Hip-Hop Purists

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LemonMelon said:
I have only heard one Nas album in full: Illmatic. And I have heard that one many, many times. I think I'm ready to proceed; where should I go from here?

For the record, I have partaken of some Nastradamus tracks, purely for laughs. And oh boy did I ever laugh my ass off. SHOOT 'EM UP, YEAH, SHOOT 'EM UP, WHAAT?! KILL KILL KILL, MURDA MURDA MURDA!
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Stillmatic is the only other full album of Nas' that's worth it. He was hungry again, since he was feuding with Jay-Z at the time. He still has some fantastic one-off tracks on albums though, like "Made You Look" on God's Son. I haven't listened to the Untitled album, but his collab with Damien Marley, Distant Relatives, was also pretty solid.

So, yeah, Stillmatic and Distant Relatives are the only two I'd suggest seeking out in full.
 
Listened to two highly revered hip-hop albums for the first time tonight, liked them both a great deal:

Nas - Stillmatic
I felt it started off pretty slow; I've never liked Ether nearly as much as Takeover, as it feels a little bit juvenile in its disses and doesn't have nearly as memorable of a beat. It's too angry...Takeover is the picture of cool. It takes a little while to build from there, with Got Urself A Gun and Smokin' mired in predictable hip-hop subject matter that betrays some strong beats. You Da Man is really good though, and from there, the album goes on a ridiculous tear. Rewind, One Mic and 2nd Childhood are all dazzling, and make the album worth listening to in and of themselves. The album remains good until My Country, and then there are a couple of strong tracks at the end to close the album on a high note. Overall, the production is a little tinny for my tastes and Nas is above some of the subject matter, but it goes hard for most of its run time.

2Pac - Me Against The World
I'll preface this by saying that I am by no means a fan of G-funk and west coast hip-hop. It's alright, but the squiggly synths and porno bass lines don't give me the same icy rush that so many beats from the east coast underground classics consistently do. So, the fact that I quite dug this is impressive. This is of course due largely to 2Pac's charisma and palpable humanity, as well as an avoidance of said west coast cliches on many tracks. There is some inconsistency in quality here...Can U Get Away is obvious filler, and Heavy In The Game is hideous, but I get the impression that 2Pac likes his albums long, so I guess I'll just have to deal with the shitty tracks, because Dear Mama and Old School are amazing. The quality in general is really damn high, those those two tracks are magical. Not a lot of complaints or comments beyond that, it's just kind of a downer in spots, but even though this isn't in general my thing, I can recognize the inherent artistry here. It's great shit.
 
It's pretty good. Very, very few beats in the last few years can match Monster's though. Right up there with the best of Kanye.
 
Wu-Tang's Legendary Weapons is pretty good. Ghostface kills it. Apparently it's a "compilation album". I don't know what that means, is to suggest it's not a Wu Tang Clan album like 36 Chambers?
 
onebloodonelife said:
Also, Travis, LISTEN TO NUJABES
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I DID (Metaphorical Music), and awwwww yeahhhhh that's my shit. So dreamy and beautiful, yet gritty enough to keep you from drifting off. The rapping was fine, but obviously the beats stole the show. I'll certainly listen to album #2 at some point soon.
 
FUCK!

People, check your voicemail in a timely fashion.

Or you'll miss out on freebie tickets to The Roots.

Fuck. Properly sour.
 
Came back to Oneirology on the way home from work... liked it a lot more :up: will definitely buy it. I think last time I listened to it in the afternoon... functions much better at night-time (I'm beginning to feel this with the majority of albums). The production is sublime, and though it's modern it doesn't have any of the clubby beats that we've come to expect from modern hip-hop production. That's not to say I don't like that, hell there was a fair bit on Sir Lucious and there is on Watch the Throne, but overall I've come to prefer old-school/more subtle production.
 
Probably goes without saying, but definitely avoid Tha Carter IV. Generally speaking, I enjoyed III, or at least appreciated what it was going for; it exhibited some (likely drug-induced) creativity and excitement, as well as charisma from Weezy himself, who actually had a recognizable, if jarring style on that one. He was so fucked up that even the shitty songs (there were loads of them) contributed something.

However, this new one is a lot more straightforward and sober, and the result is, sadly, a series of lame punchlines over unimaginative beats, with none of the cracked-out fun. She Will and 6'7' are the best tracks, and they're already on the radio. I liked MegaMan, which showed Weezy in good lyrical form and the beat was solid, and I also liked Interlude and Outro, neither of which featured Weezy. Andre 3k was in there though, spitting an acceptable verse. Abortion is the only other track I could possibly call "good," mostly because it's so unconventional that it inadvertently charms. It's the only track that matches the surrealism of Dr. Carter (my favorite song of his) and Phone Home (crap but hilarious) from III.

Everything else, well over half of the album, is unremarkable or awful, with How To Hate and How To Love ranking as two of his worst songs ever, even counting Rebirth. I don't get why John was a single; it's completely unremarkable and hook-free, and I hate hearing that shit on the radio.

A weak 4/10 or generous 5/10 for this one. Not sure.
 
outkast_atliens_LRG.jpg


is 15 years old today.

Outkast- 13th Floor(Growing Old) Lyrics - YouTube

A really remarkable album, start to finish. Could be released in 30 years and it would still sound like it's from the future. Unlike any other hip-hop album I've ever heard... so chilled, so reflective. You can't dance to it. This track is the closest I've come to tears from a hip-hop track.

When tonights is hot
Warm enough to feed your soul
Growing old...
 
Liquid Swords is laid back as fuck... not at all what I was expecting. It'll take some time for me to really get into I think.

The production on "Swordsman" turns me on, and then you combine that with GZA's killer flow...

You can add B.I.B.L.E. to that list. Astounding production and flow. Fuck me dead. This is why I love hip hop.
 
Nope. This is only the fourth Wu-Tang album I've heard. The others are Method Man's Tical 0: The Prequel and Legendary Weapons, both of which aren't great.

I'll get there. Very, very excited at what I have to discover.
 
cobl04 said:
Liquid Swords is laid back as fuck... not at all what I was expecting. It'll take some time for me to really get into I think.

The production on "Swordsman" turns me on, and then you combine that with GZA's killer flow...

You can add B.I.B.L.E. to that list. Astounding production and flow. Fuck me dead. This is why I love hip hop.
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I had Cold World on repeat for about a month straight two years ago. This album is sick.
 
:lol: Yeah I saw that thread.

I'm good, still stuck in Ontario and still in the Army (but I'm getting out soon and going back to Halifax). I was on training for a while so I didn't get to a computer much, and when I did it wasn't long enough to browse the forums. What's new?
 
DaveC said:
:lol: Yeah I saw that thread.

I'm good, still stuck in Ontario and still in the Army (but I'm getting out soon and going back to Halifax). I was on training for a while so I didn't get to a computer much, and when I did it wasn't long enough to browse the forums. What's new?
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Didn't even remember you were in Ontario. Whereabouts? Barrie?
 
That Jeff Chang book came today but no one was home so now I have to wait till Monday :(

In other news, GZA has overtaken RZA as my favourite Wu-Tang member. He has such killer flow.
 
'Liquid Swords' has a legitimate claim on being the best Wu-Tang solo effort. Gza's verbal dexterity is just ridiculous.

Unfortunately, nothing he's done since is anywhere near it, and he's sounded just lazy for the last 10 years. Right now I'd say Raekwon is easily the top Wu MC (5 years ago I'd have probably said Ghostface).
 
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