Am I getting older or does rap nowadays sound bad?

[IceBergSLiM]

Originally posted by: eaj0010

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim

Originally posted by: alkemyst
more than likely a few years ago you were listening to what was hot on the club scene and much better than what you are getting from canned stations now only playing those that have aligned themselves usually with Clear Channel Media.

So true. Clear channel basically ruined radio and much of the music industry.

I guess I don't understand the correlation to clear channel and bad music. Someone care to explain?

clear channel has a monopoly on basically every radio station in the country. They play only certain artists. The Sheeple hear songs and buy albums whether they are good or not. Creating a cycle where crappy music is rewarded.

 

[anxi80]

:music: shorty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low.... :music:

 

[Damn Dirty Ape]

never did sound good. and yea, every day you are getting older.

 

[pontifex]

did it ever sound good?

 

[us3rnotfound]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=s2vZZoe0fx0

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: meltdown75
The only thing I haven't gotten into yet is country.

Try alt-country. You probably already have. Commercial anything is usually boring and derivative.

 

[ahurtt]

Maybe your hearing and musical taste are just improving with age. Rap still sounds like it has always sounded to me . . .crap.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Something must be going on with you, OP. Rap never sounded good.

The world only needs so many songs about Navigators and Escalades. GPS, rims, and money... etc.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: Sinsear

Originally posted by: iroast
"Am I getting older or does rap nowadays sound bad?"

Both.

:thumbsup:

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: pontifex
did it ever sound good?

yes

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: Perknose

Originally posted by: meltdown75
The only thing I haven't gotten into yet is country.

Try alt-country. You probably already have. Commercial anything is usually boring and derivative.

If by usually you mean sometimes, then I agree. I don't like whored-out music that is overplayed by radio stations any more than the next guy, but I also generally feel that some music is popular because it is good, and to discount it solely on the fact that it is popular is idiotic.

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: Perknose

Originally posted by: meltdown75
The only thing I haven't gotten into yet is country.

Try alt-country. You probably already have. Commercial anything is usually boring and derivative.

If by usually you mean sometimes, then I agree. I don't like whored-out music that is overplayed by radio stations any more than the next guy, but I also generally feel that some music is popular because it is good, and to discount it solely on the fact that it is popular is idiotic.

Agreed. :thumbsup:

But there is a lot of fairly worthless Top 40 crapola out there at any one time.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Originally posted by: clamum
There's still some good quality stuff out there. Check out:

Del tha Funkee Homosapien
Hieroglyphics
Deltron 3030
Binary Star
Jurassic 5
Zion I

Some of those are a little older (early 00s, late 1990s) but still good; none of that gangster/bling/MTV bullshit. I haven't kept up on new hip-hop too much, I listen to mostly punk music.

EDIT: Tech N9ne is a bit different than the above, more midwest-hardcore rap, but still decent.

Adding to the list of underground artists:

Aesop Rock's latest album is pretty damn hot, his best since Labor Days (which has Daylight, possibly my favorite song of all time, on it).

Sage Francis' last album was good as well, though it doesn't quite live up to Healthy Distrust (and neither can compete with Hope, which he did as the Non-Prophets, easily one of the best hip hop albums in the last decade).

Cannibal Ox was amazing. They released one album, Cold Vein, which was an instant classic, then broke up (which sucks a lot).

I don't generally like "punchline" rap, but Tonedeff is amazing. He has one of the hottest flows you will ever hear and his lyrics are ridiculous (which just happens to be the name of one of his first singles). If you aren't impressed by the flow on "Move In, Ride Out," you don't like rap.

Blackalicious is an amazing artist, with great lyrics and flow, who can deftly switch between word play (Alphabet Aerobics), speed rhyming (Blazing Arrow), serious concepts (Shallow Days) and lazy rhyming (Sleep, one of those beautiful tracks where the melody is like a lullaby).

But yeah, I stopped checking out new hip hop a few years ago (with the exception of artists I already knew). In the words of Sage Francis "hip hop went from being artistic to a pop hit, mainstream took control and we cannot stop it. It's a black art being manipulated by white controllers, just like rock and roll is." This statement is delightfully ironic as Sage Francis is white, but ignoring that humorous trivia, he has a point. I've entertained myself in recent years by going back and discovering artists I'd heard about in the early 90s but never really listened to: Big Daddy Kane, Organized Konfusion, Run DMC, Eric B and Rakim, Biz Markie, Slick Rick, A Tribe Called Quest, etc. It's amazing how much great music I missed out on being stuck in the mindset of "if it isn't in the vein of NWA or Snoop, it isn't real hip hop." Ah to be young and ignorant again...

 

[qaa541]

I honestly do not think rappers even rap now. I think they just "talk" on top of a beat. 50cent really is the shining example of this.

 

[antyler]

I used to listen to the several local rap stations around here quite more frequently in the past. Now it seems like its all pretty lame with the exception of a few songs. Its been really the past year that its dropped off i think.

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: qaa541
I honestly do not think rappers even rap now. I think they just "talk" on top of a beat. 50cent really is the shining example of this.

yup/ It's like shut the fuck up and try to rhyme or at least talk to the beat

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: Perknose

Originally posted by: meltdown75

Originally posted by: Perknose

Originally posted by: meltdown75
The only thing I haven't gotten into yet is country.

Try alt-country. You probably already have. Commercial anything is usually boring and derivative.

If by usually you mean sometimes, then I agree. I don't like whored-out music that is overplayed by radio stations any more than the next guy, but I also generally feel that some music is popular because it is good, and to discount it solely on the fact that it is popular is idiotic.

Agreed. :thumbsup:

But there is a lot of fairly worthless Top 40 crapola out there at any one time.

definitely. I heard "Souljah Boy" the other day and I couldn't believe my ears. There wasn't even any intelligible words in it... just a bunch of weird sounds... which I suppose speaks to the fact that the other half of the time, popular stuff got that way because the dumbasses (majority of the population) thought it was good... just goes to show you that when it comes to the "mainstream" selections, you really need to give it a close listen sometimes to determine which brand of noterirty propelled it up the charts.

 

[KayGee]

Originally posted by: eaj0010
I remember when I was growing up I liked listen to any and all rap from pretty much any artist. Most of the time the rapper in question had a good beat, the words rhymed, and if they cursed, it wasn't overly done and fine. However...

Since 2003ish or so, I have steadily declined listen to rap because now it just seems that they are not even rapping or rhyming. It seems that all the new rap I hear on the radio is just some guy trying to act 'hard' like he owns the world or that he is the ultimate love machine for any woman on the planet. I guess the worst part is the beats are so-so at best and 9 times out of 10 the words don't even rhyme! Am I just too old to appreciate the new style or does anyone else feel this way?

I live in Dallas, TX and they have 97.9 the beat and K104 and after swishahouse music all but vanished I steadily stopped listening to it. (yes I liked Screwed and chopped music somewhat, but I was very picky at which I preferred)

Are you reading my mind? Rap/hip-hop peaked in the 90s IMO. What they play nowadays is c-rap. About a couple weeks ago, I dug up Doggystyle and Temples of Boom, just for old times' sake.

 

[erikistired]

there's only so much you can do with talking over a beat.

 

[meltdown75]

this is sort of OT, but

has anything ever been as good as Illmatic?

i'm not a rap expert, I seriously want any rap album that is this good because it is tha shiznits (white guy inability to use ebonics emphasis added).

 

[Corporate Thug]

Lupe Fiasco's The Cool

 

[Modelworks]

The last rap that I heard that had words you could understand and made sense was Run Dmc.
That was a long time ago.

The only one I really listen to know is Snoop.

 

[KK]

anything from about 94 on is pretty much crap.

 

[effowe]

Originally posted by: Atomic Playboy
Blackalicious is an amazing artist, with great lyrics and flow, who can deftly switch between word play (Alphabet Aerobics), speed rhyming (Blazing Arrow), serious concepts (Shallow Days) and lazy rhyming (Sleep, one of those beautiful tracks where the melody is like a lullaby).

Just wanted to make a correction. Blackalicious is not one man, but rather a group of artists. The main rapper who you are probably thinking of is named Gift of Gab. Chief XCel does the beats. There are appearances by both Lateef and Lyrics Born (who, along with DJ Shadow formed the group SoleSides.) Lateef and Lyrics Born are also in a group called Latyrx.

The more you know.

 

[effowe]

Well, since I'm bored at work and have nothing better to do, I am going to present you with many different hip hop artists that I listen to. Hope some of you go through and listen to these as I'm taking quite some time to make this post. Here we go..

Old school hip hop that basically everyone can listen to and enjoy..
A Tribe Called Quest
De La Soul
The Pharcyde (another)
GangStarr (another)
KRS-One (another)
Souls of Mischief

Now for a little more modern, but still old..
Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star
Common (another, another)
Dr. Octogon (another)
The Roots (another)
Del the funkee Homosapien

Now for some more modern underground hip hop..
Aceyalone (another, another)
Abstract Rude (another)
Living Legends (Murs, Scarub, Eligh, The Grouch, PSC, Sunspot Jonz, Aesop Bicasso)

Ugh, I could go on and on but I've been working on this for over an hour.. Anyways, enjoy some new music and I can provide more artists names (that you can look up on youtube) if you request.