In response to those who think hip-hop is mainly about bling, I present the all encompassing "Good" hip-hop list:

A Tribe Called Quest
Aceyalone
Aesop Rock
Black Star
Blackalicious
Buck 65
Cage
Camp Lo
Cannibal Ox
cLOUDDEAD
Common
Cormega
CunninLinguist
Dan the Automator
Dark Sun Riders
De La Soul
Del Tha Funkee Homosapien
Deltron 3030
Dr. Octagon / Kool Keith
EPMD
Gang Starr
Ghostface Killah
GraveDiggaz
Guru
GZA / Genuis
J Dilla
Jeru the Damaja
L.E.G.A.C.Y.
Lupe Fiasco
Madvillian
Mf Doom
Mos Def
Nas
Outkast
Public Enemy
Raekwon
Rakim
Roots Manuva
RZA
Talib Kweli
The Gift of Gab
The High and Mighty
The Roots
U-God
Wu-Tang Clan

I'm sure I missed a few but my intention with the thread is to come to a generally accepted list that will provide an introduction to hip-hop for those interested. By the way, I put it in alphabetical order for no apparent reason.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: St. Mike,

I'm not sure all of those are "intelligent," but you're right about them not really dealing with bitches and bling. A few more off the top of my head.

The Coup
Dizzee Rascal
Edan
Jurassic 5
Mr. Lif
Atmosphere
Living Legends
Zion I
P.O.S.
Soul Position
Quasimoto
El-P
Dalek
Jedi Mind Tricks

Point taken, changed to "Good." Nice mentions of Dalek and Atmosphere, whom I alwasy forget.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: St. Mike,

Dj A-trak's remix/mash-up album "Dirty South Dance" is pretty good. Kinda like "Night Ripper" but, Idk....

I just got Dirty South Dance yesterday.

It's good, but I'm not crazy about it. A-Trak is still an unbelievable DJ though.

Good list. The only qualm I have is U-God. Far away the worst member of the Wu, and that's not even in a "that speaks volumes about how good they are" way, he's just bad I think. And he doesn't even have a good message or anything that might cancel out his poor MC'ing. But I'm nitpicking

Also:

Lootpack
Souls Of Mischief
Peanut Butter Wolf
Mobb Deep in their day
The Notorious B.I.G. (as far as actual rap skills, he's damn hard to beat)
RJD2 (When he was actually kind of making hiphop music)


And for the record, The Slim Shady LP is one of my top ten hiphop albums ever, hands down. If anyone has dismissed Eminem for whatever reason, please do me a favor and wipe the slate clean, and hear his breakthrough. I can't say enough about it, endlessly inventive and unique.

THE STREETS!

I don't get the Streets. He bores me and I find his voice to be annoying. Funny interviews, good stories, but musically... not my style.

Same here for me. I think his rapping style is very choppy and jagged and he doesn't even have great beats. It's not just the accent but he just isn't that good, to me at least. From that part of the world, I will glady take Dizzee Rascal over him.

Agreed.

quote:

I don't get the Streets.

I'm not surprised. I don't think there's much of a reference point for a lot of the things he talks about, unless you come from the UK. That probably sounds exceptionally condescending. I don't mean to be.

The Streets first two albums are exceptional. By the third, Mike Skinner's almost a parody of himself on a lot of the tracks, and I think it's particularly weak. His lyrics are more intelligent and witty than 95% of rap and his beats are original, if nothing else. However, he's not, by any stretch of the imagination a rapper, and his music doesn't belong in the hip hop genre. He's said as much himself.

From Mike's original list, one group I've never been able able to get into, are cLOUDEAD. I find their music to be completely joyless. They're kind of like the "Low" of hip hop. That aside, it's a pretty good list.

quote:

Originally posted by Borachon:
His lyrics are more intelligent and witty than 95% of rap and his beats are original, if nothing else.

This is a huge stretch. Putting him at the very, very top of a list that includes many heavyweights that are far superior than him is a tad irrational. As for the beats, they might be original--might be--but they are definitely not that good. I can think of at least ten rap groups/artists (if not more), past and present with better lyrics and/or beats than this guy.

I'm not a big fan of either the Streets or Dizzee, and this topic certainly isn't my specialty, but I thought those two guys were more garage/grime than straight-up hip-hop.

mark posting in the hip-hop forum?

Dizzee Rascal is rap/hip-hop music. He raps, and does it well, has great production with beats that work well with his lyrical/rapping style and features great appearances. I can see why some people would not call The Sreets hip-hop though.

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:

quote:

Originally posted by Borachon:
His lyrics are more intelligent and witty than 95% of rap and his beats are original, if nothing else.

This is a huge stretch. Putting him at the very, very top of a list that includes many heavyweights that are far superior than him is a tad irrational. As for the beats, they might be original--might be--but they are definitely not that good. I can think of at least ten rap groups/artists (if not more), past and present with better lyrics and/or beats than this guy.

Yeah, I concede perhaps 95% is a bit over the top. I've had a couple of beers and I'm prone to outrageous exaggeration when I'm under the influence. However, I still believe his lyrics are more intelligent than the majority of MC's. For every Ghostface there are 20 Mike Jones (see what I mean about the exaggerating?)

As for his beats, perhaps it is a UK thing, that particular sound. I don't think Garage travelled far beyond the shores of Old Blighty, apart from Ayia Napa, but Original Pirate Material in particular still blows me away.

Yeah, I just don't really get into the whole Garage thing.

Damn brits.

First of all, I'm not exactly sure what intelligent lyrics are. Secondly, I haven't been posting a lot lately, but for those who know me - and from the look of it in this thread, that's not very many - you know I love The Streets. That said, I don't find Skinner's lyrics to be all that intelligent at all, but rather very mundane. But this is what makes it so good, it's how he organizes the mundane thoughts. This is more apparent on A Grand.... There is nothing particularly intelligent about any of the pieces, they're all fairly ordinary, but as a whole, it works so well that it seems more intelligent than I think it actually is. I agree with you, Borachon, that on his latest he is a parody of himself, but I think that's half the point. I think part of what he's saying is that when you reach a certain level of fame, there's a danger in becoming a parody of yourself. I don't think it's as good as his first two, but I enjoyed it still.

As far as Dizzee, he's one of my favorite MC's. I guess I might call him Grime-lite, at least Boy in Da Corner. I don't think a lot of Americans have had any real exposure to Grime. Lady Sovereign is probably the closest. And while most of her early English stuff is pretty Grimey, most of her US release is a little bit more polished. The only reason I've heard some hardcore Grime is from the mix discs friends have brought me from London.

quote:

Originally posted by PRG:
First of all, I'm not exactly sure what intelligent lyrics are.

Okay. Maybe, in the cold, sober light of day, intelligent wasn't the best adjective to use when referring to Skinner's verbal acuity. Can I go back, remove it, and insert imaginative instead? Can everyone live with that? I suppose it's all subjective at the end of the day. The wee guy at my work thinks Fitty's the Greatest Rapper Of All Time™, whereas I think he blows goats.

As for Dizzee, I absolutely loved Boy In Da Corner, but refused to buy Showtime after hearing the Captain Sensible sampling atrocity that is "Dream". I'd say it was among the worst 10 or 20 songs I've ever heard and this time I'm not exaggerating. Shame when one song soils your opinion of an artist. I can't help it though... that song goes right through me!

While we're talking UK rappers, I'd like to mention Jehst, Akala, Sway, and Skinnyman, for no other reason than no one else likely will. They're all good though.

quote:

Originally posted by Borachon:
While we're talking UK rappers, I'd like to mention Jehst, Akala, Sway, and Skinnyman, for no other reason than no one else likely will. They're all good though.

Good names. I love Jehst. I have all but his latest called Underworld Epics, which I think came out last year. They're hard to find in the States. I've heard of Akala, but I don't think I've heard anything by him. Isn't he Ms. Dynamite's cousin or brother or something? I like Sway a lot, too. I have him on some mixtapes a friend brought back from London, but I don't have any albums yet. I know he had one come out last year, but again, they're hard to find here. All I know about Skinnyman is that he likes weed!

quote:

Originally posted by FragileKidA:
mark posting in the hip-hop forum?

Dizzee Rascal is rap/hip-hop music. He raps, and does it well, has great production with beats that work well with his lyrical/rapping style and features great appearances. I can see why some people would not call The Sreets hip-hop though.

Dizzee is certainly not Hip-Hop, his(brilliant imo) music is a mix of rap and grime and he has a new album out soon.Mike Skinner is a complete tit, debut was good everything after that was generic and dull.

5 essential artists...

The Coup.
The Roots.
Outkast.
Nas.
Common.