Official Rap and Hip Hop Topic

[Dillinger8]

I'm dumb so I don't know how to embed youtube videos, but here are links to some of my current favorites at the moment.

 

 

 

 

One savy google search can net you Dom's mixtapes "The 25th Hour" and "Future Street / Drug Sounds". This message is for everyone I recommend this to anyone who likes hip hop.

[Flesh-n-Bone]

La Di Da Di. . Love that song.

 

I also love Children's Story. Can't go wrong there...

The video never stops making me laugh.

 

And WMG are a pain in the ass... I uploaded "Young, Gifted and Black" by BDK and it couldn't be up because of the copyright sh*t they ruined youtube with. Currently it is up for watching though, I don't know from anyone else's view but inside my account I can watch without any problems.

[gamesguru]

Yeah, WMG are the worst. They blocked a whole video of mine of which I used part of a song over the video and instead of blocking the audio, they blocked the whole video (none of the visual belonged to them, so really they must be imposing some sort of felony) which is really a p*ss take.

 

I think you can appeal though. Just search on YouTube for Avoid Copyright [Audio Only] and there is a way you can make some sort of claim and allot of people have luck and have their videos put back up. I haven't tried it myself, but others have and it works. So you could try that.

 

And no it's not up, I searched, and got nothing.

[Flesh-n-Bone]

Yep, I made an appeal and claimed that the only thing my video would do is promote the CD and the record label would profit more from those who saw the video and liked the song.

 

And here's the video, works for me smoothly:

 

 

[gamesguru]

Great to see it worked.

Thanks for the upload, great tune .

 

EDIT: Absolute classic:

 

Edited August 21, 2009 by gamesguru

[Flesh-n-Bone]

This one is my favorite "Don't Sweat the Technique" joint.

 

 

[XAF226]

I was searching youtube and found some old Tupac interview from 1988. It shows him as a really different person rather than a thug. He really was intelligent but he chose to show a thug in his rap career. When Tupac was a rapper there were a lot of things that he did which made no sense when you see his past. Then he went out saying "f*ck the East Coast" but the personality shown in the video makes it seem like he wouldn't have wanted to die this way. Was he crazy?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then there's this.

 

 

[beanmachine43]

Pac effectively sold his soul when he signed with Death Row, only thing is he didn't realize that until it was too late. And that whole beef thing with Biggie and the East Coast was mostly for publicity/record sales, which he admitted to.

 

Case of the Misplaced Mic, Panther Power, Trapped, Holler If Ya Hear Me; all great vintage Pac songs.

[XAF226]

When did he admit that?

[Warplay3r]

 

When did he admit that?

He didn't. 2Pac thought Biggie & his crew set him up that night in '94, when he was shot in Quad Recording Studio. Personally, I believe that 'Pac before Death Row had more heart. Listen to Me Against the World, it's a timeless classic. And (in my eyes) it's better than Ready to Die. All Eyez on Me & The 7 Day Theory were good too, but it just seemed to me that Me Against the World was an album that he [Pac] put so much dedication into. It's my favorite.

 

Don't get me wrong, all of Pac's music was great. But Me Against the World changed my life. It really did.

 

 

 

 

[beanmachine43]

When did he admit that?

I'm positive I heard it in audio interview, I think one of his last ones before he died. But I could be mistaken, maybe I took the comment out of context or something.

 

But yeah, he contradicted himself all the time. Saying "fu*k the east coast" then collaborating with the Boot Camp Clik for an album doesn't make much sense.

[The-King]

When did he admit that?

I'm positive I heard it in audio interview, I think one of his last ones before he died. But I could be mistaken, maybe I took the comment out of context or something.

 

But yeah, he contradicted himself all the time. Saying "fu*k the east coast" then collaborating with the Boot Camp Clik for an album doesn't make much sense.

Contradiction? The f*cker was born in NYC for f*cks sake, he was insulting himself everytime he said something like that. Pac became an utter prick the second he got signed to Death Row, and that was probably what did him in.

[Warplay3r]

Yeah, but everyone has to remember it wasn't Pac's choice to change. It was publicity for Death Row Records; Suge Knight had him in the worst state of mind. And after so, he was planning to leave Death Row after his three album contract was up. After so, he probably would've went back to the way he was pre-All Eyez on Me. ...I guess we'll never know now. .

[Flesh-n-Bone]

Pac really changed when he signed to Death Row. In his first three albums (and with Digital Underground) he was very different. Me Against the World is easily above Ready to Die IMO and definitely Pac's best. All Eyez on Me is overrated for some reason. Sure it was the first double album in hip hop but the last time I listened through it was 2 hours and I must have used the skip button at least 15 times.

[XAF226]

He should have went to therapy with such a personality change. It looks like he had some type of mid-life crisis at 24...

[wjf]

Track for track Ready to Die murders Me agaisnt the world, I have some love for pac, but Biggie's flow is unf*ckwithable.

[XAF226]

That's debatable. Illmatic is still the king of all rap albums.

[wjf]

Everything is debatable, music is subjective. I know a lot of people like pac more, but i think most people would agree that Biggie had a better flow.

 

Illmatic is a great album, no doubt.

[XAF226]

Biggie had the better flow, Tupac had the better message.

[gamesguru]

In my quest to listen to more older hip-hop back from in the golden age, I've been listening to: Chuck D, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane and GZA. I still need to listen to Scarface (although I've heard some of his stuff already), Big Pun, Big L and Common. I should do some research on the artists as well. I know GZA and Chuck D from Wu-Tang and Public Enemy respectively though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So my question is, what other old-skool rappers should I know about that are less know and are relatively underground. Or even where well know back in the day, but now are relatively unheard of? Any help would be appreciated. I know allot about the history of hip-hop/rap so on and so forth, but I'm less inclined on specific artists.

[XAF226]

I'd recommend Afrika Bambaataa, Kurtis Blow, Ice T, GangStarr, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, Mobb Deep, and AZ.

[gamesguru]

Cool, I know about all of those and heard some of: Afrika Bambaataa, De La Soul, Mobb Deep, and The Roots. In fact I love The Roots, can't wait for their new album.

 

 

 

Haven't heard any of Ice T, Gangstarr, AZ or A Tribe Called Quest. So I'll be sure to check out their stuff. Thanks .

[Warplay3r]

I'd recommend Afrika Bambaataa, Kurtis Blow, Ice T, GangStarr, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, The Roots, Mobb Deep, and AZ.

Yeah. Also Nas's Illmatic, and It Was Written.

 

Slick Rick also.

 

Hell, there are plenty of artists from the golden age. Eric B. & Rakim, Run DMC, LL Cool J's old albums, Pete Rock, EPMD, GangStarr, Main Source, MC Shan. Just to name some.

 

Check em' out. .

[gamesguru]

I've got Illmatic. Like I posted a few pages back, Nas is one of my favorites. I'm not completely ignorant to all the older artists (in fact I listen to quite a few), it's just that I listen to more modern and underground stuff, so there are some artists I haven't got the chance to listen to yet. It's not a case of not knowing who they are, just not listening to them.

 

Never heard of EPMD or Main Source though, so I'll check them out.

Thanks again .

 

Knowledge is power!

 

Favourite track of Illmatic:

 

[Clem Fandango]

Seeing that Pac interview really changed my opinion of the man - it's hard to believe how deep and elloquent he was. He really did sell his sole signing with Death Row. I should probably check out some of his earlier stuff. Can anyone recommend me some good 2Pac?

[Flesh-n-Bone]

Don't forget about Kool Moe Dee.

 

Definitely check out some Gang Starr ASAP.

 

Gang Starr:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Main Source:

 

 

(this song is also the introduction of Nas to the hip hop world.

 

EPMD:

 

 

 

 

 

 

That should do for the particular names above. Other groups/rappers I recommend are Compton's Most Wanted, Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, M.O.P., Jeru the Damaja, Masta Ace, Cypress Hill, D.I.T.C. (Lord Finesse, Showbiz & A.G., Big L, Diamond D and so on), Boot Camp Clik (Black Moon, Smif-n-Wessun, Heltah Skeltah and O.G.C.), Cormega, Ras Kass, Organized Konfusion, Doug E. Fresh and X-Clan.

 

I am quite the opposite, I mainly listen to golden age stuff (or let's say the majority of albums that came out between 1986-1998), I find it kinda hard to listen to modern underground like JMT, but I respect them anyways.

 

Melchior: Check out 2Pacalypse Now and Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. That was the 'real' Pac.

[XAF226]

 

This is most likely the earliest you can find of Tupac's recordings but I think I've heard a few other early songs on youtube. Another Tupac album called Shakurspeare is coming out in a month and will have some of his earliest recordings.

Edited August 22, 2009 by XAF226

[gamesguru]

Thanks again Flesh-n-Bone, I'll listen to those vids and check out some of the artists you listed. Quite a few, again, sound familiar. I prefer the golden age style of beat production, the only problem being it's hard to find good quality on the net, seeing as everything was Cassette and Vinyl during the era.

 

Plus beat production is allot easier in today's age, so the quality (sound) is astounding. The only problem is the majority of rappers (especially Southern ones) use all computer generated sounds, songs end up sounding like space anthems. It seems to be quantity over quality. I think even Jay-Z touched upon such subject.

 

Beat production can easily be allot better than previous era's with the resources and musicians out there, just seems artists can't be bothered.

[Flesh-n-Bone]

I'd also recommend Brand Nubian. Their subject matter may be hard to get to for some but it is enjoyable nonetheless.

[epoxi]

 

Woah, woah, woah...

 

 

Hold on...

 

 

Wait.

 

 

A.

 

 

Second.

 

 

Tupac had hair!?

 

 

 

On another note: this video is remarkable, I'm still finding it hard to believe it's the same person. Look at his body language: he's almost...dare I say...camp.

 

Also, the beginning reminds me of the start of a porno when they're interviewing the girl.

Edited August 22, 2009 by epoxi