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Welcome to the one-stop-shop for hip-hop discussion in NMD! The old thread had OVER 9000!!! posts and was getting a little long in the tooth so here's a new one. Veterans of previous threads already know the deal. For new jacks: This is the place to post about anything and everything rap-related. There are usually a few other threads in NMD which focus on individual artists, but those tend to draw in posters who aren't hip-hop heads, and usually the artists in question have already been talked about in the main thread. Discussion tends to be centered around new stuff, but feel free to talk about older stuff, too; we'll be more than happy to revisit classics and with the amount of music released online these days there's basically no way anyone can keep up with all of it so you might be putting some of us on even if it's a few months or years old. FAQ: How do I find new music? The vast majority of us get new stuff from the multitude of rap-focused blogs out there. These vary in scope from frequently-updated, little-to-no commentary linkpost sites like nahright to more criticism oriented sites like TSS. There are also a bunch of blogs that focus on posting old and forgotten rap or digging up samples like TROY. See the second post for a list of sites to get you started. Hi, I like [artist x]/I'm just getting into hip-hop, who should I listen to? You should be familiar with everyone Ray Cash and Scarface namedrop in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLWPc23wEGc Seriously though, this is one of the most common questions we get from people who wander into this thread and the general consensus is that you should do your own scholarship. Read the liner notes of albums you like and interviews with your favorite rappers and producers, check out the solo work of featured artists on songs or labelmates of rappers you know you like, find some old-style mixtapes by a good DJ, plug names into Pandora and see what comes up, etc. If you have absolutely zero knowledge, there's no shortage of "best rappers/albums/songs" lists on the internet, read some and figure out what you like! That said, label/crewmates can often have wildly different styles, a lot of rappers fall off after their first good album, and everyone's taste simply doesn't conform to one standard, so the collective store of knowledge of a bunch of hip-hop heads is definitely a good place to get recommendations. Most of us will be glad to help you find new rap to listen to, just give us a little bit more to work with than "I liked that new Kanye song." If possible, elaborate on why you liked or disliked the artists you've already checked out and we'll do our best to point you to something sonically or thematically similar. Really though, there's no real substitute for just listening to a bunch of rap records and formulating your own opinions. What's up with this vocal sample/sound effect playing all over this song I just downloaded? Those are DJ drops so you know who broke the record you're about to have your mind blown by. The drops make it pop! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ego7RpCXgcs Why is most rap all about guns, hos, and money? Don't go there. In the words of Shawn Carter, "If you grew up with holes in your zapatos, you'd celebrate the minute you was havin' dough!" If you want to make a serious post discussing social implications of rap music and culture of poverty/conspicuous consumption/malegaze/normalized misogyny/whatever then go right ahead, someone will probably engage with you. But if all you want to do is talk about why "real hip-hop" is better than "rap" then you are probably a herb with bad taste, sorry. (Seriously though, it's a bad idea. Yes, a lot of rap is misogynistic. But it knocks.) And on that note... Wait, should I call it rap or hip-hop? Is there a difference? Short answer: No, don't worry about it. Long answer: Well, technically rap or emceeing is just one of the four elements of hip-hop, the other three being DJing/turntablism, breaking/b-boying, and graffiti. In practice though, when somebody says hip-hop these days, they are Thread Guidelines/Rules:
SA GOONSQUAD KILL THEM ALL  (props to caveman thug poo poo or whatever he's going by these days) Jock Mocken fucked around with this message at 12:04 on Apr 20, 2011 |
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Mar 25, 2011 04:23
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Here's a completely non-comprehensive list of good sites to check out for news or music: Blogs The Smoking Section - My favorite of the sites on this list, TSS has a stable of writers and is headed up by John Gotty, who's based in Nashville, so he puts together a fair amount of shows in the 615 area as well as mixtapes, showcases at SXSW and A3C, etc. More of a "hip-hop culture" site, with posts about sneakers, sports (especially basketball), and news as well as music. Songs and mixtapes are almost never posted without some kind of commentary, and the comments section is both fairly active and fairly reasoned, something of a rarity in the rap blog world. Major. Nah Right - Run by eskay, posts a ton of music with no commentary. Used to have a pretty strong East Coast bias, but I don't think that's the case so much anymore. Not really my steez so I couldn't say for sure. Comments section is trash. 2DopeBoyz - Run by Meka and Shake, basically the same as nahright with a somewhat better comments section. Dirty Glove Bastard - Run by ZiplocMoe, BluHaze, and dreisdope, same as above but for Dirty South poo poo/country rap tunes. They have excellent taste, so if you're into southern rap be sure to check out whatever artists and mixtapes they have featured on the sidebars. Traps 'N Trunks - Run by kdough, in the same vein as DGB but they also put together their own mixtapes on a fairly regular basis. Cocaine Blunts and Hip-Hop Tapes - Written by Andrew Noz, this is pretty much the cream of the crop when it comes to criticism on rap blogs, and has excellent interviews as well. Updated less frequently these days since blogging doesn't pay the bills, but Noz also has a tumblr which is updated more often. Also has an excellent comments section. Unkut - Written by Robbie Ettelson, an excellent East Coast-centric blog with a ton of great interviews with old-school artists and producers. Maurice Garland - Maurice Garland is an Atlanta-based blogger with strong Dungeon Family ties. He also writes for a bunch of magazines. Daily Mathematics - Written by Combat Jack aka Reggie Osse, who is an entertainment lawyer with a ton of great insider stories about your favorite artists. The Mindset of a Champion - Written by Bol aka Byron Crawford. If you don't know who Bol is, you should get familiar because dude is a huge troll and often hilarious even when he's pissing you or your favorite rapper off. Passion of the Weiss - Multiple writers, run by Jeff Weiss, who writes for the LA Times. Not solely a hip-hop blog, but there's some good interviews and criticism on here. The TROY Blog - Spin-off of Philaflava, great resource for old-school stuff. Online Magazines HipHopDX - Interviews, reviews, and streams of new music. Not quite as in-depth as a lot of blogs, but a lot more comprehensive. XXL - It's XXL, online, duh. Bol also writes a blog here, which is probably the most worthwhile thing to read on the site. Vibe - Same deal, except it's Vibe and no Bol. Complex - Great best-of lists with streams. The Fader - Tend to focus on up-and-coming new artists. Ozone - Run by Julia Beverly, rap mag with a southern focus. Murder Dog - Don't think it's updated anymore, but has a great interview archive. Other DatPiff - Still the biggest and best mixtape archive. You need an account to download anything that's not an official sponsored mixtape though, and downloads are limited to five per day for free accounts. Bandcamp - Support your favorite artists please! They'll see a lot more of your money if you buy through Bandcamp instead of iTunes or wherever. Twitter - Follow a bunch of rappers and you'll see some great tweets. Recommended: @slimthugga, @fucktyler, @50cent, @MistahFAB Myspace - Still used by musicians, this is where Lex Luger was discovered and he's since made beats for Jay-Z, Kanye, and Rick Ross so there you go. DJ Booth - Home of a pretty good freestyle series where rappers from all over the map go in on tracks. Also put out some mixtapes and have a review archive for DJ equipment. The Original Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive - Hands down the best place to go for rap lyrics. Content is user-submitted, so coverage is a little spotty and a lot of times lyrics are just plain wrong, but you should be able to find the words to most songs by most established artists. Discogs - Want to know who produced that one album cut that you liked better than all the singles? Wonder what random weed carrier got a dope beat from superproducer X somehow? Discogs can tell you! Jock Mocken fucked around with this message at 12:01 on Apr 20, 2011 |
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Mar 25, 2011 04:24
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placeholder post for regional overviews or whatever
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Mar 25, 2011 04:25
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and to kick things off w/ a real post, this Gucci Mane X Mannie Fresh joint sounds better by far than anything I've heard off of Return of Mr. Zone 6. I don't know when this was recorded, but Gucci is back to his manic, fun flow with great ad-libs, Friggy-friggy-fresh on some Big Tymers steez, just awesome poo poo. Someone at So Icey should just be making a huge list of adjectives for prospective Gucci track titles.
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Mar 25, 2011 04:43
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Listening to Oneirology for the first time, I'm about halfway through Predormitum and it's pretty cool so far. I'm a fan of backpacker Rhymesayers stuff so this should be pretty up my alley right?
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Mar 25, 2011 04:53
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Cobra Commander posted:Listening to Oneirology for the first time, I'm about halfway through Predormitum and it's pretty cool so far. I'm a fan of backpacker Rhymesayers stuff so this should be pretty up my alley right? Yea, I think Oneirology might be on par with SouthernUnderground. It's a solid album all the way through, with the stretch of Hard As They Come, Murder, My Habit, and Get Ignorant being amazing. I had my mind blown a few years ago when I was getting into hip-hop and discovered Atmosphere, CunninLynguists, Dilated Peoples, Jedi Mind Tricks, etc, since it perfectly satisfies my need for hip-hop that I can listen to while studying or driving. I've also been informed that I should go back and listen to early Mos Def and Talib Kweli, which I've been putting off for way too long. I do have Black Star though -- that album loving owns.
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Mar 25, 2011 05:49
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If you're looking for some Kweli to check out I dig the album he did with Madlib a few years ago. It's got his usual crackpot one-step-above-Immortal-Technique political poo poo but is pretty dope. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okrzxmjoabU and if you're into that kind of poo poo, check out this joint by A1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2m4OYb6KUk bonus OG version with actual uncleared Misfits sample
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Mar 25, 2011 06:03
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http://www.datpiff.com/DJ-Whiteowl-Whiteowl-Drop-That-160-mixtape.211801.html this tape has some good poo poo, plus a crazy track with Tony Yayo and Lil B I'd never heard about, fuckin nuts Apathy is on here next to Pusha T and 50 Cent now . . .
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Mar 25, 2011 06:43
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Cobra Commander posted:Listening to Oneirology for the first time, I'm about halfway through Predormitum and it's pretty cool so far. I'm a fan of backpacker Rhymesayers stuff so this should be pretty up my alley right? Definitely.. And if you haven't already, check out Kno's solo project released back in October -- Death Is Silent Can't praise that album enough
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Mar 25, 2011 07:22
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Great OP / solid FAQ and pretty much what I had in mind. I'm also going to throw the site RateYourMusic out there, particularly this area of the site. A pretty solid list of the basics
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Mar 25, 2011 07:39
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Final Fart Buttball posted:Great OP / solid FAQ and pretty much what I had in mind. Thanks dude, I added that link to the OP since it does look surprisingly good, probably because it's based on the consensus of actual heads haha. In fact, glancing over the first 100 the only problem I have with it is the inclusion of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. It's waaaaaayyyy too new to be that high but whatever. I also cleaned up/added some other stuff.
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Mar 25, 2011 09:24
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Roymega posted:Definitely.. And if you haven't already, check out Kno's solo project released back in October -- Death Is Silent Thanks for the recc -- I had no idea this even existed, and it's killer. I also just found out that Kno and Tonedeff are collaborating for an album due out this year, which should be awesome. Tondeff's verse on Love Ain't has some of the smoothest, fastest flow I've ever heard.
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Mar 25, 2011 10:21
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRdZaDpJajw Can anyone identify this sample? Love this beat.
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Mar 25, 2011 11:14
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Fear of God has made me appreciate Soulja Boy, which is something I thought wouldn't have been possible. But that Speaker Going Hammer track is great. Alone in Vegas is pretty loving great as well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awhEhFq1HHk&feature=related link Base God
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Mar 25, 2011 16:36
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Aggro posted:Thanks for the recc -- I had no idea this even existed, and it's killer. I also just found out that Kno and Tonedeff are collaborating for an album due out this year, which should be awesome. Tondeff's verse on Love Ain't has some of the smoothest, fastest flow I've ever heard. It's been due out next year for nine years.
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Mar 25, 2011 16:57
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Anyone listen to the new Trademark Da Skydiver, Young Roddy and Curren$y mixtape? http://www.2dopeboyz.com/2011/03/25/trademark-da-skydiver-young-roddy-curreny-jet-life-to-the-next-life-mixtape/ Only a few songs in but I'm really liking it.
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Mar 25, 2011 19:13
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so what's up with pl3dge from killer mike? has anyone heard it yet? is it as dope as it's supposed to be?
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Mar 25, 2011 19:15
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i dont really like cunninlyngusts but the production on oneirology is really loving good
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Mar 25, 2011 20:31
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SirLoin posted:Anyone listen to the new Trademark Da Skydiver, Young Roddy and Curren$y mixtape? Stoked for this, Curren$y's in my top-5 most listened to right now, even though I haven't liked the two songs released so far from his Muscle Car Chronicles (Soundbombing and Frosty) - I dig the laid-back jazzy feel of Pilot Talk II and think those two instrumentals are just too noisy, drowning out the Spitta (when he already mumbles sometimes). Since you've given me the chance to talk Curren$y I gotta ask everybody: Am I just trippin, or have McKenzie Eddy's vocals (or even just the lyrics) on his track Silence (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46s5rGW9Z94) been used on another song? Every time she comes in "So, so so," I feel another rapper's verse on the tip of my tongue. I can't loving place it and it's driving me crazy.
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Mar 25, 2011 21:30
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If I like wu-tang clan who else would I like?
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Mar 25, 2011 23:49
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Teepkick Shakur posted:If I like wu-tang clan who else would I like? hmmm well you might want to try Aesop Rock or Sage Francis
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Mar 25, 2011 23:56
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Teepkick Shakur posted:If I like wu-tang clan who else would I like?  alternately, look everyone! forever zero is back! anywho, drat good OP (and thread title) Jock. I'll continue from the last page of the old thread by reposting exactly what I posted there ok caveman thugga posted:so I finally remembered/got around to downloading the money making jam boys mixtape and in the process of finding a link that wasnt IMPOSSIBLE TO DOWNLOAD i found out about this: Jocka Flocka Flam posted:close this thread and talk about it in the new one you big dummy! after a very flimsy once over I'm kinda "MEH" on the MMJB thing but there's no way I'll be disappointed with a black thought EP
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Mar 26, 2011 01:16
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Bulging Nipples posted:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRdZaDpJajw the sample's from a Stereolab song, can't tell any further than that.
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Mar 26, 2011 02:51
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Teepkick Shakur posted:If I like wu-tang clan who else would I like? ever since ghostface got vitiligo he just raps about food but you might like this its p cool http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNKeBoRbifw
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Mar 26, 2011 03:07
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Bulging Nipples posted:ever since ghostface got vitiligo he just raps about food but you might like this its p cool Thank you for this really sick white queens loving rick ross except he's not a cop.
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Mar 26, 2011 04:58
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I think I like this dude more everytime I hear him rap. His beats are mad throwback too, but still clean and updated, I'm feelin it.
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Mar 26, 2011 04:59
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Rkelly posted:Thank you for this really sick white queens loving rick ross except he's not a cop. cat in the hat
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Mar 26, 2011 05:26
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caveman thug poo poo posted:after a very flimsy once over I'm kinda "MEH" on the MMJB thing but there's no way I'll be disappointed with a black thought EP anyone who doesn't want that black thought EP should stop listening to hip hop and kill themself
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Mar 26, 2011 06:16
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Jock Mocken posted:hmmm well you might want to try Aesop Rock or Sage Francis 04 cool guy playlist  e: 02
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Mar 26, 2011 06:28
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Radio du Cambodge posted:the sample's from a Stereolab song, can't tell any further than that. found the song, narrowing it down to stereolab helped a ton, thanks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48QJM1-2_oo edit: also something that might be good for the OP is http://www.whosampled.com/ . It's where I check first when I'm trying to identify a sample. With the speed hip hop moves its never going to be completely comprehensive but it's pretty extensive and awesome. Useful for someone like me that likes to find samples from songs they really like. Bulging Nipples fucked around with this message at 10:32 on Mar 26, 2011 |
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Mar 26, 2011 10:02
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Bulging Nipples posted:ever since ghostface got vitiligo he just raps about food but you might like this its p cool hahaha it's Barry Horowitz rap I pat myself on the back
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Mar 26, 2011 17:44
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I still remember when he got his first win. Hilarious.
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Mar 26, 2011 18:11
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Bulging Nipples posted:found the song, narrowing it down to stereolab helped a ton, thanks Yeah that's a good one. There's also http://www.the-breaks.com/ , which has a kind of old layout but has tons of sampling info. I use it constantly. Bulging Nipples posted:ever since ghostface got vitiligo he just raps about food but you might like this its p cool Wow, he really does sound like ghost. That's awesome. SOME PIG fucked around with this message at 18:47 on Mar 26, 2011 |
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Mar 26, 2011 18:44
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Just got done listening to Oneirology and that's the first I've heard by CunninLynguists. Are the rest of their albums worth pickin up? I loved the tone throughout and I sort of agree with Beowulf in that the production was better than the actual rapping was but it's still nothing short of great.
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Mar 26, 2011 19:51
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 Hip Hop is about respecting the past. Finally got around to listening to Tyler the Creator since this whole lame beef with Bobby Ray hit the net, and I have to say the Yonkers video and song is pretty incredible. Weird as poo poo yet it had a surprisingly good flow to it.
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Mar 26, 2011 20:08
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its hard to believe that snoop still had all that prime tattoo real estate but good thing he did cause that is A Good Tattoo
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Mar 26, 2011 22:45
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Every should watch the music video of Cam'Ron's "Girls Cry" featuring Vado. Classic Cam track and a hilarious video to go with it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FW8mPw7Og5k
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Mar 26, 2011 23:27
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I am sure this would fit here “Love and Make a Lie” (Parody of Eminem and Rihanna’s “Love the Way You Lie”) http://twaud.io/q9T9 Featuring our favorite haters WBC
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Mar 27, 2011 01:08
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 DJ Megatron -- a regular on the BET show "106th and Park" -- was shot and killed in Staten Island early Sunday morning. Megatron -- real name Corey McGriff(age 32) -- was shot around 2:00 AM, not far from his home. He was pronounced dead at the scene. He previously worked for hip-hop radio stations in Boston and Philadelphia, and most notably at New York City's HOT 97 station. The occasional BET television segment host was killed while heading to a store near his home on New York City's Staten Island around 2 a.m., said his manager Justin Kirkland, known as J. Smoove. The 32-year-old deejay, born Corey McGriff, was found dead with a gunshot wound to his chest, police said. His manager said friends and relatives had no idea why anyone might have attacked a deejay known for his upbeat, amiable attitude. Survived by three kids. No arrests had been made.
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Mar 28, 2011 01:17
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I feel kind of dumb asking/posting this, especially after the Wu-Tang question above but hell. So I found an old Kruder & Dorfmeister cd, and was listening to a remix of 1st of tha month and so I decided to find the orginal. Needless to say, I was blown away. I've only been into the rap/hip-hop scene for about a year or two, ignoring this stuff when I was in middle or high school, and another ten years after. Lot of catching up to do. Anyways, I looked em up on Wikipedia (after listening to about ten or so songs on Youtube) to learn more about them, and saw something that caught my eye. "Riding the beat." I realized this is probably why I enjoyed it so much. The riding the beat, plus the combination of slow and fast rapping. So, I was wondering what other artists out there "Ride the beat" and if any also do the slow+fast combination they had going? Though the slow/fast isn't as important. I'm mainly interested in the riding part, cause so few artists seem to do that today. At best it seems you get a fast beat and fast spitting (or vice versa), but that you could almost replace the beat with anything else fast and be fine. I was looking for something that did it as well as BT&H. Again, I apologize if this is a dumb question.
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Mar 28, 2011 03:16
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