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[PleaseDontBanMe]

Remember when rappers actually had talent?

I can actually listen to this and admit that I probably couldn't write anything better

which is the opposite thought I have when listening to 99 percent of modern rap/crap

 

[INC]

6mins of Ridiculousness

 

[PleaseDontBanMe]

Wu tang are the goats

 

[IDKFA]

Is this now the place to post classic hip-hop?

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

Remember when rappers on the radio/mainstream actually had talent?

I can actually listen to this and admit that I probably couldn't write anything better

which is the opposite thought I have when listening to 99 percent of modern rap/crap on mainstream stations and radio.

Fixed.

 

[Hulk_Smash]

Anyone remember these smooth-ass MFers? So refreshing to hear hip hop that was completely different than anything out at that time.

Kind of like Digable Planets.

 

[INC]

 

[PleaseDontBanMe]

Fixed.

if u have to actually SEARCH and do actual work to find good music then that means the genre is dead

 

[ArtemisClydeFrog]

if u have to actually SEARCH and do actual work to find good music then that means the genre is dead

Yeah because music that's on the radio have always been 100% straight bangers and literally the only way to find good music. C'mon man. Even the fucking Redcoats have some great rappers spitting hot fyre that don't get air time. Go on Spotify ya fuckin boomer. Recording songs off rap stations on the radio to a cassette tape in your shitty Honda Civic isn't going to cut it my dude.

 

[SF Kosmo]

if u have to actually SEARCH and do actual work to find good music then that means the genre is dead

No, it means monoculture is dead, radio is dead, MTV is dead, the way you grew up is dead.

It isn't 1995. Good music doesn't just find you anymore. Artists don't sell 10 million albums anymore. There's no more "mainstream" in the way that there was, or at least it's shrunk tremendously.

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

if u have to actually SEARCH and do actual work to find good music then that means the genre is dead

That is a horrible argument. I can list quite a few popular genres of music that match your exact criteria. Techno, Rock, Pop, R&B, Jazz, Metal, Latin music, etc, etc.

Don't let brands, radios, and commercials make your playlists for you and then complain because they've changed over time. Go out there and find the good shit. That's how it is for almost every genre.

You remind me of the type of dudes who say "man what happened to ____? I used to love their music." Meanwhile that artist is still out there making music for people like them but they pretend like it doesn't exist because it's not being spoonfed to them on the radio.

 

[SF Kosmo]

Modern shit

 

[KiNeMz]

Wow this thread has amazed me. I thought the earth was lost. Your voices give our species hope.

Some of my favs from a man who is still relevant to this day.

 

[DragoonKain]

I was a big fan of rap in the 90's. It was one of my favorite genres. I stopped listening to it in the early 2000's. I just couldn't take so many songs being about money, bitches, guns, drugs, or hoes. I know not all rap has those themes, but I got tired of sifting through it all to find the ones that weren't, and haven't went back since. I'm so disconnected from mainstream music these days, I find out who platinum artists are like 5 years late and have never heard a single song from most of them.

 

[IntentionalPun]

corny

 

[Soltype]

No offense to anybody, but I'm tired of people talking about lyrics in rap music. The reason modern rap sucks is the garbage production. The worst part is we got dudes out here trying to outsmart each other on the mic, laying deep lyrics over the most trash music you could produce. People talking about who use more words and other nonsense, cut that mess out.

 

[IntentionalPun]

No offense to anybody, but I'm tired of people talking about lyrics in rap music. The reason modern rap sucks is the garbage production. The worst part is we got dudes out here trying to outsmart each other on the mic, laying deep lyrics over the most trash music you could produce. People talking about who use more words and other nonsense, cut that mess out.

Really? I agree on the lyrics nonsense; not that any of it is that "deep".. it's mostly corny attempts at being deep.

But I think production has never been more varied and that variety includes more quality than ever before.

 

[Soltype]

Really? I agree on the lyrics nonsense; not that any of it is that "deep".. it's mostly corny attempts at being deep.

But I think production has never been more varied and that variety includes more quality than ever before.

Music production has taken a hit in every genre including rap. The music industry lost crazy money over the years, you think the quality of the output is going to stay the same or improve with less revenue, that doesn't happen in field.

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

No offense to anybody, but I'm tired of people talking about lyrics in rap music. The reason modern rap sucks is the garbage production. The worst part is we got dudes out here trying to outsmart each other on the mic, laying deep lyrics over the most trash music you could produce. People talking about who use more words and other nonsense, cut that mess out.

I would have agreed with you about 5-8 years ago.

 

[IntentionalPun]

Music production has taken a hit in every genre including rap. The music industry lost crazy money over the years, you think the quality of the output is going to stay the same or improve with less revenue, that doesn't happen in field.

Do you mean like the mixing and stuff?

Thought you meant beats.

But actual artists have never made more money than they are now. But there's still plenty of money being spread around, just not to the same people.

 

[Soltype]

Do you mean like the mixing and stuff?

Thought you meant beats.

But actual artists have never made more money than they are now. But there's still plenty of money being spread around, just not to the same people.

From top to tail, like I said the industry was not making the same amount of money for a long time. In no field do you have less money coming in and better product coming out, I don't care who's getting the money. Music quality has suffered across the board from writing to production to engineering.

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

From top to tail, like I said the industry was not making the same amount of money for a long time. In no field do you have less money coming in and better product coming out, I don't care who's getting the money. Music quality has suffered across the board from writing to production to engineering.

You're brushing some broad strokes here. Which artists have you been listening to/heard music from recently?

 

[Soltype]

You're brushing some broad strokes here. Which artists have you been listening to/heard music from recently?

Having a few people doesn't fix the problem, on the whole the music is in bad shape. I'm not saying there's not good music to listen to anymore, there's just a hell of a lot less. Make no mistake , the music industry is an industry, they're making less money, something has to give. Last person I really tried to listen to was Kendrick Lamar.

 

[haxan7]

No, it means monoculture is dead, radio is dead, MTV is dead, the way you grew up is dead.

It isn't 1995. Good music doesn't just find you anymore. Artists don't sell 10 million albums anymore. There's no more "mainstream" in the way that there was, or at least it's shrunk tremendously.

You gotta work on that myopia brother

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

Having a few people doesn't fix the problem, on the whole the music is in bad shape. I'm not saying there's not good music to listen to anymore, there's just a hell of a lot less. Make no mistake , the music industry is an industry, they're making less money, something has to give. Last person I really tried to listen to was Kendrick Lamar.

I just need a bit more context as to your main talking point. I'm trying to understand your point of view. So far what you've said and repeated to me and IntentionalPun is that the music industry has lost money and this has had an effect on production. If you could expand on how, I could potentially understand better. I hope you're cool with that, as I'm not the type of person to simply nod my head in agreement without knowing exactly what the other person meant.

 

[Soodanim]

No offense to anybody, but I'm tired of people talking about lyrics in rap music. The reason modern rap sucks is the garbage production. The worst part is we got dudes out here trying to outsmart each other on the mic, laying deep lyrics over the most trash music you could produce. People talking about who use more words and other nonsense, cut that mess out.

This is the underlying point for me, too.

The reason people hold on to the boom bap era is because the production was so good. A DJ Premier beat was so sought after for a good reason. If the production is good, at least you can tune out the stupid bars and enjoy it like you would an instrumental. I was never the biggest fan of the southern style productions from ~2000 onwards, but it seems like it took over and devolved into the awful shit that hits my ears when I can't avoid it.

The problem is that the floor fell out from under the whole thing for the most part, and when it isn't about being the best you end up with the vast majority of shit you see today. It might be easier to get hold of music, but I can't name more than a couple people from the last decade I'd choose to listen to. The ones that are good are the ones who respect what it was and draw from that.

The clever lyrics approach has its own problems too. Aesop Rock spat a thesaurus but didn't set the world on fire. Eminem's last few albums aren't a touch on the earlier ones, and he only ever seems to be good when he works with Royce. That circles back round to the production too, the music Eminem makes is so much worse than it used to be.

The biggest problem of all, though? One that ruins a great track that gets everything else right?

Autotune. I fucking hate it.

 

[PleaseDontBanMe]

Autotune. I fucking hate it.

ditto

i cringe everytime i hear someone yodeling nursery rhymes in autotune

 

[Soltype]

I just need a bit more context as to your main talking point. I'm trying to understand your point of view. So far what you've said and repeated to me and IntentionalPun is that the music industry has lost money and this has had an effect on production. If you could expand on how, I could potentially understand better. I hope you're cool with that, as I'm not the type of person to simply nod my head in agreement without knowing exactly what the other person meant.

Companies are paying a lot more green musicians, engineers, producers and writers because it's cheaper. Music is now a low investment , low return situation for both the company and the consumer.

 

[Schattenjäger]

Remember when rappers actually had talent?

I can actually listen to this and admit that I probably couldn't write anything better

which is the opposite thought I have when listening to 99 percent of modern rap/crap

this premier beat is one of his best

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

Companies are paying a lot more green musicians, engineers, producers and writers because it's cheaper. Music is now a low investment , low return situation for both the company and the consumer.

You've repeated the same point again with slightly more details. So, I'll let you know that I get what you're saying. The reason I'm not fully agreeing with you is because the modern music I listen to has good production and engineering. I know that there exists songs with bad production and bad engineering, but 9 times out of 10 that stuff usually comes from soundcloud, which exists for the newbies and uneducated. That's why I'm trying to figure out what you're talking about specifically. If you have specific examples or maybe a youtube video explaining your point of view, I'm all eyes and ears.

However right now it feels like one day you just came upon the information you're talking about, and you're just repeating it again and again without fully knowing why, because it sounds cool. I don't want to be right on this so I'm hoping your next reply will be enlightening.

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

Autotune. I fucking hate it.

The only three people that I can confidently say have utilized autotune to the best degree are Kanye West, Travis Scott, and T-pain. Nearly everyone else uses it like a crutch instead of a tool.

 

[UnravelKatharsis]

I remember when my parents said the same thing about the music I was listening to in the nineties.

And my grandparents said the same thing about my parents music.

 

[Soltype]

You've repeated the same point again with slightly more details. So, I'll let you know that I get what you're saying. The reason I'm not fully agreeing with you is because the modern music I listen to has good production and engineering. I know that there exists songs with bad production and bad engineering, but 9 times out of 10 that stuff usually comes from soundcloud, which exists for the newbies and uneducated. That's why I'm trying to figure out what you're talking about specifically. If you have specific examples or maybe a youtube video explaining your point of view, I'm all eyes and ears.

However right now it feels like one day you just came upon the information you're talking about, and you're just repeating it again and again without fully knowing why, because it sounds cool. I don't want to be right on this so I'm hoping your next reply will be enlightening.

Not quite, my parents were in the music industry at a certain point, made singles, sessioned with some known bands. I've seen what goes into making a record, it is a lot. I'm not knocking you for liking new music, but music on the whole is not being made as well as it used to.

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

Not quite, my parents were in the music industry at a certain point, made singles, sessioned with some known bands. I've seen what goes into making a record, it is a lot. I'm not knocking you for liking new music, but music on the whole is not being made as well as it used to.

I think that's crucial that your parents were involved in the industry and I think it could lead to an interesting conversation for the thread. However, right now I hope you're seeing things from my point of view and knowing why I'm trying to get more out of you. I'm asking someone 'how, why, where, etc' and I'm not getting any better answers or context and instead I'm being told the same answer over and over. It makes it extremely hard for me to see another person's viewpoint this way. I'm not asking for personal information, I'm just asking for more context. If you're not allowed to say, then just let me know that and we can move on in disagreement. However if you're able to expand on your point, the floor is fully yours.

 

[Soltype]

I think that's crucial that your parents were involved in the industry and I think it could lead to an interesting conversation for the thread. However, right now I hope you're seeing things from my point of view and knowing why I'm trying to get more out of you. I'm asking someone 'how, why, where, etc' and I'm not getting any better answers or context and instead I'm being told the same answer over and over. It makes it extremely hard for me to see another person's viewpoint this way. I'm not asking for personal information, I'm just asking for more context. If you're not allowed to say, then just let me know that and we can move on in disagreement. However if you're able to expand on your point, the floor is fully yours.

It's not exactly a viewpoint, it's a fact.The industry has less money to invest into making music, and they understand that, so they adjust accordingly.

 

[JeremyEtcetera]

It's not exactly a viewpoint, it's a fact.The industry has less money to invest into making music, and they understand that, so they adjust accordingly.

It's not worth getting frustrated over this, so I'll take your post as 'I'm not allowed to say why' and keep it moving/end the convo here. Thank you for your bit of information though.

 

[Great Hair]

Spoiler: OP is right

 

[PleaseDontBanMe]

Pharoah Monch's verse is still amazing all these years later




as a fan of the music, I would have thought that by now we'd see rappers rhyming like literal ALIENs if Kool G rap and Kane were rapping like this in the 80s




but instead Kool G rap seems to have been the peak lyrically and we've regressed since then

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

Anyone remember these smooth-ass MFers? So refreshing to hear hip hop that was completely different than anything out at that time.

Kind of like Digable Planets.

Always liked em. Quality Control is a beast.




Seth my Aussie dude from 2012 reminds me of Jurassic 5 big time.



His new stuff from today is pretty sweet too. It's great to hear clean lyrics and rap.


Also fuck autotune and mumble rap shit.

 

[IntentionalPun]

I love a lot of “mumble rap”. I also loved Jurassic 5; saw them live twice and met them at a backstage thing once.

I feel bad for people who enjoy less music than I do. People seem to take it as a point of pride though which I find odd.

Rock music always had singers with tons of barely decipherable lyrics; I don’t know why rappers get insulted for a similar phenomenon.

 

[Ozzy Onya A2Z]

I love a lot of “mumble rap”. I also loved Jurassic 5; saw them live twice and met them at a backstage thing once.

I feel bad for people who enjoy less music than I do. People seem to take it as a point of pride though which I find odd.

Rock music always had singers with tons of barely decipherable lyrics; I don’t know why rappers get insulted for a similar phenomenon.

When I literally cannot understand what a rapper is saying I'm out. I get/love the artistry of mixing words/sounds/pronunciations and all that awesome skill rappers have to make things work. To me mumble rap goes beyond that into just plain lazy shit that is indecipherable, there's a scale of acceptance but I feel a ton of modern rap just doesn't have that balance. I completely agree about having a wide range of music tastes, I couldn't imagine listening to only a few genres or styles or artists.


On a separate note I've been back on a Hilltop Hoods binge lately. I feel they fit into this thread nicely, modern rap (well compared to the 80s, 90s, etc) that is less about guns'n'bitches without resorting to mumble rap. My binge put me down the rabbit hole of some classics around Aus, here's a few in the hopes some in this thread enjoy or haven't heard them before -

Drapht

Others by them worth a listen up front are Jimmy Recard & Rapunzel.

Hilltop Hoods

Dive into some more Hoods with Exit Sign, The Nosebleed Section & Love Me Lonely.

Bliss n Eso

Check out Addicted for some follow up.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Classics.

 

[KiNeMz]

This is the underlying point for me, too.

The reason people hold on to the boom bap era is because the production was so good. A DJ Premier beat was so sought after for a good reason. If the production is good, at least you can tune out the stupid bars and enjoy it like you would an instrumental. I was never the biggest fan of the southern style productions from ~2000 onwards, but it seems like it took over and devolved into the awful shit that hits my ears when I can't avoid it.

The problem is that the floor fell out from under the whole thing for the most part, and when it isn't about being the best you end up with the vast majority of shit you see today. It might be easier to get hold of music, but I can't name more than a couple people from the last decade I'd choose to listen to. The ones that are good are the ones who respect what it was and draw from that.

The clever lyrics approach has its own problems too. Aesop Rock spat a thesaurus but didn't set the world on fire. Eminem's last few albums aren't a touch on the earlier ones, and he only ever seems to be good when he works with Royce. That circles back round to the production too, the music Eminem makes is so much worse than it used to be.

The biggest problem of all, though? One that ruins a great track that gets everything else right?

Autotune. I fucking hate it.

I totally agree with you on one thing. Autotune. Why is it in everything. I fucking hate it too

 

[Punkster88]

Before the Christ, after the death The last one left

when your need lines to rhyme and don't care if they actually make sense or not.

 

[Polelock]

A Tribe called Quest belongs here as well. "Guilty pleasures take the edge off realityAnd for a salary I'd probably do that shit sporadically/The OG Gucci wasn't spittin' with iguanas/The IRS piranha see a n!gga gettin' commas/Niggas in the hood living in a fishbowl/Gentrify here, now it's not a shit hole" Just amazing. I saw them in Baltimore in the mid 90's, fucking amazing.

 

[niveaformen]

Pharoah Monch's verse is still amazing all these years later




as a fan of the music, I would have thought that by now we'd see rappers rhyming like literal ALIENs if Kool G rap and Kane were rapping like this in the 80s




but instead Kool G rap seems to have been the peak lyrically and we've regressed since then

haha was just about to give my contribution:

 

[PleaseDontBanMe]

I totally agree with you on one thing. Autotune. Why is it in everything. I fucking hate it too

 

[KrakenIPA]

Damn I just realized corny is a double entendre! yo shit is weak, and yo shit is shit. (Not directed at OP). Lotsa good songs down so Ima put an album down.

 

[Bragr]