although i was a fan of hip hop from early days, i have lost track of the scene.
So when a friend asked me to make up a tape of ‘modern’ stuff i thought you guys could help.
Can you recommend tracks from maybe the last 2/3 years.
stuff i’m thinking of so far:
Simon Says - Pharoah Monch
Sound of Da Plice - KRS One
Ugly - Bubba Sparxx
any help appreciated
thanks
nick
Aesop Rock - No Regrets
Best hip hop song in years.
I’d recommend anything by Outcast, the High & Mighty (or the Smut Peddlers “That Smut”), " Hip Hop" by the Dead Prez or the Brits Roots Manuva (“Witness”), New Flesh and Deckwrecker.
For the more adventurous Hip Hop afficionado:
Anti Pop Consortium, Mike Ladd, Cannibal Ox, San Francisco based Gold Chains,…
“modern stuff” isn’t exactly a detailed description of possible styles. I’d say the electronic sounds of the Anti Pop Consortium are definetly modern - but your friend could just mean “ordinary” Hip Hop tracks from the the last 2/3 years.
I’m at the office, so I don’t have acces to my iTunes HipHop playlist or my vinyls and i can’t really recall more tracks by name. have I been smoking to much weed?
and on preview: yeah Aesop Rock - definetly!
Blackalicious: Nia
Hi-Tek & Talib Kweli: Reflections Eternal
De La Soul: AOI Bionix
here’s some more:
Dilated Peoples: “The Platform”
Absolute Beginner: “Stift Her” (Germanys finest)
TTC: “De Pauves Riches” (Yes, they’re french)
Spectre: “Parts Unknown” (LP)
Kool Keith: “Supergalactic Lover” (this one is from '99)
hmmm Hip Hop. Had to turn on SimplyRadio.com to get a quick rap-fix.
I’m an illiterate dumbass, those are albums, not tracks. Let me try again.
Blackalicious: A to G
Hanger, Cliff
Black Star: Thieves in the Night
Talib Kweli & Hi Tek: Down for the Count
De La Soul: What We Do For Love
check out stuff on the AntiCon label-- dose one, buck 65 et al. im really into these at the moment.
most of what timbaland produces is good stuff IMO
Some more:
Alkaholiks: Awww Shit
Los Orishas: Represent
The Roots: 100% Dundee
Spearhead: People in tha Middle
Eve: Let Me Blow Ya Mind (kinda commercial, but I love it)
If you’re looking for some more experimental stuff, check out Prefuse 73 and maybe Four Tet… Also, don’t forget Outkast and… god, who am I forgetting… meh.
Why are so many heads showing love to OutKast all of a sudden? Is their new album that good? All I’ve really heard by them is that ‘Ms. Jackson’ song.
Yeah they’re really good. They’re not just overexposed radio single hucksters. I’ve only heard a bit of the new album, but it was mostly soul.
Jurrasic 5 is who I was thinking of. “World of Entertainment” is a good song… but not their best.
I mean Jurassic 5, of course. 
thanks for taking time to recommendation so far all.
i’ll have to check out ‘the Roots - 100% dundee’
that’s my hometown!
Yeah, the new OutKast is that good. Maybe not as good as Stankonia, but it’s amazingly consistent for over two hours of music. Go get it now, 2 CDs at one low price!
Oh, and here are some suggestions…
OutKast - The Rooster
Mr. Lif - New Man Theme
J-Live - 3 Out Of 7
Oh yeah! Mr. Lif! I saw him and Akrobatik (sp?) in Munich a month ago… totally random free show! It was pretty awesome.
I usually recommend underground stuff in these threads, but if you don’t mind a bit of pop, hip-hop is actually improving as far as mainstream music goes. So I’ll discuss that, since everyone else has and will cover the underground side of things.
Missy Elliot’s done some pretty good stuff, and I really like Cop That Disc which I’m hearing a lot at the moment. Of course, if you like Missy you’ll like Timbaland who mostly produces, but if you of something produced by him, chances are it’s going to be pretty good. Same with the Neptunes, who, despite being responsible for Nelly’s terrible Hot In Herre actually make respectable commercial hip-hop. Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Got Your Money is a few years old now, but still good.
If you can cope with gangsta-isms and blatant misogyny, 50 Cent has his moments - I can’t get the P.I.M.P remix with Snoop out of my head. Jay-Z also gets a lot of props, but I don’t see why - he seems to be very oridnary rapper, despite the, at times, good production (and if you like the production on his work, his producer Kanye West has a pretty catchy song called Through The Wire out).
Of course, since I’ve mentioned 50 Cent, I’ll mention Eminem, who you’ve of course heard of. Eminem’s very overrated, but he does have definite talents as an MC. And current Eminem protege Obie Trice is being talked up, but I think his greatest strength is the Eminem connection. Got Some Teeth is cartoony fun, but nothing outstanding.
And everyone else has mentioned Outkast, but they’re worth mentioning again, simply because they’re that good.
And just some underground stuff that hasn’t been mentioned yet: