Hip-Hop Talk II

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Mmmhmm, I always defer to Cassie on these matters. Didn't mean to ride your back, iYup.

I was meant to be seeing Kanye West tonight.

Devil in a New Dress is now quite firmly my favourite Yeezy song. The guitar works, unlike on the track that follows, the sample is inspired, and the production as a whole is just so warm and fulfilling. Then you've got some of Kanye's most honest lyrics, and an absolutely stellar verse from Rick Ross, and you've got a 10.
 
MBDTF is impeccable, really.

Finally heard the Jaylib project. I was disappointed. The production was solid, of course, but J Dilla and unaltered Madlib just aren't interesting enough MCs to carry an album by themselves. The generic rapping really dragged it down. I should check out the instrumentals sometime.
 
"Award Tour" might be my favorite Tribe song, actually.

"Electric Relaxation" is a fucking classic, too.
 
Gotta get that album. I just bought Peoples Instinctive Travels.

Excursions remains my favourite Tribe song for the time being. Q-Tip's opening verse is so good.
 
bono_212 said:
Going back a bit, but, yeah, I would never refer to him as socially conscious.
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Then you need to listen to Section.80. That album is about as proactive and socially aware as you can get without the rapper literally preaching at you. In fact, the skits basically do that.

GKMC is, itself, very much socially conscious in a sympathetic, realistic way. Rather than detail his spoils of war, he focuses on the damage the gang life causes to everyone involved, either directly or indirectly. Without the levity and descriptive anecdotes it wouldn't draw you in the way it does.
 
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I don't think I use that phrase the way everyone else does. When I hear that an artist is socially conscious, I don't expect to hear a song about the excess of fame. I expect more along the lines of early Common, or Cunninlynguists
 
Ohh okay I think I see what you mean. But I think you can be a socially conscious rapper and still rap about ridiculous shit. They aren't mutually exclusive. Sing About Me/Dying of Thirst and Backseat Freestyle appear on the same album.
 
LemonMelon said:
Sounds like I would be getting way in over my head if I got into this discussion too far with Cassie. :lol: I don't think the two sociolinguistics courses I've taken would be of much help.

Not that I disagree with her to any significant degree. I've spent the last five years trying to educate myself about the genre so that I could, in turn, represent it properly to people who still think it's all guns, cars and bitches (and place those subjects into a greater societal context because honestly I think they possess a certain cultural interest).
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freal if you wanna read one of my favorite books on language in rap, check out h. samy alim's roc the mic right. it's super cheap on amazon for an academic text. http://www.amazon.com/Roc-Mic-Right...4092412?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1399430399&sr=1-2

I'll also say that not only do guns, money, bitches have a certain cultural interest, but it's important to remember than guns and drugs etc are REALITY for many of these rappers, whether they've been involved or they've seen it or whatever. Yes, a lot of it is exaggerated, but a lot is not. That's what I'm getting at when I talk about marginalized voices and trying to police what they say so it's more palatable. I get it if that's not what someone wants to listen to, but don't try to get rid of it either.
 
bono_212 said:
I don't think I use that phrase the way everyone else does. When I hear that an artist is socially conscious, I don't expect to hear a song about the excess of fame. I expect more along the lines of early Common, or Cunninlynguists
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Kendrick doesn't rap about his fame at all though. He raps about being a broke underdog 9 times out of 10. Sounds more like you're describing Kanye (who is/was praised for his conscious raps), but he's definitely more self absorbed than anything these days. Kanye is an interesting guy though so it works.

onebloodonelife said:
freal if you wanna read one of my favorite books on language in rap, check out h. samy alim's roc the mic right. it's super cheap on amazon for an academic text. http://www.amazon.com/Roc-Mic-Right...4092412?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1399430399&sr=1-2

I'll also say that not only do guns, money, bitches have a certain cultural interest, but it's important to remember than guns and drugs etc are REALITY for many of these rappers, whether they've been involved or they've seen it or whatever. Yes, a lot of it is exaggerated, but a lot is not. That's what I'm getting at when I talk about marginalized voices and trying to police what they say so it's more palatable. I get it if that's not what someone wants to listen to, but don't try to get rid of it either.
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I love that a book like this exists. I will definitely check it out.
 
Madvillainy. In short, I liked it. The sound is "fat," for lack of a better term: the beats have a lot of depth, as do the soul-style instrumental flourishes on many of the tracks. I also picture the main MC as an overweight guy for some reason - something about the delivery of the lines. Speaking of lyrics, they were almost goofy, as though trying to script a comic book or something. "Hook me two apple pies and a small fries" sticks out in my head.
 
Oxymoron is a bit of a mess, but there were some really high-caliber tracks on it that saved it from being another throw-away album for me, in this genre, lately. Really loved the closer, the first half of the title track and Collard Greens.
 
iron yuppie said:
Madvillainy. In short, I liked it. The sound is "fat," for lack of a better term: the beats have a lot of depth, as do the soul-style instrumental flourishes on many of the tracks. I also picture the main MC as an overweight guy for some reason - something about the delivery of the lines. Speaking of lyrics, they were almost goofy, as though trying to script a comic book or something. "Hook me two apple pies and a small fries" sticks out in my head.
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I love this post :up: The main MC is MF Doom, and he is indeed overweight. If you keep listening to the album you'll find it really worming into your skin. Even when I haven't listened to it in a while lyrics will just pop up in my head, the line you quoted is one of them. (Also: Raid is one of Thom Yorke's favourite songs.)
 
Didn't know they had a new one out! I hope they sample ATLiens again.

I finally listened to Benz Friendz. Ordinary. Given his spots on DoYaThing, Sixteen, Sorry, Pink Matter, even Three Stacks was subpar.
 
Aquemini: This one threw me for a bit of a loop. I already knew my idea of OutKast would be skewed by the ubiquity of Hey Ya, a song that I loathe, but I still didn't expect something with as hard an edge as Aquemini. I read a review of this album saying it is laden with bravado but still plays against stereotype; I think that's an accurate assessment. The lyrics seem more focused on protecting social bonds from corrupting influences, or striving to form those social bonds in the first place, than posturing as a hard-ass. Andre has a great flow that complements the beats and soundscapes well; I admit I wasn't as taken with Big Boi's leads. Overall it does make me curious to hear more from them.
 
Yeah I dare say you'd like ATLiens more. Aquemini is easily my fav hip-hop album because it contains every single facet of what makes Outkast great, IMO.

Don't undersell Big Boi though. He's always looked at as the pimp counterpoint to a more worldly André but he does a lot more than hold his own. Take his verse on SpottieOttie for example.
 
Hey Ya is a brilliant pop song. I like to think of it as a commentary on the relationship between a songwriter and his audience, balancing the personal and the entertaining. After pouring his heart out for two verses, he decides he's said too much and the tone changes. "Y'all don't want to hear me, you just want to dance..." I think there's a touch of angst about the state of Outkast in there as well. I never get tired of hearing Hey Ya because it's so effervescent yet thoughtful. It works on several levels.
 
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It just strikes me as one guy testing the limits of obnoxiousness for four minutes. Throw in the video and it's even worse.
 
It always astounds me how much the lyrics to that song contrast to the music.

At least those first two verses, before it gets all crazy.
 
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