Anyone into hip hop?

[BeTheChange]

To me true hip hop is the generation changing music of our time. That isnt to say that a great Ani song isnt awesome too.

I've been listening to Immortal Technique who I think is the most politically minded musician Ive heard lately. His lyrics arent for everyone, but I think his message is powerful.

Of course, there is always Talib Kweli, Dead Prez and Mos Def.. but its just nice to listen to music about changing the world once in a while.

[ghostsofgiants]

1. Sweatshop Union and K-os

Are probably among my favourites right now.

[BeTheChange]

6. Will check them out..

As a woman, I have to give a shout out to Jean Grae. I know most men are not into women MCs, but she rawks.

[NightTrain]

2. Fuck yeah!

Amdittedly, though, I haven't really followed the scene too closely in the last decade or so. As a result, most of my favorite hip-hop is from the '80s and early '90s.

[henslee]

4. Took words right outta my mouth NT (crosspost below) nt

[psychopomp]

11. Same here

You will like smoothbeats.com's streaming hip-hop, I think. They play Grand Pubah and all of that early nineties rap. Their shoutcast ip addie is http://64.236.34.4:80/stream/1012

[henslee]

3. Unless something breaks through my radar, its hard for me to learn about

new hop hop -- I am old. Stoppped being obsessively into HH in about 89. I will check out Immortal Techinque. Thanks.

[BeTheChange]

5. I was looking through my collection and found Pete Rock & CL Smooth

I also have some Poor Righteous Teachers. I was never much of a Roots fan and when hip hop started becoming bling hop I kinda stopped listening.

There is some fantastic new hip hop. Old School style.. teaching, not preaching. If I had any rythmn, Id get up and dance :)

[frylock]

8. i've been listening to a lot of prt lately..

The New World Order and Holy Intellect.

[henslee]

15. Rock this funky joint - slammin. True, hip hop getting blingy

is lame reminds me of when heavy metal got all freaky with hair bands --just became a carictature of itself. Not that I was ever into metal like I was into HH. I used to listen to a college station in N.J in the 80's and there was a show called the Hank Love and half-pint show. I'd kill for some of those program tapes - obscure, indie, homemade, crude, old school.

[Placebo]

7. The Lounge is ruled by the Rock Gods...

it seems. :)

Ya very raaaaaaaarely hear about any other type of musique.

[BeTheChange]

9. Well that's a damn shame..

Maybe they will download some of these new fangled hip hop songs and see the light :)

[NightTrain]

38. Oh, really?

I take it you've never read any of my numerous music posts? Because I'm a soul man! :headbang:

[frylock]

10. i mostly like the backpacker shit..

lots of Canadian underground; Gruf the Druid, mcenroe, John Smith, Park-Like Setting.

I'm also totally into Monster Island Czars and the dudes who make up that crew; King Geedorah (aka DOOM), Rodan, X-Ray, Gigan, and Megalon.

[masaka___]

12. KRS ONE

I know very little about hip hop, but I got to listen to an interview of KRS ONE once, and I was impressed by what he had to say and how he said it.

Here's a taste of what KRS ONE is all about:



http://www.graffiti.org/ups/heal/


http://www.templeofhiphop.org/

[mark414]

13. currently spinning epmd's strictly business

yep...

word

[ET Awful]

14. That's one that makes my top 10 list of best hip-hop records of all time

EPMD's first album kicked some major ass :).

[henslee]

17. Yup. I think it came out right before you had to start paying to sample.

After that, the party was over for the less imaginative. I was listening to a Joe Cocker live album and stumbled on the main riff from KNICK KNACK PADDY WACK -- the one that goes thrugh the whole song. It was cool.

[mark414]

30. hell yeah

nothin beats that early new school stuff...

i got some eric b and rakim rollin right now...

[sniffa]

16. reLax your mind

and Let your conscience be free
and get down to the sound of EPMD
and you shouLd be quiet whiLe the mc's rap
and if you're tired... then go take a nap

[ET Awful]

19. Or stay awake and watch the show I take

because right now I'm bout to shake'n'bake
The E-R-I-C-K is my name, I spell
Thanks to the clientele, yo I rock well
I'm not an MC who talkin all that junk
About who can beat who, sound like a punk
I just get down and I go for mine
Say 'check one-two', and run down the line

[sniffa]

18. how 'bout a DU rap group?

[mark414]

20. yeah how do we request one of those things

we can reminisce about the early new school and the old school...throw around some of the good shit that's out now...i always feel so rocked out in the lounge...

[sniffa]

23. hehe

i actuaLLy didn't mean a group in that sense - aLthough after posting it, it does seem Like a somewhat good idea.

[mark414]

29. or maybe

we can just rush one of the music groups and take it over for our own use

[48pan]

21. No.

Hip-Hop is a bunch of thugs pointing and shouting in a threatening fashion. I guess I'm not supposed to get it. I sure don't.

[BeTheChange]

24. That's rap

Not hip hop :)

[48pan]

31. What's the Difference???????????? n/t

[BeTheChange]

32. Hip Hop doesnt threaten.. it teaches.

Hip hop isnt Lil Kim or Lil John. It isnt shaking your tailfeather or buying a Humvee. Its a lifestyle :)

Does anyone watch Def Poetry Jam on HBO?

[48pan]

36. Its a lifestyle?

Please explain. I thought it was rap music. Obviously, I'm out of touch.

[mark414]

34. you don't know shit

i like your use of the word thugs...21st century word for nigger...nice

don't open your mouth and make judgements about somethin you know nothing about because it's very clear that you don't know a goddamn thing about hip hop

[48pan]

35. Thanks for the helpful reply.

Educate me. What the heck is the difference between gangsta rap and hip-hop? Is one a subset of the other? Maybe I'm getting old, but I hate it. I can't understand most of the words. I don't get the crotch grabbing and waving hands in people's faces. I just don't get it.

And... I appreciate your pleasant response. I guess I'm not allowed to disagree with you without getting abuse.

And... I'm sorry. I didn't know thug had become an unacceptable word. I won't use it again. Which word should I use?

[mark414]

39. there's no difference

and sorry for the harsh response...but you weren't exactly diplomatic in your post either...

i do and will defend hip hop till the day i die because i think like no other kind of music it carries a stigma that it can't get rid of because of stereotypes and generalizations like the one that you so eloquently provided us. i get extra pissed because those on this board who do hate the genre tend to be very vocal and demeaning about it and it just gets frustrating after awhile...so again i apologize.

as far as the "difference" between hip hop and rap...they are the same thing. the difference comes from the person saying it. hip hop is more than just music...it's a way of life a way of being...people say "yes i'm hip hop" because it is their life...people who call it rap music call it that because they are not hip hop...rap is what an emcee does...hip hop is what he is...that's the difference

i'm just tired of people dismissing the entire genre because of the mainstream shit that's all over mtv...it makes me wonder because how often is ANY mainstream act of ANY genre any good? but people don't use shitty, bad role model rock groups as an excuse to dismiss the entire genre...

there's a couple songs off the top of my head whose lyrics you should really read...the links follow:

I Used To Love H.E.R. by Common
http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/common/resurrct/love_her.cms.txt

a little love song that takes an interesting twist...cause it's not about a girl

What's Beef? by Mos Def
http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/blackstr/rm_bside/whatbeef.blk.txt

mos def, one of the best and brightest mc's in the game today gives his take on what beef is and isn't (beef = feud)

Stop The Violence by Boogie Down Productions
http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/boogiedp/by_all/stop_vio.bdp.txt

written by KRS-ONE (Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone) after the death of his producer/friend/group member scott la rock...pretty self explanatory...krs-one is known as the teacher because he brings the knowledge in his rhymes...

and of course there is 2pac...a legend in his own time, here's the links to a couple of his best tracks

Keep Ya Head Up
http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/2_pac/str_4_my/keep_ya.2pc.txt

an anthem to all the ladies out there...and nothing sexual about it

Changes
http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/2_pac/greatest/changes.2pc.txt

an interesting commentary on life on the street

and of course the ultimate classic, The Message by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
http://www.ohhla.com/anonymous/rap_comp/sugrhill/message.sug.txt

so i ask you to just keep an open mind...read some of these lyrics, and hopefully it'll help you gain a more positive image of hip hop

there are a lot of good things going on in hip hop...don't let the stupid mtv shit (which yes, is terrible) ruin your view of the hip hop as a whole...

[BeTheChange]

41. Nice, I used to Love H.E.R.. great song

Okay, maybe hip hop isnt for any white people over the age of 30. I can say that, Im white :) But, as a person of the younger generation Im looking for some substance in music. Im looking for some conscience in music and some care of the bigger picture. Im not into Brittney Spears or Modest Mouse. I want someone to say something that matters.

That's what hip hop does to me. Obviously, I cant sympathize with hardcore gansta rap.

I can relate to this:
"Give me the fortune, keep the fame," said my man Louis
I agreed, know what he mean because we live the truest lie
I asked him why we follow the law of the bluest eye
He looked at me, he thought about it
Was like, "I'm clueless, why?"
The question was rhetorical, the answer is horrible
Our morals are out of place and got our lives full of sorrow
And so tomorrow comin later than usual
Waitin' on someone to pity us
While we findin beauty in the hideous
They say money's the root of all evil but I can't tell
YouknowhatImean, pesos, francs, yens, cowrie shells, dollar bills
Or is it the mindstate that's ill?
Creating crime rates to fill the new prisons they build
Over money and religion there's more blood to spill
The wounds of slaves in cotton fields that never heal
What's the deal?
A lot of cats who buy records are straight broke
But my language universal they be recitin my quotes
While R&B singers hit bad notes, we rock the boat
of thought, that my man Louis' statements just provoked
Caught up, in conversations of our personal worth
Brought up, through endangered species status on the planet Earth
Survival tactics means, bustin gats to prove you hard
Your firearms are too short to box with God
Without faith, all of that is illusionary
Raise my son, no vindication of manhood necessary

[BeTheChange]

42. One more example of Hip hop

It's political, so maybe it will speak to you

4th Branch-

The voice of racism preaching the gospel is devilish
A fake church called the prophet Muhammad a terrorist
Forgetting God is not a religion, but a spiritual bond
And Jesus is the most quoted prophet in the Qu'ran
They bombed innocent people, tryin' to murder Saddam
When you gave him those chemical weapons to go to war with Iran
This is the information that they hold back from Peter Jennings
Cause Condoleeza Rice is just a new age Sally Hemmings
I break it down with critical language and spiritual anguish
The Judas I hang with, the guilt of betraying Christ
You murdered and stole his religion, and painting him white
Translated in psychologically tainted philosophy
Conservative political right wing, ideology
Glued together sloppily, the blasphemy of a nation
Got my back to the wall, cause I'm facin' assassination
Guantanamo Bay, federal incarceration
How could this be, the land of the free, home of the brave?
Indigenous holocaust, and the home of the slaves
Corporate America, dancin' offbeat to the rhythm
You really think this country, never sponsored terrorism?
Human rights violations, we continue the saga
El Savador and the contras in Nicaragua
And on top of that, you still wanna take me to prison
Just cause I won't trade humanity for patriotism


It's like MK-ULTRA, controlling your brain
Suggestive thinking, causing your perspective to change
They wanna rearrange the whole point of view of the ghetto
The fourth branch of the government, want us to settle
A bandana full of glittering, generality
Fighting for freedom and fighting terror, but what's reality?
Read about the history of the place that we live in
And stop letting corporate news tell lies to your children


Flow like the blood of Abraham through the Jews and the Arabs
Broken apart like a woman's heart, abused in a marriage
The brink of holy war, bottled up, like a miscarriage
Embedded correspondents don't tell the source of the tension
And they refuse to even mention, European intervention
Or the massacres in Jenin, the innocent screams
U.S. manufactured missles, and M-16's
Weapon contracts and corrupted American dreams
Media censorship, blocking out the video screens
A continent of oil kingdoms, bought for a bargain
Democracy is just a word, when the people are starvin'
The average citizen, made to be, blind to the reason
A desert full of genocide, where the bodies are freezin'
And the world doesn't believe that you fightin' for freedom
Cause you fucked the Middle East, and gave birth to a demon
It's open season with the CIA, bugging my crib
Trapped in a ghetto region like a Palestinian kid
Where nobody gives a fuck whether you die or you live
I'm tryin' to give the truth, and I know the price is my life
But when I'm gone they'll sing a song about Immortal Technique
Who beheaded the President, and the princes and sheiks
You don't give a fuck about us, I can see through your facade
Like a fallen angel standing in the presence of God
Bitch niggaz scared of the truth, when it looks at you hard


It's like MK-ULTRA, controlling your brain
Suggestive thinking, causing your perspective to change
They wanna rearrange the whole point of view in the ghetto
The fourth branch of the government, want us to settle
A bandana full of glittering, generality
Fighting for freedom and fighting terror, but what's reality?
Martial law is coming soon to the hood, to kill you
While you hanging your flag out your project window


Yeah..
The fourth branch of the government AKA the media
Seems to now have a retirement plan for ex-military officials
As if their opinion was at all unbiased
A machine shouldn't speak for men
So shut the fuck up you mindless drone!
And you know it's serious
When these same media outfits are spending millions of dollars on a PR campaign
To try to convince you they're fair and balanced
When they're some of the most ignorant, and racist people
Giving that type of mentality a safe haven
We act like we share in the spoils of war that they do
We die in wars, we don't get the contracts to make money off 'em afterwards!
We don't get weapons contracts, nigga!
We don't get cheap labor for our companies, nigga!
We are cheap labor, nigga!
Turn off the news and read, nigga!
Read... read... read...

[mark414]

43. mmm blackstar

i should've included some of them in there as well...at least i threw some mos def lyrics in though...

too much good stuff to choose from...

[da_chimperor]

44. "Yeah, and you don't stop, cause it's 1-8-7 on an undercover cop"

That's gangsta. Dr. dre/snoop dogg, 187. I love that song.

[BeTheChange]

22. Some lyrics

Immortal Technique - Bin Laden Lyrics


Man, you hear this bullshit they be talkin'
Every day, man
It's like these motherfuckers is just like professional liars
YouknowwhatI'msayin? It's wild
Listen


Bin Laden didn't blow up the projects
It was you, nigga
Tell the truth, nigga
(Bush knocked down the towers)--
Tell the truth, nigga
(Bush knocked down the towers)--
Tell the truth, nigga

Bin Laden didn't blow up the projects
It was you, nigga
Tell the truth, nigga
(Bush knocked down the towers)--
Tell the truth, nigga
(Bush knocked down the towers)--


I pledge no allegiance, nigga fuck the president's speeches
I'm baptized by America and covered in leeches
The dirty water that bleaches your soul and your facial features
Drownin' you in propaganda that they spit through the speakers
And if you speak about the evil that the government does
The Patriot Act'll track you to the type of your blood
They try to frame you, and say you was tryna sell drugs
And throw a federal indictment on niggaz to show you love
This shit is run by fake Christians, fake politicians
Look at they mansions, then look at the conditions you live in
All they talk about is terrorism on television
They tell you to listen, but they don't really tell you they mission
They funded Al-Qaeda, and now they blame the Muslim religion
Even though Bin Laden, was a CIA tactician
They gave him billions of dollars, and they funded his purpose
Fahrenheit 9/11, that's just scratchin' the surface


Bin Laden didn't blow up the projects
It was you, nigga
Tell the truth, nigga
(Bush knocked down the towers)--
Tell the truth, nigga
(Bush knocked down the towers)--
Tell the truth, nigga

Bin Laden didn't blow up the projects
It was you, nigga
Tell the truth, nigga
(Bush knocked down the towers)--
Tell the truth, nigga
(Bush knocked down the towers)--


They say the rebels in Iraq still fight for Saddam
But that's bullshit, I'll show you why it's totally wrong
Cuz if another country invaded the hood tonight
It'd be warfare through Harlem, and Washington Heights
I wouldn't be fightin' for Bush or White America's dream
I'd be fightin' for my people's survival and self-esteem
I wouldn't fight for racist churches from the south, my nigga
I'd be fightin' to keep the occupation out, my nigga
You ever clock someone who talk shit, or look at you wrong?
Imagine if they shot at you, and was rapin' your moms
And of course Saddam Hussein had chemical weapons
We sold him that shit, after Ronald Reagan's election
Mercenary contractors fightin' a new era
Corporate military bankin' off the war on terror
They controllin' the ghetto, with the failed attack
Tryna distract the fact that they engineerin' the crack
So I'm strapped like Lee Malvo holdin' a sniper rifle
These bullets'll touch your kids, and I don't mean like Michael
Your body be sent to the morgue, stripped down and recycled
I fire on house niggaz that support you and like you
Cuz innocent people get murdered in the struggle daily
And poor people never get shit and struggle daily
This ain't no alien conspiracy theory, this shit is real
Written on the dollar underneath the Masonic seal

(I don't rap for dead presidents
I'd rather see the president dead
It's never been said but I set precedents)--


Bin Laden didn't blow up the projects
It was you, nigga
Tell the truth, nigga
(Bush knocked down the towers)--
Tell the truth, nigga
(Bush knocked down the towers)--
Tell the truth, nigga

Bin Laden didn't blow up the projects
It was you, nigga
Tell the truth, nigga
(Bush knocked down the towers)--
Tell the truth, nigga
(Bush knocked down the towers)--

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

25. Illogic, Aesop Rock, Atmosphere, MF Doom, the 1st Jedi Mind Tricks LP

Common, De La, Cannibal Ox, Atomz Fam.........

[BeTheChange]

27. Tragedy Khadafi, Brother Ali, The Coup, Rass Kass, Mr Lif..

Hieroglyphics.. Little Brother..


So many great underground MCs at the moment.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

28. Its enough to keep a backpacker going for several lifetimes!

:thumbsup:

[ThorsHammer]

26. Yes, but was pissed off for a while by all the bling blingers though

I really liked the older stuff, and loved Tupac back in the day. I hate the Sean Combs/Ja Rule/Nelly/Master P poser, materialistic, look-at-me crap, and really quit listening for a while. Some of the newer guys/groups like Kanye West, Black Eyed Peas, and to a lesser extent Eminem are getting me interested again.

[nickgutierrez]

40. I didn't start listening to hip-hop until recently because of that group

I hate the bling-blingers. Still do. Little did I know at the time that there was a whole different element of hip-hop that exists outside of those morons. :)

[LWolf]

33. No,

but my musician son, who, not coincidentally, is also not a fan of hip-hop, keeps me honest.

If I'm ever guilty of musical bias, he nails me on it instantly. So, just in case he's listening, I believe that hip hop is a legitimate genre of music for any who are moved by it. I believe that music is a powerful medium of expression, in all of its formats. Including hip hop.

Me? All of that personal expression; the bouncing, dancing, gesturing, etc. is irritating and detracts from my listening. I prefer performers who sit or stand and play and sing; no costumes, special effects, or "flash" necessary, just good sound, good lyrics, good energy, and good players. (Those come in all genres). I don't need to see it; just hear it and feel it. And maybe move to it, as long as it isn't choreographed and no one is paying attention.

My introversion is showing, lol.

[Kellanved]

37. not really

I.e. the "Fantastischen 4" Hip-Hop band is about the only one I like.

http://www.viva.tv/index.php?action=webclips_play_stream&id=9758&type=rlp_dsl

[Lucky Luciano]

45. Not to sound totally white,

but I HATE AND DESPISE hip-hop. I just hate the fact that all of the hottest women like hip-hop over house music!! I am far more into electronica. My presence in a hip-hop club is strictly about the hot babes there, but since I hate the music I do not dance too much. Since I do not dance much, it is a good thing that I gopt a good rap!

[BeTheChange]

47. That sounded pretty white

But then again, Ive never been much of a raver kiddie.. so my feelings on electronic sound close to the same.. except I dont care about the opposite sex and what they like in music compared to their hotness quotient.

[Deja Q]

46. Public Enemy