Hip hop - what do people think of it?

[SlimESQ]

Curious to know what people here think about hip hop - was listening to the ipod on shuffle the other day and went from Ty Segall to early Beastie Boys.  And thought, this could actually be a legit transition on certain garage punk podcasts.  I recall hearing or reading that Beastie Boy only wanted to imitate Bad Brains and be a punk band at first, but just did a really poor job of that and their rap/hip hop influences seeped through more.  Still, in terms of lo-fi, youth angriness & energy, and influences, would anyone draw any lines connecting them to punk/garage?  Tough Guy, Whatcha Want, etc. (I think their later stuff w a social agenda totally sucks, talking about early stuff-mid 90s).  Also Public Enemy.  On the other hand there are plenty of rappers who've used samples from punk songs and even tried to cut a few.  And then there's Dee Dee Ramone's rap album of course...

But hip hop in general - new or old school, did you ever listen to it?  Love it?  Hate it?  Oblivious to it?  Any possible links to punk?

[Rockin Rod Strychnine]

And Nine Pound Hammer isn't?

ratoonie said:

I cant stand Rap or hip-hop.... it has no place in the Rock & roll world!....Hateful, violent ghetto shit!!!

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Total shit.

Ruby Soleil said:

What about Faith No More?

[Recordgrooves]

haha, K-Dogg you have great tastes in movies, have you ever heard of or seen Whiteboyz (1999)?

Straight out the corn fields of Iowa ...funny film, but the kind of film that leaves those certain fff'd up feelings jarring about when you are done watching it.

Even more ridiculous the fact that this was done before enema-n hit the global scene.

kopper said:

I highly recommend a movie called Hustle & Flow from 2005. That was written & directed by Craig Brewer who was also responsible for the cooler-than-expected $5 Cover MTV series about the Memphis music scene. Another of his movies that's really good but has nothing to do with rap is Black Snake Moan.

I also highly recommend CB4 and Fear of a Black Hat.

High Lord Mardy Pune said:

I totally agree with Ixnayray. The chart shit is just that; it's shit. But the kids keep buying into it and record companies like making money.
I like the early gangsta rap N.W.A., Ice T... A lot of people get offended by it but I think the rappers are just telling it like it is. I think the making of any good rapper though is the DJ sitting behind them. Kool Herc and Grand Master Flash were total musical revolutionaries and I think their attitude was totally punk; "fuck it this is how I'm doing it"

You have to remember that the term hip hop refers to the four corners as Hip Hoppers call it: Rappers, DJ's, dancers and Graph Artists. There's a great doco called Scratch which is mainly about DJing but sorta looks at the other three aspects of Hip Hop.

[Brian Marshall]

I completely agree. I can't stand rap and hip hop. I'll take gutbucket rhythm and blues and soul over that rap garbage any day.

ratoonie said:

I cant stand Rap or hip-hop.... it has no place in the Rock & roll world!....Hateful, violent ghetto shit!!!

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Total shit.

Ruby Soleil said:

What about Faith No More?

[El Tiki]

For me Hip-Hop (Rap) was about the last "new" kinda music, after Punk, that really felt like being something completely new and unique. By now it's just another Style down the road, but I still have some great records I'd never give away, from some Oldschool NY-Stylez (of the late 70ies/early 80ies) to the dopey-tunes of Cypress Hill (the first band I knew, using looped sonds of "the Seeds") and many others, ... and on and on and on ... till the break'a'- break'a'-dawn.

The best idea about Hip-Hop was, that anyone was considered being "part of the movement", as long as they're "active" within this scene (by dancing, painting, makin' music ...). A great & creative approach I think.

[IDON MINE]

I can totally dig what original HIP HOPPERs all you guys mentioned! NWA were boss in "Express yourself." Public Enemy are Killer, early Beastie Boys - yessir! To me, HIP HOP always was a continued oral history of the sorts of musical traditions of Blues, Gospel, Soul, RNB, Rock'n'Roll and what ever inbetween.

It would have felt kinda weird listening to music from those periods and not to the momentary "black" music incarnations. Also, Tiki, I feel the same about the creative background of the basic HIP HOP movement.

[Brother Panti-Christ]

Wow, seems we have a general consensus that Hip Hop and Rap is a very good music indeed. This place never ceases to surprise me!

I love Hip Hop, and easily find it's links into the great punk music of the past. I grew up in High School with cool shit like Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash. I loved it but never bought any records in those days. In the late 80's living in L.A. I used to listen to KDAY AM, which was a proudly black owned and operated radio station and playing extremely cool (and also not so cool) 50's to 80's R&B, Soul and Funk music. On the weekends around midnight they would give up the turntables and mics for the young DJs around the Compton and Watts areas to play the new sounds of the streets. I tell ya, my hair would be standing on the back of my neck listening to these broadcasts, live mixes and rapping in a totally new form, it was fucking exciting and punk as fuck. 'Fuck The Police' by NWA pumping through my AM radio receiver in a menacing MONO was extremely exhilarating (not to mention all the helicopters constantly flying over my Hollywood home to complete the soundtrack). It gave me the same feeling that I had the first time listening to the mid 60's garage masters, I just loved it immediately.

I think in each musical movement there is 5% originality and 95% imitation/duplication. I've been hunting down that 5% in all forms of music. And like Rock N Roll, Rap and Hip Hop always proven to me there are always new ways to kick dead horse! There has been rapping going on since the beginning of recorded history, but perhaps this RAP form jelled with the likes of artists such as The Watts Prophets, Gil Scott-Heron or The Last Poets in the late 60's. And as years pass there is always another amazing group or demographic area that spawn some hot new grooves.

I would love to hear some of the Garage Punk podcasters playing some of their old Hip Hop faves, even dedicating a whole show would be fine by me (just not too often, aight?). If you got good taste in Rock N Roll then it's DAMN possible you know some kick ass Hip Hop tunes too.

And actually to somehow keep with the theme of the thread, I never really dug the Beastie Boys rap era, and I always considered them the big label's 'alternative White Boy' rap act after creating a niche market from the success of Vanilla Ice. OUCH!

here is some dope ass old RAP:

[ixnayray]

ha ha... A Hip-Hop Podcast on the GP site. DON'T TEMPT ME!!!

[Recordgrooves]

How many Hip Hop sites have a thread about Garage Punk?

[Rockin Rod Strychnine]

Probably the most excellent posting so far in favor of rap and hip hop. Not familiar with Watts Prophets but I became familiar with Last Poets on a CD from MOJO that Iggy Pop compiled of favorite tunes and he chose a piece called "Wake Up, Nigger". I brought the CD to work one time and was playing it because I liked all the tunes Iggy chose but then was told to turn it off as soon as Last Poets came on. HA!

But I have to disagree with the Beastie Boys comment. They only became an alternative act when mainstream rap started turning into garbage. They were one of the first groups to see that hip hop was as much a street music as punk was and were just as influenced by Grandmaster Flash as they were by hard rock and punk rock groups. They and Rick Rubin were a match made in heaven. Too bad they had a falling out. Vanilla Ice came a long time after Beastie Boys. I really don't care for what they put out since Paul's Boutique but at least they know what they want to do. Vanilla Ice doesn't have a clue and just imitates everything he comes across.

Brother Panti-Christ said:

Wow, seems we have a general consensus that Hip Hop and Rap is a very good music indeed. This place never ceases to surprise me!

I love Hip Hop, and easily find it's links into the great punk music of the past. I grew up in High School with cool shit like Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash. I loved it but never bought any records in those days. In the late 80's living in L.A. I used to listen to KDAY AM, which was a proudly black owned and operated radio station and playing extremely cool (and also not so cool) 50's to 80's R&B, Soul and Funk music. On the weekends around midnight they would give up the turntables and mics for the young DJs around the Compton and Watts areas to play the new sounds of the streets. I tell ya, my hair would be standing on the back of my neck listening to these broadcasts, live mixes and rapping in a totally new form, it was fucking exciting and punk as fuck. 'Fuck The Police' by NWA pumping through my AM radio receiver in a menacing MONO was extremely exhilarating (not to mention all the helicopters constantly flying over my Hollywood home to complete the soundtrack). It gave me the same feeling that I had the first time listening to the mid 60's garage masters, I just loved it immediately.

I think in each musical movement there is 5% originality and 95% imitation/duplication. I've been hunting down that 5% in all forms of music. And like Rock N Roll, Rap and Hip Hop always proven to me there are always new ways to kick dead horse! There has been rapping going on since the beginning of recorded history, but perhaps this RAP form jelled with the likes of artists such as The Watts Prophets, Gil Scott-Heron or The Last Poets in the late 60's. And as years pass there is always another amazing group or demographic area that spawn some hot new grooves.

I would love to hear some of the Garage Punk podcasters playing some of their old Hip Hop faves, even dedicating a whole show would be fine by me (just not too often, aight?). If you got good taste in Rock N Roll then it's DAMN possible you know some kick ass Hip Hop tunes too.

And actually to somehow keep with the theme of the thread, I never really dug the Beastie Boys rap era, and I always considered them the big label's 'alternative White Boy' rap act after creating a niche market from the success of Vanilla Ice. OUCH!

here is some dope ass old RAP:

[ratoonie]

i never would have thought that when i joined this site that i would have this kinda shit in my face....Comparing Gang music to garage music is like comparing heaven to hell....when im forced to hear Rap ..my blood boils as if i were in hell!!!!

[ixnayray]

Well it's not exactly "in your face", is it?

Is it Hip-Hop you hate... or Rap? Because they are two different things.

ratoonie said:

i never would have thought that when i joined this site that i would have this kinda shit in my face....Comparing Gang music to garage music is like comparing heaven to hell....when im forced to hear Rap ..my blood boils as if i were in hell!!!!

[ratoonie]

Yes ; you are right!! its not in my face... Iwill throw in the towel ... its obvious that i am a minority here... i will bowe out of this discusian Like a Gentleman... maybe I'll put on some Ventures "Walk dont Run"

ixnayray said:

Well it's not exactly "in your face", is it?

Is it Hip-Hop you hate... or Rap? Because they are two different things.

ratoonie said:

i never would have thought that when i joined this site that i would have this kinda shit in my face....Comparing Gang music to garage music is like comparing heaven to hell....when im forced to hear Rap ..my blood boils as if i were in hell!!!!