Recommend some good non-English rap

Cafe Society
1

I like foreign-language rap, subject to the constraint that by “foreign-language” I mean something other than English.

What would you recommend? Keeping in mind that I distinctly dislike Dr. Dre, Eminem (the candy without nuts!), and pretty much anything of the so-called gangsta genre, and most rap you’d hear on the radio. OTOH, I love the Beastie Boys, (early) De La Soul, Tribe Called Quest, & Jurassic Five to name a few that I can think of.

Any language, I don’t care as long as it sounds good.

Thanks in advance.

2

MC Solaar raps in French, and I like his stuff a lot. Disclaimer: I’m not a big hiphop listener, so by “his stuff” I mean what he was doing around 1996. I have no idea what he’s up to now.

3

DJ Tomekk had a very popular german rap song about one year ago.

4

I recommend the Orishas, who are I believe a group of Cuban emigrants living in France. I would classify them more as hip-hop than rap though.

5

Check out DJ Krush’s mix-CD, “Code 4109.” He’s a japanese hip hop DJ, and he works in a bunch of great japanese hip hop on it. Also, he worked with some great japanese rappers on his album “zen.”

6

I like the stuff of “Die fantastischen Vier”, but mostly due to the lyrics. If you cannot understand them, you probably won’t like their songs.

7

Here’s some of my favorites, and I’ve omitted the ones that are mainly carried by their lyrics, so this should be a collection of good beats.

Poland:

Gramatik - “Friko”, “Nie ma skroconych drog”
Some of the best beats Poland has to offer, IMO. Very mellow, sad, sometimes classical music is involved. The whole “Swiatla Miasta” album is excellent.

Fisz - “Polepiony”, “Czerwona Sukienka”, “Mialem sen”
Fisz is a very unorthodox rapper, think Busta Rhymes on valium. These two songs are the only ones of his I listen to, because I’m not crazy about his rapping style.

Szymon - “Oto Ja”
This is the only song I’ve ever heard of his. I like it. You may like it, too.

Fenomen - “Szansa”
Clasically-influenced beats. These kids were like 14-17 years old at the time!

Kaliber 44 - “Wena”
I haven’t heard this in a while, it may have lost its charm over the years. But I used to be crazy about it.

Korea:

Drunken Tiger - “Hourglass”, “The Movement”, “NY 2 Shanghai”, “Sad Guitar Chord”, “One Han”, “Because I’m a Man”, “Holding my Hand”
This is the holy grail of Korean hip hop. They have put out four albums, they’re all worth getting, but especially the latest one.

CB Mass - “Compass”, “CB Mass is my Friend”, “Around my Block”
They don’t have a very impressive body of work - if you’re gonna end up buying CDs, I don’t recommend you rush out and get theirs first. But these songs are nice, and I listen to them all the time, so there ya go.

Japan:

M-Flo - “Bandwagon” “What it is”, as well as the remix featuring Snack Chan, “The Replacement Percussionists” - entire album
Can you tolerate electronica? M-flo has an immense body of work, and they sometimes cross the line into pop and techno. All their albums are concept albums, even the remix and compilation ones. And their stuff seldom sounds the same - they collaborate with pop superstars, reggae groups and technogods alike. Deifnately try them out.

8

Definately. Even those who rap in English are great for the voice as an instrument rather than what they have to say. What is ironic is that MC Solaar, so I’ve been told by native French speakers, is a brilliant master of verse. But they could just say “Bla, bla, bla” and if they do it well enough, I’ll love it.

9

Cool. So what about posting an opinion on whatever you choose to check out from this thread? And not just you, but anyone who samples some of this stuff? I dream of a perfect world.