jrivait_5

for the lupe fans, whats your take on the first verse of Superstar?

getting into nightclub metaphor for getting into heaven?

in the song lupe is turned down from heaven, is this a reference to the "hustla fo' death, no heaven for a gangsta"?

also in the video michael young is clearly depicted as that dude with the skeleton right hand...

you think superstar has anything to do with michael young?

best poem ever?

best vid intro ever?

If I was to take a taxi from LaGuardia to JFK around 10pm roughly how much will it cost?

Which artist's singles are not representative of the artist themself?

My first thought was Joe Budden...Fire and Pump it up are nothing like the real Joe Budden, totally wack, he's real...

and for all the haters, I think Lil' Wayne is much better than lollipop or fireman or go dj etc. etc.

The same day and manner in which Notorious was killed. If this were true Illmatic and It Was Written would have been Nas' only two albums. My question is who would have had the better "catalog"? Who would be more remember in conversations today?

In his book: Theres a God on the Mic: The True 50 Greatest MCs, Kool Moe Dee devoped a theory that rap is cyclical but there is always three lyrical kings that anchor the generation.

According to KMD:

1st Generation: Melle Mel, Grandmaster Caz, Kool Moe Dee (he wasn't the humblest of guys)

2nd Generation: Big Daddy Kane, KRS-One, Rakim

3rd Generation: Nas, Jay-Z, Biggie

if you'll notice each generation is roughly 7 years apart, at the time of publishing KMD hinted that the fourth generation included Eminem and DMX

who do you think deserves to be in the 4th generation? (keep in mind 2000-2001) now that it is 2008 who deserves to be in the 5th generation?

Y'all might have heard him before, he on TV a lot but if you haven't this is definitely worth watching

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rP3qL4UG1TI

not only does he sound like them, but he raps about things they would and in their flow!

off of each song? off either song? it seems like they've come up a lot recently

in case you haven't heard them

Intruder Alert- http://youtube.com/watch?v=u6TNAeIfw8k

Little Weapon- http://youtube.com/watch?v=gMdyV1OFeTw&feature=rel...

I think the third verse off Intruder Alert and the second from Little Weapon are my favorites

I don't see anything wrong with mild to moderate stannery for a rapper or two, part of having an opinion lol

I'm a self-admitted stan of Lupe Fiasco and Will Smith

My battery for my dell latitude d520 just died after a little more than one year's use. I would rather not pay $140 to buy another one from dell does anyone have any recommendations for replacing this battery? ebay? Any tips on how to preserve battery life in general?

...if you could go to jail if you didn't?

...if it was run by the government?

...if someone gave you 100,000 dollars to?

...if it got you the girl/guy of your dreams?

...if someone threatened your pinkie finger?

...if everyone you care about around you told you to?

The Grey Album (Jay-Z's Black album with the Beatles White Album)- DJ Dangermouse

Blue Eyes meets Bed Stuy(Notorious vocals mixed over Frank Sinatra instrumentals)- DJ Cappel and Smitty

I'm sure most of you have heard them but incase you haven't hear are some samples...

What More Can I Say? http://www.plong.com/MusicCatalog/D/DJ%20Premier%2...

Public Service Announcement

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_uwIFn-wSJY

Juicy/New York, New York

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6ahBI7I7GHE

Come On/My Way of Life

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Np-TLo-r-pw&feature=rel...

personally, while blue eyes meets bed stuy might sound better, I think you gotta respect dangermouse for mashin hova and the beatles...

Here's the deal, I'll list 5 "traits" necessary to being an MC, along with the 5 "traits" i'll name 5 MCs, (some more mainstream than others). Your job is to build the best rapper you can using the available MCs and your opinions, you can only use each MC once however, (So like you can't use Xzibit for voice and beat selection if you were so inclined) so the result is that each MC goes to one catagory

The Traits for today:

1. Lyrics (considering the entire rapper's career, condsider all the parts of lyrics, e.g. wordplay, subject matter, rhymes, etc. etc.)

2. Voice (How the rapper actually sounds on a record)

3. Originality (Who's doing their own thing, bringing a unique sound and concepts)

4. Consistency (how well an MC brings that fire from release to release)

5. Image/Reputation (how the MC is seen to the public, to the peers, and to people like us)

Today's MCs

1. Xzibit

2. Lauryn Hill

3. Big Boi

4. LL Cool J

5. Notorious B.I.G.

Here's the deal, I'll list 5 "traits" necessary to being an MC, along with the 5 "traits" i'll name 5 MCs, (some more mainstream than others). Your job is to build the best rapper you can using the available MCs and your opinions, you can only use each MC once however, (So like you can't use P.Diddy for voice and beat selection if you were so inclined) so the result is that each MC goes to one catagory

The Traits for today:

1. Voice (how well the MC's actual voice sounds on a track)

2. Beat Selection (judging based on the MCs history of beats)

3. Flow (how the rapper rhyme structure sounds, how natural it seems)

4. Consistency (how well the rapper keeps bringing that fire over a period of albums)

5. Subject matter (what the MC raps about)

The MCs

1. Diddy

2. GZA

3. The Game

4. Jay-Z

5. Black Thought

we'll see if this works out...

Who here is sick of Lil' Wayne fans *raises hand*, who here is sick of people giving them attention like I am doing now *raises hand* Sorry, but my question is can you be a "hip-hopper" and enjoy/respect/defend Weezy F. Baby or whatever the f*ck he calls himself? I'll say it: I think he does have serious talent and can put out a dope record. I wouldn't defend him though for fear of a sea of thumbs down and a few thumbs up from people I don't really want them from... I am not a fan of his but am I not allowed to say he has talent without being labeled a stan or being immediatley dismissed? is wayne really on the level of soulja boy?

In any conversations about the greatest, or top 10, or whatever? Or at least how come he isn't taken seriously by hip-hoppers? Besides being one of the most skilled, and raw artists ever to grace the mic, he has done what no other white rapper (hate to bring race into things) has ever done, I've heard a lot of white people say that Eminem is the reason they listen to rap, would it be a stretch to say that he opened the eyes of a whole new group of people to hip-hop? IMO Eminem is one of the best if not the best multi-syllable rhymer ever, he also has a knack for writing great hooks and no one can accuse him of not being emotional or real. Personally, I am not a fan of Eminem but as far as respect, he is one of the most important rappers in the game and I think he deserves recognition in arguments about the best.

Feel free to disagree

which song was the first one you could rip off top like nothing and do you still listen to that song today? Mine was Summertime by the Fresh Prince, I think I was like six or seven...

"think of the summers of the past, adjust the bass and let the alpine blast" ...brings me back everytime

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7W--ha_V4w&feature...

This is like a 5.5 minute segment where Lupe talks about *********, the soulja boy, the hip-hop industry, and his legacy. Its a pretty interesting segment coming from one of the most talked about artists in RHH. This link is to part 2 of a 2 part video, I suggest checking out part 1 as well. I have a feeling this might strengthen whatever opinion you have on Lupe and hip-hop but tell me what you think anyways!

Has anyone else read Theres a god on the Mic by Kool Mo Dee. What did y'all think? For anyone who hasn't read it he rated the top 50 MCs in his opinion (as of 2002) using a system of 17 categories such as Flow, Battle Skills, Impact (social and industry), Poetic Value, Originality and other so called necessary qualities of an MC. His top 5 were 1. Melle Mel 2. Rakim 3. KRS-One 4. Big Daddy Kane 5. Himself (Kool Mo Dee)

anyways if you haven't read it I suggest reading it for kicks if nothing else.

Which mafioso classic do you think was better and why? Whats your favorite track from either album?