Ice Cube and stone-cold classic beats.
- Thread starter baboon2004
- Start date
epmd arent exactly like PE though. unless you really like hip-hop, epmd are one of those groups like gang starr, who generally only entertain the faithful. thats their calling card, that theyre so 'orthodox'/hardcore/traditional. if you dont like gang starr, chances are you dont like a ton of new york hip-hop!
as far as sonically stupefying/strange hip hop albums, a few that spring to mind -
de la soul - 3 feet high and rising
jungle brothers - j beez with the remedy
dj spooky - riddim warfare
raekwon - only built for cuban linx
rza - bobby digital (the first one)
saafir - box car sessions
as far as sonically stupefying/strange hip hop albums, a few that spring to mind -
de la soul - 3 feet high and rising
jungle brothers - j beez with the remedy
dj spooky - riddim warfare
raekwon - only built for cuban linx
rza - bobby digital (the first one)
saafir - box car sessions
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Interesting bit from the Woebot link is the assertion that "the true medium of hip-hop is the 12"" Interesting cause it's true, but also cause I've often thought that it wasn't always true. Mind you I'm not an authority on hip-hop history by any stretch, but in the eighties (and early 90s?) wasn't it more of a paradigm for a producer to oversee/produce an entire album rather than the artist contracting out to multiple different producers as is the case now? It was/is impossible to think of PE without thinking of the Bomb Squad, Run DMC without Rick Rubin, Beasties without the Dust Brothers, De La Soul without Prince Paul, etc. Look at the liner notes for recent hip-hop albums and the same five names are scattered throughout the procution list - everyone gets a Neptunes track, a Timbaland track, a Kanye track, etc. Not that it's all bad, just different.
Also chipping away at the predominance of the LP in hip-hop is the ten guest MCs per album phenomenon which a) makes it frustratingly hard to pin down that track you just heard on the radio/in the club b) masks the fact that half of these cats can't carry an album on their own c) imbues upon albums the cheesy patina of a product launch akin to bad movie franshises/TV show spinoffs. "Oh, I'm supposed to buy this because he's a member of G-Unit, whose good cause they have 50 Cent, whose good cause he was picked up by Eminem, whose good cause he was discovered by Dre, whose good cause..."
Also chipping away at the predominance of the LP in hip-hop is the ten guest MCs per album phenomenon which a) makes it frustratingly hard to pin down that track you just heard on the radio/in the club b) masks the fact that half of these cats can't carry an album on their own c) imbues upon albums the cheesy patina of a product launch akin to bad movie franshises/TV show spinoffs. "Oh, I'm supposed to buy this because he's a member of G-Unit, whose good cause they have 50 Cent, whose good cause he was picked up by Eminem, whose good cause he was discovered by Dre, whose good cause..."
just listening to kill at will by ice cube now and thinking
hang on when did time start going backwards , when did it start?
its a feeling i get regulary with most rock but i'm listening to this fairly minor record and thinking bloody hell the production and content are really something else it seems ahead even more now than it was then .
hang on when did time start going backwards , when did it start?
its a feeling i get regulary with most rock but i'm listening to this fairly minor record and thinking bloody hell the production and content are really something else it seems ahead even more now than it was then .
gumdrops said:
yikes... that is some seriously dodgy if not out right wack territory you treadin there...
I thought his abstract shit was interesting even sometimes good but this album was when he fell off the radar... for good. nothing but pretendo wank. I'm friends with some in his circle up in NYC and they are so cool. but Paul Miller Da Spooks is a pretentious self obsessed Twat of the first degree.
on the righteous tip:
I have officially joined the masses in their admiration of 2-pac. never knew what it was all about until recently (foolishly prejudiced against widely popular artists in my younger days). I'll be wearing one o them oversized T's with the big ass print on it soon.
the songs are real. "so many tears", "Dear Mama", "Fuck the World", "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted", "No More Pain", "California Love"... the list of solid gold classics just don't stop. you know they come from a real place.
and as cliche as the self fulfilling prophesies thing is, as "contrived" and "played out" as the posturing is supposed to be, I can not keep the ironic, dismissive smirk on my face when one of the songs is playin'... can't help but feel it for what it is and see the world through his eyes for a minute.
sometimes the political message is so clear and true, and the tough-guy verses sit so well on top of the sometimes breazy, easy-going jazzy-breaks and funk samples. the production on his numerous records is very consistant... consistantly understated steady rockin' with nothing in terms of bullshit or frills.
More Classics
Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders, People's instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm etc etc etc
Naughty by Nature - 19 Naughty III
Das Efx - Straight Up Sewicide
And an all to often overlooked Philly Outfit 'The Goats ' - 'Tricks of the Shade'(Smart, Political but more importantly fucky as fuck, produced by King Britt in '93)
Ice Cube is hard to beat!
Tribe Called Quest - Midnight Marauders, People's instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm etc etc etc
Naughty by Nature - 19 Naughty III
Das Efx - Straight Up Sewicide
And an all to often overlooked Philly Outfit 'The Goats ' - 'Tricks of the Shade'(Smart, Political but more importantly fucky as fuck, produced by King Britt in '93)
Ice Cube is hard to beat!
baboon2004
Darned cockwombles.
Out of interest (and with the refs to Diamond D upthread): anyone checking out DITC in London tomorrow night?
Good to see someone mention The Goats - crazy looking cover to their first album.
Not sure if anyone mentioned The Pharcyde's first LP, Brand Nubian's "Brand Nubian" or KMD's "Black Bastards" - I still listen to the latter one today. Some of the rapping sounds a bit clumsy by today's standards but with KMD you can hear how Zev Love X used to sound before he sharpened his skills and re-emerged as MFDoom/VinceVaughn/KingGeedorah/MadVillian/Rakim on Acid... There's certainly a positive feeling to these albums: I defy anyone to listen to Grand Puba babbling away on "Wake Up" and not instantly feel about 200% cheerier
In that vein, lots of the early Hiero stuff is good - Souls of Mischief first LP and Del's "No Need for Alarm" are worth a listen, although the emphasis on wordplay over content might annoy some.
I wore out Main Source's first album on cassette - a fair bit sounds dated now but "Live at the Barbecue" is the first time I heard Nas let rip (back when he was Nasty Nas and a rebel to America). One to beg, borrow or steal I reckon - it's not worth the silly money I've seen it being sold for on vinyl.
As with others on the thread, I can't recommend Kool G Rap & Polo highly enough either - the "Bad to the Bone" remix with it's crazy stabs was a particular fave back in the days when Pete Tong did his Rap Selection... "Ill Street Blues" is another that stands out - maybe Kool G Rap was feeling particularly raspy the day he recorded it?
Other than that, Third Base's "The Cactus" was pretty special IIRC, another DefJam classic. Oh and did anyone mention South London's finest, Slick Rick? Is he still banged up?
/braindump off
Not sure if anyone mentioned The Pharcyde's first LP, Brand Nubian's "Brand Nubian" or KMD's "Black Bastards" - I still listen to the latter one today. Some of the rapping sounds a bit clumsy by today's standards but with KMD you can hear how Zev Love X used to sound before he sharpened his skills and re-emerged as MFDoom/VinceVaughn/KingGeedorah/MadVillian/Rakim on Acid... There's certainly a positive feeling to these albums: I defy anyone to listen to Grand Puba babbling away on "Wake Up" and not instantly feel about 200% cheerier
In that vein, lots of the early Hiero stuff is good - Souls of Mischief first LP and Del's "No Need for Alarm" are worth a listen, although the emphasis on wordplay over content might annoy some.
I wore out Main Source's first album on cassette - a fair bit sounds dated now but "Live at the Barbecue" is the first time I heard Nas let rip (back when he was Nasty Nas and a rebel to America). One to beg, borrow or steal I reckon - it's not worth the silly money I've seen it being sold for on vinyl.
As with others on the thread, I can't recommend Kool G Rap & Polo highly enough either - the "Bad to the Bone" remix with it's crazy stabs was a particular fave back in the days when Pete Tong did his Rap Selection... "Ill Street Blues" is another that stands out - maybe Kool G Rap was feeling particularly raspy the day he recorded it?
Other than that, Third Base's "The Cactus" was pretty special IIRC, another DefJam classic. Oh and did anyone mention South London's finest, Slick Rick? Is he still banged up?
/braindump off