cuz outside of the children of the corn project, Big L only really released one classic album. He was more well known for his potential but one can also say that about Biggie and Biggie's talents and potentials still remains to this day unsurpassed by any artist to touch the mic.

as for nas, illmatic was '94 and it was written was in '96. I think the most phenomonal thing thats happened to hip hop in past 10 years is Kanye West's Grammy Family, it's like the spirit of Tribe combined with the proportion of Wutang.

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"Hip-hop was set out in the dark. They used to do it out in the park"

i guess..but you have to admit Big L has to be one of the greatest rappers of all time based on the freestyles and songs he made

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"when i'm sad, i stop being sad and be awesome instead."
- Barney Stinson

Read closer.

I said major labels, like Interscope, Atlantic, Columbia, Def Jam South, etc.

The mainstream music of the last 'nearly' ten years has been going down hill.

I think the last great major release was Nas' Stillmatic. All the other land mark albums for me have been somewhat underground.

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Let me clarify a few things. I don't discard rap out of any misconception. I do because I haven't found any rap song that I like. And that mainstream you talk about is not relevant to me as I'm pretty sure I dislike any rap song available. I've said before that I aim for music first and secondly look after the lyrics, so I might be biased but this kind of "music" is all about lyrics, therefore not interesting to me. Besides, the "musical" base (once IMO) is almost identical for every single.

Concerning singles, I pick them out because I certainly don't feel like listening to songs I don't like, it's a waste of time. Besides, I usually listen to them at least once and if they don't strike me as particular I set them aside. I actually proceeded accordingly with your library. Seems we've got Metallica, the Beach Boys and the Red Hots in common. On a side note, your Smokestack Lightning was good and I would consider listening to it but without you or whoever is this guy singing in the background.

By the way, don't try to make me say anything I haven't. I never said I wanted a full feel of any musician's work. "You" do. You are free to do so, I don't care. I'm sure you imagine that I'm no musician and therefore I don't have your particular expectations about music.

Don't want to be annoying but when you say that major labels haven't produced anything valuable for the last 10 years, aren't you trash-talking as well? After all, it's like you are assuming that the millions (billions?) of people listening to those songs have no taste at all.

I guess that settles this matter.

The Roots. Mos Def.

Those are two examples of Hip Hop artists that have musical accompaniment as strong, if not stronger than the lyrics themselves.

The music is not all about lyrics. Hip Hop is a fusion of sorts. It fuses spoken word poetry with various forms of musical accompaniment, from jazz to heavy metal.


There is nothing wrong with this attitude toward music. After all, I'd assume that the majority of people take this attitude toward music. However, music is art, and taken out of context, it loses meaning.

Most musicians strive to make a complete album with an overall feel and/or message. Singles take the feel out of context.



I actually rarely listen to those bands, though I do enjoy them quite a bit.

About sixty percent of the music I listen to is jazz or blues. All of the music I listen to is a derivative thereof.

If the version of "Smokestack Lightning" is the one by Isaiah Gooley, that's me playing guitar and singing. Admittedly, I am no singer, and am certainly no Howlin Wolf.


I never said you wanted a full feel of the musician's goal/work/message. But that was the goal of the musician: To display a certain theme.


My statement was a slight at the industry, not the sheeple who buy into the corporate machine that is the music industry. Of course, it was an opinion.

Also, the reason why so many people buy/listen to commercial music is advertising and promoting. I've heard better stuff from no names than from bands like Nickelback or Three Days Grace.

Now, music is probably more important to me than it is to you, so I'm just stating my opinion on various things and refuting your statements. Your initial statement was that hip hop is not music. That's incorrect by definition. I have no problem with you not liking it, as a casual listener of music, but it's disrespectful to the fans and the musicians in that particular genre to say that it's not music.

I guess that settles this matter.



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Livin just to keep from dyin

Interscope -
Eminem - Slim Shady LP, Marshal Mathers LP
The Game - Doctor's Advocate, The Documentary, LAX
Jurassic 5 - Power in numbers, Quality Control
MIA - Arular, Kala
Mobb Deep- Murder Muzik
Obie Trice - Cheers, Second Rounds on Me
Cali Agents - Head of State
Atlanitc -
Little Brother - Getback, Minstrel Show
Nappy Roots - Wooden Leather
Lupe FIasco - Food and Liquor, The Cool
Gnarles Barkley, - St Elsewhere, The Odd Couple
Scarface - The last of a Dying Breed, The Fix, Made

Columbia
Nasir jones
John Legend

Def Jam South
I'm not gonna try to defend this one cuz its almost impossible but
Ludacris - Release Therapy

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"Hip-hop was set out in the dark. They used to do it out in the park"

I'm contradicting myself, or is it that for you Hip Hop = rap? I never did mention anything about the former.

Ahh...

Nomenclature issue.

Hip Hop= form of music
Rap= way of making hip hop music.

Rap is a verb. It's not the form of music itself.

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Livin just to keep from dyin

hiphop is the culture.
rap is the music.

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"Hip-hop was set out in the dark. They used to do it out in the park"

Bwahaha .
You're awesome dude.... you just made the last 2 pages totally redundant.


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~Point & Squirt~

The only reason why I said Interscope was because of this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souljaboytellem.com

Also: Columbia used to have a lot of good Jazz musicians, including Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk signed.

That aside, though, I'll take Rawkus any day of the week (and to a lesser extent Island Def Jam).

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Livin just to keep from dyin

Major Labels have been around since the beginning of time so of course they'd have all those artists, nowadays they don't have to focus on music, they just buy out other labels. Universal merged island and def jam together is a good example.

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"Hip-hop was set out in the dark. They used to do it out in the park"

I listen only if the accompanied with good/catchy tunes...so I listen to songs rather than artists- some of my recent likes are the sweetest girl and Bust it baby..I hardly care about the lyrics, I only listen to the tune and the beats...I like Eminem like his recent Mockingbird...does this mean I listen to bad rap? I suppose I am into R&B and rap just makes it better

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i think you just like pop music, nothing wrong with that. pop rap works sometimes like Ja Rule had a good run, every radio in the country was playing his tracks, and it makes for good baby making music but i find nothing catchy about snap rap. gives me a migraine, and R&B songs nowadays are starting to sound all the same.

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"Hip-hop was set out in the dark. They used to do it out in the park"

AAAAAAAAAAAnd there it is.

What the truth is.

It's the same homogenization that lead to the rise of hip hop in the first place. Music goes in cycles.

A certain type of music breaks through and it's hot, and then it gets perfected, and then it becomes a homogenized slurry of one hit wonders.

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Livin just to keep from dyin