Hip Hop Discussion/Album Review Thread.

[G-Fresh]

This butthole is one of the new dudes on MNE.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08oYSfzMU5s

Fuckin lame

[Clive Plasma]

Anyone ever given Casisdead a listen? Such an underrated guy;


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtxoNkhKBes


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ6gbCD2EQA


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USSgsgn-aGw


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSXIi6i-xzU


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIAng7ydybo

[Nash Diesel]

This butthole is one of the new dudes on MNE.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08oYSfzMU5s

Fuckin lame

The name is corny, the paint shit needs to bounce. I get it with Twiztid and Blaze I understand the history and what it means to that particular section of their fanbase but MNE shouldn't be Psychopathic 2.0 and have every artist wear paint as well.

[G-Fresh]

Juggalo Weekend next year is gonna be JCW, Killjoy Club, and a full Ringmaster performance. Esham is gonna be performing too. It's been like 6 or 7 years since they shared a stage. I'm fuckin hyped.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBK2IFAB0Ug

[Bert]

I've had All Love Lost on repeat for a few weeks now but Freddie Gibbs new album leaked so it might be time to change up the rotation.

[Nash Diesel]

Juggalo Weekend next year is gonna be JCW, Killjoy Club, and a full Ringmaster performance. Esham is gonna be performing too. It's been like 6 or 7 years since they shared a stage. I'm fuckin hyped.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBK2IFAB0Ug

What the fuck is Juggalo Weekend and where is it at?

I've only seen Esham one time in my life and it was amazing. He didn't have shit for a stage set up, just him rocking some light up red sunglasses and 2 hot bitches while he killed it for about 40 minutes opening for ICP back in 2000 up in Minneapolis. Dude doesn't fucking tour or really do shows, never really did to begin with so seeing Esham is almost like seeing a unicorn from hell.

[Simon]

Anyone ever given Casisdead a listen? Such an underrated guy;



He put out a more laid-back track a while ago called Walkin' that was fucking class.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW26hYrdhfk

His voice sounds like one of the Mitchell Brothers. The rappers, not the baldies.

[Nash Diesel]

My best friend is in LA right now getting ready for the Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival tomorrow. The line up is pretty rad, Snoop Dogg, Tyler the Creator, Atmosphere, Living Legends, YG, Mac Miller, A$AP Rocky, and everyone's favorite Willow Smith.

[G-Fresh]

What the fuck is Juggalo Weekend and where is it at?

I've only seen Esham one time in my life and it was amazing. He didn't have shit for a stage set up, just him rocking some light up red sunglasses and 2 hot bitches while he killed it for about 40 minutes opening for ICP back in 2000 up in Minneapolis. Dude doesn't fucking tour or really do shows, never really did to begin with so seeing Esham is almost like seeing a unicorn from hell.

It's in Detroit. Day 1 is at Saint Andrews Hall. Day 2 is at Harpo's. This is big since Esham hasn't played a Psy show since 2009 when he did his set at the GotJ, then had one of his friends deliver a copy of "I Ain't Cha Homey" to Violent J. The whole album is a diss to ICP. J said they haven't talked since then. I'm glad they are on good terms again. That shows how nice a guy J is.

[Nash Diesel]

I remember that "movie" Esham did, death of an indie label or some shit, and he had that one vid where it was like an hour of text talking about his relationship with Violent J and the label, it was nuts the shit he said he had to put up with. Take it for what it's worth, why Esham would lie idk but he has been one of the more bitter dudes when it came to people making it big from Detroit. I just think he never put himself out there like he should have, you gotta tour, do shows, promote, you can't just put out records and hope word of mouth and distribution will help. Fucking love Esham though, love Natas more cuz of Mastamind, but Esham is a genius.

[G-Fresh]

I don't know why J would lie either though. I think I'm goin to the 2nd night. I'd like to see JCW and KJC, but I don't want to stay in a hotel in The D, and I don't want to spend the money for one in Auburn Hills.

[G-Fresh]

I would mark out so hard if Paris was one of the special guests. Dude put out a new vid Sunday and kills it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtZQFagVS0c&feature=youtu.be

[Nash Diesel]

I don't know why J would lie either though. I think I'm goin to the 2nd night. I'd like to see JCW and KJC, but I don't want to stay in a hotel in The D, and I don't want to spend the money for one in Auburn Hills.

Oh man I remember when I moved to Detroit, I had been there once before but this time I went there and my gf's friend fucked us on a place to crash so I had to get a hotel in Taylor....Fucking $80 for a Motel 6, and this was in 2000. Expensive as fuck considering when I moved back to Des Moines I spent less than that at the same motel for 2 nights lol.

Violent J has to save face, even if he's only partially telling the truth, he's still not going to make himself or his label look like pieces of shit. J has always seemed to take it in stride, largely due to how much he respects Esham. Esham is mad respected, he makes an entire album dissing Eminem and not a peep from Shady. Proof I think was the only one and even he didn't really shit on Esham, just said that when E started making titty bar music he fell off.

[G-Fresh]

MNE put this up earlier. I don't like it. I don't like the gimmick.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnHxfvsu7ww

[G-Fresh]

Blaze & R.O.C. kill this new shit.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt3FNkkTv-Q&feature=youtu.be

[Nash Diesel]

ROC is extremely underrated. I think my favorite stuff of his would be when he was doing Halfbreed with Skrapz and they released the Serial Killaz EP. I snatched that up at Rock of Ages in Dearborn, MI when it first came out, they had a cut out display and everything which was pretty awesome for an underground group to have even at a store like that. I picked up that album and Bedlam's Chemical Imbalancez Vol. 1, another classic record.

I wish we could've got more of that Samhein Witch Killaz with Twiztid and ROC, basically a HOK reunion they just can't use the name. That track they did, I think it was called Monster, not sure what the album was, I think it was the EP before Twiztid's latest album, that shit was fire.

[G-Fresh]

Lame. The special guests for February 20th are Mushroomhead, King 810, and Molly Gruesome.

[G-Fresh]

Tech murdered this shit.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUiu18E-kqg

[son_of_foley]

http://www.pbs.org/video/2365637124

50 Minute Kendrick Set

[MikeHunt]

watched that last night.

Im thinking im going to go to beniscasim this year. hes been announced as the first headliner.

LCD soundsystem would confirm this.

[Fro]

The new Kanye tracks are nice, especially No More Parties in LA with Kendrick and Real Friends.

https://soundcloud.com/kanyewest/nomorepartiesinla
https://soundcloud.com/kanyewest/real-friends-no-more-parties-in-la-snipped
https://soundcloud.com/kanyewest/facts-explicit

Swish drops on February 11. I wasn't feeling a lot of his songs lately but these new ones have me back hyped for the album.

[son_of_foley]

https://soundcloud.com/gangstagibbs/cocaine-parties-in-la

Gibbs jumps on the No more Parties beat and it's everything you dreamed it would be

[Hero!]

http://www.tmz.com/2016/01/28/martin-shkreli-ghostface-killah-threat/

Martin Shkrelli threatening Ghostface killa. This is certainly...interesting.

[Nash Diesel]

http://www.tmz.com/2016/01/28/martin-shkreli-ghostface-killah-threat/

Martin Shkrelli threatening Ghostface killa. This is certainly...interesting.

I've been a solid fan of Wu Tang for 20+ years. GZA's Liquid Swords is easily in my top 3 of favorite albums of any genre. But with that said I think it was kind of lame that they create this album, and then sell it to some fucking little goofball instead of releasing it to the fans.

[JRSlim21]

That video is hilarious. I can only imagine what happens when Ghostface claps back. Maybe this will get all of the Wu on the same page.

[Nash Diesel]

Cage last year announced that he will basically be releasing a final Cage album, The Revenge of Chris Palko, and a Sam Hill (his alter ego) album in 2016. I know dude is in his early 40's so I'm not surprised this will be his curtain call. He releases albums every 3-4 years unlike a lot of other rappers who usually drop records every 8 months lol. Pretty excited for the Cage record, that and the new Deftones are on my radar for sure.

[G-Fresh]

It would be cool if him & Necro could work together on one last song.

[son_of_foley]

https://youtu.be/8GtVUkyzvhU

This is great

[son_of_foley]

GASH

[Simon]

That track is firrrrrre

[son_of_foley]

https://soundcloud.com/bonkaz/and-dat

GRIME IS KILLING IT AT THE MINUTE

[MikeHunt]

that beat is fucking incredible!!!

[son_of_foley]

It sounds so grime. I love it

[Simon]

You boys might like this...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRH65Z6h5sU

[Hero!]

Hot 97 played like 4 tracks off TLOP today and it sounds great. I gotta find the whole thing, but Kanye sounds fantastic from what i've heard.

[Fro]

Listening to The Life of Pablo for the second time now. Really good album. Will need a few more listens before I can give it a proper review. I'm sure a lot of people (myself included) will wish he would stick with the traditional raps and hooks and cut down on the autotune stuff... this album blends them both which was to be expected. But it's really enjoyable overall. Lots of short tracks so none of them seem to outstay their welcome.

[MikeHunt]

i love love love it. listened to it 4 times today, the lyrics are usual kanye ie not amazing but those beats. my god those beats.

[Ringo]

Sounds like he's taken it off sale to continue working on it?

Anyway, kind of a frustrating album as it stands. Littered with some phenomenal moments, a couple of great songs, a handful of really good ones, a few that sound like they could do with more work. And irritating things like Wolves losing the Vic Mensa verse, a questionable track order, confusion over bonus tracks, etc. But this whole thing has been lots of fun. Ridiculous and hilarious. I really like all Kanye's albums and this would probably be 5th or 6th in my ranking right now.

Trim the fat, change a few things, use the original Wolves, combine a few tracks, get rid of the bleached asshole line (which I could normally overlook but it's almost Kanye's first rhyme on the album).

ULB, FML and 30 Hours are really though. Father is really good. Tracks like Waves, Wolves, Famous and Feedback I like but sound like they could be brilliant with a few changes. Almost everything else is solid too really. Great samples and features (that Arthur Russell sample in 30 Hours... fuck.)

So it's good. Just doesn't sound finished to me.

[JRSlim21]

Apparently Tidal fucked up and people who bought it don't have the album. I'm just patiently waiting for Apple or Spotify to make them an offer they can't refuse.

[Fro]

Wow Kendrick's performance at the Grammys just now was incredible. He already won best rap album and a lot of people think he has a shot at album of the year. I hope he gets it.

[Beer-Belly]

Apparently Tidal fucked up and people who bought it don't have the album. I'm just patiently waiting for Apple or Spotify to make them an offer they can't refuse.

Kanye just said that The Life of Pablo will only be available on Tidal. It won't be available for sale anywhere. Kanye has fucking lost it.

[G-Fresh]

You shut the fuck up. He is a lyrical genius and best friends with Aquaman.

[Fro]

Kanye just said that The Life of Pablo will only be available on Tidal. It won't be available for sale anywhere. Kanye has fucking lost it.

I expect after a week or two of being exclusive to Tidal they'll release it normally, despite Ye's tweet. He really is going crazy on Twitter. I think what he's tweeting is really how he feels but he also has awareness that his Twitter rants are good for business when he's releasing a new album. The Cosby tweet was the only one that seemed like he was just trolling for attention.

[Beer-Belly]

I think he's just going crazy in general.

http://pagesix.com/2016/02/15/kanye-west-has-epic-meltdown-backstage-at-snl/?_ga=1.166544375.872525548.1455459768

[Fro]

True and now they have audio of some of that: http://pagesix.com/2016/02/17/dont-f-k-with-me-hear-kanyes-uncensored-snl-meltdown/

I'm leaning towards this all being a publicity stunt over mental issues but the jury is out on that front.

http://i.imgur.com/okbkIMa.jpg?1

:chin:

[Beer-Belly]

Either his entire public persona is some Andy Kaufman-like charade, or he's legitimately off his rocker. It's not like this is the first time he's pulled shit like this.

[Fro]

kendrick lamar just released a surprise new album

untitled unmastered

https://images.rapgenius.com/6d36e3405c4a1e1192fa2875ed024442.500x350x15.gif

[JRSlim21]

Pretty solid for a basically a B-Side album.

[Clive Plasma]

Tribe Called Quest star Phife Dawg dies aged 45

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35879876

:(

[BBF]

Yeah my mate just text me about that. Listening to Buggin' Out at the moment.

[Fro]

Tribe Called Quest star Phife Dawg dies aged 45

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35879876

:(

FUCK. I remember he was in poor health but damn.

You on point Phife?
All the time Tip.

RIP

[Psycho666Soldier]

Damn, that's a loss right there. Phife always had so much character in his raps. RIP.

[Psycho666Soldier]

Oddisee just dropped a new free EP. As expected, it's top notch so far:

http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/oddisee-alwasta-new-mixtape.116321.html?song-99174

[G-Fresh]

Bootleg is killin it with his new stuff.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Mg5Kx-PhM

[Psycho666Soldier]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uzVQdG5wMA

This was such a great return to form for Busta Rhymes. Some hot spitting in this track, both in speed and lyrics.

[Simon]

Bootleg is killin it with his new stuff.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-Mg5Kx-PhM

He's basically Ja Rule when he was only slightly shit, before he became completely shit.

[G-Fresh]

Ja Rule ain't got shit on any member of the Dayton Family.

[TheRockSays]

EVOL by Future bangs. Not quite DS2, but still really good.

[TheRockSays]

also TLOP just dropped on Spotify and assuming Apple Music for those that weren't going out of their way to hear it.

[G-Fresh]

This shit right here is fuckin sick, other than Chino flappin his cocksucker. Johnny Richter, Slaine, Necro, Ill Bill, Sabac Red, & Kool G Rap all school this shit.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=956-ldYBbJk

[Bert]

http://i.imgur.com/ZqLyPTa.png

[JRSlim21]

*sings O Happy Day* to that news

[son_of_foley]

Enjoying the new KAYTRANADA. Maybe a few too many instrumentals. For example the song with BADBADNOTGOOD is dying for Ghostface. It's dying for it.

[Simon]

I hadn't heard of him until last week, apparently he's one of the most famous producers/remixers on the planet now. Fuck I feel old.

[son_of_foley]

His song with Freddie Gibbs last year was one of my fave of the year. It's mentally good. Dope House it's called.

Chance III is out this week too. The world is warm again

[Fro]

This new Pusha T x Jay Z song is hard

[Fro]

You know what else goes hard? The new Vic Mensa EP "There's Alot Going On". Very very good.

[son_of_foley]

I love vic mensa and I love coloring book

You listened to sketpas album? Pretty nice man

[Fro]

nah, I don't like British rappers. But I just listened to Numbers since it's his cut with Pharrell and That's Not Me and his accent isn't too bad so I downloaded his shit on Apple Music. he seems pretty good.

I just finished my free month of Tidal and now I'm onto my free 3 months of Apple Music. yay for free trials.

Vic Mensa on HEAVY repeat. I love this EP so much.

[QuietStorm]

I love Jehst, who is British from my understanding of accents. Is he outdated? What's cool in rap these days? Aesop Rock has a new album out and it's pretty good. HI GUYS.

[Simon]

Jehst is the man :yes: if you like that laid-back style you should try Verb T, another UK guy.

[QuietStorm]

Will check. thanks. Not sure if I'll stick around here but always nice to say hey once in a while.

[kangus]

.

[JRSlim21]

What's cool in rap these days?

Chance is probably the "cool" rap album right now. I really enjoy it. KAYTRANADA is fantastic too.

Those are the 2 albums I've listened to the most recently.

For those who need some Wu in their life, I'm feeling this Flume song:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLf84LPzlVc

[G-Fresh]

Lil Dicky fuckin murders this shit


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYlJkF7wN5M&feature=youtu.be

[Fro]

Saint Pablo by Kanye is so dope. I think old school Kanye fans will like it more than anything else on TLOP. I want to get tickets to his fall tour but they're mad pricey.

Also this song right here is my jam:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ_DHRI-Xp0

[G-Fresh]

I can't get into Schoolboy Q. It's not that he's bad or anything. Just not my style. That beat is sick though.

[Fro]

I never got big into Schoolboy Q, his shit seems fairly shallow, but he's had some jams. Hands on the Wheel is that classic, and Man of the Year. Oxymoron was a solid album but not one I'll often revisit in full.

Feel No Ways by Drake is my shit right now too :heart:. I like a lot of Views but it's too long like all of Drake's albums.

[son_of_foley]

Vic Mensa stuff is really really good.

Enjoying the new future dj esco stuff as well. Pretty decent album. Future is fucking prolific man.

Been listening to woodie smalls. Think he's Dutch but has some good stuff

[Psycho666Soldier]

I've finally gotten around to listening to that DJ Muggs vs. GZA album. Hot damn, that's a great album. GZA's genius(pun intended) lyrics like usual, but finally back on top of memorable beats. I can't believe I slept on this for so long.

[G-Fresh]

G-Mo Skee has been announced as the newest member of Majik Ninja Entertainment. He has a new video out too.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qTwrQR44Qs

[G-Fresh]

Psychopatic signed a female rapper and she is trash. I like the beat though.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjpSya6r34I

[G-Fresh]

Looks like Brotha Lynch is gone from Strange.

[son_of_foley]

Enjoying new Isiah Rashad album.

Also guilty pleasure of the new Jeremih album too. The song "London" is absolutely cracking with Krept and Konan

[Fro]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEQdla6aRIM

I will always love a good Game diss track. This one is at Meek Mill and Beanie Siegel (for whatever reason)

[son_of_foley]

I think the reason is (although its confusing as fuck) -

Sean Kingston had a chain stolen. The Game somehow got caught up in the investigation and the rumour is that Meek Mill told the police.......
Game called him out then a video showed up of Meek Mill and Beanie SIegel going over the same beat at Game so he's now gone after them again.

Game is mad for this shit

[MikeHunt]

Anyone been listening to Swet Shop Boys?

[Fro]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ci6LhAmYJk

kinda cool, an official remaster of Infinite so it now has good production. I think they're updating the whole album.

[son_of_foley]

New tribe album is good. Going to see chance on Friday

[Fro]

I need to listen to that Tribe album. Heard nothing but good things.

Kanye cancelling the rest of his tour is a bummer as I have tickets for Dec 28 :(

[Nash Diesel]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ci6LhAmYJk

kinda cool, an official remaster of Infinite so it now has good production. I think they're updating the whole album.

I can never sleep on his lyrical ability but man, the older shit, that style, while it was very similar to others it was still fucking dope. You can definitely tell the dude was influenced by the East Coast sound.

[son_of_foley]

Hell of an end to the year.

Tribe dropped.
J Cole album dropped.
Ab Soul dropped.
CJ Fly out

Cudi out this friday and it's sounding really good so far.


Albums of the year?

[Marlon Dingle]

New Run the Jewels out on January 13th as well. :cool:

[son_of_foley]

HECK YES IT IS

[Ringo]

Thoughts on new Cudi sof?

Don't like the phrase "guilty pleasure" when it comes to music but I guess he's been mine for some time. The last album got such dreadful reviews that he'd finally been written off by a lot of people. By any measure though, this new one has come out of leftfield. Sounds like the album people hoped he'd release about 7 years ago. Probs too long but most big hip-hop albums are these days.

[Fro]

I believe Run the Jewels 3 just dropped

Christmas surprise early release

[Psycho666Soldier]

I believe Run the Jewels 3 just dropped

Christmas surprise early release

Just popped it on. First track is super chill, but big sounding.

[son_of_foley]

Thoughts on new Cudi sof?

Don't like the phrase "guilty pleasure" when it comes to music but I guess he's been mine for some time. The last album got such dreadful reviews that he'd finally been written off by a lot of people. By any measure though, this new one has come out of leftfield. Sounds like the album people hoped he'd release about 7 years ago. Probs too long but most big hip-hop albums are these days.

Think it's my album of the year now. Love it a lot. Definitely a little too long but authentic cudi and yep it's a lot closer to man on the moon or indicud than the other guitar stuff.

[son_of_foley]

New chance mixtape with jeremih as well

[son_of_foley]

Right Albums of 2016 go...

Life of Pablo
Passion, Pain and Demon Slayin
Late Nights : Europe
Birds in the trap sing McKnight
We Got It From Here....
Coloring Book

What am I forgetting?

[son_of_foley]

Always Strive and Prosper.
Untitled Unmastered
There's a lot going on


Awaken my love is an amazing album. Would add it but doesn't feel like a Hip Hop album.

[Fro]

RTJ3 is really great. I've only listened to it once through but it's right up there with 1 and 2. And if we count it as a 2016 album (I think it dropped a day or 2 before new years), it would be near the top of the list.

[G-Fresh]

Yo, Mr. Diesel, peep this shit out.....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QtokETDSiQ

[son_of_foley]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01vZrReuV84

Production on this is amazing.

[son_of_foley]

Got tickets for the RTJ tour again. AMPED. They are coming to Belfast as well.

Listening to Bucket List Project by Saba a lot at the minute. It's fantastic.

[Psycho666Soldier]

For fans of Rahzel and DBZ, I found this dope ass video someone made for The 4 Elements. The editing is fucking superb, and it fits perfectly.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC7p_rzENr4

[Fro]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APoGyJqeeKw

Not a big Fantano guy but this is a good video. Good ranking/recap of each album in Kanye's career. And I just want to comment on one thing. He said:

"MBDTF is probably the biggest 2nd wind any hip hop artist has ever received in their career"

...but I would actually put Nas's Stillmatic ahead of this. people forget how much Nas had fallen off before Stillmatic and how much it brought him back to the top of hip hop.

[Matthew]

speaking of, just picked up the awesome Watch The Throne 2x LP set. man, really enjoyed that album.

[Fro]

Kendrick season

http://i484.photobucket.com/albums/rr203/agnosiophobe/hype.gif

The Heart Pt 4 is dope as fuck.

Y'all got 'til April the 7th to get y'all shit together...

[Fro]

Also I'm feeling the new Drake album. It's too long in typical Drake fashion but good vibes.

[son_of_foley]

Saw rtj again this week. Amazing.

Funny little story. Last time I saw them I started a rtj chant and it really took on. Turns out the fucking used that one on the album. I thought it was a common thing that happened but nope they used the one from Dublin that I fucking started. I'm pretty much in run the jewels guys

[Fro]

That is very cool but how do you know that's the case? Like did they say it at the show this week?

[son_of_foley]

He tweeted last night

[son_of_foley]

Been banging "I'll sleep when you're dead" a lot recently.

It's fantastic. EL-P is a gift from the gods.

[Fro]

Damn, RIP Prodigy of Mobb Deep. :cry:

[Nash Diesel]

Damn, RIP Prodigy of Mobb Deep. :cry:

Yep. I was reading an article that was posted up on Yahoo and the article ends with talking about his battle with sickle cell and the article goes "This was first brought to national attention in the infamous 2Pac diss on Biggie". Just odd. I'll admit, never listened to Mobb Deep that much. Those 2 were dope as fuck though.

[Fro]

It's odd but it's absolutely the truth. Every 90s hip hop fan knows Prodigy had sickle cell because of that song.

The Infamous is a classic album for sure. Will bump it this week in memory of Prod.

[Psycho666Soldier]

Holy fuck, I can't believe I just heard this! It took me a while to start digging into Mobb Deep and Prodigy, but man that dude was mad lyrical. Another damn shame.

[Simon]

I think The Infamous was the first album I got into that was beyond the chart stuff. No idea how I got into it but fuck it was so good. Very sad news.

[Nash Diesel]

I think what has to be respected from Mobb Deep is that here you had 2 very young dudes, what, 19-20 when they dropped Infamous? And they made most of the beats on that album which I didn't know until years later. Just another classic example of why the 90's is a very hard decade to fuck with in terms of music. But obviously growing up in that decade, I'm a little biased.

[Fro]

Hell on Earth (their follow up album) was also very well received. I haven't listened to that one in probably a decade though. I want to give it a spin soon.

And yea their production was on point and underrated

[Simon]

Yeah Hell On Earth is great too. With a more critical eye you would probably say that everything since has been inferior but given his passing it seems reasonable to focus on just how good those two albums were.

[Fro]

Quiet Storm tho, what a track

[son_of_foley]

Was at a dj premier show last night in Boston. Playing with a live band it was very good

[Simon]

How did it work with a live band? As in people were playing did drum loops and bass lines or actually playing his samples as well? I saw him live a few years ago and even got to shake his hand. Think he might be my favourite hip-hop artist of all time, ahead of any rapper.

[Nash Diesel]

Are you considered a live band if your instrument is playing drum loops and samples? That actually would be kind of cool to have like one DJ who just played the drum loops, another played the synth, another played the bass loops, I'm sure there's gotta be something like this.

[son_of_foley]

How did it work with a live band? As in people were playing did drum loops and bass lines or actually playing his samples as well? I saw him live a few years ago and even got to shake his hand. Think he might be my favourite hip-hop artist of all time, ahead of any rapper.

He's touring with a bass player and drummer and trombone player and they are kind of riffing over some of the songs he's produced and he's scratching. It was a lot of fun

[MikeHunt]

Quite a lot of minimal tech/house DJ's play with live instruments and its always class. laurent garnier is easily the king of this.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxdrfK0Iy_8

[Fro]

The Jay-Z album is pretty solid. Definitely a worthy addition to his catalog, especially at age 47. It's like the polar opposite of Magna Carta Holy Grail - on that one he made bangers in tune with the musical style of the day, whereas this one is all low key production from No ID and more introspective subject matter. Marcy Me is my favorite track - it's the one that almost sounds like classic Jay, lyrically.

Otherwise, been listening to Big Fish Theory by Vince Staples a bit, and The Manuscript by Vic Mensa. Both solid, probably prefer the Vic even though it's just 4 tracks.

I heard Boomiverse by Big Boi was really good, need to check it out.

And I'm seeing Kendrick next Saturday :hyper:

[G-Fresh]

R.I.P. Fresh Kid Ice aka The Chinaman of 2 Live Crew. I got to see them perform multiple times and got to party with him and Fish N Grits at the strip club near my house back in 2006. Cool peeps and down with the clown for life. MCL homie.

[Fro]

Also, The Defiant Ones is pretty cool. Dre and Jimmy's stories are both interesting.

[Beer-Belly]

R. Kelly is probably running a fucked up sex cult.

R. Kelly Is Holding Women Against Their Will In A “Cult,” Parents Told Police (https://www.buzzfeed.com/jimderogatis/parents-told-police-r-kelly-is-keeping-women-in-a-cult?utm_term=.svKLO5zde#.ucqYGkgVP)

I'm predicting several hacky "Trapped in the Closet" jokes will be made.

[BigAl]

Also, The Defiant Ones is pretty cool. Dre and Jimmy's stories are both interesting.

DVR'd all four episodes and started watching it last night. Very interesting so far, and I'm halfway into episode two. Big Dre fan, so it's really interesting to learn new stuff.

Stevie Nicks was so hot back in the day.

[RuneEdge]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LunHybOKIjU
:panic:

[JP]

I just came in to post about that.

Phenomenal.

[Nash Diesel]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LunHybOKIjU
:panic:

I saw he posted something on social media and had to tune in. This motherfucker is the best. He's not my favorite, but he is imo the best rapper of all time. He's Jordan. And it's moments like this where you appreciate the impact music can have. It had to be this dude, not necessarily because he's white but because he's someone who's always tried to have something important to say more often than not. As years have gone by I've just shook my head in shame at shit like DJ Khaled flaunting his infant son around all weird like, horrid rappers flooding the show, and to have Em drop this, it was fucking incredible!!

[Fro]

yea good shit

he's supposed to come out with a new album soon too

[Nash Diesel]

The only thing I was surprised about was he didn't say anything about Flint, MI.

[JP]

yea good shit

he's supposed to come out with a new album soon too

If he's getting political again, I'm in.

[Nash Diesel]

If he's getting political again, I'm in.

It's fucking pathetic how the music industry has muzzled the political messages artists try to project really since the 80's. Music, not the NFL, used to be the place we'd look for to get that release. I remember back when I was super young, 8-10 years old, being consumed by the messages that came through via music. I mean for fuck's sake my last album has the severed head of the statue of liberty on it. Now it's like this political message is only reserved for the elite of the elite. You didn't see Migos or Cardi B out there with any kind of real message in any of their music. Too many dudes are about getting those face tats looking like idiots. Eminem came out there and did what he should be doing way more on his records but when he does man it's fire.

[Fro]

I haven't listened to much new rap this year but what's your guys' song of the year so far and why is it Marcy Me by Jay-Z?

[Nash Diesel]

I haven't listened to much new rap this year but what's your guys' song of the year so far and why is it Marcy Me by Jay-Z?

lol.

That's literally one of the few new songs I've heard.

I don't listen to a lot of mainstream rap. Beats are weak, rhymes are terrible, I might sound like a "my gen is better" type but the last time I really really soaked up the mainstream scene was early 2000's. When you had Jay-Z, Eminem, 50 Cent, etc. all going strong. Once Lil Wayne took over I just stopped. Respect to a lot of these cats like Kanye, Lil Wayne, Kendrick, etc. but I'm a creature of habit and very little mainstream rap appeals to me. I'm more of an under underground dude.

[Fro]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBViC-fEdm0

http://cdn.albumoftheyear.org/album/90461-the-saga-continues.jpg

havent heard the album yet but this single is pretty dope. always will love wu-tang

[Tyson]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBViC-fEdm0

http://cdn.albumoftheyear.org/album/90461-the-saga-continues.jpg

havent heard the album yet but this single is pretty dope. always will love wu-tang

That was strong...

[Simon]

Completely out of the loop nowadays but this is a fucking firebomb.

https://soundcloud.com/denzilporter/denzil-porter-like-yesterday

[Tyson]

Completely out of the loop nowadays but this is a fucking firebomb.

https://soundcloud.com/denzilporter/denzil-porter-like-yesterday

That was real good.

[BigAl]

It's fucking pathetic how the music industry has muzzled the political messages artists try to project really since the 80's. Music, not the NFL, used to be the place we'd look for to get that release. I remember back when I was super young, 8-10 years old, being consumed by the messages that came through via music. I mean for fuck's sake my last album has the severed head of the statue of liberty on it. Now it's like this political message is only reserved for the elite of the elite. You didn't see Migos or Cardi B out there with any kind of real message in any of their music. Too many dudes are about getting those face tats looking like idiots. Eminem came out there and did what he should be doing way more on his records but when he does man it's fire.

ND, do you think Migos and Cardi B maybe don't want to have any sort of political/real message in their music, or do you think the record companies are preventing them from doing so? Legit question, only because I don't listen to a lot of rap and very little current rap. The few I do listen to are in no way, shape, or form anything close to political or having a message in their music. Do you think it's a case of the record companies pushing music with no message or more a case of the record companies actively ignoring those artists with political messages?

[G-Fresh]

I might sound like a "my gen is better" type but the last time I really really soaked up the mainstream scene was early 2000's. When you had Jay-Z, Eminem, 50 Cent, etc. all going strong. Once Lil Wayne took over I just stopped.

I'd rather listen to Lil Wayne than any of them pole smokers.

[Nash Diesel]

ND, do you think Migos and Cardi B maybe don't want to have any sort of political/real message in their music, or do you think the record companies are preventing them from doing so? Legit question, only because I don't listen to a lot of rap and very little current rap. The few I do listen to are in no way, shape, or form anything close to political or having a message in their music. Do you think it's a case of the record companies pushing music with no message or more a case of the record companies actively ignoring those artists with political messages?

It's definitely record companies, radio, etc. pushing music that doesn't go too deep. Dumb it down is what they will tell you. And then the backhanded excuse is that the mainstream doesn't want to hear about politics they want an escape. This is nothing new and a lot of older artists would disguise messages that were meaningful but you didn't know what the fuck they were talking about until they flat out told you or 30 years later on a Behind the Music they told you. The flipside is how many times did we think there was some deep meaning behind a song and the singer goes "No it was just about us eating seeds to pass time, no hidden meaning." Kurt Cobain, revered as one of the greatest lyricists by many, he freely admits most of his shit wasn't some deep metaphor about life or whatever. Chino from the Deftones, same thing. Most of his songs do not have any meaning they're words that sound good when he sings them.

And I do think that there are artists who just simply don't have those kind of messages. Vince Neal from Motley Crue has flat out said in response to the "grunge" era that he just wanted to do music that was about having fun, partying, girls, to escape from the miserable real world. I don't think they were trying to shine light on the drug scene in LA with "Dr. Feelgood" to change anything, they were just talking about real experiences and doing drugs was the shit to them.

And it's also sad when artists like that one day decide they want to start having real messages and influence on the world and people laugh at them. If Justin Bieber and Migos did a political track, they'd be shit on.


I'd rather listen to Lil Wayne than any of them pole smokers.

Wayne is a pole smoker but he cool

[G-Fresh]

Real talk though Cash Money was on fire for a minute back in the day. Especially after Juvenile learned to rap. Mannie Fresh is still one of the best producers in the game too.

[Nash Diesel]

Real talk though Cash Money was on fire for a minute back in the day. Especially after Juvenile learned to rap. Mannie Fresh is still one of the best producers in the game too.

No Limit 4 Life. Well until everyone had their 2nd album after they all blew up. Mystikal's "Unpredictable" is one of the best rap albums ever and his follow up to that fucking sucked. Tru.

[G-Fresh]

I remember everybody grouped up in highschool. Not just all the juggalos kickin it, but the dudes that liked Wu hated No Limit and Cash Money and so on with each of them. Then the metal kids all hated rap except for a couple that liked ICP.

Make Em Say Uhh is one of the dopest videos ever though.

[Fro]

Real talk though Cash Money was on fire for a minute back in the day. Especially after Juvenile learned to rap. Mannie Fresh is still one of the best producers in the game too.

Mannie Fresh was great that's why Tha Carter 1 is the best Wayne album. Most people will say TC2 or TC3 are better but that Mannie Fresh production can't be beat.

Also while I was big on No Limit and especially the "Make em say UHHHH" video at the time, I'm not sure any of it has held up well. Master P was kinda wack on retrospect.

[Nash Diesel]

IMO, there's a reason the label went out the way it did and that's because as I said, pretty much everything that came out after they blew up was not very good at all. Mystikal is kind of a different story as his 2nd album on No Limit was weak as hell in every aspect but then he left and blew the fuck up even more with Tarantula.

I remember it was almost a thing to collect as many No Limit albums you could. That album artwork was pimp for the time. I remember 1996-1997 hearing "Tru 2 da Game" and playing the fuck out of that tape. Never really liked anything Master P did on his own, but that TRU shit was dope. Mystikal, Mr Serv-On, Skull Duggery, and C-Murder, those were imo the best solo albums they ever put out on that label. I also liked the format of the albums, almost all of them started out with a crazy No Limit family track with 7-8 cats on.

Anyone own "I'm Bout It"? Dug that shit.

[Fro]

Eminem's new album will be called Revival.

http://askaboutrevival.com

[RuneEdge]

Thought that site was a redirect from a dead link. Then read "Popsomp Industries" at the bottom. :lol:

[Fro]

yea funny viral marketing strategy. it hasn't been officially announced yet but they're subtly pointing people to these Revival prescription drug ads which make it pretty apparent

[Fro]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1WpP7iowLc

I can fuck with the Bey hook, the lowkey beat, the subject matter.... Em's flow is weak on this though. I don't know if you can even call it a flow.

Still psyched for his album though.

[Nash Diesel]

Eminem is one of those dudes who I can still respect his hustle, his delivery. But he fell into the same trap that Foo Fighters did years ago.

Remember when Foo Fighters did the songs "Best of You" and "Times Like These". Big fucking hits for them. But then the mainstream has expected that kind of Foo Fighters so gone are the days of "Stacked Actors" and "Hey Johnny Park" and we get "Times Like These"/"Best of You" tracks all over the fucking place. I LOVE Foo Fighters, easily in my top 5 I own everything. But part of me still goes "Fuck they need to get back to mixing it up like they did on the 2nd and 3rd albums".

Eminem...Same shit. Does "Lose Yourself" and it was such a great song that he had to continue that vibe. He's a pop artist for sure, and I think that it takes away from what brought him to the dance. That record he had like Rihanna, Pink, it was fucking weak because you know 15 years ago those were the artists he would be spitting on that were lame. Now he's that lame dude but still a killer on the mic when need be.

So this Beyonce shit.....The song isn't bad but I'm just not feelin the overall package, really since 2002-2003.

[Simon]

Eminem is infuriating because he's never become so shit that you can just forget about him, every album has at least a couple of worthwhile tracks and every now and then he will put out something that stands up to his very best work. Bad Guy off the last album is one of the best things he's ever done imo.

[Nash Diesel]

Eminem is infuriating because he's never become so shit that you can just forget about him, every album has at least a couple of worthwhile tracks and every now and then he will put out something that stands up to his very best work. Bad Guy off the last album is one of the best things he's ever done imo.

2 songs that altered Eminem's music forever were Lose Yourself and Cleanin Out My Closet. After that it was trying to sing, trying to do the boring mainstream concept of "You can make it if you just try don't let anyone hold you back" that just plagues so many artists. Really in the mainstream pop genre there are 5 topics: Money, Fuckin, Love, Heartbreak, and Rising Above. Most of the time you get 3-4 of those in one song by 79 different artists which is why I have so much trouble fucking with pop music.

I heard a song last night, by who I have no clue, but the flow was really tight like something you'd hear out out Big Boi from Outkast. But the lyrics fucking sucked. These dudes with tats on their faces and neck rappin about being a pussy whipped dumbass just sucks. Macklemore probably got a tat over his eyebrow now that says "Progressive". Who knows.

[Nash Diesel]

Where does RA The Rugged Man rank for some of you? I always enjoyed his stuff. Weird that as long as he's been around he's only dropped 2 full lengths. First time I heard his actual music was on the Smut Peddler's record when I bought that shit back in 2001 but I had heard of him from other rappers. They'd hear my shit and go "You ever hear of RA the Rugged Man? He's out there like your shit". I love listening to him chop it up with people.

For me in terms of "ranking" and I don't mean #47 out of 100 I just mean how do you feel about him, but I would put him up there with some of the best. The only negative is that more often than not the beats he raps over for his own shit aren't that good.

[Simon]

I am constantly told he is brilliant, but whenever I've dipped in I haven't heard anything that has made me want to search out more. One of those that rewards greater effort I guess - RTJ is another one, I just don't get it at all.

[Fro]

RTJ is pretty instantly great, I mean their first two albums are both fire.

[Nash Diesel]

I am constantly told he is brilliant, but whenever I've dipped in I haven't heard anything that has made me want to search out more. One of those that rewards greater effort I guess - RTJ is another one, I just don't get it at all.

See, I'm not a fan of EL-P but I love his weird ass beats. With RTJ, I dig it but I was more into for the Zach De La Rocha collab.

[G-Fresh]

I've seen RA The Rugged Man live twice and dude is sick with it. First time I seen him with Potluck, Whitney Peyton, & Black Pegasus. Second time with ICP, Lyte, and Ouija Macc. My favorite verse of his isn't even on one of his own songs. It's with Block McCloud and Celph Titled.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWoXexJphwo

[Simon]

No idea if this guy is well known but fucking hell this is fire...

https://soundcloud.com/flashius/kobe-klayton-prod-by-farmabeats

[Nash Diesel]

No idea if this guy is well known but fucking hell this is fire...

https://soundcloud.com/flashius/kobe-klayton-prod-by-farmabeats

Hard as fuck and the beat is magical. Holy fuck good find dude.

[Nash Diesel]

What's the best diss record of all time?

I wouldn't say it's the BEST but one that I always found to be super slick was the first Eminem diss record on Benzino.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhn2sUghmMg

My favorite though is the song that truly made me start to love rap when I was like 10-11:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkGwl6HrFRc

[Simon]

IMO Eminem's best one is I Remember. It's quite far removed from your usual diss tracks in that the first two thirds is a satire of the sort of music Everlast was doing as well as being a diss...real layered stuff. The rapped verse at the end is amazing as well. I love The Sauce too, but its such an easy target that it's less impressive.

In terms of pure loving the sound of it I'd say Zealots by The Fugees is my favourite diss ever...but I wasn't even aware it was attacking anyone in particular until relatively recently, I just loved it as a song. The best track on one of the best ever hip-hop albums.

[Fro]

who is zealots dissing?

[Simon]

Jeru the Damaja.

[Fro]

Interesting. Anyway, best beef tracks is a good question. I think Nail in the Coffin is a great shout, that would be my top Eminem pick and near the top of my list. It also has my favorite multi of all time:

If you was really selling coke well then what the fuck you stop for dummy if you slew some crack / you'd make a lot more money than you do from rap

That line is so perfect lyrically, like 8 syllables of rhyming, while also being an extremely witty and cutting diss.

So here would be my top 5, in no order:

Nail in the Coffin (Em at Benzino)
2nd Round K.O. (Canibus at LL Cool J)
The Ripper Strikes Back (LL at Canibus)
The Bridge is Over (BDP at MC Shan/Juice Crew)
Hit Em Up (2pac at Biggie/Junior Mafia/East Coast)

2nd Round KO gets more hype than Ripper Strikes Back but to be honest LL's comeback was maybe even better. Those two tracks make an incredible tandem of disses. Hit Em Up might need to be #1 on any list, it's that good/classic. Related note I love on Quitter by Eminem when he goes into the Hit Em Up beat. That part is an incredible tear down of Everlast. The Bridge is Over is that original. I mean idk if it was truly the first big diss record but it was so classic, even if the beat now sounds stale. Very monumental moment for hip hop.

Takeover would probably be my first honorable mention. It's more of an all-out assault on hip hop than a true diss track, even though it goes directly after Nas and Mobb Deep. It's an incredibly aggressive song and represented the beginning of Jay's second half of his career, declaring that he wasn't just a pop rapper but was in fact the King of New York.

[Nash Diesel]

It's funny you mentioned The Bridge Is Over cuz the G Rap interview with DJ Vlad about that song made me post the question I did.

Takeover is so nice. Brutal.

No Vaseline obviously.

I'm on my phone or Id post it but a great diss track for sheer lyrical entertainment is Copywrite dissing Asher Roth over like 9 different Em beats.

3rd Bass Pop Goes the Weasel. Ironic diss track.

[Fro]

No Vaseline is classic but it never quite popped for me as one of my all time favorites, same with Bitch in Yoo by Common (@ Cube). I mean both are true classics but I was never bumping them much. Bitch in Yoo is very well written it's just kinda dull musically. Props to Common though because he's a conscious rapper who came with an incredible diss aimed at one of the hardest gangsta rappers ever.

Ether is an obvious answer but I think most hip hop heads know it's somewhat overrated.

Dre Day and Real Mothafuckin G's (by Eazy E back at Dre/Snoop) are both great.

I also have a soft spot for 300 Bars and Runnin (Game @ G-Unit). It's super long and isn't THAT great on retrospect but the way he rapped over like 10 classic beats, I used to bump that song HARD.

[Fro]

Walk on Water has grown on me a lot and this SNL performance with Skylar Grey was quality. Kinda marked out when they went into Stan.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxkLy_mvGXE

[Fro]

In other news, I went to the Jay-Z's 4:44 tour tonight and it was AWESOME. It's really remarkable how at age 47 he's still one of the 2 best live rap performers today (along with Kanye). The two of them, they just know how to put on a stadium show. Hip hop as a genre struggles with live performances but they always put together incredibly produced sets with top audio quality (the audio is where most hip hop shows struggle, with the bass often overwhelming the vocals so you can't even hear what they're rapping). I also went to the Damn Tour earlier this year and while Kendrick put in a lot of effort, it was not really close to the caliber of performance Jay did tonight in Boston. Kendrick suffered from the typical audio woes and also just didn't have nearly as good of production value (plus obviously Jay has about 10x more hit songs to get the crowd going). Jay did a 360 stage in the middle of the arena, it was a black circle that rose up like a mountain or fell flat at different times, and had these cool looking angled tv screens surrounding it from above that would also move around, sinking to the point of almost touching the stage or rising up to the top of the arena. Very cool.

I highly recommend seeing it if you can catch this before the tour ends. Tickets arent that pricey either - I think it's even been struggling to sell out. Jay did an hour and 40 minutes and it was all superb. He did about half the songs of 4:44, a couple of which were unnecessary, but they were sprinkled in with so many hits from his catalogue that you couldn't complain. Vic Mensa was a solid opener, to boot.

I welled up a bit when Jay did Numb/Encore and dedicated it to Chester Bennington (spoiler: he actually ended the show with that). Then he exited through the audience with crowds of people rushing him to give him daps. He slowly made his way out through the embrace of the fans, like an old school rock star. The whole thing gave me chills.

[Fro]

https://s7.postimg.org/hwy8wwp8r/DQTLp5w_Xk_AEo_i_E.jpg

tracklist. 12/15 release

[Simon]

Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, Alicia Keys, Pink. I like all of them but none of them should be anywhere near an Eminem album for me.


https://youtu.be/43gm3CJePn0

This is insanely good. Is he well known in the States? First I've heard of him but it's an instant game changer.

[Nash Diesel]

Eminem is a pop star and has been since 8 Mile. I love the guy, mad love for Slim but call him what he is and you'll understand that yes, all of those names belong on an Em record because he's the white Jay-Z. Jay can have those same people and nobody would think twice. Shit Em has had Pink on a record. But after he did "Lose Yourself", and we've talked about this recently, it was all pop radio records for the most part.

He'll put a collab with Crooked I on a Shady mixtape but don't look for anyone that isn't a pop "rapper" or artist to find a slot on any of his solo releases. I'm serious look at his collabs, he's no different than any other mainstream pop artist. Great rapper, and shit he said he was going to retire at 30 and shit on Benzino for rapping at the same age lol. Timeless though.

[Simon]

Oh yeah I get that entirely, I just don't want them there. All his beat albums were restricted to unknown singers like Dana Rae or, at worst, legends od R&B like Nate Dogg. The majority of guest spots were acclaimed rappers. Guest spots like Beyonce and Pink more or less guarantee those songs aren't gonna be ones I like, so seeing so many of them on one tracklist is a let down. I'm sure there will still be a couple of real hiphop tracks because there are always are, and they should be great. But every album he moves slightly away from what I want to hear.

[Nash Diesel]

The solo stuff is good for the overall audience he's aiming for but I'm more into the lesser hyped stuff. That's where he really flexes his skills and doesn't feel restrained by the expectations of 13 year old Jennifer.

[Simon]

Did anyone listen to that Joyner Lucas thing? It's incredible, seriously. So much anger and power.

[Ringo]

Good grief, that new Eminem song. :lol:

[Fro]

I don't think it's that bad.

[Fro]

a few weeks old but we should mention that Ma$e dropped a fire diss of Cam'ron


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RN3HXmzcsc

[Nash Diesel]

Never liked Ma$e and him ducking out the game to be a pastor only to come back and pretend he's the old Ma$e made it even worse.

WITH THAT SAID. Can't deny his skill. And I gotta be honest....this dude v. Cam'ron is like 2 old dudes at a nursing home scrappin over chess pieces. They're not old in age but old in tenure in the rap game, they should be worrying about other shit or taking it to the streets.

[Nash Diesel]

You know who I wish I had the shot with? Pepa from Salt N Pepa. I saw her a couple years ago and she still looked hot. Treach was lucky.

[Nash Diesel]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLz78J9zXNg&t=749s

I've known about Crooked I for as long as I can remember. Back when he would have his boys post on underground message boards 10-15 years ago hypin his shit. But I never listened to much of his stuff until Slaughterhouse. This is a really good record. The collabs....RZA, Tech N9ne, Eminem, Xzibit....4 of the dopest emcees ever. X is such a slept on emcee it's not even funny. No Pink or Maya on this shit lol.

[RuneEdge]

So are we gonna talk about Revival and how average it is? :\

[Fro]

I would agree with calling it average/mediocre. I think some hip hop heads have gone overboard in how much they hate it. There's some good stuff on there but it's a difficult album to listen to in its entirety. Obviously needs to be shorter. Obviously needs fewer female singer hooks. I'm fine with a few of those but he does so many. Framed, Castle and Arose are the standout tracks I'd say. The Ed Sheeran feature is really good. His hook is the best part of that song. I could see that being a hit.

I thought this review was on point, a bit harsh but hits the nail on the head in terms of how Em's flow can be so frustrating now.

http://uproxx.com/realtalk/eminem-revival-revivew/3/

[RuneEdge]

The popular criticism seems to be his choice of features, which shouldn't really be an issue if the tracks were good. Like that Ed Sheeran feature is good, and I like the X Ambassadors one as well.
For me, I don't like the way he flows any more. Its almost like a caricature of the old Eminem, as if at some point someone told him "Give me more Eminem. Dial that shit up.", and now he kinda has the same style with his rhymes but it seems more forced. A part of me feels like Marshal himself would probably like to play around and trying new things but people tell him "Don't do that. Give us more of this instead. The fans love this".

IMO it started after the backlash from the Relapse album. Personally I loved the hell out of it. Unlike most people, I got that it was a concept album and Em was sort of playing a character. But that was his big come back and people didn't accept the accent and everything, so from then on he started to fade out the kinda wacky stuff and drift towards the style we see today because I think he was led to believe that's what people want to hear.

I don't want to hear what he thinks I want to hear. I want to hear what he would personally want to make. And I partly blame his fans for this.

[Nash Diesel]

Said it before and I'll say it again. I haven't really cared for most of Em's solo releases in forever. But the stuff like Bad Meets Evil or the Shady compilations that shit is usually more my speed. He'll always be someone who will deliver a handful of decent tracks but his solo releases more often than not are just lackluster.

[mth]

I don't really listen to hip hop in the slightest but I picked up Gucci Mane's autobiography from the library to read on my Christmas vacation. I also picked up Roddy Piper's biography but last I checked, he doesn't do the hip hopping.

[Ringo]

There's actually a couple of decent songs towards the end of the Revival that sound more like the Eminem of his heyday but the majority of the album is horrendous and I cringed my way through it all.

[Nash Diesel]

Who told this dude he could sing is all I'm wanting to know? Stop singing Em. I have to say though, you take away all the pop bullshit and he's still pretty nice on the mic. I don't want to say the mainstream is passing him by but when you look at the mainstream "hip hop" records, where's the talent?

That's one thing about Em you can never take away is he has always had talent. He's not someone that you'd go "Ah he's only considered nice because he's pop and nobody on the pop level is fucking with me". Yeah you have Jay-Z, but he's transcended hip hop, he's on that next level shit nobody is really at with talent, record sales, etc. Even he just dropped a subpar record in comparison to his earlier records. 4:44 had the lyrics, but it wasn't a Jay-Z record imo. Like Rappaport said, where were the SMACKERS?

[Fro]

I think there's a solid album in there. If you take out Remind Me, Nowhere Fast, Offended and Need Me then you've got a pretty solid 14-track, 60 minute album. Still would get shit on probably but IMO a worthy addition to his catalogue. As released it's certainly very long and clunky and hard to get through.

Improved version:

Walk On Water (feat. Beyoncé)
Believe
Chloraseptic (feat. PHRESHER)
Untouchable
River (feat. Ed Sheeran)
Revival (Interlude)
Like Home (feat. Alicia Keys)
Bad Husband (feat. X Ambassadors)
Tragic Endings (feat. Skylar Grey)
Framed
Heat
In Your Head
Castle
Arose

Like Home and River are really growing on me. I fuck with them both a lot.

[Nash Diesel]

I think my big issue is that I'm not a mainstream rap fan and the shit that I do listen to that's "mainstream" I don't buy the records because they only have maybe that 1 song I hear that's actually good to begin with. Like I'm over here playing the fuck out of the RA-AFRO-Gift to Gab collab over anything any mainstream artist is doing. I don't consider myself a big hip hop head but more of an underground head these last 15-20 years. 20+ years ago you could have some whack shit like Snow but then greatness like Wu Tang on the same station back to back. Today, you'd be lucky to hear anything of real substance. We need more KXNG CROOKED, less Future.

[Fro]

RIP Combat Jack

[Nash Diesel]

Yea just saw that shit

[Ringo]

That hit me out of nowhere. I used to listen to the Combat Jack Show religiously. Not so much lately since he split with Premium Pete but I follow him on Twitter so I'm not sure how I missed his cancer diagnosis. And then boom, he's gone. RIP. :(

[Fro]

I never listened to it religiously but I would listen when it was a good guest. Probably listened to 20 or 25 of them in total. Great podcast. And it was a very early and innovative podcast, I believe.

Sad loss.

[Nash Diesel]

Only knew the guy by name, the vid RA shared of LL Cool J calling this man on his deathbed was emotional.

[Ringo]

Recommend the interviews with Damon Dash, Pusha T, Chuck D, all the ones with Bun B and Freddie Gibbs, AZ, Big KRIT, Kevin Gates which is quite unsettling, Marc Lamont Hill, lots of them tbh. The heyday was like 2012-2014 when they had the whole crew in the studio. Great podcast, learnt a lot from it, and Reggie had a good interview style that usually made the rappers he interviewed feel at home.

[Nash Diesel]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3dtIyt6U1E

I can't stop listening to this track. Gift is obviously an OG, RA is someone who I wasn't really super into until 6-7 years ago when I got a copy of Eastern Conference All-Stars Vol. 2 and he has a sick track on there. AFRO is super young, dope, just needs to fine tune his craft and he'll be a beast. Especially with RA as the man guiding you. RA is like the street preacher keeping hip hop alive at all costs. It's a shame he never really was able to truly thrive off the music. The fact he's only had 2 albums in his entire solo career is wild.

[BigAl]

Just got my Action Bronson tickets for the Hartford show in January. Can't wait.

[Percussion]

nvmd

[Nash Diesel]

nvmd
percussion13 I'm a little shocked to see you posting in here and would have been curious to see what you were posting in regards to my post about Gift, RA, and A-F-R-O

[Percussion]

I was going to comment on that track and their style but while it wasn't anything overly negative, with compliments in fact, I know they're kinda your thing and I didn't want to start another 12 or so rounds in this subforum.

[Nash Diesel]

I was going to comment on that track and their style but while it wasn't anything overly negative, with compliments in fact, I know they're kinda your thing and I didn't want to start another 12 or so rounds in this subforum.

Eh, I haven't really ever listened to Gift or Afro. RA I'm a fan but I don't think he's the end all be all.

[son_of_foley]

Albums of the year for me

Kendrick - Damn
J.i.d - the never story
Goldlink - at what cost
Vince staples - big fish theory

Also big shout out to the lil b album which is actually really really well put together. Freddie gibbs and Vic mensa get a shout out too.

[son_of_foley]

Also earthgang are the absolute shit. Love them.
Matthew get yourself on j.i.d and goldlink and earthgang mate.

[Matthew]

anything in particular? i'm a full album man son_of_foley

[son_of_foley]

At what cost by goldlink.
The never story by j.i.d
Robots ep by earthgang although they have a solid back catalogue
For Vince staples shit there's a lot I think summertime 06 is my fave though

[Matthew]

ty i will see what i can find on this side of border

[son_of_foley]

Spotify mate or YouTube xx

[son_of_foley]

It's very early you should go to bed soon. 4:20 is meant to be the afternoon not the morning.

[Matthew]

i work crazy hours okay.

yea, i can find them on those platforms, and i guess i will do. i usually just buy some suggestions, and if they aren't my cup of tea, many people are down to trade.

[son_of_foley]

You've listened to run the jewels right?

[Matthew]

very much so

those albums came with stickers, too. that gives any album rating a boost.

[son_of_foley]

My mate got the meow the jewels vinyl at Christmas. It's niiice

[Matthew]

yea i have everything from them except a 10" that was put out like 2 years ago.

very quality stuff

[son_of_foley]

Also not 100% rap but God sza is kinda amazing

[Nash Diesel]

Why does Mystikal always be fucking up? Dude is one of my all time favorites but he just can't stop raping people:

https://pagesix.com/2017/12/19/mystikal-pleads-not-guilty-to-rape-and-kidnapping/

[Fro]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prmQgSpV3fA

This is 2 weeks old and it went super viral but I would be remiss if we didn't post it in here. Black Thought is a legend. I really think he's top 10 of all time.

[Percussion]

That didn't sound very improv..

Am I mistaken?

[Fro]

I agree, it sounds like a written. Still dope.

[G-Fresh]

Yo ND, peep this. RA is such a cool dude. I've seen him rap in front of 30 people and I've seen him at sold out shows and he puts it down regardless. Dude is down 4 life too.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7O0BANE0mc

[Simon]

Finally getting around to listening to the Eminem album. God it's so fucking mediocre.

I'm only about two-thirds of the way through it so I'm not writing it off entirely just yet, but so far the only decent tracks are the poppy tracks with cameos. Walk On Water, River and Like Home...all of them taken individually would be welcome additions as lead singles to a hip-hop album, a compromise to keep the suits happy and a nice break from the darker, deeper stuff...but when there are this many, and there are no good 'real' hip-hop tracks (again, so far - I'm hopeful there might be a couple buried late on in the album) it just leaves me feeling not so much angry that it's shit, but a little sad that essentially Eminem is no longer trying to make a proper hip-hop album.

Obviously he has no obligation to, there are endless musicians who have switched styles over the years to varying degrees of success. But for someone who is so steeped in hip-hop culture, who professes to owe so much to hip-hop, and who clearly still has so much anger about the treatment of black society, it's disappointing to see him happy to whack out this sort of cookie cutter, throwaway crap. Angry verse, pop hook, sad verse, pop hook, uplifting verse, pop hook, lunch. Fuck off. He's capable of so much better.

This is a guy who overshadowed Jay Z on a Jay Z album, overshadowed Dre on a Dre album...now he's getting overshadowed by fairly standard pop hooks by fucking Alicia Keys and Ed Sheeran.

[Fro]

Finally getting around to listening to the Eminem album. God it's so fucking mediocre.

I'm only about two-thirds of the way through it so I'm not writing it off entirely just yet, but so far the only decent tracks are the poppy tracks with cameos. Walk On Water, River and Like Home...all of them taken individually would be welcome additions as lead singles to a hip-hop album, a compromise to keep the suits happy and a nice break from the darker, deeper stuff...but when there are this many, and there are no good 'real' hip-hop tracks (again, so far - I'm hopeful there might be a couple buried late on in the album) it just leaves me feeling not so much angry that it's shit, but a little sad that essentially Eminem is no longer trying to make a proper hip-hop album.

Obviously he has no obligation to, there are endless musicians who have switched styles over the years to varying degrees of success. But for someone who is so steeped in hip-hop culture, who professes to owe so much to hip-hop, and who clearly still has so much anger about the treatment of black society, it's disappointing to see him happy to whack out this sort of cookie cutter, throwaway crap. Angry verse, pop hook, sad verse, pop hook, uplifting verse, pop hook, lunch. Fuck off. He's capable of so much better.

This is a guy who overshadowed Jay Z on a Jay Z album, overshadowed Dre on a Dre album...now he's getting overshadowed by fairly standard pop hooks by fucking Alicia Keys and Ed Sheeran.

last 2 songs are the best, as well as Framed.

[Nash Diesel]

Yo ND, peep this. RA is such a cool dude. I've seen him rap in front of 30 people and I've seen him at sold out shows and he puts it down regardless. Dude is down 4 life too.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7O0BANE0mc

Yo I was just watching this and it's cool as hell that he had a change of heart. I mean, he's not wrong, there are a lot of closed-minded idiot fans of ICP, no different than any other fanboy would be, but that's a small %. It's mostly a lot of newer or just idiotic cats who don't listen to anything that doesn't have the Hatchet on it or a song that was a collab. Trust me, if Redman and Method Man had done a collab with Twiztid or ICP nobody would be throwing shit at them.

[Nash Diesel]

Finally getting around to listening to the Eminem album. God it's so fucking mediocre.

I'm only about two-thirds of the way through it so I'm not writing it off entirely just yet, but so far the only decent tracks are the poppy tracks with cameos. Walk On Water, River and Like Home...all of them taken individually would be welcome additions as lead singles to a hip-hop album, a compromise to keep the suits happy and a nice break from the darker, deeper stuff...but when there are this many, and there are no good 'real' hip-hop tracks (again, so far - I'm hopeful there might be a couple buried late on in the album) it just leaves me feeling not so much angry that it's shit, but a little sad that essentially Eminem is no longer trying to make a proper hip-hop album.

Obviously he has no obligation to, there are endless musicians who have switched styles over the years to varying degrees of success. But for someone who is so steeped in hip-hop culture, who professes to owe so much to hip-hop, and who clearly still has so much anger about the treatment of black society, it's disappointing to see him happy to whack out this sort of cookie cutter, throwaway crap. Angry verse, pop hook, sad verse, pop hook, uplifting verse, pop hook, lunch. Fuck off. He's capable of so much better.

This is a guy who overshadowed Jay Z on a Jay Z album, overshadowed Dre on a Dre album...now he's getting overshadowed by fairly standard pop hooks by fucking Alicia Keys and Ed Sheeran.

It's because when he was outshining Jay Z he wasn't worried about how many mainstream fans can he get to buy his shit like he has been for almost 15 years. When he's not giving a fuck about that, he kills it, like on collabs and compilations. His solo shit as I've said has just been extremely lackluster and I feel that's mainly due to me not being into the pop radio catering he tries to do. He's still one of the best even when he's trying to speak on behalf of the black man lol.

[Fro]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf7VCjNbImw

hip hop has come so far

[son_of_foley]

yea i have everything from them except a 10" that was put out like 2 years ago.

very quality stuff

Did you listen to any if them?

[Nash Diesel]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf7VCjNbImw

hip hop has come so far

I was cool with that Lyp Synch shit LL and the oh so fine Mrs. Legend host....Weird freestyle disses like this.....Good concept but zero shelf life. This is like celebrity boxing.

[G-Fresh]

LOL there should be a law against women rapping.

[Nash Diesel]

LOL there should be a law against women rapping.

A lot of dope female rappers though, mostly back in the late 80's early 90's for me. Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Monie Love, Lady of Rage, Missy Elliott, Lauryn Hill, Boss, Rah Digga, Gangsta Boo, Remy Ma Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown. Probably in my top 5 of earliest influences would be Salt N Pepa. Not that What A Man shit I'm talking the PUSH IT era. Gangsta Boo was one of my favorites from the South without question. I was in love with her.

Underground wise I'm not really into but most of the underground female rappers I know are "horror" types. Whitney Peyton (not really horror but almost exclusively works with horror rappers), Molly Gruesome, Smallz One, Razakael, Ill E Gal....Peyton's probably the best of them. Then you have Jean Grae, she's a killer. Probably the best female emcee on the underground ever.

[G-Fresh]

I don't mind Gangsta Boo. I'd never listen to just her though. Whitney Peyton sounds good on wax, but she sounded different when I seen her with RA, Potluck, and Black Pegasus. I can't say what it was. Everybody sounds better in the studio though. I dig the song she did with DJ Clay on A World Upside Down.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrfM8jpYzyQ

[Psycho666Soldier]

A lot of dope female rappers though, mostly back in the late 80's early 90's for me. Queen Latifah, MC Lyte, Monie Love, Lady of Rage, Missy Elliott, Lauryn Hill, Boss, Rah Digga, Gangsta Boo, Remy Ma Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown. Probably in my top 5 of earliest influences would be Salt N Pepa. Not that What A Man shit I'm talking the PUSH IT era. Gangsta Boo was one of my favorites from the South without question. I was in love with her.

Underground wise I'm not really into but most of the underground female rappers I know are "horror" types. Whitney Peyton (not really horror but almost exclusively works with horror rappers), Molly Gruesome, Smallz One, Razakael, Ill E Gal....Peyton's probably the best of them. Then you have Jean Grae, she's a killer. Probably the best female emcee on the underground ever.

Before I finished reading this I was gonna mention Jean Grae. First heard her on Immortal Technique's Revolutionary Vol. 1. Lady Bug Mecca from Digable Planets was always dope as shit. Empress Stahhr who's been on a few DOOM records. Other than her and Jean Grae, I can't really think of any modern femcees I like.

[Nash Diesel]

I will say this....Being in the game so long the 1 thing I would constantly hear is "They all sound the same" And I can see that argument because every single female rapper I worked with sounded like 270 other female rappers I had heard. Every white girl rapper I personally think sounds the exact same. I used to work with this girl Akarya, she was from Kansas City but thought she was black and she STILL sounded like every other white girl.

[Nash Diesel]

Before I finished reading this I was gonna mention Jean Grae. First heard her on Immortal Technique's Revolutionary Vol. 1. Lady Bug Mecca from Digable Planets was always dope as shit. Empress Stahhr who's been on a few DOOM records. Other than her and Jean Grae, I can't really think of any modern femcees I like.

Even playing off my recent comment about female emcees sounding the same, I still find quite a few to be very good they're just all underground. I hear this shit on the mainstream stations and I'm like, this is why nobody takes rap serious in general anymore. I mean now it's not even good enough to LOOK like you a stripper, they're actually finding strippers to do records with this mumble mouth horseshit. Cardi B, the chick had to be co-signed throughout an entire BET Awards just like that fool Drake when he first popped up after he magically could walk again....Cuz they know that shit will ruin the game but the labels are all into. Dumb it down to where they don't have to work very hard to take your money.

I thought Lady SOV was going to be something, until I bought her record and realized she had one good track "Orange" and she was a bitch anyway.

[G-Fresh]

I know there are like 3 people here that know who he is..... Cali horrorcore rapper Mars has been stabbed and is in critical condition. He is expected to survive though.

[BigAl]

Forgive me if this has already been discussed but I thought it was cool.

Apparently in 2014 50 Cent accepted bitcoin from people wanting to buy his newest album. He raked in about $400K in bitcoin...and then promptly forgot he had done it. I guess declaring bankruptcy will do that to you. Flash forward to 2018 when bitcoin is worth 17 times what it was four years ago and 50's bitcoin account is worth around $7-8 million.

And that's on top of the $60 million he earned last summer selling his stake in a vodka company.

[Simon]

Missed the conversation about female rappers. Lauryn Hill is the best for me and the only one who can be discussed among the greats regardless of gender. Jean Grae is a boss as well so shout out anyone who mentioned her.

A couple of others I didn't see mentioned that you might not have heard of but are fucking awesome.

Gavlyn - What I Do

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyuRM3D4iSA

Invincible - Locusts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ixL3-AdOsU

Also, I'm not for a second saying that Angie Martinez is a particularly great rapper (though she is better than you might expect), but her name value in the business meant she had some nice beats and could pull in plenty of high-profile cameos. Her album Up Close and Personal is really fucking good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWCZto4Gccw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFNCeyiEPcA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_15I3ET3aUU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Siap_dkt1WA

Looking back again the track list for Up Close and Personal is incredible. Features from Prodigy, Wyclef, Snoop, Busta, Terror Squad, Jadakiss, Styles P, Beanie Sigel, Kool G Rap, Jay-Z and Q-Tip. Production from the Neptunes, Salaam Remi and Rockwilder among others. Well worth a listen if you've never heard it or assumed it would be shit.

[Nash Diesel]

Missed the conversation about female rappers. Lauryn Hill is the best for me and the only one who can be discussed among the greats regardless of gender. Jean Grae is a boss as well so shout out anyone who mentioned her.

A couple of others I didn't see mentioned that you might not have heard of but are fucking awesome.

Gavlyn - What I Do

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyuRM3D4iSA

Invincible - Locusts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ixL3-AdOsU

Also, I'm not for a second saying that Angie Martinez is a particularly great rapper (though she is better than you might expect), but her name value in the business meant she had some nice beats and could pull in plenty of high-profile cameos. Her album Up Close and Personal is really fucking good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWCZto4Gccw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFNCeyiEPcA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_15I3ET3aUU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Siap_dkt1WA

Looking back again the track list for Up Close and Personal is incredible. Features from Prodigy, Wyclef, Snoop, Busta, Terror Squad, Jadakiss, Styles P, Beanie Sigel, Kool G Rap, Jay-Z and Q-Tip. Production from the Neptunes, Salaam Remi and Rockwilder among others. Well worth a listen if you've never heard it or assumed it would be shit.

That's a bold statement. I always thought she was good but I wouldn't say she's among the greats. We're talking god level rappers like Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Jay Z, Nas, Method Man, Eminem, the list I could make probably wouldn't see a female until the #70 range if that. But that's just me. I think she's nice on the mic for sure but I don't think she has a catalog or skill level to be in the conversation of the all time greats. The Fugees as a group I would put up there in terms of groups because I really liked them as a group, on their own....Nah

[Simon]

I'm not saying she is top 5 or anything but she would definitely make top 20 for me. She was by far the most important element of The Fugees and The Score is a classic album for sure, and Miseducation is very good too (I also like the acoustic album although I know I'm on my own there). I think skill-wise she is definitely up there with the best, she's a master. I'd certainly have her ahead of Method Man who, like Hill, was an important part of a great collective but, unlike Hill, never released a great t album IMO.

I wouldn't push too hard for her to be included in a list of greats and I probably overrated her slightly because The Score was so influential in my becoming a hip-hop fan (think it was the first respected rap album I ever bought, bought after loving Ready Or Not). But i completely stand by the idea that she can be talked about among the greats - not that elite tier of four or five legends, but sitting comfortably among the ones a level down from that.

[G-Fresh]

Yo, ND, looks like Cage is on the ICP/Attila tour. That gives you a reason to hit up a clown show.

[Psycho666Soldier]

I'd certainly have her ahead of Method Man who, like Hill, was an important part of a great collective but, unlike Hill, never released a great t album IMO.

I can maybe see an argument for Tical, but Judgment Day was fucking dope.

[Nash Diesel]

I'm not saying she is top 5 or anything but she would definitely make top 20 for me. She was by far the most important element of The Fugees and The Score is a classic album for sure, and Miseducation is very good too (I also like the acoustic album although I know I'm on my own there). I think skill-wise she is definitely up there with the best, she's a master. I'd certainly have her ahead of Method Man who, like Hill, was an important part of a great collective but, unlike Hill, never released a great t album IMO.

I wouldn't push too hard for her to be included in a list of greats and I probably overrated her slightly because The Score was so influential in my becoming a hip-hop fan (think it was the first respected rap album I ever bought, bought after loving Ready Or Not). But i completely stand by the idea that she can be talked about among the greats - not that elite tier of four or five legends, but sitting comfortably among the ones a level down from that.

This will definitely just come down to personal preference because imo, Method Man would smoke Hill all the back to Sister Act on the mic. I would even put any album Method has been on, solo or group, just 1 of them, against everything in Hill's catalog. Wu Tang, the Redman albums, his solo work, bar for bar, beat for beat, Method Man destroys Hill. But again, personal preference because I once heard Lord Jamar tell DJ Vlad that Snoop Dogg was better than Eminem and he even paused when asked if MIGOS were better than Eminem. And that's Lord Jamar. Mr. 5% himself, questioning whether people like Migos of all fucking people are better than the level of an Eminem lol.


Yo, ND, looks like Cage is on the ICP/Attila tour. That gives you a reason to hit up a clown show.

Yeah I saw that but everywhere they're playing I think is at least a 4 hour drive. Guess we'll wait and see haha.

I do find it funny that Cage and RA the Rugged Man have/are doing tours with ICP when 10+ years ago those 2 weren't dissing them per se, but definitely weren't giving them any props.

[MikeHunt]

Opinions on Brockhampton.

I am absolutely loving what they are doing. Lyrics a good, hooks are even better and the beats feel fresh.