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Post by howyafeelin on May 19, 2007 22:37:56 GMT -5
Hi first thread so be kind and I mean u no harm.
I am confused by the hiphop this year. I listened to some EL-P w/ Aesop Rock and it was kinda gansta. Not my kind of hip-hop and I wouldn't think fit with the chill festival of Bonnaroo. Am I not listening to the right albums suggestions? Tim Fite sounds humorous but the best artist seem like just guests (Gab, 2na, Lateef, Headnodic)
I am not forgetting The Roots much respect can't wait for The Philadelphia Experiment etc. I kinda expected someone like Del, Mos Def, Krs-1,Tribe, De la, Guru or K'naan.
Anyway can someone explain or point me in the right direction as what albums to listen to. I love all music and want to check out some chill hip-hop at Bonnaroo.
i've been an aesop / el-p fan for a long time. the music is far from what i consider"gansta". it does have that grimey new york street sound, but in an indie / avant garde way. check out any of aesop's albums - appleseed, Float, Labor Days, or Bazooka Tooth, if you can't understand him it's always fun to read lyrics. hope you have a great bonnarooooooo
Post by masshysteria on May 19, 2007 22:51:56 GMT -5
Aesop Rock is far from being gangsta. Listen to his album Bazooka Tooth, or Labor Days a few times and try to listen at the way he raps, he has some crazy lyrics that only he could put together in a few of his tracks. Now I think some of the stuff El P and Aesop do together can sound a little bit harder, but I would not consider it gangsta. In my opinion Aesop is better than Atmosphere and he played roo last year I think.
"That's the big thing about education. People can be book smart, but not really intelligent about anything else. A lot of times they just taking in all this information and regurgitate it. It's much more important to process it and personalize it. To apply it to your world, to your life. You have to walk the walk, or you can't really report about it honestly."
Compared to your tastes, El-P and Aesop could be considered harder, but gangster never. The mentality of a gangster is the antithesis of any artist on Definitive Jux.
IMO El-P doesn't fit into any genre. There is more of a coincedence between Emerson, Lake and Palmer and El-P other than matching letters in a name. His music, their music is eclectic, progressive and experimental.
I'm curious of what you heard because his first solo album (Fantastic Damage) went as far as to make fun of tired mainstream rap cliches. That album reminds me of Back the Future and is influenced heavily by the film Bladerunner. It sounds so ahead of its time but it has that classic NYC hip hop grittiness to it. I can truly say there isn't another artist like El-P.
His new album does bounce a bit more than the last and I can't say it's swept me off my feet yet but thats probably because it has to live up to Fantastic Damage. I'm sure I'll change my tune after a few hundred listens. El-P's music is so dense and layered, there is just so much going on, it's mind bending.
I focused quite a bit on El-P.. Aesop is good too but I just can't get into his last 2 albums. They almost seem jiggy to me and gimmicky. I sometimes think his DJ Blockhead carried him. Not to say he doesn't have some great songs cuz he does. Daylight is probablt the most uplifting rap song I've ever heard. His first two album's are very good IMO.
One thing is for sure, his (their) fans will NOT pose a problem. I've seen quite a bit of anxiety about if a band will bring a certain type of fan. People that listen to Definitive Jux have made an effort to hear that music, unless you searched for it or heard it by voice of mouth you don't know about it. Music fans like that are enamored enough to see their favorite act, too busy to pose a threat and usually just not that kind of person.
Last Edit: May 20, 2007 0:03:00 GMT -5 by xeus - Back to Top
free speech is like money, some people just have a lot more of it than others
Haha...I'm sorry Howya...but I've honestly never heard anyone call Aesop Rock or El-P "gangsta." I mean, gangsta rap isn't really a sound as much as a mentality, and Def-Jux is not really that at all.
Def-Jux does have similarities to the goth rap sound of the south, but the similarities are passing.
Post by suspendedzen on May 20, 2007 21:59:01 GMT -5
Dictionarilly speaking, that is the definition.
I, and I believe others, like to use the terms to separate the good from the bad. Hiphop being the lyrical, inventive beat driven, conciously unique side/rap being what one might hear on Mtv/mainstream radio.
Post by blazeaway54 on May 20, 2007 23:55:08 GMT -5
suspendedzen said:
Dictionarilly speaking, that is the definition.
I, and I believe others, like to use the terms to separate the good from the bad. Hiphop being the lyrical, inventive beat driven, conciously unique side/rap being what one might hear on Mtv/mainstream radio.
I would have to say that that's only true to an extent. Hip hop music started as party music. Lyrical consciousness followed the party mentality by several years. Hip hop has always been about having a good time and partying, the backbone of the music is driving, danceable rhythms.
As to the question at hand, while El-P and to a lesser extent Aesop Rock have a very abrasive sound that's not really tied to gangsta rap. The lyrical content is a dead giveaway, but the aesthetics of the music are vastly different from gangsta rap. Gangsta rap evolved when rap was still almost exclusively party-centric and its beats still generally follow that rule, where El-P purposefully rejects that idea and goes with unconventional and even counterintuitive music, flow and rhyme scheme. Honestly, El-P would be offended by you calling his music gangsta because albums like Fantastic Damage and Funcrusher Plus were consciously designed to reject that idea. If you have any interest I would suggest giving the records another shot because they require (at least for me) intense concentration, but they are definitely worth it.
Post by The Killer Bee Relay Team on May 21, 2007 7:44:09 GMT -5
I call myself a HUGE Aesop Rock fan, and i don't think he's gangsta at all. Most of the beats are sampled, whereas most gangsta stuff has "keyboard beats"...at least nowadays...
check out "9-5'ers Anthem" off of "labor Days" and see what i mean.
That' my damn theme song!
...Man...I wish they had RJD2 comin' with 'em this year...
Post by roolacksreality on May 21, 2007 8:11:42 GMT -5
mothersky said:
Rap is the vocal style. Hip Hop is the culture/ musical sound. Right?
Exactly. (Karma +1). Hip Hop is the more instrumental, IMO better version of the genre. Rap, IMO has gone down hil, at least the mainstream part of it has. Then again, what hasn't these days?
Post by masshysteria on May 23, 2007 10:30:47 GMT -5
Yes there are some mad smitters out there, and all they do on a daily basis is smite people. I too have been victim to this mad smitter, and I will probably be smitted for calling out the smitter (I think I have confused myself with how many times I said smite).
"That's the big thing about education. People can be book smart, but not really intelligent about anything else. A lot of times they just taking in all this information and regurgitate it. It's much more important to process it and personalize it. To apply it to your world, to your life. You have to walk the walk, or you can't really report about it honestly."
Post by howyafeelin on May 23, 2007 10:31:32 GMT -5
suspendedzen said:
Dictionarilly speaking, that is the definition.
I, and I believe others, like to use the terms to separate the good from the bad. Hiphop being the lyrical, inventive beat driven, conciously unique side/rap being what one might hear on Mtv/mainstream radio.
Post by masshysteria on May 23, 2007 10:51:39 GMT -5
My list of good hip hop nowadays: Aesop Rock, The Streets, Mr Lif, Blackalicious (Gift of Gab is a monster), The Roots (best live concert I have seen yet, 3 hours of pure jams), El P, MF Doom, Gnarls Barkley (also their individual material), Outkast (I need to listen to them soon, it has been awhile), Common, Jurassic 5, A Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def, Black Eyed Peas (before they went pop, listen to Bridging the Gap and there albums around that time, just great lyrical skills and it kills me to see them pop now), Atmosphere, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Afroman (I know, I know its Afroman, but he has a lot more than just "I Got High", his albums will get you up and have a good time, trust me give the guy a chance), and a bunch others that are slipping the top of my head right now.
"That's the big thing about education. People can be book smart, but not really intelligent about anything else. A lot of times they just taking in all this information and regurgitate it. It's much more important to process it and personalize it. To apply it to your world, to your life. You have to walk the walk, or you can't really report about it honestly."
Post by roolacksreality on May 23, 2007 21:29:06 GMT -5
masshysteria said:
My list of good hip hop nowadays: Aesop Rock, The Streets, Mr Lif, Blackalicious (Gift of Gab is a monster), The Roots (best live concert I have seen yet, 3 hours of pure jams), El P, MF Doom, Gnarls Barkley (also their individual material), Outkast (I need to listen to them soon, it has been awhile), Common, Jurassic 5, A Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def, Black Eyed Peas (before they went pop, listen to Bridging the Gap and there albums around that time, just great lyrical skills and it kills me to see them pop now), Atmosphere, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Afroman (I know, I know its Afroman, but he has a lot more than just "I Got High", his albums will get you up and have a good time, trust me give the guy a chance), and a bunch others that are slipping the top of my head right now.
I call myself a HUGE Aesop Rock fan, and i don't think he's gangsta at all. Most of the beats are sampled, whereas most gangsta stuff has "keyboard beats"...at least nowadays...
check out "9-5'ers Anthem" off of "labor Days" and see what i mean.
That' my damn theme song!
...Man...I wish they had RJD2 comin' with 'em this year...
Why not up the ante and get a little Soul Position with Blueprint. That was a pretty money show when I saw them.
Post by Sköldpadda on May 23, 2007 23:25:51 GMT -5
juggernaut said:
masshysteria said:
My list of good hip hop nowadays: Aesop Rock, The Streets, Mr Lif, Blackalicious (Gift of Gab is a monster), The Roots (best live concert I have seen yet, 3 hours of pure jams), El P, MF Doom, Gnarls Barkley (also their individual material), Outkast (I need to listen to them soon, it has been awhile), Common, Jurassic 5, A Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def, Black Eyed Peas (before they went pop, listen to Bridging the Gap and there albums around that time, just great lyrical skills and it kills me to see them pop now), Atmosphere, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Afroman (I know, I know its Afroman, but he has a lot more than just "I Got High", his albums will get you up and have a good time, trust me give the guy a chance), and a bunch others that are slipping the top of my head right now.
Some you missed: Ghostface, Nas, Jay-Z, KRS-1, Talib Kweli, Styles, Kanye, Lupe Fiasco, Freeway, Wu-Tang Clan.
