# Rap Music Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 28, 2002, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rap-music-question/116339 "2002-06-28T07:21:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JaxBeachBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@JaxBeachBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaxBeachBoy)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2002, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rap-music-question/116339/21 "2002-06-29T21:51:53Z")
I can’t believe no one has mentioned the lyrical complexities of various Wu-Tang clan albums. I grew up listening to rap (started in the late 70s)…the ONLY rap I can stand now is Wu-Tang. ---
**Author:** ![Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/db5fbb/32.png) [@Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fred)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2002, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rap-music-question/116339/22 "2002-06-30T00:05:42Z")
Ah, **pldennison** , you are absolutely correct. I should have stated that the majority of songs have a static tempo, rather than all. The point, that complaining about the “beat not changing” is not a valid criticism, still stands. ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2002, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rap-music-question/116339/23 "2002-06-30T00:40:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Airman Doors, USAF \* > **Oh yeah. It’s crystal clear. Don’t say ANYTHING even remotely derogatory about rap, even though the OP is demonstrating a decided dislike of the form that rap has taken today.** That’s not the message at all. I agree with **tetsusaru** , if you want to learn about something new, terrific, that’s why most of us chill on the SDMB. But the OP didn’t have a question. He just gave an asinine justification as to why rap music is “braindead.” Worse, he said that it was a fundamental component of rap music, the loop, that made him dislike it so. He might as well have started a thread that said, “Impressionism sucks because of all the little dots.” > [@](#): > > \*\*You know what? Rap was awesome in the 80s, when it was fresh and original. In the 90s, gangsta rap was another step in the right direction, because you always knew you would be offended and/or shocked, but you never missed the message: things aren’t right in my neighborhood. It became even more of a social form of music. > > But, man, this new stuff is soooooooo formulaic. It’s the Backstreet Boys of rap. It’s all the same. I have friends who listen to rap and I borrow their stuff, in the hopes that one day it reverts back to something new and innovative, but somehow I don’t think that day will come anytime soon. So the new stuff sucks, IMO. And if you don’t like my opinion you can take it to the Pit. M’kay? \*\* Hey find me any new commercial music today that doesn’t suck at least a little. But, if you have the inclination to look up the non-commercial hip hop artists you may be surprised to find the original spirit of social consciousness is still very much present. Try the Coup, the Roots, or Blackalicious. Not to mention the music is of a substantially higher caliber. Last, I wasn’t recommending Nelly, so much as offering him as a good example of Hip Pop. I did say he was last _and_ least. Personally my taste in rap music centers on the Abstract and Independent artists, but once in a while a good brainless, bling bling, booty shakin, big pimpin track is just what I need to pumped up for a night out on the town. Most clubs play nothing but the commercial shit anyway, so I might as well have a good time of it. ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2002, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rap-music-question/116339/24 "2002-06-30T01:01:17Z")
**cainxinth** , the OP seemed to genuinely be asking for recommendations in a genre of music he isn’t into and doesn’t “get”. I don’t see any hostility there. ---
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2002, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rap-music-question/116339/25 "2002-06-30T01:03:51Z")
[hijack]If anyone is interested I recently burnt myself a tight mix (if I do say so myself) that blends many different types of hip-hop, including commercial, underground, old school, and southern. But, fair warning some of these tracks are not for the faint of heart, drugs, sex, and political upheaval are recurring themes, but so is social awareness, music appreciation, and just plain good times. Unfortunately, due to the rules of this board I can’t tell you where you can get these tracks, but I think the cat is already out of the bag on that one. 😉 If you have a sic mixtape, share it with us. 01 Bahamadia - Cut Killer 02 Blackalicious - Sky Is Falling 03 Eric B and Rakim - Paid in Full 04 Outkast- Bombs Over Baghdad 05 Planet Asia - Pure Coke 06 Solesides - Lady Don’t Tek No 07 Busta Rhymes - Pass The Courvoisier Part I _not II_ 08 The Coup - 5 Million Ways To Kill A C.E.O 09 D12 - Purple Pills 10 Jedi Mind Tricks - Retaliation 11 Outkast - Skew It Up On The Barbie 12 DJ Shadow - Brainfreeze (4 minutes worth) 13 Blackalicious - Aural Pleasure 14 Redman - Smoke Budda 15 The Coup - Funk 16 Busta Rhymes & Silkk the Shocker - The One 17 The Roots - 100% Dundee 18 Beatnuts - Beanuts Forever [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2002, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rap-music-question/116339/26 "2002-06-30T01:18:31Z")
All of my mix tapes are multi-genre, but one of the most notable transitions was from Punjabis, Pimps & Players from Bombay the Hard Way (Dan the Automator and DJ Shadow) to We Shall Be Free by Garth Brooks. Two excellent songs, coming from the two most generally hated genres in music, and the tunes actually flow nicely together. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_Hat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f0a364/32.png) [@Bad\_Hat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_Hat)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2002, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rap-music-question/116339/27 "2002-06-30T01:24:37Z")
D’ohh I mentioned the Wu in my thread last year, but neglected them this time. Even though the latest album is the best since the first. Ghostface is a mad genius, Meth is the smooth Leading Man, and ODB is sorely missed… 🙂 but all in all its still damn good, if not as cutting edge and amazing as it was 7 or 8 years ago when C.R.E.A.M. and M.E.T.H.O.D. Man first hit. Man… now that was some S%$T… BTW, **Grendel72** NERD are the Neptunes, the fairly good and fairly prolific hip hop production team, finally putting out an album of thier own. The import version is good, but for the american version, they used live instruments instead of samples and it just isn’t as good. Tight beats, but the skillz is pretty mediocre. And gren, Em is terrible? man, what songs you been listenen to? Check out “business” or “say goodbye to Hollywood” on the new album. the boy is on top of his shit right now… cain. excellent mix brotha man… inspired me to make my own. i’ll psot it when i finish… I hardly know anybody who’s into Bahamadia… impressed. And I know love this board more than ever before. CJ ---
**Author:** ![tetsusaru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f14d63/32.png) [@tetsusaru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tetsusaru)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2002, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rap-music-question/116339/28 "2002-06-30T04:13:52Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by A1C Joe I dislike most rap songs because it’s braindead music. To paraphrase, “I don`t like most rap because it`s stupid” You`ve clearly made up your mind on this one, so why go any further? Are there any rap songs with music, not always lyrics, that make your brain work? This is known as begging the question, since you`ve already made the assumption that most rap doesn`t. If you wanted to phrase this as a genuine request for information, I`d suggest the following: {1} Is most rap stupid, and if so, why? {2} If it isn`t, can you recommend some intelligent rap music for me? I get the sense, though, that the OP is less a desire to be informed than a pointless slam of a musical genre you don`t like. There will always be things you don`t like, but life`s too short to sit to about moaning about them, still less trying to drag others into it. Put on some music you like. and move on. ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2002, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rap-music-question/116339/29 "2002-06-30T05:11:45Z")
**Bad Hat** I’ve heard all of Eminem’s singles, as well as all of the Marshall Mathers LP. I said he has a very strong sense of rythm, I just find his lyrics to be weak- he disses Britney and N\*Sync, who would be beneath the notice of a real rapper, his disses of people aren’t witty at all, he rhymes a word with itself far too often, and he screws up pronounciations to fit the beat, which screws up the “flow” of a song. Of course, as a bisexual type faggot I find his lyrics reprehensible enough that even if he was a better rapper I wouldn’t buy his albums. On a more positive subject, who remembers **Disposable Heroes of HipHoprisy** from the late 80s/early 90s? I’ve only heard a few songs of theirs, but always considered them extremely underrated. I’ve heard Language of Violence, Drug of a Nation, and their cover of the Dead Kennedies California Uber Alles. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2002, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rap-music-question/116339/30 "2002-06-30T06:04:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bad Hat \* > **Nelly and Jay Z and Mystikal are just disco, they’re fine, not terribly interesting, but not as bad as the Backstreet Boys, I don’t think.** OK, I’m going to have to disagree here. About Jay-Z. Well, sort of disagree. Most of his new stuff is pretty disappointing. But in his defense, he recorded _Reasonable Doubt_. Some of the cleverest, interesting lyrics on that album. In fact, one of my favorite songs of all time, _Politics as Usual_ is on that album. We’ll forget that _Big Pimpin’_ and _H to the Izzo_ ever happened, though. ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2002, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rap-music-question/116339/31 "2002-06-30T18:23:35Z")
A further point about Eminem, part of his schtick is complaining about imitators. What imitators?? The sad part is that Dre is quite talented, his sidekicks just keep getting goofier and goofier. ---
**Author:** ![gex\_gex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@gex\_gex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gex_gex)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2002, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rap-music-question/116339/32 "2002-07-01T05:59:08Z")
it’s pretty heard to respect eminem as a serious artist, considering he records the same song over and over again to become the first single of each album. (i.e ‘my name is’. ‘the real slim shady’, ‘without me’) these songs showcase the worst of eminem - manufactured hip hop for a teen audience that wants something to shock their parents with. the guy has some very good songs (particularly from his latest), but it’s hard to take seriously anyone who disses nsync et al and then makes his own version of their formulaic hits. > [@](#): > > On a more positive subject, who remembers Disposable Heroes of HipHoprisy from the late 80s/early 90s? I’ve only heard a few songs of theirs, but always considered them extremely underrated. I’ve heard Language of Violence, Drug of a Nation, and their cover of the Dead Kennedies California Uber Alles. disposable heroes were well good! one of the heroes, michael franti now plays funk/soul music with a slight hip-hop tinge (although their older albums are more hip hop) with his band spearhead. i saw them live - seriously amazing stuff. one gigantic party. ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2002, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rap-music-question/116339/33 "2002-07-01T06:20:12Z")
Now that I think about it, a cover version of Language of Violence by Eminem would actually be cool- the song is about a gay-basher who winds up in jail being raped by his cellmate. ---
**Author:** ![A1C\_Joe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d07c76/32.png) [@A1C\_Joe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A1C_Joe)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2002, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rap-music-question/116339/34 "2002-07-04T10:36:19Z")
i bought a n.e.r.d. album yesterday. very good. im gonna check out the roots. what album would you recommend? ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_Hat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f0a364/32.png) [@Bad\_Hat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_Hat)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rap-music-question/116339/35 "2002-07-05T03:59:28Z")
Pretty much any Roots album is good. I reccomend **Things Fall Apart** , a lot of other folks like **Do You Want More** better… But really, you can’t go wrong, they also have a new album coming out soon, or possibly already out, supposedly called **Phrenology**. Happy Hunting CJ ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rap-music-question/116339/36 "2002-07-05T04:08:39Z")
I just ordered the import version of the N.E.R.D. album- because the hard rock stuff isn’t my style. Right after I ordered the import I found out a friend of mine has the US version- the two songs I didn’t like, _Lapdance_ and _Rockstar_, are the only two songs on the album that sound like that. I really like that “what the fuck just happenned” song, I think it’s the last track. I’m gonna have to borrow my friend’s copy so I can burn a “best of both worlds” CD of the album. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rap-music-question/116339.md?page=1)