Poll: An Attempt to Exonerate Hip Hop

[Vault101]

What?! You talk of Hip Hop and you do not mention

hay I mentioned Sage-

oh wait...that was the other thread....

[quote/]Okay, so maybe they ain't that important to Hip Hop or the underground scene, but damn it! These people deserve more attention! <_<[/quote]

not important?...they are awsome...thats important enough

[quote/]However, I have a certain problem with Hip Hop, despite my willingness to defend it: A rapper's best friend is the beat. I find that if the beat or the production of a rapper's music is crap, then I won't think too highly of it. Take Aesop Rock, for example: I found that I didn't like some of his stuff due to the production. However, when I heard most of the songs done with collaboration with Blockhead [small](whom you should all look up, by the way)[/small], they were utterly fantastic. It's hard for a rapper to keep the song up by him or herself with out a good beat or production.
[/quote]

yeah, somtimes if the production is good it can make the sing for me

like I still have no Iea what this song is about....


but damn does it make me feel like my soul is melting

 

[War Penguin]

What?! You talk of Hip Hop and you do not mention

hay I mentioned Sage-

oh wait...that was the other thread....

Which one? *bad-um-tish*

Actually, I think that's where I first found out about Sage. So... thank you for opening up a window to rap music that helped me gain a newfound appreciation for the genre!

[quote/]However, I have a certain problem with Hip Hop, despite my willingness to defend it: A rapper's best friend is the beat. I find that if the beat or the production of a rapper's music is crap, then I won't think too highly of it. Take Aesop Rock, for example: I found that I didn't like some of his stuff due to the production. However, when I heard most of the songs done with collaboration with Blockhead [small](whom you should all look up, by the way)[/small], they were utterly fantastic. It's hard for a rapper to keep the song up by him or herself with out a good beat or production.

yeah, somtimes if the production is good it can make the sing for me

like I still have no Iea what this song is about....

Spoiler

but damn does it make me feel like my soul is melting[/quote]Hm... Kanye and I have this... weird relationship. Sometimes he makes some brilliant pieces of art, but most of the time he gets so wrapped up in his own ego that it just gets under my skin. I'll stop there before an inevitable shitstorm approaches. <_<

 

[Vault101]

Hm... Kanye and I have this... weird relationship. Sometimes he makes some brilliant pieces of art, but most of the time he gets so wrapped up in his own ego that it just gets under my skin. I'll stop there before an inevitable shitstorm approaches. <_<

but his songs are like 90% ego.....

I remember back with the MTV incident I was put off...then I realised I didn't care and I don't even like taylor swift anyway (her music..not her personally)

 

[Vault101]

snip

as far as mainstream rap goes I think Kanye doesnt come out looking all that bad..I mean in comparison to somone like pitbull (in comparison to pitbull he's mozart)

chris brown...regardless of the whole rhianna indident....eh.....I don't think he's that good..at all

 

[NightHawk21]

I don't listen to music or more accurately I don't go out of my way to listen to music. If someone is playing on the radio, very well (I'll tune it out anyways and only pay attention if the melody is nice), and if not that's fine by me too.

That above being said (and note that all that follows is from the above perspective), I think its silly to hate a specific style of music. You may hate a song, multiple songs, or even an artist, but I find it hard to believe that every genre does not have something that a person can to some extent at least enjoy. My sister listens to, in my opinion, the most obnoxious music I've ever had the displeasure of hearing (the song is essentially 3-5 minutes of screaming, by a guy who seems so angry I can only assume he hasn't been able to shit in months), and yet given my personal disposition towards music, I still manage to find some enjoyment in certain songs (some of the "weaker" songs are actually pretty good until the banshee kicks in).

 

[War Penguin]

Hm... Kanye and I have this... weird relationship. Sometimes he makes some brilliant pieces of art, but most of the time he gets so wrapped up in his own ego that it just gets under my skin. I'll stop there before an inevitable shitstorm approaches. <_<

but his songs are like 90% ego.....

Hence the strange relationship. >_<

Though I will agree with you that he's better than Chris Brown or *shudder* Pitbull...

 

[Imat]

Unfortunately gangsta rap is making this an uphill battle.

Hip-hop, while not even close to my cup of tea, is still a form of music. It'll have its high and low points, and it'll have fans and haters. Exonerating the genre is unnecessary. What your friends like and what you like can differ radically, especially when it comes to music. Doesn't mean you need to end the friendships. Just means you need to respect their personality. In other words, don't blast the rap music around 'em.

For the record, I'll listen to Beastie Boys and the song in the Saint's Row 3 trailer, but I don't make it a habit to listen to the genre. As I said, not my cup of tea.

 

[runic knight]

I think a lot of hate towards rap and hip hop is more a misinterpretation of about the genre because of offensive content of the songs, lack of creativity in material, an offensiveness to the makers of the music itself or just the general over-saturation of crap. The more crap there is, the more likely it is someone's first impression, and that can sour a person to the style as a whole. And when it seems the mainstream of the genre is, as is often railed against, niggas, whores and money, it is easy to see why many people dislike it. Seems similar to how pop songs are generally disliked for being vapid shallow earworms made to answer exec's desire for money. Might also be the cross breeding of pop and rap is souring some people's idea of the genre.

Myself, I don't dislike rap, I just rarely run across stuff I genuinely enjoy. That is mostly due to, as said above, over saturation of crap. Still, the thread gave me some new stuff to listen to. That is good.

 

[Vault101]

Hence the strange relationship. >_<

Though I will agree with you that he's better than Chris Brown or *shudder* Pitbull...

well...I'm gonna further push my luck and say I honestly think he's good, it feels like he's actually [i/]trying[/i] just looking at his last album he did with Jay Z has a few gems

where as chris brown always struck me as the usual "pop" slush...has he even done anything of note latly?

well he did a song with nicki minaj

and when she isnt doing over produces shallow pop I like nicki minaj *holds out arms* you may now crucify me as you see fit for that

 

[Darkmantle]

I have to give a shout out to my favourite rapper

Ice Cube!


I don't listen to music much, leave me alone

but anyway, no mention of having hoes, or rolling in money, or any of those other dumb cliches that people who hate rap say saturates the genre. This also fills in your Gangster rap hole OP

"they give us guns and drugs, then wonder why in the fuck we thugs."

EDIT: My gramarar and speiling need work.

 

[War Penguin]

Hence the strange relationship. >_<

Though I will agree with you that he's better than Chris Brown or *shudder* Pitbull...

well...I'm gonna further push my luck and say I honestly think he's good, it feels like he's actually [i/]trying[/i] just looking at his last album he did with Jay Z has a few gems

where as chris brown always struck me as the usual "pop" slush...has he even done anything of note latly?

well he did a song with nicki minaj

and when she isnt doing over produces shallow pop I like nicki minaj *holds out arms* you may now crucify me as you see fit for that

All the more painful it is to listen to him. Yeah, I get the sense that he's trying, too, but to think of him try [small](and usually)[/small] fail makes it difficult for me to listen to his stuff. So much effort resulting into... whatever that was. xP

Also, I like Minaj a bit, myself. Like you said, she produces lot's of crap, but there were a few gems that I thought were pretty good.

One thing that did help me weed out some good songs from the bad was this chap by the name of the Rap Critic, from That Guy With The Glasses. Say what you want about some of the people on that site, Rap Critic is a damn good critic and also pretty funny too. I highly recommend seeing some of his stuff. He's helped me figure out what it takes to make a good rap song... and a bad one, as well. :S

http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/teamt/rap-critic/rap-critic-reviews

 

[Vault101]

One thing that did help me weed out some good songs from the bad was this chap by the name of the Rap Critic, from That Guy With The Glasses. Say what you want about some of the people on that site, Rap Critic is a damn good critic and also pretty funny too. I highly recommend seeing some of his stuff. He's helped me figure out what it takes to make a good rap song... and a bad one, as well. :S

http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/teamt/rap-critic/rap-critic-reviews

oh yeah, Ive seen rap critic (he seems like a really cool guy) I discovered Tech n9ne because of him

 

[Logiclul]

Hence the strange relationship. >_<

Though I will agree with you that he's better than Chris Brown or *shudder* Pitbull...

well...I'm gonna further push my luck and say I honestly think he's good, it feels like he's actually [i/]trying[/i] just looking at his last album he did with Jay Z has a few gems

where as chris brown always struck me as the usual "pop" slush...has he even done anything of note latly?

well he did a song with nicki minaj

and when she isnt doing over produces shallow pop I like nicki minaj *holds out arms* you may now crucify me as you see fit for that

Kanye = amazing beat-producer
Jay Z = top 5 rapper all time

Together they made more than a few gems.

Nikki Minaj songs I liked: Bed Rock, Up All Night. Both are features and both are about money and hoes. Besides, haven't you heard Starships? She's pop now.

Do you have links to other songs that are good by Nikki Minaj because I don't believe you.

And if we are going to discuss mainstream rappers that are mysteriously good then I'm going to bring up Wiz Khalifa. He consistently has great flow and creative lyrics which work well with his beats. Now I admit a lot of his stuff is about drugs and money/hoes, but it sounds good and he is good at rapping.

 

[Vault101]

Nikki Minaj songs I liked: Bed Rock, Up All Night. Both are features and both are about money and hoes. Besides, haven't you heard Starships? She's pop now.

Do you have links to other songs that are good by Nikki Minaj because I don't believe you.
.

but starships was sooo.....catchy....

not sure i'd say "good" since I don't expect others to agree..however

I liked her part on Kanye's "monster"

anyway


and because it has kanye in it and because of its "sample" (a song that brings all kinds of warm and funny feelings from saints row 2)


its just so......happy

 

[Charli]

Don't need to tell me twice, my music tastes are highly skitsophrenic and Hip Hop falls into the mix occasionally, but it's the same bad rep just from a different culture that all Mainstream music receives.

And deservedly so. 'Garbage'.

But anyone who limits themselves based on the worst aspects of a thing is doomed to never enjoy as much anyway. And I suppose that is sad, but those people are often too opinionated to care.

I refuse to listen to music that has uninspired lyrics, hammers on about Bitches n' Hoes and Material gain, and champions a lifestyle that will more or less end up in gang violence.

There is some real heartfelt, well done stuff, but it's buried like most diamonds, in dirt and fossilized poop.

I have to be in the mood for it though. Depends on what I'm doing/feel that day.

 

[Weentastic]

Definitely A Tribe Called Quest. Even their music videos are bomb. Its just sweet smooth rhymes with a great smooth beat to follow. Pete Rock and INI are great too, some really good stuff there. As a white boy I was never magnetized to it. But I've been looking into it for the past couple of years and boy there is some great stuff out there. Most of the stuff that I have liked is stuff that you would never hear on the radio.

 

[Logiclul]

Nikki Minaj songs I liked: Bed Rock, Up All Night. Both are features and both are about money and hoes. Besides, haven't you heard Starships? She's pop now.

Do you have links to other songs that are good by Nikki Minaj because I don't believe you.
.

but starships was sooo.....catchy....

not sure i'd say "good" since I don't expect others to agree..however

I liked her part on Kanye's "monster"

anyway


and because it has kanye in it and because of its "sample" (a song that brings all kinds of warm and funny feelings from saints row 2)


its just so......happy

Wow.. Kanye KILLED that shit. Drake one isn't bad either but if I have to choose a Drake and Nicki song it's Up All Night. Thanks for showing me Blazin though, that's some good music.

Definitely A Tribe Called Quest. Even their music videos are bomb. Its just sweet smooth rhymes with a great smooth beat to follow. Pete Rock and INI are great too, some really good stuff there. As a white boy I was never magnetized to it. But I've been looking into it for the past couple of years and boy there is some great stuff out there. Most of the stuff that I have liked is stuff that you would never hear on the radio.

Hipster! But nah, if you like those guys make sure you got Nas albums. I agree ATCQ is great - they were some of the first things I listened to.

 

[lacktheknack]

What, no Handlebars?

<youtube=HLUX0y4EptA>

It's pretty much the only piece of Hip Hop I'd say that I love... sometimes, it's just not your thing, you know?

 

[lacktheknack]

and when she isnt doing over produces shallow pop I like nicki minaj *holds out arms* you may now crucify me as you see fit for that

Srsly? I much prefer her when she IS being shallow pop. "Starships" and "Pound The Alarm" are candidates for my "Pop Song of the Year".

 

[Aprilgold]

WHOOPS I wrote a post on rap and not Hip-hop. Hip-Hop isn't amazingly great, but its certainly better then it's rap son down below.

Spoiler

My father had a great point when it comes to general quality and rap. You lock a musician of any other genre in somewhere with their instrument and you will get something that is different from the rest, if only slightly. You lock a rapper in a room and you'll get the same mainstream message that they all give.

I love music from the 50s, 60s till the late 80s. Not because I have any actual connection to those times but back then there weren't as many formula's to success to follow. All the rap I hear in the US where I live is the same, mainstream "Its ok to shoot ***** because ***** took my skull, also coke, she took my coke."

Having listened to several different pieces of rap music that would be considered mainstream, I can safely say that I will discredit the entire genre because when your genre's poster star is a black dude who's only real claim-to-fame was surviving nine bullets then you need better inspiration.

Overall, I find rap music to be all "***** took X from me so I shot her with Y and fuckity fuckity fucking dimwit *****." or the same sounding dribble.