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[jus]

I was reading some comments made in another thread here: http://forums.questionablecontent.net/viewtopic.php?t=5007

Topic was musicians you hate:

Oh man...  I can't believe I forgot to mention that!  I don't get rap or most hip hop either.  I just can't listen to people talking about ho's, forties, killing, bling, etc.  I just don't get it.

I know this should be in the thread I referenced, but I wanted to list recommendations for the whole board's enjoyment (or ire as the case may be)

Defending hip hop on a predominantly indie messageboard = futile; but futility is my specialty!

I've lived in six countries and spent long periods in many others, my friends are either hardcore into rock, electronic, or rap, so I'm used to hearing intelligent people knock a genre, only to meet up with another group of intelligent people who love it, and knock the preference of the first group and so on and so forth.

People who point at 3 Doors Down, Creed, and Nickleback and say rock is trite, or look at Dashboard and conclude that "emotional" music has to be whiny shouldn't point at 50 Cent and Eminem and conclude that rap is shite...

Real hip hop is about soul, struggle, can be about funk, which is something you feel before you think out.

I listen to rap at least as much as I listen to indie, and I understand the merits of the genre:

I doubt I'll change anyone who's set in their way's opinion of a subjective topic, but here are some recommendations (fairly catchy one's too)

Black Star: Thieves in the Night, Respiration, K.O.S (Determination, knowledge of self) = all three are songs of liberation, positive thought and change

Blackalicious: Make You Feel That Way (about that tingly feeling when you pick up an old friend at the airport, see your son up to bat at a little league game, fall in love, hear a song that makes you tap your feet)

Talib Kweli: For Women (remake of a Nina Simeone (sp?) song), Stand to the Side (about free speech), Good Mourning (about living life without remorse), Love Language & Won't You Stay (intelligent love songs)

Mos Def: Climb (ludicrously atmospheric, about losing hope), Hip Hop (about the genre's merits, how it can make you rich, but can't save your soul), Fear Not of Man (a song about Islam)

The Roots: Act Too, You Got Me, Dynamite (this last one isn't contemplative at all, but the piano lines make even the least funky tap their feet in appreciation if not bust out dancin')

I think most of my recommendations were accesible. I hope someone out there can appreciate them.

Disclaimer: I'm hardly an authority on Hip Hop, I just enjoy it.

[Robbo]

It's the same thing as Rock or whatever. What you see on MTV isn't the real stuff and is pure crap.

Krunk Rap or whatever it is, 50 Cent and all that stuff is rubbish. It's becoming slightly well know fact at least.

Some people will still never like the "good stuff" but should at least be judging that and not MTV based crap.

[ASturge]

Jurrasic 5

[happybirthdaygelatin]

Hell yeah, J-5.  Also I am relieved that this wasn't another rap sucks thread.

Yo, because of passing the course wife asking divorce
Taking half of your cash, now you bask in remorse
Turning rap into sport, I've mastered the part
Cause the trash on the chart leave you gaspin for art
Now if you've mastered the art, I'm askin with force
To mass of your thoughts, to your ass is a corpse
Cover grass in a burst, unfasten your purse
Give your cash to the clerk, 5 Jurass finish first

and

You need to watch what you choose, what you give is what you get
Some are lacking intellect in their quest for a check
Is it love or respect, does the subject get you vexed?
Only 4 bars to wreck, the situation is complex

See also:  Del The Funky Homosapien [see also: Deltron, Hieroglyphics{sp?}], Atmosphere, Public Enemy, Tribe Called Quest, Kool Keith (see also: Dr. Doom, Dr. Octogon), Aesob Rock.  Erm, Lyrics Born and The Gift of Gab from Blackalicious are also good.

[Trinary]

As a huge hiphop fan and amatuer DJ, I'm glad this thread exists.  I am, however, afraid that it will turn into "Rap more like cRap am I right?", so please, try to keep it constructive.

Recommendations, just browsing though my current playlist: Aesop Rock, Hieroglyphics, Eyedea & Abilities, Atmosphere, The Pharcyde, Common Sense, De la Soul, EPMD, Eric B&Rakim, KRS-One (BDP, etc), Grandmaster Flash, Tribe called Quest, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Saul Williams, Sage Francis, Sole, Dose One, Buck65, RJD2...I could keep going, I guess.

There's so so so much great stuff coming out in the last couple years that actually has something constructive or interesting to say and a good way to say it.  And there's an absolutely vast catalog of underappreciated tracks from the "old school" that are still relevant and enjoyable today.

I love hiphop.  LOVE it.

[jus]

I know why a lot of people think rap is crap. Like Robbo pointed out, as with any genre, you sort of have to scratch the surface to find real gems; but if you don't have an interest in the genre, why should you bother to delve further into it? I suppose you wouldn't, and you shouldn't have to, I agree.

So a lot broad sweeping generalizations are made about genres by people who don't know a whole lot about them.

I'm not trying to say people should have to give everything the benefit of the doubt... you'd die under the burden of buying 3 times as many albums, but I like sharing music, and you never know...

Oh... and like Asturge mentioned: J5 i is always nice, their most famous track "Quality Control" is a good one, and basically anything with Chali 2na on it kicks ass.

Also check out: Blackalicious ft. Ben Harper: Brain Washers, and Chemical Calisthenics (tripped out relation of the periodic table, mixed by J5's Cut Chemist)... listen to those two songs back to back And yeah, anything from the Native Tongues movement is usually good.

some lyrics:

The deadly ritual seems immersed, in the perverse
Full of short attention spans, short tempers, and short skirts
Long barrel automatics released in short bursts
The length of black life is treated with short worth
Get yours first, them other n*ggaz secondary
That type of illin that be fillin up the cemetary
This life is temporary but the soul is eternal
Separate the real from the lie, let me learn you
Not strong, only aggressive, cause the power ain't directed
That's why, we are subjected to the will of the oppressive
Not free, we only licensed
Not live, we just excitin
Cause the captors.. own the masters.. to what we writin
Not compassionate, only polite, we well trained
Our sincerity's rehearsed in stage, it's just a game
Not good, but well behaved cause the ca-me-ra survey
most of the things that we think, do, or say
We chasin after death just to call ourselves brave
But everyday, next man meet with the grave
I give a damn if any fan recall my legacy
I'm tryin to live life in the sight of God's memory
Like that y'all

Mos Def, Thieves in the Night

[daviesmatt]

Most rap I hear sucks, but some is just really good.

So thanks for the recommendations, I'll look into them.

[Trinary]

Neat,  I haven't heard Chemical Calisthenics, but I love the track by Gift of Gab (of Blackalicious) and Cut Chemist called Alphabet Aerobics...every two lines feature alliteration from a single letter, going from a to z (first two lines a, second two b, and so on).  And the tempo constantly speeds up.  Fun, not particularly deep, but it's a fantastic demonstration of Gab's command of rhyme, cadence, and vocabulary.

[jus]

I haven't heard Alphabet Aerobics, not sure what CD that's off at all actually, but sounds like you'd love Chemical Calisthenics, seems to be cut from similar cloth.

Gab spits faster and faster and faster until you can barely follow along, and Cut's work is especially stellar on this track IMO.

[Skibas_clavicle]

Jus, I totally agree with you. There are some incrediblely great rap artists out there, Saul Williams is a really great on, as is El-P and Warsaw Pack. We almost must not forget our friends the Beastie Boys.  The people you mentioned are also really awesome. Good on yah, dude!

[Trinary]

El-P!  Yes!  And Cannibal Ox!

Hooray for Def Jux.

[happybirthdaygelatin]

Alphabet Aerobics is on A2G.  Chemical Calisthenics is on Blazing Arrow.

Also Lyrics Born/Poets of Rythm:  I Changed my mind.

http://www.quannum.com

[muffy]

I like Buck 65, and Roots were one of the most fun acts of Reading last year. If I'm totally honest, I probably wouldn;t get an album by them as a priority, as rap as a genre has largely passed me by, but recently a few things have been getting me going.
Special attention should go to Mars Black. He's cool.

[KharBevNor]

It's not that I stereotype or castigate rap as a genre. I can give it respect (well, not the mainstream stuff, but anyway...)

It's just that I've never heard any rap or hip hop I liked. And I have heard beyond the MTV mainstream somewhat (mainly through forced listening threads and the like): I disliked Jurassic 5 and Cypress Hill annoyed the crap out of me. And man, I have to say the Streets, who I've seen come up here now and again, as well as on places like pitchfork, are hands down probably one of the worst bands I've ever heard.

It just doesn't seem to really do anything for me. I'm into music for the, y'know....music....

Just adding a contrary voice to this thread. And trying to be as polite as I possibly can.

[StrikeThePostman]

MC Frontalot puts out some awesome nerdcore: http://www.frontalot.com/

[Psiogen]

I heart Antipop Consortium, Wu-Tang Clan, MF Doom, Public Enemy, Outkast, De La Soul, et al.

On the other hand, I sometimes feel like rap has not yet produced a masterpiece on par with the greatest albums of the rock era. Maybe that's just because rock is what I grew up with.

[Johnny C]

[Chorus x2]
I tried it, I couldn't find it
Now I just wanna get back to me
Aw baby, whoo hoo
Back into the man I used to be

[Verse 1]
Things that I said I wouldn't do, I did 'em
Secrets below the service of truth I hid 'em
This mankind is past, but can he erase
The tears of a million years is human race
Of animals, that taught to walk upright
Then slave all day and fall in a trance at night
Flowing the planet, trying to find missing links
Like the men we used to be and always suppose to think
Mysteries, maybe not
It's getting hot, we better configure the plot, but
I hold a pen with the grip so tight
That'a squeeze the ink out'ta the page, and write a song for the people
Came up from the underground, now I write above on a hovercraft sound
This microphone, like an an amphetamine
Keeping me clean, speaking in dreams
So nature can intervene, just for a scene

[Chorus]

[Verse 2]
I walk the long path alone, my feet hurt
Lost some friends along the way, I did dirt
I went to church, I tried everything
From leaving my body, to watching the birds sing
For hours, so I could feel heavenly powers
Had been across the universe and inside of flowers
But what is it worth, i'm still just a man on the earth
Rappers are acting like man tan
Can I be candid, I can't stand it
Rap bandit, got Kheaven acting frantic
I wanna swing my sword decapitate
But what is a man if he acts like an ape
So I sit back, planning my great escape
Load up my EPS and peruse my record crate
The man I used to be, I can only see by looking beyone me
So what is reality, I don't know

K-os, man. Literate, intelligent rapper whose message is unity, persistence and peace. Plus he won a Juno.

[jus]

Some good mcs being mentioned in this thread, don't know all of 'em, know of most of 'em. I've heard Saul Williams name thrown around before, he's one I've yet to check out... Del The Funky Homosapien and a few of the rest too. Gotta find cash for CDs somewhere around here (maybe my roomie's desk? good cause and all). Problem is, there is no genre save country that I particularly dislike, so there are more CDs for me to buy than I could possibly acquire in this lifetime.

Oh and KharBevNor, I'm with you on Cypress Hill being annoying. J5 doesn't necessarily define conscious/intel rap, but not liking them may be an indication that you're into the genre you were meant to enjoy, so run with it bro.

Still, if you're a fan of poetry at all, I implore you to check out Black Star's "Thieves in the Night" or "Respiration".

Edit: How could I forget, as an introduction to the genre: Binary Star's "Reality Check."

[japaneasy]

Yay for rap on the indie forum!  Another deserving mention: Common.  I'm totally all about Blackalicious, The Roots, Tribe and J5 also.

[jeph]

Rap is like any other genre of music. Most of it is shit but there is some fucking brilliant stuff out there if you know where to look. Denouncing ANY genre out of hand is ignorance of the highest order.

[yipjumpmusic]

It's funny how the socio-economic thing is KIND OF is true, even for people completely aware of its nature and without hateful prejudice, yet still, if you can't relate to certain kinds of music, then eh, you shouldn't be hated for it, though I do agree there likely should be at least some each kind you might like out there or at least respect since, at least for me, a lot of times I can tell if something is good though it may not be something I would buy or listen to on my own.

[Banana_Hammock]

"I can't stand rap....people who can't sing do rap....you can sing rebellion as well as talk it....Hitler would have been in a rap band..."
- John Entwistle

[KharBevNor]

Oh and KharBevNor, I'm with you on Cypress Hill being annoying. J5 doesn't necessarily define conscious/intel rap, but not liking them may be an indication that you're into the genre you were meant to enjoy, so run with it bro.

Still, if you're a fan of poetry at all, I implore you to check out Black Star's "Thieves in the Night" or "Respiration".

Now that's the thing I've never really got about rap: I love poetry, so I should be able to like quite a deal of the underground rap and so-on for it's lyrical content. I think it may just be that it's not the right kind of poetry, or rather, that a very big deal of what rap talks about is so removed from my own personal experience, aesthetics etc. as to be rendered unsatisfying to me in content. Whilst I should normally have no problem in comprehending alien cultural experiences, it seems that rap isn't a genre that can bring this to me. Plus, tbh, gratuitous ebonics really do turn me off.

I don't know, can you suggest anything that might be a bit closer to home for my tastes? This is an example of the kind of 'socially realistic' lyrics I enjoy:

Slaves to the only god they know,
Drawn by the song of the cosmic diva
The lord of the flies is a dandy beau
King of the hill in the new Bohemia
Where does he come from, their redeemer
Where does he dwell? (they never learn)
What is the prize for the true believer?
Rotting away in the "Womb of the Worm"?
Death is the hand of a handsome stranger - (he speaks, heads turn)
Babes unaware of impending danger - quickening dead in the "Womb of the Worm"

They never die - in "the Womb of the Worm" they lie

Words of "the Worm":
"Don't be afraid - just take my hand
'cause life's too short to be a bore
Try it once, you'll understand
Why they keep coming back for more."
Form an orderly line outside death's door
If you want to taste his sweet amnesia
He's never short of clientele
Though most of them die from a fatal seizure
Another mother cries to a chat-show host
(she speaks - my stomach churns)
I hear how a young kid - now a young ghost
Died a sickening death in "the Womb of the Worm."

Can you suggest anything, in a similiar style?

[Praeserpium Machinarum]

I like british hiphop namely The Streets and Dizzee Rascal and M.I.A, other than that I enjoy a danish band Malk de Koijn in their less vulgar moments, unfortunately they have quite a few of vulgar and disgusting moments. But then you can listen to the music which is always ace.

uh and Ratatat if they count...

[Druid]

No one has mentioned the Beastie Boys yet.
If you don't listen to his mysoginistic songs Notorious B.I.G. is really good.
Jay-Z  has some skills.
Outkst is very good.
Ice Cube needs to be mentioned. His stuff is pretty funny and socially conscience.

J5, Cypress Hill, Public Enemy, the Roots.

Yeah, I don't listen to much rap.

[Tinjessla]

Hoorah for the aforementioned M.I.A, Beastie Boy and Outkast. I'll add Dilated Peoples, De La Soul, Pharcyde and Jurassic 5 to them too.

And i loves me some Roots Manuva, quite possibly for the string intro to 'Run Come Save Me' alone. British rap artists like Dizzee Rascal, Estelle and Streets strike a chord too, probably due to how they remind me of where i live back home in ol' Birmingham.

[japaneasy]

>Beastie Boys
I don't really count them as rap.  Did anyone else think their last record well, kinda sucked?  Older = better in this case
>Notorious B.I.G.
I personally diggit, I can see why people wouldn't however.  Definite gangstah tendencies
>Jay-Z
Black Album was good, not a fan of earlier ones
>Outkst is very good.
Ouch.  This just hurts.
>Ice Cube needs to be mentioned. His stuff is pretty funny and socially conscience.
No comment.
>Cypress Hill
See 'Bands we love to hate' thread.  Ouch.  Yea, verily...  Ouch.

[zekterellium]

i love outkast, dj format, AIM, akira the don, shit like that. rap is an easy genre to write off because so much of it is about marketting and image. there are some goddamn jems if you know where to look, though. blackalicious have already been mentioned, i like dragon ash who are like japanese emorap (i know, i know) i think we talked about saul williams already, but i thought he was a slam poet? regardless, he's still very good.

i think, fo all the hip hop doing well eminem is the ony one with any artistic integrity, his lyrics and thoughtful and funny and just generally awesome.

oh, and everyone should listen to goldie looking chain, awesome chavcore welsh rap combo. inciteful and funny, rock on.

[Robbo]

And they all have things like Chemistry PhDs which makes it all the funnier.

[zekterellium]

i remember seeing an interview with them, and they were talking about philosophy and the state of england and all, it was fucking insane. all the time, i'd thought they were serious. it was such a shock.

[nihilist]

Well, I gotta pimp a local MC, K-Os.  He has two albums out, and they're both fantastic.  Each one is more of a book, a tapestry of awesomeness woven over the entire album.

[MilkmanDan]

It's not that I stereotype or castigate rap as a genre. I can give it respect (well, not the mainstream stuff, but anyway...)

It's just that I've never heard any rap or hip hop I liked. And I have heard beyond the MTV mainstream somewhat (mainly through forced listening threads and the like): I disliked Jurassic 5 and Cypress Hill annoyed the crap out of me. And man, I have to say the Streets, who I've seen come up here now and again, as well as on places like pitchfork, are hands down probably one of the worst bands I've ever heard.

It just doesn't seem to really do anything for me. I'm into music for the, y'know....music....

Just adding a contrary voice to this thread. And trying to be as polite as I possibly can.

Well, I can see your point. From what I can tell of your music tastes (this based solely on what you've been posting here), you are into the metal / industrial kinda thing, so the J5 isn't the right place to be looking.
It's all about the old funk breaks and is a bit... cheesy. I love it, but not everyone does. Also, lyrically, not great. Most of J5 is about their own rhyme skills, which is a bit tiring, especially as only Charlie 2na ever really impresses. I still ike J5, but not as much I did, as you can probobly tell. Still fucking amazing live though, no doubt.
No, what you need is darker, more industrial twisted stuff.
I therefore suggest Cannibal Ox, Boom Bip & Dose One, DJ Krush, Busdriver, Aesop Rock and some Anticon stuff.
I'm not exactly Hip-Hop incarnate, but I like to think I know my stuff, and that's the best I can come up with. Off-hand anyway.
I take my Hip-Hop evangelism quite seriously, so if you PM me I'll work some sort of AIM / Bittorrent / hosting thing and get some songs to you.

In other news, Hip-Hop is still awesome, and I've already plugged everyone I wanted to in the last Hip-Hop thread. So I'll restrain myself from listing them all again. Except one.

LISTEN TO MORE ATMOSPHERE!

[jeph]

>Beastie Boys
I don't really count them as rap.  Did anyone else think their last record well, kinda sucked?  Older = better in this case

Yeah they were a LOT better when they were singing about how they hated faggots and how much it TOTALLY BLEW that their parents wouldn't let them PARTY.

Fuck the Beastie Boys. Fuck them and their faux-social-conscious, oh-look-we're-not-bigots-anymore bullshit suburban joke-rap.

"we got ONE SCHTICK and we DO it on EVERY song where ONE OF US says something and THEN EVERYONE ELSE IN THE GROUP CHIMES IN"

[Trinary]

The best thing about the Beastie Boys has always been Mix Master Mike.

[Cpt.Fantastic]

I can't remember what site I was on, but there was a guy who said that Led Zep sucked and rap ruled, then another person chimed in with this gem:

'Y'all are gay if you don't like Led Zeppelin. All rap is is some black person talking gay.'

A masterpiece. Totally true too.

[jus]

Now that's the thing I've never really got about rap: I love poetry, so I should be able to like quite a deal of the underground rap and so-on for it's lyrical content. I think it may just be that it's not the right kind of poetry, or rather, that a very big deal of what rap talks about is so removed from my own personal experience, aesthetics etc. as to be rendered unsatisfying to me in content. Whilst I should normally have no problem in comprehending alien cultural experiences, it seems that rap isn't a genre that can bring this to me. Plus, tbh, gratuitous ebonics really do turn me off.

I don't know, can you suggest anything that might be a bit closer to home for my tastes? This is an example of the kind of 'socially realistic' lyrics I enjoy:

Slaves to the only god they know,
Drawn by the song of the cosmic diva
The lord of the flies is a dandy beau
King of the hill in the new Bohemia
Where does he come from, their redeemer
Where does he dwell? (they never learn)
What is the prize for the true believer?
Rotting away in the "Womb of the Worm"?
Death is the hand of a handsome stranger - (he speaks, heads turn)
Babes unaware of impending danger - quickening dead in the "Womb of the Worm"

They never die - in "the Womb of the Worm" they lie

Words of "the Worm":
"Don't be afraid - just take my hand
'cause life's too short to be a bore
Try it once, you'll understand
Why they keep coming back for more."
Form an orderly line outside death's door
If you want to taste his sweet amnesia
He's never short of clientele
Though most of them die from a fatal seizure
Another mother cries to a chat-show host
(she speaks - my stomach churns)
I hear how a young kid - now a young ghost
Died a sickening death in "the Womb of the Worm."

Can you suggest anything, in a similiar style?

[Mos Def and crew]
So much on my mind I just can't recline
Blastin holes in the night til she bled sunshine
Breathe in, inhale vapors from bright stars that shine
Breathe out, weed smoke retrace the skyline
Yo don't the bass ride out like an ancient mating call
I can't take it y'all, I can feel the city breathin
Chest heavin, against the flesh of the evening
Sigh before we die like the last train leaving

Escuchela..  respirando ??

[Common]
Yo...on The Amen, Corner I stood lookin at my former hood
Felt the spirit in the wind, knew my friend was gone for good
Threw dirt on the casket, the hurt, I couldn't mask it
Mixin down emotions, struggle I hadn't mastered
I coreograph seven steps to heaven
And hell, waiting to exhale and make the bread leavened
Veteran of a cold war It's Chica-I-go for
What I know or, what's known
So some days I take the bus home, just to touch home
From the crib I spend months gone
Sat by the window with a clutched dome listenin to shorties cuss long
Young girls with weak minds, but they butt strong
Tried to call, or at least beep the Lord, but didn't have a touch-tone
It's a dog-eat-dog world, you gotta mush on
Some of this land I must own
Outta the city, they want us gone
Tearin down the 'jects creatin plush homes
My circumstance is between Cabrini and Love Jones
Surrounded by hate, yet I love home
Ask my God how he thought travellin the world sound
Found it hard to imagine he hadn't been past downtown
It's deep, I heard the city breathe in its sleep
Of reality I touch, but for me it's hard to keep
Deep, I heard my man breathe in his sleep
Of reality I touch, but for me it's hard to keep

[Mos Def and crew]
So much on my mind I just can't recline
Blastin holes in the night til she bled sunshine
Breathe in, inhale vapors from bright stars that shine
Breathe out, weed smoke retrace the skyline
Yo how the bass ride out like an ancient mating call
I can't take it y'all, I can feel the city breathing
Chest heavin, against the flesh of the evening
Kiss the Ide's goodbye, I'm on the last train leaving

Let me know what you think of that. Rap can't be judged against formal poetry of any kind without taking into consideration that music has to be heard to be felt as it should be (hence its ties to slam poetry). A lot of rappers force alliteration and end rhyme to make a song sound good... no doubt bothering purists.

I'm sure there are some rappers out there you could appreciate; I'm not sure what to tell you. Check out some of these other folks suggestions if you like.

To be honest, hip hop of any kind is something you feel, you shouldn't have to think it out. I get this twitch at the base of my neck, and I just start groovin' when I hear a good mc.

It could be as you originally claimed, and it's just that you really do not like rap. Well, good luck on your quest for good muic/poetry whatever.

God bless.

Oh, and I'm curious as to whether or not there is any rap on Jeph's mp3 player.

[Robbo]

I think we need an offical way to make Jeph listen to the random shit we talk about. Because what other people want to give him something new to listen to like his readers?

[Hoborg]

"we got ONE SCHTICK and we DO it on EVERY song where ONE OF US says something and THEN EVERYONE ELSE IN THE GROUP CHIMES IN"

haha

Anyway while we're posting lyrics for khar (or anyone else), here:

Sole - Plutonium

I thank the loyal servants for being so loyal,
soon they'll be happy and very safe;
if not, sent off like a pigeon with his head cut off.
if it wasn't for the guillotine, there would be no umbilical
cord. isn't it pitiful? at our pinnical,
they make it sound so pinnocchio.
that's how i know it's so dumb, it could even write its own article.
give me a break, the great big break that breaks your back
and chews my fingers off
'til it's safe to laugh again, or at them.
put the coals back in my eyes again,
and away from the fire that burns out our loved ones
and takes its toll out on me.
'cause good luck is always keeping minutes
we gotta stay in play, so don't run out of tokens.
plus the machine needs warm bodies.
plug the pipes if you still got skulls;
if there's time to muddy the hands
then there's time to study the flow of the blood in the lay of the land
running off and eroding our relatives
with red, white, and blue christmas lights
in the greatest kingdom. i say it's a crop and i'm a lousy meal,
a lousy liar amongst so many bad actresses
and not enough stimuli left to light an oven pilot.
so how can i not be negative?
my own cliche, my would-be peers
more caught up with image than speaking than truth,
and if that's the only truth you can come up with, go fake some bravery
like the rented camaraderie in the human lottery.
whatever year it is, i'm still sick.
can't hate the sky for being gray
or the bad poem that we live out every day.
twenty minutes outside the city, or fifteen years from over the hill,
with enough time to kill braincells to fry;
you all gonna fry with me.
it must be, you all gonna fry with me...

we who die in more flying accidents than firefights;
no cure of the overkill.

forty year-old women with cakes and carriages singing bible hymns
ain't fixing anything; get your picket signs,
go on strike, get a five cent raise; your a champion. now
they're making model citizens out of your children,
mapping personal growth through frivolousness; so seperated,
yet drugged up to nowhereland. even love feels artificial;
happiness, my loaded pistol.
in the '20s, i'da been a socialist in a colorado coal mine,
but it's 2000-something and the rats love their mazes.
it's all so ethnospecific and opinionated,
divided we take our antidepressants and make our appointments,
let the dolphins die, but who's gonna save the humans?
i've been to a million cities and they're all the same:
people laugh and talk the same,
girls all flirt the same, employees all dream the same.
love your grid and your comfort zone,
look out for the white-girl suicide bombers,
look out for your time or your piece of mind
or entertainment above the fifth grade level.
stay ignorant and easily corralled through conservative reforms
'til we're broke from the half-measures,
taxed to the teeth to fund the caste system.
living it up for our stereotypes
and i know nothing, but at least i know;
while they vote green and drink their espressos,
discussing film festivals, all as a write-off. off with your head;
body loves the dirty work,
love your job, but it will never love you like an automobile,
fetuses, peoples, and angels hang the same on the mobile.
if it wasn't for the blindfold, you'd ask,
"what am i looking for, living for, breathing for?"
"who's them? not i, but it must be the plutonium in me."

it must be the plutonium in me...

The pacing of it makes no sense unless you're listening to the song. So uh, here it is: Plutonium

[Skibas_clavicle]

The best thing about the Beastie Boys has always been Mix Master Mike.

I dunno. His latest solo album kinda disappointed me. I like the Beastie Boys. But whatever.

M.I.A. is fucking amazing as well, I think someone mentioned her already. I really like her and Jean Grey as well.

[Hoborg]

Insincere Dave has this to say:

"I bet loads of people are going to read through that!!!!!"

yeah I realised that, which is why I posted the song itself too =p

[MilkmanDan]

Yeah, Sole kicks ass. It took me a while to get into the Anticon sound, but the Deep Puddle Dynamics album sweetened the pill with some Slug, and I started listening to just straight Anticon quite alot.
Written down Hip-Hop lyrics can't really compete with straight poetry, because It's not their medium. You gotta listen to it.

[est]

some good stufffffff

hells yesssss.

(insert huge list of stuff)

i mostly find myself going back to the old stuff, though.  A Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, NWA, Grandmaster Flash (saw this guy recently, he was crap live.  sounded like he was just fucking around.  maybe he was, i dunno).

i'm getting into Eric B & Rakim lately, and found a few Jay-Z things to sound pretty good, but the rest to be utter crap.  totally don't understand the hype.

[ASturge]

I can't remember what site I was on, but there was a guy who said that Led Zep sucked and rap ruled, then another person chimed in with this gem:

'Y'all are gay if you don't like Led Zeppelin. All rap is is some black person talking gay.'

A masterpiece. Totally true too.

" Some black talking gay" ?

And you agree?!

thats just bullshit

[McTaggart]

Now that I think of it, all the hiphop I own is from white artists.

[marc1785]

It annoys me that people say that rapping about bitches, spinner rims, and AKs is crap and doesn't have a place. I mean now, yes its not the easiest to defend like more 'sophisticated' rap and hip hop, which is some of the most intelligently created music around. I mean, listen to the lyrics on a few CDs, I promise you that you'll need to go get a dictionary for some of the words (and I'm not talking about defining ice as diamond)  

but back to the "MTV" rap and what not... Guys like 50 cent aren't just crap. Guy like 50cent and The Game and others make some of the best party hip hop available. Songs like Disco Inferno may about about him sitting in a club getting fucked up on Henesy and Hypnotic but that beat is damn good and people will dance all night to that

[nihilist]

Meh, when I need a beat to dance to, that's what breaks are for.  Or trance.  Not generic gangsta rap.  That shit is just old, son.

[Spencer]

Damnit, MilkmanDan beat me too it. So, to echo his statement:

LISTEN TO MORE ATMOSPHERE

RE: The Beastie Boys - All I have to say is "Paul's Boutique"

RE: J5 - *yawn*

Hmm, what have I been listening to lately on the hip hop front...

M.I.A. - Sri Lankan cum British female rapper. Sing-songy flow, with Dizzee Rascal-esque beats, only not as abrasive - i.e - done right. Not everyone is gonna like this chick. In fact, I really want to hate her a lot. But I can't, cause what she's doing is just that damn good.

Brother Ali - If you like the Rhymesayers crew, you'll like Ali. Ant from Atmospehre produces. It's not great, but it's good and very enjoyable.

Sweatshop Union - I keep coming back to these guys and liking them more and more everytime I listen. Socially Conscious, but tounge in cheek at the same time. They don't take themselves too seriously, which makes them a lot more bareable than the j5's and the talib kwali's.

Ive never really been able to get into the Anticon sound. I love what they do, and I love how they push the limits of hip hop...but its just a little bit beyond me. I keep hearing that I need to listen to Deep Puddle Dynamics, and Im sure I will cause Slug's in it.

DJ Danger Mouse - The Grey Album - I love jay'z earlier work (reasonable doubt, in my lifetime vol. 1-2), but I thought the Black Album was terrible. Cliche bling beats. But Ive been listening to danger mouse's reworking of the album since it dropped, and its probably one of my favorite hip hop albums ever. I keep coming back to this album. Its amazing.

You dont know him yet, but you will. Weerd Science. His first album is about to drop (Ive had it forever, but never had a track listing. Hopefully ill be able to get one soon), and I think its gonna make a few waves. This is the side prohject of Josh, the drummer from Coheed and Cambria, and its really great, fun, tounge in cheek stuff, a la early eminem. check out www.weerdscience.com

[jal-vani]

All that's left is for me to echo those how said it earlier. Jurassic 5 rocks regardless of what spencer has to say (i mean, i don't dig the beastie boys, but i'd get strung up for saying that in most circles), handsome boy modeling school, Deltron 3030 (AKA Del tha Funkee Homosapien), Dan the Automator, the Roots, Black Eyed Peas.

[Trinary]

Est, you saw Grandmaster Flash and didn't have a good time?  I saw him last year, and it was absolutely awesome.  Danced my ass off for the whole thing.

[Druid]

but back to the "MTV" rap and what not... Guys like 50 cent aren't just crap. Guy like 50cent and The Game and others make some of the best party hip hop available. Songs like Disco Inferno may about about him sitting in a club getting fucked up on Henesy and Hypnotic but that beat is damn good and people will dance all night to that

They make some of the best party Hip-Hop available, but their beats are tired. How many times do I have to listen to the same drumline before someone gets a clue and does something different? Maybe I don't understand what a dance beat is supposed to be about, I'm only a drummer after all, but that stuff doesn't have the swing to make me want to shake my ass.

The trite lyrics don't bother me, after all rock lyrics aren't necessarily poetry.