Best Hip Hop

[mike gavin]

Belatedly reading this thread does anyone remember Master Ace - Take a look around?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJDc-yrRMds
Great tune.

[whitebeard]

Ya man thanks for the heads up on the Master Ace. I'd never heard that song before. It's very jazzy and poetic. It's to bad there isn't another like that. Master Ace seemed to get caught up in the gangsta rap thing after that. I didn't know he was from Brooklyn NY. I thought he was from LA. I remember back in 95/96'ish listening to his track "sittin on chrome."

Thanks to you for mentioning that song I listened to all the other Master Ace tracks on youtube as well. It ultimatly led me to wikipedia where they have a pretty in depth article about him.

Master Ace has been involved in several Hip Hop battles with other rappers. The most famous is between Ace and a rapper called Boogieman. If you type "Master Ace Vs Boogieman" on Youtube you can see the action. Master Ace is getting booed off the stage by the 4th round of the battle.

[mike gavin]

As far as I can remember the big tune from that album was 'I Got Ta'. 'Take a Look' was never a single and on the album (consciously) under recorded, almost like he was saying 'here's a tune to sit and listen to'. Lost touch with his stuff after this, so thanks for the leads. Unless I'm mistaken Take a look was around with Queen Latifa, Dream Warriors and Tribe Called Quest and all the other conscious rap artists who got blown away (literally and metaphorically) with the arrival of the gangsta's.

[whitebeard]

You got me going again Mike. I'd never heard of the Dream Warriors, so I had to find out about these "conscious rappers." I found out a bunch. They were from Toronto, Canada. For a long period of time they were Canada's number one selling rap group. There most popular song "My Definition of a boombastic Jazz Style" is a very jazzy early nineties rap track that sampled Quincy Jones's "Soul Bossa Nova." It's the same sample that Austin Powers re-plastered to the ears of the world. Apparently "My Definition..." was a hit in Canada and in Europe but never caught on in the U.S.

Other conscious Jazzy rap groups besides the one's Mike mentioned are De La Soul, The Jungle Brothers, Leaders of the New School, Black Sheep and Digable Planets just to name a few.

if any one has more please add to the list.

[whitebeard]

I just found out about a Canadian rapper from Canada's midwest, Edmonton Alberta. He is also Sikh and goes by the handle Corvid Loraz. Here is an interview with him. There is also 2 tracks one can listen to. The track "Trust Me" was more my style.

http://ugsmag.com/interviews/corvid-lorax/

I found out about him through URB mag's online review site

http://www.urb.com/reviews/cd/index.php?M=Week

URB is a urban music and culture mag. that I, at one time, couldn't wait to read there reviews of new independent music from Drum & Bass to Techno to Hip Hop and Reggae. Each issue used to come with a CD of artists featured in that issue. Now I bypass the subscription (lack of funds) and just read there review's online when the fever strikes.

[whitebeard]

Buck 65's album Square is one of the best Hip Hop albums in this modern era. The concept and the music all fit together wonderfully. The album runs in four cuts each 12 to 14 minutes long. Titled Square 1 through 4. Each is a series of works transitioning from focus to focus smoothly with an edge that thought provoking Hip Hop should have. This album mirrors life. Parts are funny parts are dark parts are just what they are. As a hole this album is 100% made by Buck scratching production and words as heart felt as they are real. The song about Stella is heartbreaking and when I feel the world has got me down there's nothing like a sad song to cheer me up. Which kinda sounds weird having a depressing song cheer you up but maybe it has to do with the fact that there is always someone worse off than you. This Canadian Hip Hopper I believe shines brightest when solo.

[whitebeard]

Has anyone heard "Tyler, The Creator" yet? His first full length LP was released a little while ago and I'm curious what people from outside of California think of it.

I think this link should take you to his first video. Be careful with this. The video is very creative but demented.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSbZidsgMfw

If the link does not work then just type "Yonkers" in the youtube search engine and bingo a picture in black & white of a 19 year old who produces, raps, and directs videos. His lyrical content is what I'm curious about. If there is a page about Tyler already please direct me.

Whitebeard

P.S. - I was reading the posts I had written a while ago and I wanted to apologize for being a D-bag. Thank You

[garth cartwright]

Nice to see you back, Mr Beard. Tyler and his posse have had maximum hype here - and in the US I believe, I saw a New Yorker feature on their missing member as if he was some great lost jazz musician - but a cursory listen on Spotify suggests to my old ears they have little to offer. Lots of teenage outrage - Flo's 14 yr old asked me I had heard Tyler - but not the new Wu or NWA.

What have you been listening to over the last few years? And have you checked the LA banda-rap scene (Mexican American)?

[whitebeard]

Thank you it's good to be back. Unfortunately or not these guys odd future are the next NWA/WuTang except they skateboard instead of worship kung-fu movies and act tuff. The missing member Earl Sweatshirt is only 16 but has more rapping skill them Kanye could dream of. Ironically I just got a newsletter update from HARD (a Los Angeles music whatever) and it informed me LAweekly (a newspaper in LA) decided odd future (incase someone who is reading this has no idea what odd future is, it is Tyler, The Creators rap group. He is the equivalent to the RZA in WuTang) is LA's best live act right now because of a show they did where Tyler broke his ankle and during the first song and continued after paramedics insisted he go to the hospital. There live shows are more punk rock then Hip Hop or rap rather.

Anyway
I haven't heard any LA banda-rap but I have heard of Moombahton. Moombahton is a, as far as I can figure, a instrumental Reggaeton that's got very repetitive catchy groove that most can't hold still around. Here is a link to an educational bit about this new dance craze.

http://www.earmilk.com/2011/06/02/the-crates-moobahton/

The music I have been listening to the last couple years ahhh what has it been? Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. Any 50's & 60's R&B i can get my hands on. Prince Far I & Reggae from the 70's. 90's Hip Hop/Rap and Early 2000 backpack Rap. As far as modern music goes my favorite producers are Bluetech, Burial, Emancipator, Tipper and Opiuo. As far as music with vocals goes I've gotten supermega picky. I can't just like a voice no matter what they say anymore. Lyrical content is much more important to me now. This start when I finally figured out the modern Reggae artists I loved so much were gay bashers. Free speech is one thing, but i want to feel good or better when I listen to music. Dark is one thing but hate is another. For example getting a bunch of children to sing "burn down the chi-chi man bar" like I heard TOK do, is well whatever it is, but it's not for me. the most recent vocalist I've been listening to (I mean right now) are Nina Simone's "Feelin' Good" and Screamin' Jay Hawkins "I Put A Spell On You."

I Put A Spell On You by Nina remixed by Mimosa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvGNeV6VZaY

I Put A Spell On You by Jay remixed by Splatinum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu4uXNZETx4

Something my friend Bob likes.

I could go more in depth but I got to go.
Whitebeard

P.S. there's a couple genres of electronic music right now that I think is the most creative music today.

P.P.S. - Some Hip Hop I'm listening to right now
E-40's 1992 album Federal
Lyricist Lounge, Vol. 1
Whodini's 1984 album Escape
Digable Planets 1993 album Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time & Space)
Declaime's 2001 album Andsoitisaid

P.P.P.S - Garth, just curious, have you heard of the Hyphy Movement?
P.P.P.P.S - 1993 was a very pivotal year for Hip Hop/Rap. More to come.

[garth cartwright]

Must admit not to having heard of Hyphy Movement - who are they?

As no one else here posts about electronic music please do so - I will go on Spotify and see what they have. That said, when I have checked out the likes of Burial i have not been overwhelmed.

Agreed about dancehall - when artists start encouraging hatred and persecution I switch off. I see Buju just got ten years for coke - he should have done time for his violent homophobia! Same for Public Enemy - i found their mix of black Muslim nationalism, homophobia, misogyny and anti-Semitism/anti-European distasteful. Back in the day lots of people chose to ignore this and see them as Radical Voices but who wants a revolution if it is run by bigots? Typically, they never challenged capitalism and the market - it was always whitey or women or Jews who were at fault for the black man's suffering. Ditto Spike Lee - what an asshole!

Banda-rap - I don't know if it ever got popular beyond East LA but the best stuff I heard of it was good. Try and find out about Akwid and Jae-P - they both had really skills and good production. I guess rap is everywhere today and often very regional.

I spent most of 93 travelling in Asia so the only rap I heard was Snoop and Dre - both seminal in their own ways but I can't comment on what else came out that year. Recent tunes I've been playing a lot - side 1 of Paid In Full (Eric & Ra's finest moment), Ghostface and Isaac Hayes on I Can't Go To Sleep from the underrated The W album, Cypress Hill's first album and even NWA - I played a Bosnian friend FTP and she couldn't believe what they were rapping. She was angry with the Serbs and I told her to shout like NWA, not sulk. That said, I can't imagine her using that kind of language.

[Adam Blake]

As no one else here posts about electronic music please do so

Fair comment, but Mr Whitebeard turned me on to Beats Antique and Bass Nectar - both of which this old analog fart liked very much!

[Jamie Renton]

who wants a revolution if it is run by bigots?

That is a very quotable quote!

[whitebeard]

I agree that is an epic quote and I agree I wouldn't want to be apart of that revolution ether. Garth I love the image of you talking with your Bosnian friend and telling her to shout of NWA lyrics. Have you heard of Immortal Technique (the rapper)? With that said, let's get hyphy...

Here is a documentary to help catch you up on getting stupid/Hyphy.
"Ghostride The Whip." If you have Netflix it is streaming.

The documentary is also about the life and death of Mac Dre
My favorite tracks of Mac Dre's are - "I Need An Eighth" and "Too Hard (For The F'n Radio)"

Let me know what you guys think of the whole Hyphy thing. I think it is a wonderful alternative to violence.

Other homophobic rappers/producers include DJ Premier and Jeru Tha Damaja

There is a Documentary called "Bass Weight" I imported it from London. In it an artist Kode 9 speaks on Burial and I feel that what Kode 9 says sums up why I like Burial's sound. How he makes the dust on a record a musical idea. I love the rolling wafts of bass that make my sub woofer do what it does best. At first listen I thought Burial was not what I was looking for and just listened to the more ambient stuff. After a waft (waft is the word of the day) of herbal meditation the Burial sound might be more appealing. He's got a new album coming out soon and so does Bassnectar (Adam my man, Bassnectar is one word) in the beginning of August. Bluetech, you got to listen to his first album "Prima Materia."

Garth have you heard of Blockhead? Where should I go, on the internet, to find some Banda Rap?

Equality is not a myth
Whitebeard

[whitebeard]

Quasimoto - "Come On Feet." Psychedelic Hip Hop from Madlib. Released in the year 2000.


Here's the video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_5edxArGT8

[whitebeard]

Hip Hop from 1993. I was going to make a list but someone did it already. I don't agree with the order but check out this list.

http://rateyourmusic.com/list/StupidBoy ... 93__ranked