The I Love Rap Thread

Cafe Society
1

Inspired by this thread
It seems like every time someone mentions rap or hip-hop on these boards, we get a lot of folks telling us that rap isn’t music and all that same old tired rag. Well, instead of retreading already well-trod ground, I wanted to start a thread about how tight hip-hop is. I don’t need anyone, like Lateralus, posting to ths thread just to tell us all how stupid we are for loving hip-hop, we got that, thanks. We’ve been getting it for twenty years. Maybe you people should get a new tune…

Anyway, I love hip-hop. I didn’t always. It wasn’t really long ago that I was one of the haters in the “it’s not music, it’s just talking over samples!” camp. I’d heard things like M.C. Hammer and P. Diddy and hadn’t ever really understood what the fuss was all about. Then a friend gave me OutKast’s ATLiens and I was floored. The idea that this genre that I had written off without much thought could produce music this good was amazing to me. OutKast remains my favorite hip-hop act, but I have broadened my horizons significantly in the meantime. Acts like Nas, Jay-Z (though don’t tell them I mentioned them in the same sentence), the Notorious B.I.G., and the Wu Tang Clan all made me proud to be from the East Coast, while N.W.A., Snoop Dogg, Ice-T, and 2Pac helped me to understand the West Coast better. Of course, then there’s the Dirty South, with much love given to OutKast, Timbaland and Missy, and Cash Money…

I think one of the greatest things about hip-hop is its versatility. Many of the haters, and especially the people who have never really given in a chance, only hear one hardcore banger song and think that, as Andre 3000 once eloquently said, “hip-hop was only guns and alcohol.” As he says, “aw, hell no, but yet it’s that, too. You can’t discrimi-hate 'cause you done read a book or two.” Anyway, for party music, you can’t beat (pun intended) the catchiness of a well-produced song, but, again, this is only one facet of the genre as a whole. If you need introspective, intelligent lyrics, look no farther than The Jurassic 5 or Talib Kweli. If it’s musical integrity you crave, no one makes more vibrant music than The Roots. You an indy rock kid with a D.I.Y. ethos? Check out Cody ChestnuTT. Of course, the best artists combine all the disparate elements of hip-hop and still make it compelling. Nas, OutKast, Eminem, Jigga, Pac, A Tribe Called Quest, Biggie, Dr. Dre, De La Soul, and many that I’m sure I’m forgetting have all made masterpiece albums and changed both popular and high culture forever.

2

I love hip hop. I can’t say much more because, yours is an excellent post, right down to the Andre 3000 lyric that sums up my feelings on hip hop perfectly. I even like the artists you mention and recommend, so there’s not much more to say. I’m not that big a fan of Pac or Biggie, but both of them have their moments, and it’s possible one day that I may come around. There are posts on this board where I say that I didn’t get Jay-Z but since then I’ve heard the Blueprint and was just floored. Jigga’s now one of my favourite artists.

Um, just to throw something new out there, I’m waiting for the international invasion that I’m sure is inveitable with hip hop - probably from England. International MCs are getting better and better and they’re bringing completely different ideas to the table musically. It’s already started to happen around the fringes with the popularity of dancehall, Timbaland (and others’) Indian influences and Jay-Z hooking up with Panjabi MC. And when I listen to artists like The Streets or Dizzee Rascal, I feel sure that its only a matter of time before the U.S (and hence the majority of the hip hop world) notices what’s going on overseas.

3

All rap kicks monkey scrote, renegade by eminem and royce 5’9 kicks it hard

4

People look at my CD collection and see everything from Blues to Jazz to Death Metal to Rap and ask me how I can listen to all that. Every type of music has something to add. If you can’t see that, you’re ignorant.

Yes, Rap is music. Don’t judge the genre by the Will Smiths and the P-Diddys. Get some Nas, some Eminem, or some Dr. Dre and give it a good, honest listen to. You might surprise yourself.

5

I enjoyed it. I actually was one of those “Rap is not teh music” idiots for the longest time, which is why I snicker at them now, especially the “I lurve metal!!! Rap sucks!!”, because both are equally cheesy.

But when I was driving to school, the only station with a decent morning show was the rap/hip-hop station, so that’s what I wound up listening to. And I found out I liked a lot of it, so I got more and more into it. And most of it I do like, if only because you can nod your head to the beats.

And Jay-Z Unplugged with The Roots is one of the best albums ever.

6

I’ve always loved classic old-school rap, as well as the early '90s stuff by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. I can always count on The Chronic or Doggystyle to put a smile on my face if I’m feeling down, since they are hilarious and lots of fun, with really good music behind them.

Nowadays, I’m really into Outkast, Jurassic 5, Deltron 3030, and Kool Keith in all his various personas (as well as Dre and Snoop). I find them so much better than the more popular mainstream rappers you hear on the radio and MTV/BET. Outkast is popular, of course, but they deserve every bit of their notoriety. I’m a musician myself, and I listen to everything from jazz to punk to rock to country, so I can truly hear and appreciate the talent and musicianship behind these guys.

7

What’s Jay-Z’s The Black Album like? Anyone buy it yet? Is it worth the money?

8

My rap and Jay-Z lurvin’ friend bought it and loved it, but I don’t know too much about it.

My favorite semi-recent group is Nappy Roots, I could just listen to the music all day, how they manage to rap over it, I don’t know. They’ve got good, as the kids say, “flow.”

9

Although I’m not really a rap fan, I’ve gotta admit that there’s some good stuff coming out lately. Soul Position and Ugly Duckling are a couple current favorites in the genre, and I still love Ice T, MC 900 Foot Jesus, pre “Big Butts” Sir Mix a Lot, and far too many more thanI’d care to admit.

10

I’ve been a big Hip Hop fan for a long time. Count me in.

11

I like Nelly, OutKast and Ice-T, I also like Queen Latifah.

12

If you were floored by The Blueprint, then you should listen to Jay-Z’s good albums. Go get Reasonable Doubt, it’s his best by far.

13

What, no love for Ludacris?

I’m thirty-something, I have grey streaks at my temples, I drive a yup-mobile, and my radio station is either on NPR or the local hip hop station. My husband’s coworkers have been subjected to his constant playing of Outkast, and they were shocked that I was the one who bought the CDs for him. I think they thought I was a bit of a prissy old lady type.

I find that the way language is percolating hip hop is a lot more interesting than the majority of poetry I’m reading.

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On that note, the way hip hop influences pop culture as a whole is interesting. I really got into it when we read Hip Hop America by Nelson George in my Soc. of Pop Culture class and we learned a lot about the history of rap/hip hop and how it influences culture as a whole.

15

I really like some of Dr. Dre’s and Eminem’s stuff and Doggystyle is of course a classic. Other than that I usually hate rap and rappers, the whole industry is just… ludicrous. I would probably never admit in the real world to liking any rap, guess that says more about my character than how I feel about rap in general. Mind you, I really like Marilyn Manson’s music but would never admit to being a “fan”.

16

I love rap!

2Pac, Nas, Outkast, Bone Thugs, Andre Nickatina, Brotha Lynch, Eminem are my favorites. Just to name a few!

17

Absolutely. It seems like most poetry nowadays isn’t much more than prose with funny line breaks. Meanwhile, rappers (good ones, anyway), are coming out with lines like “I let them know we missin you, the love is unconditional / Even when the condition is critical, when the livin is miserable / Your position is pivotal” (from “Get By” by Talib Kweli). That’s got slant rhyme, forced rhyme, alliteration… It’s very poetic.

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I intend to, because I hear a lot of praise for it. Admittedly, that praise includes Jay’s boast “Reasonable Doubt, classic, should have gone triple,” but it’s half price at my local record store, and I think that’s too good for me not to pick it up.

19

I stopped listening to rap for awhile until my friend introduced me to the group dead prez. I like them because they have great lyrics and they don’t rap about being rich and having hoes.