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[Catphish]

No accounting for taste and all, but if all you know from the Beasties is Sabotage and the radio/video cuts, then you've missed them.

They're a bunch of young punks that started as party boys, but then slowly started to unravel what it was really all about, and grew up magnificently, eventually aspiring to the likes of the Dalai Lama. Many of their loops are from them playing their own instruments, and all of their shit comes from the heart.

License to Ill and Paul's Boutique are great in their own way, but, if you haven't, I would *highly* recommend Check Your Head in its entirety.

Then decide if you think they have talent. Any judgment made prior to listening to that album is premature.

 

[collige]

I will not stand for Beastie Boys slander. Go listen to Paul's Boutique, people.

Is there any hip hop other than PE and TCQ that isn't just gangster bullshit and glorification of thug life?

Serious question. I gave up looking a long time ago but would be willing to try some new political/positive (or at least neutral) hip hop if such a thing exists.

The fact that you're asking this question suggests to me you haven't actually looked all this hard.

 

[Catphish]

The fact that you're asking this question suggests to me you haven't actually looked all this hard.

Like I said, I gave up a long time ago.

 

[Dangansona]

Not a fan at all. Glad to have a name instead of just mainstream rap.

 

[Souldriver]

Damn, I consider myself to have an ear for music (I guess not), yet I had a hard time figuring out the lay out of the beats/rhythm in the video, even with the visual representation. I mean, I distinctly hear the triplets way of rapping, but I don't know how it structurally uses a different kind of rhythm.

Very interesting video

 

[SoRuffShoNuff]

Contemporary rap I'd say is wayyyy better than anything that came out from like 1999 to 2013.

We are in a new golden age and it's honestly the best hip hop has ever been.

Wait what? That was prime Jay-Z, Kanye, Lupe, Eminem, Roots, Rawkus Records, a couple nice Outkast drops, Supreme Clientele!, The Fix, 2001, just so much classic material. And that was all stuff you could hear freely on the radio. You didn't have to dig and search for decent music like you have to now.

 

[Catvoca]

Great video. Not a huge fan of that type of flow but luckily for me rap is more diverse then it's ever been and there's tonnes and tonnes of other shit to listen to.

 

[Zantetsuken]

Alright, I'll cede the snap era.

That was a dark age.

I disagree. 2000s brought amazing music, especially if you didn't listen to the radio Blueprint, Black Album, Late Registration, Stankonia, among others.

 

[TheOohChild]

I think overreliance on triplets is pretty boring to listen to and a strong indicator that the rapper isn't very talented. But I do give a lot of credit to the producers backing these guys. There are tons of crazy ass beats flying around these days.

 

[Sandoval]

So triplets are like every rapper these days is stuck using nothing but star wipe...

 

[MoodyFog]

A blessing.

 

[Kaako]

Not a fan of the current triplet flow rappers. That migos shit all sound the same to my ears; I'm with Snoop on this one.
Video worth a watch, thanks for posting.

 

[metalslimer]

I disagree. 2000s brought amazing music, especially if you didn't listen to the radio Blueprint, Black Album, Late Registration, Stankonia, among others.

early 2000s was good. It was like 2006-2010 that was a pretty bad time overall

 

[dream]

thankfully Gift of Gab is back to save us all from this gorillers ass horseshit, and he's brought RA and A-F-R-O with him

Rappers are rapping again.

 

[nel e nel]

I don't get why anyone likes the Beastie Boys, but the complaint of thuggery was already suspect.

I could never get into them. Like the beginning of Sabatoge is awesome, and I love it those Star Trek trailers, but the actual song, nah.

I could get why for their time, and why that would be great party music. There's a lot of energy there. But yeah, can't say I think too highly of them.

If your entry point to the Beasties' catalog is their 4th studio album, you're doing it wrong.

They've been around for a long time - early 1980s - were down with Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin when they formed Def Jam, etc etc. Paul's Boutique was a revelation in how producers and beat makers looked at sampling. Yeah, their lyrics aren't always the best but they have had one of the most consistent outputs and have had one of the longest lasting careers in a genre that's notorious for throwing out artists after 2 or 3 albums.

 

[Dynomutt]

Is there any hip hop other than PE and TCQ that isn't just gangster bullshit and glorification of thug life?

Serious question. I gave up looking a long time ago but would be willing to try some new political/positive (or at least neutral) hip hop if such a thing exists.

Check out Oddisee.

 

[Ravensmash]

Is there any hip hop other than PE and TCQ that isn't just gangster bullshit and glorification of thug life?

Serious question. I gave up looking a long time ago but would be willing to try some new political/positive (or at least neutral) hip hop if such a thing exists.

Hip Hop is a gloriously diverse genre.

This is like asking if rock is all about devil worship.

 

[nel e nel]

Nice list. I'm a big fan of the Beasties, too. I'll check out the others. Thanks. 👍

I'd also advocate for some of the earlier gangster rap as they also were very heavy into social commentary, and the themes served as backdrops for commenting on police brutality, poverty and how crime related to those.

NWA is an obvious one, but Ice T is one of my all time favorites and Ice Cube after he broke off from NWA as well. Boogie Down Productions and KRS-One started off with a more hard vibe, but evolved into more social rap.

 

[Dynomutt]

Hip Hop is a gloriously diverse genre.

This is like asking if rock is all about devil worship.

But the Illuminati..

Say Lil Uzi Vert 666 times fast...

 

[Catphish]

I'd also advocate for some of the earlier gangster rap as they also were very heavy into social commentary, and the themes served as backdrops for commenting on police brutality, poverty and how crime related to those.

NWA is an obvious one, but Ice T is one of my all time favorites and Ice Cube after he broke off from NWA as well. Boogie Down Productions and KRS-One started off with a more hard vibe, but evolved into more social rap.

I used to like Ice Cube, a lot, but I gave up on him when I really let some of his lyrics in.

The kicker was, regarding a girl he impregnated: "What I need to do is kick the bitch in the tummy."

Fuck that shit. I know that was from his early stuff, and maybe he's different now (the last album of his I bought was Death Certificate), but I have no tolerance for those attitudes toward women. I don't wanna hear that bullshit. NWA's the same way. For all their "social commentary", they ruin themselves in my eyes with their attitudes towards girls and women.

Do not want.

 

[Killer Queen]

Hip Hop is a gloriously diverse genre.

This is like asking if rock is all about devil worship.

This is still a pretty common belief.

 

[IceCold]

Bone's flow is just on another level.

 

[drunkendonuts]

Check out Oddisee.

Yes. I saw him once in Vancouver and once in Jacksonville, amazing artist, and amazing live as well.

 

[nel e nel]

I used to like Ice Cube, a lot, but I gave up on him when I really let some of his lyrics in.

The kicker was, regarding a girl he impregnated: "What I need to do is kick the bitch in the tummy."

Fuck that shit. I know that was from his early stuff, and maybe he's different now (the last album of his I bought was Death Certificate), but I have no tolerance for those attitudes toward women. I don't wanna hear that bullshit. NWA's the same way. For all their "social commentary", they ruin themselves in my eyes with their attitudes towards girls and women.

Do not want.

Fair enough, we all got our thresholds. I admit that while I still enjoy my 90s rap that I grew up with, a lot of it is cringeworthy in many regards and hasn't aged well.

 

[gdt]

thankfully Gift of Gab is back to save us all from this gorillers ass horseshit, and he's brought RA and A-F-R-O with him

Rappers are rapping again.

Lmao

 

[docbon]

thankfully Gift of Gab is back to save us all from this gorillers ass horseshit, and he's brought RA and A-F-R-O with him

Rappers are rapping again.

R.A. features are always so good but I'm afraid I can't co-sign this perspective, friend.

 

[kevm3]

"triplet flow" is just watered down memphis tongue twisting

 

[I_D]

Is there any hip hop other than PE and TCQ that isn't just gangster bullshit and glorification of thug life?

People Under The Stairs
Deltron 3030
Del
De La Soul
Jurassic 5
Hilltop Hoods
Blackalicious
Blue Scholars
CYNE
Hieroglyphics
Doctor Octogon


And, in every rap thread, I have to drop DZK's name: DZK

 

[Ether_Snake]

It's shit, like most modern rap.

Mainly listening to old school and underground now, some good rap from France too.

The triplet flow reminds me of "South shore" rap, when was that? Late 90s or early 2000s? When stupidity started being cool, with the uuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh and mumble rap started.

edit: So apparently it does originate from the south, not surprised. Unlistenable to me.

 

[Snowman Prophet of Doom]

Contemporary rap I'd say is wayyyy better than anything that came out from like 1999 to 2013.

We are in a new golden age and it's honestly the best hip hop has ever been.

I mean, early Mos and Black Star, tho.

 

[GamerJM]

Fantastic video, especially in terms of the way it's edited and presented.

Though I feel like most people that have an issue with "modern mainstream hip-hop," probably have their distaste rooted in the instrumentation and voices rather than the flow.

 

[zeioIIDX]

Nah this decade isn't better than 2000s. I don't care about soulja boy, d4l, chingy or whatever. There is more classic albums from 2000s and better albums in general.

The Carter 2, food and liquor, the cool, Kanye albums up till 808s and heartbreaks. The documentary, speakerboxx and the love below, below the heavens, kamikazi, American Gangster, Get rich or die trying, most known unknown... Could keep going

Stillmatic, Doom albums also better singles from 2000.

Glad someone gives props to Twista, I love that album and Twista rarely ever gets mentioned anymore it feels like.

 

[Ether_Snake]

Fantastic video, especially in terms of the way it's edited and presented.

Though I feel like most people that have an issue with "modern mainstream hip-hop," probably have their distaste rooted in the instrumentation and voices rather than the flow.

The "flow" is like a sewing machine, making the beat and the flow both predictable. It's not melodic, so both end up being undermined. Nothing is memorable. It's more like jack hammering than flowing.

 

[ponpo]

Listening to Lanze all day thanks to this thread https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffQS6x8aJJ8

 

[Kinokou]

Don't pass on the rest of the videos in the series. Loving it.