Gangster Vs. Underground
 

So yeah.

Underground. with a few exceptions it's the only Hip Hop I prefer. Admittedly my knowledge is pretty limited.

uh..

not to sound too condescending..
but im not seeing the point of this, seeing as how a lot of the time they're the exact same thing..

underground isn't a genre, its just, well, underground..

See many gangster rappers in the underground? Bascally underground vs. mainstream.

Last time I checked mainstream and gangster weren't synonyms.

How many mainstream rappers aren't gangster though? 5, 6? Kanye West, Common, Talib Kweli...

MF DOOM > both of those.

what exactly do you mean by gangster?

its just pop music really...

"B.I.G. and his producer, Puff Daddy, meshed gritty narratives with polished pop beats entirely designed with clubs and pop charts in mind"

its essentially pop music, pretty much all of that you see on MTV is marketed as "gangsta rap".

Oh I know, wasn't saying it wasn't pop music, just defining it for you.

oh, whups. My mistake

I didn't say that's what I was doing so more mine than yours.

"gangster" and underground is pretty much related...this thread is kinda pointless.....you need to explain more what you think each is

I provided a link for gangster and underground is pretty self-explanatory.

yeah, but they're still the same thing a majority of the time...

making this a pointless comparison :-/

To the unititiated: Gangsta rap is the music that promotes guns, violence and bad language. Hiding this under some nice commercial beats. Underground is an artist that is not on general flotation on mainstream TV and comments on issues that does'nt need a big arsed woman shaking her booty (no matter how enjoyable it looks!) to sell. This is NOT the reality, but it is the conception that most people outside of the genre get. Rock music gets the same narrow minded misconceptions.

well it kind of depends on what decade of "gangsta rap" your talking about

nowadays it's ****

however, in the early 80's to the late 90's it was the best it could ever been.

Okay, you did what I was asking Proggyman to do...explain what he thinks the two are , not throw links at me about what it is. I know what it is generally.

To me underground also promotes guns, violence, bad language and glorifies the ghetto. If you listen to most mixed tapes you'll find these same common themes that you think are strictly gangsta rap.

Well, i mean...

okay

here, look at immortal technique, underground. But everything he raps about is about going to prison and shooting his friends mom (its sincere, not bragging).

I mean, thats as gangsta as it gets isn't it? But he tours with "the underground' artists. I think what you see on tv is simply just pop music dress 'gangsta' (w/e that really means, who knows)

I mean you see good charlotte on tv advertising themselves as 'punk' but would you agree with that then? Its the same thing

^^
I was trying to give you the unitiated view, which is similar to mine I have to admit. Unfortunately because of it's glamorous connotations, Rap has gotten itself an image that is nowhere near representative of it's true meanings, origins and purposes.

anyone like J-Zone (i think he's considered underground)? funny/clever lines with great beats, IMO beats 10x better than dre's

nope never heard of him.

what are some songs that you would recommend to get a taste?

Has anyone heard of Joell Ortiz?

lulz, care to elaborate as to why?

stfu he has a toad icon >.<

making him best n00b evar

What really is the difference between Gangster & Underground? Thanks! :)

qft!

yeah talib isn't underground to me anymore either

music that isn't deliberately created to be marketable, will always be superior.

I'd rather listen to Jedi Mind Tricks than an ignorant boy who talks about cranking dat solja boy.

I think its more like "Commercial Rap V.S Underground" cause gangster can be heard in both categories

Eh, I was gonna say. What's more, underground and gangster aren't antonyms.

I'd argue that the very best of the underground rap scene are their gangster rappers.

both...subject matter.

What a joke, underground by hundreds of miles.

Wu-Tang is both gangster and underground, so...

Wu-Tang are not underground at all. They're multi-platinum selling and among the most well known and influential groups in the history of hip-hop.

still it dosnt make them mainstream

Mainstream to me is basically when an artist has been successful or publicised enough to become ingrained upon pop culture or the public conscience at large.
And that definitely applies to Wu-Tang, in fact I'm not sure how you could say they weren't mainstream.

I agree that the title of the thread is a little misleading, because many underground rappers have gangsta elements, but I'll give it a shot. Line up of my favourite rappers from each side,

Gangsta:
Wu-Tang
Jay Z
Notorious BIG
Ghostface Killah's solo stuff

Underground:
Madvillain
Aesop Rock
Company Flow
The Roots

So I can definitely get into both, but I'd say that the more conscious underground rap is better at the moment though, gangsta rap is dominated by overcommercialised crap.

wu-tang
jay z
and ghost face are exceptions to the **** gangsterrule
you find the good **** underground

Being extremely popular and one of the most recognized names in your entire musical genre is the definition of being mainstream.

Snoop's gangster, Dre's gangster, Tupac was gangster, Biggie was basically gangster. So I can't really diss gangsta stuff, but now it's not too good.