Marisa Kirisame-ze Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 I'm not too much of a rap fan, but there are particular artists I don't mind listening to such as Mac Miller and Eminem, but KiD CuDi's probably my favorite rapper I've listened to by far. He's releasing a new album, WZRD, on the 28th, but it's been leaked online and some of you may have listened to it already. I downloaded it and I'm enjoying some of the songs as I type this and it's completely different than any rap album, really. It's like a mix of alternative and experimental rock and it's just neat and smooth. Discuss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Metal Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 I never actually heard of Kid CuDi, but I do like listening to Eminem and Tyler the Creator even though he cusses his way through his songs. I also love Chiddy Bang and his Opposite of Adults song too! The best black and white rappers in one band xD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Murphy ☆ Posted March 12, 2012 Report Share Posted March 12, 2012 First off yeah Kid Cudi is pretty awesome have you listened to his song Nightmare (it's pretty deep) also i bought his album its pretty cool some songs are meh though. Im pretty much listening to "real" rappers myself: 1.Childish Gambino 2. Odd Future 3. Kid Cudi Top 3... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'tyleR Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 WZRD is aight. It's not my style, but it's not terrible. CuDi needs to work on his riffs on guitar. Just saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~ P O L A R I S ~ Posted March 15, 2012 Report Share Posted March 15, 2012 When Eminem [i]isn't[/i] bitching, he's reaching for his "hey guise im a sick f***" schtick, drawing upon his imbecilic 13-year-old fanboys for some cheap guffaws about how much he wants to rape his mother and slit his wife's throat in front of his daughter. He's only gotten worse over time, the unfortunate result of his painkiller-popping pity parties. I'm only so many morons gazing down miserably at the bus floor below them with "I'm Not Afraid" blasting from their unrealistically leaky headphones away from snapping. Odd Future is born of the same self-victimizing bullshit as Eminem, except with an even greater concentration of rape jokes. One can only be exposed to so much "hey i f***ed a corpse lol etc" "shock rap" before getting bored of it and by extension life in general. It's a pretty common pattern amongst the majority of Eminem/Odd Future junkies I know. It's toxic s*** and you'd do better to stop listening to it now than to become desensitized to violent rape and skullfucking of family members later. There's a great deal of rap and Hip Hop out there focused simply on the technique, rapping for the sake of rapping with no message necessary. The best technical rapper ever, Rakim, raps mostly about how good he is at rapping. Most rappers these days default to various archetypes in rap like partying, camaraderie, and sadly materialism, drugs, and objectification of women. But the reason they do so is because they just want to get their technical rapping across. They might not even care what their lyrics are, they just want to show you their unique technical variations. This is where you get your Souljas, your Lil Waynes, your Tygas, your Wiz Khalifas, etc. come in. Hell, this is probably KiD CuDi's niche. These rappers tend to take certain degrees of heat for how their lyrics are basically bullshit, but they really couldn't care less so long as they're associated with rap music. Don't get me wrong, many rappers of this type can produce certain technical gems and they all have their own things to contribute, it's just that their lyrics are comparatively safe given their context and don't have much of substance to say. [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lil_B"]Lil B[/url] has recently gifted us with some ingenious satirical songs that stigmatize some of the negative archetypes rappers who aren't concerned with their message tend to gravitate to. He also has some legitimate socially conscious, thoughtful songs. Check him out. If rappers and MC's DO want to get a message across, they should leave the victim card on the table and strive to invoke awareness, wisdom, and temperance. Listen to certain songs by [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KRS-One"]KRS-One[/url] and [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nas"]Nas[/url]. They promote reflection and consciousness with regards to social issues and spit wisdom in general. KRS-One is an acronym for "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone". Sure, Nas might go off on a tangent about shooting such and such or so and so up with AK's and 9's in various songs but it's a practically inescapable association with rap that'll hopefully be diluted and eventually dispelled as time goes on. KRS stopped rapping about guns and started a "Stop the Violence" movement when his friend [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_La_Rock"]Scott LaRock[/url], who produced and DJ'd with him, got shot and killed in '87. Scott LaRock happened to be a social worker. What I'm trying to say is that there's a lot more to rap than meets the eye, and there's a wide range of methods by which rap can be judged. There's so much variation in rap, it's a massive genre. If you take time and dig deep enough you may find rappers that you can truly relate to and learn about yourself from, and that's amazing. Rap is closer to poetry than any other musical genre. This can give it an extremely powerful resonance with people. Be aware of its power and seek out empowerment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'tyleR Posted March 16, 2012 Report Share Posted March 16, 2012 With the mention of Lil B in that, I'm not sure if I should shake your hand for such a long sarcastic post or kick your teeth in for saying Lil B has come out with ingenious songs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~ P O L A R I S ~ Posted March 17, 2012 Report Share Posted March 17, 2012 Most of his hits are parodies of rappers like Gucci Mane, Wakka Flocka, Soulja Boy, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Tyga, etc. Songs like [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8m5CIcbytfM"]Wonton Soup[/url] and [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAYrMJWvC44"]Pretty b****[/url] are jokes based on Hip Hop's downward spiral into mindlessness for which the aforementioned gentlemen are largely responsible. He pulls a 180 in making stuff like [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxE5CwnmLCI"]I Am The Hood[/url], [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VR9IZ6IjWg&feature=related"]The Trap[/url], [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IWpMZgbhmQ&feature=related"]Cold War[/url], [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W11UxtgWBOs&ob=av3e"]Unchain Me[/url], [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-z-GHVLfe8&feature=related"]I Am[/url], and [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=corY-FZAZog"]The Age of Information[/url], all stark contrasts to Wonton Soup (which is in of itself a wonderful song) centered around bringing light to the despicable lie that is the hood mentality, which Lil B denounces as an illusion of success conjured by record labels that overlooks the suffering and the loss of humanity inflicted by the drug trade. These songs don't get as much attention because for most people who listen to rap, the hood being a lie is an inconvenient truth. [quote name='Lil B'] And the rap game It's the slave trade No time for meditation Turning into robots The Devil is money It's not even human The people die for a piece of paper [/quote] More or less "rappers sell their souls". [quote name='Lil B'] On the streets I'm gone I never be around Cause the hood is a lie Man, you better wake up before you're Dead or surprised [/quote] [quote name='Lil B'] Let's get out the hood y'all, let's get out that mind state The hood is a trap, remember that Just keep that positive, get your core friends that love you And motivate your friends It's time to start being honest Just know it's all a trap The hood is a mind state, remember that[/quote] To me, this serves as further evidence that "The BasedGod" is a satirical front that he doesn't at all believe in, it's more a way of making light of an extremely dire situation than anything. It's also a testament to how unique Lil B is that he's able to step back and call out the hood mentality for what it is. In addition, he isn't signed to a label and has well over 200 music videos out at the age of 22. Most of them are a sort of stream of consciousness drawling, but the extent to which he differs from most rappers in the game in his agenda and how he doesn't take himself seriously is pretty remarkable, pretty refreshing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Murphy ☆ Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 [quote name='~ P O L A R I S ~' timestamp='1331801315' post='5871384'] When Eminem [i]isn't[/i] bitching, he's reaching for his "hey guise im a sick f***" schtick, drawing upon his imbecilic 13-year-old fanboys for some cheap guffaws about how much he wants to rape his mother and slit his wife's throat in front of his daughter. He's only gotten worse over time, the unfortunate result of his painkiller-popping pity parties. I'm only so many morons gazing down miserably at the bus floor below them with "I'm Not Afraid" blasting from their unrealistically leaky headphones away from snapping. Odd Future is born of the same self-victimizing bullshit as Eminem, except with an even greater concentration of rape jokes. One can only be exposed to so much "hey i f***ed a corpse lol etc" "shock rap" before getting bored of it and by extension life in general. It's a pretty common pattern amongst the majority of Eminem/Odd Future junkies I know. It's toxic s*** and you'd do better to stop listening to it now than to become desensitized to violent rape and skullfucking of family members later. There's a great deal of rap and Hip Hop out there focused simply on the technique, rapping for the sake of rapping with no message necessary. The best technical rapper ever, Rakim, raps mostly about how good he is at rapping. Most rappers these days default to various archetypes in rap like partying, camaraderie, and sadly materialism, drugs, and objectification of women. But the reason they do so is because they just want to get their technical rapping across. They might not even care what their lyrics are, they just want to show you their unique technical variations. This is where you get your Souljas, your Lil Waynes, your Tygas, your Wiz Khalifas, etc. come in. Hell, this is probably KiD CuDi's niche. These rappers tend to take certain degrees of heat for how their lyrics are basically bullshit, but they really couldn't care less so long as they're associated with rap music. Don't get me wrong, many rappers of this type can produce certain technical gems and they all have their own things to contribute, it's just that their lyrics are comparatively safe given their context and don't have much of substance to say. [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lil_B"]Lil B[/url] has recently gifted us with some ingenious satirical songs that stigmatize some of the negative archetypes rappers who aren't concerned with their message tend to gravitate to. He also has some legitimate socially conscious, thoughtful songs. Check him out. [/quote] Are you honestly saying Lil B makes good music? Or were you just joking because if you were to listen to Lil B you might as well just listen to Odd Future (just saying). Lil B is terribly annoying and couldn't put out a below average song to save his life, considering the fact that ALL of his songs are equivalent to horse manure. Also you said Rakim is the [b]BEST TECHNICAL RAPPER.... [/b]This clearly has to be some sort of joke. Have you ever heard of Hopsin, Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, Cassidy, Cory Gunz, Earl Sweatshirt, or wait here is someone LUPE FIASCO! All of the rappers I have just name are all against selling their souls and that illuminati mess (let's not get into that). Also, if you were thinking that people are going to start skullf****** their parent's corpses because Tyler SAID he did doesn't mean that his most diehard fan would even consider that. If you think that this album is good from Kid Cudi... it's not trust me, listen to his Man on the moon album again and listen to his song "Nightmare" he CAN'T put out music he wants, his producers and the behind-the-scenes workers for him make him put that type of music. Anyway, thats your opinion if you like Lil B you can but he is just so garbage i can't believe someone who really likes "real" music could even begin to like Lil B yet you can't respect OF. "Listen deeper than the music before you put it in a box" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'tyleR Posted March 21, 2012 Report Share Posted March 21, 2012 [quote name='~ P O L A R I S ~' timestamp='1332008515' post='5875054'] To me, this serves as further evidence that "The BasedGod" is a satirical front that he doesn't at all believe in, it's more a way of making light of an extremely dire situation than anything. It's also a testament to how unique Lil B is that he's able to step back and call out the hood mentality for what it is. In addition, he isn't signed to a label and has well over 200 music videos out at the age of 22. Most of them are a sort of stream of consciousness drawling, but the extent to which he differs from most rappers in the game in his agenda and how he doesn't take himself seriously is pretty remarkable, pretty refreshing. [/quote] Got me there, man. I'll admit I hadn't even heard of those songs until your post, and they were pretty nice to listen to. I enjoyed them. [quote name='.:©h¡ld¡§h G@mb¡n¤:.' timestamp='1332272051' post='5880698'] Hopsin | Cory Gunz | LUPE FIASCO [/quote] Okay. Whatever you say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~ P O L A R I S ~ Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 [quote name='UGK'] I'll admit I hadn't even heard of those songs until your post, and they were pretty nice to listen to. I enjoyed them.[/quote] That's amazing! I don't expect everyone to know every Lil B song because of how many are up there but some of his lesser known stuff is pretty remarkable in what it has to say and I think people would think better of Lil B if they didn't associate him with songs like "Wonton Soup" and knew more of the songs that basically make up his own personal underground. [quote name='.:©h¡ld¡§h G@mb¡n¤:.' timestamp='1332272051' post='5880698'] Also you said Rakim is the [b]BEST TECHNICAL RAPPER.... [/b]This clearly has to be some sort of joke. Have you ever heard of Hopsin, Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, Cassidy, Cory Gunz, Earl Sweatshirt, or wait here is someone LUPE FIASCO! [/quote] Hopsin [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zp5nBYS6dHE"]should consider alternative role models[/url]; Gambino, Lamar, Cassidy, Cory Gunz, and Earl Sweatshirt are Vevo-spawned abominations with next to nothing new to bring to the table and need to be incinerated before they become the next incarnations of Drake; and Lupe Fiasco is one of the biggest Lil B fans in the world. [quote name='Lupe Fiasco'] I have a problem. It's something that I noticed a while ago and I think its something that has to do with my introduction to a wide array of musical genres as a child. My problem is is that it's really really hard for me to dislike music. I have such an appreciation for it in all its forms that I sometimes find myself listening to a schizophrenic range of sounds in the whip or on the iPod. You really have to go out of your way for me to just completely despise what someone creates musically. Now in the midst of this self-awareness I have discovered there is a certain context within music that I gravitate to more than others and that context is something that I have defined for myself as "Liberation Rock". It can be described as music that is subversive, revolutionary, political, challenges the status quo, mostly positive and even militaristic. A few examples of this would be "Know Your Rights" by The Clash, "Politik Kills" by Manu Chao, "Gentleman" by Fela Kuti, "Do It Like A G-O" by The Geto Boys, "Confrontation" by Damian Marley, "Rush Of Blood To The Head" by Coldplay, "Everyman For Himself" by Billy Blue, "In One Ear" by Cage The Elephant, "The Catalyst" by Linkin Park, "Strange Fruit" by Billie Holiday and the list goes on. I guess up against my political and social upbringing songs and artists like these strike a chord with me. Now this affinity for "Liberation Rock" doesn't negate or take away from songs and artists that don't necessarily fall under that personal category for me. Dependent on the environment, I have the uncanny ability to sit and universally enjoy whatever is coming through the speakers at almost any given time. But songs that express the qualities of my very own genre of "Liberation Rock" definitely get more burn in the system by far. And as it happens through their music I develop an interest in the artist him or herself. Sometimes the journey into the world of the artist outside of the music they create can be fruitless and even disheartening. Quite literally your hero's musically can be real a******s or morons in almost every other facet. But in all honesty that is a rare occasion. And even sometimes it's the inverse and the personality and mentality of the artist outweighs the music they create and the person becomes more of an interest than his or her art. In regards to Lil B I must admit I'm somewhere in the middle of those extremes. Before we get any deeper let me put my inherent biases on the table. First, I blindly and unconsciously love anything that comes out of the Bay Area of Northern California. It's part honest respect for the cultural products that emerge out of that region and part happiness and empathy that in the midst of the social turmoil and raw violence and despair that has plagued that area for decades that artists reppin' the Bay are capable to create and express themselves at all. I have the same appreciation for artists that carve out a name for themselves in Detroit and New Orleans. Second, my faith is in the youth. So I find myself constantly observing and trying to empower and support the youth in any way that I can. No matter what they create. Through the youth expressing themselves you have a golden opportunity to communicate and gain a new perspective on the ever changing world around us. It's a beautiful thing. So Lil B is from The Bay and he's a youth hahaha we can stop right here! He already good in my book. But what gets Lil B admission into my coveted genre of "Liberation Rock" is his absolute lack of fear when it comes to challenging the status quo. Whether it be in hip-hop, which is very elitist and caste and class oriented, or just society in general, which is very elitist and class centric. His albeit "rocky" road musically has been honestly at times unbearable to walk on. Some of Lil B's past works have been underwhelming to say the least and at moments I would seriously consider heading out for smoother pavement. But every now and again an absolute jewel would come to the surface and I'd find myself unable to fathom leaving this kids side for any reason. The vulgar lyrics, happy go lucky cooking dances and sometimes pointless stream of conscious style rambling started to give way to hints of a deadly serious revolutionary mentality lurking underneath. Now I'm not talking Dead Prez or Immortal Technique level stuff here but something just as powerful and meaningful. What I was witnessing was a man in the process of profound self-realization and self-awareness. And seeing that this road has led to the promised land in the form of "I'm Gay (I'm Happy)" has been for me just as fulfilling as the new understandings that I'm sure Lil Bars has come upon if the content of his new album is anything to go by. First let me make something abundantly clear, the title "I'm Gay (I'm Happy)" I think is absolute genius. Those two words together side by side in almost any format in the society we live in can be a cultural and social death sentence. And in many places in the world (even here in the good ole' US of A) they can mean an ACTUAL death sentence. I'm talking a shanked in the shower, beat with a bat, beheaded on Friday kinda death. The best and rarest of braveries is bravery in the face of death. Let's be honest Lil B's album probably won't even be commercially released in certain countries because of the title alone. I just wish he did a song called "James Baldwin" and I would've loved to see you twitter-lectuals and goon rules street professors argue against one of the foremost, prominent black intellectual radicals the world has ever known who just so happened to be an overt homosexual but repped the ghettos of Harlem harder than Nicky Barnes and Rich Porter combined and took the struggles and achievements of the black and impoverished experience and intellectually and dazzlingly rubbed it all in the pasty face of the oppressive power structures of the time and this time as well! I wish a ***** would!!! Don't matter if your gay, that's between you and your religion. All I care about is if your down for the cause. Which a LOT of hetero's ain't. Go figure. Now the doper thing about the title is that it exposed the raw power of words and reinforces the concept that "perception is king" in a very simple and even remedial use of homonym (no pun intended but you gotta chalk that up as a mean double entendre!) The word "gay" referring to homosexuality in the minds of the "guilty" ,as well call them here, sent shockwaves throughout our hip-hop community. Making Lil B the target of attack and ridicule. But Lil B's ultimate intention and preference for the word "gay" was its "one who is happy" definition. So basically my lil homey was being attacked for being happy. The poetic justice in that is awe inspiring. If that don't speak to the conditions that exist in this world and this society I don't know what does. Hate on somebody simply because they are happy or have found happiness. How many of us are innocent of that injustice? Not many. Including me at times. Now whether Lil B did that on purpose or not is really not an issue because the reality of someone (that would be me by the way) interpreting and analyzing his album title that deeply gives merit to his action regardless of his initial intent. I mean it is HIS album title. I won't carry on much longer but I did want to get to the content. Now normally reviewers delve deeply or comparatively lightly when talking about an album. They mention favorite songs or less than favorites for that matter, maybe even breaking them down and bringing finer points of production or lyrical execution to light. Well I'm not going to mess about with any of that. At the end of the day it's all opinion and one man's trash is another man's treasure. If you like it you like it if you don't you don't. The reason I give this album entrance into my "Liberation Rock" library hangs on the power and impact of just one single, solitary line uttered by Lil B in the midst of the entire work that is "I'm Gay". And that line is: "The Hood Is A Lie!" The modern processes of life experienced that would culminate in a 21 year old African American male who more than likely is a direct descendant of slaves, raised in a consumerist and corrupt society dominated by inequality, fear, system-trust and self-doubt, coming from a region of the country that is notoriously violent and self-destructive (to this day I still can't believe The Tenderloin exists in these modern times), that more than likely has buried friends and seen raw poverty in the land of plenty, that has received a subpar education and has been profiled and downgraded even before the day of his birth on this soil, teased with excess and a little bit of the "good life" for the price of ones morals, freedom and even life itself, in the face of all that for him to say with confidence and surety that: "The Hood Is A Lie!" speaks louder to me than the best, most well-timed, Just Blaze produced and Hype Williams directed punchline any rapper can think of! You can't buy that type of provocative, chilling social commentary. You have to live that. Furthermore it commands respect, and not that phony ass "48 Laws Of Power" "saw it on Gangland" respect either. I mean that Malcolm Martin Luther Junior respect. And if the youths are making these types of statements in these times and in the midst of all that is against them I have no choice but to be Gay (Happy) too!!! So there you have it. I like Lil B. Sincerely and with a gangsta ass "I-Wish-A-*****-Would" attitude, Wasalu "Lupe Fiasco" Jaco P.S. His album cover is better than yours too![/quote] [img]http://cdn.pigeonsandplanes.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Lil-B-Im-Gay.jpg[/img] Amen. [quote name='.:©h¡ld¡§h G@mb¡n¤:.' timestamp='1332272051' post='5880698'] If you think that this album is good from Kid Cudi... [/quote] I don't. [quote name='.:©h¡ld¡§h G@mb¡n¤:.' timestamp='1332272051' post='5880698'] Also, if you were thinking that people are going to start skullf****** their parent's corpses because Tyler SAID he did doesn't mean that his most diehard fan would even consider that. [/quote] I wasn't trying to suggest that they would, it's just that the "I f***ed a corpse" card can only be played so many times before it loses its meaning. Tyler plays it so frequently that it seems as though listening to him for any considerable amount of time is going to eventually result in thoughts such as "OK, whatever Tyler, you f***ed yet another corpse. Good for you." When I listen to Tyler and how much he f***ing hates f***ing everything, it just makes me yawn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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