Hip Hop Poll: Round 2, Poll D
 

I have to go with The Roots on this one.

The Roots.

One of my favorite bands. Constantly releasing great albums.

madlib easily

x2

the king of the wigflip; otis jackson jr.

Choosing between Madlib and The roots was hard, but Madlib is like the best producer alive.

Went with the Roots. Yes, I went against my WU voting lines but I really don't like Ghost much. I dig Madlib but The Roots are so talented

Compared to Madlib though?

he produced some of my favorite songs but I agree with Dirty that The Roots are more talented.

You guys are crazy. It takes, what, eight of them to do what Madlib does on his own. And Madlib still manages to be more eclectic. Talk about talent? Madlib is his own jazz band for pete's sake. And he's a better rapper than Black Thought. And his beats are better than Questlove. The man is brilliant.

Look at it this way, Madlib releases about 5 albums a year. Even then, it's breathtakingly complex stuff. He's dedicated as well as mega talented.

Iunno about that...unless you can provide some examples. He has some pretty original style though, especially quasimoto


Your favorite rapper?

Madlib produced him, guaranteed.

I guess my examples would be anything Madlib has rapped on versus anything Black Thought has rapped on. I've always considered Black Thought only a so-so rapper honestly.

anything madlib has rapped on eh?

even Madlib knows he's a horrible rapper, he says hes a DJ first, producer second and rapper dead last, there is no way that he is more talented than Black Thought

What's your point? I'm not arguing that he's a great lyricist. In fact, I'm not even arguing that he's a great rapper, just that he's better than Black Thought.

You're right that he's better at other things than he is at rapping. And yet he's still better than Black Thought!

Just how bad do you think Black Thought is?
Even if he's totally generic (which he totally is) he's still technically more proficient then madlib.

His voice is better(which is why madlib uses speeds it up or does effect) and his rhymes are actually coherent..

I feel like your being a little snobby janzoon :(

Well at least we agree that Black Thought is kind of generic! And I don't hate The Roots or anything, by the way, I just don't think Black Thought's rapping is what makes them a good band.

I don't know how you measure who is "technically" better and I don't really care honestly, the end result is what's important to me. Madlib's vocals are unique, interesting and entertaining, all of which require talent to pull off well. Black Thought's vocals are serviceable. They work in the context of The Roots music and that's fine but I don't think he's tremendously talented compared to other rappers.

Because I think Madlib is more talented than The Roots? How is that snobby? Are you being snobby for having the opposite opinion?

No, you already know i agree with him being better overall. Saying he is a better rapper is blasphemous

When you compare The Roots and Madlib, you have to take into account that most of what you hear when you are listening to The Roots is live. Madlib on the other hand primarily samples. So as far as technical ability goes, The Roots win by a long shot. It takes far longer to get good on an instrument than it does to learn how to produce, and whether production is quality or not is subjective. I like Madlib waaaaaay more than the Roots, but when it comes to raw talent, you have to admit the roots win.

Definitely not. 90% of the time, black thought is far ahead of Madlib lyrically. Just because he has a weird voice doesn't mean he's good at rapping (the Unseen is the only album of his that I've actually enjoyed his verses on). He certainly isn't a better rapper, but Madlib is more creative and more fun to listen to.

This one is close. In terms of their individual work, it is basically a draw for me. In terms of outside work, though, I'll take contributions to Madvillain, Lootpack, YNQ, Talib Kweli (Liberation & Eardrum), Jaylib, Mos Def (borrowed from BK: In India), Strong Arm Steady over John Legend and Jimmie Fallon.

You do know Madlib is a multi-instrumentalist, right? The dude plays everything on his Yesterday's New Quintet albums. I'm confused as to why you think it takes so much less ability to produce, DJ, rap and play several instruments all by yourself than it does to just play a single instrument in a band.

Again, I'm not talking about lyrics, I'm talking about rapping. As you said, he's more creative and more fun to listen to, that's why I say he's better.

Why is it blasphemous?

I'm sure that most of the members of The Roots are multi-instrumentalists too, shiiite, I'm a multi-instrumentalist myself. The point is, The Roots are masters of their instruments. Sure Madlib did one album where he played live equipment, but i am sure that he is nowhere near as proficient as the roots are (who have put out like 30 albums). I see Madlib mainly as a producer. There is a certain point where you can no longer say that someones production is bad or good, just whether you enjoy it or not. The same is not true for instrumental musicians. Remember, i am talking about technical ability only. Madlib is more CREATIVE. When he makes a beat, he is patching samples together to form a collage of sound. This takes considerably less TECHNICAL SKILL.

First things first, The Roots have released ten albums, not thirty. Madlib is the one who has released a ton of albums, many more than The Roots have. And he didn't do "one album where he played live equipment", he plays live instruments quite a bit. So what makes you so sure he's less proficient than The Roots? It certainly doesn't sound that way when you listen to his music. Lastly, what makes you think building entire songs out samples takes less technical skill than playing a single instrument in a band?

Well, if you wanna nit pick...
I'm confused, "a ton" is not a numerical value? Did you mean 40? because Madlib has put out 40 albums.
If this is true, I'm sure you won't have any trouble finding numerous examples.
Let's just put it like this, would you expect an individual who spends most of his professional time behind the boards to be better at playing live instruments than a group who's entire discography is compromised of songs created with live instruments? What makes you think he's so much more proficient than the Roots?
Because he samples.
Experience. Playing in a band requires much more technical skill. Producing requires greater creative skill.

Full Albums:
Angles Without Edges
Stevie
A Tribute to Brother Weldon
The Funky Side of Life
Yesterdays Universe
Miles Away
Slave Riot
Space & Time

EP's
Elle's Theme
Uno Esta
Experience
Say Ah!
Ugly Beauty
Jewelz

I'd say that's quite an impressive catalogue for someone who walked into a music store, bought one of every instrument, and then sat in his house and played until he became proficient enough to make cohesive albums. All of this while still churning out brilliant albums for Stones Throw at a rate that hasn't been seen since Sun Ra.

Hahahaha good ****. You got me. Even so, I stand by my argument.
PS Which of these albums are the best?

I'm unclear on the point of this comment. :confused:

See anticipation's list.

Based on anticipation's list it looks like he's actually released more albums with live instruments than The Roots have.

I don't think I've ever claimed that he was. All I've done is disagree with your contention that The Roots are way more proficient than he is.

He sometimes samples and sometimes plays live instruments.

So soloists are less technically skilled than people in bands? That seems like a strange claim.

I'm unclear on why we're even on the technical skill tip anyway. The point I'm making is that Madlib is more talented and makes better music than The Roots.

I picked Madlib, pretty easy choice really.

after seeing this post I would probably change my vote to Madlib but he's winning anyways so it doesn't matter much

I'm glad Madlib is winning and at this point I would like to see him win the whole competition.

Seems possible since he's putting a clinic on The Roots crew.

Who am I kidding? All must bow before the all-mighty hand of Madlib. HAIL!