Very interesting. Theres lots of stuff I just learned.

Louis Jordan???
 

what do you guys feel about Louis Jordan being called the first rapper??

I can believe it, cause in the middle of his songs he just goes into some talking spiel :P

follow that train of rationale and opera becomes the first hip-hop

first signed rapper
 

He influenced a lot of styles, but Jordan was more influential in the rock and roll, blues and R&B scene. What makes you think he may have been the first rapper? Or even a rapper at all?

I'm not sure who the absolute first is, but I know Kurtis Blow was one of the first mainstream rappers to ever be signed.

I didn't vote for him. and it's not cool to just ASSUME everyone on this site is republican. whered you get that quote from The Anarchist Cookbook movie?

Eminem did not go around callin his **** hate rap and neither does Technique.

just the fact that he would just go off on rants in the middle of his songs like in Caldonia. not a lot of artists doing that then.

and I don't consider him a rapper. even though I said that, I guess I mean he influenced people who BECAME the first rappers maybe.

Very well done. Loved it!!

Very interesting article...although I had a general insight into Hip Hop history, this helped to clarify things. One question how comes conscious rap tends to have lesser beats than their more commercial counterparts? For example I dislike most things G Unit stand for glorifying gun culture etc, but I must admit their swagger and beats are among the most contagious out there...is their a conscious rapper that can equal those beats?

Since nobody else replied...

I think saying the beats are "lesser" is a bit harsh, personally i don't like club beats i like beats that actually sound hip hop (hard for me to describe). Anyway here's a few underground/independent artists you should check out, they've all worked with great producers or have great producers in their stable.

FYI i'm not saying i like all of these rappers but i'm trying to keep it limited to rappers with some sort of lyrical ability lol (and who fit what you want - good production)



^^ Zion I are all about making young black males think differently and see the world for what it is.



^^ chali 2na is by far one of the most underrated rappers in america, check out his solo stuff and anything by jurassic 5 if you haven't already. Lyrically the guy is phenomenal.





JMT are one of the few rap groups in america worth listening to now. Vinnie Paz is a dope rapper but this isn't a great example because rugged man (featured on this track - second verse) pretty much dominated the entire thing. Great production but it's not for the club (obviously). Problem with wanting conscious rappers on club beats is that the majority of the time that kind of beat doesn't suit the topic they're rapping about.






immortal technique^ a politcal rapper who's big on conspiracy theories, i'm not his biggest fan but he's decent. Worth a listen. Biz zoo, the guy on the 2nd track seems to be decent as well but i've never managed to find any of his stuff aside from being featured on this lol.


Now this is some great production. The rap group is an american group called cyne who are decent. But the producer is a japanese producer called Nujabes, he is by far one of the greatest and most underappreciated producers of our time. He doesn't do so much rap production now he just enjoys making instrumentals usually with a jazz or funk kind of feel, the majority of the time his music is really chilled out.




This is blackalicious, and in my opinion this is their best song. The hook is great, expresses hip hop very well.





here's a few more underground/indie rappers but these guys aren't really "conscious" rappers. Just good rappers with good beats who aren't mainstream lol.


AZ - Typical gangster rapper but an incredible lyricist. nas blew up but in my opinion AZ should have been the one who became famous. Lyrically he surpasses Nas in every way. Produced by DJ Premier who i'm sure you're familiar with even if you don't know it.




Blu and Exile - really chilled, really good flow, nice lyrically. Good production. Enjoy.




Celph Titled - a horrocore/gangster rapper who is lyrically quite strong but imo is very repetitive (meaning every song sounds the same) he needs to mix it up a bit. Anyway, enjoy..



Tech N9ne - makes club music, occasionally does darker stuff. Lyrically reasonably strong. Great flow/rhythm, strong delivery. If you're looking for something you would hear in a club but that isn't in the mainstream this is the guy for you.






There's many more and i'm sure others will reply to you. I'm going to continue this list in another post since this one's getting a little big. But i'm going to step outside of america (because i.m.o rap is universal and america is just the tip of the very chilled out iceberg). Some of the best rappers in the world are outside of america.

Next up...

A couple of australian rappers (one is technically american since he was born their) who are in my opinion the best lyricists around right now.

For those who struggle to understand the accent (not sure why people struglle with it..but whatever) i will happily post the lyrics, just ask. They have a good producer as well.



^ Highlight of that song imo

"From mimicking thugs, thinking the lyrics were dope,
to gettin' no satisfaction 'cause it was mirrors and smoke
From a home of hip-hop, to a land owned by rock,
from rhyming to my mirror, to thousands blowin' the spot,
But through all of the cheers, and the boo's and the beers,
was just a kid on the bus, headphones glued to his ears,
Who just grew through the years to pursue with the tears,
the blood, sweat & make somethin' with his crew and his peers,
See it was hip-hop that put three lost souls on a map,
from showin' us the country, to puttin' clothes on our back,
And from finding myself in my mic's reflection,
to this musical marriage that gave my life direction"


next up is another australian rapper called Pez, great lyrically and great production. I hate seperating rap music by countries but if i had to, australia is where i would want to be right now.



"He's lost
In the world of the stars, with the girls and the cars
He's lost
and he wants that dream but he's unable to see
He's lost
now on the road they map so there's no way back
He's Lost!"


More Aussie hip hop, this time probably the biggest aussie rap group (commercially) The Hilltop Hoods. Lyrically brilliant and responsible for getting me into aussie rap and expanding my taste in rap.



"we got one world, still we take it in stride,
in this one life we stand still waiting to die."

"Now if life is what you make it it’s time to build,
Man I’m for real aint no telling what this life will yield,
I’m a career man, 'cause I career off any path,
That would lead me to a start of financial gains I’m scarred,
We learn from our mistakes, that makes me a scholar on,
Being a walking talking **** up and a better man for being wrong"



More aussie rap...

Dialectrix - outcast. Good flow, decent delivery, very strong lyrically.




the next rapper is a british rapper, these guys do bragging/horrorcore style stuff but they also do conscious type stuff with a dark feel to it. Easily the best rap group in the u.k, one of the strongest lyrically in the world imo. Great production (imo) and this one doesn't have the entire group on it, in fact it's just one of the members. A rapper named possessed, hopefully you can udnerstand the accent because lyrically this guy is close to being untouchable. His punchlines, wordplay and metas are insane.



"I'm eating out of coffins and caskets
everyone in my 'field of vision's', Just 'crops for the harvest' "

"I got master degree burns, After a heat stroke of genius"

"Haven't started to rap yet, this is just the sound of my breathing."

"Tormented by growing pains of my ever evolving brain"

"Rubbing salt into bullet wounds just to make the slug dissolve"


Next is another british rapper. Lyrically he's close to flawless. And he's a conscious rapper. First track is him performing a track called alphabet assassin, the concepts been done before and he even mentions papoose at the start (he did a similar track shortly before this one). Second track is more political (talking about the "war" with palestine and israel) and of the conscious kind of rap you are looking for.






well i hope you enjoy something out of this giant list lol

Thanks for this valuable information. I think this is true that you said. Some time it happened but some time it closed.

A lot of mainstream rap actually has purdy good production. That's because more focus goes into the overall sound rather than the lyrical capabilities. Sometimes, it works. But a balance is always nice. Underground hip hop pisses me off sometimes. "Underground hip hop: where monotony is king!" (By the way, don't take that religiously. Hip hop thrives in the underground.)

I highly recommend you pick up:

Nas - Illmatic
Dilated Peoples - The Platform
Blu & Exile - Below the Heavens
Common - Be
Black Milk - Tronic

Sample tracks from each artist:

(Note: The 6th Sense and Worst Comes to Worst are not from the albums I recommended.)

Hello, I am not a fan of this music but I would be grateful if somebody could me explain difference what is rap and what is hip-hop....
Maybe funny question for you but I mean it seriously, really ;) I am interested to know more about all music genres. Thank you.

My brother listen to this music but he doesn't want to expain me this difference... or maybe he doesn't know too :p:
Everybody knows Eminem... I read the first post of this thread and I realized I know one song by Run DMC - "It's like that". It's old song but I really liked it when I was a teenager.

Hip Hop incorporates everything about the movemnt, so the music even without the lyrics. But not just this, it spawned a whole culture including Graffiti, Fashion and dance amongst others.

Rap is what the vocalists are doing.

I prefer the term Hip Hop myself.

@trouserjazz - thank you for your explanation! :beer:

Hip hop is the culture. Rap is the music.

Captain and Jester thank you both for your valuable insight...I like a lot of what I heard and I'll be sure to check out your recommendations further.

Here are two Hip Hop groups from my land (Colombia).

Chocquibtown

Simple and commercial sound, but with one unique element, they use traditional sounds (esp. the Xylophone) from the Pacific coast of Colombia.



Below is a verse translated to give you an idea of what the song says.

You came here with only betrayal on your mind,
to firstly take away my gold,
with your foreign accent and your cowboy look,
Move out, get out of here boy,
you won't take my gold again,
Sir, I will leave you be,
reflect and just leave with everything.

All my gold has finished, the owners have become employees,
the inocence has gone, more poverty has come,
but I won't leave from here, I am form this land I am!
My soul is like the rivers, the path I take shall flow.

Chorus:
Thief you left with all my gold
and left me without my gold


The following video just talks about the region and the people.


JHT

This is more of a lyrical rapper from the capital Bogota.

1st song: 'Mi Rap Es' - My rap is....talks of what rap means to him.
2nd Song (min. 1:36): 'Veneno' - Poison...criticizes latin american politicians and Colombian indiference and ignorance.
3rd song (min. 3:05): 'Blues del rap' - Rap Blues...Talks of the history of rap and criticizes commercial and monotonous elements of its evolution.



Translation of a passage from the last song 'Blues del Rap'.

Rap is far from being a verse of meaningless lyrics,
this music goes back to the races with rhymes,
my message is like slaves in plantations,
it is screams of hope, dreams and frustrations,
with double sexual meaning,
double moral meaning,
double meaning to interpret and search for freedom.

as said by dead prez, 'it's bigger than hip hop'

M kinda new here...don't listen to a lot of rap......bit I do like T.I....can anyone suggest any similar rappers? Thx

Can I just say?..

People always think I don't know hip hop because I listen to people like Flo Rida, Nelly, and other weak artists.(nothing like Soulja Boy though.)

People always think I don't know hip hop because my PERSONAL favorites, my top 10 includes people like Fat Joe/Pitbull, etc...

Thing is, I have my favorites. But I also know that people like Jay Z, Eminem, Joell Ortiz, Raekwon, etc are actually considered great rappers.

Fat Joe, Joell Ortiz, Pitbull, Jeezy, Chamillionaire, and others round out my top 10. Honestly, what's wrong with having an eclectic list of artists I listen to? If you only listen to the.... "real" hip hop, that doesn't mean crap. I listen to all of these kinds of artists, as well as pop/R&B (Jay sean, Jason DeRulo, Usher), country (Toby Keith), rock (Alter Bridge, Crossfade), and hip hop artists from one end of the spectrum(Royce Da 5'9) to the other (Hurricane Chris).

So yeah, the question I'm trying to ask, why doesn't anyone that considers themselves "real" hip hop fans consider me one at times? I think if you know a lot about hip hop, you are a real hip hop fan, even if your favorite rapper is... Soulja Boy. Who can dispute that?!

your top 10 is definetly wrong if it includes Pitbull i don't care how ecclectic your taste is.

Definitely wrong, meaning...What?

Pitbull's music holds that much weight to you that he qualifies as one of your all time favorite rap artists?

Yes, actually, he does.

I don't believe he's one of the best. I know that.

But I believe he's entertaining. And if you go to my post in the "Introduction" board that I posted yesterday, you'll see that I have a fair mix of entertaining and real hip hop artists on my favorites.

Like I said, I don't believe my favorites are the best. I know Jay Z, Pac, Eazy, among others are better than most of my favorites when it comes to pure rapping and lyrics.

Everyone has their favorites.

Wow. Very well-written and informative. Worth taking the time to read. Thank you. :clap:

Pitbull does suck multiple ****s though.

Wow this info is great.. it can give this as guidelines to everybody who really
like to RAP.

Yao fractures news again , I seem to be struck by lightning to the general , not suppress grief arises spontaneously . At that moment, I do not care about what this will impact the rocket record .

I really like Yao Ming in the Department of reflection he saw that the NBA's first landing film Yao Ming 's all come easy at all . A 20 -year-old boy , the language barrier , no NBA experience , in the face of some people watching at home when their own idol . Bit by bit he began to progress , to grow strong enough to pound twelve , a score to a long , inside dominance also increase from year to year ... ... all of this , we need his enormous effort . It is said that over the years, he has always been the most serious Rockets training hard for most people .

a game and said that this is the case , if Yao can not get the championship , then God is unfair.

for a big man who has been into the thirties , this time of the injury, damage to far more than the body .

at least myself, have never injured a player such as the sad . Because the past few years , I have unconsciously put Yao Ming as a very familiar person. For example , like watching the same every time and chat with friends , start to finish always take the trouble to talk about Yao Ming , Yao Ming . His presence is so ordinary life more can be expected .
Yao Ming wishes

early recovery.

What the f*ck are you smoking?

just a reminder; raekwon the chef is still the greatest rapper of our time.



wow.

He is consistantly good, no doubt about that. He gets lumped in under the Wu-Tang banner and sometimes forgotten about though.

In terms of keeping up to date with current Hip Hop, Dead End Hip Hop will help you out.

Also, shout out to... me!

Thanks for bumping my shout out dude!

Edit: This guy is probably going to get deleted... I am not this contrived... Promise...

ay thats whatsup goofle

I've actually seen a lot of the dudes they were talking about and have come to the conclusion i need to see other genres live more often

Remember when Slave System invented rap with their hit single 'Good times' in 1969?
Good times.

Great writing learned a lot about the beginning, love A Tribe Called Quest. I have almost every single one of their songs

Am I right in saying that 'DJ Kool Herc' used to do his Caribbean influenced beats at clubs in Brooklyn then he met 'Coke De La Rock' who would rap over his beats?

Deadendhiphop and The needledrop are both great
I wish i heard more from DEHH though they have been slowing down

They had their camera stolen but I think they release at least two videos a week now.

Myke C-Town is my boseph.

yeah they released one this week but there has been like monthly intervals between videos but they are speeding up now. The did P.O.S review and some new video within two weeks so thats good.

and Myke C-Town is the bomb hahaha