Hip-Hop Thread [ARCHIVED] Genre • Page 722

williek311 · Jun 28, 2020

Papantoine said:

Any recomendations for current poetic jazzy hip hop?

Background: I started listening to hip hop in the end of the 80s with BDP and Big Daddy Kane and Fat boys and all that good stuff. I liked BDKane cuz I was a teenager and he was the epitomy of cool but what really sold me on hip hop was the politics and the poetry of BDP. I listened to prety much all hip hop from then on and liked them all for different reasons (except Beastie Boys). Then I found the sweet spot with Tribe Called Quest and De la Soul (a little more de la than tribe honestly) But when I discovered Digable Planets, the bar was significantly raised. I loved the acid jazz sound of digable because I listen to a lot of jazz (Coltrane, Gordon, Davis, Baker, Peterson, etc etc) but mostly the poetry of the lyrics and the distancing from all the posturing present in most hip hop was what set them apart. They were nerds! Both literary and political nerds! Over the next decade, I found that I was always going back to digable and even De la had lost its luster.

Unfortunately, digable planets hasn’t grown or made more albums since blowout comb. So, can anyone recommend a group that is doing either music like they did or (my preference) a more mature version...Whenever I ask anyone to recommend a group it may have similar jazzy tracks but the lyrics are terrible and often the samples and tracks used are clichéd and demonstrate that the artists don’t actually have much jazz knowledge. And then when I ask for hip hop artists that write poetic lyrics people recommend artists who, quite honestly, just can’t write, using a weak vocabulary, no lyricism at all, no significantly intelligent construction, no internal rhymes, no novel links between the musicality of the words and tracks and quite frankly, very immature and obviously written by someone who is not well read. What I liked about digable planets was that their lyrics could be taken out of the context of hip hop and stand alone as excellent poetry, but there was also a lot of political, historical and literary references and they tackled larger issues than “girl I think you’re hot” or “look at me I’m a big shot” (delacratic styles). They had humility and perspective.

So can anyone recommend a jazzy hip hop group for a poetry nerd?

Guru’s Jazzmataz series and Madlib’s Shade of Blue will be of interest as well.

PauLo · Jun 29, 2020

I’d recommend kill the vultures, lots of avant garde jazz elements in their style. BADBADNOTGOOD did an excellent album with Ghostface. Little Simz last album was very jazzy too if I remember correctly.

I’m always on the lookout for more jazz rap too, so if you find any other refs, throw them my way!

irthesteve · Jun 29, 2020

I don't have a ton to offer here, but this Lupe song over Coltrane is always great

The Lucky Moose · Jun 29, 2020

I’d keep an eye on the upcoming Blu & Exile albun

PauLo · Jun 29, 2020

2020 update

tdlyon · Jun 29, 2020

Papantoine said:

Any recomendations for current poetic jazzy hip hop?

Background: I started listening to hip hop in the end of the 80s with BDP and Big Daddy Kane and Fat boys and all that good stuff. I liked BDKane cuz I was a teenager and he was the epitomy of cool but what really sold me on hip hop was the politics and the poetry of BDP. I listened to prety much all hip hop from then on and liked them all for different reasons (except Beastie Boys). Then I found the sweet spot with Tribe Called Quest and De la Soul (a little more de la than tribe honestly) But when I discovered Digable Planets, the bar was significantly raised. I loved the acid jazz sound of digable because I listen to a lot of jazz (Coltrane, Gordon, Davis, Baker, Peterson, etc etc) but mostly the poetry of the lyrics and the distancing from all the posturing present in most hip hop was what set them apart. They were nerds! Both literary and political nerds! Over the next decade, I found that I was always going back to digable and even De la had lost its luster.

Unfortunately, digable planets hasn’t grown or made more albums since blowout comb. So, can anyone recommend a group that is doing either music like they did or (my preference) a more mature version...Whenever I ask anyone to recommend a group it may have similar jazzy tracks but the lyrics are terrible and often the samples and tracks used are clichéd and demonstrate that the artists don’t actually have much jazz knowledge. And then when I ask for hip hop artists that write poetic lyrics people recommend artists who, quite honestly, just can’t write, using a weak vocabulary, no lyricism at all, no significantly intelligent construction, no internal rhymes, no novel links between the musicality of the words and tracks and quite frankly, very immature and obviously written by someone who is not well read. What I liked about digable planets was that their lyrics could be taken out of the context of hip hop and stand alone as excellent poetry, but there was also a lot of political, historical and literary references and they tackled larger issues than “girl I think you’re hot” or “look at me I’m a big shot” (delacratic styles). They had humility and perspective.

So can anyone recommend a jazzy hip hop group for a poetry nerd?

This is a group with Common, Robert Glasper, Karriem Riggins and a few other people, definitely sounds like something you might be into

PauLo · Jun 29, 2020

I somehow have still not listened to that August Greene record. Changing that today.

username · Jun 29, 2020

Lil Baby and 42 Dugg are such a solid combo. I think Baby has found a better suited collaborator than Gunna, even though "Drip Too Hard" is probably still the best either of them has put out. Has anyone listened to the 42 Dugg album from this year? I haven't yet but I can't tell if I'm actually gonna dig his stuff or if I just think he's a great foil for Baby.

irthesteve · Jun 29, 2020

LOL the 69 and Nicki song dropped from #1 last week to #34 this week. Essentially proving that the song doesn't matter, it was just fan bases trying to get it to #1

CobraKidJon · Jun 29, 2020

This is going to rule

username · Jun 29, 2020

irthesteve said:

LOL the 69 and Nicki song dropped from #1 last week to #34 this week. Essentially proving that the song doesn't matter, it was just fan bases trying to get it to #1

lmao

riotspray · Jun 29, 2020

I'm glad that it fell so hard, but it's still super disheartening that there were THAT many people to support the song to ever make it #1 in the first place.

tdlyon · Jun 30, 2020

I think a good percentage of it was Nicki Minaj "stans", she has one of those rabid Twitter fanbases that watch the charts like a sport

matthaber · Jun 30, 2020

we dont deserve Freddie

CobraKidJon · Jun 30, 2020

CobraKidJon · Jun 30, 2020

Signifire · Jun 30, 2020

CobraKidJon · Jun 30, 2020

remembering the year of fetty wap

also it’s still weird how my way with drake never went on streaming

irthesteve · Jun 30, 2020

OhTheWater · Jun 30, 2020

what the fuck

Cameron · Jun 30, 2020

Seriously what the fuck!?

Cameron · Jun 30, 2020

Man 2020.....

Cameron · Jun 30, 2020

People sharing that verse on What A Year It’s Been. So sad

Serh · Jun 30, 2020

fuck's sake

PauLo · Jul 1, 2020

Fuck off

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