Official Hip Hop/Rap Music Thread

[Hassan Darkside]

Re: Official Hip Hop/Rap Music Thread

*Counter Programming*
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ar1X9wy4_7E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Ish goes too hard. I was listening to it the other day. One of the best intro tracks I've heard.

Speaking of which, what do you guys consider the best intro track to an album?

I'd probably go with Dark Man X:
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[Fly3]

Re: Official Hip Hop/Rap Music Thread

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/v1_FDi7j3-E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[fatleg3]

Re: Official Hip Hop/Rap Music Thread

Speaking of which, what do you guys consider the best intro track to an album?

Probably not the best, but my favorite is........

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/018_jW_FNAY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[JODYE]

Re: Official Hip Hop/Rap Music Thread

Not even Luda's best intro...This is.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XXuEFjAqmXw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Or...

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6sfOwrSkv8A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

One of my personal favorites is:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yfG_TdnZep4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Jano]

Re: Official Hip Hop/Rap Music Thread

One of my personal favorites is:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yfG_TdnZep4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Correct me if I'm wrong 13 but isn't that an outro.. cuz that's what it is on my Padded Room. lol

Or maybe u talking bout Mood Muzik 4 the titles are the same.

[JODYE]

Re: Official Hip Hop/Rap Music Thread

Yeah I posted the wrong one. Didn't listen, just snagged the embed real quick.

This one:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/fYRv_29KXAQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Jano]

Re: Official Hip Hop/Rap Music Thread

Probably not the best, but my favorite is........

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/018_jW_FNAY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I'm right there with you on this one and if the first track off of an album count I got this one as one of my all timers:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vN6ztYDde6c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Jumpman232]

Re: Official Hip Hop/Rap Music Thread

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/u4w37BlGUlo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I know not an album or the best, but it's one of my favorite intros.

[LetThatBoyCook]

Re: Official Hip Hop/Rap Music Thread

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[ProfessaPackMan]

Re: Official Hip Hop/Rap Music Thread

Luda's intros were always tough, especially Blow It Out

NSFW
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[areobee401]

Re: Official Hip Hop/Rap Music Thread

Jay-Z - Dynasty Intro
Jay-Z - The Ruler's Back

[Streets]

Re: Official Hip Hop/Rap Music Thread

This is my view on Food and Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Part 1

This is Lupe Fiasco’s Stillmatic… wait, stay with me.

Or, don't. What follows is LONG, but I figured I'd share anyway as a nice break from the perma-based god discussions and add something different for people to discuss.

Spoiler

It’s no secret that Lupe’s favorite rapper is Nas. In fact, Food and Liquor has been said to have been heavily influenced by his favorite album of all time: It Was Written. However, what Lupe constructed was much more of a Chicago Illmatic than an It Was Written (that comes later). Lupe rapped about life from the point of view of a skater kid on the streets of Chicago who was seemingly wise beyond his years in the same manner that Nas did years before him (only he was a kid from Queenbridge). The thing that makes Illmatic and Food and Liquor unable to be reproduced is that limited, albeit personal, narrative.

Lupe went on to then construct his It Was Written in The Cool. Both It Was Written and The Cool were not hailed as instant classics and in fact were seen as disappointments initially as people clamored for more of the same. However, creatively, Nas and Lupe were on another level and delved deep into the realm of fantasy and over the top storytelling. Nas created "Nas Escobar" and went on to tell stories of drug kingpins and street dreams. His album was more Scarface than Queens.

Lupe similarly delved into more creative waters creating several characters and telling the story of "The Cool". Once people got over the fact that they weren’t getting more of the same old Nas/Lupe and that these artists have evolved from album one to two, both albums were seen as absolute classic masterpieces.

Lupe's career trajectory thus far has hit all the major notes Nas laid out. Nas' four most known albums are probably Illmatic, It Was Written, Nastradamus, and Stillmatic. Lupe, only hitting the highs and lows, decided to skip I Am altogether and delve right into Nastradamus when following Nas’ career blueprint. On Lasers Lupe touched on similar subject matter as his previous albums, but dropped the street beats for a more poppy sound. Nas often defends Nastradamus saying he was still slipping in socially conscious messages (“pay me back like 40 acres to blacks”) over his pop laden beats. However, fans were not buying it. Lasers and Nastradamus are widely seen as flops critically and are always going to be huge black marks on these artists discographies. Both artists had a need to evolve again, but realized that if you move too far out of your lane and into someone else’s (mainly Jay-Z’s) you can’t do what they do and in the process you can lose what you do best.

So, then came the talks of selling out, falling off, losing it, etc. Nas and Lupe were done. Using the "what have you done for me lately" mantra, both were seen as simply not having “it” anymore and costing off of two good albums (a bigger deal for Nas who had been in the game much longer at that point).

Out of the dust of criticisms and write-offs came Stillmatic and Food and Liquor 2. It is interesting that both titles are references to the critically acclaimed freshmen efforts that put them on the map in the first place. In both instances those titles alone set the bar very high in terms of expectations, and both artists knocked it out of the park.

Is Stillmatic the classic Illmatic is? No. Is Food and Liquor 2 a classic in the same vein as its predecessor? No. But this isn’t the Same Lupe Fiasco. Much like Nas, Lupe has evolved. He’s not the kid pushing his skateboard up and down Madison Ave. no more than Nas is still looking out of his project window. They both have traveled, lived, evolved as people, and widened their lenses; and thus rap more globally than locally.

While there is a content shift in both of their work that seems less personal than rapping about “home”, both proved to be as lyrically sharp and creative as they’ve ever been. I know it’s early, but Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Part 1 is Lupe Fiasco’s Stillmatic. Yes it has its “Braveheart Party” style setbacks (i.e. "Heart Donor", "How Dare You"), but how can you not hear songs like Unforgivable Youth, Brave Heart, Audubon Ballroom, ITAL, Strange Fruitition, Form Follows Function and a host over other great songs and not proclaim that “Lupe’s Back”?

[ScoobySnax]

Re: Official Hip Hop/Rap Music Thread

After a few more listens, the GOOD music comp is horrible. I tried to give them ninjas the benefit of the doubt, but I just can't. There's maybe two tracks that I can listen to right now.

My attention is all on F&L 2 right now. Can't wait to cop today!

[DieHardYankee26]

After a few more listens, the GOOD music comp is horrible. I tried to give them ninjas the benefit of the doubt, but I just can't. There's maybe two tracks that I can listen to right now.

My attention is all on F&L 2 right now. Can't wait to cop today!

What is it about it you don't like? Is it the beats, the actual songs, the people in GOOD Music, etc. ? Just asking opinion, not questioning you or anything.

I have Clique (edited so Big Sean's verse is skipped), New God Flow (for obvious Ghostface dopeness), In the Morning (Raekwon), Higher (just sounds so smooth, but Ma$e was a weird choice), Sin City (transition from Higher to this is great and I just love the song) all in my everyday playlist. Huge Wu fan so I was just excited to see the features .

And Creepers. Because I am a HUGE Cudi fan haha.

[Brandwin]

Re: Official Hip Hop/Rap Music Thread

So who actually buys music in here?

I usually always download first, listen, and then decide if I want to buy or not. If t's an artist I like, I'll download to just have it early and buy it off of iTunes or Amazon once it's out, unless it's just horrible.