Today's Rap, 90's, or 80's Rap
 

what is the time you liked hip hop best...?

I think for me it would be a tie between 90's and Today's.
I wouldn't be able to pick between the two, as I listen to about an equal amount of both.

At the moment I'd say 90s, but maybe I just haven't heard enough good stuff from the 00s.

Out of curiosity, why is the 90s option the only one that uses the term hip-hop?

the southern takeover of the early 2000s really hurt their chances. nothing touches that good old 90s New York hip hop. nas, jay, mobb deep, atcq, de la soul at their best

I was going to put in 90's, today's, and 80's all with -hip-hop on the suffix but it just seemed redundant

So why put it on any of them? :confused:

I have OCD not doing it was against my will

todays rap is the most eclectic (hope i'm using that word right)

You got the most range in styles and production, with rap that goes beyond simple spittin', crossing over into other genres.

I'd like to say i can get into 80's rap, but besides a couple artists, slick rick and rakim, it all sounds too dated for me to really dig into.

You think? I hate to say it but I feel like most of the stuff I'm hearing lately is kind of samey, with the only exceptions being new releases by artists that have been around for a while.

I think I back this 120%.

Southern Rap was taken far too seriously and sustained way too long. You also had some half decent california acts out there.

Who've you heard?

A lot of people. Who should I be listening to?

Support unsigned talent
 

What do you believe the industry needs right now

Grapefruit.

More cowbell.

strings

More scratching in beats, more sampling, and less pay.

agreed with everything until you said 'less pay'....
:soapbox:

Really?
I don't really understand this. If anything i feel like the industry needs less sampling.

Well thats why I asked because I don't know what you're listening to now, and we don't really have the same taste.

I like what I'm hearing from B.O.B

DJ Premier needs to work more with underground artists

:finger::wave:

90s was by far the best because this 808s **** isn't hip-hop. Seriously, it is like calling pop/punk "punk music." It is devoid of all the energy of the original.

90's instrumental hip-hop FTW!

I like the late 70s and early 80s stuff. Curtis Blow, Master G, Sugarhill gang, etc.

Disagree.

I agree that 808's is a pop album, even kanye himself said it was a pop album. however I definitely prefer todays rap. I mean, I love me some tribe called quest or wutang as much as the next guy but I would rather listen to common market or doomtree

Yeah, see this actually the kind of stuff I'm talking about that I feel is kind of boring and samey. Sing-song poppy chorus, autotune, heavy R&B influence, slight soft rock influence and most definitely the kind of stuff they will be playing in elevators in a decade or so if they aren't already. I'm looking for someone with a unique style and some kind of an edge but lately I feel like I can't find anyone like that who is a new artist.

So you don't like this or Jay-Z?

I can dig up some 3rd Bass video's if you want.

That and Jay-Z are excellent examples of the sameness I'm talking about.

Why would I want to see 20 year old videos of 3rd Bass when I just mentioned my interest in hearing good new hip-hop?

I didn't know he was talking about the KanYe album. If he is, however, then yeah, it's not a Hip-Hop album.

Hey, Crabby, sorry I tried to helped. I don't see them as the same, I guess I'm too close to the movement.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to sound crabby. I just don't understand where you're going with the 3rd Bass comment.

And you seriously don't see the similarities between that dude and recent Jay-Z?

No, B.O.B. strikes me more as an Outkast style-rapper. I look at Jay-Z completly differently.

I assume you've heard Airplanes already (by BOB).

Rap, to me, has never been a genre of classic artists. They don't have the longevity rock gives to certain bands. Its always been new and cutting edge, but now that its settled in, their trying to go back and find artists who've always been good and they dismissed them so quickly, you can only really go back to about 2000.

Don't get me wrong, its spared us largely from the "zomg Big Daddy Kane was the best EVA!!!!!!!" ****, but in lulls like this, for better or worse, they don't have a U2, Green Day, Pearl Jam, Zeppelin, blah blah blah to go back on. I see it as a blessing

But to answer your question, no, not too much is going well in Rap right now.

Really? That one song you posted doesn't sound nearly quirky enough to remind me of Outkast at all.

Nope. The song you posted is the sum total of my experience with B.O.B.

I'd argue that Jay-Z is basically that kind of thing for hip-hop: the boring musician who has been around for a long time where if you don't like them people flip out and act like you're required to enjoy them.

That's what's bumming me out. I don't want to be one of those people who think everything was better in the past but I feel like the past five years or so hip-hop has been in a slump. I'd love more than anything for someone to prove me wrong about that though.

Well try airplanes, I don't know how you'll take it but its worth a shot.

You assume he's getting boring. He's actually (i think) getting better. But thats what I meant though. People are going back 10 years to find mainstays but truth be told rap never really had any. Its Jay-Z, Eminem, and splitting radio play with R&B - Usher, and somehow Ludacris.

Every movement goes through slumps though.


Its hard to be worse than nothing. I'm not saying bad things are coming out right now, I'm saying almost nothing is coming out right now. Rap's stuck in their boy band phase. The forumla looks like this...

no-name pretty boy + auto-tune + $10,000 beat + guest no name rapper = hit.

The best rap around still comes from the Doom/Prince Paul/Dan the Automator crowd right now. They just aren't doing anything.

This is what I meant with my formula:

In my opinion the best stuff right now is from artists who came out and established themselves in the 90's and are continuing to produce new stuff today. I agree with Janszoon in that a lot of the stuff from artists who really only came out in the 00's sounds very similar and isn't all that inspired. The song that Big3 posted, while not bad, was just too pop-y for me. Too many artists have experimented with the same sounds and influences before, and it's just nothing new or innovative. Having said that, there are a few artists who really only came into their own in the 00's that I continually follow and really enjoy.

DL incognito (started 1998, this song from 2008 album)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFQKQ...eature=related

Zion I (started first album in 2000)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HXNQjVr7L8


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_Tz3...eature=related

EDIT: youtube videos don't work when I try to embed them (I think because of the ban here). I don't have a little box to check in the advanced mode, what SHOULD be the "wrap youtube tags" box is just a question mark for me, and typing them out myself doesn't work either.

jib - if the web add is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECrjk6PzK90

then in youtube brackets you should only put the bolded part. Post "=" every time.

ahha! (ok I'm a dumbass!) Tore, you were right, I DON'T know what I'm doing :D

Listening to it as I type. I like the beat and his flow better on this one but it's still in that same same generic style I'm talking about. Plus it has that woman from Paramore ruining the choruses.

Haha. I don't think he's getting boring, I think he's staying as boring as he's always been.

I guess I agree that longevity is less common in hip-hop to a certain extent but there are some longtimers that are still pretty big. The Roots are another one that come to mind.

Yeah, that's the kind of hip-hop I listen to but I keep thinking there has to be something else out there that's as good and new.

I agree, that's fucking awful.