Really GOOD rappers.

[Vault101]

sage francis...most rappers pale in comparison

Second this. I saw him open for Buck 65 in 2003 (when Buck 65 was good) and he blew me away.

Some of his stuff is a little... odd, but he uses words more cleverly than most people could dream of doing.

the only song I dont like is "midgets and giants"...I dont know, the whole "im better than other rappers thing" feels kind of distasteful somthing from him, I feel like he is "above" that crap

 

[Ipsen]

There was once a magical combination in Japan consisting of Shing02 and Nujabes, and they got together and made the Samurai Champloo soundtrack in almost its entirety. Then Nujabes died in a car crash a few years ago, and I wept manly tears. My favorite track from them, Luv Sic Pt.2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAxgpHWtLC0

RIP Nujabes, you are missed. Shing02 is still a really good rapper, in both English and Japanese.

I noticed Aesop Rock has been mentioned already, but no El-P yet? Son, I am disappoint. Both are some of the most creative and surprising rappers+producers I've heard.

Since we're sharing links....

Spoiler

I'll also throw out People Under the Stairs for old-school rap style. Great beats, great flow.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

KitKats have really good rappers...?

OT: I like listning to Ghostpoet. His meloncholly off tune singing, coupled with his chillout/hiphop sound is just awesome. And his lyrics are clever. Also see Faithless.

I suppose these 2 artists are because I prefer Dance music to R&B, but never mind! Hey, you may even find that you like it!

 

[The Floating Nose]

-Necro: His lyrics are violent, crude and some times it focuses on movies (ok lyrically it's not amazing but the beats are awesome).

Looked through three pages and there's only ONE Necro recommendation, and about 4 Immortal Technique. NOT LYRICALLY AMAZING?! Are you sure? To each his own I suppose.

I don't think that selling-out makes you all that bad (in terms of skill). Instead of listening to a person talk about life, we're listening to a persona talk about parties. It's still entertaining. I would direct any and all who like to shit on wannabes and posers to Bo Burnham's "Art Is Dead" It provides some useful speaking-points for making emo, punk, and metal seem trivial. That's not my goal, it's just what seems relevant.

Personnally, i think his lyrics are really cool but im sure some people aren't into these sorts of things but theres something that is Undeniable about Necro, is that he uses some of the most badass beats in rap today. Underound or mainstream.

Madvillain is also a really good one.

P.S. How can i post a video on the forum ? It's not indicated in the FAQ...

 

[Mr_spamamam]

Aesop rock is pretty good, also try immortal technique

 

[Freaky Lou]

If no one has mentioned him yet, Sadistik is great.


EDIT: Mind you, the first verse in this song is done by Vast Aire, who's not nearly as good. Sadistik does the much denser second verse.

 

[savageoblivi0n]

I know they may be considered to be mainstream, but no matter what music mood I'm in I can never turn down some Bone Thugs & Harmony

 

[Sampler]

Ok discovered Scroobius Pip recently and really liked that, and iv been into Rugged Man for a while, but aside from that I havent really found any rappers that amazingly original lyrically. So do you know any, and dont point out obvious ones like Eminem etc. (iv heard of him ).

(oh and this, listen to this if you like good rap)

I've become a big Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip fan a couple of years ago after hearing "A letter from God" on Zane Lowe's show, "Thou Shalt Always Kill" peaked my interest and fandom was sealed with "Look for the woman" - it's meaning resonated with something I was going through at the time.

I picked up their second album without hearing a track off it and loved it, recently done the same with Scroobius Pip's solo album too but it was the second album's "Great Britain" track that I came across 'Akira the Don' who did an awesome remix of it - he also puts all his work up to listen to for free on soundcloud:
http://soundcloud.com/akira-the-don

Dan le Sac has a lot on there too but think he's limited for space as some stuff is gone, probably to make space for the new - it's through following Dan le Sac that I came across Yila (he and Pip did a remix of the ace "Astronaut" track) - original:

Spoiler: Original

Remix:
http://snd.sc/sKCxQb

And also Kid Carpet: http://snd.sc/8Hx80
Sage Francis: http://snd.sc/tqBdAV
And B Dolan who supported them on tour when I saw them in Leeds last year - all artists along a similar vein if you're looking to get into - certainly not the bland generic crap you hear in the charts ala Eminem anyways.

 

[Druyn]

If you want lyrically original and talented, you can go Tyler the Creator for a more mainstream way, but Immortal Technique reigns supreme.

 

[Gloomsta]

Good...Rap? Huh?

Really though, aside from the standard trolling involved here, I've never really gotten the appeal. The only thing that ever makes rap "good", is impressive writing, and that hardly needs to be limited to any form of music to be considered good. I find that having some dude sing what may be some impressive literature just ruins it by being annoying.

Same here. Why is simply fast talking likeintheadvertisementswhentheyhavetoreadoutthesmallprintbutdontwantto more popular than actual singing?

Why should singing be more popular?

What makes singing so much more superior to rapping?

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

More leaning to hip hop, but Atmosphere is brilliant.

Spoiler

And people say rap has no emotion.

 

[Nouw]

Where's BonsaiK. We require your musical knowledge

There's the fact that it actually involves some talent

You have some good points but rapping does involve talent. Not everyone can pick up the mic and start rapping a song which a million people will dance to. Try rap any song and put the same enthusiasm and soul some of the rappers here put into. Now I agree, many mainstream artists aren't good at rapping and that just proves that it does require skill. You can't really compare singing and rapping and call one superior.

 

[bigwon]

hmmmm.... Not quite sure if I'd quite fit the bill for you, but I'm always looking to put my stuff on the chopping block.

http://soundcloud.com/rnwhiphop

 

[bigwon]

[/quote]There's the fact that it actually involves some talent, it sounds much better (Where do you think the saying "Music to my ears" came from?), it is a better representation of the effort people put into composing (If the same amount of effort is put into a #1 song the same effort put into a rap song would only go to #5), it allows for a much wider variety of styles (Opera, rock, punk, goth, metal, blues...)... I could go on for hours[/quote]

hehe....gotta admit though it does sounds like shit when it isn't done properly..;D

apples (percussive) and oranges (melodic) though, it's all preference at the end of the day. There's just certain qualities to singing that you can't fully realise with rapping, and vice versa.

I mean I'm personally more into funk, blues, jazz, and the like but what's to say that rapping doesn't have it's place in music?

not an argument really, just a couple cents.

 

[Crazy Elf]

Seriously, no one has mentioned Jurassic Five? They're the most talented rap vocalists on the planet. Take this song, Jurass Finish First:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QmnEEteDig

Listen to that first verse sung by Charli 2na. I'll post the lyrics here:

Yo, because of cash in the purse, guns blast in the hearse
A vast universe when the last is the first
The past been a curse, I need some asprin to nurse
It's your casket in earth, or my ass when it hurts
A passionate burst of some last-minute work
First the human bodies are living last in this Earth
Puffing grass when it works, a bastard at birth
But at last planet Earth, 5 Jurass finish first

Lyrically it's nothing exceptional, but the form is spectacular. I'll point out the alliteration for you.

Yo, because of cash in the purse, guns blast in the hearse
A vast universe when the last is the first
The past been a curse, I need some asprin to nurse
It's your casket in earth, or my ass when it hurts
A passionate burst of some last-minute work
First the human bodies are living last in this Earth
Puffing grass when it works, a bastard at birth
But at last planet Earth, 5 Jurass finish first

For almost every line they've managed to keep the beat, vocally, using æs (phonetically "ass") and ɜr (phonetically "ur") over and over again. It's impressive vocally, and it's impressive in terms of writing.

They may not be saying much, but they're saying it well. Better than anyone else out there, hands down.

 

[Gloomsta]

There's the fact that it actually involves some talent,

What is talent?

Please dont tell me rap doesnt involve talent, because id like to see you try and rap fast, with rhymes in a rythm, and then you have to sound convincing for it too work.

it sounds much better (Where do you think the saying "Music to my ears" came from?)

Ever heard of SUBJECTIVITY?

, it is a better representation of the effort people put into composing

So if i used a guitar instead of piano that would mean there is more effort put into composing?

Is "effort into composing" even a valid form of measuring quality? Is that even a proper way of saying it?

(If the same amount of effort is put into a #1 song the same effort put into a rap song would only go to #5)

Wat?

, it allows for a much wider variety of styles (Opera, rock, punk, goth, metal, blues...)...

Is this even an argument? If someone wanted singing, rapping and metal screams/growling could be incorporated into any genre if they wanted too.

How does being able to use an instrument in a wide genres account for talent or quality?

I could go on for hours

I can talk bullshit for hours, just saying.