An Alternative to Lil Wayne and the Sad State of Popular Hip Hop Music
July 2, 2008 at 12:15 pm
“Money is cool, I’m only human
But they use it as a tool to make the workers feel excluded
Like the shinier the jewel the more exclusive the troop is
Bullets don’t take bribes stupid, they shoot shit”
-Aesop Rock
It’s really too bad popular hip hop is filled with people like Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, Flo Rida, and G-Unit. If only people would wake up and see how much more talented and interesting some of this underground hip hop is, the world might be just that much more intelligent.
Wish it was still the 90’s….at least the 2000s have given us these guys:
Aesop Rock- 39 Thieves
None Shall Pass ( Definitive Jux, 2007)
Brother Ali- Nine Double’Em
Rites of Passage (Rhymesayers Entertainment, 2000)
El-P ft. Mars Volta- Tasmanian Pain Coaster
I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead (Definitive Jux, 2007)
Shinsight Trio- Early Dayz Amazement
Shallow Nights Blurry Moon (Bad News Records, 2006)
Cannibal Ox- Pigeon
The Cold Vein (Definitive Jux, 2001)
Viktor Vaughn aka MF Doom- Vaudeville Villian
Vaudeville Villian (Sound-Ink, 2003)
Image: Lynt
Creative collection. I almost always enjoy your sets, and sometimes I even recognize a song or two. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for this… but I keep getting file not found messages trying to access the Aesop Rock and El-P tracks.
Nice collection, but where are the Blue Scholars or Common Market??
Thanks for the great list.
I love most of your selections, and listen to all of the groups in this one. However, I respectfully disagree with the assertion Lil Wayne shouldn’t be included in the group of hip hop that means something.
Granted, he needs lots of focus but the talent and intelligence is there. He’s like the husband that strays in the brothel, but still loves his wife. Bad analogy, but still. Wayne has lots of potential; we can only hope he someday uses his powers for good. The rest of ‘em produce unnecessary tripe.
No Atmosphere on this list - his beginning stuff on Lucy Ford and Overcast especially.
The problem with underground hip hop - I’m certainly not the first to say this - is that it always positions itself as something that it isn’t.
Your post is a good example: All of these artists ARE NOT the afore named commercial acts. Underground IS NOT commercial…
Don’t get me wrong, I’m no anti-backpacker. I just feel that there is as much bad underground as there is commercial.
gotta have some WHY?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQi7Dm2hfxE
stclown you the man. gotta love aes and el-p.
Lil Wayne is a horrible example of what’s wrong with popular hip hop. He’s just a popular whipping boy on the blogs because…he’s popular. Sure, he has his low spots (Lollipop), but “I Feel Like Dying” is more interesting than any in your post.
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Thanks for the feedback kids, and hey whats good phil. you punk. anyway, ill check out some blue scholars and atmosphere, and hey, i have a soft spot for lil wayne, i happen to think a milli is awesome. The fact of the matter is, most of his beats are the same trunk rattling garbage that I could make on my computer right now. And aside from the production problems, alot of his songs have the same lyrical content of ‘bitches ain’t shit’ and ‘make money’ which has been done in Criminal Minded and The Chronic years ago. Wait 5 years, see where Lil Wayne’s at, then we shall see. And any serious rapper who dips into R & B is a sellout, as De la Soul once said- it’s Rhythm and Bullshit.
And one more thing on this ramble- Russell, you obviously did not listen to Nine Double Em by Brother Ali, that song is heart-wrenching. Lil Wayne only feels like he’s dying cause he does too much ecstasy.
Yeah, they’re all stronger lyrically, they just sound like they’re reading poems. I disagree on the beats, though.
MF Doom!
nice list as always but i agree with the assertion that wayne has the potential that just needs streamlining, meaning, focus, and a message … also where’s the immortal technique?
There need to be more posts about this topic around the blogosphere, not to mention more hip-hop posts PERIOD on independent/alternative music blogs. However, I must agree with those who think Lil Wayne is far more interesting than most other popular mainstream rappers these days (like those mentioned), though still a valid starting point for the topic. That said, what about the real NEW alt rappers for the new millennium, e.g. Subtitle and Cadence Weapon? I’ve never been more pumped up by an emcee than when I saw Cadence Weapon live for the first time. That was the show that proved to me through and through that Hip-Hop isn’t dead (just on life support). I hadn’t heard of ShinSight Trio though, good stuff!
stclown ~ I’m very disappointed that you brought R&B into the mix so bluntly as though it isn’t in almost the same exact situation as Rap/Hip-Hop. I know it’s both mainstream and ‘Rhythm & Bullshit’ (or more technically, Neo-Soul, which is a sub-genre of R&B) but you might still be able to tolerate Erykah Badu’s new album. Would the Hip-Hop producers on there be considered sell-outs too? And I can’t help but shake the feeling that De La Soul have had R&B choruses on a couple of their albums… Perhaps you just need to specify which area of R&B you’re attacking though.
+ DOOM, all capitals :P
Lil Wayne is garbage.
Unless by R&B, one refer to “singing/commonly known R&B song construction, I think even if most hip-hop group want to escape R&B influence, they can’t do it. Probably work will sound like autochre with rhyhm,. No blues, no gospel, no popular beat pattern. Or probably like free jazz/beat poet except with different background music.
Almost all best selling hip-hop are sampling popular R&B tunes.
Guru Feat. Erykah Badu - Plenty (audio)
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