[louder]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

i feel like a prejudiced fucker. can someone recommend me some new hiphop that does not glorify consumption, small brain fantasies of guns & luxury cars & platinum debt, and actually stands for something not-low-IQ?

POR FAVOR.

the spiritual heirs of KRS-One and public enemy. they must live somewhere. definitely not on the radio. kardashians need not apply.

get Run the Jewels 2 by Run the Jewels. Doris by Earl Sweatshirt. the new Kendrick Lamar and Lupe Fiasco albums, but really anything by these will do.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by louder

get Run the Jewels 2 by Run the Jewels. Doris by Earl Sweatshirt. the new Kendrick Lamar and Lupe Fiasco albums, but really anything by these will do.

MUCHAS GRACIAS!

last night i started listening to lupe fiasco's TETSUO & YOUTH.

i was disappointed that "lupe fiasco" was not a mexican girl, cuz that would be a great name for a mexican girl, ha ha, but anyway, i started listening.

daaaamn! crazy pianos, string instruments--- wtf is this-- "prog rap"? heh heh heh. it was great though! good & complex & unexpected. i was totally surprised.

i cant really understand what he's saying-- but i heard almost zero brand names which is a relief from the usual ticks of the genre (i did hear "napping in a jaguar" though-- also "faggot"-- wtf, people, it's 2015).

but anyway the music is very good. i'll keep re-listening & figure out what he's doing. then i'll try the others.

thanks again!

[Severian]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

MUCHAS GRACIAS!

last night i started listening to lupe fiasco's TETSUO & YOUTH.

i was disappointed that "lupe fiasco" was not a mexican girl, cuz that would be a great name for a mexican girl, ha ha, but anyway, i started listening.

daaaamn! crazy pianos, string instruments--- wtf is this-- "prog rap"? heh heh heh. it was great though! good & complex & unexpected. i was totally surprised.

i cant really understand what he's saying-- but i heard almost zero brand names which is a relief from the usual ticks of the genre (i did hear "napping in a jaguar" though-- also "faggot"-- wtf, people, it's 2015).

but anyway the music is very good. i'll keep re-listening & figure out what he's doing. then i'll try the others.

thanks again!

Dude, just get Kendrick's albums and dive in. Lupe is great, but he is more or less cut from the same cloth as Kanye West (minus a lot of the talent, the production chops, the vision and the ego to pull off the unpulloffable), and Common. He comes from conscious stock, and has a lot of conceptual ideas, and digs fashion and shit.

Tetsuo & Youth is probably my #2 hip-hop album of the year so far, but it's really just Lupe's version of stuff Kanye's already done. His other albums are nowhere near as "high-brow" musically, and he stumbles over dumb lyrics at the best of times.

You want the disciples of KRS-One? It's Kendrick Lamar. Of Public Enemy? It's Run the Jewels.

But Kendrick is where you wanna be. Go check out his new album, it has everything you seem to be looking for and more of it than any other rapper out there. Brilliant musical scope and some of the best lyrics you're likely to hear on a hip-hop record. And if you haven't already heard Good Kid mAAd city, or his excellent mixtape Section.80, hear them... Now!

[louder]

Originally Posted by Severian

Of Public Enemy? It's Run the Jewels.

i agree, hence why it was the first thing i recommended to him.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by Severian

Dude, just get Kendrick's albums and dive in. Lupe is great, but he is more or less cut from the same cloth as Kanye West (minus a lot of the talent, the production chops, the vision and the ego to pull off the unpulloffable), and Common. He comes from conscious stock, and has a lot of conceptual ideas, and digs fashion and shit.

okay

Originally Posted by Severian

Tetsuo & Youth is probably my #2 hip-hop album of the year so far, but it's really just Lupe's version of stuff Kanye's already done. His other albums are nowhere near as "high-brow" musically, and he stumbles over dumb lyrics at the best of times.

yeah, in spotify at the top of his "hits" there's something called "battle scars". according to my wife (who speaks english, lol), he's talking about PTSD, but to my ear, it just sounds like anything i'd pick up on a clear channel radio station.

i do like tetsuo though, so-- which is your "#1" so far?

Originally Posted by Severian

You want the disciples of KRS-One? It's Kendrick Lamar. Of Public Enemy? It's Run the Jewels.

louder said as much. looking forward to checking those out!

Originally Posted by Severian

But Kendrick is where you wanna be. Go check out his new album, it has everything you seem to be looking for and more of it than any other rapper out there. Brilliant musical scope and some of the best lyrics you're likely to hear on a hip-hop record. And if you haven't already heard Good Kid mAAd city, or his excellent mixtape Section.80, hear them... Now!

i will i will.. if they're on spotify it's too easy.

BUT i don't like to stuff myself. i prefer to listen to 1 album over & over, then move to the next. right now i have tetsuo + the new lightning bolt on heavy rotation.

it's sort of like a europen friend said to me about thanksgiving... he complained that after days of labor all woudl get eaten in 15 minutes. and when i asked what he'd do different he said IT NEEDS COURSES. i agree, ha ha ha. courses. make it a long meal, drinks in between.

i've given tetsuo & youth 2 full listens and some casual ones (i.e. background) and i[ve ben reading the lyrics a bit on some website. i think i get it more or less at this point. later today or tomorrow i'll check out TO PIMP A BUTTERFLY.

well, thanks again guys. i appreciate your help corrupting my tastes, ha ha. its always a good thing to get unstuck from terminal judgments.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by louder

i agree, hence why it was the first thing i recommended to him.

Yeah, I know... I meant to say something like "like Louder's right, it's RTJ,"
but my patience with my phone's keyboard was running a bit thin, so I tried to to wrap things up quickly.

But yeah, pardon me. You nailed it, as always.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

okay

Mhmm... Yeah, I know that was kind of a rambling mess of incomplete thoughts and answers to unasked questions... Sorry about dat. All I was trying to say was that if Tetsuo & Youth is your cup o' tea, then I'm not sure why you're not a Kanye fan.
(I'm not sure you're not a Kanye fan, but I feel like we would have had a seriously bromantic bonding session over it long ago if you were.)
I think Tetsuo & Youth is most sonically reminiscent of Late Registration, which was Ye's "baroque pop" album... Filled with strings and chamber instruments, jazz and gospel influences, morose minor key orchestrations, and some seriously dramatic choruses. Tetsuo... isn't Baroque, but it's Jazzy... Sounds like Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" and Miles Davis's take on "Porgy & Bess," set against a more singular concept than LR.
The conceptual elements are closer to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Tetsuo also reminds me of MBDTF because of the song lengths, the story arc, and the very deliberate combination of samples, arrangements, beats, cover art and video design that all have the same feel and mood.
Also, it's Lupe's biggest and most ambitious, daring project to date, and it follows what many consider his weakest release... Just like MBDTF, only nobody's daft enough to think 808's is weak anymore.

Ahh, Kanye talk.

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

which is your "#1" so far?

Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A M*****F****N' Butterfly, of course.

Seriously, one of the best hip-hop albums I've heard this decade. I still think I prefer good kid, mAAd city... but that's almost as unbeatable a record as MBDTF.

Anyway, we're talking about one of the best albums in recent memory here. Nothing else can even compete.

But that will change when So Help Me God comes out. Yikes!!

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by Severian

Mhmm... Yeah, I know that was kind of a rambling mess of incomplete thoughts and answers to unasked questions... Sorry about dat.

i don't know why you apologize if you're doing me a favor! all i meant by "okay" was, hm, "copy that" or "message acknowledged", see.

Originally Posted by Severian

All I was trying to say was that if Tetsuo & Youth is your cup o' tea, then I'm not sure why you're not a Kanye fan.
(I'm not sure you're not a Kanye fan, but I feel like we would have had a seriously bromantic bonding session over it long ago if you were.)

i'm not a kanye fan because as i implied before i wrote off hiphop a long time ago. a loooooooooooong time ago. gansta rap was the kissoff-- i really find nouveau riche drug dealer values repellent.

and then there was this worship of brands and money and every time i hear some fucker say "cristal" i want to put a bullet in the speakers. or better yet on their forehead. to silence them forever.

and then it's all yo nigga this, yo nigga that (i don't wanna be called yo nigga.)

and throwing money at women. so ghetto & depressing. the poor stay poor.

so eventually i simply dismissed all hiphop outright. well almost all. but i just wasn't interested in it just like one wouldn't be interested in, say, boy bands. when is the last time you paid attention to a boy band? exactly.

so the first time i found out about kanye (i have very big filters to keep shit out) was through his public persona i didn't give a shit about. just like finding out about justin bieber-- my mom probably knew that justin bieber existed before i did. (now the clips of his roast are out-- i love natasha leggero).

so i might listen, but i can't promise i won't break out in hives if he starts talking about how he married a dinosaur. or whatever animal she was? or if he starts to advertise/glorify name brands. i fucking hate name brands. and that grotesque wedding.

Originally Posted by Severian

I think Tetsuo & Youth is most sonically reminiscent of Late Registration, which was Ye's "baroque pop" album... Filled with strings and chamber instruments, jazz and gospel influences, morose minor key orchestrations, and some seriously dramatic choruses. Tetsuo... isn't Baroque, but it's Jazzy... Sounds like Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" and Miles Davis's take on "Porgy & Bess," set against a more singular concept than LR.
The conceptual elements are closer to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Tetsuo also reminds me of MBDTF because of the song lengths, the story arc, and the very deliberate combination of samples, arrangements, beats, cover art and video design that all have the same feel and mood.
Also, it's Lupe's biggest and most ambitious, daring project to date, and it follows what many consider his weakest release... Just like MBDTF, only nobody's daft enough to think 808's is weak anymore.

Ahh, Kanye talk.

ha ha ha ha.

i had no idea. i'll have to explore-- but carefully. i don't wanna drive a splitting ax into my stereo amp. i really have a good one-- i mean ax. i know i said "i hate name brands" but stihl makes a really good forestry ax. it would pulverize the amp.

[eta: e.g., ridiculousness like this turned me away from hiphop]

hence, in my attempted rapprochement with the genre, the request first for better values. because i knew they had to be there i jsut didn't know where to find them.

and i still think "lupe fiasco" is the name of an all-female mexican punk band. it HAS TO be. it's the best name for a mexican punk band. LUPE. short for guadalupe. THE quintessential mexican name-- maría may be more common but lupe is more mexican. fiasco... well it's just very punk ha ha ha. like a band you'd find in the pages of "love & rockets".

Originally Posted by Severian

Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A M*****F****N' Butterfly, of course.

Seriously, one of the best hip-hop albums I've heard this decade. I still think I prefer good kid, mAAd city... but that's almost as unbeatable a record as MBDTF.

Anyway, we're talking about one of the best albums in recent memory here. Nothing else can even compete.

But that will change when So Help Me God comes out. Yikes!!

i synced it and was listening to it on the background-- a kind of first splash, but i had to stop to do emails-- too many verbal streams in my head.

he's got a funny high-pitched voice. but appears listenable. WAY WAY TOO FAST for me to understand so i'll need to read the lyrics. fucking shit it's like he's on coke. i'll have to complete that later & report. i won't say more until i give it a serious listen.

[Severian]

Wow. I know Kendrick can get his his heat up... Fucker's like a locomotive at times, especially in concert (he's like the hip-hop equivalent of a Swans gig... So much goddamn evergy)... But I never have trouble understanding him. I guess to me he sounds more powerful and steady than *fast*

Fast... Well, painfully fast... To me is, like, Bone Thugs, or Eminem when he's really trying to prove something ("Rap God"). I've never really cared for fast rapping. I consider it separate from technical skill or lyrical chops. Fast is something that anyone can do if they practice enough... In Em's case, if they practice the same song enough... So I don't really see it as a measure of talent
Or ability.

But I guess Kendrick is pretty much a beast.

[rebeccagotcursedout]

this is fun to see that !@#$% is hearing hip hop now as it is because a lot has happened since PE.

hope u explore more and drop by the café once in a while for an espresso hit to the heart. you'll soon built a tolerance.

[rebeccagotcursedout]

there's a lot to digest here. I sometimes only hear bits and pieces of suggestions people post here. but still interesting and staying in touch with whats what.

[rebeccagotcursedout]

btw, glad to see have some interest in some kind of music lately.

[rebeccagotcursedout]

another is Killer Mike R.A.P music. check that out. that is if you like Run the Jewels.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by rebeccagotcursedout

there's a lot to digest here. I sometimes only hear bits and pieces of suggestions people post here. but still interesting and staying in touch with whats what.

Really, I think way too much of the talking is done by the same three-four of us. Other commenters slip in opinions and criticisms from time to time, but I rarely see a solid recomendation from a non-regular. So I don't honestly think it's that much to digest.

Yet I know there are tons of people on this board who could be dropping bombs on the rest of us constantly. For some reason, they just don't usually do so. It's been years now, and the main café fam hasn't really expanded at all.

I think we miss a lot of good up-and-comers who are still playing the self-release game, and whose mixtapes and ep's would tear the roof off the place if there was a more active interest in looking out for fresh talent here in the café.

I think we also tend to have the collectio attwntion span of a hummingbird.
For proof of this, just look at that new Cannibal Ox record that dropped recently. I think ALL of this thread's frequenters would have called The Cold Vein one of their top 10 or 20 albums ever back when these threads started, and I think we all would have listed Cannibal Ox as an act that we were straight-up, foaming at the mouth desperate to hear from again. Like... up there with MBV, Aphex Twin, GY!BE and all the other notoriously "new old boys."

Yet they just came out with Blade of the Ronin like- a month ago, and we haven't even really talked about it at all.

Same thing happened when Deltron finally returned. Years of OMG OMG OMG, then the album drops and nobody says shit! Yeah, it was a bit of a let down, but it deserved more conversation time than it received.

I wish we talked more about older hip hop, because it's really hard to talk about new releases without focusing on the 3 or so that are the most highly anticipated.... This usually means Kanye, or Drake, or Ghostface, etc. This year Kendrick has been an obvious and expected attention devourer, but I still care about CanOx's legacy! I still care about Del! I want to talk about more genuinely new, exciting shit, and I want to talk more about what the world of rap was like when we were growing up, and how our have adapted to changing tastes and changing eras.

But honestly if you think this is a hard thread to digest, stop reading and start listening and participating more. This goes for all y'all.

[rebeccagotcursedout]

yr right. maybe it's not the commenters I was referring about but just the state of hip hop that has always been. mixtapes this singles that. not to mention how fickle the genre and fans can be sometimes.

still, for a newcomer. there's lots to explore here.

[noisereductions]

I think the new CanOx is great.

For what it's worth, for a while I was posting reviews of my hip hop CD collection here (so mostly older stuff) as I was listening through it all. But nobody ever seemed to comment on that stuff, and would instead just talk about recent releases so I stopped posting em here and just continued em in a Google Doc for my own archiving. If you guys want more old album discussion I can do that tho.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

I think the new CanOx is great.

For what it's worth, for a while I was posting reviews of my hip hop CD collection here (so mostly older stuff) as I was listening through it all. But nobody ever seemed to comment on that stuff, and would instead just talk about recent releases so I stopped posting em here and just continued em in a Google Doc for my own archiving. If you guys want more old album discussion I can do that tho.

Your reviews were fun. I tried to do my part and reply to them, especially those that were big records for me too. But you're right, it did kinda seem like there wasn't a lot of user response to you reviews.

Then again, reviews are hard to respond to. It's either "I agree, great album," or "I disagree, crap album." Or, I suppose there's also "I agree, crap album" and "I disagree, great album", but you rarely posted negative reviews. At worst they were... Ah... a bit tepid.

[noisereductions]

I will dig up some negative ones...

[louder]

heard some of Curren$y's new joint, Pilot Talk 3.. really good.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by louder

heard some of Curren$y's new joint, Pilot Talk 3.. really good.

Haven't listened to that motherfucker in a long damn time. Shit, not in years! I'm eager to check out what I've missed. How much has he put out since Stoned Immaculate?

Also, At.Long.Last.A$AP is coming. Apparently quite soon. God damn nice time to be alive, except for everything in the world that isn't hip-hop.