On 14 Feb 2002 at 20:23, Catherine McKay wrote: > > Brenda, I, for one, would be interested in your ideas > on recommended listening in rap/hiphop/whatever (I > take it the three names you quote above are among what > you might recommend.)
For rap, I would definitely recommend those three along with Mos Def, Common, Talib Kweli, the first three albums by A Tribe Called Qwest (The Low End Theory is one of the most dynamic and influential rap records ever made.), Freestyle Fellowship, the Lyricist Lounge Volume 1 released by Rawkus Records, Medusa & Feline Science, Jurassic Five, Black Eyed Peas, Dilated Peoples and a couple of more well known artists - the Roots and Outkast. If you want, send me your address and I'll send you a copy of the mix CD I'm putting together for a couple of other people. As far as hip hop goes, I wouldn't consider most of what gets qualified as "hip hop" as being true to the culture; most of it is pop/R&B music. When I think of hip hop music that isn't rap, I generally think of DJ/turntablist stuff like Invisbl Skratch Piklz, Beat Junkies, DJ Shadow, Cut Chemist, DJ Krush, Funkmaster Flex, Kid Koala, DJ Cam and DJ Spooky. > > I do find it really irritating > when some of these artists take other people's music > and remix it hiphop style. It was interesting at > first, but gets a bit tired after a while - nothing > succeeds like excess and all that. (All I can think of > off the top of my head is Janet Jackson, who isn't a > rap artist, but I find her really annoying - she has > overdone the sampling thing by now and she should just > move on.) > Well some of it you can't even call remixing or sampling - it's bad covers with the new lyrics and half-assed melodies. The worst of it started with MC Hammer and then was picked up by the 21st Century version of Hammer, Puff Daddy. I hate the Janet song with the America sample - it's not very creative at all. (And Janet is definitely NOT a hip hop artist.) But the sample of "Big Yellow Taxi" in "Got 'Til It's Gone" was inventive. "Got 'Til It's Gone also features my favorite MC, Q-Tip who was a member of A Tribe Called Qwest, so maybe I'm a little biased! ; ) Brenda n.p.: Talvin Singh - One
