Sparky

Aesop Rock

although my affection for his music isn't the same as it was when i was younger, he's responsible for introducing me to most of the alternative artists in hip hop i like now


(skip to 1:10 if the first beat isn't captivating)

His brainiac bad-boy demeanor, and super intricate rhyme flow sounded really cool to me at the time. It was in sharp contrast to everything people would tell me was bad about hip hop, like dumb subject matter or repetitive lyrics.


He also wasn't as self-obsessed and melancholy like the rhymesayer sound, he still had that new york snap in his production and delivery.


I would argue some of those things aren't quite as distinct in his newer music, or maybe i grew out of it, but i still have a fondess for his music in the same way sunny day real estate or even nirvana.

You also have to give him credit for simply writing so much when recently the genre seems to put less emphasis on versatile lyrics/flows

Janszoon

I've always loved that transition "Bazooka Tooth". It's so abrupt and essentially sounds like two completely different songs and yet somehow it totally works. It's really a pretty impressive feat.

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A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man

Time & Place

25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die

last.fm

Engine

It's nice to see some love for Bazooka Tooth. I've always felt so alone thinking that it's one of his greatest works. All of it. Also .. you're into Sunny Day Real Estate?

Back to original topic.

A Tribe Called Quest specifically People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm


This was my first real experience with hip-hop. That is, the first time I took it seriously. Before this came out, all I really knew about was Public Enemy, and I never actually paid much attention to the lyrics, I just liked their logo. The high-pitched siren thing (I mean the sample they incessantly used, not Flavis Flav, which I also could never stand) turned me off of them. Also N.W.A.
These were all I knew before the Tribe album. So, for me, before People's Instinctive Travels the only rap I really liked was N.W.A who were kind of a joke to me and my friends who listened to it driving around in our parents' cars bewildered at the fact that these guys were apparently selling crack and killing each other for no apparent reason and still had the time to make awesome-sounding music with hilarious lyrics.

Then came De La Soul, and all of the other late-80s/early 90s stuff that I listened to occasionally and always just for fun. This lasted well into the 1990s when turntablism became a kind of respectable musical art form and I was into all those artists like Beat Junkies et. al. and I also got into DJ Shadow and all of that. None of this was life-changing.

Then, well into young adulthood came..
Viktor Vaughn and his Vaudeville Villain album.

This album changed my life and will be a hard album to ever beat as my personal favorite rap album. It's hard to describe why exactly. It's just that it was the first album that ever felt so totally complete. Everything just fits. Doom's rhymes, his voice, the beats, even the skits. I honestly feel that this album elevates rap into the realm of high art. Or at least that's how it felt back when it changed my life. After this, I could listen to each and every rap album with a more critical ear and allowed me to explore my deeper feelings about all rap.

I love many hip-hop albums and artists but these two particular works stand out for me. Changed my perception of music and therefore changed my life.

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Like an arrow,
I was only passing through.

Sparky

Yeah, I thought it was his high point lyrically. The production wasn't great, i think it was him starting to produce his own stuff(because hail mary mallon, felt 3 were awesome), it sounds a lot like its trying to emulate el-p unsuccessfully. His intense snarl and aggravated tone carry it for me though, but I could totally understand being bored by it.

and of course i like sunny day real estate son!

So many great lines from this album.

and so many others but its a lot of effort to find them.

You can definetly hear kool keith influence a lot on it, but it's way craftier and more rewarding to listen to then any of keiths matireal ive tried.

anticipation

Awesome awesome post dude. Couldn't agree more about Vik Vaughn, that album really broadened my perception of what hip hop could be. Having previously heard Kool Keith's Dr. Octagon-saga attempts at sci-fi rap and not really digging it, I had only seen Del's "Deltron 3030" as a successful product. Being introduced to this type of production really blew my mind, and definitely fits in nicely with Doom's music collage style.

also sparky, yes;

"I can understand it!"
V, the beat bandit,
who bring heat for the mic, unhand it!

&

Fresh as a mayflower, face like power
He had the green light, she asked him: "What's the plan tonight?"
Flavor of the night, Samsara from Fahrenheit.