yep. ^

what he said.

If you look at Mickey Avalon as one of the "best" rappers since 1996, then you obviously haven't heard much.

No offense, of course.

You're right, I haven't heard much.

But the Mick is like a ****ing rockstar, not just another thug-life wanna-be Tupac...

And he doesn't use a vocoder.

It's just refreshing; the White Jew from the East Coast who winds up in L.A. Hooked on crack, meth, and heroin who dug himself out of the gutter and starts busting rhymes about how he used to walk the block hawking cock - he doesn't care.

He may not be the gifted pure rapper, but has miles of charisma and an attitude the exudes his over-the-top persona.

I totally dig the Mick.

Most all I hear is in passing, through friends and various formats of mass media...

I've got to say, everything I hear is downright terrible.

Shallow, unimaginative lyrics, compressed all to hell with vocoders and pitch shifters on everything...

It just doesn't sound real to me...

And it all sounds the same, like it's the same producers coming up with everybody's records.

Mainstream rap is actually a pretty pathetic joke compared to what it was from, say '88-'96.

Sorry, dude.

I'd say mainstream rap was pretty pathetic back then too. MC Hammer anyone?

^ Those are all from 2010 releases.

Some hip hop artists from after '96:

I was angry at the general disdain for current rap... then Jester dropped a bomb of classic tunes. Current rap has definitely been influenced by its success, and there are definitely ****ty rappers out there who rely on catchy hooks. If you are willing to sift through the bull**** artists who are only in it to make a quick buck then you will find a treasure trove of great tunes, no doubt. The advantage we have today is that we can look back in time and see that the 80s and 90s and identify the influential albums. We don't have the same perspective today, and to call current music "overproduced and s***y" is to ignore the simple fact that the music is just different.
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I apologize for the somewhat bad english, I am a little drunk.

This is one of the most underrated albums of the last decade. 2008.

I have to say I wasn't blown away by this but I hear a lot of potential. Does the rest of the album sample 50s songs as well?

Yeah. It's almost something of a concept album, and I think the whole works better than it's parts. I can up it later if you want it and you can try it on.