Hip Hop Music Thread

JoeyBoy718

JoeyBoy718

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I don't know why but I was looking at early Eminem the other day. I found out some interesting stuff.

His name used to be Double M, before changing it to M&M, and finally to the current spelling Eminem.

The earliest song I've found from him is called Pooh Butt Day from 1988, when he was 16 years old. It sounds a lot like a bad version of a De La Soul song. The chorus is really cheesy. It goes, "Sometimes nothing ever goes your way. It just feels like a pooh butt day."

He was part of a group called New Jacks before joining a group called Soul Intent, which is part of Bassmint Productions. Then he left that with fellow Soul Intent rapper Maximum (who changed his name to Proof) to form D-12, which he wanted to resemble the Wu Tang Clan.

He had a few EPs before his famous Infinite EP. The first one was called Steppin Onto the Scene, followed by Still in the Bassmint, followed by Soul Intent (self titled). And after that was Infinite, which was followed by the Slim Shady EP, which was the record he passed out to Interscope people at the Rap Olympics in which he finished 2nd place, losing to Juice. And Dr. Dre heard Slim Shady EP and demanded they find Eminem. Then he re-did most the beats and Em spit most of the same verses, to make his famous debut, The Slim Shady LP. The rest is history.
 

StylisticS

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bigdnlaca said:
Everyone except Outkast in my list. Commercially a success but there are just too many groups just as good as them when it comes to rapping. Naughty by Nature, Salt and Pepa, Goodie Mob, Mobb Deep, LOX, Geto Boys, Bone, the Roots and the forgotten Fugees. Just too many to name 10.
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No way. Outkast with three solid albums in the 90s alone with great production and great lyricists especially from Andre 3000 puts them not only in the top 10, but the top five.
 
JoeyBoy718

JoeyBoy718

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StylisticS said:
Huh? What does Dre have to do with Illmatic?
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Only thing I can think of was the song Nas is Coming on Nas' second or third album. But Dre had nothing to do with the development of Nas. He made him one beat after he was already famous. Awesome song though. One of my favorites. Check it out.
 
JoeyBoy718

JoeyBoy718

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StylisticS said:
No way. Outkast with three solid albums in the 90s alone with great production and great lyricists especially from Andre 3000 puts them not only in the top 10, but the top five.
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Hard to argue Outkast. Probably, they're not really my style. I was never huge into Southern hip hop and they were a little too poppy for my tastes. But I have to acknowledge them as one of the best groups of all time.

Definitely one of the best rap duos ever. I personally prefer Mobb Deep and Dead Prez and even Black Starr, but I'm a Brooklyn guy.

I'd consider Outkast more of a duo than a group. I'd say The Roots and Wu Tang were better groups. But The Roots really was one rapper (Black Thought, my favorite of all time) and a bunch of instrument players. Then Wu Tang was a giant group of rappers. Bone Thugs was another super group like the Wu, but I'd argue Bone Thug complemented one another more.

Then you have rapper/DJ duos, which I put in a different category from rapper duos. Rapper/DJ duos are basically one guy raps and the other makes the beat. That's more of a solo rapper than a duo in my opinion. Some of the greatest are Gang Starr (DJ Premier is the greatest beat maker of all time), Talib Kweli and Hi Tek, and Eric B and Rakim (the father of the modern flow).

Anyway, in summary, although I'm not a huge Outkast fan, I have to give credit where it's due. No rapper duo ever complemented each other better, and no rap duo ever had as big an impact on hip hop. They also put the South on the map. Very unique group. With Big Boi's smooth, quick delivery and Dre's eccentric flow and clever lyrics. Props to Outkast.
 
JoeyBoy718

JoeyBoy718

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How does everyone feel about MC battles? Personally, I'm not a fan of the new style, where they have hour long, pre written, no beat battles. I preferred old style where you had two 30 second rounds over a beat.

I actually was a little involved in it back in the day so I learned to appreciate it. I grew up in Brooklyn and moved to Miami in the middle of high school. I battled guys like Jin and Wreckonize before they got big. Never beat them but went a few extra rounds in the finals with them.

Anyway, I have mixed feelings about this new stuff. I like guys like Arsonal because he actually sounds like he can rap to a beat and has a good voice. His wordplay is good too but I do get kinda bored with the gun punchlines. Then you have guys like Shuffle-T who literally don't know how to rap. I think his lines are hilarious and I like that he doesn't take himself seriously, but he literally doesn't know how to rap. A fan asked him why he doesn't have any music and he said because he doesn't know how to flow to a beat. That's pretty weak.

Anyway, Eminem started his own Pay Per View battle league. Their first event was a few weeks ago. They had a rematch of the legendary battle between Murda Mook and Loaded Lux. And the main event was Joe Budden vs Hollow Da Don. I respect Eminem because he came up battling. Probably one of the last rappers who actually did so. Back in the day, it used to be a necessity. Nowadays, you just need to get a lot of hits on YouTube. That's why we have jokes like LilB the BasedGod and Kreayshawn.
 
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