Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with music and rap

HELP! Need Wedding Playlist!!

madmamasmith — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:35:50 -0800

HELP! I am (was) using my ipod instead of a DJ for my wedding that is in 10 days and it just CRASHED! It synched to my computer without warning and now all my wedding playlists are GONE! I'm a dope and only very recently started using an external hard drive...long story short I need help to rebuild my wedding playlists. With the stress of the wedding planning I cant even remember to poop, let alone the collection of music ive been building for years!! I would appreciate ANY and ALL recommendations but I need the most help with the dance portion. I love all kinds of music from all eras and I want to make sure there are some dance hits from my school days ie TLC, SWV etc but I also want to play some newer hits and I am suffering serious brain fart. I'm also 6 months pregnant so I have baby brain as they say.

So far my playlists are thus (in a nutshell)

Preceremony/seating:

sun kil moon, joni mitchell, elvis, alasdair roberts, some instrumental stuff etc., peter gabriel

Dinner/Cocktail:

cocteau twins, yo la tango, van morrison, fleetwood mac, sufjan stevens, nina simone, otis redding, nuetral milk hotel

Dancing:

MGMT, MIA, Soldia Boy, JAson Derulo, Kool & the gang, outkast, madonna, pssion pit, cure, aha, TI, iggy pop, peter bjorn and john, daftpunk, the knife, george michael.......

Just for a minute, how do you think I feel about what's been going on?

cashman — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:21:20 -0800

Looking for rap songs with repeating sped up vocal samples from almost an entire verse or multiple verses of a song. That don't involve Kanye West. I'm looking for raps like these, where artists use a sped up sample (a couple of sentences or different spliced in verses from a song) early and often throughout a track, with great success.

-Royce 5'9 - Give up the guns employs entire verses from The Buoys - Give up your guns.
-Black Milk - Losing Out samples big chunks of verses from The Alan Parsons Project - Let's Talk About Me.
-Tanya Morgan - Stay Tuned uses a lot of sections from Barbra Steisand & Barry Gibb - Guilty again and again.

I love the recontextualizing, and I'm looking to make a mixtape of these. It's those rap songs where you listen to it so many times and its so well done that finally you have to find and listen to the song was sampled. Then playing the original song has some kind of audio stereoscopic effect where you hear the original in real life while the new creation plays along in your head. Then eventually you make playlists with the original followed by the recreation.

No Kanye please, I am familiar with his work.

Shameless music that'll grab our son and your daughter in the arms of a jungle, animal instinct - massteria!

TochterAusElysium — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:29:05 -0800

What's this kind of talking/singing music called, and what else is like it? I particularly like a kind of music that I can't really name, as it spans several genres, and I'd love to find more like it. Generally speaking, it's almost like proto-rap; more spoken or chanted than sung, usually with elaborate non-repeating lyrics. It's hard to describe (for me, at least).

Some examples include Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan, I Do the Rock by Tim Curry, Modern Major General by Gilbert & Sullivan, I've Been Everywhere by Hank Snow, Trouble in River City from The Music Man, Come On-A My House by Rosemary Clooney (kind of), and so on.

Anyone know of a hiphop song that goes "I smoke marijuana, listen to Nirvana"?

ascetic — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:05:12 -0800

I heard a song on the radio, and I only remember two lines. The lines are "I smoke marijuana, listen to Nirvana." It was a hip-hop song, I'm pretty sure the artist is unsigned. Anyone know?

Looking for Country and Rap/Hip Hop songs NOT in 3/4 or 4/4 time...

querty — Mon, 18 May 2009 13:18:50 -0800

Looking for Country and Rap/Hip Hop songs NOT in 3/4 or 4/4 time... Bonus points if you can find me a Gangsta-Rap song in crazy time signatures. Is there such thing?

What song is sampled in this Wu Tang cut?

hpliferaft — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:00:27 -0800

What's being sampled in Wu Tang's "Rock Steady"? What other songs are like this? Here's the song in question.

What is the original song?

And, if you can, please recommend more songs I'd like.

Something To Ride To

cashman — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 08:34:51 -0800

Trying to find good music with end-of-the-song refrain loops. I'm trying to find good songs like Tupac's "Lost Souls" where at the end of the song the refrain gets repeated again and again. Scarface & The Product also have a song called "G Type" that is an ideal type of this. The last 45 seconds of the song is the music playing and the repeat of the refrain and it sounds like it could go on forever.

Sia's "Where I Belong" does this as well - the last 1:42 is the refrain repeated again and again, sung in different ways.

I might loop the file so it goes on for a half hour, I'm not sure yet, but I'm looking for good songs like this.

I'm wanting to avoid metal, country or r&b if possible. Whatcha got for me hive mind?

Bassy rap music plz

oxala — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:31:41 -0800

Recommendations for upbeat 90's rap music driven by strong, prominent bass lines? Stuff like this and this. I'd prefer mainstream sounding 90's stuff with similar production to the two linked tracks, but modern or older examples are fine. Must be high tempo and the lesser known the better - one hit wonders and obscure stuff are great. Cheers!

grimace

plexi — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 13:38:49 -0800

lil wayne's tha carter III got an 8.7 on Pitchfork, and made Rolling Stone's #3 album of 2008. I've listened to the album several times, and although I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about modern music, I just don't get it. Why do reviewers love this album?

I always hated campers

aheckler — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 21:04:51 -0800

I'm looking for an old rap song about Counter-Strike for nostalgia's sake. The only lyrics I can remember are "that b*tch is camping the hosties". I've searched YouTube and so forth, but no dice. Halp!

Give me knowledge with a side of head nodding

reenum — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:48:06 -0800

I need intelligent hiphop/rap with good beats. Any recommendations? I was a huge hip hop head back in the day. I love a lot of '90s west coast rap with phat beats. The misogyny and gunplay is a bit much for someone my age though. Some of my favorites in terms of good beat/bad content artists are Snoop, Dre, Nelly, DJ Quik, E-40, Ice Cube, Mack 10, WC.

The problem I have with a lot of underground or intelligent hiphop is the lack of good beats. Some lyricists I love who often have horrible beats are Ras Kass, Saafir, and Aceyalone.

Yesterday, I picked up Talib Kweli's "Eardrum" and it was exactly the sort of thing I love. Intelligent lyrics with slammin' beats. I also liked Hieroglyphics back in the day. Blackalicious and the rest of Quannum are awesome too. I'm not a big Jurassic 5 fan, and I've seen them mentioned a lot in previous threads.

I've checked the other hip hop related threads and none of them seemed to directly ask this question. I'm open to all styles of hip hop as long as it meets the preceding criteria.

Thanks!

Rap Emcee Drills and Freestyles

cashman — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:06:51 -0800

Best live rap freestyles or cyphers with multiple rappers? NOT BATTLES I'm looking for the best live show rap freestyles (not battles) featuring multiple rappers. One of the best is Mr. Lif's 12:44 long "Freestyle Session" (featuring Akbar and Akrobatik). Stuff like Supernat's performances on the Wake Up Show is great, but I'm looking for the best of groups of rappers freestyling live.

Passing the mic back and forth at a live show, doing themes, or even kicking the occasional written verse on stage - I just want to hear some incredible rap freestyles performed live.

Rappin' to the choir

jammy — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:50:40 -0800

Tell me of your favorite hip hop joints that feature a gospel style chorus. I'm not interested in Christian hip hop per se. What I am interested in is hip hop artists who have used upbeat, hand-clappin', foot-stompin', multi-voice, gospel choir-style refrains in their songs.

Held Down by De La Soul & Get By by Talib Kweli are pretty much perfect examples of what I'm looking for.

Basically I need James Taylor to cover a Jay Z song.

allkindsoftime — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 12:18:01 -0800

Best nerdy white band / artist covers of rap songs (the more offensive the better). OK so a friend recently played The Gourds' cover of Gin & Juice for me and it was clear that its pretty much her favorite thing ever, and I'd like to make her a little birthday mix-CD. Here's what else I have so far:

Jonathan Coulton - Baby Got Back
Nina Gordon - Straight out of Compton
Dynamite Hack - Boyz in the Hood

This question had a few answers that helped, but I need more of this specific type if ya'll have them. Bonus points for any suggestions including links to where I can buy / DL the songs.

hip hop roun' da world

jammy — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:17:37 -0800

Being the ever-spreading global phenomenon that it is, it gets harder & harder to stay on top of all the amazing hiphop music that is coming out from all corners of the globe. Please to tell me about your recent favorite international hiphop acts. some qualifications

:: Here's some folks i'm already familiar with-- MC Solaar, IAM, K'naan, Control Machete, Tang Ren Ti, DJ Krush, Asian Dub Foundation, Nesian Mystik, La Mala Rodriguez, Telmary Diaz, Freedom, Zimbabwe Legit, Wakimbizi, ...

:: I'm particularly interested in acts that incorporate indigenous musical traditions into their hiphop, a la K'naan or Freedom.

:: I really don't care how hiphop they are... a little thrown in for some extra flava is fine, a full-blown purist is also good.

:: I'm mostly interested in stuff from places outside the US or UK.

:: Yah, I know that there's some good threads earlier (e.g. on French & Spanish hiphop, but they're a couple years old & I'm hoping to catch some fresh acts.

Thanks y'all!

Suggestions for "urban espionage" tunes

angry.polymath — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:52:02 -0800

MusicFilter: help me find some "spy rap" songs! So imagine a film like The Bourne Identity, with Ice Cube playing the lead.

I'm looking for songs that would fit in such a film; techno, bass-and-synth heavy, espionage and action overtones, but with rap lyrics and breakbeat themes. Sort of Hybrid-meets-50Cent.

Suggestions from the hive mind?

Please recommend happy rap songs.

AllieTessKipp — Thu, 22 May 2008 21:31:32 -0800

Does anyone know of any happy, zippy, upbeat rap that I can run to? My last question about music made me realize there is a lot of stuff out there I've never heard. Is there happy rap? ;) I am not educated much about music. I took a music appreciation class in college. I learned I like Chariots of Fire and Ode to Joy. And Amazing Grace (So far I am the only Wiccan I've met who likes Amazing Grace) They did not have any rap to listen to in that class.

I will listen to almost anything. No machinery or industrial noises, please, and the words must be something I can understand.

I have two dogs here. One is unflappable and one would rather live on a sheep farm in the 18th century. Nothing that would scare 18th Century Dog, please. :)

Please Rock My Boat

cashman — Fri, 02 May 2008 05:00:57 -0800

Trying to find similar songs like these: electronic-ish with math-like beats. I love electronic or other genre songs with beats that seem almost mathematical. They often have numerous sequences and parts weaving in and out.

I put songs that exhibit this stuff like Dntel's Rock My Boat and Erin Lang's Happy to See You on this muxtape. Listen for a few seconds and see if any similar songs come to mind. I'm looking for specific songs rather than artist recommendations or instrumental stuff.

Got any songs for me?

Unhip to the hip hip hop

carbide — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 03:45:43 -0800

A rap education for an picky atheist feminist weaned on indie, punk and new wave - primarily music but books/essays would be good too. I'm finding lately that I really like listening to rap while working, but I know so little about it and could do with some recommendations. I'd love to have some kind of broad knowledge, and also to find some avenues worth exploring that might lead to stuff I love. Discovery by myself is fun but it's a bit aimless right now and it's too broad a question to be finding much help via Google - I didn't find a past question with the same scope, either.

Here's a bunch of background information:

- I really, really like Run DMC (especially 'It's Tricky') and Public Enemy, and have always loved how 'Rappers' Delight' sounds
- I know the Beastie Boys are typical overlap territory here but they irritate me
- Slick production doesn't do a whole lot for me
- I listen to indie, punk (hardcore and folk-punk), 60s garage, some country, some blues and bluegrass, and I'm tiptoeing into electronica. For reference, here's a recent muxtape.
- Crossover with those genres isn't really what I'm looking for, though
- I don't like reggae, smooth jazz, r&b, anything with slick female singing vocals
- I don't need it to line up idealogically 100% with me at all
- That said, proselytising or new ageyness reeeally turn me off

Thanks!

what are some excellent places on then internet to talk about music?

messiahwannabe — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 06:43:51 -0800

i want to find some good music forums online. i'm a musician/dj, and i live in the 3rd world. thus, i dont get to hear a lot of new music in random places (clubs, stores, record shops, radio stations etc) like i would in a big city or college town. the best way i've found to keep up with various music scenes, as well as finding good random recommendations, is through music forums, such as this one:

forums.SOHH.com

however, i'm pretty dissapointed with the results i'm getting from google. the above forum seems ok, but none of the ones i've found seem as good as the few i used to hang out on (before they changed for various reasons)

i figure it's probably a word-of-keyboard thing, so i'm asking you guys if you can recommend some good ones. i'm specifically looking for a good forum for each of the following genres/concepts:

1. rap/r&b
2. dance music (house/electro/minimal/d&b etc)
3. indie/alternative
4. world music
5. professional musicians talking about their jobs

ideally they would cover both popular and obscure/edgy ends of the genre spectrum (though one for mainstream and one for edgy would be ok) and be populated by interesting, friendly, knowledgable people with better stuff to do than start flame wars or spam me with ads.

i'm sure they're out there! any ideas?

ps. i did google "genrename forum" for each genre, and wasn't too impressed after digging around in the sites towards the top of the results - i basically spent an entire evening googling, clicking and bookmarking, but didn't come up with any forums that really wowed me. though if i'm being too hasty to dismiss something obvious, feel free to let me know i'm not giving it enough of a chance.

Satirical hip hop / rap?

mr. creosote — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:45:51 -0800

Is there any hip hop / rap music out there that makes fun of itself or goes completely off the wall in some way? I realize that the tragedy of the inner city is not really a humorous topic, but then there's all the misogyny, womanizing, consumerism, and wannabe-thug themes. Has anyone tried to satirize the genre itself, aside from the usual "nerdy white guys being gangstas" angles? What's out there?

Craming for a Concert

EatTheWeak — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 10:40:47 -0800

Please help me prepare for a Dead Prez show this week. Hi AskMe! Dead Prez is playing my school on the 14th, and I've heard enough praise for this group to want to catch the show. I liked what I heard when I saw them on Chapelle's Block Party, but that's my only exposure to the group. I was hoping any of you MeFites who were also Dead Prez fans could catch me up on the group's essential works, and maybe recommend some personal favorites.

Thank you!

What happened to the "Batman & Robin" rap music video?

bonobo — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 03:05:27 -0800

Inane Bat Signal: I didn't hallucinate an entire music video of "Batman & Robin" by Snoop Dogg and The Lady of Rage [dramatic pause followed by dramatic music] . . . or did I? Despite Google-Fu and my otherwise-useful reference skills, I cannot resolve the mystery of the disappearing Bat Video.

¤ Snoop's Paid tha Cost to be tha Bo$$ (2002) includes the song.
¤ The Lady of Rage's first name is Robin.
¤ Eminem and Dr. Dre in the video of "Without Me" brings me great Bat Pleasure; however, I'm certain that I have not confused the two songs.
¤ Has the video disappeared due to licensing conflicts?

Classical Rap

god particle — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 16:45:43 -0800

What are some good rap/hip-hop songs based on classical music? I'm not the biggest rap or hip-hop fan but I do like hearing those sorts of songs when the beats are or are based off of classical music. The only songs that I can think of are Jedi Mind Tricks's On the Eve of War (based on Palladio) and Ivan Ives' Victory. That Read A Book song by D-Mite is another example. What are some other similar songs? I've tried Pandora and other similar services but its hard for it to match that criteria and find anything suitable.

Big Willie Style's all in it

Robot Johnny — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 13:18:40 -0800

Contemporary pop culture term equivalent, in both meaning and ridiculousness, to "getting jiggy wit it"? I must be turning into an old man I don't know what the kids are listening to these days, but I'm in need of a current song lyric or piece of popular slang along the lines of what "getting jiggy wit it" was ten to twelve years ago.

It needs to be usable in this sort of context: "While I appreciate your desire to get jiggy wit it, could you please turn down your music?"

The more ridiculous sounding the better.

And, of course, I'm aware of urbandictionary.com, but it's not useful unless you already know what you're searching for.