Cghost

Pharoahe Monch's Desire is my vote for AOTY so far. That said I still have to give quite a few albums a more thorough listen.

djchameleon

see this is where you and I differ....I listen to rap first and foremost for the beats/production then secondly I listen for lyrics. Lately I've been listening to the lyrics a bit more and concentrating on them. I think for the most part, you just don't like Kanye West as a person. I agree with you on his lyrics though.

T-pain isn't that bad but I hate how everyone loves the way he sings when he's just using a mouth sythesizer that was made popular by roger something I always forget his last name.

As far as Jay-Z goes hate him or love him but you can't deny he's a commercial success through and through. I really liked American Gangster because of the samples that he used. They sounded straight out of the Superfly Soundtrack.

Rainard Jalen

Denying he is a commercial success would be ludicrous. I can't imagine anybody on earth would think to do something like that. The guy has had as many number 1 albums as Elvis freakin' Presley.



Next topic - I find it humorous that you listen to rap music first and foremost for the beats and production. That seems to embody that whole idea of not quite getting the point.

ProggyMan

None Shall Pass>>>Bazooka Tooth

ProggyMan

Britney Spears has sold more albums than King Crimson...Doesn't mean she's better. Jay-Z has acceptable lyrics and a pretty good flow. I don't know if he produces his albums, but their production is mediocre.

Cghost

I think it's pretty humourous that you just told someone how they should be listening to music, and because they aren't primarily focused on one facet of the music that you think is important, they are missing the point. You know DJ'ing is one of the main elements of Hip-Hop culture right? By telling someone they're missing the point of Hip-Hop because they focus more on the production instead of the MC'ing, you've pretty much shown you know nothing.

Sparky

My memory isn't the best, but im pretty sure i could dig up some posts of yours talking about how its his worst album.

None shall pass is easily his weakest album lyrically, its incredibly average. What put him above the other emo rappers beforehand wasn't in the album

Bringing back blockhead couldn't even save it.

Sparky

But rap didn't always need a DJ. In the very early beginning, it was MAINLY about freestylen, or spoken word ****. Thats what makes it so easily accessible-you didn't need history in a musical instrument, you just needed to keep up the rhythm by yourself.

I mean, freestyling is one of the definitive ways to show your a better rapper then someone else, and thats all talk

But i think you make a good point, nobody should tell anyone else how to enjoy their music. Something im guilty of myself

Cghost

But now you're almost comparing apples and oranges. You're comparing a very primitive version of one art form to a modern one in which DJ'ing and MC'ing co-exist and feed off of one another. Yes at one time the two may not have been together, but you know, I'm sure, as well as I do that they are both joined now in Hip-Hop music. DJ'ing and MC'ing are the two building blocks of the genre and to say paying attention to one and not the other is missing the point is flat out wrong.

djchameleon

Also another thing....listen to rapper's delight? in the origins of hip hop.....yeah it was mostly about freestylin' but djs were always there in the background. At parties while the dj was playing random music....someone in the audience would just jump on stage and start freestylin'.


I do listen to lyrics but I like to listen to the production/beats first...it's just something I do in all aspects of music. I listen to the musical instruments, the arrangements, the notes and detailed techniques. When I listen to a song the second time then I pay a bit more attention to lyrics of the song.