Hip Hop/Rap Fanatics Unite!

[stickem]

I think every no limit and early cash money cd was basically a compilation lol. I remember i never knew who was who besides juvie when cash money first came out. No limit said their names alot so they were easier to identify lol.

[noiseredux]

unreleased video for "Too Many Rappers" by the Beastie Boys & Nas



makes my heart swell

[noiseredux]

Lil Wayne
Rebirth
2010, Young Money
Rebirth was announced as Lil Wayne's "rock album." As such it was greeted with the obvious indifference-to-hatred. And yet, it's an album I kind of love. Considering the creative pinnacle reached with Carter II and III there's something to be said for the fact that Wayne decided to just commit commercial suicide and do exactly what he wanted, knowing full well that nobody wanted that from him. Heck, he even insisted on playing guitar, which he doesn't do well. But as young as Wayne was at this point, he'd been in the rap game since he was 14. If anybody earned the position to ignore everyone but his own instincts, it was him. Plus, he didn't really play that much of the guitar that actually landed on the album. Not to mention the whole "rock" thing is over exaggerated. It's more "rock music" as tunneled through the ears of a guy who grew up surrounded by hip hop, but also hearing popular rock music via the radio. So while nothing here was produced by The Matrix, much of it could have been. "Prom Queen" with its embarrassing "I love her fancy underwear" opening line sounds like Weezy's take on Korn, while "Get A Life" seems to be his impression of No Doubt. "Da Da Da" comes off as a sort of neo-funk/dance track not light-years away from Andre 3000's work on The Love Below, but with darker and more stream-of-conscious lyrics. "Knock Out," which features a pretty excellent early performance from Nikki Minaj sounds like Wayne fronting pretty much any band on the Warped Tour. It's easy to call this a mess, and sure it is. But it's also clearly the most fun that Wayne has had recording an album in forever. The album barely dips below light-hearted, but when it does it's revelatory. On the epic "Paradise" he says "call me crazy, I've been called worse / it's like I've got it all, but what's it all worth?" That feels like a key lyric. A mission statement of the record. Likewise, on the outstanding Eminem duet "Drop The World" he talks about the spotlight getting smaller and him getting bigger. This is Weezy reacting to the big fish in the little pond scenario. And in a sense maybe he felt it was best to destroy himself instead of letting the public do it to him. So while Rebirth is far from his best work, and will only prove to challenge most listeners, it's also one of the most fun, interesting and rewarding records in his discography. A truly unique record which is saying a lot considering just how prolific he is.

[TSTR]

I saw Wayne doing a song off that on SNL and it was unlistenable.

[noiseredux]

I saw Wayne doing a song off that on SNL and it was unlistenable.

I would say that pretty much everybody hated Rebirth. Most fans hated it even. But there's something really unique and interesting about it. It's sort of ridiculous in an awesome way. To put it another way, I Am Not A Human Being II is a "better" album in that the beats are far better (on most of it) and it's got better rapping (on most of it) and it's got good guests... but it's also a very predictable Lil Wayne album. It sounds so same-y throughout. So while the material is technical better, it's far less interesting to me.

Of course there's no accounting for taste. I genuinely just enjoy this album, even when it's at its most mindless. It's a lot of fun.

[noiseredux]

new Joey Bada$$ album dropped today and... Ladies and gentlemen, the first great hip hop album of 2015 was released today. If you close your eyes, you can picture any track on here fitting in on a 1994 mixtape alongside Tribe Called Quest, Artifacts, DITC, etc.

[Razzmatazz]

Going to listen to the Joey and the Lupe tonight - heard a lot of great things about both. I've never been keen on either tbh. Maybe a good time to catch up on their discographies.

[Luke]

unreleased video for "Too Many Rappers" by the Beastie Boys & Nas



makes my heart swell

I might be responsible for 17,000 of the 18,000 views.

Brad, if you have a vevo channel, do try a Tribe channel. Steady stream of Tribe (of course), Gangstarr, Busta, B-Boys, RUN, Leaders, and all around ill emcees. Played it for at least three hours straight last night.

[noiseredux]

I think stickems might be the only one interesting in this, but new Lil Wayne mixtape Sorry 4 The Wait 2 dropped yesterday. It's actually one of his best mixtapes in years, as it's pretty focused: mostly because of all the venom he's spitting towards Cash Money and Birdman.

Going to listen to the Joey and the Lupe tonight - heard a lot of great things about both. I've never been keen on either tbh. Maybe a good time to catch up on their discographies.

Lupe I can take or leave. I've never sat through a full album. This new one sounds either interesting or boring... I guess it's all like 8 min tracks that are just straight rapping. It's pretty low on my to-listen-to-list right now though.

Joey Bada$$ is awesome though. Dude's like 20 and spitting stuff that sounds like classic 90's NYC material. I for one am really glad that 90's nostalgia is a thing now, cuz part of me never really grew out of that era.

Brad, if you have a vevo channel, do try a Tribe channel. Steady stream of Tribe (of course), Gangstarr, Busta, B-Boys, RUN, Leaders, and all around ill emcees. Played it for at least three hours straight last night.

I've hit up Vevo to look for specific videos, but I never really looked into doing like channels or playlists or whatever. I may have to now!

[stickem]

I might have to check the lil wayne out, thanks. I don't know who the fuck joey badass is but did listen to a new single after your post and i don't get it. But that's just me, maybe im getting old lol. All this east coast is foreign to me and not my thing. I'd scream if i had to listen to luke's made up channel.