Hippa to da Hoppa, you just don't stoppa - The Bear and Badger

Brooks

In the later 80s, and again between '01-'03. Still have many a contact and pal there, including my own brother and his missus.

mk64

did you listen to pirate radio between 01-03? would've been the back end of garage transition into grime iirc

Brooks

I did. Golden time, last burst of genuinely exciting British music imo. Thing I've always appreciated about MCs of that zone is the sheer velocity. I like that you can trace it back (and probably further back) to proper hardcore which I couldn't get enough of in the 90s.

mk64

yes, its amazing that there was such an explosion. I presume most of it stemmed from listening to rap and hiphop in the mid 90's from older sibblings then trying their hand as pirate radio grew. I was always listening (and calling in) to Delight FM. I also wonder what influence CB radio had on a much smaller level.

I had lots of mates who played out on most of the pirate stations back in those days and I met lots of people who went onto become "big" lol. Lots of cross over between dj'ing/emcee'ing and graff in those days. I've lost almost every connection I had from those days which is a shame, I just dont bump into them anymore and I can't find anyone on fb. Half the people had nicknames or I was just on first name terms

Brooks

Thing to remember is that right around that time, producing tracks got exceedingly cheap, almost to the point of derision (remember calls of "playstation beats"), so it became easier for plucky kids to put together an act that was really effective. Frankly, it was a godsend. Brit attempts at hiphop had been either flaccid or too smitten with Wu Tangy boombap before then.

Gremill

Aesop Rock is my current favourite, flow is incredible and lyrically multilayered and very interesting.
Rakim is another favourite, superb work with Eric B but solo not so much.
Nas, on Illmatic (one of the greatest debut albums of all time) and sporadically since but very inconsistent from a content standpoint.
Edan is amazing. Hilarious and consistently brilliant flows on top of great beats.
Mr Lif combines political, conscious lyrics with a sense of humour, great production and an evil flow. My kind of combination. His track 'Return of the B-Boy' is 7 minutes of genius.
J-Zone created a brilliant, profane character and backed it up with unique sample heavy old school beats and dizzying wordplay. No one bought his albums and he went bankrupt and quit, then wrote and excellent book about it. His album 'Old Maid Billionaires' is awesome and highly recommended.

Brooks

I have to rep Lil B as an Internet character if not always (or even often) as a musicmaker. He's just so endearing.

He's part of why I really want to pop over to the Bay Area in the next year or so.

dynamiteReady

Gremill wrote:

J-Zone created a brilliant, profane character and backed it up with unique sample heavy old school beats and dizzying wordplay. No one bought his albums and he went bankrupt and quit, then wrote and excellent book about it. His album 'Old Maid Billionaires' is awesome and highly recommended.

Jzone's beats are amazing, but he's not exactly known for weighty lyricism...
His bredbin' Huggy Bear is solid though, but them dudes have all but disbanded.

It's like MF Doom too... He's well known, and great to listen to, but he's no paragon of lyrical skill, or profundity.

MattyJ

I will post in here later when I can write some shiz.

dynamiteReady

MattyJ wrote:

I will post in here later when I can write some shiz.

Cause' when Matty dun' finished writing his rhymes and put his shit out on road, they'll be no mo' best MC arguments, melon farmers.

FranticPea

Facewon

It is interesting that people are going for vocal tone almost instead of content in some cases.

I absolutely agree tone and voice is a must, just like singing, but when you're talking ALL TIME, I think I just have to go for content as well.

I find that once you include the content caveat, and maybe think about career length, relevance and maybe number of good albums/songs/verses, the field gets whittled VERY quickly, IMO.

Which may be as much a problem with the nature of Hip Hop albums/releases as anything. There's a heck of a lot of verses that are just kind of out there in the ether with no context. There's plenty of albums that are out there with the same raft of producers and same Blueprint.

Grem rightly mentions Nas and Illmatic, which is unbelievable, but that first album then fall off is true of just about every NY MC/group from the 90s that I can think of. Some rose again, some didn't, some managed one more good album, some went on to be Jay Z.

Royal Flush and AZ spring to mind.

Also, I should probably add Big L to my honourable list, in a sort of Jeff Buckley kinda way.

MattyJ

Top 5 is tough man, as there are those that I know are fantastic MCs, but I wouldn't stuck their album on, and those that I could listen to on repeat but ultimately is pretty shallow.

Here is three for now as I'm on my phone, so sorry if it is a bit...stream of thought.

Jay-Z

Face summed up Jigga pretty well already, but he has been so influential for a huge amount of time, and adapted to different sounds over the years that he has to be in here. Blueprint was and is a fantastic album, and the name couldn't have been more prophetic for the time. Laid the foundation of popular rap for a whole slew of rappers after. Sure, he can be hit and miss, and Magna Carter does nothing for me, but he can still drop a verse which is just perfect. And the mother fucker doesn't even write his rhymes down.

Notorious B.I.G

Jigga's big brother. Although Raekwon's Cuban Links album started the whole gangster/mafiosa rap thing, ultimately Biggie took it to another level. His story telling ability is phenomenal, his flow is fantastic and he has great lyrics too. Ready To Die still gets played regularly by me, and Juicy is one of my all time fave songs. Everyone should own Ready To Die, and the Life After Death album could've benefitted from tighter song control for me, but still has some amazing songs. Someone, maybe Puffy, said that if Big was still around most of the rappers that came out late 90s early 00s wouldn't have had a chance, as they couldn't hold a candle to him. This is very true.

Kanye West

Kanye is crazy. His ego is insane, he says fucking stupid shit and acts like a dick. But god damn if I don't love his music. He has constantly pushed the boundaries of rap, in terms of track production and lyrical content. He has been very influential over the last 6 years or so. 808 and Heartbreak was a huge risk at the time it came out, he was top of the rap world and that album was just a whole different direction. He lost his mum and split with his girl, and just poured his heart out. Then you've got My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, which is one of my favourite albums, and as a comeback from all the shit that went down was amazing. Production was so deep and rich, and his brutal honesty was refreshing. He isn't afraid to address very personal issues. Watch The Throne is basically two guys having a fun time on record and not giving a shit, and then Yeezus is again another level to what what others are doing musically at this time.

mk64

Brooks wrote:

Thing to remember is that right around that time, producing tracks got exceedingly cheap, almost to the point of derision (remember calls of "playstation beats"), so it became easier for plucky kids to put together an act that was really effective. Frankly, it was a godsend. Brit attempts at hiphop had been either flaccid or too smitten with Wu Tangy boombap before then.

Yes! There was some computer software everyone had which was doing the rounds and meant you could put together a garage or dnb song in a day.

Dr Dre 2001 is still godlike for me.

dynamiteReady

Brooks wrote:

Brit attempts at hiphop had been either flaccid or too smitten with Wu Tangy boombap before then.

There are plenty of decent UK hip hop acts, but they're not well promoted. Look out for anything by Jehst (and ex grammar school pupil, funnily enough), and this dude...

Brooks

That beat is fucking dull.

mk64

New York State of Rhyme, one of the best hip hop abums I own.

takin ova and the half are great

dynamiteReady

Brooks wrote:

That beat is fucking dull.

That MC is fucking not.

MattyJ

Having a hard time deciding on a fourth. Lots to mention... Blackthought is my most likely candidate, such longevity and versatility when it comes to subject matter. Tight As fuck performing live, and no other hip hop act can go from studio to stage as easily as The Roots.

For the last spot, it has to be:

Eminem

I know that he can grate, and Jesus does he put out some shite singles, but Em is, for me, the best mc in terms of ability. Slim Shady LP was a revelation at the time, came from nowhere, and sounded so fresh. He addressed subject matters noone else was, in his own unique way, and his skill with packing rhymes is immense. Marshall Mathers LP took it to another level altogether, addressing all the controversy he caused, his new found fame and his fucked up home life. I mean, Kim is just a brutal, brutal song. Plus referencing stuff like Columbine (which is censored) and just being damn clever and funny.

Sure, he dropped off on album 4 and 5, but his recent output has him back doing what he does best.

And I'd put Lose Yourself as arguably one of the best hip hop songs of all time. That rhyme scheme is insane!

MattyJ

Apologies for phone typing again.

Diluted Dante

Lose Yourself is amazing, you're not wrong there.

Facewon

mk64 wrote:

Dr Dre 2001 is still godlike for me.

Really? It has the run of bona fide classics, but I reckon there's a steep drop off after that. Fuck You is as lazy and shite as some of the wrost stuff on All Eyez on Me, which at least had the excuse of being a double album and having 2pac in a manic mode just telling dudes to drop a verse and then whoever says something cool, that's the hook = done.

beano

That album is rinsed lyrically and musically. It's not definitive certainly.

Facewon

As much as What's the difference is an absolute banger, I still always laugh at the chorus, "I act on what I feel and never deal with emotions." lol

MattyJ

What's the difference between us? We could start at the penis, or just scream 'I don't give a fuck' and see you really means it.

Xxplosive is a straight up banger though, that beat and guitar is immense.

beano

I can't complete it and it's doing my head in. Honorable mention to Ma$e. One of the most underrated to make it out of that outfit post the-dead-rapper-cash-in.

MattyJ

Never really got into Ma$e. "Don't leave when your hot that's how Ma$e screwed up". Was he actually good?

Facewon

He was fucking terrible puffy shite when it was a bad time to be terrible puffy shite, imo, and his voice was too wussy for my liking, but I could, strangely, imagine that if the content and beats improved, that his flows could grate less.

MattyJ

Speaking of Eminem, peep this:

"This is a sequel to Eminem’s song Stan on the first Marshall Mathers LP. The song is about a crazed fan who kills himself, his girlfriend and their unborn child because of Eminem’s “lack of attention” payed to him as a fan. ‘Bad Guy’ is about Stan’s little brother who loved Eminem even more than his late brother Stan. Matthew Mitchell is all grown up now and wants revenge"

Fucking incredible, and I am so hyped for MMLP2.

MattyJ

Facewon wrote:

He was fucking terrible puffy shite when it was a bad time to be terrible puffy shite, imo, and his voice was too wussy for my liking, but I could, strangely, imagine that if the content and beats improved, that his flows could grate less.

That's the impression I got to be honest, from his verses I've heard, but he seems to get a lot of respect.

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