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What Is Your View On Rap/Hip-Hop?

#401
GBassNorth said:
(not sure what they're calling Lady Gaga type music yet)
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Old!

The big trend of the past few years is electronic dance music going mainstream. And the subtrend in that trend right now is deep house and future house, which you might not thing is that bad, it's about soulful human vocals and retro sounds. It's almost like trying to have the best of both the electronic and "real music played by real people" worlds.





I'm not into it too much, but that's OK, something else will be trendy by the end of the year. In the unlikely event South African style Afro-house suddenly blows up in Europe, I'll be ready.
 
#403
pklima said:
Old!

The big trend of the past few years is electronic dance music going mainstream. And the subtrend in that trend right now is deep house and future house, which you might not thing is that bad, it's about soulful human vocals and retro sounds. It's almost like trying to have the best of both the electronic and "real music played by real people" worlds.





I'm not into it too much, but that's OK, something else will be trendy by the end of the year. In the unlikely event South African style Afro-house suddenly blows up in Europe, I'll be ready.
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That's some interesting clips. I like the modern/retro mix they have.
This is what I've been listening to a lot lately...

And for those of us that get off on a solid swing bass...


Along with a number of similar retro/mod swing type bands. Beats the monotony of rap/hip hop.
 
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#405
I still find rap/hip-hop innovative creatively and musically. However, the only rap or hip-hop artists I currently listen to are from Japan, and their mostly considered the "J-Pop" kind ... and I absolutely have no idea what they're rapping about. Apparently, I just like the overall music including how the vocals sound.

I enjoy the creative use of sampling. Sometimes using the smallest segments of previously recorded music, while some artists/producers take the time to re-record parts to fit their musical-vision. The one thing I do like is finding out where the original samples came from, and perhaps learning about other artists.

It used to be rap/hip-hop used samples from disco or funk ("Amen Brother" - The Winstons, "Unwind Yourself" - Marva Whitney), but nowadays samples come from all styles of music ("The Big Beat" - Billy Squier, "Brown Paper Bag" - Roni Size (drum&bass)). Or artists creating their own music to rap over (The Roots) or doing hybrid musical styles (Linkin Park).

Regardless of the subject, rap lyrics can be amazing in terms of how it's created and vocally delivered. Sometimes great lengths are taken to make sure the rhythm and rhyme synchronizes with the music. Sometimes rappers will change a word's pronunciation to fit the rhyme scheme. And then there's the whole ability to improvise lyrics in rap battles.

But like all music, I don't like every artist that does a particular style. Some I might respect what they do, but don't care about their songs. And some I just don't respect at all.
 
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#410
Like any genre, there's excellent stuff and crap. There's a lot of mediocrity and there are gems/classics. Two big 'prodcucers-turned-rappers' - i.e. Diddy and Kanye are damn good at what they do. I don't like what they do, I don't buy it or listen to it. Kanye has issues - which, in the rap game - if you're dissin' MCs - I guess that's how it goes - but, seriously - his ego and stupidity surprise me.

Rap and hip hop is more than just music - it is culture, style and raison d'etre. I, for one, love the education it has given me, especially from Public Enemy and Guru. Social consciousness and learning about jazz helped me connect the dots from the past to the present. NWA, Ice Cube and Dre hooked into P-Funk and brought gangsta rap to the masses. Like anything 'real', that particular sub-genre has been watered down, commercialized and sold to the masses.

I must admit, I really don't like 'Dirty South' rap or stuff that's on the charts now. I wait for a Roots album, and they are off on an experimental tangent. I haven't purchased a rap album since Jay Z's hits collection. Maybe I just don't 'get' rappers' flow these days. I miss the days of Das EFX or Fu-Schickens spitting tongue twisters galore. Eminem is pretty good at it, but I find his stuff kinda dull. I was very into the whole 'native tongues' sound - Jungle Brothers, Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, De La Soul. Mix that with some Public Enemy, a dash of Gang Starr, Eric B and Rakim and a layer of Ice Cube, maybe some Mobb Deep and Tupac and I'm satisfied. Hip hop needs more female voices today.
 
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#411
peledog said:
I miss the days of Das EFX or Fu-Schickens spitting tongue twisters galore. Eminem is pretty good at it, but I find his stuff kinda dull. I was very into the whole 'native tongues' sound - Jungle Brothers, Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, De La Soul. Mix that with some Public Enemy, a dash of Gang Starr, Eric B and Rakim and a layer of Ice Cube, maybe some Mobb Deep and Tupac and I'm satisfied.
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NOW we're talkin'!
 
#413
peledog said:
I was very into the whole 'native tongues' sound
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Engine engine number 9, on the New York Transit line...

I grew up loving the same groups- I also really dislike most of the dirty South stuff. Good stuff is still being made- almost none of it is getting real popularly though.
 
#415
I'm not usually someone who likes hip hop or rap at all, but a drummer friend of mine recently sat me down and made me listen to a few tracks from Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp A Butterfly" and honestly... I liked it! Really interesting grooves, and an absence of the usual lyrics about objectification of women and pursuit of the next high. This guy actually delivered a nuanced, if cluttered, perspective that I can appreciate- it seemed more authentic. Plus there were some killer musicians on the tracks I heard- Thundercat, George Clinton, and even one of the Isley Brothers.
I'm still not a rap aficionado, but my mind is a little more open now.
 
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#416
bass12 said:
One of the best shows I've ever seen was Spearhead on the Stay Human tour. It's a pity I really haven't dug any of Franti's albums since then.
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​

Home's still an inspiration - truly bowled me over once-upon-a-time. Love the grooves and the decidedly analog instrumentation. Before this, Disposable Heroes - Television: The Drug of a Nation especially - broke through… had a huge impact here, in certain circles - Gil Scott-Heron with the gloves off :ninja: (Entertaining, provocative, but not really my bag). I try to give it all a spin, every-once-in-a-while.


"FREEZE, SUCKER! TUNE OUT! Take the blinkers OFF! And STEP AWAY FROM THE DIAL!."

Hit the dirt! Here she comes again…
 
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#417
Tom Bomb said:

​

Home's still an inspiration - truly bowled me over once-upon-a-time. Love the grooves and the decidedly analog instrumentation. Before this, Disposable Heroes - Television: The Drug of a Nation especially - broke through… had a huge impact here, in certain circles - Gil Scott-Heron with the gloves off :ninja: (Entertaining, provocative, but not really my bag). I try to give it all a spin, every-once-in-a-while.


"FREEZE, SUCKER! TUNE OUT! Take the blinkers OFF! And STEP AWAY FROM THE DIAL!."

Hit the dirt! Here she comes again…
Click to expand...

About a month ago I pulled out Home and listened through it a couple of times. Overall the album still stands up really well. Another of the best shows I saw was Michael Franti with just a bassist and a percussionist opening for Gil Scott-Heron. Franti blew Scott-Heron out of the water. Speaking of paired down lineups, a really nice Franti album is Live At The Baobab. Pick it up if you haven't already (it's probably available through Franti's site).
 
#418
If anyone read my posts at the beginning of this thread you know that like most old white guys, I don't know anything about rap.
I was visiting with a friend today and he gave me a cd to listen to. It just blew me away! I like the show Justified and have heard clips of this music but never thought about who was doing the music.
GangstaGrass with T.O.N.E-z.






Ok, you can all start laughing now but if it can get someone like me to say that not all rap is crap it can't be all bad.
 
#419
Old white guy here (as you can see by my avatar, ha ha). I've never liked it, never had much use for it, it doesn't uplift my spirit or enhance my existence in any way. I used to hate disco back in the 70's, but in retrospect I can have some respect for some of it, because there are actual musicians playing and actual singers singing (without Autotune or Melodyne). Monotonous loops over a heavy thump thump thump just makes me want to go out and break things or punch walls.

Then again, I'd rather get a root canal than listen to Death Metal, too.

I need melody, harmony, variability. I need the lyric to fit with those variables. When I can't find what I'm looking for in my preferred genre, I turn to classical music.
 

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