A loyal MR reader (this is the guy who likes Friends, by the way) writes:
For a lover of contemporary culture, I've never heard you talk about hip hop. Do you like any? Are you at a stage where you can tell good rap from bad rap?
As loyal readers will know, this is an "under the fold" question...
Don’t they say "demography is destiny," or something like that? Basically I like the rap CDs that all the other overeducated middle-aged white guys like. That means rap which is musically complex, often ironic, and innovates with rhythmic patter and postmodern pop culture references. Here are a few favorites:
1. Outkast, their entire ouevre. They have mastered soul and funk as well. Their new album is due August 22, but this time around the advance reviews are quite critical.
2. Eric B and Rakim, Paid in Full.
3. De La Soul, especially their clever early material. They ran out of steam quickly, however, as have most rap groups. But their "Jenifa Taught Me" cut might be the most fun rap song ever.
4. NWA, the Compton album. A mini-opera, visceral like Verdi.
5. Control Machete, Mexican rap is generally worthwhile.
6. Nas, Illmatic. A classic.
7. Dr. Dre, The Chronic. The best parts are when SDD cuts in singing.
8. P.M. Dawn, most of all Jesus Wept, if you consider that rap. Hits the sweet spot between gospel and Prince.
9. Kanye West, his last CD. He has the talent to rival Outkast as the most important rapper(s).
10. My dark horse pick would be Schooly D, The Adventures of Schooly D, especially the stripped-down cassette version with only the album’s highlights. The next step after Varese.
If we can count Robert Ashley, Perfect Lives is the best rap of them all. He is in any case a pioneer for integrating voice into music.
The most overrated bad rap group is the snotty and execrable Beastie Boys. The most overrated good rap group is Wu Tang Clan, who had gobs of talent but doesn’t stick in my memory. Run D-M-Z and Public Enemy are both overrated, but I am not yet sure which category they belong in, good or bad underrated.
For more on the history of rap music, see my In Praise of Commercial Culture, chapter four. Here is an article on rap music in the Middle East.
You should give Little Brother’s “The Minstrel Show” a spin. Ten bucks says you’d love it.
What, no Jurassic 5?
The last comment was a spelling correction, not a vote.
Whoa, I mean second to last.
Other artists I’d recommend:
* Dead Prez
* A Tribe Called Quest (especially The Low-End Theory)
* Boogie Down Productions (especially By Any Means Necessary and Ghetto Music), but don’t ignore KRS-One’s solo material
* Young Jeezy (his lyrics are kind of lacking, but he’s got charisma in spades)
* Clipse (with every song, a handful of new drug metaphors)
* Digable Planets (hip-hop meets jazz)
* El-P (especially Fantastic Damage; loud, abrasive, abstract yet confrontational)
* Cannibal Ox (The Cold Vein is one of my favorite albums of any genre)
* Dalek (combine a bunch of rappers with noise rock)
* Black Star (Mos Def and Talib Kweli); Kweli’s Quality is just that, while Mos Def’s Black on Both Sides is a classic
* Esau (his only album is hard to find, but it’s horribly underrated — wry, self-deprecating, pointedly honest rap)
The Japanese engineer (presumably at Roland) who programmed all of the (or just, the) drum track(s) is the most underappreciated musical contributor ever and deserves a lifetime achievement award.
Oh, and The RZA’s sound track to Ghost Dog was appropriate for the movie (which I like).
Rob J.:
.
Oh, now, come on! You can’t include El-P *and* Cannibal Ox while skipping over Aesop Rock… unless you don’t like ace rizzle, that is. Heh,
Either way, I HIGHLY recommend Aesop Rock’s Labor Days and Bazooka Tooth. (and I second Rob J.’s recommendations for El-P and Cannibal Ox, and everything else on Def Jux records)
Also, everything that MF DOOM, Madlib, and Danger Mouse touch. Particular examples of some excellent collabs: Madvillainy by Madvillain (MF DOOM + Madlib), The Mouse and the Mask by DANGERDOOM (MF DOOM + Danger Mouse), and The Grey Album (an illegal mashup of Jay-Z’s Black Album and the Beatles’ White Album, by Danger Mouse).
Hmm, Ghostface Killah’s Fishscale was excellent (even without RZA). If you care to venture into more violent/political hip hop, check out Jedi Mind Tricks (especially Violent By Design) and Immortal Technique.
And the standard Mos Def, Kanye, Common, etc.etc. that everyone knows about.
And that’s just US stuff. You could venture into the UK with The Streets, grime, etc.etc.
I just want to clear up one thing that *everyone* this world over is affraid to say: Illmatic is not Nas’ best album. It is brilliant and prodigious (a great sign of things to come), but Nas was barely pubescent and had much to develop and refine. (I’m a huge fan of Nas, but I think Biggie’s Ready to Die and Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt are better debut albums). It Was Written, on the other hand, is a flawless work from a mature artist in his prime, and has no parallel. The closest parallel I can make is to Allen Ginsburg’s Howl, in that both incorporate everything that could be said/was said about the beats/mid-90s inner city, into a single masterwork.
I vote for Common as all time most overrated rapper.
Wow, Tyler, I can’t tell if you’re illiterate or just toying with us. You claim to like the “overeducated white guy” rap and then you hit us with some of the illest killas ever to rock the mic. (Schooly D makes tupac look like a young girl with a skinned knee.) Which is it, dawg?
Your comment about Run-DMC is simply unacceptable for anyone who claims to have an informed opinion. They invented modern rap music. They are perhaps 10x more important to rap music than the Beatles are to rock. I would try to say what rap would be like without them, but it’s simply unimaginable. Go back and listen to Tougher than Leather twice and then say 10 Hail Marys and I’ll see what I can do about getting the rap gods to spare your sorry ass.
I mostly agree with you about the Beastie Boys but, perhaps in an effort to cement your street cred, you overstate your case. Paul’s Boutique is an undeniable classic that will never be replicated; Paul Revere is inimitable storytellng.
There are incredible ommissions in your list.
The biggest one is Slick Rick. Adventures in Storytelling maybe the single best rap album ever produced.
You need to listen to:
– Oliver Hart
– Eyedea (same dude, different pseudonym)
– Biz Markie (too often relegated to “clown prince of hip-hop” status, homeboy’s got the skills to pay the bills.
– Black Star * Mos Def, Talib Kweli. yes their shit is socialist and they need to brush up on Fritz Machlup, von Mises, Bastiat, Herbert Spencer etc. But their flow is off the hook. Undeniably the best in consciousness rap.
– MC Paul Barman, the cleverest young Jewish boy from Fair Lawn NJ to ever bless a mic. Definitely check out “MTV Get off the air (Pt. 2)”
Alright, the lecture is over perfessor. But you really need to go back into the stacks. It’s important to recognize the classics.
This post was spitting in the face of many of the most important rappers. I was afraid you were about to praise Will Smith which would have caused me to slit my wrists.
Keep it real, homey.
The Roots ?!!?
Kanye’s great. The new album is big and a mixed bag, but over half of it is phenomenal. I’m sick of Golddigger, though.
De La Soul’s material after Three Feet High and Rising is interesting if you know where to look. I like mainly a select few songs, as opposed to entire albums, of the stuff that came later.
Eminem’s the greatest, and I’ll chalk your oversight up to hitting publish too soon. He was at the end in your list, right?
A Tribe Called Quest is great, as is the new Gnarls Barkley album, and Mob Goodie. You left Fugees and Lauryn Hill’s Miseducation of Lauryn Hill off. Who’s going to make something better than that album in the near future? I wore the paint off that tape from overplay.
And I think 50 Cent is pretty good, too. Some songs comes close to being great, but not quite. Like the one that starts with “Growing up saw my momma kissing a girl…” That could be a great song if it had more verses telling his story and less of The Game (I think it’s The Game) telling him.
The Coup-Party Music. Smart, revolutionary, flowing music. Hardcore Marxists, but I can overlook that for the sake of hearing a good tune or ten.
Incidentally, Tyler, thanks for turning me on to XTC. I still have an iTunes playlist called “Tyler Cowen” from over two years ago.
ATCQ and The Roots are definitely the biggest omissions here. Kind of tells me that Tyler hasn’t been to too many (any?) hip-hop shows.
I’m a huge Talib Kweli fan, but liked Reflection Eternal (w/DJ Hi Tek) better than Quality.
The Gang Starr team peaked with Moment of Truth, but then started to get repetitive. Dilated Peoples can put on a great show. Pete Rock is another brother that gets forgotten.
Hieroglyphics’s 3rd Eye Vision is a fun album start to finish. High quality Del.
Tone LŠc may have been a one hit wonder, but “Wild Thing” was a barrel of fun…
No one wants to mention 2Pac? “Changes”? “Brenda’s Got a Baby”? “In the Air Tonight”? Is there any question that he’s the most important rapper ever?
Good list and great recommendations. I’m surprised no one has mentioned:
RJD2 – “Deadringer” is a classic album. One of the most talented producers and dj’s around
DJ Shadow – “Endtroducing”. This is the most influential album of a legendary dj and producer
Roots Manuva – English mc with unique style
DJ Danger Mouse and Jemini – “Ghetto Pop Life”. Legendary producer of the last Gorillaz album and Gnarls Barkley provides the beat for Jemini
Handsome Boy Modelling School – Prince Paul and Dan the Automator provide the beat for several guests
Pharcyde – “LabCabinCalifornia”. Westcoast group with great lyrics and own style. Very mid-90′s.
Other than that, it’s also worth checking out Masta Ace, Binary Star, Styles of Beyond, etc…
Give Nick the prize for the darkhorse entry. I forgot all about Pharcyde.
Tears came to my eyes at the mention of Schooly D. The “Adventures of” album is the classic, but “Smoke Some Kill” has lots of “put that in your don’t know what he said” book moments and “Am I Black Enough For You” really broke new ground for him.
I’ll second Pharcyde (but only the first album) and raise you Freestyle Fellowship in the L.A. non gangsta category. And please pour to teh floor some St. Ides for Professor X of X Clan who died in the past few months.
How about a list of rappers we do not miss: Vanilla Ice, Young MC, Big Daddy Kane?
I realize I’m a little late on this one, but check out the album El Kilo by Cuban group Orishas. Also, there is substantial creativity flowing through the Memphis underground rap community (see Kinfolk Nikia Shine).
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