Hip Hop/Rap Fanatics Unite!

[TheRev]

Luke, I don't mean to single you out cuz others have already done it, but this is why I hate discussing hip hop. I feel like for whatever reason these conversations are never dudes trying to turn each other on to something they may like and have missed. Instead, they turn into "the guy I like is better than the shit you like" contests. Which is really boring to me.

Alright, well then put me on something I've missed. How was Yeezus? Was he rapping cruel summer style or his older style, cuz I heard people sayin that it was more like his older stuff?

Aside from the first and Last song I found Yeezus to be horrible.

Then I got on this Roots kick I'm still on so everything is well again.

[noiseredux]

Then I got on this Roots kick I'm still on so everything is well again.

I'm a huge fan of The Roots. Like I said, first show I ever went to right before Illadelph came out. I was so obsessed w/ Do You Want More and Organix back then. Been following their whole career basically. Love them.

[Luke]

I'm a huge fan of The Roots.

Wanna hear something nuts? One of my friends is responsible for most of the "lead in" music played by ?love for guests on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. It's not his main job by any stretch, but Quest cut him a check for $2500usd for his suggestions alone.

And anyone can request lead in music at the Fallon site, so don't be shy.


Would love to see you guys rate the Wu-Tang albums, collabs and stand alones. So many great records.

[muhanad]

Yeezis isn't really like anything he's done before. It's a very angry, dark, and messy record. It's got a lot of really (for lack of a better word) ugly minimal production and verses that sound somewhat rushed and done in a single take. There's really disorienting moments where strange transitions happen jarringly.

All of that probably sounds like a bad review? Well it's one of my favorite albums of 2013. A description I've used elsewhere is that this sounds like Kanye fronting the band Suicide. Fucking weird, but fucking awesome.

Hmm, sounds interesting and out of the ordinary, but I don't know if its something I would enjoy, not really my style. But I'll definetly give it a listen and make a desicion. Thanks for the info

[mister j-y]

I've loved Hip Hop since it was called "Electro" and still think 1988 may well be the best year ever! Sorry to everyone too young to remember it, but I am officially old!

Anyway the current stuff is still really interesting if you can get your head around it, so a couple of suggestions from me would be ADd+ for Outkast-style stuff and Rahsad and Confidence's "The Element of Surprise" for classic-era-sounding modern rap (you guys may know all this already!). Torae's "For The Record" is brilliant, and GG Doom's "But How?" is Doom getting back to "Mouse and the Mask" greatness. Just freakin love him. For the new-sound I can stretch to Ab Soul and a bit of Schoolboy Q, and have a soft-spot for Earl Sweatshirt, also if you haven't heard Curren$y's "Weekend At Burnie's" I would recommend it straight away (as I have already in another thread ages ago).

Grown-man (read:old man) rap has me enjoying most of Phonte's stuff especially some Little Brother and his solo "Charity Begins At Home" for more of that soulful-married-with-kids feel too

[noiseredux]

and GG Doom's "But How?" is Doom getting back to "Mouse and the Mask" greatness. Just freakin love him.

OMG I can't believe I missed this! Thanks for mentioning it, I'm downloading now. Doom raps over "Peaches En Regalida"???? Amazing.

I'm a huge Doom nerd. I'd probably say King Geedorah's Take Me To Your Leader is my favorite album.

@Luke: I'm up to your Wu challenge, but will wait til I have more time to devote to a really long post.

[mister j-y]

@Luke: I'm up to your Wu challenge, but will wait til I have more time to devote to a really long post.

I, for one, would love to see this!

Glad I could be of service!

[noiseredux]

well for starters, how about I just tell you my thoughts on ever Ghostface album? Like I said a full post of every member and group album would be... long.

noise tells you his thoughts on every Ghostface album:

1996: Ironman - at first I didn't like it. I'm serious. Having heard the trilogy of Liquid Swords, Tical & Return, I felt like Ironman made no sense in the Wu cannon. But I had no idea how different Ghost was. These days, and really the last decade, I think of Ironman as the amazing classic debut solo LP that ranks up there with Illmatic and Reasonable Doubt. I'm serious. That record is untouchable.

2000: Supreme Clientele - everyone ranks as his best I think. I love it, but it's not my favorite. That said, it is a great intro to what makes Ghost amazing. It's fucking weird. I mean right down to the fucked up tracklisting. It's all crazy. Standout line to backup my thought process "watch out Starks! Sharks!"

2001: Bulletproof Wallets - My least fav Ghost album. Don't know what it is. I mean. I like it. It's still a 3 or 4 out of 5. But damn. I just can't love it. There's some great tracks like "Maxine" with great storytellilng but it feels so ... well I guess proof is in the fact that so much was cut (like "The Sun") that should have been on there. It just feels a little forced by record execs to be something it shouldn't have been.

2003: Shaolin's Finest - stupid Greatest Hits collection. Just bad selection. I mean sure the songs are good, but not the finest way to present his body of work.

2004: The Pretty Tony Album - one of my favorite hip hop LP's ever. This album is a fucked up mess. So amazing and I thnk most people miss that. Sure it suffers from sample-clearance issues as proof by the leftovers. But that said, it's so interesting and unique and the first to be a straight non-Wu Ghost solo album. So much soul and weirdness.

2004: 718 (w/ Theodore Unit) - so so so so so awesome. Probably the most slept on release in his discography. Basically Pretty Tony vol. 2. Amazing. "Gorilla Hood," "The Drummer," ETc. YOU all need this. You don't even know.

2005: Put It On The Line (w/ Trife) - This is hardcore man. This feels so bleak, underground, harsh and solid. This is just Ghost and Trife going hard. Not for radio. Def great. "Milk Em" is the shit. Another slept on release.

2006: Fishscale - another loved, but overrated album. Sorry. Listened again this week and still love it. But not his best. Probably my favorite thing about it is the MF DOOM produced tracks. And fucking "Shaky Dog." But I think it's a little unfocused for what it is.

2006: More Fish - super fun man. All the Fishcale leftovers are nuts. "Pokerface" is my shit. But I love how NY this shit feels. Ghost should be at that level of respect Nas gets.

2007: The Big Doe Rehab - another one I slept on upon release but has grown on me over the years. Fucking "Tony Sigel" is ridic. Still not my fav, but solid solid solid.

2007: Hidden Darts Special Editon - love it. One of the best GFK outtakes collection. If you're a Pretty Tony fan you need to own this. Mixtape in heart, but great quality. Outtakes, remixes, and just awesome.

2008: The Wallabee Champ - another outtakes collection but not as good quality. Interesting and fun but not solid all the way thru.

2008: Ghostdeini The Great - so weird and so major label. Half greatest hits. Half oddities. Just makes no real sense to even exist. Meh.

2009: Wizard of Poetry - gotta be my least fav. And everyone's least fav. But I respect it. It's better than most ppl give it credit for. The story-telling is legit. The beats are nice. Just too samey throughout.

2010: Apollo Kids - so slept on. Fucking great album that is basically just Ghostface & Friends. You might not own this one. You should. You'll be surprised.

2010: Wu-Massacre (w/ Meth & Rae) - love it. Thought it was weak at first but then realized it's all gold with no fat. Just like 30-40 mins of awesome.

2012: Wu-Block (w/ D-Block) - really nice and hardcore. Kinda like his album w/ Trife. This shit is not for radio. It's just hardcore NYC rhymes and beats. Def for the fans but worth every penny.

2013: Twelve Reasons To Die - OMG so good. I love Italian giallo films. My wife even collects scores by Les Baxter, Goblin, Moricone, etc. This shit is mind-blowing. Makes so much sense to the GFK mythology.

[noiseredux]

Schoolboy Q, and have a soft-spot for Earl Sweatshirt,

Schoolboy Q has been impressing me a lot lately. You're not into A$AP Rocky?

Earl Sweatshirt is incredible. He's so above most of the OF guys. Though, I admit to being an OF fan which I have been since EARL came out on their blog. I've followed them pretty closely since. Even if they can be super hit or miss, the amazing stuff is really amazing. Like "Oldie." Man. That's a 10 min track that I can just listen to over and over again. But anyway, yeah Earl is just like... how old is he? How does he have such a grasp of wordplay? Such control over the nuances of language. I swear he makes picking perfect syllables sound so effortless.

[mister j-y]

You're not into A$AP Rocky?

I just can't get into A$AP as much for some reason, but sometimes I like things a lot later than everyone else - for instance (talking of '88) I HATED Kool Keith (on The Ultramag 1st album) for about a year but something...something kept me trying and finally, finally the very same shit I'd been listening to blew me away! WTF.

re Earl Sweatshirt, I totally agree with you - just the first few lines from "Chum" (about his father) is pure emotional poetry for me - I think these new guys are able to be more honest in a way that Hip Hop hasn't ever been able to be and that makes for much better art.

BTW having seen the Ghostface post (Apollo Kids FTW!) I see what you mean! Loooooonnnggggg