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hip hop recommendations?

#24
faulknersj said:
MIJ-VI....unless you can spit a dope rhyme or produce a hip hop cut that will get peoples heads knocking, I suggest you post elsewhere. 1) Music that stems from European roots is not the only good or legitimate for m of music dude. Some folks like the rhyhtmic based music with roots in Africa. In classical european music, layers of harmonies and melodies abound, and the 'rhythm' section is way in the background somewhere chiming in every once in a while. Hip hop's roots are traced back to Africa who's musical origins are almost purely rhythmic, nary a melody in sight. In hip hop, even the MC's flows are a rhythmic cadence that dances around the snare on the 2 and 4. 2) Please stick to your rock n' roll posts if negative ignorance is all you have to offer.
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1) Agreed. I live on the edge of a large Pakistani neighbourhood and there's lots of great rhythms to be enjoyed (although there isn't much room in most of it for bass guitar).

2) IMO Hip-Hop would indeed benefit if more of its practitioners learned how to sing melodies and play a musical instrument.

A few years ago I salvaged a hard drive (as a hobby I restore old Windows PCs and give them away as GNU/Linux machines) which held a large number of .mp3s, including dozens of Rap/Hip-Hop recordings.

Some of these sounded like they were done on home recording gear and others like they were done on expensive equipment.

But they all had most of the following formulaic elements:

  • self-pitying lyrics which revolved around justifications for engaging in predatory activity and pursuing acts of revenge
  • vocal performances which bore the musical sensitivity of an enraged canine
  • a profuse amount of vulgar and disparaging language (in addition to plenty of swearing, the 'b' word was frequently used and the 'n' word was so prominent that I selected 10 of these recordings at random and timed how long it would take for said word to be 'sung': under 30 seconds in 7 out of 10 selections)
  • no played instruments (even in the recordings done on pro-sounding gear)
  • MIDI drums which were rigidly quantized--as in no groove.., even to the point where poorly sequenced patterns would produce a slight lurch in the cadence at regular intervals (though I've only messed with MIDI as a hobby on a 96 ppqn hardware sequencer, even I know how to 'de-mechanical-ize' excessively quantized tracks)
  • composed & arranged instrumental parts (a mixture of MIDI & samples) which flowed with the cohesion of characters in a ransom note
  • and liberally peppered throughout these recordings: Foley sound effects of pistols being cocked and fired. :eyebrow:
In general I was stunned at how bad this stuff was. I could clearly hear that these (predominantly) young men were earnestly trying to express their human creativity via attempts at music recordings, but they simply lacked the musical tools/knowledge/experience to do their inspirations any real justice.

It was with this recollection in mind that I seized upon an opportunity to direct a couple of properly set up SX shorty P-basses and two small combos to a new grade school program that opened in one of TO's roughest neighbourhoods last Fall.

Thus I stand by my initial comment.

In the spirit of constructive observation/criticism I've said what I came here to say and will now abstain from further participation in this thread.

I am open to PMs from anyone who seeks a mature discussion.

Gary
 
#27
MIJ-VI said:
1) Agreed. I live on the edge of a large Pakistani neighbourhood and there's lots of great rhythms to be enjoyed (although there isn't much room in most of it for bass guitar).

2) IMO Hip-Hop would indeed benefit if more of its practitioners learned how to sing melodies and play a musical instrument.

A few years ago I salvaged a hard drive (as a hobby I restore old Windows PCs and give them away as GNU/Linux machines) which held a large number of .mp3s, including dozens of Rap/Hip-Hop recordings.

Some of these sounded like they were done on home recording gear and others like they were done on expensive equipment.

But they all had most of the following formulaic elements:

  • self-pitying lyrics which revolved around justifications for engaging in predatory activity and pursuing acts of revenge
  • vocal performances which bore the musical sensitivity of an enraged canine
  • a profuse amount of vulgar and disparaging language (in addition to plenty of swearing, the 'b' word was frequently used and the 'n' word was so prominent that I selected 10 of these recordings at random and timed how long it would take for said word to be 'sung': under 30 seconds in 7 out of 10 selections)
  • no played instruments (even in the recordings done on pro-sounding gear)
  • MIDI drums which were rigidly quantized--as in no groove.., even to the point where poorly sequenced patterns would produce a slight lurch in the cadence at regular intervals (though I've only messed with MIDI as a hobby on a 96 ppqn hardware sequencer, even I know how to 'de-mechanical-ize' excessively quantized tracks)
  • composed & arranged instrumental parts (a mixture of MIDI & samples) which flowed with the cohesion of characters in a ransom note
  • and liberally peppered throughout these recordings: Foley sound effects of pistols being cocked and fired. :eyebrow:
In general I was stunned at how bad this stuff was. I could clearly hear that these (predominantly) young men were earnestly trying to express their human creativity via attempts at music recordings, but they simply lacked the musical tools/knowledge/experience to do their inspirations any real justice.

It was with this recollection in mind that I seized upon an opportunity to direct a couple of properly set up SX shorty P-basses and two small combos to a new grade school program that opened in one of TO's roughest neighbourhoods last Fall.

Thus I stand by my initial comment.

In the spirit of constructive observation/criticism I've said what I came here to say and will now abstain from further participation in this thread.

I am open to PMs from anyone who seeks a mature discussion.

Gary
Click to expand...

Thank you.
 
#28
Gorillaz are alternative hip hop and have some good bass-lines you could learn. The first song I learned on my bass was Feel Good Inc. They have three albums but you should listen to Demon Days which is in my opinion their best.
 
#29
slipkorn917 said:
Gorillaz are alternative hip hop and have some good bass-lines you could learn. The first song I learned on my bass was Feel Good Inc. They have three albums but you should listen to Demon Days which is in my opinion their best.
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been a gorillaz fan for quite a while (and i'd also agree that demon days is a fantastic album)...didn't mention them because they're hard to pin down as anything in particular. maybe like...collaborative-contemporary-rock-hiphop-pop-and-british-too.

some interesting stuff here, keep it coming if you got any more!
 
#31
MIJ-VI said:
1)

They all had most of the following formulaic elements:

  • self-pitying lyrics which revolved around justifications for engaging in predatory activity and pursuing acts of revenge
  • vocal performances which bore the musical sensitivity of an enraged canine
  • a profuse amount of vulgar and disparaging language (in addition to plenty of swearing, the 'b' word was frequently used and the 'n' word was so prominent that I selected 10 of these recordings at random and timed how long it would take for said word to be 'sung': under 30 seconds in 7 out of 10 selections)
  • no played instruments (even in the recordings done on pro-sounding gear)
  • MIDI drums which were rigidly quantized--as in no groove.., even to the point where poorly sequenced patterns would produce a slight lurch in the cadence at regular intervals (though I've only messed with MIDI as a hobby on a 96 ppqn hardware sequencer, even I know how to 'de-mechanical-ize' excessively quantized tracks)
  • composed & arranged instrumental parts (a mixture of MIDI & samples) which flowed with the cohesion of characters in a ransom note
  • and liberally peppered throughout these recordings: Foley sound effects of pistols being cocked and fired. :eyebrow:
In general I was stunned at how bad this stuff was. I could clearly hear that these (predominantly) young men were earnestly trying to express their human creativity via attempts at music recordings, but they simply lacked the musical tools/knowledge/experience to do their inspirations any real justice.
Click to expand...


El-P's 'I'll sleep when you're dead' single-handedly refutes all of those points. And this is just one album.

(first track of that album)

Saying 'rap' is bad is like saying 'rock music' is bad because you heard Linkin Park on the radio.
 
#34
Vorago said:
Can't we have a rap/hiphop thread without the 'rap isn't proper music' argument popping up?
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Apparently not. ;) Fundamentally speaking I love hip-hop, but I can see why some people have the negative impression of the culture and the music that they do. Let's face it, there's a lot of really bad rap out there and it would seem that the bad stuff is, unfortunately, what typically gets pushed the most by the mainstream media. Anyway, for those who question the musical legitimacy of hip-hop, please take the word of some of the more educated hip-hop lovers here on TB: there is probably a lot more to hip-hop than the (presumably sub-standard) stuff you've been exposed to. With that in mind, I'll throw out a few suggestions:

Digable Planets: Blowout Comb and Reachin' ...A New Refutation Of Time And Space.

Ohmega Watts: The Find

Wildstyle (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

The Pharcyde: Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde

Bahamadia: Kollage

The Sugar Hill Records Story (Box Set) - some good history here and some great live playing (yes, most of the original rap recordings were made with live backing bands).

Steinski: What Does It All Mean? - the king of cut 'n' paste.

The Best Of Enjoy! Records - more history.
 
#35
Also, if you're willing to look outside of the US...

The French have produced some of the best rap ever made. Especially the 1990-2000 era is amazing. Most artists are centered in Paris or Marseille.

IAM (Marseille):

Even if you get nothing of it, the atmosphere and sincerity in these songs is amazing. Check it out!
 
#36
There is SO much great stuff out there but there is no group of hip hop artists I could ever recommend more highly than the guys at Stonesthrow Records. I don't think anyone could touch them. MF DOOM is the absolute best, and he defies every stereotype of hip hop. Original and fresh. Check all his stuff in collaboration with Madlib (aka Quasimoto, Lord Quas, The Beat Kondukta). Also check Mos Def. Here's a clip of Mos Def in praise of DOOM.
 
#40
There's so much great stuff out there, it's to tough to decide where to start...
I see MF Dooms already been mentioned, he an amazing producer, and does a lot of mcing too. The label he's on is called Stones Throw Records, and theres a ton of great stuff to be found on that label. You got Madlib, Peanut Butter Wolf, and of course a lot of J Dilla stuff all on the the same label. Here's some other stuff that I don't thinks been mentioned:
Ultramagnetic MC's
Kool Keith (and his many aliases, like Dr. Octagon)
Guru (of Gangstarr fame, check out his Jazzmatazz album series)
Nas of course, his first album is IMO one of the best albums of all time
DJ Shadow (check out Endtroducing, the album entirely made from samples)
Common
De La Soul
Wu-tang Clan, I find them pretty good even though I'm more into alternative hiphop and jazz rap as opposed to gangsta rap
That's about it, BTW the first four A Tribe Called Quest albums are a must... They''re all some of the best hip-hop albums ever imo
 

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