What an annoying voice

Can't wait for the second album on Sunday. Idk if you've heard about that.

Huh, I know nothing about rappers so this is news to me.
As a kid my older brother tried getting me into rap and I didn't much like him. By extension I kind of stayed away from rap. I don't really find it appealing because most of what people have shown me is a.) artists self-aggrandizing which falls into subcategories of: a.) Enumerating sexual encounters or b.) Talking about money and violence. I don't really care for these things in music. I have heard rap I like, but no artists have stood out to me yet.

These complaints are somewhat reminiscent of your gripes with anime, lol.

Spoiler

Also the lag in the game music thread is really bad on my surface so I won't bother, but I was going to say "no love for Fairy Queen?" and "I think my favorite rendition of the Great Fairy Fountain is from Twilight Princess."

Quote from: Verbatim on April 14, 2017, 09:13:41 PM

Quote from: Anglosaxophone on April 14, 2017, 09:02:31 PM

SIT DOWN

BE HUMBLE

i can't fake humble just 'cause your ass is insecure

Is this from a music video? Linky pls, piqued my interest.

Verbatim talking about rap is tickling me in new and surprising ways.

Quote from: Epsira Idari on April 14, 2017, 09:44:07 PM

Huh, I know nothing about rappers so this is news to me.
As a kid my older brother tried getting me into rap and I didn't much like him. By extension I kind of stayed away from rap. I don't really find it appealing because most of what people have shown me is a.) artists self-aggrandizing which falls into subcategories of: a.) Enumerating sexual encounters or b.) Talking about money and violence. I don't really care for these things in music. I have heard rap I like, but no artists have stood out to me yet.

These complaints are somewhat reminiscent of your gripes with anime, lol.

Spoiler

Also the lag in the game music thread is really bad on my surface so I won't bother, but I was going to say "no love for Fairy Queen?" and "I think my favorite rendition of the Great Fairy Fountain is from Twilight Princess."

all you needed to do was reply one more time in that thread, and my response would've made a new page
reeeeeeeeeeeee

Anyways, yeah--I understand your gripes with hip hop as a genre, and I felt the same exact way until a few years ago, when I discovered that not ALL rappers just rap about money & hoes.

Kendrick in particular is what you'd call a "conscious rapper." He pretty much raps about anything that's on his mind, and often, it'll be laced with social or sometimes political commentary. His pet subjects include detailed anecdotes of his street life, the pros and cons of being famous, and appraisals of black culture in American society.

If he ever raps about violence, it's always in condemnation of it. If he raps about excess, it's always in a negative light. He always comes across as honest, and utilizes his artistry to paint a gritty, bona fide picture of reality in his verses.

Good Kid, M.A.A.D City is the album that shot him through the roof in terms of mainstream popularity, but the dark themes expressed within prevented it from being placed on the same shelf as, say, a Lil Wayne record. It's an autobiographical concept album exploring Kendrick's life as he was growing up on the streets of Compton, and all the ups and downs (mostly downs) that came with it.

It helps to understand, too, that Compton is the city that gave birth to a wide swath of important and influential hip hop artists--particularly N.W.A. (Ice Cube, Dr. Dre...)

There are songs on this album that cover mildly seedy subjects which may not appeal to you at face value, but I can assure you that they all play into the record's narrative and Kendrick himself does not condone any of it. He's just telling you his story, and from that, you can glean a number of positive messages to take away from it.

The production and beats are also super hot fire--that much can be said for certain. This is my favorite track off that record:

YouTube

"It go Halle Berry or hallelujah
Pick your poison, tell me what you doin'
Everybody gon' respect the shooter,
But the one in front of the gun lives forever."

Then he dropped To Pimp a Butterfly, which, two years after its release, has cemented itself as a modern-day masterpiece. It is the most important hip hop record of the decade. Not only has the production value been tenfolded, featuring a lot of jazzy, soul-inspired instrumentals and guest appearances by a wide menagerie of iconic artists, Kendrick's lyricism and artistry are just taken to the next level.

This might be controversial, but I think it also has the greatest opening track to an album... perhaps ever:

YouTube

I could talk about TPAB for paragraphs and paragraphs, but I'd just end up spoiling it. You could listen to either of these albums, because I highly recommend both. And then of course there's Damn, his new album that dropped last night, which wouldn't be a bad listen either--though I haven't fully digested it yet.

And even if you don't like them, that's cool--the important thing to understand here is that hip hop is a lot more than its mere stereotypes. Fortunately, Kendrick isn't the only conscious rapper out there. I could recommend you several more.