Yea his lazy drawl is one of the best for sure, and what you're saying does make since because his best stuff clearly was with Dr. Dre. They're a good team, because Dre's not the greatest rapper but is an amazing producer. It's easy to see that on The Chronic where the stuff without Snoop Dogg suffers slightly in comparison to stuff with him.

And I didn't think Big3 was afraid of you so much as respects your opinions more than mine since he's known you for longer. I've seen that a lot on these forums, certain members who've been here a while or established themselves usually won't get their comments picked apart. Though what do I know, maybe it's just because they have more music knowledge than me...

Yeah, I definitely agree with that. I think Dre's rapping works fine in small doses but I wouldn't want to listen to an entire album of him all by himself, that's for sure.

No. I'm just as likely to rip apart his posts as yours, but as I said - I addressed you both. Maybe Mr. Zoon was smart enough to ignore me. :p:

You're right though, the new get hazed differently than the old do. I think no one has it any better though.

"keep their heads ringin'" was pretty great I thought.

Honestly I didn't even notice that you replied to me an still can't find where you did.

people saying that modern Hip-Hop is bad obviously haven't heard Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty by Big Boi, it's like mindblowingly good.

I'm not saying there's no good hip-hop lately, I'm just saying I haven't heard any new artists who are good. Big Boi is very, very far from being a new artist.

Yeah, I know. I didn't read the new artists part. I see what you mean, the newest artist I actually like is CunninLynguists and they formed in 2000.

there are tons of great rappers in the 2000's, the trouble is finding them.

That sounds pretty good. It's still five years old though. It's weird, I feel like it's very hard to find good 00s hip-hop that's less than five years old.

I haven't listened to hip-hop seriously since 1997 (about the same time I quit listening to "metal")

that being said, the REAL hip-hop era for me was 1988-1996, from the time N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton hit the streets until Dre left Death Row.

Since then, you've had Eminem and Mickey Avalon and not much else.

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.

That would be lovely. Thanks! :)

I read your later post, and I would like to affirm that I am talking about Kayne's album and every piece of **** that stemmed from it.

I still feel that today's hip-hop has lost the same energy that the 90s stuff had, and I am event talking about the underground ****. I am sick of Aesop Rock, and I am sick of hipsters riding his ****. Aesop might be rap, but he does not resemble hip-hop culture at all.

JESUS CHRIST.

PLEASE do not be introduced to Aceyalone through the Lonely Ones. Just don't, dude. Trust me on this.

Aceyalone is possibly my favorite rapper of all-time (next to Aesop Rock), and he's released so much excellent work, the Lonely Ones is really just another album. "Can't Hold Back" is a fun summery jam, but seriously, I cannot stress to you how great Acey is, and it's not on that album.

Can I trouble you for another one?

Don't worry, I'm well aquainted with Aceyalone. I haven't liked a new album of his for quite a while so this one interests me for the 50s production thing alone.

Filthy Lies.
I hate when people assume this because of the mainstream "Hip-Hop" that's on the radio.
(And even not all mainstream Hip-Hop is like that nowadays, with people like B.o.B. and whatnot).

90's rap for sure they had some good underground rap/hip hop I like from that era. Dr. Octagon, MF Doom, Deltron 3030 other acts I like are A Tribe Called Quest and Wu Tang Clan

You must really hate rock music.

So what you saying is ****ty main stream rap was slightly less ****ty back then then it is now? Either way its still ****ty mainstream rap.

You listed 50 Cent's "In da club" and Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" as examples of todays rap, and yes that is an example of todays ****ty mainstream rap. However its kind of laughable you are judging "hip hop today" by just that. If I had only hard drake and lil' wayne and co I would agree but really, their is far more far far better hip hop out their today

90s for sure. Even my favourite 00's album, Deltron 3030, was released in the year 2000. I love some of the more experimental underground hip hop that's surfaced this decade but you cant touch the 90s IMO

0/10

Alright, tell me which videos I posted were boring or stale.

Really? I didn't think they were big on sampling, being a full band and all.

If you were "never big on The Roots," don't make statements like, "oh yeah, The Roots have ALWAYS been great at sampling!"

And, uh, what the fuck? You're ignoring entire songs because you hear a little bit of slang? Christ, that's stupid. If you're going to tell me One Be Lo littered "Destiny" with overplayed lingo, (what did he say, anyway?) then there's no way you were listening. Like, you threw it on, listened to about 30 seconds with minimal attention applied and dismissed it because you want new rap to suck.

One Be Lo spits top notch lyricism; I mean, he held a three syllabic rhyme scheme through that whole song [which I doubt you noticed] with interjected alliteration and rhyming in between. His rhymes are creative, his wordplay is great.

"I'm not the hater, you're the player, I'm the referee
official, with the whistle, check out the melody
you could be the best emcee from west to east and never be celebrity
maybe when you rest in peace; let's agree,
you don't want war, you should go and be a refugee
whether comin' or goin', i'm runnin' where the rebels be"

And that's only part of it.

Black Milk... How does that beat NOT blow you away? That extraterrestrial scream and those heavy drums are beautiful. Oh, and he's a pretty fine rapper if you ask me.

"And we ain't friends, so weak nigga your show's over
eighty degrees and still give him the cold shoulder
tons of soldiers, guns and holsters
flowers and gunshowers,
guns and roses
heat feel like the sun was closer,
but the beat make you feel like the drums was boulders"

...AND you have a problem with Big Boi? WHAT? Are you not a fan of Outkast either? His new album is just so, so good; he finds the proper balance between club banger and lyrical hip hop, he's witty and his flow is unstoppable.

Finally: I'd like you to point out the overused lingo employed in the videos I posted, and I'd like you to post songs that sound like they used the same samples / sound the same. Good luck.

Eh.Speakerboxxx was super weak and his new album is mediocre.

Uh, One Be Lo set the theme for his song, it wasn't an act of bull**** introspection. And what the hell? What kind of lingo did he use there? Because he said YO? Because he said "yo," no verse in that song counts?

You also complain that his voice isn't very gripping. I don't really see that, I like his voice. His voice has character; he comes off as someone you'd have a serious conversation with at a bus stop, he's very coolheaded but insightful. His delivery / lyricism more than makes up for that, especially considering his voice isn't bland or plain. He's very subtle, but very poignant. Honestly, you can't listen to One Be Lo and tell me he's not good at rapping.

No, no we have not heard Black Milk's sound a gazzillion times. His sound is rooted in the Detroit sonic [think J Dilla], as in thick drums and grit. If you're going to tell me Black Milk is biting, I want you to show me who he's biting. His rapping is fine; he's charismatic and authoritative, he's clever, and he's got a lot of energy.

I'm not going to defend Wiz extensively. You don't like him, fine. But he's got a great ear for beats [bullshit @ you've heard that sample a million times], and he's incredibly stylish. He's got a good way of saying things that are memorable.

Yes, I've heard all of those songs before. I love Gravediggaz and De La Soul; I don't listen to the Geto Boys as much as I should, but Scarface is awesome. [Ever heard Mr. Scarface is Back?] I don't like Spice 1 or Paris, they just seem like stripped down, less interesting versions of other gangsta rappers.

And look, you're dismissing too much over too little. You're dismissing albums and artists and styles as a whole because you're hearing A LITTLE BIT of slang that's classic to the culture. Deal with it. It's not hurting anything in the song, and I haven't seen it bother ANYONE but you.

Like I said, if anyone I posted is biting, I want to hear who they're biting.

Panacea started in 2003, please tell me what this is "biting" or how its unoriginal.

People tend to go for more mainstream crap these days. heh...

I must agree with Jester on this one.
Not ALL Hip-Hop nowadays is bad. You just have to be willing to listen to it, without being biased because of what's on the radio. Of course I love the old Hip-Hop, and yes, it's changed. But it's not all bad.

I like today's rap but i'm not picky at all these days and i do love the bumping quality of it.

I do highly appreciate Lil Wayne and Gucci Mane as artists. I also very much appreciate Yung Jeezy when he puts out his singles, same for Rick Ross (kinda). I've even found some love for Drake, even though i certainly don't think he's so talented, he's not the worst (still a good but like Wayne). I think Ghostface Killah's 2000's albums (or at least Fishscale and The Pretty Toney Album) are his finest ones, though they are all grade A stuff (i'm hoping this will save me from abuse).
One of the things I put high on my list for today's hip hop is the production quality. Kanye West does great stuff, Bangladesh is a newer one i also like, Swizz Beats, and the random singles i hear on the radio usually have pretty good beats. The only producers i can really say i like a whole lot from the 90's are RZA and The Dust Brothers. Dr. Dre is alright, i've never found him so special. Oh, but Terminator X is pretty hot in my book.

Now maybe i've become rusty on my hip hop and my taste less acquired, but i certainly don't hate today's hip hop. Maybe i wouldn't call it my all time favorite because with my time away from intense listening and critiquing and also my admittedly limited knowledge compared to some of the board members, which puts me in a position of neutrality, but as i said, i don't see anything too wrong with it. Sometimes it's stale but there's fresh qualities amongst it, especially with this turn point of an era.