[eastsidemetalhd]

what i'm roughly looking for:

1) emphasis on lyrics and flow. basically i'm looking for rappers who still utilize the mic rather than hide behind a 'dance' beat.

2) no dance tunes. especially those 'female-singer-with 2-rap-verses' so-called 'rap' songs.

3) and thus by default, nothing connected with Sean Combs or Bad Boy hahaha.

optional: songs about '40s and blunts'

... help me out here, guys. thanks.

 

[carlo]

anything mos def has touched (especially black star's stuff with kalib tweli) for social commentary, sparse beats, and political rap.
jurassic 5 - quality control - after a damned long time of hearing that i should buy the album instead of hearing it in passing i finally picked it up and am loving it. the guys use words with authority and actually have something to say, if at times a little too egotistical about it (but hey, thats part of hip hop). good **** nonetheless. haven't heard the new one.
mystic - scars for life cuts for freedom - has its moments but sputters out near the end. still the most interesting stuff from a woman in the genre since lauryn hill's miseducation though.
roots - things fall apart - just an interesting use of percussion and beats, anything the by the band fits your requirements (except you'll also find your foot tapping). organix is freaky good as well.
public enemy - live new york - pay tribute the the forefathers.
public enemy - it takes a nation - ditto.
outkast - stankonia - worthy of the hype, but not as essential as those above in my opinion.
method man - tical2000 - the guy's talented, ignore the antipersprant comercials.
tricky - maxinquaye - its the trip hop album, but there's really no reason you shouldn't have it.
if you've got an open mind you may want to pick up beta band's 3eps while you're at it.

 

[wab]

Blackalicious - Blazing Arrow

I don't know if it's what you're looking for but it's the only hip-hop album I know I like (a lot!). Great music.

 

[NotoriousBIG_PJ]

Jurassic 5's new album came out on Tuesday and its really good! You might want to check out Da Lyrist Lounge compilations as well and I'm a big fan of Common (aka Common Sense).

Biggie.

 

[kin3tix]

u familiar with the underground at all?? if you aren't, got tons of reccommendations for you

. check out artists from the "definitive jux" label. pick up aesop rock - labor days, and search around www.hiphopinfinity.com . i also second what everyone else said about jurassic 5; definitely pick up quality control, classic album. peace.
-=[[MiKE]]=-

p.s. oh yeah, see my sig? like that? the artist is sage francis, awesome poet. pick up Personal Journals, i GUARANTEE that you will love this album.

 

[TimSchirmer]

As much as i hate to admit it, i used to have a small affinity for early NWA stuff.

Check out "Straight Outta Compton"

 

[M.Sensation]

Im a personal big fan of early Wu Tang stuff. Favorite album would have to be Wu Tang Forever. I don't know if it's your style but it has smooth lyrics (except for a couple tracks with ODB) with very melodic edgy beats. A great blend.

Other CD's

OutKast: Aquemini
Roots: The Roots come Alive (Live album, has a great rendition of 'You've got me' near the end)
A Tribe Called Quest: Anthology (A 'best of' type, which doesn't give you a complete picture of what this band is all about but it's a good first taste. I love Qtip's style and flow)
Dr Dre: The Chronic (The CD that first got me into Rap/hip hop)

 

[MacDEF]

Just a few off the top of my head:

A Tribe Called Quest
Public Enemy (political)
Paris (political)
Arrested Development (somewhat political)
Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth

 

[DeeJayBump]

Some good suggestions here (PE, Roots, Paris, ATCQ, Outkast, Wu-Tang, Common) and nobody has mentioned Eric B & Rakim yet, or Gangstarr.

Also, you might want to check out early KRS-One and early Big Daddy Kane and the Beastie Boys (especially Paul's Boutique--a classic.)

I'll check out this Jurassic 5 everybody is recommending

 

[Dankman]

I like Del the Funky Homosapien, Blackalicious, Living Legends, Digable Planets, A Tribe Called Quest, Necro,and Dilated Peoples.

 

[MacDEF]

KRS-One (Boogie Down Productions) is a great rec, as is Digable Planets.

Some others I didn't think of yesterday:

LL Cool J is good, fun rap
Ice T's early stuff
Queen Latifah
Run-D.M.C.'s greatest hits (Together Forever) is a must-have

 

[freethetree]

i think most of these have been mentioned already but im just listin em off my hip hop section of itunes

arsonists
big l
binary star
black star
blackalicious
de la soul
dialated peoples
freestyle fellowship
gangstarr
guru
jeru
jurassic 5
necro
roots
talib kweli

in alphabetical order for your viewing pleasure

Quote:

Originally posted by eastsidemetalhd 3) and thus by default, nothing connected with Sean Combs or Bad Boy hahaha.

what about ready to die? ****s classic

 

[eastsidemetalhd]

Quote:

Originally posted by freethetree what about ready to die? ****s classic

oh yeah, i forgot about that one. but that's pretty much an exception; the majority of stuff on Bad Boy makes you hope that Sean John clothing is selling by the container-load every day, just so that Mr Combs will decide to focus solely on that and give up putting out weak records.

thanks for all the recommendations, guys. i think i still have some of the older albums mentioned (like the PE, NWA, Cool J and Wu-Tang ones) but will definitely be checking out some of the newer stuff. guess i won't be getting "generic death metal albums #264 and #265" this month after all hahaha.




... wait a minute; how come no-one mentioned EPMD???

 

[DeeJayBump]

Quote:

Originally posted by eastsidemetalhd ... wait a minute; how come no-one mentioned EPMD??? [/B]

Yes, Erick & Parrish Makin Dollars is really good, especially if you like Zapp/Roger Troutman beats. And that reminds me of Grand Puba--you can't really go wrong with any of his stuff. Don't forget the Beatnuts.

All this talk of quality hip hop reminds me why I hate 90% of the garbage out there now. None of these current artists could rhyme their way out of a wet paper bag.

 

[archosman]

There's good rap/hip hop out there?