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that was pretty nuts... what is OFWGKTA? not sure i liked the first rapper's vocals, or the chorus all that much, but still, impressive. and what was with the girl from The Ring? :lol:

Mos Def seems like a really endearing bloke.
 
OFWGKTA is the shortened name of their collective: Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All.

:lol: No idea what was up with her, as in why she was dressed that way, but she was supposed to be the girl being raped in the song, I assume.

Since you're impressed, but not sure about the vocals, you should check out some of their albums. Free downloads on their Tumblr: http://oddfuture.tumblr.com/ Look for Bastard (the first dude, Tyler, The Creator's album), Radical (the collective's mixtape), and Earl.

And, agreed on Mos Def. He's always seemed like an upstanding dude in the fullest sense.
 
Ok, so that WAS the group I was reading about in Spin today. I saw you mention them in Random, and then I saw a spread about it in Spin, but not under the name you typed, and I wasn't sure if it was the same thing, but I see it now.
 
Normally I take blog hype with a grain of salt, but the way people are fapping themselves over these guys is kind of grating. They claim they're not horrorcore, but that's exactly what they are. It's not the jokes about rape and homophobia that bother me (at least I think they're joking), it's more that this isn't terribly original and/or shocking. If I wanted this stuff, I'd just listen to Geto Boys or 'Elif4zaggiN'. #showingmyage

I saw one commenter refer to them as 'the black ICP' which made me lol. That's a little unfair, because there is some talent there and the beats are pretty sick. I was impressed enough with 'Yonkers' that I'll probably check out Tyler's album when it drops.
 
I don't think anybody's saying they're doing something new. EVERYTHING IS DERIVATIVE. Say it with me now: EVERYTHING IS DERIVATIVE.

Ok, moving on...it's pretty clear they owe a lot to the horrorcore genre and folks like Bizarre, NWA, Geto Boys, etc. But, what they are posing themselves against is the turn that hip-hop has taken in the mainstream in recent years with the Weezys and Yeezys, which I do think is an interesting response. Tyler has said himself that he's in a bit of a "rape stage," whatever that means (extremely problematic on many levels, but the regulars here know my feelings on misogyny in hip-hop, so I'll spare you), and I'm hoping some of their lyrics tone down a bit. Plus, the kids are between 16 and 22. I mean, come the fuck on, they're some talented young dudes, and watching their careers progress will be worth it.
 
Of course, nothing is truly original, my issue isn't "it's been done" more "it's been done before and better."

My comment was more a reaction to the echo chamber of the music blogosphere. What I find surprising is that the Inevitable Backlash hasn't happened yet, and I wonder why this is. I think folks don't want to come across as out of it, or like their sensibilities are too delicate to handle the lyrics.

Like I said, I am interested in Tyler's album, 'Yonkers' was the first thing I've heard so far from these guys I've liked; there is potential there. However I seriously doubt that, other than Tyler, the rest of these dudes will break out solo careers.
 
Fair enough. I'm still not sure about the "it's been done before and better" argument; it seems to be the go-to response when talking about new school vs. old school hip-hop.

As for the "Inevitable Backlash," there's been plenty of unfavorable posts and reviews of their albums on blogs. There's also been plenty of bandwagoning. Plus, if you go through the massive catalog of the collective's music, the ratio of shock value to storytelling is low. Some songs and some lines do have these rape/violent themes, no question. But, it's a lot less than people are making it out to be.

And, Tyler has already released an album, if you're interested. It's called Bastard and can be downloaded for free at Odd Future's Tumblr.
 
I guess I'm going to different sites; what I've read has been overwhelmingly positive.

I was pretty 'meh' on the "Bastard" tracks I've heard but am interested to see if the upcoming "Goblin" shows some progression.

I'll add that the Fallon performance was pretty punk rock, one of the more exciting live TV performances I've seen in awhile.
 
Two major hip-hop blogs have essentially boycotted the group: 2DopeBoyz (though, they'll claim otherwise) and NahRight. In those cases, it's the silences that are more telling than poor reviews though.

Agreed that the Fallon performance was ridiculous. I've watched it several times today again. So. Much. Energy. :up:
 
so is Fallon just a massive hip hop fan? that makes me feel pretty awesome, as a lot of my friends ask me if i'm secretly black. so it's cool to see a famous white bloke appreciating hip hop on such a level.
 
cobl04 said:
so is Fallon just a massive hip hop fan? that makes me feel pretty awesome, as a lot of my friends ask me if i'm secretly black. so it's cool to see a famous white bloke appreciating hip hop on such a level.
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Not that I know of, and I'm not entirely sure how much he had to do with making The Roots his house band or if that was a decision from higher-ups at the network.

More likely, The Roots had something to do with getting Odd Future on though. They're tight with Mos Def, and he's been backing OFWGKTA for more than a minute now.

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:lol: I hear you. I've been referred to as "the hip-hop kid" more than once, and actually, my professor made a similar comment about my race and hip-hop during a class of ours, saying, "You swim quite comfortably in the waters of hip-hop, and most of its fans and practitioners are black, and you're........not." The pause was classic.

I always like to refer back to Atmosphere and Jeff Chang on that issue, though:

Little Math You, fifteen, suburban
And it ain't shit if it ain't the cursin version
With the sticker on the front to piss off his dad
Just tell that bitch to get off the rag, huh
Little Math You from the burbs gotta here it
It's like the only thing that puts the nerve in his spirit
Go ahead and make some ruckus for the hell of it
And yell it on the streets about monotonous development
You're telling me that this ain't for him, right?
How many y'all motherfuckers get an invite?

-Atmosphere, "Little Math You"

"So, you ask, when does the Hip-Hop Generation begin? After DJ Kool Herc and Afrika Bambaataa. Whom does it include? Anyone who is down."

- Jeff Chang, Can't Stop Won't Stop (the absolute BEST history of the hip-hop generation up through 2001)
 
'Can't Stop Won't Stop' is a great read. It's definitely more of a cultural history than a chronicling of the history/development of just hip-hop music (obviously the culture and the music are intrinsically connected). I understand why he took the approach; just giving a straight history of the artists and the music would have made for dry reading, whereas he shows how hip-hop became a dominant cultural force in the last quarter of the 20th century.
 
Not having listened to anything by OFWGKTAOMGWTFBBQ, 6 Feet Deep by Gravediggaz is the peak of the horrorcore subgenre. Harrowing and fucking badass without feeling like cro-magnon, misogynistic trash.

I will certainly listen to OFWGKTAOMGWTFBBQ, btw.
 
So, I'm just finishing up Aquemini, which I liked a great deal, but man, some albums just go on and on and on, and it kills me because I'm really enjoying them, but getting a little exhausted with really enjoying them at the same time, if that makes sense. Anyways, I loved quite a few tracks on it, and the production was phenomenal. "spottieottiedopaliscious" was pretty awesome. And I loved the "skits" on this one (they didn't feel so much like skits here).

So, here are the hip hop albums I have heard (according to RYM):

Lil Wayne - Rebirth
Aesop Rock - Labor Days
The Black Eyed Peas - The E.N.D.
Nelly - 5.0
Sir Mix-a-Lot - Mack Daddy
Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak
Big Boi - Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty
The Black Eyed Peas - Elephunk
B.o.B. - B.o.B. Presents the Adventures of Bobby Ray
Coolio - It Takes a Thief
A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
DJ Shadow - Endtroducing.....
Nas - Illmatic
Outkast - Stankonia
The Black Eyed Peas - The Beginning
Gnarls Barkly - St. Elsewhere
Dr. Dre - The Chronic
Gorrillaz - Plastic Beach
Outkast - Aquemini
Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantsay
Gorillaz - Demon Days
Kanye West - Graduation
N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton

(Girl Talk - All Day, Night Ripper, Feed the Animals
Danger Mouse - The Grey Album) < No clue if you could include those or not, ya know?

Of all of those albums, I would say that there are five clear albums that I really do love and count as favorites:

1) N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton (I have no clue why, I just have a lot of fun with this)
2) Kanye West - Graduation
3) Outkast - Aquemini (The caveat here though, is I just don't know how often I'm going to listen to this album, I really am bad about listening to "long" albums, unless they're by artists I really love
4) Gorillaz - Demon Days
5) Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

So, based on that, hip hop purists, where do I go next?
 
glad to hear you enjoyed Aquemini! whilst it is now comfortably my favourite hip hop album, i do to take issue with its length. i can't remember the last time i listened to it in full, but it was definitely in the car. that said, Mamacita is the only track i could do without.
 
I've had a deluge of awesome hip hop thrown my way lately, so I feel an update to my top 20 is in order, bolded albums my recommendation to Ashley:

1. Outkast - Aquemini
2. Nas - Illmatic
3. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique
4. Black Star - Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star
5. Kanye West - Late Registration
6. Madvillain - Madvillainy
7. De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising
8. Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt
9. Mobb Deep - The Infamous
10. Deltron 3030 - Deltron 3030
11. Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
12. A Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders
13. Lupe Fiasco - Lupe Fiasco's The Cool
14. Gravediggaz - 6 Feet Deep
15. Main Source - Breaking Atoms
16. Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth - Mecca and the Soul Brother
17. The Streets - A Grand Don't Come for Free
18. Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
19. The Roots - Phrenology
20. Common - Be
 
Ashley, I will come back to that question...just after I finish this damn paper on theories of social reproduction in education. :huh:
 
Yep! He was either on or is going to be on an upcoming episode of CSI. Nick Stokes takes him out. And then, the whole world was gracious. :applaud:
 
bono_212 said:
So, I'm just finishing up Aquemini, which I liked a great deal, but man, some albums just go on and on and on, and it kills me because I'm really enjoying them, but getting a little exhausted with really enjoying them at the same time, if that makes sense. Anyways, I loved quite a few tracks on it, and the production was phenomenal. "spottieottiedopaliscious" was pretty awesome. And I loved the "skits" on this one (they didn't feel so much like skits here).

Of all of those albums, I would say that there are five clear albums that I really do love and count as favorites:

1) N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton (I have no clue why, I just have a lot of fun with this)
2) Kanye West - Graduation
3) Outkast - Aquemini (The caveat here though, is I just don't know how often I'm going to listen to this album, I really am bad about listening to "long" albums, unless they're by artists I really love
4) Gorillaz - Demon Days
5) Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

So, based on that, hip hop purists, where do I go next?
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Hip-hop artists don't understand the concept of conciseness. It's an issue I have with a lot of albums within the genre as well.

I agree with Travis on Madvillainy and Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star; those are two of my favorite albums of all time.

I'd also add in (with my highest suggestions in bold):

Cecil Otter - Rebel Yellow
dead prez - Let's Get Free
Dessa - A Badly Broken Code
Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP (whatever you think of Em, this is his magnum opus and a must-listen from beginning to end)
Eric B & Rakim - Paid in Full
Fashawn - Boy Meets World
Jay-Z (with The Roots as a backing band) - MTV Unplugged
K'naan - The Dusty Foot Philosopher
Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor
Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
Outkast - ATLiens


Um, yeah, start there. :wink:
 
LemonMelon said:
Haha, what the hell is this? Awesome fucking idea.
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Jay-Z-Unplugged.jpg


Jay-Z: Unplugged is rapper Jay-Z's 2001 music album that contains some of his past songs with live instruments performed by Jay-Z himself with the hip-hop band The Roots. The album was recorded during the taping of a MTV Unplugged 2.0 episode on November 18, 2001. It sold more than 600,000 copies.

"Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" - 5:08
"Takeover" - 4:57
"Girls, Girls, Girls" - 4:41
"Jigga What, Jigga Who" - 2:34
"Big Pimpin'" - 4:11
"Heart of the City (Ain't No Love)" - 4:05
"Can I Get A..." - 1:42
"Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)" - 1:31
"Ain't No Nigga" - 1:02
"Can't Knock the Hustle/Family Affair" (featuring Mary J. Blige) - 6:06
"Song Cry" - 7:04
"I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" (featuring Pharrell) - 6:58
"Jigga That Nigga"/"People Talking" - 8:22

All songs were produced by Questlove, The Roots; "People Talking" produced by Ski.
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BOW!

It's my favorite Jay-Z release, hands down.
 
onebloodonelife said:
Hip-hop artists don't understand the concept of conciseness. It's an issue I have with a lot of albums within the genre as well.

I agree with Travis on Madvillainy and Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star; those are two of my favorite albums of all time.
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Yeah, pop music in general is pretty bad about that (not that rap is pop, but I think you get me).

I can't believe I still haven't heard Madvillainy, those two probably are the next albums I'll venture out with.
I'd also add in (with my highest suggestions in bold):

Cecil Otter - Rebel Yellow
dead prez - Let's Get Free
Dessa - A Badly Broken Code
Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP (whatever you think of Em, this is his magnum opus and a must-listen from beginning to end)
Eric B & Rakim - Paid in Full
Fashawn - Boy Meets World
Jay-Z (with The Roots as a backing band) - MTV Unplugged
K'naan - The Dusty Foot Philosopher
Lupe Fiasco - Food & Liquor
Mos Def - Black on Both Sides
Outkast - ATLiens


Um, yeah, start there. :wink:
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Duly noted.

The thing with The Marshall Mathers LP is that when I was a kid I heard so much from it at one point or another, I guess I just never bothered with the album itself, to the point where I never realize that I haven't actually heard it :lol:. I probably should get around to that.
 
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