Rap

I've been listening to a decent amount of Rap lately which is kind of a change from the shit I usually listen to, so I was wondering who you guys like :3
i'm looking for more artists to listen to. as i've now, i pretty much listen to:
eminem, wiz khalifa (not his super mainstream stuff though), immortal technique, andre nickatina, dr. dre, mac dre (my favorite), mickey avalone, too short, and wu tang clan. so ya, suggestions would be nice :D

I don't listen to rap often, but when I do, it usually is Lupe Fiasco. I love his lyrics. Other than that, I enjoy watching spoken word shows like Def Poetry, but other than that, I guess it's just older stuff.

I think eminem's latest album is more of the old same and kinda boring. i never listened to much kanye west but his new album is extremely catchy. worth checking out for the 'beats' alone

I don't know/care what the difference is between Rap and Hip Hop, and hopefully you don't either, so I'm just going to throw out some the artists I listen to that I think you might like:

Del tha Funkie Homosapien

The Perceptionists

Aesop Rock

Cypress Hill

Busdriver

Living Legends

Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip

well i have to say that even though tons of people (haters???) dislike him, lil wayne really is pretty excellent in my book. i really like his style/phrasing/whatever when he's rapping. even though his lyrics are by no means impressive, the majority of his songs are pretty fun to just chill out with and listen to. the carter III was good i thought, but some of the tracks on it were kinda weak. lollipop and ms. officer were solid, however; mrs. officer was particularly good in my opinion because it featured bobby valentino, whose vocals in the background and chorus were a nice touch on the song. i also enjoyed the following album, we are young money. there were no songs on that particular album that really stood out to me as awesome, but i enjoyed the album as a whole. at least for me, it's more important that an album is solid overall as opposed to having like on awesome song but the rest of it is shit. i am not a human being was a WONDERFUL album, chock full of guest appearences from some very talented rappers (namely fellow young money nerds like nicki minaj and drake). i especially enjoyed ianahb because lil wayne sounded even higher on half of the album's songs -- which is pretty tough to accomplish -- than he usually does!

to me, lyrics are pretty important to songs. without lyrics, you're basically listening to a bunch of totally random beats. while that's fine when you're listening to stuff such as 65daysofstatic, good lyrics really make a song in my book. for that reason, i'm a big fan of nas. oh holy shit, stillmatic was SUCH a good album, probably one of the best of the decade! i dunno, nas is such a fucking genius but for some reason people would rather listen to lackluster rappers like drake and friends. however, nas is still reasonably well-known, and even though none of his albums after stillmatic were as good, they were still great listens. seriously people, next time you hear a nas song, just focus on the lyrics. some of the lyrics are so cool and unique, and they usually comment on a certain issue (such as government, religion, etc). even when nas isn't blatantly spitting out his opinion on whatever, his wordplay is so wonderful that you really can't help but chuckle when you hear his songs.



don't really have time to be as lengthly here, but nicki minaj is pretty awesome in my opinion. even though shes literally insane and is 50% plastic due to all her surgeries, she's still an awesome lyricist and rapper. ummmm kanye west is chill too, some of his songs are kinda annoying because they try way to hard to sound all gangsta-tough and shit, but some of them -- especially golddigger -- are legitimately awesome! eminem is amazing as well, though i'm not obsessed with him like a majority of my friends are. i dunno, i guess for eminem i find some of his songs to be just incredible, but others to be somewhat dull. for example, love the way you lie was fucking BRILLIANT (though rihanna's vocals were somewhat weak), but i thought not afraid was only decent.

whats uppp

Oh i forgot to add I really like nas and cypress hill. i hate lil wayne with a passion. his lyrics are terrible, he has a bad voice and he doesn't even write his own lyrics. i've never really listened to much kanye, so idk about him. i can't stand drake as well. i love eminem but his new album is so, so, so bad. i can't listen to any song on it .-.

snorlaxe has dumb taste in music y/y?
Agreed, when I first heard him in that gorillaz song (clint eastwood, or slow country, can't remember) I was so happy. Haven't stopped listening to him since.
no seriously "lil wayne .... I care about lyrics" what the fuck
Rap artists that I enjoy/am nostalgic about/listen to:

Brother Ali came up recently in the "music you are listening to" thread
Walking Away
I don't have any of his earlier albums, only the undisputed truth which I found a cd of on the street.
But what I've heard I really liked. Lots of it is really relaxed, and he never goes crazy with beats, which I really enjoy (as seen above)
Uncle Sam Goddamn
nas always struck me as kinda stupid too, but I'm currently listening to reasonable doubt so...
Jurassic 5 is pretty sweet (although probably technically hip hop or some shit I don't know). One of my friends and me really got into the in grade nine right after feedback came out.
Gotta understand
Again kinda simple/relaxed beats sometimes, but I really dig it. Their lyrics are fairly light hearted and fun as well (ie: not just bitches and hoes and shit [not that I can't appreciate that])
Future Sound

Jay-Z. Mainly because his stuff does so fucking well remixed. I loved the grey album, and am currently in love with Jaydiohead (thanks to someone I can't remember in the mashups thread [I liked that thread])
Optimistic Moment (Jaydiohead)
Jay-Z's earlier stuff is also good, one of the only artists where I liked their first album more than any of their others (I don't really like the black album because I'm so used to it having other beats like the beatles or radiohead).
22 Two's (Jay-z)

RJD2. Although not really a rapper, I love the rappers that he samples/works with. His new stuff is meh in my opinion, but I know folk who love it. Anyways:
Seasons
F.H.H.
Double Trouble


I love really technical rap, but I don't really listen to enough of it.

few of my favorites:

Mos Def:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olAWW3upODI

A Tribe Called Quest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07vaYUG6Ykw

Da Grassroots:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9qZ5pR2cG4

The Sound Providers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1TB-vKkC1Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VZbt_6Y2dc

MFDoom:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSUJeMKgAWw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuxHWc-ZEXw

Also got a lot of hip-hop beats (similar to RJD2), I might make a post of that later

The only real vaguely 'rap' artist I can listen to without throwing up a little in my mouth is Buck 65
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL9rZF4Z7Lk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4e9PoDi0xI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18rAqZIoLnI

man and there's a totally cool Canadian rap scene which I haven't bothered to get into, but I've heard that it's less of 'check out my money/ swagger/ girl' and more of 'life sucks deal with it'

Mickey Avalon is horrible.


A lot of good stuff has been mentioned, but what about Jedi Mind Tricks, Das Racist, Aesop Rock, Atmosphere, and Ivan Ives?

Aesop Rock was already mentioned, but here's another good song by him

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dd_W_x3nclY

What you do is get Illmatic and listen to it a hundred times.

listen to Blu & Exile's album, Below The Heavens, the beat/flow/lyrics go together so well it's RIDICULOUS, probably my favorite album to listen to ever, if not just the best.

also Mos Def/Talib Kweli's collaboration Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star is great, Talib Kweli imo is the best lyricist out there.

kanye's first album is pretty good, but he gets worse as time passes.

lupe fiasco is sick. big l is cool.

also yeah classics like illmatic, reasonable doubt, blueprint, etc. etc.

these guys are my two favorite rappers ever (drug luv with both of them is an awesome song) so is my homeboys chevy

I really like Young Jeezy quite a bit. His style is pretty unique and his rhymes are usually pretty good.

Of course, I love Lil' Wayne. I'm not gonna link to his songs, since odds are if you don't like Lil' Wayne, you already know by now. The Carter (1, 2 and 3) are all amazing albums I recommend torrenting. So is No Ceilings.

Mos Def, despite being a pretty mediocre actor (I like him in The Italian Job though) is a really cool rapper. (Ghetto Rock) his "flow" is unique and his beats he uses are generally really good, imo.

dead prez, as shown to me by zerowing, are incredible. they aren't a typical rap duo that sings about drugs and "bitches and hoes". they are kind of a militant-lite rap group. hip hop walk like a warrior animal in man

blackalicious (not as gay as it sounds) its probably the most unique rap group i have ever heard. their lyrics are rather "high brow" by rap music standards and they are interesting to listen to. some songs by them

i also like MISTAH F.A.B. mostly because i love hyphy music and his songs i find to be the best in that category behind mac dre. just classic high energy hip hop that gets you going. thizz what it is. new oakland

i listen to a lot of rap music, i used to listen to only metal but then i started dabbling in rap music and now i listen to mostly rap and dabble in metal.

list of other good artists that dont get links: jurassic 5, the roots, blackstar, kid cudi, jay-z, common, brother ali, kanye is ok but he kinda sucks, rick ross, ludacris, and others i cant think of atm, but ill get to. e-40 is pretty cool but i can only listen to him for so long. Black Eyed Peas but i'm not sure if tahts the rap you are looking for. public enemy is fucking awesome too. ice cube, ice-T, NWA

whoo! andre nickatina and mac dre are my favorite too :D
and you posted a lot of shit so i'll try and listen to all of that.
and american cars http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqD73cF2cwo with mac dre and andre nickatina is another one of my favorites.

My favorite artist of all time has got to be Nas, has been a great lyricist forever, and his influence is everywehre in hip hop whether or not people are willing to admit it. Hell, without Nas, we wouldn't have Lupe Fiasco making rap music.

And yes, Blackilicious isn't as gay as it sounds, Tonedeff is great, Substantial, and I cant believe no one seemed to mention CUNNINLYGUISTS (acutally all of QN5 is great). Porcelain could be my favorite song of all time, and I really don't see how anyone can dislike it. Unless of course, you have no soul.

Eyedea & Abilities are great; however, did not enjoy their last album. It's relaly a tragedy that Eyedea died in the past year, he has made some of the greatest abstract rap i've heard. You owe it to yourself to atleast listen to Birth of a Fish; abstract hip hop at it's finest.


The only Canadian rapper I've really listened to is Shad and I his albums keep me occupied for months upon listening to them. Out of Love and Out of Love pt. 2 are couple of my all time favorite songs.

Immortal Technique was relaly my first outlet into the underground hip hop scene and everyone needs to listen to Dance with the Devil, even if it is guaranteed to ruin your day.

Dance with the devil is great by immortal technique. so is point of no return http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igt-jW4e8ts and you never know http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pqiqrnZE44

Here are some of my Must-Have rap albums of the 2000s (this is completley off the top of my head so I'm gonna miss something).

Eminem- Marshal Mathers LP
Jay-Z- The Blueprint
Nas- Stillmatic
Cannibal Ox- The Cold Vein (YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO THIS ONE SO GOOD!)
Brother Ali- Shadows On the Sun (one of the best Rappers doing it)
Madvillain- Madvillianly (THE best rapper doing it)
Ghostface Killah- Fishscale
Raekwon- Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt. 2
Kanye West- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
Kanye West- The College Dropout
Kanye West- Late Registration
Lil Wayne- Da Drought 3
Clipse- Hell Hath No Fury
Re-Up Gang- We Got It For Cheap Vol. 2
Aesop Rock- Labor Days
Blu & Exile- Below the Heavens
Lupe Fiasco- Food & Liquor
Lupe Fiasco- The Cool
Common- Like Water for Chocolate
OutKast- Stankonia (best kast album is Aquemini though)
Aesop Rock- Daylight EP

That's just off the top of my head, there are plenty more.

Ugh I keep editing in new ones.

electric president's last two albums + metal fingers

The only rap albums I've been listening to lately are Kanye West's new one and Eyedea and Abilities's By The Throat, both are good to great.

i cant believe someone mentioned black star, definitely anything by them

try mobb deep and for more hip hop mainstream, tech n9ne

Raekwon
Mobb Deep
Ghostface Killah

Those are my three favorites when it comes to rap. Yes I am aware that Mobb Deep is not a single artist, but a group.

of the rappers today i think immortal technique , although his Illuminati crap can get annoying. nas is good check out his distance relatives album http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJNpycJNUYo , emm's old albums were much better i think but hes great http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-kl-sdJDZI. and lupe is good, is he still rappin?
i got high hopes for dres new album

YES. A THOUSAND TIMES YES.

Other than that, the only rap I ever listen to is the Beastie Jews, Public Enemy, Cypress Hill, Sugarhill Gang, De La Soul, Eminem, etc... Oh, I also like Flight of the Concords, if that counts.