Glad you liked it. I didn't realize the video cuts off before the song ends until just now but oh well. Control Machete are really good. A lot of their stuff mixes in somewhat traditional latin music at least to a degree.

Another spanish language band that might interest you is Cuban husband and wife rappers Obsesion. A lot of their music has a very strong jazz influence:

There are some artists that are considered nerd-core that would be right up his alley.

As nerdy as the songs Alphabet Aerobics and Chemical Chalisthenics are, I don't think Blackalicious can be schlepped into nerdcore category... but great picks.

Edit: Hey GB did you see my recommendations on the last page? What'd you think?

yeah I should have put a disclaimer about that. Blackalicious isn't really considered nerdcore but that song could fit into it.

Hmn, I've got a few suggestions that might work for you GB, though I'm not nearly as well versed as some people here are...

My problem is that hip hop's focus is on rhythm and lyrics, and I find that the music is rarely interesting enough to maintain my attention.

Ah, and racial/sexual slurs are very off-putting to me.

I think Demon Days is an amazing album, but that's about it (and I don't think it fully qualifies). Any suggestions for me?

I'm big into production and I tend to focus more on that side of things instead of the actual lyrics like most hip hop fans, I go back to the lyrics after the second listen to find out what metaphors, message and stories are being told.

you might like artists that use a live band to back their rapping.

Along the lines of The Roots, Gym Class Heroes. There are more but those two are just off the top of my head.

You may also like the hip hop artists that use jazz as their music to rap over such as Jay Elecontronica , Nujabes, I think Jay Dilla has a few track as well.

As far as Demon Days being Hip Hop, it is to me but I have a very broad definition of what hip hop consists of while others are very picky about it.

I don't think it needs to be as picky as they make it out to be.

A lot of the lyrics to these hip-hop artsist mean something. They are linked with drugs, guns, violence and sex because these are the re-occuring themes that have blighted their lives and they feel strongly about them.

These themes also sell well and bring in an audience who can relate to these artists in some way.

Pedestrian, I recommend the same to you as I did to GB on the bottom of page 3. Rappers with live bands.

lol I totally didn't see that post of yours or else I would have pointed her in that direction.