The Hip Hop and R&B Thread

[Vhozite]

Didn’t see a rap thread, but if this is indeed clutter feel free to remove it. 
 

Welcome to the Hip hop and R&B thread.

 

I’ll start us off with some new releases from this week. This is a link to a Reddit thread with a bunch of (mostly hip hop) stuff released this week

 

https://old.reddit.com/r/hiphopheads/comments/j3wvgs/new_music_friday_october_2nd_2020/

 

A few songs I’ve been listening to:

 

And some new Alicia Keys

Let’s discuss 

[Mattatsu]

Nice! I’m going to check these out tomorrow. I don't listen to much modern hip-hop so I’m happy to get some recommendations

 

 I’m also going to post a bunch of 90’s stuff, mostly more obscure stuff, but I’ll do that when i’m able to listen to the videos first  (too late for tonight).

[Vhozite]

1 hour ago, Mattatsu said:

Nice! I’m going to check these out tomorrow. I don't listen to much modern hip-hop so I’m happy to get some recommendations

 

 I’m also going to post a bunch of 90’s stuff, mostly more obscure stuff, but I’ll do that when i’m able to listen to the videos first  (too late for tonight).

Yeah idk how you gonna feel about some of those lmao. All these guys are pretty much 100% new school. Like for example Savage is basically pretty typical of trap nowadays. East isn’t trap but his sound is still pretty modern...basically what your average NY rapper would sound like today. 
 

I think the beats are the biggest thing that’s changed. Like if you hear a song from pre-2000’s it automatically sounds old. Not bad (definitely not bad) , but it’s sounds distinctly like other sounds from its time period compared to music today which has a lot more...bass? Idk anything about instruments to elaborate. 
 

Nas just released an album not too long ago.

https://genius.com/albums/Nas/Kings-disease

Also if you want to find new artists you can use sites like these:

 

1. https://www.music-map.com/index

2. https://www.gnoosic.com
 

Basically you type in an artist/band and it recommends others similar to them. The second one is pretty good, but the first is weird on mobile. 

[OPTIMUS124]

28 minutes ago, Vhozite said:

Yeah idk how you gonna feel about some of those lmao. All these guys are pretty much 100% new school. Like for example Savage is basically pretty typical of trap nowadays. East isn’t trap but his sound is still pretty modern...basically what your average NY rapper would sound like today. 
 

I think the beats are the biggest thing that’s changed. Like if you hear a song from pre-2000’s it automatically sounds old. Not bad (definitely not bad) , but it’s sounds distinctly like other sounds from its time period compared to music today which has a lot more...bass? Idk anything about instruments to elaborate. 
 

Nas just released an album not too long ago.

https://genius.com/albums/Nas/Kings-disease

Also if you want to find new artists you can use sites like these:

 

1. https://www.music-map.com/index

2. https://www.gnoosic.com
 

Basically you type in an artist/band and it recommends others similar to them. The second one is pretty good, but the first is weird on mobile. 

King's Disease is a solid album. My favorites were Ultra Black, All Bad, and The Definition. 

[Vhozite]

8 hours ago, OPTIMUS124 said:

King's Disease is a solid album. My favorites were Ultra Black, All Bad, and The Definition. 

Ultra Black was my favorite song off the album but I thought the rest was kinda meh. 
 

Truthfully his last couple projects have been misses for me. I know he’s past his prime but I feel like both have been really phoned in.  I’ll always listen to him when he drops but he needs a kick in the ass. 

[Illwill88]

King's disease is a huge step up from his last couple albums, though that ain't saying much. 

 

[Vhozite]

1 hour ago, Illwill88 said:

King's disease is a huge step up from his last couple albums, though that ain't saying much. 

 

Lol I can’t even remember the name of his last album. I think it was produced by Ye so I expected GOAT shit and what I got was goat shit.

 

Personally Stillmatic is my favorite album by him.

Edited October 5, 2020 by Vhozite

[OPTIMUS124]

3 hours ago, Vhozite said:

Ultra Black was my favorite song off the album but I thought the rest was kinda meh. 
 

Truthfully his last couple projects have been misses for me. I know he’s past his prime but I feel like both have been really phoned in.  I’ll always listen to him when he drops but he needs a kick in the ass. 

 

For me, his last project that got me was Hip Hop is Dead. I've like things on his more recent albums, but as a complete project, nothing has sent me over the moon (this project included). 

 

 

1 hour ago, Illwill88 said:

King's disease is a huge step up from his last couple albums, though that ain't saying much. 

 

Agreed.

Edited October 5, 2020 by OPTIMUS124

[Illwill88]

The ye album got him roasted to death online.

On paper it sounded like it was going to be groundbreaking, but it didn't pan out. 

 

I don't have a favorite album by him but made you look is probably favorite song from him.

[OPTIMUS124]

I am certain he's having different conversations with Ye now. 

[Vhozite]

12 minutes ago, Illwill88 said:

The ye album got him roasted to death online.

On paper it sounded like it was going to be groundbreaking, but it didn't pan out. 

 

I don't have a favorite album by him but made you look is probably favorite song from him.

My favorite Nas song is “I Gave You Power” from It was Written. I know nobody likes that album but that song is poetry. Would’ve been even better if he didn’t explain the metaphor 20 seconds in because ppl are dumb.

[Hawkingbird]

I enjoyed King's disease. Really solid album from him and I listened to it a couple of times. My favorite tracks were 10 Points, Full Circle, Car 85 and 27 Summers.

[Mattatsu]

2 hours ago, Vhozite said:

My favorite Nas song is “I Gave You Power” from It was Written. I know nobody likes that album but that song is poetry. Would’ve been even better if he didn’t explain the metaphor 20 seconds in because ppl are dumb.

It’s hard to put It was Written ahead of Illmatic, but i prefer it. Illmatic is classic no doubt, but I Gave You Power, The Message, Nas is coming? fucking Affirmative Action? Whoever dislikes that album doesn't like hip hop

[Hawkingbird]

The Message went hard as fuck. Love that song. Black Girl Lost hits super hard. It Was Written doesn't get enough credit. I don't like how some fans try to paint the narrative that Illmatic is his only good album.

[Mattatsu]

Stillmatic was dope too. And what was the name of that album around 96? With Nas is Like? That was sick too.

 

It was “I Am...” and it came out in 99, lol. My hip-hop calendar from 96 to 99 is honestly all lumped up into like one year. I got into hip hop with Wu-Tang Forever (I used to listen to 36 Chambers and Naughy by Nature before, but WTC Forever really grabbed me), and then everything between then and Method Man’s Tical 2000 and Redman’s Doc’s Da Name 2000 all seemed to come out within months of each other

Edited October 5, 2020 by Mattatsu

[Hawkingbird]

1 minute ago, Mattatsu said:

Stillmatic was dope too. And what was the name of that album around 96? With Nas is Like? That was sick too.

It Was Written was released in 96. You thinking of I Am which dropped in 99. I Am was cool. I felt it could have been on the level of Illmatic had he kept the leaked songs. Lost Tapes is one of my favorite Nas albums.

[Mattatsu]

Yeah, i realized i fucked up with the dates lol. I actually don't know if i’ve heard the Lost Tapes (though i probably got all those songs through Napster lol)

[Hawkingbird]

4 minutes ago, Mattatsu said:

Yeah, i realized i fucked up with the dates lol. I actually don't know if i’ve heard the Lost Tapes (though i probably got all those songs through Napster lol)

Lost Tapes is fucking amazing. It's a compilation of songs that didn't make it on I Am and Stillmatic. Blaze a 50, Poppa was a Playa and No Idea Original are my personal faves.

[Mattatsu]

Blaze a 50 is sick. Is Silent Murder on there? I loved that shit too. Surprisingly, the other two tracks don't ring a bell... I guess i got some listening to do.

[Mattatsu]

I said I’d post some stuff so here’s one of my favourite tracks. All of these verses are sick

 

 

Edited October 5, 2020 by Mattatsu

[Hawkingbird]

2 minutes ago, Mattatsu said:

Blaze a 50 is sick. Is Silent Murder on there? I loved that shit too. Surprisingly, the other two tracks don't ring a bell... I guess i got some listening to do.

Nah, Silent Murder isn't on there.

[Vhozite]

I thought “No Idea’s Original” was on Stillmatic? 
 

Edit: just checked and it wasn’t originally on there. That’s wild
 

Another good song on there is 2nd Childhood, if only because I actually have seen people like who he is talking about.

Edited October 5, 2020 by Vhozite

[Hawkingbird]

The verse in 2nd Childhood about the hood dude who never grew up perfectly describes my sister's baby father. That one hit real close to home.

[Illwill88]

2nd childhood perfectly describes that one dude everybody knows

[Vhozite]

3 minutes ago, Hawkingbird said:

The verse in 2nd Childhood about the hood dude who never grew up perfectly describes my sister's baby father. That one hit real close to home.

For me it was the verse about the lady. At my old job one of the managers was like 50 years old and she still acted like an annoying teenager. Sometimes it made her cool and other times it was annoying as hell answering to someone twice your age but somehow less mature.

[Illwill88]

Ps I gotta stan roc Marci in here dude is too fly while also being lyrical.

 

 

[Mattatsu]

So the rapper that was on the 3rd Strike OST was a rapper from Toronto called Infinite. Tbh, he’s not my favourite MC from Toronto (that title goes to Saukrates) but I’ll likely post a few Canadian tracks partially because i’m biased but I also think some of this stuff is pretty good.

 

Infinite isn’t the best lyricist (he was a better producer anyway) but i liked these tracks from him:

 

 

[Hawkingbird]

This is what I've been listening to

 

 

[Illwill88]

Westside gunn and freddie gibbs have been two of my favorites these past few years.

[Vhozite]

How long do you guys like your albums? 
 

Maybe it’s a young person thing but lately I don’t like anything longer than 10-12 songs. In my experience when you get much bigger than that you start to get filler. 

[Illwill88]

I'm fine with the shorter album trend.

But if they shorten the album I expect less skipped songs since that should equal less filler.

 

The best albums will always be the concise pointed efforts. Nigga I don't need a double disc full of throw away songs so you can get your streams up

[Mattatsu]

Yeah, i mentioned earlier I loved Wu-Tang Forever, but that didn't need to be a double-disc. It would've been a solid single disc though.

[Vhozite]

33 minutes ago, Illwill88 said:

I'm fine with the shorter album trend.

But if they shorten the album I expect less skipped songs since that should equal less filler.

 

The best albums will always be the concise pointed efforts. Nigga I don't need a double disc full of throw away songs so you can get your streams up

Is the streams thing the reasons every fucking artist is dropping a deluxe edition of their album weeks/months later?

[Hawkingbird]

I like my albums to be 40 minutes at most. Anything more than that I would start to lose interest. I enjoyed listening to Karma 3 but it got repetitive after a while and I wanted it to end. Same with Big Sean album when it dragged in the middle. 

[Hawkingbird]

4 minutes ago, Vhozite said:

Is the streams thing the reasons every fucking artist is dropping a deluxe edition of their album weeks/months later?

I thought they do it to give an album a shot in the arm when streams/sales begin to drip. 

[Illwill88]

Yeah streams are affecting how everybody does their albums.  I heard the short songs and short albums also go back to streams, they want you to burn through it faster so you can play it more and more.

[Hawkingbird]

Some songs are design to be played in a loop to encourage repeated listening. That's definitely a streaming thing

[Vhozite]

13 minutes ago, Illwill88 said:

Yeah streams are affecting how everybody does their albums.  I heard the short songs and short albums also go back to streams, they want you to burn through it faster so you can play it more and more.

Fuck I hate short songs. They always have the hardest beats and leave you wanting more. 
 

And yeah I’ve definitely noticed the looping thing. I remember listening to Foreigner by Pop Smoke and not noticing the transition until A Boogie started rapping again lol. 

[Hawkingbird]

Trey Songz got Covid

https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/9460881/trey-songz-tests-positive-covid-19

[Darc_Requiem]

Which one of yall...which one of yall infected TRIGGAH!!?!

[scorp]

Hey guys... Any suggestions for rappers that still have the 2000s Bay Area sound?

[Hawkingbird]

Bitch nigga Troy Lanez has been charged with shooting Megan

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/08/rapper-tory-lanez-charged-shooting-megan-thee-stallion

[scorp]

1 hour ago, Hawkingbird said:

Bitch nigga Troy Lanez has been charged with shooting Megan

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/08/rapper-tory-lanez-charged-shooting-megan-thee-stallion

Well he ain’t a white American cop, so it was inevitable. 
 

Canada represent!

[Vhozite]

Why did this even take so long to happen?

[Maxx]

3 hours ago, Vhozite said:

Why did this even take so long to happen?

Prob to get all the facts. Go back to interviews, everyone lied originally remember

[Vhozite]

Some new releases from this week

 

https://old.reddit.com/r/hiphopheads/comments/j82dtl/new_music_friday_october_9th_2020/

 

Most notable thing here is probably the new Jay Elec album, but I can’t say I listen to him

[Maxx]

Fave of the new school

 

 

 

[Vhozite]

So I’m on the road stuck in traffic and in the next lane over some typical looking biker dude  (beard, leather jacket, kinda big) is listening to a radio mix blaring “Can’t Help but Wait” by Trey Songz. 
 

Funny enough as I was typing this passed another dude (probably early 30’s max) listening to some song I didn’t recognize by Lil Jon. Kind of looked like this white dude who asked me what I knew about the Clipse when he heard me listening to Virginia in the car lol. 
 

it’s always funny seeing people listening to music you wouldn’t expect. Still remember some girl in high school being surprised when I told her I like rap music. Apparently she expected some sad boi emo band shit. Can’t say I blame her...at that point in my life I was still wearing nothing but oversized black hoodies and other clothes that didn’t fit. 

[Mattatsu]

Lol, I’m like the whitest dude ever, and there’s been quite a few times where people have found out that I listen to rap (and know a lot about it), and would laugh and get shocked by it. They‘d say something along of the lines that I don’t look the type. Mind you, in every case, it’s been a skinny white dude, very clean cut, looking like they’re about to play golf or tennis lol... Maybe it’s because I’m pretty big and bearded and they figure I’d listen to country or something, but I always find it funny.

 

truth be told, in high school, I was pretty serious about a rapping career. I was making my own beats in Fruity Loops (now FL Studio) and converted my closet into a recording booth. My boys and other rappers came by all the time to record shit (my mom hated that). I had a couple of problems though... My beats weren’t great (I had no music sense or ear at the time) and my voice was terrible. I think I had some decent lines though (Eminem “Infinite” influenced my lines and Method Man influenced my flow)... A big problem was this being super white thing though. I was purposely dressing in conventional hip hop looks of the late 90s/early 00s (baggy/low jeans, basketball jerseys, baseball caps to hide my stupid ass haircut, etc) and acted hard, walked with a swagger, lol, all kinds of stupid shit. No one gave me shit about being white and I was called on to do a few small local shows (from people who knew me through friends or whatever) and was received well, but I’ve always been way too concerned about what strangers thought of me that I put so much care into my image, that eventually I just hated how fake I was.

 

Edited October 10, 2020 by Mattatsu

[Vhozite]

@Mattatsuyour stage name should’ve been Cornflakes