here's an even better idea. no.

I just saw Dalek live (well, 3 members of Dalek + guitarist from Isis) opening for Mike Patton & the X-Ecutioners...wow. Fucking wow. I bought their Absence album on the spot. Great fucking live show, totally original sound, even if the lyrics were a bit generic conscious MC. Still, the delivery was excellent and he has a hell of a lot of energy live. Dug it a LOT.

Patton & X-Ecutioners were amazing, as if you expected any less. Patton's beatboxing (if you can call it that) is ridiculous. Well worth the $30 I shelled out to go, although NOT worth the drink prices. $6 for a Guinness? You're killin' me.

well, i messiah/i set the microphone on fire/ rap styles vary/and carry like mariah.--the rza

i would definitely stab to see patton do something other than tomahawk or fantomas. i enjoy them both, but i'd rather see him doing something more dynamic.

I just got into Kool Keith recently. You should check out Dr.Octagon too, it's one of his other projects and it's really phychadelic.

Probably the only rap band I like.

Wu-Tang
POS(Really freaking good, man)
Madlib/Quasimoto/Madvillian
MF Doom/Danger Doom
NWA

I've grown out of the Beastie Boys.

Me too. I used to think Paul's Boutique was a work of brilliance, but it's left me out in the cold lately.

A Tribe Called Quest is where it's at. The Low End Theory is fucking amazing.

Heres a couple of tracks by New York rapper 'Edan' that i think you guys might like http://www.thewire.co.uk/web/mp3.php#E.
Also 'Saul Williams' and 'Dr Octogon' are worth a listen.

I used to hump my pillow at night.
The type of silent prayer to help myself prepare for the light.
Me and my cousin Duce would rank the girls between one and ten
and the highest number got to be my pillows pretend.

Saul is such a good vocalist, no wonder lots of his stuff is spoken word. I have one of his poem books

Showbiz & AG, Diamond D, Lord Finesse, Big L (rip), Buckwild, Fat Joe, OC
Anyone into DITC? I may as well mention Gang Starr

I still looove the beastie boys. I've also gotten into Aesop Rock

I was reading through this thread and kept reading about Nas' Illmatic, so I downloaded and it is fucking amazing.

Very strong record.

But you're black?You don't know about being intelligent?

Illmatic is powerful as fuck. I bought stillmatic for my brother a couple of weeks ago, and it's nearly as good.

Dr.DRE is still one of my highlights, along with RZA. Oh, and did anyone hear how Raekwon signed to Shady aftermath? It's going to be sweet, because now he's going to have 2 of my favorite beatmakers working with him.

What hasn't been added.....

Company Flow, MF Doom (and any of his other incarnations), Cannibal Ox, Gravediggas, Kid Koala, DJ Food (not really rap though), Blackalicious (the A2G EP is all I've heard, but its good) DJ Q-Bert (for a little fun), Lootpack

I used to right Nas off as being generic gangsta rap, but I don't think I will hear anything like this ever again.

260 (from Ghostface Killah's IRONMAN) - Raekwon's verse

Two hours later, scheamin like DeNiro in Casino
Son better have more coke than Al Pacino
Keana ain't tellin no lies, last year she did a sting and a half
and Tymeek bought her a aircraft
But anyway, yo, Daddy-O home, we need the shotties nidow
When we get back, throw you a bit out
Later that night, stay mesmerized yo
Go get the green 5, meet you on the corner of Marriot
You ready, you got the E&J and the machete?
We goin upstairs, I hope one nigga is empty
We walked in, both of us, looked like terrorists
Masks on, second floor, Dunn yo, I handle this
Kick in the crib, the whole shit looked graphical
Natural, fuckin a white bitch, actual
fiends chanting, "Do your thing Chef, handle it"
I shot him in the neck, it ricocheted and hit Carolyn
Ran to the back analyzin, much disguisin
Surprise we comin and their eyes were tranquilized
and buggin, throwin her twin cousins at his nugget, fuck it
Meet shottie waddy slug body hobby
Where the drugs, where the ounces you be bouncin
Fake cats announcin on the block, you loungin
Where the blow at, I ain't got shit, stop frontin
(Yo Chef, throw the joint in his mouth, money'll start stuntin
Bitch, show that bit, before I push your wig back
Chef stop wavin that, show him where the paper at)
Come here Valerie, you know the God he need a salary
Put down the pipe here's two tickets to a coke gallery
It's in the kitchen in the ceiling
(Baby girl kept squealing
Only found a white block of cheese from New Zealand
Ohhh shit! Yo, yo where that shit at yo?
Yo Chef, where that shit? What? What? Aiyyo...)

Ghostface Killah - Daytona 500

The arsonist, who burn with his pen regardless
Slaying all these earthlings and fake foreigners
In the Phillipines, pick herbal beans, bubbling strings
Body chemical CREAM, we burn kerosene
The conviction of my tape is rape, wicked like Nixon
Long-heads inscriptions with three 6s in
Kiss the pyramid experiment with high explosive
I slapbox with Jesus, lick shots at Joseph
Zoomin like binoculars, the rap blacksmith
Money's Rolex, with sparkless, Chef ragtop is spotless
I'm Iron Man no cheap cash metal I'm steel alloy
True identity hidden inside secret tabloids
Breathe oxygen in both sides of my jaw carry oxes
The track hit like the bangers, in hundred watt boxes
Yo jostling these cats while Little J be deli-ing
Sip Irish Moss out of Widelians

I've been crazy into Immortal Technique lately. His music is crazy-good, but his rhymes are vicious but incredibly brilliant. I highly recommend "Peruvian Coke", especially if you like the movie Scarface (but then who doesn't)

when i was about 13 i listened to only Hip Hop, more what i thought was underground and takin-it-back-to-the-old-school type stuff. Now I've realised the more politiically incorrect stuff is much better:

NWA
Wu-Tang Clan- First two albums(favourite ever)
Dr. Octagon
Dr Dre (the chronic)
Biggie

Edan
Dizzie Rascal

Mr. Lif!!!!

public enemy

Wow!, i want one of his books, are they available to buy?

No mention of the British stuff? Kano, Dizzee, Wiley, Lady Sov, MIA or even the mighty Tystion and the frankly shit Ciderdelic? Anyone know the Aspects? Pitman? Eric B & Rakim?

Ooh, Chilli Gonzales' 'The Entertainist', that were a good 'un. "The entertainist who entered your anus/ said he was Jewish just to get famous" and so on.

Nice to see comp flow and can ox get a mention.

Edit: Tone-loc, neglected to mention him.

Yep Da Flow rulezzzz man.Dizzie and Sovereign are up there with the god of lyric-writing as far as i'm concerned.

This is the one I have, it's one of his poem books that use visual figures and text to prove a message, it's really different. Throughout the book he's claiming that God is female, his philosophies are dead interesting
http://www.amazon.com/said-shotgun-h.../dp/0743470796

I really want to get this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Emcee-Scr...176030?ie=UTF8

As for Ghostface, I'm still missing one of his albums (Bulletproof wallets). But I have his latest DVD, and for a live concert it's the best quality I've ever seen.

Anyone got any recommendations on French rap? Also, I seem to hear a lot of Senegalese stuff on the radio, but I can never remember to write down the names. Any rap from non-English speaking nations herewith appreciated.

From Austria: Total Chaos - Nachtschattengewächs
http://www.sendspace.com/file/xy4zr7

Kool Keith is one if not the most original mc, amongst those ranks is O.D.B. (R.I.P.) but theirs a shit load of dope mc's out their. Mf/Vik, GZA, J-live & so on.

The Nogatco shit is some of the hottest shit I've heard lately.

I liked this. I'm not sure why but it made me want to listen to DAF.

Winter Warz

Verse One: U-God

This rhyme you digest through the RZA console
Ask why I slam, non-diagram pole
Raekwon dropped the bomb, Hunchback, Notre Dame
Golden Arms is bronze, buddah palm hit Qu'ran
It blows extreme, mean stream be the theme
Supreme team, America's CREAM team, redeemed
Vidal Sassoon, chrome tones hear the moans of Al Capone
Gun POW to the dome
And split the bone, wig blown off the ledge
By the alledged, full-fledged, sledge RZA edge
One dose of my feroc(ious) hand held trigga cuts
Acapella spittin shell paralyzed when you get touched
And critical, mic cords, hangin like umbilical
Cords, dope swords, five star general
Raw be the quote rap style sore throat
Through the fully operational, hand held tote

Verse Two: Ghostface Killer

More than thousand times one, snatch up, my styles get done
I hold a title, enhanced how my belt was won, check it
Slick majestic, broke mics are left infected
Germs start to spread through your crew, drew like an epic
You asked for it, shot up the jams like syringes
My technique alone blows doors straight off the hinges
Masked Avenger, I appear to blow your ear like wind
With a freestyle, sharper than the Indian spear
So sit back and let the king explore
Describe me, the kid's nice and he holds swords
And his name, black attack's the nerve like migraines
With more games than beggars on trains, livid sharp pains
Poisonous Rebel like Deck, you can't destroy this
You get ambushed, skate, try to avoid this
Side effects of, hot raps and hot tracks
A duffle bag full of guns son, dipped in black
My culture, slides and attacks like a vulture
Ghostface and Madison Square is on your poster

Out of the recent bands, one of my favourite is La Caution. They are one of the most innovative as far as the music is concerned. Here are the videos for two songs from their last (double) album "Peines de maures / Arc-en-ciel pour daltoniens":

La Caution – Code Barre
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cdUtM80bO0

La Caution – Thé à la menthe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akFZtK0GVU4


and two from their previous album « Asphalte hurlante »:

La Caution – Toujours électriques
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnYdcPInaeM

La Caution – Casquettes grises
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-3WqqlaTGY


Maybe I will simply continue with youtube links, it makes this easy…

A track I really like by Karlito, from the album « Contenu sous pression » (the rest of the album is great too, as much as I can remember) – the video is nice too:

Karlito – La rue cause
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0dKvYmBPaE


Then, maybe I can mention Booba, the arrogant muscled ego-trip rapper, nearly a caricature of the gangsta-rapper rapping about crime and money (he is also mocked for dressing and acting "like an american rapper"): he's apparently really famous now in France and selling a lot of his records. In general, French rappers are always torn between the politically-conscious and the individualism, but Booba did not hesitate at all between the two. Then again, sometimes, for a short moment, on certain songs, he also seems extremely lucid about what is doing, what "role" he is playing… some sort of nihilism... And he writes great lyrics, sometimes it feels like he is having one punchline after another… Some writer even wrote a long article about Booba’s lyrics at the Nouvelle Revue Française (prestigious literary magazine), comparing Booba to Céline and other writers, and calling the violent images in Booba’s lyrics "métagores" (a mix of "métaphores" and "gore"). He is certainly gifted with words, but I guess one does not realise it immediately.
Anyway, here are four videos, which probably don't do him justice (a list of some extracts of his lyrics would be a better way to develop the interest of other people in his music… then again, if you don't speak French…):

Booba – Mauvais garçon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcwq2lyAon4

Booba – Repose en paix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_lbiuvVHjY

Booba – Garde la pêche
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i35YW36H7NA

Booba – Boulbi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AifzEVPbJ_c

Now a song that has been apparently (I was not in France then) somehow put into the spotlight during the recent "riots" in France, because of one of its line ("J’ baiserai la France jusqu’à ce qu’elle m’aime"): Tandem’s "93 Hardcore". I have read an album review that was sort of arguing that Tandem was France’s N.W.A., and that this song was their "Straight outta Compton" ("Straight outta Aubervilliers", then):

Tandem – 93 Hardcore
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgzkRimUQ0k


In a totally different style, TTC, who actually might be relatively well-known because they are signed on Big Dada (here: http://www.bigdada.com/artist.php?id=36). Friends with La Caution (they made a record together).

Video of a song from their first album "Ceci n’est pas un disque":

TTC – De pauvres riches
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNy3ETXEzOs

Video of « Dans le club » from their second album (nice production on this song), live in concert and live on television

TTC – Dans le club (live)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o00_EISM4RQ

TTC – Dans le club (live on TV)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5508YbCU0P4


The two big « historic » french hip-hop bands were probably NTM from Seine Saint-Denis / Paris and IAM from Marseille.

"Demain c’est loin" by IAM might be my favourite French hip-hop track: it’s more than 9 minutes long and the beat doesn’t change once, but the lyrics are great, and even better combined with the images from the video (of course, you will miss out a lot, if not everything, if you do not understand French):

IAM – Demain c’est loin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYYMjRvgh8s

Another song from IAM :

IAM – Petit frère
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2rEdM5x4DU

IAM – La Saga ft. Timbo King & Dreddy Krueger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuB2bx_0sr4



And videos from NTM :

NTM – Qu’est-ce qu’on attend
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMbey5x1xgQ

NTM – That’s my people
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88tsEjceu78

NTM – Tout n’est pas si facile
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPMig1cZm7I

NTM – Authentik
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx8j8GHNpP0


Ah I forgot that among the first groups to play hip-hop in France, there was also Assassin… but I actually never listened to them…
Here is their first video (that voice one can hear between verses is annoying):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0Ikk9JUJEc


Oh and I also have never really been into Saïan Supa Crew, but they are probably worth mentioning:

Saian Supa Crew – Raz-de-marée
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdzMmGgC_ps

all of this is a bit ridiculous since i actually do not know much about french hip-hop (well, i know the singles, and it was fun looking at those old videos)...

anyway, a final one with Vincent Cassel playing human beatbox at the end:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9uWJV3uI4c

Someone else rep o o o. I have done once, but I think he needs another few for good measure.

Many thanks for that. Saian Supa Crew were the ones I was trying to remember, I have a few mates who're into them. There was this excellent Chinese rapper that a mate turned me onto, I wish I could remember his name. Nearly as good as Faye Wong, but, obviously not quite.

well, saian supa crew are good, i just did not listen to them a lot (and if i remember correctly, i used to find them a bit disappointing as far as the lyrics are concerned...).
i really like that song "raz-de-marée", though.

i don't know if they split, but two guys from saian supa crew formed a new band called OFX:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PseXIPg3cw8

Ive heard 'Spleen's Meant to be quite good. Ive only heard him rapping on CocoRosie's latest record , still worth checking out though.

some Tanzanian hip-hop... apparently called "bongo flav" over there:

X Plastaz - Msimu Kwa msimu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuciBmFde1M


if anyone can recommend some german hip-hop, that would be lovely... i know a few stuff, but i would be very interested in some informed opinions... or not so informed...