Hip Hop

[Himu]

Yeah, no one really asked for your opinion, Escha.

[Eric P]

can't wait

first kanye i've been excited by in a long time

edit: kanye posters are up in brooklyn which just have the CD image, the Def Jam logo and a message at the top that says "Please Deface Me" (or something similar).
I used my sharpie to write "no" underneath that on one of them.

[Himu]

Only 10 songs?!

PERFECT LENGTH.

[Himu]

Just finished it.

(Image removed from quote.)

I love his church uniform looks like some kooky shit out of Battlestar Galactica or Star Trek or some shit.

[Himu]

Good lord. You poor people giving this nicca money.

[Himu]

Is el-p a ye stan or...?

[Raban]

I checked out the leak, my reaction:

[Himu]

Are you asking me who El-P is right now? lol

I have no idea. I would assume he enjoys Ye's music though, and has a refreshing attitude for an underground legend.

No, I know who El-P is. I'm not sure if he's being sarcastic or just a big ye stan tho.

[Phoenix Dark]

El-p is right IMO. Ultimately I think this is a good thing, and a good point. But I think the unfortunate thing is that historically hip hop has been quite a disposable art form (at least in the way it is viewed). Every other genre of music has multiple legends who can still make a living off their music today because it's passed from parent (or uncle/granddad/etc) to child. Taylor Swift can do a live performance with Stevie Nicks and cause thousands of 12 year old kids to discover Fleetwood Mac. Meanwhile young rap fans today tend to dismiss Run DMC, Whodini, etc as sounding dated or being old. Sure we've seen a resurgence of UGK appreciation recently but overall "classic rap" is far from the industry "classic rock" has been for decades.

This applies to the mainstream/underground rift too, although it's less severe. Most kids who listen to this album aren't going to say "wow, I need to find more stuff like this!" Instead this is what's going to happen, IF the album is a big success: some sound from the album will be further mainstream'd by the Camel, others will follow suit, and will have another BMF situation where everyone is doing the same thing again. Meanwhile El-p, Flying Lotus, and others will be left out of the circle of success.

[Himu]

El-p is right IMO. Ultimately I think this is a good thing, and a good point. But I think the unfortunate thing is that historically hip hop has been quite a disposable art form (at least in the way it is viewed). Every other genre of music has multiple legends who can still make a living off their music today because it's passed from parent (or uncle/granddad/etc) to child. Taylor Swift can do a live performance with Stevie Nicks and cause thousands of 12 year old kids to discover Fleetwood Mac. Meanwhile young rap fans today tend to dismiss Run DMC, Whodini, etc as sounding dated or being old. Sure we've seen a resurgence of UGK appreciation recently but overall "classic rap" is far from the industry "classic rock" has been for decades.

This applies to the mainstream/underground rift too, although it's less severe. Most kids who listen to this album aren't going to say "wow, I need to find more stuff like this!" Instead this is what's going to happen, IF the album is a big success: some sound from the album will be further mainstream'd by the Camel, others will follow suit, and will have another BMF situation where everyone is doing the same thing again. Meanwhile El-p, Flying Lotus, and others will be left out of the circle of success.

Yup. This is what happened when Kanye first hit the scene with CD.

He basically made back packing mainstream. After he put out 808s, it was suddenly cool to talk about your feelings and the Drake's and Kid Cudi's became legitimate popular acts. I'm not sure if Drake would be a thing if not for Kanye. Anyone who's an underground fan knows underground rappers have been doing that for a minute. But Kanye makes it relevant since hip hop is mostly disposable music and its listeners ain't got time for dat.

[Phoenix Dark]

(the first half of) Black Slaves is like if Spice 1 did a track with Trent Reznor in 1994

edit: on further listens the song isn't nearly as "controversial" as advertised, I withdraw the Spice-1 comparison. New nicca slavery="come buy more?" Does he think Justin Bieber and other white celebs don't get the same treatment from stores?

[Phoenix Dark]

Not gonna spend much time beating around the bush: Yeezus is pretty good. I must say I was worried during the first track which is pretty shitty to me, and sounds unmastered or something. But that initial low point serves as a launch pad for the rest of the album, and you can also tell Rick Rubin saved this from being a complete mess; there are a lot of ideas thrown around, many of which could have easily failed, but it sticks together as an impressive industrial rap nightmare. This new version of Black Slaves is much better without the ugly outro the original version had, for instance.

Keef continues his dope crooning hook streak on Hold My Liquor. I'm In It broke my face, although I have no idea wtf RZA did on this track. Blood On The Leaves is one of Kanye's best songs (despite the "Jay-Z/Beyonce/lazy" rhyme being a Krispy Kreme rip off), and such a perfect mixture of every style his albums have explored; I'd love to see this mixture explored more. And when those horns kicked in I knew we'd get a C-Murder reference.

The entire second half of the album is strong actually. Send It Up's synth line works perfectly, perhaps more than any on the album; if there's one sound I can imagine The Camel aping, it's this. Bound 2 is in a similar vein as Blood On The Leaves to me, in terms of Kanye's sound coming full circle. Overall it's a dope album. Lyrically it's not as bad as some are saying. There are some undeniably BAD lines, like "I be speaking swageli." C'mon ninja, the fuck is that. But there are plenty of 2 Chainz-esque moments of odd yet endearing wit.

[Raban]

Blood on the Leaves

[Am_I_Anonymous]

Kanye is the most overrated rapper since LL....seriously I am embarassed my people consider him anything but a shitdick.

[Phoenix Dark]

Haven't been able to cosign much Prodigy since he got out of jail (although to be fair he fell off before then) BUT this is amazing.


it's time to give Alchemist the crown

[Phoenix Dark]

That would be the AOTY if Roc Marciano or Freddie Gibbs received those beats...god damn.

[Raban]

wrath speakin' my language

[Eric P]

just got back from Chance The Rapper's first NYC show and it was insane; a Polish Disco crammed full of a shit load of kids all of them going absolutely insane and shouting every word to every tack. High energy, great set list and when he needed a breather; his DJ dropped Katy Got Bandz which made the whole place just explode.  It was one of the better hip hop shows I've seen this year; right up there with the Showyousuck concerts I saw earlier this year.

Killer stuff.

edit: also performing was Lil' Kids whose tape I bought when it was released earlier this year but I'd never seen before.  He was a very good match.  Definitely moving in the same party mode of Beastie Boys singles while not falling under the "white rapper" curse of sounding like someone else you already know and love.


photos up now if anyone wants to check it out
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrphipps/sets/72157634146924649/

[Raban]

fuck, Bound 2 is such a good closing track

[Phoenix Dark]

multiple tracks feature pockets of soul samples...

It feels like Kanye coming full circle, displaying mixtures of various styles new and old. Blood On The Leaves is similar.

[Raban]

Esch, I respect your opinion and see what you mean, but I still love it

[Raban]

New Slaves' subject matter kinda reminds me of this old Del song I love

[Himu]

new Hov album coming

zzz

[recursivelyenumerable]

I normally don't listen to your so-called "rap" "music", but I just heard the new Kanye and omg the music and sound is omg amazing. don't care about the actual rap part

[Phoenix Dark]

[Himu]

Gotta say, that live instrumentation is pretty fly.

[Phoenix Dark]

Just watch, Jay-Z won't release a single. Aping Kanye 

Kanye should retaliate by opening the beat vault for God's Son. Unleash the flutes on em

[Himu]

Do it, Ye.

In The Qur'an It Says Nas needs you.

[Himu]

Fuck everything. Bumping Stillmatic again.

[Himu]

It's rare that I hear a Pharrell beat I like, but the one on that commercial was pretty straight, not so fruity.

Think one of those beats might be liberally lifted from

lmao are you serious

[Himu]

The beat being lifted. I can understand Pharrel, he's talented, but not for everyone.

[Eric P]

magna carta holy grail



oh my god

i hate jay-z so much.

[Eric P]

I live in Brooklyn.  I will be hearing this thing every day for the next forever.

[Phoenix Dark]

RZA on drugs>RZA off drugs

good news for the new album

[Beezy]

Not sure about delivery but I'd give intensity to Jay Rock. I'd love if he and Gibbs put out a project together.

[Eric P]

I personally just don't hear what other people hear in Freddie Gibbs.  I've tried and tried and just can't get into his music. 

[Phoenix Dark]

Gibbs is in my top 5 (of current relevant, new-ish rappers). Personally I just love how adaptive his flow is, he has great mic presence, is good live, and has quite an impressive collection of songs already. He hasn't reached full potential yet, or released a fully consistent album/mixtape though; I think BFK is great but it's quite front loaded.

[Eric P]

can you name like 5 best I can dig up on Spotify?

[Phoenix Dark]

of his songs?

Thuggin
Lord Giveth, Lord Taketh Away
The Hard
Rap Money
National Anthem (Fuck The World)
Rob Me a Nicca

IMO his best mixtape is the one with Statik Selekta (Lord Giveth, Lord Taketh Away)

[Eric P]

aight thanks to you both

[Phoenix Dark]

I listen to so much stuff that I have room for various types of rappers. If I want to listen to "gangsta" shit I'll put on Freddie Gibbs for instance, if I want something more abstract I might throw on Shabazz Palaces. And any mood is the right mood for some Roc Marciano.

To me Gibbs is just a damn good rapper. I wish he'd open up more about himself, and let's face it: his dad is a cop, he was in the national guard for a minute...dude is no real gangster. But he's so good at weaving in and out of beats that I don't care how repetitive he is. It holds him back thematically, but at the same time he's in his comfort zone - and he owns it.

Sean Price is a perfect example. I'd love to hear Sean rap about...what it's like raising a daughter, being a dad, etc; some might say "nah fuck that" but IMO he's one of the funniest rappers out there, and I bet he could make some dope introspective shit instead of just "I'm going to beat the shit out of you" rap. But, like Gibbs, he owns that particular market of rap so I can't complain too much.

However, if you're gonna throw your hat in the ring for "best ever" status, you need a bit of substance or variety IMO. Ghostface may do a lot of coke rap but he's also one of the funniest rappers ever, and one of the best story tellers. Meanwhile Jay-Z is an impressive rapper technically but rarely has anything of interest to say, rarely tells stories, few concept songs...just boring.

[Eric P]

Gibbs release ESGN today though DJ Booth

http://www.djbooth.net/index/albums/review/freddie-gibbs-esgn

now that's a leak

[Phoenix Dark]

can't wait to get home

Too bad it'll probably feature a bunch of bad verses from his crew. Seriously, we need more crews with good rappers like Outdoorsmen or Black Hippy

spoiler (click to show/hide)

or Jet Life

[close]

[Eric P]

oh he's also pushed the date through itunes but it's showing pre-order for some people still

so if you want to listen to it just use the link above

[Eric P]

is that....a cyberman?

http://dcmumbosauce.com/2013/06/18/kyle-henley-sunset/

[Himu]

Yes, that is a cyberman.

I guess my first thoughts on Yeezus is that...it's great. But not amazing. All the tracks are fantastic and it fits neatly in a neat package. 10 track number was smart. The problem is that nothing really sticks out, unlike My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. MBDTF had a lot of memorable stand outs upon first, second, third listen: Dark Fantasy, Power, Monster, All of the Lights, Devil in a New Dress, Blame Game. When MBDTF came out, you heard Power on about every commercial, tv show, movie, and video game. I don't think anything on Yeezus will have the same impact. The biggest compliment I can get Kanye is for giving underground rap themes and content mainstream presence, and that's a part of why it's less approachable than MBDTF: a gift and a curse.

Honestly, I'd rather just listening to MBDTF. I'll keep listening, but one problem with the album is the production. It's very quiet in areas. That's not good for Kanye, because in terms of vocal sound, his voice is not the most appealing of rappers. He's no Q-Tip, Common, or Snoop. Not even a Pac or Jay-Z. So without big production to cover up his voice, his raps don't sound nearly as appealing because he has a very annoying voice. lol.

Funniest thing about Yeezus is how it's getting props by hip hop heads, but 808s and Heartbreak, which hip hop heads HATED, has a very big presence and influence of this albums sound. It feels like a natural evolution of that album in terms of production.

[Phoenix Dark]

Personally I think Yeezus is far better than  MBDTF, which hasn't aged well. With the hype gone, it's a good album but not amazing. Too many guest appearances, too bloated, etc. It's basically Kanye unhinged with no one (Jon Brion, No I.D., etc) to channel his mile-a-minute thought train. Runaway being the prime example.

Yeezus sounds like it would have been a complete mess without Rick Rubin. Consider the horrible version of New Slaves that was projected on buildings last month. That version included a very odd screaming climax, complete with Frank Ocean's mom crooning. The new version guts that entire part of the song and replaces it with some more minimal crooning from Frank Ocean.

The only song I dislike is On Sight, largely because it seems like it has the worst audio quality on the entire album. So far it's my AOTY but I haven't listened to much of anything this year. Czarface was probably the last noteworthy rap release for me. I'll have to check out more stuff, include the Exquire mixtape I still haven't finished.

(although if I include mixtapes, Acid Rap would be my AOTY)

[Himu]

Yeezus is definitely great. I'm sure it'll grow on me.

[Beezy]

When MBDTF came out, you heard Power on about every commercial, tv show, movie, and video game. I don't think anything on Yeezus will have the same impact.

Heard Black Skinhead in the trailer for that new Scorsese/ DiCaprio movie today, so there's that.

[Phoenix Dark]

had to check my iPod. So far I've enjoyed (no order)

Kanye West -Yeezus
Uptown XO - Colour De Grey
Chance The Rapper - Acid Rap
Czarface - Czarface
Curren$y New Jet City
Ethel Wolf - Damare Shizukani
Hus Kingpin & Rozewood - Tokyo Tower Mixtape
Durag Dynasty - 360 Waves
Ghostface Killah - Twelve Reasons To Die (Apollo Brown version)
Prodigy & Alchemist - Albert Einstein
Triple Double - Red Tooth Rap

Haven't heard Exquire, I'm sure it's dope. Not into the Action Bronson EP, feels repetitive to me and some of Fraud's weaker production.

On the Prodigy album...probably has the best production I've heard this year, which is what I expect whenever Alchemist does anything. Haven't felt much of anything P has done since HNIC/going to jail but he drops some nice verses on here. Obviously there are some bad verses too, very puzzling rhymes...but when he's on he's on. I still wish Roc Marciano got all these beats but it's a nice album.

 

[Phoenix Dark]

I forgot to mention Big KRIT's mixtape, pretty good.

[Phoenix Dark]

Run The Jewels will be dope but we all know Roc Marciano will drop the AOTY. Hell he should be #1 and #2 if all his projects come out (Alchemist album, solo album).

[Phoenix Dark]

nah breh it would go something like this

Strange days
We on the block hittin like Willie Mays
Wavy like Lays
My bitch in class gettin' straight As
Cuz crime pays
Jack your inhaler but leave the Js
I got my own pair
You a square, I'm wearing my mink hairs
Keep the metal on me like the Renaissance Fair

[Phoenix Dark]

I got the city on embargo
Collectin' loans like Wells Fargo
Then I divide the cargo
First class flight to Cuba to meet Ricardo
He got bricks for a grand
Karate chop them to sand
Distribution across air, sea, and land
Got a bad Russian bitch, Ayn Rand

[Himu]

When MBDTF came out, you heard Power on about every commercial, tv show, movie, and video game. I don't think anything on Yeezus will have the same impact.

Heard Black Skinhead in the trailer for that new Scorsese/ DiCaprio movie today, so there's that.

Really? wow

[Eric P]

“I’m letting Jay-Z use lyrics – Francis would freak [if she knew this.] Jay-Z’s huge and we’re friends. I mean we’re not besties or anything,” she said. “They [used it] without asking, which is kind of nervy but the business side has been taken care of so it’s fine.”

I'm certain that Jay-Z's use of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" lyrics will be amazing.

[Eric P]

I hope they're really terrible

good news, it's a Jay-Z song so that's almost guaranteed

[Eric P]

Since we're all playing the Half Way Favorites here's mine

Tree Ft The City- amazing collection of tracks from this criminally overlooked Chicagoan 
Jerimia Jea - Black Jungle Radio
Gunplay - Cops and Robbers
Le1f - Flyzone
clipping. - Midcity
Serengeti - Saal
Problem & Iamsu - Million Dollar Afro
Czarface
Curly Castro - FIDEL
Kris Kassanova - 24K (moshpit is still an absolute banger)
Cult Favorite - For Madmen Only
Pigeon Hole - Chimp Blood (total bandwagon jumping but damn good job of it)
Killah Priest - The Psychic World of Walter Reed
Ghostface Killah - 12 Reasons to Die
Old Money - Fire in the Dark
DJ Mustard - Ketchup (I never thought I'd like this, but goddam, sometimes you just wanna throw a bottle of liquor at the cops, and this is the music for it)

[Eric P]

Eschaton lost

is your boy is going to work in every 90s alternative act into this album or what?



up next 4 Non Blondes?

[Eric P]

that's probably it

i mad