Introduction
I first got into hip hop around a decade ago and I can still remember the progression of getting into the often (and wrongly) maligned genre of music: my initial introductions, researching and listening to the classics, getting into jazz rap, branching out to the more left- field side of the genre and being blown away with instrumental hip hop. My present day listening habits of the genre are a little different; I love a lot of the modern stuff, but I’m waiting for something to break completely new ground and be something I love just as much as the 90s classics. In the meantime, I’ll revisit the masterworks and continue to delve into the albums I’ve yet to check out.
In my younger days of being an ignorant music fan, I (and many other of my friends) felt hip hop was talent deficient and that “real instruments” were needed to create “real music”. Admittedly, this was an extremely uninformed opinion, but I was only about 10 years old. Unfortunately, some music fans (often rockist types) still have this outlook, despite being mature music listeners.
Obviously I wasn’t completely oblivious to hip hop as a genre, but Rage Against the Machine became the gateway to the auditory drug of hip hop. Their mix of heavy metal, hip hop, funk and punk introduced me to both political music and rap. They became my favourite group for many years and I still re-visit them to this day. At first, the rapping captured my attention, realising that the way it perfectly fit the music meant that this style of vocal might be for me. Upon further inspection, everything about their music is based on hip hop; the politics, the DJ influenced guitar lines and the rhythm sections which perfectly pair the bass and beats.
Their influences subsequently became artists I had to hear, groups such as The Beastie Boys, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill were the artists I checked out first. At first, I only loved the rock-ier side of these groups (who themselves have huge crossover appeal to rock and alternative fans; Beastie Boys with their shouty vocal mannerisms and frequent use of guitar instrumentation, Public Enemy with their ‘heavy’, blaring wall of sound and their work with heavy metal group Anthrax, and Cypress Hill with their murky stoner stylings) but after a few listens, the sounds which were new to me became engrained in my mind. They set off the beginnings of a love for hip hop; its culture, the rapping, the beats, its history, the sampling and the genres which influenced it.
The Beastie Boys debut Licensed to Ill was a record which I loved at the time. The humour, the way they vibed off each other lyrically, the samples, the hardcore punk and rock influence and tales their chaotic lifestyle were all highly appealing. They were a group I knew to play instruments which was a bonus too, being the oblivious rockist that I was. Nowadays, I don’t really enjoy the group that much, although I can listen to Paul’s Boutique on the odd occasion and still love it. The most important thing I owe the Beastie Boys is that they were my introduction to hip hop, and I will love them forever because of that.
Next up were Cypress Hill. They were a group who were huge in the 90s, especially with their classic hit ‘Insane in the Brain’, so I investigated them and came out loving their first two records; their self-titled debut and Black Sunday, playing them non-stop for months on end. Again, the group had crossover appeal due to their samples from rock/metal (‘I Ain’t Goin’ Out Like That’ famously samples Black Sabbath’s ‘Wicked World’ and ‘The Wizard’). They intrigued me with their cartoonist take on gang violence, countless references to a certain controlled substance, gloomy beats and Hispanic, helium rap stylings. To this day, I still highly rate these two records, it’s just a shame they never matched them in quality since then.
Don’t Believe the Hype
Public Enemy plunged me into a world of hostile politics, Afrocentric mentalities and wall of sound production. It Takes A Nation Of Millions to Hold Us Back became the template of what I wanted to hear from hip hop: killer beats, aggression and commanding rapping (Chuck D makes you sit up and listen to what he’s saying his voice is that authoritative). It made me think, if this is considered one of the best, what on Earth could be better?
One Love
The classics were quickly acquired and I found each of them mind-blowing, although some weren’t immediate. This may seem ridiculous to some, but Nas’ Illmatic and The Wu-Tang Clan’s Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) required a few listens to truly love. Nowadays, I rate these as being in the top three hip hop albums of all time, and for good reason. Illmatic is effortlessly fluid, I can’t believe Nas was 18 when he released this, it’s a near implausible feat. He will never match these dizzying heights of quality ever again. Wu-Tang’s debut features huge amounts of talent, each rapper brings their unique strengths to the mic and the production is dark and mysterious with an almost lo-fi approach. I keep coming back to it after all these years and it introduced me to the groups’ fantastic solo albums as well.
The Notorious B.I.G.’s Ready To Die became an instant classic in my mind. Biggie’s flow in impeccable, his voice booms and cuts through the fantastic assortment of beats, his lyrical ability is unmatched, humorously telling tales of his Mafioso lifestyle. And of course, N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton was constantly playing. The beats were great, the ability of each MC was brilliant and it effectively created the genre of gangsta rap in its wake. It is a mainstay of rap and rightly so, its legacy and notorious status in music history means it’s the perfect candidate for someone interested in exploring the genre.
We Got the Jazz
Jazz rap introduced me to new sounds, new lyrical stances and new ideas of what hip hop music could be. The music and lyrics are a world away from gangsta rap (often deliberately in reactionary stance against it). The most obvious of the groups of this era was De La Soul, just look at that album art! They were the hippies of rap: quirky, alternative, positive and playful. They set off trends throughout the rap world and it led to the formation of so many stimulating and wonderful groups in the Native Tongues Posse. A Tribe Called Quest stood out so much to me. Their music was incredibly jazz influenced and records such as The Low End Theory (one of my favourite albums of all time) innovatively blurred lines both musically and culturally. Q Tip’s falsetto flow cuts through the minimalist yet heavy beats like butter (no pun intended), the double bass grooves throughout and the record manages to be diverse and cohesive. The follow up Midnight Marauders is impossible not to mention, featuring numerous classic tracks and kept to their unique take on rap. It is often the source of debate between Tribe fans; which is better, The Low End Theory or Midnight Marauders?
Around the same time, I was also digging The Pharcyde, a wacky group of musicians who created one of the best (dare I say the most underrated?) hip hop albums of all time. I loved the humour, the odd funky beats, the layers of sound and each MCs originality. Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth were also discovered at the time, whose merging of the east coast sound with jazz rap appealed to me hugely, especially on their album Mecca and the Soul Brother.
It was then the turn of Gang Starr to become a new fascination. This duo took a while to grow on me, Guru’s distinct monotone vocals didn’t capture my attention initially and I passed up on them for a while. It wasn’t until I gave Moment of Truth a few listens that I succumbed to their brilliant music. This epitomised the style of hip hop I now look for: originality, hard hitting, simple beats, record scratching, flourishes of jazz and brilliant rapping skills. Premier’s beats are just too good! The chemistry between him and Guru is unrivalled. Moment of Truth is one of the best albums of all time and for some reason, is slept on by many. I was lucky enough to see DJ Premier live a few years ago and it was a completely new experience to me, being the first hip hop concert I attended (it was also the screening of the film ‘The Art of Hip-Hop’ and a Q&A with Preemo himself followed it).
I’ve also got to mention EPMD’s Strictly Business. When, listening to them, they will sound extremely familiar. Their lines and hooks have been used in hip hop constantly ever since they appeared on the scene and other artists have looked to them for sampling influence. A fantastic and funky album which still sounds fresh despite being from the 80s, a time in rap which often sounds dated.
Microphone Mathematics
Jazz rap opened the door to its weirder siblings, experimental and abstract hip hop. These genres emphasise and eschew the weirder characteristics of hip hop; eclectic sampling and instrumentation, unconventional flow and lyrics, odd structures and use of electronic production. Quasimoto is perhaps the perfect example of this. A project and character of Madlib, he’s an animated giant yellow anteater looking thing with a high pitched voice who indulges in many frowned upon activities. It can get pretty weird.
Similarly, Kool Keith’s Dr. Octagon alter-ego is just as bizarre. He’s a time travelling alien surgeon who is often murderous, barbaric and versed in malpractices. It’s a surreal sci-fi trip into dark humoured escapades. Albums like The Unseen and Dr. Octagonecologyst proved that hip hop could be creative, original and conceptual whilst retaining a sense of humour.
Just as conceptual but nevertheless more serious, Deltron 3030 created a dystopian rap opera; think of films which follow robotic, futuristic templates such as Brazil or Blade Runner yet in terms of rap music. The suppression of human rights and expression is the main theme, with MC Del the Funky Homosapien taking the lead as a dissenting protagonist. The track ‘3030’ is a symphonic rap masterpiece that rises to dizzying heights of excellence. The ambition of this album amazes me, as does the production (if you’re a fan of Gorillaz then do not pass on this album, you will immediately hear their style in 3030; Damon Albarn produced many of the tracks and Del has featured on many of Gorillaz songs as well) and narrative.
Hip hop’s mysterious masked figure MF DOOM is one of the most well-known from the scene. His distinct monotone flow and cartoon/comic book influenced samples define his music. It’s fun, creative and his older work is almost always amazing. Mm…Food introduced me to the weird and wonderful world of this sub-genre and I haven’t turned back ever since. The beats seem lively and animated and DOOM’s flow remains interesting for its entirety. It would be impossible to discuss both MF DOOM and Madlib without mentioning the cult classic Madvillainy. It’s the product of two goliaths from the underground at their prime. It might take a while to get your head round the seemingly off-beat rhythms and free-flow rhymes, but once they click, it becomes unstoppably enjoyable. The tracks are short and sweet and they all break ground in their own unique ways. It’s the album which defines experimental, abstract and underground hip hop and proves that Stones Throw is one of the best labels out there.
Edan is a bit different from the other artists mentioned in this segment. His album Beauty and the Beat is basically psychedelic hip hop, sampling mostly from 1960s pop and rock. The sampling makes the whole thing sound colourful and upbeat and at 34 minutes, it’s a short and sweet listen which is a huge advantage for me personally, I feel too many hip hop albums are overlong and feature undesired skits. Beauty and the Beat sounds like if the Beastie Boys went back in time and recorded Paul’s Boutique in the flower power era.
Lightworks
As a results of adoring the experimental and abstract side of rap, it directly led me to instrumental hip hop. This type of music has a sole emphasis on the beats, meaning that the music has to be spectacular to keep the listener engaged throughout. Endtroducing… by British turntablist DJ Shadow is the magnum-opus of the genre. By carefully layering beats and samples, he created an album of mood-provoking soundscapes that remarkably form a cohesive record. By entirely focusing on the construct of sampling, it writes-off the naysayers who claim it “isn’t artistic” and it frequently features in best ever album lists. Around the same time, I was also into similar trip-hop artists such as Massive Attack, Portishead and Tricky yet I feel that Endtroducing… is the ultimate homage to hip hop.
Likewise, prolific and influential producer J Dilla gave his last gift to the world with 2005’s Donuts. Whilst DJ Shadow’s work forms a more trip-hop sound, Donuts is pure underground hip hop. It showcases J Dilla’s non-conformist stance on beat patterns and sampling, whilst also being a tribute to his diverse array influences which include jazz, funk and soul. Astonishingly, Donuts was made in hospital whilst Dilla was suffering from an incurable blood disease and crafted from records and drum machines which is Stones Throw companions brought him. The album was released three days before his death and it screams with passion for music.
The compilation of DOOM’s beats always gets played. It is the ultimate revision soundtrack; no lyrics means no distractions, the beats are obviously entertaining, humorous and quirky and its plus-3 hour length kept me going through those tedious studying times. It encompasses DOOM’s beats from his various projects and shows his talent as a highly original producer.
Nujabes‘ chilled out take on jazz and hip hop also has to be mentioned. Metaphorical Music is extremely relaxed and calming. It’s dreamy and colourful, perfect for summer listening.
Part Two
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