Who Said Rap Music Was Bad??

hmmmm....I guess I will throw my hat in the ring and start by saying I grew up during the golden age of hip hop. I can remember late night rides with my mom as she blasted Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick, Run DMC and many others. I can remember grabbing blank tapes and hunting in the middle of the night for the underground stations that played the real hip hop. When I was 12 I bought Redman's cassette and played it until I knew every song on there forwards and backwards. His style was so gutta...so raw. I pulled on my hoodie and boobed my head late into the night. I watched fashion morph as Salt n Peppa showed that female sexuality can be empowering and Queen Latifah rocked out out with her traditional african hats, all the while pumping her fist in the name of "Ladies First". KRS-1 dropped knowledge while the Beastie Boys showed that even a former punk band could ride the wave of hip hop. Lords of the Underground, K-solo, EPMD all bumped a northeast sound that was unmatched. And then there were the backpackers. The Pharcyde, The Jungle Brothers,Del the funky homosapien, De La Soul...I rocked them all. ...and make no mistake, I treasure every moment. Seeing what hip hop has become makes me mourn for the old days but there are still good rhymes to be had.

Mysogny and materialism is no stranger to the music industry. Its hip hop now, but remember arena rock? No ones hands were clean for they had Cherry Pie all over them and Tawny Kitaen was the original video ho as she writhed all over high end autos for our titillation. Danzig had sluts kissing Pentegram rings and "She rides" starts off with an ass in a thong, gyrating for the camera. But I digress.

Hip Hop is buried but not dead. And those who seek to dismiss it based on what is being fed to them now would do well to dig crates. Dust off a few classics like "Nobody Beats the Biz" and "So what you sayin"...hell take it back further to when Ice T was hardcore and bump a little Reckless Rivalry....Combat. You may remember it from Electric Boogaloo when Ozone and Turbo did battle with Electro. Hip hop is an entity......its street artists, its b-boys and girls, its Djs, its dancers, its fashionistas...its so much more than what the mainstream is trying to box it in as. But then....so is all art.
Thats just my two pennies



and to add...if anything is damaging the psyche of the youth it is the POP genre, lol. Rap is easy to pin to the wall because its often very in your face. But to be honest....my kids see that # coming a mile away. The know a wack rapper when they hear it. But POP...ah. Its trickier when you have girls who rep the drunken skank at the party and call it empowerment.

I love all forms of music out there. Good rap/hip hop is very rare though, most of the best stuff is old. But there are few gems out there.







I think all music deserves to be respected.

The only exception applies to music that does not feed the intellect.

reply to post by Openeye


Huge fan of Immortal Tech. I love conscious rap. There was once a lot more of it. Maybe that explains the presence of the fluff now. You cant have too many people singing songs that question the establishment.

Too Short, one of the greatest..

reply to post by irsuccubus


Yeah love him too.

But there a lot of people who are trying to emulate him now days, most of whom are doing it to get on a label not to spread a message.

I rarely listen to rap any more, I used to listen to it all the time. Now I mostly listen to tech house and minimal techno.

I'll give it those tracks a listen though

Originally posted by irsuccubus
hmmmm....I guess I will throw my hat in the ring and start by saying I grew up during the golden age of hip hop. I can remember late night rides with my mom as she blasted Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane, Slick Rick, Run DMC and many others. I can remember grabbing blank tapes and hunting in the middle of the night for the underground stations that played the real hip hop. When I was 12 I bought Redman's cassette and played it until I knew every song on there forwards and backwards. His style was so gutta...so raw. I pulled on my hoodie and boobed my head late into the night. I watched fashion morph as Salt n Peppa showed that female sexuality can be empowering and Queen Latifah rocked out out with her traditional african hats, all the while pumping her fist in the name of "Ladies First". KRS-1 dropped knowledge while the Beastie Boys showed that even a former punk band could ride the wave of hip hop. Lords of the Underground, K-solo, EPMD all bumped a northeast sound that was unmatched. And then there were the backpackers. The Pharcyde, The Jungle Brothers,Del the funky homosapien, De La Soul...I rocked them all. ...and make no mistake, I treasure every moment. Seeing what hip hop has become makes me mourn for the old days but there are still good rhymes to be had.

Mysogny and materialism is no stranger to the music industry. Its hip hop now, but remember arena rock? No ones hands were clean for they had Cherry Pie all over them and Tawny Kitaen was the original video ho as she writhed all over high end autos for our titillation. Danzig had sluts kissing Pentegram rings and "She rides" starts off with an ass in a thong, gyrating for the camera. But I digress.

Hip Hop is buried but not dead. And those who seek to dismiss it based on what is being fed to them now would do well to dig crates. Dust off a few classics like "Nobody Beats the Biz" and "So what you sayin"...hell take it back further to when Ice T was hardcore and bump a little Reckless Rivalry....Combat. You may remember it from Electric Boogaloo when Ozone and Turbo did battle with Electro. Hip hop is an entity......its street artists, its b-boys and girls, its Djs, its dancers, its fashionistas...its so much more than what the mainstream is trying to box it in as. But then....so is all art.
Thats just my two pennies

and to add...if anything is damaging the psyche of the youth it is the POP genre, lol. Rap is easy to pin to the wall because its often very in your face. But to be honest....my kids see that # coming a mile away. The know a wack rapper when they hear it. But POP...ah. Its trickier when you have girls who rep the drunken skank at the party and call it empowerment.

edit on 2-8-2011 by irsuccubus because: (no reason given)

edit on 2-8-2011 by irsuccubus because: (no reason given)

Sigh.... you bought me memories myself...... I think I was born listening to rap (all speaking - hispanic family/parents), My sister used to write the lyrics to songs she was playing in her tape thing (now she hates raps, go figure lol). I could recall back when I was like 5-6, thats around 86' when the music was starting to get known and more better. I love old school music and artist above plus more but I dont like the new stuff , just certain rappers can take my ears, those are still in the game, Nas,Az,Cormega,etc etc and underground fellas and ladies. Other then that, the rap game is trash, but it seems like these underground is finding its way up and is being heard. and I hope music gets better or at least how it was with positive messages more than all this negative blahblah sounding like a 5 year old with their 3rd grade raps lol

Also, to add....... I see some people just dont understand why the N word is used without the ER but with an A at the end. The reason why we call each other that( yes I do say it, Im from New York!!!!!!!) is another form of saying My Homie, My Boy,My Road Dog, My Ride or Die Buddy,etc etc,etc... Its not the same as with the ending "ER", now thats a whole different word.

2Pac said it best with the term........ Never.Ignorant.Getting.Goals.Accomplished. .. He turned around and made that word in a positive life as well as the term THUG.LIFE.( The Hate U Give Little Infants, # Everybody) which u can find more at this link www.venturearticles.com... ...

I hope that clears it up for some people who are confused about those terms. in HipHop. We use words that could mean one thing in a negative way and then turned that same words into a positive light. This music is all about letting current/past/future issues to be heard, its a way to let the world know how you feel about society and whats going on. Hiphop was meant to be a art form to open up minds to new idea and change their way of thought into a positive life so people can make changes to themselves and to their communities but all of that is thrown out of the window now by these corp record labels and hiring idiots to make records, They have taken the music and changed it to a way it shouldnt be. They just want to make profits, give the artist an illusion of freedom while making pennies off of their albums, papoose said it best " You're just a tax write off" to those records label thugs. They trying to kill something that had a lot of meaning and a lot of power to change society to a better place for people in the ghetto and outside of the ghettos, the whole world.

This is why I have so much love for the artist that do keep it tradational, who speaks about real issues that people go thru, I love those rappers that wont and will never change for a record label and put out materials that the labels wants out. Like this Economy hostage, they also have these artist hostage as well and that goes for Pop,Rock and everything else.

Sorry for the ranting LOL Im just sick and tired of this BS thats happening in the world today.

People Listen to these songs from Joe Budden, He's rapping how the rap industry is nowadays and how these artist arent original no more, how they dirtying up the game, how the record labels are doing and alot more issues. This is the state of hiphop in my opinion also .. I could also put up more songs like these from other artists... please listen!



Joe Budden - Who Killed Hip Hop (Parts 1 & 2)

both songs in one

and this is part 3 to the series

It's not just rap it's all music these days that is horrible. I find that modern rap music just portrays stereotypes and does no good for the black community. I just see it as another tool to promote garbage like materialism, sexism, violence, etc.. Culture in America is dead and has been for some time.

reply to post by MilzGatez


If you like Joey you should check out all the Mood Muzik mix-tapes if you havnt already.
They're all good, but 2 & 4 are my favorite!
also, Slaughterhouse has some good stuff

reply to post by 12voltz


that was hilarious

and to the op 99.9 % of rap is terrible music and honestly, i feel bad for those who like it....but to each his own i suppose.

i do like early tribe called quest ...just the first 2 albums though

Got to love some tribe...



this guy is lyrically ridiculous.... I couldn't stop listening to him a couple months ago



but overall rap is crap these days... at least the commercialized brand...

Who knew we had so many Rap fans on ATS!! You learn something new everyday. You people have some great taste too!!

I never said that...what I said was that "Rap Music" is an oxymoron...

youtu.be...
like I said...an oxymoron...or just a moron

A true rap fan and listener
youtu.be...

I lived in hollis queens when ll and run dmc were coming out. I like everyone else in new york city were listening to HIP HOP music before but these ARTIST changed the game and HIP HOP really took off from there.
So i feel very qualified to give my 2 cents.
1. The music and CULTURE is called HIP HOP
2. Rap is what they are doing (spitting lyrics ryming flowing etc.
3. once Again I will say this RAPPING is what they do HIP HOP is the name of the music/culture.
4. The people RAPPING (spitting flowing ryhming) are called RAPPERS.
For years me and many others always cringed when we heard the word RAP MUSIC.
Hip hop music and its culture were born out of poverty/ frustration . It was a way of self expression for a generation thaqt had no other outlet. We could not identify with disco and funk music . When guys or girls came out dressed in what we were dressed in talking the way we talked . We readily identified with it. It was our music and the culture surrounding it wasnt always about "gettin Hoes, smoking blunts and selling drugs. Hip hop music has ofcourse gone thru many changes but in essense it is just some kid talking about what he knows and how he feels to a beat. Remember beatboxing, When some guy (doug e fresh) made beats with his mouth that came about because we didnt have instruments. As tehnology became readily available(cheap drum machines 808 and so forth) beatboxing went the way of pin stripe LEE jeans and LeTigre shirts ( I had a summer job and had all the flavors) Back then it was a magical time this was after heroin and before crack hit.
Fast forward many years and the HIP HOP music you see is just an evolution of a simple art form. That artform is storytelling. If you really listen and get beyond the Nword hoe bashing and carrying gun stuff you will hear incredible metaphors that if you think about it will blow your mind. I LOVE HIP HOP and always will it has been agreat pleasure to see this artform and its culture evolve from The over the top showmanship of Africa Bambata to what is is today. I ask that you really listen you will hear the pain and frustration of a generation. You will understand more of what is going on in the inner city (if you care) You will learn where to go and where you cant and how to act when you get there. HIP HOP music is just a message. I can sit here and suggest many artist and songs but like i said earlier HIP HOP music has gone thru many changes and there are many diferent styles and flavors to choose from. I would never disrespect or put down any ones choice of music. As in evry type of music you have your good and your terrible. Its up to you to listen and make that disticntion. Please excuse the misspelling and grammer I R GRUNT and have been blown up a few times so sometimes i ramble on and make these run on sentence. Peace and Love and may HIP HOP live forever.

Hip Hop is a massive part of my life. Nothing annoys me more than when people label all hip hop the same without actually doing any research or knowing a damn thing about it. They hear the mindless commercial trash on the radio and immediately throw all hip hop into the same basket. Truth is, REAL Hip Hop is meaningful, modern poetry that conveys a message. It is a legitimate form of music - and in my opinion, sometimes contains the most difficult and complex forms of lyricism in any genre.

I dislike Rock & Heavy metal music, but I would never go as far as to bad mouth it - purely because I haven't put in any effort to understand the musics history, roots or meaning to do so. Hip Hop has seen me through some of the toughest times in my life and I wouldn't be the person I am today without it.

When I was around 12 or so, I copped an original pressing of Jedi Mind Tricks - Amber Probe LP, and The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological and Electro Magentic Manipulation of Human Conciousness LP. The messages contained on these records are the reason I began asking questions, seeking out the truth about the things we talk discuss here on ATS. And I believe this LP is the reason I became a member of this forum to begin with.

No-one hates the mainstream s**t on the radio labelled "Hip Hop" more than I, but anyone who hears that and automatically regards all Hip Hop the same is close minded and needs to do a little research.

Originally posted by mblahnikluver

Originally posted by Muckster
reply to post by ProphecyPhD

 

Unfortunately for every rap song with a sensible message there are 50 more with a message of bling, booty slapping and violence.

True, very true but it seems all music is like that today. I am not a fan of today's music be it rap or rock. I pretty much listen to anything pre 2000.

I notice they still refer to black people, in these videos, as the n-word. Sorry but it just turns my stomach... crass and backwards no matter how much they try and dress it up with the "we have reclaimed the word and used it to empower” nonsense.

Yea I don't get the use of this word and yet when you are out singing along and you say it they give you the look of death. I had it happen and I didn't give a crap. It's a word, who cares. People need to stop getting offended by words. If the word was SOOOOOO offensive to them they wouldn't be calling themselves that. It's ok for them but my god be a white person who says it and look out.

It’s a shame... I like the hip-hop beats and I like rapping, as a style of poetry, but on the whole these guys are overrated, under talented and spread evil like a virus.

just my opinion...

Peace

I like hip hop over rap any day. Hard core "gangsta" (and I use that term loosely) rap is nothing but hate, drugs and filth imo. It's not music, anyone can "rap" about that stuff and ruin words that had normal meaning, like brain. Yeah don't even get me started on their ruining of normal words!!

Apparently if you were a former thug, drug dealer or felon the rap world wants you. Seems to be a common trend amungst them and they STILL Sing about it and then wonder why they end up in jail on weapons chargers. Hello you can't have machine guns just because you are some rapper!

Ok in short I agree

I don't know how you cans ay all that but listen to Ludacris. Unless there's another rapper calling himself Ludacris who I've yet to hear? The Ludacris I know is everything you claim to hate

And someone earlier did the same but mentioned Biggie as a half decent rapper, my God! Biggie is one of the most offensive, crass, gangster rapping, no-message having bums in the history of hip hop. He was lyrically sound but played a massive role in bringing about the death of real Hip Hop

People just get older and become jaded over time. I could name you plenty of great rappers from the late 90s up to about 2007 when I just stopped caring.

Hip Hop is only good if you're actively in the scene and have a ton of time on your hands to trawl through the vast amounts of crap to find the few token good artists, usually buried deep in the underground. Once you exit that phase it's a genre without much rewards, everything on tv and radio is rubbish and most stuff on the underground is just unsigned people who don't deserve signing.

The last good album I heard was 'Distant Relatives' by Nas and Damian Marley.

The only album I'm looking forward to is Lowkey's 'Soundtrack to the Struggle' and most rap fans wouldn't give him the time of day because he's British. The once thriving British hip hop scene was killed with the arrival of commercialism.

I was checking that 'Tyler the Creator' after hearing him being hyped up to no end for the last year. You can't believe how disappointed I was that I give the guy 20 minutes of my ears! He's like Bizzarre from D12 only with a worse ear for beats and more committed to his weirdo character. Maybe like Bizzarre crossed with Tech N9ne. The entire scene has been flooded with weirdos who think its cool to be offensive and socially retarded.

In saying all this, I imagine someone on the otherside of the internet a rock head is bemoaning the death of ruck music and reminiscing about how great music was when he was 13-25.



^ Real Hip Hop

I know Lil Wayne is mainstream, and if you've heard any of his songs on the radio, you might loathe his name, but he has a lot of songs that criticize our government. Of course, you will never hear these songs on the radio, but the point is I think he is a very overlooked artist.
examples:
"born and raised in the USA, where the government's watching what you do and say."