Why your favorite rapper sucks

~~John Wilkes Booth~~ · 01-08-2015, 02:55 PM

oh i'll get to them, don't worry. i guess i should do aesop first. i will do tech n9ne eventually but first someone give me an album od his that is supposed to make me like him. cause i've heard songs from him a while ago but he always struck me as a mediocre look-how fast-i-can-rap type gimmick rapper.

aesop: i was going to give him a second chance first like i said cause i actually liked that zero dark thirty song. i was actually surprised that he seems to have learned the importance that delivery and flow have when making rap music. but i have been too lazy to really delve past that. i've tried putting a few of his newer albums on a couple times and have just turned them off pretty quickly due to sheer boredom.

truth be told i actually do like labor days in a sort of def-poetry-slam kind of way but most of it is not really great rap music to me. there are a few songs on there towards the end of the cd that i actually like as rap music, but the majority of it is just awkward whiteboy rap with a few insightful quotables and a whole lot of incoherent rambling which hardly rhymes or fits into any sort tangible rhythm.

and that's most of the problem with a lot of that post-2000 underground nerd rap. it is like the drive to present an alternative to the mainstream club **** that ruled the day in the early to mid 2000's, these rappers sacrificed any musical appeal that rap music has in favor of poetic lyrics and obscure beats. sometimes it really does click and you get something brilliant like the cold vein but a lot of the time it falls flat on its face and you are left with something that is either too corny to really listen to without feeling embarrassed inside or something that is just god awful from a musical standpoint.

i think i used this analogy once before, but it sort of reminds me of coltrane in his later years when he was testing the limits of jazz and willing to step outside the traditional boundaries. what resulted was some of the best experimental jazz i've ever heard, followed by some of the worst music i've ever come into contact with from any genre.

~~James~~ · 01-08-2015, 03:06 PM

Glad you're a fan of The Cold Vein, for sure my favourite album from that type of rap music.

The Batlord · 01-08-2015, 04:23 PM

I'd say Tech N9ne's most iconic album would probably be Absolute Power. Go with that.

And what about Atmosphere?

**Goofle** · 01-08-2015, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James

Glad you're a fan of The Cold Vein, for sure my favourite album from that type of rap music.

I like The Cold Vein a fair amount, but I've always found it to be extremely overrated. Every time I go back I seem to like it less.

~~John Wilkes Booth~~ · 01-08-2015, 05:19 PM

really, it has the opposite effect for me. it's honestly the one underground album i liked from back in the day that has retained any sort of listening value for me. the production really makes it what it is, tbh. i have to give el-p credit for that album. the rappers aren't amazing or anything but they are adequate enough to sound good over that production. it is easily the best el-p related project i've heard, though i'll admit i haven't given him a fair chance really since some of his new **** looks decent at first glance anyway.

i honestly can't stomach fanstastic damage though, i'm serious about that. i know i'm beating a dead horse here but it is really kind of confusing to me that anyone would think this sounds good:

i mean it starts off sounding like it's gonna be another classic cold vein style masterpiece and then quickly devolves into incoherent experimental garbage. like the rap version of some avant-garde composer playing the piano with his forehead and nobody in the audience is brave enough to not find it breathtaking.

basically the rap music equivalent of this:

~~John Wilkes Booth~~ · 01-08-2015, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

I'd say Tech N9ne's most iconic album would probably be Absolute Power. Go with that.

And what about Atmosphere?

alright, after giving a few songs off this album a glance over i realize why tech n9ne wasn't on my radar. basically he's rap music for people who don't listen to rap music. and no, that's not a good thing. the production is mediocre, his image is corny, his fast flow is boring and one dimensional, and his lyrical content is immature. he fits right in with icp and that crowd.

**Goofle** · 01-08-2015, 05:45 PM

I have never once had the urge to listen to Tech N9ne. I'm sure he's fine at what he does, but meh.

~~James~~ · 01-08-2015, 05:49 PM

What do you think of The Roots? Or Big K.R.I.T.? Or Action Bronson?

DwnWthVwls · 01-08-2015, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Wilkes Booth

i honestly can't stomach fanstastic damage

I support this message. Fantastic Damage is terrible.

I think Tech N9ne is good because the speed is catchy to my ear (even if one dimensional), but beyond the flow I don't think he's that great. Agree with you about the lyric style but comparing him to ICP is a bit overkill. I've never listened to a full album because I don't like it that much but when a song comes on Pandora or whatever I usually enjoy it.

**Goofle** · 01-08-2015, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DwnWthVwls

I support this message. Fantastic Damage is terrible.

Look, I can deal with one of you. Water off a ducks back. But two? COME ON MAN.

It's an unbelievably good album.

01-08-2015, 05:19 PM	#195 (permalink)
~~John Wilkes Booth~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 2,235	really, it has the opposite effect for me. it's honestly the one underground album i liked from back in the day that has retained any sort of listening value for me. the production really makes it what it is, tbh. i have to give el-p credit for that album. the rappers aren't amazing or anything but they are adequate enough to sound good over that production. it is easily the best el-p related project i've heard, though i'll admit i haven't given him a fair chance really since some of his new **** looks decent at first glance anyway. i honestly can't stomach fanstastic damage though, i'm serious about that. i know i'm beating a dead horse here but it is really kind of confusing to me that anyone would think this sounds good: i mean it starts off sounding like it's gonna be another classic cold vein style masterpiece and then quickly devolves into incoherent experimental garbage. like the rap version of some avant-garde composer playing the piano with his forehead and nobody in the audience is brave enough to not find it breathtaking. basically the rap music equivalent of this: Last edited by John Wilkes Booth; 01-08-2015 at 05:24 PM.

01-08-2015, 02:55 PM	#191 (permalink)
~~John Wilkes Booth~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 2,235	oh i'll get to them, don't worry. i guess i should do aesop first. i will do tech n9ne eventually but first someone give me an album od his that is supposed to make me like him. cause i've heard songs from him a while ago but he always struck me as a mediocre look-how fast-i-can-rap type gimmick rapper. aesop: i was going to give him a second chance first like i said cause i actually liked that zero dark thirty song. i was actually surprised that he seems to have learned the importance that delivery and flow have when making rap music. but i have been too lazy to really delve past that. i've tried putting a few of his newer albums on a couple times and have just turned them off pretty quickly due to sheer boredom. truth be told i actually do like labor days in a sort of def-poetry-slam kind of way but most of it is not really great rap music to me. there are a few songs on there towards the end of the cd that i actually like as rap music, but the majority of it is just awkward whiteboy rap with a few insightful quotables and a whole lot of incoherent rambling which hardly rhymes or fits into any sort tangible rhythm. and that's most of the problem with a lot of that post-2000 underground nerd rap. it is like the drive to present an alternative to the mainstream club **** that ruled the day in the early to mid 2000's, these rappers sacrificed any musical appeal that rap music has in favor of poetic lyrics and obscure beats. sometimes it really does click and you get something brilliant like the cold vein but a lot of the time it falls flat on its face and you are left with something that is either too corny to really listen to without feeling embarrassed inside or something that is just god awful from a musical standpoint. i think i used this analogy once before, but it sort of reminds me of coltrane in his later years when he was testing the limits of jazz and willing to step outside the traditional boundaries. what resulted was some of the best experimental jazz i've ever heard, followed by some of the worst music i've ever come into contact with from any genre.

01-08-2015, 03:06 PM	#192 (permalink)
~~James~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Scotland Posts: 4,483	Glad you're a fan of The Cold Vein, for sure my favourite album from that type of rap music.

01-08-2015, 05:49 PM	#198 (permalink)
~~James~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Scotland Posts: 4,483	What do you think of The Roots? Or Big K.R.I.T.? Or Action Bronson?