early Wu-Tang: the clan was just amazing back in the day: their first album 36 Chambers is a classic with amazing rhymes and beats. It was made in a basement studio on practically no budget (sound familiar?) so the sound is very lo-fi and gritty. It's a total contrast with the slick, overproduced, and boring (imo) g-funk stuff like dr. dre that was popular at the time. The first round of Wu solo albums was pretty great too. Generally Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx and GZA's Liquid Swords are considered the best. GZA (aka the Genius) is an amazingly intelligent rapper and Wu production from this time period is the perfect balance of lo-fi and gloss. If you only get one album from this list, Liquid Swords should be it. -Anything produced by Dan the Automator: He is one of the best hiphop producers. He learned classical violin when he was young and his beats show the knowledge. His style is pretty laid-back but he is definitely a master of the synthesizer and sampler. My favorite act he produced by far is Dr. Octagon, because rapper Kool Keith is insane. Every time I listen to their only album Dr. Octagonecologyst I can't help but smile. He also produced Deltron 3030 and Gorillaz. -Anti-Pop Consortium: these guys released their second LP on Warp, which should give you an idea of what they sound like. They are probably more popular with electronic fans than with hip-hop fans. Without the rapping many of their songs would be good IDM tracks. With it, they are mind-bending. THese guys are heavily abstract, they don't stick to conventional rhyme schemes but their lyrical skill is definitely up there. I prefer their first album Tragic Epilogue mainly because I haven't heard much of their other stuff, but it's all excellent. I might come in here later to reccomend some more artists, but for now let's hear what you all think. other hip-hop heads, tell us about your favorite artists here. Those of you who shy away from rap, check out the albums i mentioned in my post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tjwett Posted April 18, 2004 Members Share Posted April 18, 2004 sounds like you and i have very similar taste! i'm a HUGE Antipop fan, plus Kool Keith, and the others you mention. and last nite i went to see Kill Bill Volume 2 and in one scene they are watching Shogun Assasin and you can hear all those awesome samples from the Liquid Swords album. if you're into that stuff you should check out J-Zone, really great stuff. also, if you're into Antipop you'd probably like Prefuse 73. but i'm sure you knew all this already. it's true, one shouldn't lay the blanket of cheese on all mainstream stuff. 9th Wonder is an a good example of one, that stuff he did for Jay-Z is awesome. anyway, yes, let's appreciate hip-hop. i grew up during the golden era of hip hop, the late 80's/early 90's. i wonder if we'll ever see that energy again. it was such a great time for the music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members humanliteshow Posted April 19, 2004 Members Share Posted April 19, 2004 Let's not forget Gang Starr and Tribe Called Quest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Array Posted April 19, 2004 Members Share Posted April 19, 2004 How about some Chicago groups, eh? All NaturalRhymefestJ.U.I.C.E. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zone_ahead Posted April 19, 2004 Members Share Posted April 19, 2004 Originally posted by Array How about some Chicago groups, eh?All NaturalRhymefestJ.U.I.C.E. you listen to anything on galapagos4? offwhyte, qwel, typical cats, robust, etc... i actually went to highschool with the guy who started the label. i don't think they are doing anything revolutionary but most of their {censored} is solid and they are getting a lot better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members explody pup Posted April 19, 2004 Members Share Posted April 19, 2004 cLOUDDEAD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mintbeetle Posted April 19, 2004 Author Members Share Posted April 19, 2004 ditto on the tribe called quest and gang starr. too bad q-tip's stuff got so terrible when he tried to become puff daddy. 9th wonder's group Little Brother are from durham (same metro area as my city) so i knew about them before 9th Wonder started producing big artists... everyone pretty much knew they were going to get big, it was just a matter of time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SirGarrote Posted April 19, 2004 Members Share Posted April 19, 2004 mos def, talib kweli, blackstarr, roots, jurassic 5, atmosphere, aesop rock, mr lif. and i dont care what anyone says, but D12 and Eminem are badass too. -G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tjwett Posted April 19, 2004 Members Share Posted April 19, 2004 how could i forget?!?from my hometown of Amityville...De La Soul! probably my biggest influence in the whole scene. 3 Feet got me hooked for life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_resonator Posted April 19, 2004 Members Share Posted April 19, 2004 Originally posted by Mintbeetle I know a lot of people here like to diss hip hop / rap, and in some ways i agree you are the only person i have seen "dis hip hop" here.maybe you're talking about open jam? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mintbeetle Posted April 19, 2004 Author Members Share Posted April 19, 2004 point taken. i remember at some point when i visited this forum, there was an argument about the merit of hip-hop, but it was quite a while back and those members are probably gone. I didn't intend to start that argument again or accuse anyone, just to get some people talking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheRain Posted April 19, 2004 Members Share Posted April 19, 2004 I like hip hop rythems a lot. I don't really like rapping too much. Although I can appreciate that it's an art of rythem and rhyme where as singing has more of it's merits in harmony. And a lot of rapping still has a tonal sense to it, a lot of those guy's can even sing... but the rapping remains a sort of talking instead of having more harmonic value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGS Posted April 20, 2004 Members Share Posted April 20, 2004 you cant forget sonic sum, the pharcyde, and del the funkee homosapien...some of da best hiphop n rhymes out there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members furdock7 Posted April 20, 2004 Members Share Posted April 20, 2004 Let us not forget about DEF JUX Aesop Rock, Cannibal Ox, Mr Lif, El-P RJD2-you guys would prob appreciate him, not strictly hip hop, he is mainly a dj/producer but he usually has a couple guest emcees on his albums Some of the best {censored} out there right now, IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SirGarrote Posted April 20, 2004 Members Share Posted April 20, 2004 Originally posted by furdock7 Let us not forget about DEF JUX Aesop Rock, Cannibal Ox, Mr Lif, El-P RJD2-you guys would prob appreciate him, not strictly hip hop, he is mainly a dj/producer but he usually has a couple guest emcees on his albums Some of the best {censored} out there right now, IMO not to worry...i gave a shot out to a coulpe of them already great stuff -G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zone_ahead Posted April 20, 2004 Members Share Posted April 20, 2004 yeah, that rjd2 track on the newest def jux presents is wicked. it has a sly and the family stone "family affair" feel to it that's just so damn funky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lofti Posted April 20, 2004 Members Share Posted April 20, 2004 I bought the Def Jux "Return of the Robots" DVD only having heard of Mr. Lif (cus I'm from Boston). I am very interested in starting a label and producing, and I wanted to see someone doing it off the major level. But DAMN they are really getting their music out there! I hear people talkin about a bunch of the different artists they have on the label, they are making pretty extravagant (not overly so, but impressively) videos and really just making it happen. From what I saw they record all their stuff at El-P's apartment on a little setup crammed in with the rest of his area. That's wild stuff. There wasn't much music on the accompanying cd but RJD2's "The Horror" is totally awesome, Lif had some good tracks but I knew to expect that, Murs sounded alright, but I actually didn't like some of the other stuff. The Cannibal OX and Aesop Rock I heard just sounded like they were trying too hard to do...something. Just my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gonkypete Posted April 20, 2004 Members Share Posted April 20, 2004 "Say hip hop, started out in the heart uh-huh. Now ev'rybody's tryin' to chart!" How come nobody mentioned the ONE (more or less) hip hop artist in my CD collection - Lauryn Hill? "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" is still the album I've loved the most - ALL CATEGORIES! Apart from that, you guys boosted my hiphop knowledge quite a few miles. In my home town in Sweden we have a gang called Looptroop that use english lyrics. If you don't mind hearing swedish the best band might be The Latin Kings, with the latest record "Omerta". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGS Posted April 20, 2004 Members Share Posted April 20, 2004 forgot to mention busta, the wu, and outkast... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zone_ahead Posted April 20, 2004 Members Share Posted April 20, 2004 Originally posted by gonkypete "Say hip hop, started out in the heart uh-huh. Now ev'rybody's tryin' to chart!" How come nobody mentioned the ONE (more or less) hip hop artist in my CD collection - Lauryn Hill? "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" is still the album I've loved the most - ALL CATEGORIES! Apart from that, you guys boosted my hiphop knowledge quite a few miles. In my home town in Sweden we have a gang called Looptroop that use english lyrics. If you don't mind hearing swedish the best band might be The Latin Kings, with the latest record "Omerta". the latin kings:D I'd like to hear some swedish hip-hop. I've heard some french that was really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tjwett Posted April 20, 2004 Members Share Posted April 20, 2004 Originally posted by WRGS you cant forget sonic sum, the pharcyde, and del the funkee homosapien...some of da best hiphop n rhymes out there... indeed. Del is still doing sick stuff and Fatlip from the Pharcyde is still one of favorites. check out the movie Spike Jonze made about him. funny as hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members air cut light Posted April 20, 2004 Members Share Posted April 20, 2004 MADLIBMF DOOM AWESOME! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zone_ahead Posted April 20, 2004 Members Share Posted April 20, 2004 Originally posted by air cut light MADLIBMF DOOMAWESOME! definitely. that madvillain album is sweet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Is. Posted April 21, 2004 Members Share Posted April 21, 2004 Anticon is pretty out there. I've really been enjoying The Grouch lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LameAim Posted April 21, 2004 Members Share Posted April 21, 2004 Originally posted by air cut light MADLIB MF DOOM AWESOME! Agreed. Anticon's weird - I pretty much consider them an acquired taste but enjoy most of the stuff they put out. Sole's Selling Live Water is one of my favorite albums of 2003. RJD2 is, of course, awesome. I can't wait until his next album comes out next month. For those of you who like their hip-hop with a slight old-school twinge, you might want to consider both Edan (Primitive Plus is great) and Ugly Duckling (check out Taste The Secret). Both are great albums. If anyone wants recommendations, feel free to PM me... I could hand them out for days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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