I don't really see a lot of musical discussion here, so I thought I would start.
Hip Hop is still a relatively new only having emerged in the 1970's but has gained a pretty passionate following.
Hip Hop might not be my favorite genre, though I don't know what my favorite genre would be, but there are a lot of great artists to come out of it, and a lot of great albums. (And terrible ones lol)
Because I like to keep things positive I won't discuss rappers or albums I dislike and focus on the ones I think are good. If you don't like hip hop but are looking to get into it, you can take many of these as recommendations.
I'll start with the obvious one, an album many consider to be the best hip hop album of all time. Madvillainy by Madvillain. Madvillain is a collaborative effort between esteemed producer Madlib and rapper MF DOOM (All Caps when you spell the mans name)The album is considered one of the best for good reason, and a lot has been written about this album, and since I'm not a very good or informative writer and I don't want to tread ground that has been tread a thousand times before I'll just say what needs to be said. DOOM's flows are amazing, his lyricism is astoundingly impressive
Favorite tracks: All Caps, Meat Grinder, Accordion, Sickfit, Raid, America's Most Blunted, Curls, Do Not Fire!, Figaro, Supervillain Theme, Fancy Clown, Strange Ways
A more recent album I'd like to discuss would be "I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside: An Album by Earl Sweatshirt"
This was not only my favorite Hip Hop record of last year, but my favorite over all. It was over shadowed by another great hip hop record, Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp a Butterfly" but that album did not resonate with me as well as this one did, nor did it have the replay value to me. It still a great album worthy of discussion, but I'd like to focus more on this album.
This is a follow up to Sweatshirt's 2013 effort "Doris" another album I really enjoyed, but felt it suffered from being about 10-15 minutes too long. It was well produced and lyrically engaging, and I was impressed with it overall. This newest album caught me off guard by how good it was. Themes of depression, anxiety, drug addiction, and relationship issues are at the forefront of Earl's lyrics. The production on this record is lo fi and dark. It lives up to the title, with an almost claustrophobic atmosphere. These are things many critics said about the record, and I am inclined to agree. It starts of with Huey, a song led by some bright organs, and is immediately taken into the much darker Mantra, which sets the tone for the rest of the record. This is probably the most emotionally engaged I've ever been with a hip hop record, but just because it's sad doesn't mean it doesn't have some clever lyrics. The one that stands out to me the most is probably on the hook to "Grief" the lead single from the album
Favorite Tracks: Huey, Mantra, Faucet, Grief, AM // Radio, DNA, Wool.
So what are SK.Net's favorite hip hop artists/albums? I hope you found this to be an informative or at least entertaining read. I put a lot of effort into this, and I hope it shows! I know some people out there think that Hip Hop is all about misogyny and hedonism, but I insist you give these albums a listen As well as El-P's 2002 album "Fantastic Damage" as well as Nujabes discography. I believe that even if you don't get an appreciation for the genre you will at least be able to see there's more to it than pointless hedonism. Also if you like Frank Herbert's scifi classic "Dune" you should be able to enjoy Fantastic Damage as it pulls a lot of influence from that book.
If you enjoyed this and would like to see me write something about another genre, what genre would you like to see me cover? I'm familiar with a lot of genres, except EDM and metal (Two genres I appreciate but am still new to). I'm also not really familiar with a lot of really harsh music like Grindcore, power electronics, pornogrind, and such. Other than that I'm pretty familiar with most genres of music and have a fair level of knowledge about them.
If you have any EDM or Metal recommendations I'd be happy to hear them. Happy listening everybody!
Hip Hop is still a relatively new only having emerged in the 1970's but has gained a pretty passionate following.
Hip Hop might not be my favorite genre, though I don't know what my favorite genre would be, but there are a lot of great artists to come out of it, and a lot of great albums. (And terrible ones lol)
Because I like to keep things positive I won't discuss rappers or albums I dislike and focus on the ones I think are good. If you don't like hip hop but are looking to get into it, you can take many of these as recommendations.
I'll start with the obvious one, an album many consider to be the best hip hop album of all time. Madvillainy by Madvillain. Madvillain is a collaborative effort between esteemed producer Madlib and rapper MF DOOM (All Caps when you spell the mans name)The album is considered one of the best for good reason, and a lot has been written about this album, and since I'm not a very good or informative writer and I don't want to tread ground that has been tread a thousand times before I'll just say what needs to be said. DOOM's flows are amazing, his lyricism is astoundingly impressive
His rhyme structures are fantastic sometimes rhyming 3 times in one line. Madlib's production is Jazzy, bright, and fun, yet still works with the themes of villainy on the album.
Favorite tracks: All Caps, Meat Grinder, Accordion, Sickfit, Raid, America's Most Blunted, Curls, Do Not Fire!, Figaro, Supervillain Theme, Fancy Clown, Strange Ways
A more recent album I'd like to discuss would be "I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside: An Album by Earl Sweatshirt"
This was not only my favorite Hip Hop record of last year, but my favorite over all. It was over shadowed by another great hip hop record, Kendrick Lamar's "To Pimp a Butterfly" but that album did not resonate with me as well as this one did, nor did it have the replay value to me. It still a great album worthy of discussion, but I'd like to focus more on this album.
This is a follow up to Sweatshirt's 2013 effort "Doris" another album I really enjoyed, but felt it suffered from being about 10-15 minutes too long. It was well produced and lyrically engaging, and I was impressed with it overall. This newest album caught me off guard by how good it was. Themes of depression, anxiety, drug addiction, and relationship issues are at the forefront of Earl's lyrics. The production on this record is lo fi and dark. It lives up to the title, with an almost claustrophobic atmosphere. These are things many critics said about the record, and I am inclined to agree. It starts of with Huey, a song led by some bright organs, and is immediately taken into the much darker Mantra, which sets the tone for the rest of the record. This is probably the most emotionally engaged I've ever been with a hip hop record, but just because it's sad doesn't mean it doesn't have some clever lyrics. The one that stands out to me the most is probably on the hook to "Grief" the lead single from the album
Earl's wordplay is not as intricate as DOOM's, but it's still solid, and I think he's one of the best MC's currently in hip hop.
Favorite Tracks: Huey, Mantra, Faucet, Grief, AM // Radio, DNA, Wool.
So what are SK.Net's favorite hip hop artists/albums? I hope you found this to be an informative or at least entertaining read. I put a lot of effort into this, and I hope it shows! I know some people out there think that Hip Hop is all about misogyny and hedonism, but I insist you give these albums a listen As well as El-P's 2002 album "Fantastic Damage" as well as Nujabes discography. I believe that even if you don't get an appreciation for the genre you will at least be able to see there's more to it than pointless hedonism. Also if you like Frank Herbert's scifi classic "Dune" you should be able to enjoy Fantastic Damage as it pulls a lot of influence from that book.
If you enjoyed this and would like to see me write something about another genre, what genre would you like to see me cover? I'm familiar with a lot of genres, except EDM and metal (Two genres I appreciate but am still new to). I'm also not really familiar with a lot of really harsh music like Grindcore, power electronics, pornogrind, and such. Other than that I'm pretty familiar with most genres of music and have a fair level of knowledge about them.
If you have any EDM or Metal recommendations I'd be happy to hear them. Happy listening everybody!
