Tired of skilless noobies rapping about money and sex and how hard they are? I've got good news for you. Believe it or not, hip hop is not dead - it just moved underground. It's been living there for years, and has since grown strong and beautiful. I hope this blog helps people who thirst for real lyricism, worthy content and artistic production find what they seek.
For the uninitiated:
I recommend Thomax's site. He is a producer from Norway who does amazing remixes of underground artists. What's better, he does them for free! Once you're on his site, on the right hand column you will find links to the 4 REMIX-Files albums he's done. Download these full albums right from his site. This will give you a good sampling of various worthy underground artists, and you will hear some of the best beats in the game.
A sample of Thomax's work. One of his recurring motifs is this beautiful, mystical style.
More Thomax work.
Some artists I recommend:
Here's some of my personal favourites.
IMMORTAL TECHNIQUE
Both rapper and political activist, Immortal Technique is, in my opinion, one of the greatest rappers ever. At the moment he is also the King of the Underground. He has a very clear and distinct style, so you can hear every word. What I find makes him so awesome is that he almost always raps about deep subjects, ranging from politics (he's got his own revolutionary, quasi-socialist view of things) to love and regret. And he does it really well - he can entrance you through his music like any truly great storyteller.
The reason you probably haven't heard of him is because he refuses to sign on to major labels. He's been approached to do so before, but one of the subjects he spits his fiery opinion on is the way record labels restrict the freedom of the rapper, resulting in those bland songs about money and sex you hear on the radio all the time.
Here are some samples of his work:
In one of his most touching songs, Immortal Technique tells the story of a woman he once loved.
A story about temptation - one of the most disturbing yet entrancing songs I have ever heard.
Technique raps from the perspective of the downtrodden, oppressed Third World.
BONUS: Tech speaks his mind on things. (As a man who lives by what he says, Technique recently spent time in Afghanistan helping to build an orphanage.)
JEDI MIND TRICKS
These guys were "pioneers" of the Underground. They've been around for years and years putting out quality music, and are probably the most well-known Underground artist around. The producer, Stoupe, is known for his ethereal beats and frontman Vinnie Paz is known for his aggressive growling style. (Jus Allah, third member of the group, left the group for much of JMT's career but recently came back on the last album. He was really shitty on it and I like to pretend he is a completely different person).
An early JMT gem
A depressed Vinnie Paz contemplates suicide.
On the next album that JMT put out, Vinnie Paz renews his will to live.
R.A. THE RUGGED MAN
"I thought I was the illest" - Notorious B.I.G. on how he felt when he heard R.A.'s flow
R.A. has been around for a long time but has only recently released his second album. In my opinion, he's not as deep in terms of subject matter as the previous two artists, but his flow is just sick. Check out his most astounding verse in this song he did with Jedi Mind Tricks, where he raps from his own father's perspective (verse 2):
Verse 2. Just. Sick.
Rugged Man and J-Live spit fire
That's it for this blog. I hope this opens the often obscured door for people on TL who were looking for real hip hop, as well as for people who didn't know they were looking.
On June 03 2010 13:59 Malgrif wrote: what's the difference between real hip hop and fake hip hop? sorry i'm a noob at music =(
Listen to Kanye or Lil Wayne and then listen to the songs on this thread. If you can't tell the difference then you're not ready to see the matrix, or hip hop might just not be your thing.
Not as recent as the stuff in the OP, but I recently discovered the collaboration album that Talib Kweli and Mos Def put out (Black Star) and I can't stop listening to it. Here's a couple of my favorite tracks from that album:
Ugh. IT and JMT are some of the worst perpetrators of non-stop talking about themselves and acting hard. Even people and groups like Murs, Sweatshop Union, Dilated People,The Roots, etc. do it. It's unavoidable in most hip hop, except the really crazy shit like Eligh & Jo Wilkinson. You just have to do it in an intelligent way, which I don't think IT really does. D:
I loved JMT's first album. Violent by Design was ok, but after that I don't really like too much. Like Jibba said they act way too hard and it comes across as fake to me, like they're trying to sell themselves as hardcore rather than being themselves.
I don't feel strongly either way about IT. I've listened to his music, it's decent, but none of it really hit me and made me think "this is great" the way that albums like Illmatic, 36 Chambers, Black Star, and Midnight Marauders did.
On June 03 2010 13:59 Malgrif wrote: what's the difference between real hip hop and fake hip hop? sorry i'm a noob at music =(
Listen to Kanye or Lil Wayne and then listen to the songs on this thread. If you can't tell the difference then you're not ready to see the matrix, or hip hop might just not be your thing.
The difference is a combination of production quality, % of hit-worthy songs and some talent. They may have a lot of stuff that you consider too mainstream or pop, but to deny that they can put together great hip hop songs is absurd.
Anyways, I don't think you want your blog to be about that so here's some other suggestions: Aesop Rock, Atmosphere, Blue Sky Black Death (there's 2 bands, both are awesome but only 1 is hip hop), Pharoahe Monch.
This thread needs more MF Doom, Imo. Very solid read and solid groups included. For those looking to start on the path to the best type of hip hop. Then add on some Nas, The Roots, or maybe a dash of Little Brother or AZ.
edit: Don't pretend to hate all mainstream stuff. Kanye might be a douche bag, but he can still put out some real great tracks, as can some other heavy mainstream artists too.
On June 03 2010 14:10 I_Love_Bacon wrote: This thread needs more MF Doom, Imo. Very solid read and solid groups included. For those looking to start on the path to the best type of hip hop. Then add on some Nas, The Roots, or maybe a dash of Little Brother or AZ.
edit: Don't pretend to hate all mainstream stuff. Kanye might be a douche bag, but he can still put out some real great tracks, as can some other heavy mainstream artists too.
Feel free to add MF Doom, Murs, The Cool Kids, etc, here. The blog was meant to be an introductory type of thread so I couldn't include everyone.
As for Kanye, well, we will have to agree to disagree . Although I haven't paid attention to mainstream in years, so I might have missed out on -some- good music.
On June 03 2010 13:59 Malgrif wrote: what's the difference between real hip hop and fake hip hop? sorry i'm a noob at music =(
Elitism and arrogance.
Especially Immortal Technique. He calls for some loosely-defined praxis of pseudo-Marxist straight-up conspiracy theory shit and then juxtaposes it with songs about how he's a dick just because he's a dick. Lacks consistency. And the idea that someone from Brooklyn - don't care how downtrodden you are - would dare to speak for the Third World drips with so much ethnocentric condescension that it almost makes me sad that people buy it, commend him for it.
(One of my friends told me a story about how a friend of his was a cab driver and picked up Immortal Technique from an airport one day. Apparently IT spent most of the time yelling about how the driver should know who he is and how important he was. I'll try to verify the details of this story for the betterment of this thread.)
But if this is going to be a backpacker rap topic then may I plug the Plugs? Stakes is High could be the best album ever that cries about the state of hip-hop for 60 minutes and only really works because of how tight Pos and Trugoy are, but it's still a total step down from Bulhoone Mind State and De La Soul Is Dead, which outdid contemporaries through winks, jeers, and raw creativity.
On June 03 2010 14:18 Gann1 wrote: edit: No love for 3 Feet High and Rising, Jon? It's my favorite De La Soul album!
It has its moments, but De La are really inexperienced on the mic and it shows.
Also, the concept part of the album doesn't work, making like 25% of the album unbearable skits that don't really coalesce into anything. The good shit is good, but overall they'd improve on almost everything with De La Soul Is Dead.
Here's a song that isn't really "hip-hop", but IMO it is a top notch song from when these artists where pretty much nobodies with only a small following here in Houston.
Rather than throw out individual songs I'll give a couple of my favorite rap albums of all time. I'll try to mix it up a little from eras and styles....
Common - Resurrection Fugees - The Score Cypress Hill - Skull n' Bones (Untitled and Black Sunday are as equally as good) Nas - Illmatic Wu Tang - Enter the Wu Biggie - Life after Death UGK - Ridin Dirty Camp Lo - Uptown Saturday Night MF Doom / Ghost Face - Operation Ironman To be honest I don't know why I started on this list. I have too many to name and listing even some of these feels like I'm leaving out 50 other absolute classics. I'll leave the list there as all good suggestions for people looking for great albums to sink their teeth into (most being classics).
EPT![[image loading]](http://wknc.org/blog/post/wp-content/uploads/jedi.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://grandgood.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/R.A.-The-Rugged-Man-Legendary-Classics-Volume-1.jpeg)
. Although I haven't paid attention to mainstream in years, so I might have missed out on -some- good music.![[image loading]](http://www.mixtapetorrent.com/system/files/deathnote.jpg)
