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Rap, Does Anyone Feel Like I Do?
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Posted by: N.W.A_Kid
OK I'm here to rant and rave. I'm 19 years old and I started listening to rap on June 12, 1988. My cousin Rodney got me into it. The first song I ever heard was Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A, this being my favorite rap group of all time and still is. The problem is, I can't stand the new skool. Rap was always about life, death, and what's going on in the hood. Now it's all about money, rappers are phony nowadays, and it's not the same. All I listen to is the stuff as far back as 1976 (the sugarhill gang), through 2002 but only if it's from older artists (DJ Quik, Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Snoop, Ice Cube, MC Ren, Run DMC, Public Enemy, etc.). Does anyone feel like I do that we should go back to the old skool ways of rap instead of the new skool? It makes me so mad!!!!
"This is my definiton of rap R= real A= As P= Possible. Back in the day gangsta rap showed us what's going on in the hood, and all of that is still happening today, but now most phony rappers/entertainers are ignoring it and not helping the needy. All they care about is money, rap was always about life, now it's pitiful. If I could go back in time and stop phony entertainers from comin on the scene, I would do it in a heartbeat by whatever means."
~N.W.A_Kid
Posted by: redwench
rap is a style of musical performance. the subject matter is open to the artists whims. you wouldnt suggest that country music stick to the lost woman/unfaithful man subject matter would you?
most of the current rappers arent ganstas, and gansta rap wouldnt be real for them. so you have to make up your mind, do you want all rap to be gansta rap, or do you want it "real"?
money is a big part of life, theyre rapping about what they know. if you dont enjoy it, simply dont listen to it. i happen to enjoy the older stuff myself. but keeping it real means that you do what you know, not fake stuff.
Posted by: SKYHN
Dont you know? DMX has killed like 20 people! 
Posted by: Outlaw
 Quote:
Originally posted by N.W.A_Kid
Now it's all about money, rappers are phony nowadays, and it's not the same. All I listen to is the stuff as far back as 1976 (the sugarhill gang), through 2002 but only if it's from older artists (DJ Quik, Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Snoop, Ice Cube, MC Ren, Run DMC, Public Enemy, etc.).
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If you don't listen to new rappers, how do you know what they're rapping about? Some of those new rappers might be crap, others are not.
Alot of songs from new rappers are really good, but if you don't listen to it, you'll never know.
I listen to everything I can get my hands on, alot of it isn't worth listening to but there's always a chance I might like it. There's only one way to find out though.
Also alot of songs you see on tv are the biggest crap you can find on their album, like they do it on purpose.
Anyway, I bet I could give you some "real" lyrics and some new lyrics from a "phony" rapper and you couldn't even tell the difference without hearing it.
Posted by: Gunslinger
Rap, or hip-hop as I would call it depending on the context, to me, has more appeal in the music as opposed to the lyrics. Sure, some of the rhymes are interesting and creative, but for me, if I'm listening to hip-hop (usually at a party or a club, where dancing is involved), if it's got a good beat, then I'm for it.
In a way, I guess that genre of music requires (once again, for me) an accompanying activity. I've never found myself just listening to that style of music just for the sake of listening.
So, back to the original topic, the music in terms of now and then doesn't show any difference to me lyrically, because I don't pay that much 'close' attention to the lyrics. Now actual musical styles, instead of lyrical styles, that would be something I could discuss.
Posted by: Spider
Most new rap and hip-hop sucks. I wish more than a handful of people would still rhyme their lyrics.
Posted by: Canis Lupus
there's too much fake angst in the lyrics of today's rap and hiphop ... some are just an excuse to say f**k several times in a song ... I never really liked that musical art form very much ...
the last one I really liked was Gangsta's Paradise, and that was only because it was in a really good movie, and because there is actual melody in that song...
Posted by: Outlaw
Quote:
Originally posted by Canis Lupus
the last one I really liked was Gangsta's Paradise, and that was only because it was in a really good movie, and because there is actual melody in that song...
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Yes, lack of melody ruins alot of songs.
Posted by: AK47
Only recent rap I heard was some Jay-Z (I think thats who it was) song in which he 'sampled' Five To One by The Doors. It sucked. Big.
And the funny thing was when a Doors fan brought it to the attention of Mr. Robby Krieger himself in a recent chat-- Robby had no clue about it......nor did The Doors manager, Danny Suggerman...
Posted by: AngstMerchant
Quote:
Originally posted by Canis Lupus
there's too much fake angst in the lyrics of today's rap and hiphop ...
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You better check that shit, niggah, cuz I'm on the real, yo!! 
NWA Kid, I'm so feelin ya. The old skool style was all about real life and where hip-hop came from. Now it's just a glamourous product and the realest thing new M.C.s talk about is what they think hip-hop can do for them. There are, as with all things, a few exceptions but, overall, the new skool is wack. That's why last week I spent about $70 on hip-hop CDs from before 1995.
Posted by: Amall
Quote:
Originally posted by Canis Lupus
art form very much ...
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if you can call it art...
Posted by: The Armpit
Rap, like everything else has evolved. Im not saying that i like the direction its gone, but i cant stop it and neither can you. If the majority of people didnt like the new rap, then it wouldnt be around, but obviously they do like, so i just guess your gonna have to either bite the bullet and listen to it (the new stuff), or keep on keeping on with the old(er) stuff. Besides, wenchys right, money is what is real today
Posted by: Canis Lupus
Quote:
Originally posted by The Armpit
so i just guess your gonna have to either bite the bullet and listen to it (the new stuff), or keep on keeping on with the old(er) stuff.
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or you can just NOT listen to rap music, period...
Posted by: N.W.A_Kid
O.K. Angst you are my new best friend!
Anyway, New rap isn't real. Yes rap is rap about what you know, but everyone knows about money. I've been in the rap game for 14 years so by now I should have a record deal! I actually grew up seeing all the gangsta s*** and I grew up in the suburbs, but a lot of my friends came straight out of the ghetto, so I was exposed to it.
That is why I still feel so strongly about gangsta rap. Rap should not have evolved past that time period. Now I am not saying we should like those days again because the streets have definately calmed down, or most of them (Compton is still pretty wild believe it or not). However, we should still keep rappin that way until the streets are totally calm. The reason rappers rap this way and I've been told this by about 150 different people from different areas, is they rap for the ladies because they know the ladies will go out and buy the cd. To me that's selling out, there are only a few rappers who haven't sold out since they started a rap career. Project Pat, Dr. Dre, Eminem, 2pac (even in his unreleased stuff it's all the same), the Outlawz, 3 6 Mafia, DMX, and Do Or Die. I'm sure there are more but I don't wanna fill up 3 pages.
Granted there should be songs for the clubs otherwise there would be no clubs. One club hit is fine. I purchased Nelly's first CD just to see what he was about and he was garbage. He mentions street sweepers but I can mention those too. However, as I hate to admit this, 5 of out 6 of the ORIGINAL N.W.A members were phony. Yes there were 6, for those of you who don't know, The Arabian Prince was a member before they made their first album.
Eazy-E was the only gangsta/hustler/drug dealer of the group. Ice Cube finished high school and went to College, Dre, Ren, and Yella were good too....BUT, they did something totally new and that's why I give them props, but they were also the first rap group I heard.
In conclusion (ha sounds like an essay), After the time of disco and bubble gum rap came Gangsta. Gangsta finally brought the light to people about what was really going on. It was reality. Money is not reality, it's an object that causes greed and problems. To me rappin about money is not real, rappin about life and what happens to people is. I know the quote "If It Don't Make Dollas, Then It Don't Make Sense" applies to many things, but rap should never be about money. This problem not only applies to rap, but rock, country, pop, and all other forms. Everything is not about music, but money. Look at Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez, too really ugly women who can't sing at all making millions, when somebody like Michelle Branch who can really sing, is not making nearly enough. Something is wrong with that picture, and I know deep down all music lovers have to agree.
"There is no music anymore. Music might as well just be dollar bills rubbing up against each other."
~N.W.A_Kid
Posted by: TotalRecall
Well...this is a story all about how my life got turned upside down...
Posted by: N.W.A_Kid
In reponse to the last post before my second.
There is nothing wrong with bubble gum rap. I listen to stuff like Whodini, Whistle, old Will Smith (Fresh Prince stuff), U.T.F.O, Roxanne Shante, CIA, World Class Wreckin' Cru, because it was innocent. Will Smith just grew up and had to change, now he sucks. He should've quit a long time ago.
"I love my patch!"
~My girlfriend Beth 
Posted by: redwench
lets see: dr dre did disco, hes no more gangsta than i am. eminem is a fine rapper, but hes no gangsta either. tupac is dead, and has been for many years, hes not relevant. the other groups i dont know enough about to comment, but i doubt theyre much different.
someone rappin bout the hood doesnt make it real. its an act. lets not get confused about it. poor gangstas rarely get record deals, even if they happen to have talent. no one wants to deal with felons, including record companies.
oh, and spears and lopez may or may not have talent, but by no stretch of the imagination are they ugly. 
Posted by: N.W.A_Kid
Dre wasn't a gangsta, I said that when I mentioned N.W.A. He didn't do disco, he was bubble gum. Dre joined the Cru in 84, I've got all of their hits. The only one that resemble any disco and is more of R&B is Turn Off The Lights, then Dre did N.W.A. Yes, Eminem is no gangsta but, he talks about glocks and stuff because he's been through it. Remember, he grew up in Detroit, and Detroit is no joke. He may not have killed anyone, but don't doubt that he's never fired a gat or scrapped before. I could say I've done a driveby but I would be lying. However I can comment and having an AK in your face and the terror it really holds. You do not have to rap about glocks to make it gangsta. All you have to do is rap about the gangsta stuff you've seen. Eminem raps about killing bullies and his mom but we know it's a joke. Take a look at his new album, it's all about his life. 89% of the material on his new album is about his experiences he really had. Cube never shot at anyone but he saw enough of it to rap from someone's point of view, explaining what really happens, just like Eminem does now. Eminem is the voice of kids who never had anything, and he tells you that. Nelly claims he's from St. Louis, so what? I wear a Compton hat and people assume I'm from there. But I'm not a poser. It's for respect from the real rappers like Eazy, Dre, Cube, Ren, Yella, Arabian Prince, Ron De Vu, D.O.C, and many more. Take a look at P. Diddy, the most PHONY rapper ever. But when he's confronted by people, he says "Oh I'm not a rapper, I'm an entertainer." Then he shouldn't claim to be a thug on his records. Yes he had a gun in his car, but I've had so many weapons in mine too and I'm no gangsta.
Anyway, this is all opinionated and nobody will totally agree. All I know is gangsta rap will live as long as I do.
"When I die, Gangsta rap dies with me."
~N.W.A_Kid
Posted by: Outlaw
Quote:
Originally posted by N.W.A_Kid
Take a look at P. Diddy, the most PHONY rapper ever.
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Hahaha, couldn't have said it better myself
Although I do have a few songs with him in it...
What about Nas and Xzibit? They're damn good but I don't see them in your list 
Posted by: AK47
The stuff being said here about rap can be said about any kind of music. Its called change. It happens.
Posted by: redwench
eminem didnt grow up in detroit. he grew up in a white suburb. warren, i do believe. its like saying someone is from LA. not only is LA itself rather large, with crime free areas, but it has a lot of suburbs. yes, hes real in a way, he performs about his life and his fantasies. hes never shot a gun anywhere but a firing range, and probably never seen one shot either.
and in the 70's, dr. dre did indeed do disco. when he got popular in the early 80s, this was commented on quite heavily. im not talking any form of rap, i mean disco.
these people are all performers. they get paid to sing, not to be a "gansta".
Posted by: Spider
I say I live in Denver when technically I live about ten miles or so south and west of it. Who cares. It's still the greater metro area. Just like with where Eminem lived.
Posted by: redwench
the point is, youre nowhere near the denver "ghetto". homey.
Posted by: N.W.A_Kid
In outlaw's defense, I grew up in a suburb too. However, the ghettos in east and west Cleveland are all around me, and I know what it's like to grow up on syrup sandwiches and why people slang rocks to survive. I never had to live it myself, but to visit the ghetto and see people beating each other down in the middle of the street in broad daylight, or to hear shots while you're sitting in the house doing nothing, it's crazy, and being a suburban boy just observing first hand, it's crazy how people and my friends can go on like it's an everyday thing! I'm no gangsta, just like Dre, but both Dre and myself have seen things, although I'm sure Dre has seen far more than I ever will. Hey Outlaw, if you read this. Did you ever notice that every football team belongs to a ghetto city?
So Dre did a little disco, but you see as time went on and after hanging with Eazy he changed. He beat that Barnes lady, he got shot twice, and started getting into a lot of trouble. To me that's gangsta enough, you don't always have to kill or shoot someone. But beating people up or getting beat up by people doesn't make you a gangsta. If you would've watched Jenny Jones and seen the replica Eminem driver's liscense from Detroit that Eminem wannabes bought, and then typed in the address, you would see it lands right in the heart of the ghetto. Nobody in the suburbs could be that poor. I made more money than my g/f's dad and even their family with 2 parents and 3 kids weren't that poor. If he grew up in the suburbs, his mom must have had a LOT of money.
"...But some deserve a slap, because they put down the strap when they hear "that's a rap" and that's real."
~MC Ren of N.W.A
Posted by: Canis Lupus
<offtopic>
As Seinfeld would say: "What is the deal with the ghetto?"
You want to see a dangerous neighborhood, go to the West Bank... women and children get killed out there...
There's nothing special about the ghetto ... it's sesame street, nowadays...
</offtopic>
Posted by: N.W.A_Kid
Canis you do strike up a point. As I said before, the streets really have calmed down. Compton however is still just as wild, and so are Watts and Inglewood. I think the reason the ghetto is so popular is because kids who never rebelled or lived that life find it so cool that they want to try it to, only most of them never do or get killed before they know how to adapt. I used to be one of those, then I started hanging around in the ghetto and realized it's better to just be myself. However, I still find the ghetto a lot more exciting than my home town, and not because of murder, but because everyone knows everyone and everyone on the same block is cool. It's a small world really.
Posted by: Erekose
so wait the only way you can rap, and the only way it can be 'real' is if it is and you are 'gansta'? so you have to be poor or a drug dealer or have shot someone/been shot at? wtf?!? uh sure thing... lemme go beat up some old lady and 'slang some rock' get my 'gat' and shoot someone. otherwise i cant listen to rap, or worse yet be a rapper. i wouldnt be 'real' i must be a violent sociopathic criminal to be real.
damn man ive eaten wish sandwiches, im sure most people have now and then. do todays musicians 'sell out'? youre damn right they do. they are paid to sell records. you want real music? go see a local band grind it out on the club tours. find some band who sells cds they burned themselves out of the back of the drummers buick. find some kid banging on pots and buckets in the subway. thats real music, all the rest is just someone trying to sell as many records as they can. thats not to say they dont still have a message, just that they will try and sell as many records as possible. maybe its better they do 'sell out' to sell more records, especially if they get their message out
Posted by: Spider
Wack? You gots to listens to some of this, J.
Posted by: Fred
Just thought that I’d hit this post with some wu-tang. I like them, each to their own.
Wu-Tang Dynasty
wulyricz
Posted by: Outlaw
Quote:
Originally posted by N.W.A_Kid
In outlaw's defense
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Umm... my defense? I'm not the one that said Eminem lived in a suburb, although I do agree with it, he even says so in his songs.
Quote:
Originally posted by N.W.A_Kid
Hey Outlaw, if you read this. Did you ever notice that every football team belongs to a ghetto city?
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I think I live just a "little bit" too far from these ghetto cities to notice something like that...
Posted by: Shalome
Quote:
Originally posted by N.W.A_Kid
As I said before, the streets really have calmed down. Compton however is still just as wild, and so are Watts and Inglewood.
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No, no they're not. Just as hyped by "gansta" rappers, though, because they're well known for their reputation amongst the white, middle-class kids buying gangsta rap albums. 
Freakin' NELLY came from East St. Louis, and he's not exactly known for being a thug (is he?). Want a rundown of the crime sheet from this weekend so far from our neck of the woods? (Angst and I be chillin on the EAST side, yo! Okay, so I'm not up on hip-hop, and we're just east of the east side, but hey, it was funny in my head...)
Posted by: AngstMerchant
Uh, she's chillin'. I'm lampin'. . . .
*mumbles something about 'wack-ass cracker'*
Posted by: Spider
hhaaaaaaaaahahahaa
Posted by: N.W.A_Kid
Believe me, Compton hasn't changed that much. Just a few months ago one of the MANY drivebys on one of Suge Knight's people happened at a local gas station. Crenshaw high school won't let kids do the C-walk at proms and homecomings because they are afraid of blood members retaliating. It's still wild. Watts might have toned down to the Compton level, but believe me things aren't all pretty, the west still raps the same, although you never hear it. It might be hard for people to believe me being that I'm from Ohio, but I've been up on this for 14 years. We still have many places that even black people can't go into with their own.
There are many places I can go now that I couldn't go 10 years ago, but there are still many in Cleveland that I can't, and probably never will be able to. And yes Nelly is from St. Louis, but look at the time period he's in. He's in a period where killing people for their shoes and stuff is old skool, now everyone is too interested in making money to live like that, although there are many that still do. Anyway this is my last post, this is getting to be too big of a discussion. Those who feel like I do, hey that's great. Those that don't, you're always entitled to your own opinions and I won't knock it.
"Cuz I carry a big stick, for ****** who never shot a bb gun always talkin about trigger."
~ MC Ren of N.W.A
Posted by: Cheese
St. Louis and East St. Louis...enourmous difference
Posted by: AngstMerchant
Quote:
Originally posted by N.W.A_Kid
He's in a period where killing people for their shoes and stuff is old skool, now everyone is too interested in making money to live like that, although there are many that still do.
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Yeah, killing for status symbols was just a fad. . . .more like a hobby than a desperate and grisly manifestation of economic disparity and urban decay.
N.W.A., now that you have gone out of your way to tell people "what's up in Compton", I'll let you in on a little secret: Canis Lupus and a good number of the moderators he has appointed to this site all live in L.A. They drive through Compton all the time, on the highway, of course. Anyway, you were saying??
:edit: Only Canis Lupus lives in LA.
Posted by: Shalome
A guy Angst and I know has a good friend who teaches in Compton. He was telling me how hard the city has worked to change its image, and how it's still not a great area, but it's not some mythical land ruled by drive-by-shooting-ordering music producers and multimillionaire gangsta rapper drug dealers... According to my friend, Compton is now actually mostly Hispanic and Asian. He says it's hilarious how last fall for some celebration, they hung banners from streetlights saying "Autumn in Compton" complete with autumn-themed falling oak leaves... when there's only palm trees to be seen.
Not that I'd want to live there or anything.
But hey, gangsta rap is a cool little fantasy world. Just like raves. Or heroin.
Posted by: Canis Lupus
I don't drive by Compton too much, simply because there is really nothing interesting to see over there...
Altho I do drive by Inglewood almost everyday on my way back from work (when I'm avoiding the traffic at the 405...)
Those areas have more Latinos in them than African Americans ... This is judging by the signs I see by the side of the road (85% of which are in spanish), as well as the "homeys" I see waiting for the busses...
Posted by: N.W.A_Kid
I know Inglewood isn't the same because my old gym teacher from high school has a cousin that lives there, and he's white. I said a lot of places have calmed down, but I didn't say all of them. I'm sure Long Beach has made a big change too. Some of them were never really that bad to begin with, as somebody said before a lot of places are hyped up by rap stars. Look at E. 99th and St. Claire in Cleveland, that's where Bone Thugs N Harmony are from (20 minutes from me! yay!) anyway, someone like me who's white would be looked at very strangely there, but nobody would jack you if you wandered in, they would wait until you leave your car alone....
As far as Compton goes, I guess it's just now the way a lot of cities are nowadays, bad things happen and people overexaggerate, and Canis, if you could do me a huge favor, the next time you are near Compton or somewhere surrounding the area, find out what's up with Downlow Bunaglo and see why they're so far behind on their Compton clothing orders!!!
Posted by: Digitalphatman
So we have to have grown up in the ghetto/bad area to be able to rap and be "real" about.
Hell i live in cleveland close to what you could call a ghetto or bad neighborhood, so i gues si could qualify to rap.
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