The Official Rap/Hip Hop Thread

[atribecalledrch]

Mainstream Rap is about everything but the music.Your appearance, the intoxicants you put in your body and etc.

then dont listen to it.
you know what mainstream rap was when i was a kid?
mc hammer, vanilla ice and tone loc. otherwise, mainstream rap didnt even really exist.

what is so different from the content you described and say slick rick or BDK's in their hay day?
dre and snoop circa chronic?

Exactly you named 3 artists when during that time their were 100 artists roaming about the hip hop scene. The problem is the shift as their are more artist in that one genre known as mainstream and because of this mainstream swallows up all the other genres and some artist with the motive of being alternatvie end up mainstream. It's a war and they got more men overtime thanks to Southern n*ggas.

[ManualRam]

Mainstream Rap is about everything but the music.Your appearance, the intoxicants you put in your body and etc.

then dont listen to it.

I don't


Everybody said those dudes was wack.




The music was top notch.

-so then what are you complaining about? music you dont listen to?
-and theyre saying the same sht about today's "mainstream" artists. similar sht, different era.
-your argument was about the content

[kane2021]

There is a certain amount of ignorance and selfish possessiveness I still have for hip hop. Its a personal thing. Maybe I just need a excuse to be mad about something. There is dope **** in this thread. Dont mind me fellas.

[barnett114]

your argument was about the content

Money, cars, clothes, and hoes is done, don't nobody want to hear that bull. You remember when rap was about bragging about your skills on the mic?

[ManualRam]

Mainstream Rap is about everything but the music.Your appearance, the intoxicants you put in your body and etc.

then dont listen to it.
you know what mainstream rap was when i was a kid?
mc hammer, vanilla ice and tone loc. otherwise, mainstream rap didnt even really exist.

what is so different from the content you described and say slick rick or BDK's in their hay day?
dre and snoop circa chronic?

Exactly you named 3 artists when during that time their were 100 artists roaming about the hip hop scene. The problem is the shift as their are more artist in that one genre known as mainstream and because of this mainstream swallows up all the other genres and some artist with the motive of being alternatvie end up mainstream. It's a war and they got more men overtime thanks to Southern n*ggas.

oh please. you cant just blame the "southern nggas." this mainstream movement started in NYC with the shiny suit cats. if you dont like what's in the mainstream, then turn it off and look for smth that caters to your tastes. its out there. its as simple as that.

[Manhattan Project]

I honestly thought this song would get old quick for me... but still loving this one:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4dGisSbGYw&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

[ManualRam]

your argument was about the content

Money, cars, clothes, and hoes is done, don't nobody want to hear that bull. You remember when rap was about bragging about your skills on the mic?

heads were into slick rick and bdk. thats what they rhymed about.
and yes i remember. there are rappers out there that still do that and quite frankly, there are only so many ways you can say that you're better than someone else until it gets tired.

[NBA Fan 1234]

The whole "hip-hop is dead argument" kinda depends on when you started listening, right? For example, someone who lived through the golden age of hip hop could see it that way whereas someone who has just recently started listening to hip hop (last 8 years or so) would not necessarily agree.

It's all based on when you were raised. I can respect all of the great rappers from different eras (Pac and Biggy are obviously the first ones that come to mind), but because I was not alive when hip hop was "alive," I have nothing to really compare it to and I believe that the music that I am listening to now is still pretty good (although not all of it).

[barnett114]

Record sales reflect the quality of the music, the **** ain't worth buying.

[ManualRam]

Record sales reflect the quality of the music, the **** ain't worth buying.

record sales these days also reflect the advancement of technology.
people arent buying the "good" hip-hop either.

[TheBluest]

your argument was about the content

Money, cars, clothes, and hoes is done, don't nobody want to hear that bull. You remember when rap was about bragging about your skills on the mic?

Actually the parents who grew up listening to emcees showcasing skills on the mic are now supporting their kids in supporting emcees who aren't showcasing their skills on the mic. And the very few that do today who are of a younger generation get over hyped beyond the Milky-Way Galaxy. Look no further than artist putting some variation of Young/Boy/Lil/Kid/Cash in their name because they're trying to get the young crowd.

[j4remi]

The whole "hip-hop is dead argument" kinda depends on when you started listening, right? For example, someone who lived through the golden age of hip hop could see it that way whereas someone who has just recently started listening to hip hop (last 8 years or so) would not necessarily agree.

It's all based on when you were raised. I can respect all of the great rappers from different eras (Pac and Biggy are obviously the first ones that come to mind), but because I was not alive when hip hop was "alive," I have nothing to really compare it to and I believe that the music that I am listening to now is still pretty good (although not all of it).

It does and it doesn't. I didn't grow up when Rakim and KRS were at the center, but I heard about them and went back and listened...Immediately became a fan. I remember in high school some cats were arguing with me about the Diplomats and I told them to go listen to Gangstarr and they laughed, except half those cats actually checked the group out and came back to give me props a day a later. It's not something that a lot of people will do, but when you're really into the genre like I used to be and like some others I know were, you tend to listen to everything you can. So even though I came up with the Biggie's and the Pac's, I had to venture back just because I wanted to know what their influences sounded like (kinda like going back and watching film of Bird/Magic/Zeke because you here how great they were). You might not fully recognize what was going on at the time, but you can make the comparisons between past and present.

Btw, the music you're listening to really isn't terrible, but there's just something different. It feels manufactured and forced, while lacking qualities that we kind of just expected back in the day. Emphasis has changed more than anything...I think flow has evolved a bit actually.

[EchelonNYK]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fn3oI6OoA0[/youtube]

[Fury]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fn3oI6OoA0[/youtube]

Where were you when I was big upping Yelawolf and this song a few months ago!? You gotta help me spread the word.

[EchelonNYK]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fn3oI6OoA0[/youtube]

Where were you when I was big upping Yelawolf and this song a few months ago!? You gotta help me spread the word.

I posted one of his songs like a year ago

[Fury]

I think I might have posted Mixing Up The Medicine here. So I've been on the bandwagon longer than that!

[NBA Fan 1234]

The whole "hip-hop is dead argument" kinda depends on when you started listening, right? For example, someone who lived through the golden age of hip hop could see it that way whereas someone who has just recently started listening to hip hop (last 8 years or so) would not necessarily agree.

It's all based on when you were raised. I can respect all of the great rappers from different eras (Pac and Biggy are obviously the first ones that come to mind), but because I was not alive when hip hop was "alive," I have nothing to really compare it to and I believe that the music that I am listening to now is still pretty good (although not all of it).

It does and it doesn't. I didn't grow up when Rakim and KRS were at the center, but I heard about them and went back and listened...Immediately became a fan. I remember in high school some cats were arguing with me about the Diplomats and I told them to go listen to Gangstarr and they laughed, except half those cats actually checked the group out and came back to give me props a day a later. It's not something that a lot of people will do, but when you're really into the genre like I used to be and like some others I know were, you tend to listen to everything you can. So even though I came up with the Biggie's and the Pac's, I had to venture back just because I wanted to know what their influences sounded like (kinda like going back and watching film of Bird/Magic/Zeke because you here how great they were). You might not fully recognize what was going on at the time, but you can make the comparisons between past and present.

Btw, the music you're listening to really isn't terrible, but there's just something different. It feels manufactured and forced, while lacking qualities that we kind of just expected back in the day. Emphasis has changed more than anything...I think flow has evolved a bit actually.

Good point. I was never really introduced to the old school rap though...I guess I was brought up in the manufactured music (MTV) era. Now, I'm moving away from the new (mainstream) stuff and trying to get some new music (still listen to some mainstream...just not as much as I used to).

I tried listening to random old school rappers (Eric B, Rakim, DMC for example), I could just never get into it. Pac and Biggy were different though...probably because of the hype surrounding them - but even that was pretty recent.

One thing that's great about this thread is that it includes all different kinds of hip-hop; it also has introduced me to people that I've never heard of before. With that being said, if anyone has some old school songs that would be worth a listen, I'm down to try them out. Haven't been steered wrong before here when I asked for some help. (MP - Era's mixtape and Pac Div's mixtape are both great. Thanks a lot, man.)

Side note - Yelawolf came to my college last year...really didn't like him. I think he's gotten better, but his voice is still irritating IMO. He came with Kid Cudi and Wiz Khalifa and was second in terms of performance behind Wiz, who was GREAT.

[Manhattan Project]

I tried listening to random old school rappers (Eric B, Rakim, DMC for example), I could just never get into it. Pac and Biggy were different though...probably because of the hype surrounding them - but even that was pretty recent.

Problem also is that a lot of music don't age well. I for example can't really listen to Brand Nubian the same anymore. For every Brand Nubian there is a Mobb Deep that has aged with perfection. Some dudes just get old and continue to get worse.

What I miss is all the posse cuts...

Some great old posse cuts:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgLR4PwhZHA[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaaTxVRG06c[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFHkNRjSVpA[/youtube]
My favorite Jay Z flow of all time

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTyp-d7yIys[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8pG1mG7BeI[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFZLq6R-ZtM[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elZz3LeyTSs[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLT68mI5Pwc[/youtube]

[Knick Swisher]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkRJG510CKo[/youtube]

You'll know where it's going early on but the hip hop doesn't jump in until late into the video but check out the brain activity during a freestyle at the end...I think it's pretty interesting, and it's kinda great to see science incorporating hip hop in a brain experiment.

Good look on this video, Remi. As a psych major, I'm always interested in anything that has to do with the brain and its functions. I like that he used that park freestyle from Mos as part of his presentation. Seen it like 100 times. I also found his findings interesting, especially the part he mentioned that we lower our inhibitions when we're trying to be creative.

You got me hooked on these battles, too. I'm going back and watching all of them now. So far my favorites are Swave vs. Dizaster, Solomon vs. Ness, and Hollow vs. Okwerdz. I'm still watching Grizzle Mania right now. If you or anyone else has any battles in mind, post them.

[Manhattan Project]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6hrrnol5kM[/youtube]