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The Black Culture Thread

D

DominoKid

Member
Himuro said:
Hmmm, this Blu cat is alright. He has a great flow, but just like any other rapper has too much filler songs and songs that go off tangent every other line for the sake of sounding nice, bragging, randomly stating he likes pussy (probably gay knowing the black community) or rhyming. Nothing I've never heard before. Don't see why he's worthy of such praise, but he's got some good songs.

My World Is... - Meh
The Narrow Path - Okay
So(ul) Amazing - Bad
Juicen' Dranks - Okay
In Remembrance of Me - Good, first verse is the best, the others are average aside from the thing about slavery but even still, what does slavery have to do with you? Another off tangent lyric.
Blu Collar Worker - Okay, nice premise but once again with rap there's a nice subject but the subject becomes hip hop-ized. Barely any of the song has anything to do with being a blue collar worker and even then, it's not about the taxing work, but how he has to support his women. Plus: "But i don't need shit, so don't come to me, and I don't eat dick, so don't cum to me" LOL SO WITTY. I know it's a rap album when I encounter something that juvenile.
Dancing in the Rain - Okay.
First Things First - Pretty good; reminds me of some Resurrection-era Common.
No Greater Love - Ugh
Show Me The Good Life - This song is fantastic.
Simply Amazin' - Simply Vapid.
Cold Hearted - Fantastic song, great beat, fantastic lyrics, excellent use of repetition.
The World Is (Below The Heavens) - Great song, powerful lyrics. This is what rap is all about, please.
You Are Now In The Clouds With - Solid

Haven't gotten through the bonus tracks yet.

Overall I thought it was a fairly average album with some great songs. Unfortunately for me, underground hip hop still continues to be overrated and only a little less vapid than mainstream rap.

*listens to some The Foreign Exchange instead*
Click to expand...

my feelings exactly on that album.
 
P

PhoenixDark

Banned
Dreams-Visions said:
...and Himuro shuts hipster-hop GAF down. :lol
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Nah hipster-hop is somewhere else, probably the Kanye or Cudi threads.

Beneath the Heavens is a classic album; only bad song is Juicein Drinks. Definitely one of the most personal, introspective debuts I've heard since Resurrection.
 
D

DY_nasty

NeoGAF's official "was this shooting justified" consultant
Himuro said:
BBUBUBUBUT UNDERGROUND IS SO MUCH BETTER

Same shit, except instead of rapping about hoes, money, and cars (wait, they do the same thing) they rap about how good they are yet they're living on a minimum wage paycheck.
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Better than J.Cole
 
P

Parallax

best seen in the classic "Shadow of the Beast"
Dreams-Visions said:
...and Himuro shuts hipster-hop GAF down. :lol
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hipster...hop? What kind of sorcery is this? Is that like the new kidz and other acts like that?
 
V

Veidt

Blasphemer who refuses to accept bagged milk as his personal savior
Parallax said:
hipster...hop? What kind of sorcery is this? Is that like the new kidz and other acts like that?
Click to expand...
Was thinking the same thing. But then read DP's post on Kanye and that ( what I presume to be a girl) rapper 'Cudi'. It makes sense, Kanye's on some wack shit lately. I haven't felt any of his shit since College dropout. Dude's VMA performance made me shake my fucking head.
Actually, every performance there made me smh, what the hell happened, what are people wearing these days? What are they singing? It's like I'm in the twilight zone.
 
P

PhoenixDark

Banned
Foreign Exchange *daps Himu*

BUT..

I find it laughable that you dismiss much of Blu's album as vapid battlerapping while at the same time praising Lady Gaga, who is the very definition of vapid music. And how can one complain about hip hop covering the same ground for 30 years yet not complain about all other lyrical genres doing the same thing - in Gaga and electronic/pop/etc's case, the love song.

edit: how is Flashing Lights not vapid? :lol
 
D

DY_nasty

NeoGAF's official "was this shooting justified" consultant
Dreams-Visions said:
easily my favorite song on that album.

that and Can't Tell Me Nothing.

Good Morning is my wake-up song and has been for quite some time. :lol
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Speaking of wake up songs, I had Just Gotta Make It (Trey Songz) as my alarm clock for all my freshmen year in college
 
IrishNinja

IrishNinja

Member
Himuro said:
Plus, these rappers trying to sing man, they can't sing.
Click to expand...

i wish someone would let Mos Def know. i love Umi Says like the next man, but that don't mean he needs to sing on so many tracks.

Foreign Exchange...not familiar, can someone post up links?
 
S

soul creator

Member
but can all agree that it's kinda annoying when Kanye stretches words out a little too far?

Good Morneeyan
Apologin

I'm no English snob or anything, but god damn that irks the shit out of me :lol
 
B

Beezy

Member
soul creator said:
but can all agree that it's kinda annoying when Kanye stretches words out a little too far?

Good Morneeyan
Apologin

I'm no English snob or anything, but god damn that irks the shit out of me :lol
Click to expand...
Him and Drake are the worst offenders. I don't like it either.
 
P

PhoenixDark

Banned
Himuro said:
Phoenix, I guess the love song is more forgivable because love poetry has existed for eons and will always be there.

Plus, you have to admit that Flashing Lights sounds unique. To me it does, especially in regards to lyrics. Whereas Blu would rap over whatever, I didn't really think about any of it. In Flashing Lights, I'm at least trying to figure out the song's meaning and there are many interpretations.

That is what poetry is supposed to do, right? I didn't get that with many of Blu's songs. He tells his feelings more than he lets the listener try to understand his feelings. That's two different kinds of song writing styles at work here.

Flashing Lights sounds different from standard hip hop. It sounds fresh. It sounds different.
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Love poetry has existed for eons, but the same can be said of poetry that describes the poet's surroundings, environment, etc. Both can include a large amount of depth.

Interestingly there are plenty of criticisms of Lady Gaga out there on the meaninglessness of her image and lyrics. I just see it as a double standard to forgive the lack of lyrical depth for one genre while demanding it for others; although to be fair, hip hop is one of the most lyrical genres of music.

Flashing Lights sounds interesting, but lyrically it's a train wreck. I like the song though. And I understand your point about preferring more interesting sounding music instead of soul loops; that's definitely a good point.
 
P

Parallax

best seen in the classic "Shadow of the Beast"
After listening to some music on my psp, i've come to the realization that i rarely listen to hip hop for its lyrics. I mean i like flashing lights, but only because the beat is awesome and dwele(who is an awesome artist, by the way) is singing on the track. I don't give a shit was kanye is talking about, and that carries over for most rappers to me. If there isn't a hot beat, i just don't care
 
P

Pinko Marx

Banned
I'm convinced Himumu is just far too stuck up his own butt about DEEPNESS and INTERPRETATION to just enjoy music and let dat shit ride. Its all love tho brah. :3
 
S

sooperkool

Member
Himuro said:
Naw, like I said, I have different expectations and standards for different genres.

Singers like Gaga can sing. I like her vocals. Thus flaky lyrics I am more willing to forgive. I feel that way in regards to pop music in general.

Rappers cannot sing, and usually have awful sounding voices. The beats are often pedestrian, repetitive, not creative and flat out boring. Thus, the main thing I listen to rap for are lyrics but the lyrics rarely register.

Plus, I'm not about deepness, that's ridiculous. I have just arrived at a point where I find such lyrics to be ridiculous. It doesn't have to be deep, it has to be good. If you're going to talk about GOOD YOU ARE, use some fucking creativity. I have heard almost every topic covered in hip hop, nothing really surprises me anymore. It sounds more manufactured than pop music, even the underground shit. They always cover the same topics,"My life was hard, but through the darkness there was hip hop!" or some bullshit, or some nonsense. They rarely stay on track with their music, and go off tangent on a regular basis.

Drank Moet with Medusa, gave her shotguns in hell, from the spliff that I wiff and inhale, it ain't hard to tell.

That is a classic line and it is completely up to interpretation. That is how rap should be and you know what that line is essentially is saying? It's just saying I'M SO HARD THAT I GOT TRASHED WITH MEDUSA, STARED THAT BITCH IN THE FACE, AND TURNED HER TO STONE MOTHER FUCKER BECAUSE I'M REAL LIKE THAT. It's not about "deepness", it's about what's good.

This is why I loved College Dropout and Late Registration so much, sure, some songs were vapid but those were a dime in a dozen. Vapid isn't bad, vapid can be fun. Club songs are bangers. But what rappers don't realize is that you can balance thematic songs with bangers. Kanye did was make his songs about specific issues - you know, like poetry - from his crappy blue collar job where he was the "token blackie", to the people he respects and "gets down for", or the struggles he went through just to talk as he rapped "through a wire", or the soldier children in Africa and "blood diamonds". These are universal topics, things people of all classes, backgrounds, or country can understand and relate to. That's the emotion music should envoke.

I can take this furthermore still.

My issue is an issue of standards. When I analyze rap, I do so taking it down, line by line. If this was poetry, it would be shit poetry. Meanwhile, Bohemian Rhapsody would be amazing poetry even if it were on a goddamn piece of paper; that's the fucking difference.

And that is why I contend that rap is shit.

It seems to me I might as well just stick with Tupac, Common, some Nas, Mos Def, Talib Kweli and some others. And I'm fine with that. I'm done exploring and listening to rap as a genre. Have been since 2007 or so.
Click to expand...

For this post I am proud to call you my little brother. And this is why Rakim is the greatest rapper of all time.
 
S

spindashing

Banned
Himuro has some good points. I also see rap/hip-hop as a type of poetry and analyze tracks as I hear them. It's a reason why I love the genre.

I remember growing up in elementary school/junior high, it was the cool thing to like rap. If you did not, you were unpopular. Well, guess what? I didn't listen. I thought the genre was so cool and started to listen to it just so I can. Granted the rap I listened to was most likely the equivalents to Lil B/Wacka Flocka Flame/etc. I did not listen to rap for the lyrics, I merely did it for the beat and for the fact homegirl might let me see her rack if I impress her with my rap knowledge.

Okay, so it was not until I heard Kanye West that I really noticed, "Damn, I connect with these lyrics. What the hell is going on here?" So I picked up College Dropout. God, that album will be at the top of my favorite lists for all time. Family Business -- that track is so damned similar to my own life that it's freaky. Then Late Registration came out and I loved that album even more. It's where I was introduced to Lupe motherfucking Fiasco who I felt I was even more similar to. Copped his albums.

Then I branched off to other similar artists. I usually look for artists that can tell me a story creatively. Like Nas? People complain that the production of his most recent albums are shit? I still love his albums (aside from Nastradamus which I am afraid to touch). I love his Untitled album. Nas is such a storyteller that I find myself saying, "Damn, I can't believe he said that shit."

I'm not going as far as to say hip hop or any form of music as shit. Everyone has a different way of conveying a message to a listener. I can't even call Lil B/Wacka Flocka out for being shit, because although they may not be a verbose storyteller like some artists they ... somehow throw messages out there for their listeners too.

I hate when people say, "Oh, rap turned to shit. It died in the 90s." There are still great rappers out there. I was introduced to a lot of them using last.fm, an online radio site that actually recommends you similar artists according to your own musical tastes. Now that we have the internet, while it may be a hassle to find new artists, it's way more easier than it was years ago.


PS: Lebron, I saw that comment. Best believe I got first on those massive tatas. You can have broke assed Michelle Obama.
 
S

sooperkool

Member
SleepyJohn11 said:
Alright guys: Paul Mooney or other comedians; Who were the best? Who were just the most embarrassing?
Click to expand...


Pryor is the best of course, him and Red Foxx.

That other Foxx was never funny to me, or Tommie Davidson. Tracy Morgan is embarassing to me.
 
D

DrFunk

not licensed in your state
Tracy Morgan had some good stand-up on Comedy Central sometime ago. Nowadays, it just seems like he uses his sloppiness for comedy...it's interesting how his personality on 3rd Rock is his real personality.

Having a convo with him must the most surreal thing ever.
 
D

dskillzhtown

keep your strippers out of my American football
Parallax said:
After listening to some music on my psp, i've come to the realization that i rarely listen to hip hop for its lyrics. I mean i like flashing lights, but only because the beat is awesome and dwele(who is an awesome artist, by the way) is singing on the track. I don't give a shit was kanye is talking about, and that carries over for most rappers to me. If there isn't a hot beat, i just don't care
Click to expand...


Nothing wrong with that. I am not sure when rap started to be held to a higher standard than other genres. Most songs are about nothing. Most songs are just words wrapped around a nice beat. I can listen to an awesome beat, with someone flowing over it nicely and love it. I don't give a damn what they are talking abouit. I don't look at music to find substance. I save that for a book or a speech or something, not disposable music.
 
S

spindashing

Banned
Himuro said:
How the hell does a thread have 1k posts but 30k views? lmao
Click to expand...

bZApB.jpg


Watch what you say, Big Brother is watching.
 
S

soul creator

Member
sounds like Himuro just needs to wait for DAT NEW SOUL CREATOR to drop. I came here to save the game!

seriously, I've been writing a lot about religion (and lack thereof) recently, so some discussions here have sort of informed me. I'd actually be interested in your take on it!
 
V

Veidt

Blasphemer who refuses to accept bagged milk as his personal savior
thats pretty much every Jay-z song.
dude worships himself like crazy.
he's always rapping about how rich he is, how he bought this and that. i can't enjoy that shit.
 
I

Imm0rt4l

Member
I just want to say that Below the Heavens is dope, that is all.

Himuro said:
I would love to hear a hip hop song about religion that doesn't glorify god.
Click to expand...
word...

blacks are generally socially conservative, but I could still see this happening.
 
V

Veidt

Blasphemer who refuses to accept bagged milk as his personal savior
Himuro said:
Jay Z :lol

That dude almost RUINED Kanye's Never Let Me Down. A song that represents the things, struggles and people you respect and that dude brings up HIMSELF? Are you fucking kidding me? Still mad about that, over 5 years later.

Jay Z is an abortion.
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:lol :lol
fucking jay z, man.
 
V

Veidt

Blasphemer who refuses to accept bagged milk as his personal savior
Himuro said:
On the other hand, I love J. Ivy's verse on Never Let Me Down. It's spiritual with a sense of ambiguity that is often absent from rap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzRwrPWWlCE

I'm sorry guys, Jay-Z headlines the song. Fuck Jay Z.
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he's such a fucking asshole.
I can't even believe what I'm hearing right now. I cannot believe people would pay for his shit.
Ruining this otherwise awesome song. i can't believe it.
 
I

Imm0rt4l

Member
Veidt said:
thats pretty much every Jay-z song.
dude worships himself like crazy.
he's always rapping about how rich he is, how he bought this and that. i can't enjoy that shit.
Click to expand...
He's really out of touch. Dude's rapping about beach chairs n shit, and when he's not he's rappin' bout how he's still spending money from 88. Fuck outta here with that bullshit. But I find a lot of things in rap to be annoying. I also hat how Eminem feels the need to name drop his wife or daughters in every song talking about how difficult it is to be a father, I can't relate to that shit, it's a nice perspective to listen to like maybe once or twice, but dudes beating a dead horse. All he really needed was Hailey's song which was dope, now the dude thinks he's a decent singer and opts to sing his hooks with that annoying ass voice of his.
 
V

Veidt

Blasphemer who refuses to accept bagged milk as his personal savior
Imm0rt4l said:
He's really out of touch. Dude's rapping about beach chairs n shit, and when he's not he's rappin' bout how he's still spending money from 88. Fuck outta here with that bullshit. But I find a lot of things in rap to be annoying. I also hat how Eminem feels the need to name drop his wife or daughters in every song talking about how difficult it is to be a father, I can't relate to that shit, it's a nice perspective to listen to like maybe once or twice, but dudes beating a dead horse. All he really needed was Hailey's song which was dope, now the dude thinks he's a decent singer and opts to sing his hooks with that annoying ass voice of his.
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holy shit, all of this is so true. I thought I was the only one that felt like that :lol
Himuro said:
Why does Jay get two verses on that fucking song :lol NOOOOOOOOOOOOO

EVERY 4TH QUARTER, I LIKE TO MIKE JORDAN 'EM :lol
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I love how around the last quarter, you start to think that Jay-z isn't coming back, and that perhaps you get to hear the chorus one more time... And he just jumps in there and you hear Kanye going "Oh yeah...we ain't finished.."- jay-z is a fucking troll man. :lol

Dick suckin' lips man.
 
D

Dreams-Visions

Member
I'M THE HEAD OF THE MOTHAFUCKIN STATE, NI**A!

BRINGIN' CHANGE, NI**A! WHAT THE FUCK YOU THINKIN NI**A!


it might have to become my new ringtone.
if I'm suddenly okay with having my phone on vibrate 100% of the time
 
D

~Devil Trigger~

In favor of setting Muslim women on fire
Himuro said:
I would love to hear a hip hop song about religion that doesn't glorify god.
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Yo, listen, bang on your force, ya'll niggas can't hang with a boss
Jesus the name, no, I'm not the lame on the cross
/Sean Price
:lol
 
D

DrFunk

not licensed in your state
I wish I could participate in this hip-hop convo, but my background in classic soul and funk prevents me
 
S

spindashing

Banned
Dreams-Visions said:
I'M THE HEAD OF THE MOTHAFUCKIN STATE, NI**A!

BRINGIN' CHANGE, NI**A! WHAT THE FUCK YOU THINKIN NI**A!


it might have to become my new ringtone.
if I'm suddenly okay with having my phone on vibrate 100% of the time
Click to expand...

god damn that's STUCK IN MY HEAD. I had to go youtube it. :lol :lol :lol


I'M THE SHIT, THAT'S WHAT MICHELLE SAY
(WHITE HOUUUSEEE)

Edit: I think Baracka Flocka Flame needs it's own thread...
 
M

MWS Natural

Member
Himuro said:
Jay Z :lol

That dude almost RUINED Kanye's Never Let Me Down. A song that represents the things, struggles and people you respect and that dude brings up HIMSELF? Are you fucking kidding me? Still mad about that, over 5 years later.

Jay Z is an abortion.
Click to expand...


I don't blame him...no one has ever done what Jay has in the rap game to the extent he has. To come from absolute nothing to one of the richest people on the world. Even though I'm not a huge Jay fan he definitely has a lot of shit to brag about.
 
S

sooperkool

Member
MWS Natural said:
I don't blame him...no one has ever done what Jay has in the rap game to the extent he has. To come from absolute nothing to one of the richest people on the world. Even though I'm not a huge Jay fan he definitely has a lot of shit to brag about.
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One of the richest in the world.... ummmm, no.

Not ever done what he has..... see the Simmons family for contrast.
 
D

Dreams-Visions

Member
spindashing said:
god damn that's STUCK IN MY HEAD. I had to go youtube it. :lol :lol :lol


I'M THE SHIT, THAT'S WHAT MICHELLE SAY
(WHITE HOUUUSEEE)

Edit: I think Baracka Flocka Flame needs it's own thread...
Click to expand...
nah. some things we gotta keep to ourselves. :lol

sooperkool said:
One of the richest in the world.... ummmm, no.

Not ever done what he has..... see the Simmons family for contrast.
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church.
 
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