December 12, 2007

Niveous · Post by **Niveous** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 11:02 am

Konichiwa Songfighters!

It's been an up and down day full of router problems, great advances in novel writing and what is going to be a horrible time playing receptionist. But oh well, one must take things as they come sometimes.

QotD:
Who's the greatest rapper of all-time?

What does SF think of rap music? Is the general feeling of the SF Forums that rap is crap? Is it all just about the Nerdcore? Or do some SF'ers have a place in their hearts for rap?

jimtyrrell · Post by **jimtyrrell** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 11:17 am

Roll Call: Tonight is possibly the last open mic at The Lucky Dog in Plymouth. The college is going on winter break, and from the sound of it, the bar doesn't intend to continue with it next semester. The end of an era. There's been an open mic there as long as I can remember.

QotD: I can't answer that, as I've never seen a live rap performance worth mentioning. But I like early stuff like Run-DMC, Grandmaster Flash, Whodini, etc. As for newer stuff, I'm pretty out of touch. I liked what I heard from Jurassic 5. The Beastie Boys made three great albums, but their last couple fell flat with me.

Billy's Little Trip · Wed Dec 12, 2007 11:45 am

QOTD: I don't listen to rap because I don't care for most of it. I REALLY don't like nerdcore at all, but I respect the genre. Art is art, and creativity is creativity. I look at it like that. But, if one of our Nerdcore guys from SF, like Front, has a song here, I'll listen for sure. His stuff is generally pretty damn good, plus I like to support our community, even though he is not here much anymore. But he is a nice guy and is really taking his genre to a new level, so that alone makes me respect him even more. If Front ever has a show near me, I'll by a couple tickets.

I should say, I did like The Beasty Boys, and have been entertain by some rap, in a humorous way. Like ICP, and I like Too Short. Also Run DMC was kind cool in an old school kind of way. But I get tired of that stuff really fast.

Leaf · Post by **Leaf** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 11:46 am

I love everyone in N.W.A.'s delivery. I don't feel very hiphop qualified to identify the greatest ever. But I have enjoyed some rap, and been bored but much much more.

How about those rap battles in 8 mile eh? eh? killa.

Wait...Daily roll call.

Guess what?

PUCE DIDN'T BREAK UP. Damn, I thought that was funny... imagine, little bits of puce all over the apartment... hahaha.

I RESENT your accusation that all Canadians are potheads by the way.

Okay, now that the important stuff is out of the way. Leg's still in a cast. I started working on lyrics for this week's fight and I had asked Spud if I could use tracks I had started three week's ago prior to my injury... dude that he is (although he wasn't drunk at the time) he said "why not considering the circumstances... then like an ass I went and wrote new riffage for the lyrics.. thus avoiding my personal ethical concern with "cheating". Plus I like the new idea better, like any good musician would. My brother shall be joining me on the drums and backing warblings.

All we need now is a cool brother-band name. No Means No is taken.

mkilly · Post by **mkilly** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 11:50 am

it's finals week here in Moscow, Idaho. I have a paper due at 5 pm that I haven't started. :X Oh well, I'll get to it soon. Another is due Friday at 10 am, and I have a test Friday at 12:30. Then I head down to my dad's for nine days next Tuesday, oh yeah. Yesterday I cut my hair down to 1/8". It was getting to be around... I don't know, two inches? It looked terrible because I'm going bald.

Rap is okay/good/sometimes great... but the more generalized hip-hop: frequently amazing. Most of the time I'm more interested in beats than I am in rappers, and my favorite beatmakers are standard guys (in no particular order): Mathematics, J Dilla/Jay Dee, MF Doom, DJ Shadow. I've had the pleasure of seeing some live rap, including Del and some of the Hieroglyphics crew with Bukue One opening, Rakim, Ghostface Killah, and Brother Ali. Greatest rapper of all time, man, I can't answer that. Some of my favorites include Q-Tip, Charizma, Del tha Funkee Homosapien. A lot of people would say that Rakim or KRS-One are the best ever. I'm disinclined to agree. Others I guess would point towards Tupac, Biggie, Eminem, Jay-Z... I'd maybe vote Ghostface.

HeuristicsInc · Post by **HeuristicsInc** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 12:55 pm

My favorite is probably (don't laugh) DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. But I also like Jurassic 5, Public Enemy, and old Beastie Boys and suchlike.

I really enjoy the combination that Ozomatli puts together. They have a fusion of rock and funk and rap and Hispanic music. That group has some of the same rappers as Jurassic 5 (as well as the DJ).

A new favorite is a French rapper named Kamini. Check out <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=-fwA65kmEMg" ... Gaumont</a> in which he talks about how he lives in Hicksville, France.
-bill

king_arthur · Post by **king_arthur** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 12:59 pm

I am entirely ignorant of what might be good rap or not good rap.

But I will say that "Release It" from Prince's Graffiti Bridge CD and movie impressed me greatly... Morris Day does the actually rapping (mostly lines from the movie, I think), and Prince put it together.

Charles (KA)

roymond · Post by **roymond** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 1:13 pm

QotD: I liked Eminem and a bunch of Queen Lativa for what they did. Their delivery was amazing. MC Solaar's first album was fun. I love the Beastie Boys most of the time.

Hoblit · Post by **Hoblit** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 2:31 pm

Another busy day...lordy.

qotd: I absolutely love Check Your Head by the Beasty Boys. (I also like License to Ill in a nostalgic way and Pauls Botique is also pretty darn good for some white boys)

I like a lot of Eminem but in bits and pieces in my mp3 collection. I doubt I could listen to a whole album of him at once.

I actually like 50 Cent's <strike>Get Rich or Die Trying soundtrack</strike> The Massacre. (Candy Shop is awesome)

Who doesn't like MC Frontalot.

I love Public Enemy's Fear of a Black Planet. Fight the power ya'll, peace , I'm out.

Paco Del Stinko · Post by **Paco Del Stinko** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 4:04 pm

Kind of spring-like weather today, nasty stuff coming up. Hey, who wants it all sunny and cheery all year anyway?

QOTD - No idea who the best rapper is. I like some rap when it has something to say besides bitches and hos, etc. I have some choice Beasties, a Digital Underground album I like, Public Enemy was brutal. Like rock or country or whatever, you gotta pick out the good nuggets from the heaps of poo.

erik · Post by **erik** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 4:06 pm

I don't know enoug about rap, so I'll say Jay-Z.

Reist · Post by **Reist** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 4:20 pm

QOTD: Will Smith.

ps - I don't really listen to rap, unless I'm cruising, and Big Willie Style is the only rap album I've got!

Tomorrow is my Rep Lit Works final. After that, I've got another four, and then it's Christmas break!

sausage boy · Post by **sausage boy** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 4:40 pm

News: Work Christmas lunch is today. We are going to The Harvest of India, a restaurant that our manager part owns. We went there a few months back for another employees farewell dinner. The food was good, and I got a little drunk and started yelling while everyone was eating. Good times. I expect a repeat performance, especially with the Big Boss coming as well.

Business: I was gifted with some file that no one else can seem to open, a mysterious crude.docx. Calling on my years of intense computer training, I googled docx, turns out to be some new Microsoft file format that isn't compatible with anything else in the world, it seems. I scrounged up an online coverter, so we'll see if that works.

QOTD: I don't mind rap that I like. Does that make sense? I like some rap, and I don't like some rap. Obviously Grandmaster Flash is up there. Vanilla Ice? He did do Ninja Rap. Ninja, ninja, rap!

jack · Post by **jack** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 5:28 pm

i too would say Jay-Z.

JonPorobil · Post by **JonPorobil** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 6:02 pm

I have a lot of overdue work, and I'm slowly trudging through it. The semester ends on Tuesday whether I'm ready for it to end or not.

QotD: I don't know rap nearly well enough to feel qualified calling anyone I know the "Greatest rapper ever," but there are some people I listen to that I believe to have superior flow and might be in the running. Brother Ali is one of my favorites, and his pal Atmosphere too. The tracks they do together are insane. Currently, I've got Lyrics Born's live album in my car, and I feel it would be remiss to not mention him. I was a bit fan of Kanye West's first two albums, but the third just never hit me right. The GZA will always be up there, in my book, but lest we forget greats like Grandmaster Flash or Slick Rick. Yeah.

Niveous · Post by **Niveous** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 7:17 pm

Atmosphere is insane. I just started listening to him again recently. He's got a great flow.

While everyone was trying to out-do the last man
I was just a ghost trying to catch some Mrs. Pac-Man
Hello ma'am, would you be interested
In some sexual positions and emotional investments
See, I'm not insane, in fact I'm kind of rational
When I be askin', "Yo, where did all the passion go?"

Some of my other favorites include the GZA, N.W.A., Eminem, Tupac, Ice Cube, and my all time favorite Guru (from Gangstarr). Though I'm unsure of who I would give the greatest rapper crown to. Jay-Z has some phenomenal lyrical flow and I might have to give it to him. Have any of you heard him on the Amy Winehouse "Rehab" remix. Unbelievable.

fluffy · Post by **fluffy** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 7:58 pm

This second cold is breaking now too. Hooray for that. Also I've been more productive at work. Hooray for that too.

I like some rap but I don't know rappers enough to have a favorite, so I'll just have to be snarky and say Biz Markie.

JonPorobil · Post by **JonPorobil** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 8:09 pm

Jay-Z is widely regarded as the "Best Rapper Alive," and even though he might have given himself the title in one of his trademark fits of braggadocio, many famous people seem to fully agree with the statement - even the abovementioned Brother Ali mentioned something to that effect in his stage banter.

I remain unconvinced. Could someone please explain this phenomenon to me? Why does everyone love Jay-Z? Present me with the name of a song I might listen to in which he demonstrates his excellence, or link me to a Youtube clip, or extoll the virtues of one or another of his songs or verses. I've heard a lot of Jay-Z, and I've never really thought of him as the stuff of superlatives. Good sometimes, sure, but never "Best Rapper Alive" material.

JonPorobil · Post by **JonPorobil** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 8:10 pm

fluffy wrote: I'll just have to be snarky and say Biz Markie.

You couldn't have had that kind of flow when you rapped for FAL, huh?

Post by **Spud** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:10 pm

Leaf wrote:I had asked Spud if I could use tracks I had started three week's ago prior to my injury... dude that he is (although he wasn't drunk at the time) he said "why not considering the circumstances...

Just to clarify, I said that we would post it, but that it would be ineligible for voting. I don't want anyone to think I am going soft in addition to getting senile.

fluffy · Post by **fluffy** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:34 pm

Generic wrote:
fluffy wrote: I'll just have to be snarky and say Biz Markie.
You couldn't have had that kind of flow when you rapped for FAL, huh? :lol:

Huh. Why can't I come up with stuff like that on purpose?

jack · Post by **jack** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 10:08 pm

Generic wrote:Jay-Z is widely regarded as the "Best Rapper Alive," and even though he might have given himself the title in one of his trademark fits of braggadocio, many famous people seem to fully agree with the statement - even the abovementioned Brother Ali mentioned something to that effect in his stage banter.

I remain unconvinced. Could someone please explain this phenomenon to me? Why does everyone love Jay-Z? Present me with the name of a song I might listen to in which he demonstrates his excellence, or link me to a Youtube clip, or extoll the virtues of one or another of his songs or verses. I've heard a lot of Jay-Z, and I've never really thought of him as the stuff of superlatives. Good sometimes, sure, but never "Best Rapper Alive" material.

while i make no claims to be an authority on the subject, my interest in Jay-Z mostly stems from an ongoing project i'm working on to remix his black album acappellas. my only real context of listening to him has been through his straight vocal tracks, and i've gained alot of appreciation for his work lyrically (since the arrangement is obviously so stripped down and i listen to the track usually hundreds of time repeatedly). if you're curious, you can hear a mashup i did of one of his tracks here (with forensic). i did all the backing music for this.

there's a bunch of other well known rappers i like and respect, like chuck d. & eminem, and some you've probably never heard of like j. lang, forensic, clarance boddyker, kcentric, and ms. vybe whose work i really enjoy. oh yeah, and i really like that luco brazzi guy too.