Rap/ Hip Hop

[DoctorJay]

I began to look for some lyrics and determined that there are so many hip hop stuff with some kind of inappropiate message for me.

I try to find some artists where I can identify myself with the message/views of the rapper.

Just wondering if lyrics are important for you or is it enough when the sound is good.

What do you suggest - which artists have a real message in their lyrics and won't only tell me about who they will shoot or which bitch they'll fuck.

Is there some kind of fastidiously hip hop /rap?

Thanks for your advice !

What is the situation in the US - people should understand all the lyrics over there - how do the girls react to such lyrics ?

[QuantumBalance]

yo i fucked this bitch over there
i grabbed her by her hair and pulled
she did what she was told cuz
she wanted to live hard
before she grew into a grey dove

then this man came in and talked some shit
so i shot him in the face while grabbin a bitch's tit
he was lyin on the ground in a pool of his own blood
so i stood over his face and busted a nut
my cum mingled with his red cells
now ill see you in hell

cuz im a black nigga party all the damn time well
i dont need a fuckin bible or a church to go to
i dont need lyrics that have a message to show u
ill fuck your mom and shell give birth to your new half sister
then ill fuck her to and ill procced to slither
cuz im a snake.. never a fake i light the candles on my own cake
for shits sake son take out your gun and ill shoot you in the head
before your brain said
pull that trigger
cuz my dick is bigger
ill cut off your cock and use it for a cigger
ette.. these rhymes are getting worse
so im gonna take off before it gets more perverse


....

yay rap!

[Senor Grommet]

People who know me know that I have a friend named "Sat". He used to be a rap mogul- a listener, purveyor, appreciator, collector, spinner, etc. Then, almost overnight, he became much more socially conscious, kind of like the transformation I have seen in Sam C., but much more reclusive and introverted, more comtemplative and disapppointed with the world. He sold his entire collectin back to music stores and what he did not sell, he gave away. Currently, he has only 1 Rap song; it is the only one that has lyrics that do not ofend him or others and it is one that he enjoys.

I think people listen to Rap not because of the lyrics or what they represent, but because they see it as an alternate reality into which they can briefly escape, from the reality of their own lives. Thats the way it is for me anyway.

Jeremy

[crazydwarf]

I don't like rap, but I just thought I would say that lyrics do matter for me in songs. I like it when they mean something. Also, here in the US it seems like girls just pretend not to hear the offensive lyrics when people are listening to rap songs. It kind of disgusts me though...

[Seath]

Not all rap should be generalized though..

Mos Def:
Yo, check it one for Charlie Hustle, two for Steady Rock
Three for the fourth comin live, future shock
It's five dimensions, six senses
Seven firmaments of heaven to hell, 8 Million Stories to tell
Nine planets faithfully keep in orbit
with the probable tenth, the universe expands length
The body of my text posess extra strength
Power-liftin powerless up, out of this, towerin inferno
My ink so hot it burn through the journal
I'm blacker than midnight on Broadway and Myrtle
Hip-Hop past all your tall social hurdles

Talib Kwali:
You think you the shit
somebody in the wings'll force you to quit
It could be your crew or click
or some random kid you smoked buddha with
Consider me the entity within the industry without a history
of spittin the epitome, of stupidity -- livin my life
expressin my liberty, it gotta be done properly
My name is in the middle of e-Kweli-ty
People follow me and other cats they hear him flow
And assume I'm the real one with lyrics like I'm Cyrano

KRS One:
I'm bout to hit you wit that tradional style of cold rockin
Givin options for head knockin non stoppin
Tip-toppin lyrics we droppin but styles can be forgotten
so we bring back the raw hip-hoppin
Just like the records and tapes you be coppin
Cop some breakdancin, boogie poppin, and lockin
Tic tockin, guaranteed to have you clockin
We only get better and only better we have gotten
This type of flow don't even think about stoppin
Beware, the length of the rhyme flow can be shockin
All music lovers in the place right now
That never understood the way that KRS got down
Yo I'm strictly about skills and dope lyrical coastin
Relying on talent, not marketing and promotion
If a dope lyrical flow is a must
You gots to go with a name you can quickly trust
I'm not sayin I'm number one, uhh I'm sorry, I lied
I'm number one, two, three, four and five
Stop wastin your money on marketing schemes
and pretty packages pushin dreams to the beams
A dope MC is a dope MC
With or witout a record deal, all can see
And that's who KRS be son
I'm not the run of mill, cause for the mill I don't run

Common Sense:
I'm comin around the mountain high as lower than a valley
I'm the cat, from the alley, from the back, I'ma rally
and tally up points, rollin joints, risin to the tops
Somewhat of a playwright, cause like a stage I got props
My crew's a strange brew, a drink a day'll keep the stink away
We been through AA, but hey, what can I say?
Say say say, what you want, but you'll pay the con-se-quences
Cause Mister Common Sense is (yeah)
not gonna take it, so leave you better believe it
Even if your name ain't Ripley, cause Ripley don't know diddley
Hit me one time, two times, for the U-AYYY-C

Dead Prez:
Imagine havin no runnin water to drink
Chemicals contaminate the pipes leadin to your sink
Just think, if the grocery stores close they doors
And they saturate the streets with tanks and start martial law
Would you be ready for civil war
Could you take the life of somebody you know,
or have feelings for if necessary?
I got cousins in the military
But far as I'm concerned they died, when they registered

[BainbridgeShred]

I think girls don't just choice not to here it, I think it had just becoem another socially acceptable deragatory word like nigger when used among black people. Now girls can call eachother bitches and be fine with it.

Gangstarr has some of the best rap lyrics I've ever heard, they have tons of metaphors and similies and shit and some of their songs are truly like poetry.

[hacksterbator]

lyrics are the most important thing to me, beats etc. come second...
one of my favorite examples is john smith's old style. incredibly insightful rhymes, creating a story, and images, and somethign most people can relate to. some examples...

Look ma', no hands!-John Smith

now i wasn't a gimp, when i was a small tike
and like most boys, i had one of them small bikes
foam pad on the bar that said BMX
so you wouldn't loose no teeth, but i damn near broke my neck
attempted no hands, with no crash
often meant ripped sweat pants and road rash
so i gave up tryin', untill that fine
summer afternoon in 99
when a good friend of mine
outlined to me, his perception
of the secret to bikin' with out handle bars
and idea was hatched, a conception
i was brewin up something like a samabar
it was all about pace, and maintaining rhythm
it wasn't long before, i could keep up with him
it was addictive, rolling from place to place
able to scratch my hairy ass, and the stubble on my face
with out sweatin' gettin' tossed to my left and
endin' up with a chapsed like cleft chin
second week of august, and my no hands is flawless
i knew i close, to full feeling the promis
that i made to my self on the day i learned
i could go from crib to work, the curbs and turns
of inkster's industrial park, present no hassels
baffeled motorists gawked, at the be spectacled spectacle
something green in his mouth and it ain't a vegtable
smoking the shit they say makes you forgetful
but i ain't about to forget
the day i rode with a pair of free mits
and a J O I N T light

One Sided Trees- john smith

i remember it like it was just 4 years ago
from late june untill early september, i went on my adventure
back to my home town, little joey from perry almost grown now
i ain't so cool that i won't admit,
i was sad about missing my grad, and about the passing of my dad's dad
had to tell abby i couldn't make it
ain't been close ever since,and when we meet up we fake it
well any ways, it had been 3 years since my mom made her move
pops was outta town when she clowned his ass and relocted down south,
in a small town loose lips attached a big mouth,
helped word get around about his infedelity
for a bored and selfish teen, it felt like an incredibly positive development
i was enroute to a relevent existence
and wasn't missing my friends as the train chuged into the distance
in the time that lapsed i lied to my self, feeling city-fied,
on the train ride home,
i had a new job, in my old town,
where blair and kelsey played too close to the sea spray's foam
they got swallowed up by hudson's bay
on the rocks on which you weren't supposed to play, they always warned us to stay away
that was where you'd file through sun bleached white carribou bones, tryllabites trapped in stone,
till you found on that would skip
like i skipped out the peg, and opted for muskeg

i speak the truth, i speak the truth, because it happens, because it happens

i'm surprised i remember it so clearly,
i beer in nearly every pocket, trying to steal a truck with robert beardy
the same summer i tied roller skates, untill my hands were lame and couldn't get number,
chaffed and blistered,
makin sure my 26 or so kids spent enough time in the mixture
untill i kicked their asses out the gym,
hit the churchill motel, where ruthy grined at me
while she bussed glasses to my dad and i
thinking about the chincy moustach i had when i dated her daughter i'll bet
so i get a little awkward and flush, while i rush through my krickle cut fries,
say my good byes, hop into the ride of one of the guys
that i grew up with,
smoked a joint, stole a jerry can and blew it up
shit, i don't know if those city slickers know what they're missin'
senseless vandallism is one of a small town teen's traditions
and so's drinkin', luckily we didn't get dunked into the drink
when we were clinking plastic champagne glasses
watching grandpa joes ashes, sink into the churchill river
it could have been later that same night, when we were passing dutchies
munching out a salad bowl half full of of magic mushies,
after hours at a location i won't disclose
cause there's some stiffs in town who i suppose, wouldn't appreciate
such a negative portrayal, and it never fails
to take the wind out my sails
and every time since that summer, when i return it burns
watching our town turn into some tourist trap
some american's bourish yap, that never shuts the fuck up
spendin big bucks to shoot some manitoba ducks up
yeah it sucks, but even my pops is cashin in,
so i can run my big yap, but i'll just be bashing him
it's tragic in the eyes of 2 face, smitty the souce
who can indentify with country mouse and city mouse
who wonders how safe the locks, on the shitty house are
cause last summer, this kid i went to school with
was stabbed to death in a parking lot
just a few blocks away, and even closer the year prior
some dude got shot in the face and died
so as i search the mial box for keys, melancholy sets in
and i think about one sided trees

i speak the truth, i speak the truth, because it happens, because it happens

[lightningbolt]

Okay I feel like typing and this subject intersting so I'm going to break it down.

Now girls can call eachother bitches and be fine with it.

Along with ho, whore, beocth (Like bitch but pronounced differntly and slut (This one a little iffy. It's not as common as the last 3.) Thoes words just are accepted in the younger population.

Like I would go up to my frined a go "hey bitch" or "what up, whore" and that be cool. No way in hell I would up up to my mom and say that or anybody I don't really know. Between frineds that abouslty acceptable. When you say that your not putting the person down.

I call my boyfriend a bitch he calls me a bitch back. It's just a playful thing. In no way am I saying it's cool to 'smack some ho's' but it's accepted. If I saw Zach for example at worlds and hey says, "Hey, bitch" I wouldn't be offened.

Wow, that was a whole lot of saying the say things. Hahah, oh well it's late.

Back on topic:

I really like Eminem. I relate to him for some reason. Maybe it's beacuse he white. I don't really know. He flows well. Has a good beat. Funny. He doesn't use the word nigger. I reccomend him. So of his songs are about sex but most have a message. Check out his new cd 'Encore'. It's pretty good but his older cd 'Marshall Manther' is the best ever. Here his lyrics to a song rock bottom thats really old:

Ah yeah, yo!
This song is dedicated to all the happy people
All the happy people who have real nice lives
And who have no idea whats it like to be broke as fuck

Verse One:

I feel like I'm walking a tight rope, without a circus net
I'm popping perkasets, I'm a nervous wreck
I deserve respect; but I work a sweat for this worthless check
Bout to burst this tech, at somebody to reverse this debt
Minimum wage got my adrenaline caged
Full of venom and rage
Especially when I'm engaged
And my daughter's down to her last diaper
That's got my ass hyper
I pray that god answers, maybe I'll ask nicer
Watching ballers while they flossing in their pathfinders
These overnight stars becoming autograph signers
We'll all gone blow up and leave the past behind us
Along with the small fry's and average half pinters
While playa haters turn bitch like they have vaginas
Cause we see them dollar signs and let the cash blind us
Money will brainwash you and leave your ass mindless
Snakes slither in the grass spineless

Chorus: repeat 2X

That's Rock Bottom
When this life makes you mad enough to kill
That's Rock Bottom
When you want something bad enough to steal
That's Rock Bottom
When you feel like you've had it up to here
Cause you mad enough to scream but you sad enough to tear

Verse Two:

My life is full of empty promises
And broken dreams
I'm hoping things will look up
But there ain't no job openings
I feel discouraged hungry and malnourished
Living in this house with no furnace, unfurnished
And I'm sick of working dead end jobs with lame pay
And I'm tired of being hired and fired the same day
But fuck it, if you know the rules to the game play
Cause when we die we know were all going the same way
It's cool to be the player, but it sucks to be the fan
When all you need is bucks to be the man
Plus a luxury sedan
Too comfortable and roomy in a six
They threw me in the mix
With all these gloomy lunatics
Walk around depressed
And smoke a pound of ses a day
And yesterday went by so quick it seems like it was just today
My daughter wants to throw the ball but I'm too stressed to play
Live half my life and throw the rest away

Chorus: repeat 2X

That's Rock Bottom
When this life makes you mad enough to kill
That's Rock Bottom
When you want something bad enough to steal
That's Rock Bottom
When you feel like you've had it up to here
Cause you mad enough to scream but you sad enough to tear

Verse Three:

There's people that love me and people that hate me
But it's the evil that made me this backstabbing, deceitful, and shady
I want the money, the women, the fortune, and the fame
That Means I'll end up burning in hell scorching in flames
That means I'm stealing your checkbook and forging your name
Lifetime bliss for eternal torture and pain
Right now I feel like just hit the rock bottom
I got problems now everybody on my blocks got 'em
I'm screaming like those two cops when 2pac shot 'em
Holding two glocks, I hope your doors got new locks on 'em
My daughter's feet ain't got no shoes or sock's on 'em
And them rings you wearing look like they got a few rocks on 'em
And while you flaunting them I could be taking them to shops to pawn them
I got a couple of rings and a brand new watch you want 'em?
Cause I never went gold of one song
I'm running up on someone's lawns with guns drawn

Chorus: repeat 2X

That's Rock Bottom
When this life makes you mad enough to kill
That's Rock Bottom
When you want something bad enough to steal
That's Rock Bottom
When you feel like you've had it up to here
Cause you mad enough to scream but you sad enough to tear


Yeah, I done now.

[QuantumBalance]

Tear my thoughts asunder
Strike myself like balls of thunder
Cut away mental fat I plunder
My own ideas, leave the bad ones
Take a good one if I only had one.
I'm mad son, mad at myself
I'm living in my own hell.
It's at clear as a cold bell
in a vaccume tube
dont go there
I need to wash my hair
if only the shampoo
would remove the scared
i know what to do
but im thinking impaired

[vanderwax]

I am not into the whole rap gangster thing; however, I really dig good conscious hip hop with positive or political message. I haven't really listened to anything new in the last few months but whenever I am in a mood to listen to some beautiful rhymes I play LAST EMPEROR. His messages are always so beautiful and his lyrics just flow so damned well. I first heard of him abourt 3 years ago and last year he randomly travelled to Ottawa to perform. Needless to say I was absolutely blown away, he controlls the audience so well.

This was the second hip hop show I had ever attended the first being a month before: Atmosphere (great rhymes but the dude complains about women a little too much, check it out anyways) and Brother Ali (a huge, black albino that is as white as a wall, he stole the show, listen to the album rites of passage, I shred to it constantly).

Anyways back to Last Emperor, I can't find any of his lyrics online, but you definately will want to check out these songs: do you remember? secret wars, one life, meditation, heaven etc. Other artists I recommend checking out: Brother Ali, Atmosphere, Aesop Rock, Talib Kweli, Sage Francis, Jedi Mind Tricks, Jurassic 5, Eyedea and abilities.

[Seath]

"Three young cats strapped with gats decided to ride out one night
The inflight drug used to induce the hindsite was dust
The moonlight was robust but they couldnt see the beauty in it
Their duty in it was to carry out another senseless killing.
Senses and feelings distorted, they borded their vessel nestled discreet in crotches and underneath seats they tucked heat to complete the mission they had no decision in.
No longer do they use our light and dark hues to create the vision in our townsmen, now the red and blue override our brown skin.
We've been conditioned to let off them rounds when we see another color rag or hear another brother brag about what set he claims
poverty, drugs, and poor education should be the target but we wont stay gaming that
We'll kill and maim another cat like theres no shame in that, like theres fame in that.
we hang out them car windows and bust them slugs in the name of genocide in discuise so we dont take blame for that
but if there's honor amongst you theives of life then what the fuck you hiding for?
Recognize your deeds of trife and decide what the fuck you riding for."

Black Ice


Awesome verse

[C-Fan]

Mos Def has a song called `New World Water` which is really good... it talks about how we`re wasting water. Its like the only conservationist rap song I have heard. And if you like intelligent lyrics, check out old Public Enemy. It`s really political. He talks about violence, but its more like violence in revolution, not just mindless killing people because they are in a different gang.

[Jeremy]

I don't really know if you'd call it rap - maybe rap-rock - but Rage Against The Machine has some very cool lyrics.

I must say I hate most rap because of the lyrics. I find it impossible to listen to something and like it if I don't like what's beeing said in the song. To me music is art and an attempt to express something - the sound is obviously important but the main point of it is either to make money or the idea/emotion being expressed. If I think the music is either about making money or has an idea I find abhorrant there is no way I'll listen to it - I don't want the musician to think that I in anyway support what is being said.

[brian relly]

The thing about most (not all) rap with "intelligent" lyrics, AKA "underground" rap, is that the beats are usually fuckin' whack, or the rhymes (as in, the way the positive message is being conveyed) are boring or just plain bad--like Aesop Rock, for example (just my opinion).

On the other hand, y'all want some GOOD rap, check out THE ROOTS, man. Their first CD, Organix, is all good rhymes, played on their OWN instruments. The 4 members (at the time) all rapped and played their own keys, bass, and drums.
Also by them check out Phrenology, Things Fall Apart, and The Roots Come Alive.

You may also like CROWN CITY ROCKERS (Earthtones), MOS DEF ('Black Star' and 'Black on Both Sides' are both amazing albums), or THE FUGEES (The Score).

...Common is good. I like Eminem, too, as I consider him a brilliant rapper, despite some of his twisted lyrics.

So yeah, check some of that out.

[HG]

Check out Renegades of Funk- By Rage Against the Machine


a few more good Rage songs are bombtrack (great bass line)

guerilla radio.


Amazing lyrics and beat in renegades of funk, great to shred to!

[dazza]

Check out everything on the anticon label : sole, themselves, alias..
the bay area is also strong : aceyalones "book of human language",
which is the best hip hop concept album ever.
What about blackalicious, visionaries, mr lif or dizzee rascal..?
And all of those great rappers from new york like el-p or cannibal ox ?
I cant believe, that no one has mentioned these before, i mean i live in
fucking germany and i know their music

Back to topic. Gangster rap can be entertaining, like gangster movies
can be too, personally i doubt the value of this kind of entertainment.
If people would properly try to think for them selves, the negative
effects of gangster rap would be reduced to a minimal. Just to accept
everthing that 50 cent says, is as stupid as generally disliking this genre
of rap music.
But whats getting on me tits the most is the ignorance of some people
who confuse crappy gangster rap like dmx for example with hip hop
culture per se. The mainstream of this music is in decline, i wont argue
that, and of course, i felt more comfortable saying i'm a rap enthusiast
in hip hops golden age( 92-98 imo), when bands like tribe called quest,
wu tang, organized confusion and de la soul were popular.
But due to the greed and carelessness of ruthless and clever label
executives and the greed and carlessness of tasteless and no talent
rappers, the general percepion of what rap should sound like, has changed
dramatically to the worst.
This is not new of course; exessive marketing fucking up quality...i mean
what the fuck happened to punk music ? Stiff little fingers then, good
charlotte now ?
On the other hand the mainstream in a lot of different kinds of music
has gotten so bland and repetitive, that a lotta good bands have and
always will come up to prove all heretics wrong with interesting music
and original lyrical content. Some of them revive the spirit of times
long gone, and others create something new in their genre and some
groups even exelling their old masters by far, by giving more sides
and depths to things.
But i gotta admit : this is happening more in rock than in rap music at the moment. Still, when innovation is happening, than its significance and impact is greater in hip hop then in rock or electronical music.
Guys like dose one, busta rhymes( just the technique, not the content !),
aesop rock or dizzee rascal from england are contribuating more to
their field then queens of the stone age or the strokes do for theirs.
I#m 27 years old and my first concerts were public enemy and anthrax,
since then i knew, the love for music will stay with me for the rest of my life.
I thought, it might be good to say that at the end, to let you know why
this rant of a post is all lenghty and patronizing . i apologize

d-man

[brian relly]

Are you knocking off Queens of the Stone Age??

[TwistedTorque]

ALRIGHT, here's the bomb list, in my opinion:
SAGE FRANCIS (Poetic Hip Hop) Check him out
Crown City Rockers
Locke (You'll never find him-look for him on my future videos)
Blackalicious
Atmosphere (Not as meaninful, but damn good)
Lyrics Born[/url]

[dazza]

[quote="Stephen Barnes"]Are you knocking off Queens of the Stone Age??[/quote]

i' rather knock out me own mother

No, seriously stephen i love queens of the stone age,
josh homme is clearly one of the greatest in current
rock music.
I just claimed that the "good guys" in hip hop are
busting more groundbreaking and unexpected shit in
their game then rockers do in rock music.
Thats probably due to the way the music is made
and what sort of components a style of music contains.
Hip hop has a very broad and deep structure, it can
incorporate almost every other musical genre, there
is samples, syths, live instruments and also an many
different flows, rhyme schemes ect.
And then there's the element of competition...
Thats the advantage hip hop has, when its comming down
to innovation, but of course thats not the only important
criteria for quality. And sadly to admit, there arent too many
well known artists in rap music who are making good use
of this advantage...thats why i enjoy rock more at the moment...
MARS VOLTA IS THE SHIZNIK !!!!
i could go on for a good while, but i think my point is clear.

Anyway, i wouldnt rank musical genres, they are all interacting
in a way, and they're obviously great artists and pieces in every
field of music.