Mos Def shows me how much of a dumbass I was/am

[Phoenix Dark]

YOU MAY DIG ON THE ROLLING STONES
BUT EVERYTHING THEY DID THEY STOLE

I said, Elvis Presley ain't got no soul (huh)
Chuck Berry is rock and roll (damn right)
You may dig on the Rolling Stones
But they ain't come up with that style on they own (uh-uh)
Elvis Presley ain't got no SOULLLL (hell naw)
Little Richard is rock and roll (damn right)
You may dig on the Rolling Stones
But they ain't come up with that shit on they own (nah-ah)

While the song is pretty awesome eventually the lyrics pissed me off. While there's no denying that the Rolling Stones (and especially Zeppelin) didn't create rock and...took a lot of stuff from older black artists, to simply write them off as untalented hacks who "stole" music from black people is just asinine.

Black people didn't write Kashmir, or Achilles' Last Stand, or White Room. In fact when you think about it, most of the Rolling Stones greatest songs, and especially Zeppelin's, have nothing to do with American blues.

[Diablos]

Zeppelin did rip off like a ton of bands and singers though.

[Phoenix Dark]

Yeah. The entire riff from Whole Lotta Love is straight up stolen.

OR is it...sampled? Were they just the originators of what Timaland and Kanye West are currently doing lol?

[Flannel Boy]

Yeah. The entire riff from Whole Lotta Love is straight up stolen.

OR is it...sampled? Were they just the originators of what Timaland and Kanye West are currently doing lol?

West pays his royalties up front, while Zep settled with Willie Dixon years later.

[Phoenix Dark]

Yeah. The entire riff from Whole Lotta Love is straight up stolen.

OR is it...sampled? Were they just the originators of what Timaland and Kanye West are currently doing lol?

West pays his royalties up front, while Zep settled with Willie Dixon years later.

Very true; I should have included a bit about sample clearing in my post

[The Sceneman]

Wow Mos Def is so full of originality himself

[Phoenix Dark]

Dude loves using other people's hooks and completely jacking beats lol

That being said he could have been one of the greatest ever. Black on Both Sides is classic

[The Sceneman]

Im really sorry about trolling your puss rap threads. I feel really bad about it and I wont do it again

[Human Snorenado]

Personally, I feel that everything he's saying has a foundation to it.  White rockers owe black originators a huge, huge debt when it comes to music.  Eric Clapton might have written White Room but he'll tell you straight up who his influences were, and they were all legendary black bluesmen (and Hendrix), etc etc. 

Plus, the jazz wasn't invented by any crackers, and jazz > *, just about.

[Phoenix Dark]

Personally, I feel that everything he's saying has a foundation to it.  White rockers owe black originators a huge, huge debt when it comes to music.  Eric Clapton might have written White Room but he'll tell you straight up who his influences were, and they were all legendary black bluesmen (and Hendrix), etc etc. 

Plus, the jazz wasn't invented by any crackers, and jazz > *, just about.

I agree fully. But I have a problem with saying that these guys had no talent and just stole from blacks.

Although another way to look at the situation is that these artists started their careers and got big through stealing/copying black music, and without that gateway success they wouldn't have had the opportunity to experiment and do the more innovative things they're known for today

[APF]

What sort of debt does an artist owe their influences?