Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with music and rap

Song with a beat that samples "Young, Gifted, and Black."

liketitanic — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 20:05:57 -0800

Looking for a hip hop or rap song that samples Nina Simone's "Young, Gifted, and Black." Any ideas?

Looking for free underground hip-hop

Slinga — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 19:44:39 -0800

I have an ipod that I want to fill up. I don't do torrents, and I'm not looking for anything illegal, I just want stuff that's being given away. I'm really into The Roots, The Fugees, anything by the Sandpeople Collective, Atmosphere, Nas, Angel Haze, that sort of thing. Not really into Odd Future. I know there are a zillion good underground rappers out there with free downloadable albums. Can you recommend some for me?

What do I listen to next

goosechasing — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 09:39:28 -0800

Where do I go from Kimbra and Kendrick Lamar? I've been listening to Vows and good kid, m.A.A.d city constantly. I am a total stranger to all things rap/hip hop and soul/jazzy/rock/dance/bluesy weird like Kimbra. I love Kimbra's voice and interesting sound. Kendrick's lyricism really does it for me, but there's also something about his rhythm (?) I like. (That may be totally off the mark.) Kimbra and Kendrick do some cool things with their voices, too, which reminds me of Regina Spektor when she was weirder, but vibe-wise she's not really what I'm looking for.

Sorry for the vagueness. Properly isolating the things I like about Kimbra and Kendrick Lamar is giving me fits. Thanks.

Current hiphop

shotgunbooty — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 15:07:31 -0800

Re-introduce me to hip-hop! I used to be a huge hip-hop fan but have found it hard to keep up. I don't have friends anymore who listen to it and I can't seem to find the time to dig around. The last time I was really up on anything new was the probably the late 90s, early 2000s and my favorites were Outkast, the Solesides crew (Blackalicious and Laytrx), RJD2, Atmosphere's earlier stuff, Cannibal Ox, Eminem.

I have managed to keep up on more mainstream acts like Kanye, Jay-Z, Cee-Lo, Ghostface etc. but otherwise have been out of the loop.

What am I missing out on? I am aware that my old faves are still doing stuff for the most part, but what about newer efforts? Who is the best rapper alive right now? The best underground producer?

Diss diss, where to find? Help me find all the diss tracks out there.

butwheresthesushi — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 17:33:33 -0800

I'm interested in finding a list of every hip hop/rap diss track out there as the basis for a research project. Where can I find a listing? I've emailed many of the major music services (itunes, emusic, Spotify, Gracenote, etc...), but discovered that such lists do not seem to be retained because diss tracks do not form a coherent genre by themselves.

Is there a compendium/some kind of official list of diss tracks? The alternative would be to hunt down the meanings of lyrics of all hip hop/rap artists (or look up each song on youtube to see if a song is labelled with the word 'diss'), but I want to exhaust the possibilities of finding an official list somewhere.

I have run the obligatory google search, but it turns up unofficial lists, and wonder about the completeness/quality of those.

Any leads would be appreciated!

What do these songs have in common, and where can I find more like them?

Room 641-A — Sun, 07 Oct 2012 10:25:09 -0800

I'm an huge Everlast fan. Finding others songs or artists that are like his rap-heavy songs is easy; please help me find more like his acoustic guitar-heavy songs. These examples have something -- or things -- in common. I really don't have the musical vocabulary to describe what that is except the acoustic guitar and the fact that they grooooove hard, so I'll let the music speak for itself:

To start, lets use Today (Watch Me Shine) is the platonic ideal

Here's a slower example: Black Coffee

Black Jesus has a heavier metal sound and is a little more...spare?

What It's Like isn't purely acoustic, but it's simpler than the other examples. And maybe the drums?

God Wanna leans more towards funk and rap.

So basically more of that. And feel free to go down the Everlast collaboration rabbit hole.

What I'm not looking for: acoustic versions of songs, power ballads, and other purely hiphop artists that share that part of his sound

These songs would definitely be marked best answer, but they're still missing that je ne sais quoi that the Everlast songs have:

Soundgarden - Burden In My Hand

David Bowie - Moonage Daydream

Love & Rockets - No New Tale To Tell

If you don't know of any songs but can drop some musical terms that describe what I'm talking about that would also be helpful, e.g., syncopated to describe "salsa dancing drumming".

Thanks!

Does hip-hop/rap equal rock/pop as a genre that requires true musical talent?

Locative — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 05:59:07 -0800

Help settle a contentious argument: friend argues that hip-hop/rap requires less talent than rock/pop, and that the true measure of talent is being able to stand on a stage with nothing but a guitar and microphone. This doesn't seem right to me, but I don't know hip-hop/rap well. Is this a valid position? Are there any musicians in rap and hip-hop that defy this? I spent a while arguing that hip-hop/rap is an equal genre to pop and rock with my friend who insists that those genres require less talent than rock and pop. His position was that singing ability and ability to play an instrument are the real determinants of what a quality musician is, absent any production/voice altering like autotune/etc. But isn't rap a skill as difficult as playing an instrument? Can't hip-hop be just as quality as say, Radiohead? Are there any musicians in hip-hop/rap that are on a depth and musicianship level with rock talents like Bruce Springsteen and the Beatles? Are there any resources online that would have any analysis of this issue? Or am I completely off-base? Thanks for any input.

Rap song with indian singing sample

wrok — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 17:01:40 -0800

Identify-that-song-filter: What is the current top-40's rap song with sample of high-pictched male(?) indian singing looping repeatedly in the beat? It's driving me crazy and my Google-fu is failing me.

Patter in 90s Alt-rock

LSK — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 11:30:36 -0800

Looking for more examples of 90s alt-rock songs making heavy use of patter / spoken sections. I recently notice that a couple of popular alt-rock songs from the 90s, including some radio hits, feature substantial spoken or patter sections. The ones that I can list off the top of my head:

Nada Surf - Popular
Beck - Loser
Butthole Surfers - Pepper
Pavement - Conduit for Sale
Barenaked Ladies - One Week

Are there any other examples of this style? Why does it seem to have become less common since the 90s?

Ten percent off! We cashin' out! Insert other odd phrase here!

sockermom — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 22:08:01 -0800

What are some songs with guys saying funny stuff in the background? There are examples here, because the question is a bit hard to ask otherwise. I'm looking to compile a playlist of songs with guys saying funny, strange, or odd things in the background. Sometimes the things fit the song, sometimes they don't. I'm most interested in hip hop but any style is fine. I feel like this is kind of a common thing, but I'm having a hard time describing it. If it is common, what is this called?

Anyhow, here are some examples of songs that do this, with the artist and a choice background quote. Some of these songs are NSFW and have offensive language in them; my apologies.

Did it On Em (Nikki Minaj) - "We at the top! G5! Louis Vuitton! Gucci!"

Cashin' out (Ca$h Out) - "We cashin' out!"

Hottest in the Hood - Fat Pimp - "Uh, lemme think about it"

Ready Set Go (Killer Mike and T.I.) - "Remember me?"

Tattered Fedora Flow (Danny!) - "Ten percent off!" and "These pretzels are delicious" (this one is probably the best example of what I'm looking for)

Some Gucci Mane songs sort of qualify, because he likes to say "Gucci" at strange times throughout his songs, but that's not exactly what I'm looking for.

License and identification

cloeburner — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 08:26:30 -0800

Quick music ID question: What is the original hip hop track that this beat is from? Also for bonus points, what's the sample from originally?

Making a rap beat in Reaper

LSK — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:33:36 -0800

Walk me through making a simple rap instrumental in Reaper using free VSTis. I'm using Reaper (the music software), and would like to make a rap instrumental.

Here is what I know:

- how to use the piano-roll style MIDI entry
- how to set BPM
- a few settings

Here is what I have:

- just the VSTis which came with Reaper

Here is what I want to do:

- find the right (free) VSTi instruments
- understand how to configure them to get a rap-style sound
- understand anything else I need to know to make this sound decent

All the tutorials I can find assume I already have some expertise tweaking synthesizer settings, which I have absolutely none of. Explain like I'm five, because I may as well be.

I never thought I'd be on a boat (made of money)!

argonauta — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:31:57 -0800

Can you help me find this hip-hop song, and/or the nerdy online article that analyzed part of it? Theme: so many stacks of money that you could lay on them, like a bed I read this online sometime in the past three months, maybe even more recently, and have had no luck in tracking it down again.

Basically, there's a lyric in a current hip-hop song (maybe from "Watch the Throne," or something else by Jay-Z?) in which the rapper boasts that he has so much dough, he could lay on all his stacks of bills. I think this was in response to another rapper who tried to brag about his stacks, but they're nothing compared to Our Hero's. I feel like the words "lay on" and "stacks" were specifically in the lyrics, but obviously plenty of other terms may have been used to the same effect.

The nerdy-ish author of the article in question (which was definitely online) goes on to analyze the dimensions of U.S. currency, and the estimated size of the rapper, to determine how much money would be required for this to actually be true. I think there was a side note in which he said it's safe to assume that these are $100 bills, not smaller denominations, given the primacy of Benjamins in, you know, Ruling All Around Us.

Thank you, H.O.V.A.-mind!

Fill the gaping hole in my ipod!

Quizicalcoatl — Fri, 13 May 2011 07:37:23 -0800

I really like Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. Who else should I listen to? I think that what I want is described as midtempo, minor chord hardcore, maybe with shouted or rapped (but not growled or screeched) vocals, funky beats, and angular distorted but not-overbearing guitars.
Think funk/punk/rap fusion.
Don't recommend:
Anything with misogynistic lyrics
Rap that doesn't use guitars on some level
I'm also aware of, and avoiding, Linkin Park style nu-metal.

fantastic cross-genre rap collaborations?

sally onion — Tue, 10 May 2011 10:56:15 -0800

Help me find really good rap songs with hooks that are sung by non-rap artists? I'm liking these collaborative rap songs where the (completely addictive) hook is sung by a guest artist from a different genre--songs like Airplanes (B.o.B feat. Hayley Williams), Written In The Stars (Tinie Tempah feat. Eric Turner), Love The Way You Lie (Eminem feat. Rihanna). There's something highly appealing about the contrast of the emotionally intense rapping with the melodic singing.

Recommendations? These are all mainstream examples, and I'd be delighted with anything more obscure/complex/interesting. I don't really know anything about rap/hip-hop music, so feel free to assume that I haven't heard anything besides these three songs.

I Rap Therefore I Am

caoimhe — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 02:04:00 -0800

I know this is kind of vague, but I'm looking for examples of rappers, or even just individual rap songs, that have a "philosophical" message. I don't mean that they encourage people to get off drugs, or do something with their lives, or anything like that (though I'd like those examples, too) -- but that they espouse a specific philosophy of life or worldview. I'd love some mainstream examples -- I'm not just looking for "issue" rappers who have made philosophy their thing (though I like these, too!) Thanks!!

If you can't dodge bullets... Yeah? Then what?

LarrenD — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 23:53:30 -0800

Does anyone know what the story is with Life of a Brooklyn King by Shyne? The one on my computer was called King of New York, so any searching I did to find some info turned up nothing. I finally figured out that it was called Life of a Brooklyn King, but still the only thing that I found was the song posted a couple times on YouTube. The thing is, the version I have and the ones on YT all cut off at just over two minutes, right in the middle of a sentence. I'd really like to find the full version somewhere, cause it's a pretty badass song, but I have no idea what else I can do. He talks about him and Puffy, so it was made before he went to jail but it's not on either of his first two CDs. Anyone know anything that I don't?

Music like Girl Talk or Kanye, but less sweary?

The corpse in the library — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 15:42:40 -0800

Music like Girl Talk, but not sweary? My preschool-age daughter some Girl Talk and was immediately drawn in, but oh my goodness those lyrics are not child-appropriate. I think she liked the layered samples and the danceability, and I like the humor. Any suggestions for similar musicians we might like, but without all the sexist terms and racial epithets?

I know nothing about what you young people are listening to today, so there's no need for the music to be obscure; presume I've been living in an underground bunker for the last five years.

The Boy with the Arab Rap

longbaugh — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 05:19:35 -0800

Looking for some musical recommendations. Hip hop, dance or other modern genres of music from the Middle East/Africa. I've had a look through Ask Metafilter of old and there are a few suggestions I've made note of already but what I'm ideally looking for is hip hop, dance or other "modern" genres of music, preferably with an African/Afrobeat/Middle Eastern flair, using instruments and languages from the region.

I'd prefer hip hop and so forth as I'm really interested in seeing how the lyrical flow changes when using languages other than English but I'm open to anything really, so if you've got the name of an awesome Lebanese rap/metal band tucked away somewhere then let me know.

I'm interested in all sorts of stuff no matter how obscure but preferably that which I can sample before I go out and buy.

Thanks in advance folks!

Let it flow

nicolin — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 06:44:07 -0800

I'd like to use rap to get some kids into writing / performing. I'm talking about ESL here. Hip hop culture being a worldwide phenomenon, how could I find an interesting way to use rap (a motivating art form) as a basis to produce both written and oral material ?

I'm interested in any resource that would point at activities, anthologies (good, simple, deep texts), commentaries and explanations of lyrics, songs, vids, books, lesson plans.

Do not limit yourselves to the language side : i'd appreciate any musical analysis, howto about the different kinds of musical backgrounds found in the genre.

What I need are building blocks to be able to frame lessons and eventually, to give the kids the opportunity to do some down-home rapping.

Rap music that's not gangsta?

kingjoeshmoe — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 01:29:12 -0800

Looking for rap/hip-hop that is upbeat or mellow and has positive values or fresh, interesting lyrics (i.e., not gangsta rap). For example, I really like the Digable Planets (and if you haven't heard Where I'm From, and this question interests you, go listen to it immediately). I also like some songs by Outkast. What I'm absolutely not looking for is anything where the rapper is talking about how hardcore he is, how many women he's had sex with, or how much money he has. The key seems to be rapping that seems either happy, mellow, or effortless in some sense (like some west coast rap, for example), while still having lyrics I don't feel dirty (and ideally, really like) listening to.

I'd also prefer to hear more modern rap, I think. What little I've heard of early rap (Run DMC for example) has a very specific, non-effortless rapping style, though if you know of any that meets my criteria, I'm open. What else should I be checking out?

(Bonus question: There's one song in particular that I saw I think on MTV maybe five or six years ago, where a guy was rapping about (I think) how much knowledge can expand the mind. What I clearly remember is the music video having a "drawn" look, and the image of a thought bubble coming from the guy's head and growing. Trying to figure out what song that was is what inspired this question. Do you know it?)

origin of the hiphop music video booty row

yosh — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 17:15:58 -0800

origin of the hiphop music video booty row? watching Eric B. & Rakim - Don't Sweat The Technique (video). (dont know the exact term, mybe ass-in-a-row? see example @1:09 so... looking for earlier examples and research on the subject. i suspect origin can be found at old burlesque and vaudeville routines, but i think the modern variety has a certain distinction.

For days you want to be country but also NOT country.

rileyray3000 — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 13:05:34 -0800

I really like the kind of post-bluegrass music exemplified by the Gourds' cover of GIN AND JUICE and the songs of HAYSEED DIXIE. Where can I find more of it?

Weird hiphop?

xmutex — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 19:52:49 -0800

Is there any really (genuinely) weird hiphop/rap/R&B-ish stuff out there a la Tricky's Pre-Millennium Tension?

Drug Dealing Kids

nam3d — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:04:02 -0800

I'm try to find a music video (most likely Rap or R&B) that portrayed two young kids as drug dealers. If I can remember correctly the music video starts out with the kids playing on their xbox. They then get a call from a drug lord asking them to pick up some drugs. For some reason they are then chased (I can't remember why) and eventually deliver the drugs (which I think turned out to be sweets) to two woman.

This all takes place in London.

Any idea what music video this is?