A thread about hiphop...

[Horus Ex Machina]

Anyone listened to the new Kanye? Personally thought it was phenomenal and probably his best release yet, which says a lot considering his back catalogue.

Blame Game is one of the highlights.

I've only heard the leaked version of 'Power', but I've heard that it's supposed to be one of the best albums of 2010. He's finally back to the "College Series" on this one so I'm looking to pick it up soon.

[Relic]

I've only heard the leaked version of 'Power', but I've heard that it's supposed to be one of the best albums of 2010. He's finally back to the "College Series" on this one so I'm looking to pick it up soon.

It's really really good.

[afterroots]

I've only heard the leaked version of 'Power', but I've heard that it's supposed to be one of the best albums of 2010. He's finally back to the "College Series" on this one so I'm looking to pick it up soon.

Not to set expectations too high, but it's being billed as one of the best albums of the decade.

I'd have to say that 2010 has been the best year for Hip-Hop in some time. As someone who doesn't throw around high review scores very often, every Hip-Hop album in my top 5 for the year so far is a 9+/10. Top 5 would look something like....

Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Shad - TSOL

Big Boi - Sir Luscious Left Foot

Joe Budden - Mood Muzik 4

The Roots - How I Got Over

[HALover9000]

I'm a big hip-hop fan, and since this is one of my favorite new "general" forums, which seems to have a thread for everything, I checked to see if "hip-hop" was included in that everything, and sure enough, here I am.

Browsing through the thread, I see a very common sentiment about hip-hop being expressed(common not only here, but in pretty much every other rap community) - that hip-hop is dying or is even already dead. That mainstream rap is awful(Kanye says hi) and that hip-hop will never be like it was in the good ol' days(read: mid-90s). I cannot disagree more. You just need to look a little harder.(And I'm not even talking those deep underground guys that only hipster douchebags listen to, mostly BECAUSE they're so "underground." I'm talking about guys that aren't quite in the public eye, but still have a significant fan base and are generally known, at least by hip hop heads).

I mean, he amount of talent that is emerging in the industry right now is incredible. I honestly think that the next decade or so could rival the "golden age" of the 90s. I guess the best way to explain is just to show you, so I'll just list my favorite "up and comers" and give you some links to their material(mixtapes only, not sure about the forums policy on piracy and links to copywrited material) so you can see what you like.

Curren$y

Of former No Limit(Master P) and Young Money(Lil' Wayne) fame. Currently signed to Dame Dash's Def Jam relaunch DD172. Working a lot with legendary producer Ski Beatz(Ever heard of Dead Presidents by Jay Z? Yeah, he did that). Probably my favorite artist right now. The quantity and quality of the material this guy releases is insane. In 2008 he released 8 mixtapes in 8 months. The crazy part though? They were all good. Released 2 albums in 2009, Jet Files and This Ain't No Mixtape(Jet Files being his only weak work in my opinion. This Ain't No Mixtape is incredible). Then, just this year he released one of the best mixtapes of the year(Smokee Robinson) and then 2 fantastic albums over the span of 4 months(Pilot Talk and Pilot Talk 2). If it weren't for Kanye he'd take the top TWO spots of my AOTY. Oh yeah, and he doesn't seem to be slowing down. Already has Pilot Talk 3 slated for a May 2011 with another project to be released in the intervening time. In his words -

There is not a adjective to describe how I work

Hard is not enough, brother, I'm tougher

Sample tracks

Breakfast

Works to check out

Pilot Talk 1&2

This Ain't No Mixtape

Smokee Robinson

If you like those, honestly ANY of his other mixtapes, although I've only gotten to 2 out of the 8.

Freddie Gibbs

Formerly signed to Interscope. Still hasn't released his debut album, but has been releasing quality mixtapes and EPs since 2009. While Curren$y is currently my favorite artist, Gibbs would have to be favorite pure rapper. One of the smoothest flows I've ever heard.

Sample Tracks

Crushin' Feelin's

4681 Broadway

Works to check out

midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik

The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs

Str8 Killa No Filla

Str8 Killa EP

Big K.R.I.T.

Pretty much went from unheard of to internet phenom in no time flat about 5 months ago with his release of K.R.I.T. Wuz Here. A month or two before this dropped, no one knew who he was. A month or two after this dropped, he was signed to Def Jam. Yeah, it is that good. The most impressive thing is that not only is he a good up and coming rapper, but he's also one of the best new producers to come out in a long time. He made every beat on Krit Wuz Here, and they're all damn good. He has another free album a la Krit Wuz Here coming out (supposedly) in December and of course his debut with Def Jam sometime in 2011. Definitely be on the lookout for this guy.

Sample Tracks

Country Shit

Krit Wuz Here

J. Cole

The first signing of Jay-Z's label Roc-Nation. Great rapper, and a very good producer as well. Released what is generally considered to be one of the best mixtapes ever, "The Warm Up" and just a few weeks ago released one of the best mixtapes of the year, "Friday Night Lights." Look for his debut within the next few months. Could definitely hit it big a la Drake if he gets the proper backing from Jay.

Sample Tracks

Grown Simba

Too Deep For the Intro

You Got It f. Wale

In The Morning f. Drake(could definitely see this one blowing up like Drake's "Best I Ever Had.")

Works to check out

The Warm Up

Friday Night Lights

The Come Up(this is a quality tape BUT there is no "No DJ" version, so it's unfortunately tainted by the annoying DJ On Point)

Shad

Probably one of the most technically impressive rappers I've ever heard, and, unlike most rappers who put such a heavy emphasis on technicality, he manages to have great content, wordplay, multis etc. AND music that actually sounds good. He does a good job of describing his rapping here(in his multi-laden ways, of course) -

Hey Griffey slow down do something less cerebral

I ain't big enough yet

I gotta keep impressin people

I get it , guess its a lesser evil

Weapons lethal as a Desert Eagle

Now my lethal weapon won(one)

You don't get a sequel

That's definitely what he does best - impress.(Hey, I can rap too!).

Sample Tracks

I Don't Like To

Works to check out

The Old Prince

TSOL

When This Is Over

And last, but certainly not least,

Wale

Currently signed to Interscope and managed by Roc Nation. Had a disappointing debut, but it's generally accepted that the label was pushing him in a pop direction in an effort to sell more records but his mixtapes, "The Mixtape About Nothing" and "More About Nothing"(yes, they are very Seinfeld influenced) are top notch(I prefer More About Nothing personally).

Sample Tracks

The Break Up Song

Works to check out

The Mixtape About Nothing

More About Nothing

Whew! Done. Hopefully someone finds SOMETHING in there that they like.

If you have any questions about any of these artists or just want to talk hip hop(which I'm always down to do), my AIM is lincecain91.

Enjoy the music.

[Bronn is God]

Tragedy Khadafi free, I guess we can expect a breath of life in the dead rap game.

There arent many new rappers that I follow, I consider them all garbage and they all do the same bubblegum hiphop thing, but I found this game about 2 years ago and have been following since:

Betrayl

If you got an account, download the tape. Probably one of the best tapes on that entire site. It is so well done that I thought it was an album.

[Horus Ex Machina]

I'm a big hip-hop fan, and since this is one of my favorite new "general" forums, which seems to have a thread for everything, I checked to see if "hip-hop" was included in that everything, and sure enough, here I am.

Browsing through the thread, I see a very common sentiment about hip-hop being expressed(common not only here, but in pretty much every other rap community) - that hip-hop is dying or is even already dead. That mainstream rap is awful(Kanye says hi) and that hip-hop will never be like it was in the good ol' days(read: mid-90s). I cannot disagree more. You just need to look a little harder.(And I'm not even talking those deep underground guys that only hipster douchebags listen to, mostly BECAUSE they're so "underground." I'm talking about guys that aren't quite in the public eye, but still have a significant fan base and are generally known, at least by hip hop heads).

I mean, he amount of talent that is emerging in the industry right now is incredible. I honestly think that the next decade or so could rival the "golden age" of the 90s. I guess the best way to explain is just to show you, so I'll just list my favorite "up and comers" and give you some links to their material(mixtapes only, not sure about the forums policy on piracy and links to copywrited material) so you can see what you like.

I think that I'm the biggest culprit in that I sort of set that tone on this thread. But it isn't that there isn't talent out there putting out good music. Look at Wale's 'Attention Deficit'. I bought it shortly after it came out and pretty much went along with magazines and writers etc who said it was the best of 2009. But despite touring with Jay-Z and somewhat of a promotional push by Interscope, it didn't sell well. And that's what my issue is. It seems like hip-hop is a much harder place to break-through in, and it isn't just about being good and making good music.

The industry seems to only have room for a chosen handful who are about more than just the music, they're about the image. Radio play used to make artists now it's only about keeping the ones who are on top in place. In the 90's rappers moved up from the ground-up, it was ppl calling into radio stations, it was DJs taking chances on new music they heard about. Now when do you ever hear a new artist like Wale's single's debut on the radio? New big-name artists like Drake are created as commodities before they even have to release a single. Guys like Wale have to release an album and hope that ppl get a chance to hear it. That's my problem. It isn't that they aren't around or even getting signed to major labels, it's just that unless they get on some reality tv show or something, they'll never be able to get big.

I did like your list. I'm definitely going to have to raid the Amazon store for Curren$y's music.

Also, for any soccer/football fans here, Asamoah Gyan was featured on a hiplife single with Castro the Destroyer called

He rapped, did his trademark dance, and was pretty cool.

[HALover9000]

I think that I'm the biggest culprit in that I sort of set that tone on this thread. But it isn't that there isn't talent out there putting out good music. Look at Wale's 'Attention Deficit'. I bought it shortly after it came out and pretty much went along with magazines and writers etc who said it was the best of 2009. But despite touring with Jay-Z and somewhat of a promotional push by Interscope, it didn't sell well. And that's what my issue is. It seems like hip-hop is a much harder place to break-through in, and it isn't just about being good and making good music.

The industry seems to only have room for a chosen handful who are about more than just the music, they're about the image. Radio play used to make artists now it's only about keeping the ones who are on top in place. In the 90's rappers moved up from the ground-up, it was ppl calling into radio stations, it was DJs taking chances on new music they heard about. Now when do you ever hear a new artist like Wale's single's debut on the radio? New big-name artists like Drake are created as commodities before they even have to release a single. Guys like Wale have to release an album and hope that ppl get a chance to hear it. That's my problem. It isn't that they aren't around or even getting signed to major labels, it's just that unless they get on some reality tv show or something, they'll never be able to get big.

I did like your list. I'm definitely going to have to raid the Amazon store for Curren$y's music.

Also, for any soccer/football fans here, Asamoah Gyan was featured on a hiplife single with Castro the Destroyer called

He rapped, did his trademark dance, and was pretty cool.

You know, I really think that what you're talking about is much more a product of the change in the overall culture of music, spurned on by the introduction of the internet and digital music, rather than anything wrong with hip-hop itself. I mean EVERYBODY hates the mainstream bands in their genre, right?

Before digital music, you essentially signed to a major label and made it big, selling millions of albums, or didn't have a career in music at all. The internet changed all that, no matter how much record labels try to fight it. Nowadays rappers can build up a following by releasing free music to the internet(assuming it's good), and make a bunch of money off touring/merchandise(which is where artists historically make most of their money anyways. Even the ones who go plantinum. Musicians really see very little of the money from album sales; most of it ends up in the label's hands). And, when they DO release a project(which, as you pointed out, probably won't sell a ton) they're going to be getting huge returns on it. Advertising will be mostly cheap viral(youtube, blogs, etc.), not a bunch of huge samples/features to clear and there's no label to take their cut. You really only have to worry about pressing and distribution, which is pennies on the dollar.

Curren$y is actually the perfect example of this. Never hit it big despite being on two major labels, and finally decides to go independent. Builds up a fanbase by releasing a TON of free music, and then releases two retail projects selling a combined 25K first week, which are VERY modest numbers, BUT, how much of that is Curren$y seeing? 75%? That's $187,500. 50%? That's still $125,000 In two weeks of sales! Then he's doing shows, selling merch, etc. to supplement that. I don't think Curren$y really cares about "making it big" anymore, and I honestly don't think anybody who's actually making good music really cares about going mainstream. I mean, I don't think they'd object if it were to happen, but...it's not the only pathway anymore, and I think music is better for it.

Oh and just for a counterexample of this, look at B.o.B., a guy who actually did have some success in the mainstream(at the expense of the complete destruction of his music). Dude had TWO #1 singles and still only sold 87K first week. So even the rappers who "make it" in the mainstream aren't going to be able to sell a ton of records(unless your name is Eminem, Kanye, or Wayne). I honestly would not be surprised at all if Curren$y made more money than B.o.B. this year, and put out WAY better music to boot.

[afterroots]

I don't think it's really fair to say B.o.B's album was a 'complete destruction of his music'. I don't doubt for a second that there are tracks on the album the label would have pushed him into making (Nothin' On You & Magic come to mind) but the majority of the album was reminiscent of his mixtapes and quite often of an even higher standard.

Of the artists you posted earlier, J.Cole, Shad and Wale are all great rappers and both J.Cole and Shad had top 10 releases this year imo. I find Freddie Gibbs extremely hit an miss and just don't rate currensy at all. Haven't listened to any Big K.R.I.T but have noticed all the hype he's been receiving.

The only other up-comer i'd throw out there is Hopsin who's album just came out a couple of weeks ago. This guy writes, sings (better than the vast majority of other rapper-singer)produces, mixes, masters and directs his own videos.

Nocturnal Rainbows

[Horus Ex Machina]

You know, I really think that what you're talking about is much more a product of the change in the overall culture of music, spurned on by the introduction of the internet and digital music, rather than anything wrong with hip-hop itself. I mean EVERYBODY hates the mainstream bands in their genre, right?

Before digital music, you essentially signed to a major label and made it big, selling millions of albums, or didn't have a career in music at all. The internet changed all that, no matter how much record labels try to fight it. Nowadays rappers can build up a following by releasing free music to the internet(assuming it's good), and make a bunch of money off touring/merchandise(which is where artists historically make most of their money anyways. Even the ones who go plantinum. Musicians really see very little of the money from album sales; most of it ends up in the label's hands). And, when they DO release a project(which, as you pointed out, probably won't sell a ton) they're going to be getting huge returns on it. Advertising will be mostly cheap viral(youtube, blogs, etc.), not a bunch of huge samples/features to clear and there's no label to take their cut. You really only have to worry about pressing and distribution, which is pennies on the dollar.

Another thing that seems to have been killed by this is the concept of the rap group. Most group music has been relegated in most genres of music in favor of the almighty and marketable "American Idol" who's personality is more sellable than the concept of the group sound. It's hard to focus on the personalities of 2 to 5 different artists, so solo acts get more play. Even groups like Outkast are spending most of their time releasing solo work.

Ppl don't seem to be interested in just the music, they buy into the lifestyle, the story, sometimes more than the music that they release. They spend more time watching their favorite artist party at clubs on TMZ or Youtube than listening to their music.

[Horus Ex Machina]

Finally heard this.

Another track is

. A bit slower, but still pretty cold. The beat really favored Em a bit more than Living Proof did, that was more Royce's track.

Nice to see Bad meets Evil finally back together after so long but it's about time they released an entire album together.

...and

is the sh*t.

[Stone-Made-Soft]

How did I sleep on KRS-ONE's Back to the L.A.B. (Lyrical Ass Beating)? I fucking loved Survival Skills by KRS-ONE & Buckshot. I'm eagerly awaiting Skillz 2010 Rap Up.

[Lord O' Bones]

Nas and Damien Marley.

Is the rest of the Album as sweet as As We Enter?

[Brandon Stark]

I'd echo some of the sentiment from up-thread. It's not that the art form is dead, but the audience driving what is and isn't commercially viable is basically soulless, more interested in the next club beat or lyrical catch phrase than anything that's actually being said by the more talented wordsmiths. Pop and dance music certainly have their places, but it's just a far cry from what hip hop could be (and is, for the few who know where to look and care to bother).

EDIT: And that Em/Royce link led me back to some old Em freestyle stuff I hadn't seen in forever. Awesome.

[Relic]

Nas and Damien Marley.

Is the rest of the Album as sweet as As We Enter?

check this song out

one of my fav's from the album

[Spring Bass]

Advertising will be mostly cheap viral(youtube, blogs, etc.), not a bunch of huge samples/features to clear and there's no label to take their cut.

That's hard on the up-and-coming artist, though. I'm not sorry to see the Record Labels die off, but their publicity generation was one of the upsides for an artist.

[Stone-Made-Soft]

I listen to UGHH Radio New Joints a lot when I'm at work. They play a lot of garbage but occasionally they'll introduce you to a great new MC. I discovered HomeBoy Sandman through UGHH. Here is a small sampling:

[Mr. X]

I listen to UGHH Radio New Joints a lot when I'm at work. They play a lot of garbage but occasionally they'll introduce you to a great new MC. I discovered HomeBoy Sandman through UGHH. Here is a small sampling:

Nice. I will be getting some of his stuff soon.

Another video of his, which is pretty amusing, though I've never seen a scene so animated on the G train.

[Xray the Enforcer]

Another video of his, which is pretty amusing, though I've never seen a scene so animated on the G train.

I've never seen the G train stop at Union Square. ;)

[Mr. X]

I've never seen the G train stop at Union Square. ;)

Indeed.

Also, if you go the Homeboy Sandman's website,there is an embedded player that starts automatically when you load the page and plays a number of songs by him as long as the page is open.

[Stone-Made-Soft]

I cannot wait until Lupe Fiasco drops his new album Laser (March 8th, 2011). Here's an unofficial video to get everyone stoked:

I'm still listening to Murs & 9th Wonder's Fornever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bcHFiHCxEQ