#256

what puts me off with a lot of mainstream rap I’ve heard is how it seems like somebody just made a sick beat and left it going and the rapping doesn’t really sync up with it or something

1 Like
#257

Another vote for ‘he was good when he started’. Came up the right way – did time on the battle circuit for years and it stood him in good stead. Pretty sure he’s always had a bit of a psycho persona, but only made the switch to full violence and misogyny mode after Dre scooped him up too. Not saying it was Dre’s fault at all, but making millions of dollars by upsetting middle America was kind of Dre’s business model up to that point, so I’m sure he had a bit of influence.

When he laid off that stuff and just focused on fun battle rhyming, he was great. I could listen to this type of stuff for days.

The fact that he got astronomically world famous was always going to have a severely detrimental effect on his music (drug addiction can’t have helped much either) but he could still come up with the goods occasionally even then. Haven’t got the first clue what he sounds like these days, but like @Nav, do look back on the time when he ruled the world more fondly than I thought I would at the time. Sure he would have been the gateway into hip hop for a bunch of kids too, and that’s always a good thing.

Reckon 3/5 is a fair. Might bump to a 4 because he’s obviously going to get absolutely pasted. Probably not though.

2 Likes
#258

Yeah, this is fair. I think it’s probably a big part of why his stock fell so quickly as well. Like I said, I think he’s at his best on a guest spot innit, perfect way to showcase his talent without highlighting his flaws.

3 Likes
#260

(While we’re doing (or were doing) a brief Odd Future sidebar, the way in which Tyler, Earl etc have grown and turned their back on their unpalatable older stuff shows a level of maturity and growth that Eminem has never managed to display and is a big part of why he’s such a joke these days)

18 Likes
#261

good when you hear something where the music accentuates and encourages you to focus on the rhythm of the rapping

1 Like
#262

Have you seen this ant? Incredibly wholesome content

3 Likes
#263

At it’s best (for me) the rapping and the beat are so in sync that the whole thing becomes almost instrumental. As if the vocals are so inherently aligned with the beat that they become another instrument and you’re just listening to them as additional percussion or whatever That’s transcendent IMO.

5 Likes
#264

Noname is incredibly good at this

2 Likes
#265

Ghost… Face… Killaaaaaaaahhhhh

1 Like
#266

Would love a subthread of songs where it syncs up beautifully. I’ve never liked 50 Cent at all, but the first verse on Hate it or Love it is one of my favourite things in music of all time, mainly for the way the “I wanna live good” line seamlessly fits into the rhythm.

I know there’s loads of other/better examples, but that song feels relevant to this thread.

4 Likes
#267

Think this is why I still consider Rakim the best, that laid back, relaxed delivery melts into the beat so easily.

1 Like
#269

Incidentally when is how good are they : The roots

Fivest of fives

2 Likes
#270

Like she doesn’t have a lot of the flourishes and lookhowgoodiam technique of some of the other people mentioned but her flow and how it sits on a beat are absolutely unbelievably good

1 Like
#271

em on this

1 Like
#273

Touch the sky, especially lupe fiasco’s verse, is a very good example of this on a massive mainstream hit

1 Like
#274

is it ok if I still like listening to Biggie?

I know his lyrics are bad and he’s probably a bit basic but I find it relaxing

#275

How can you know something which is false?

2 Likes
#276

:grimacing:

#277

Seems slightly embarrassing that this is probably one of my top five hip hop songs of all time, but it’s fucking ace.

1 Like
#278

I reckon Biggie is in my top 5