Kanye West Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris [The Rap Thread]

[howardfinkel]

also I have been listening to so much Z-Ro at work. Had never heard "Driving Me Wild" or "I Can't Leave Drank Alone" which sample R Kelz Bump and Grind old school mix and Jodeci's Feenin respectively. So good

[Antero]

Completely feel this sentiment. In case you're in the mood to get angry about rap blogs making dumb posts about Chief Keef:
http://smokingsection.uproxx.com/TSS/2012/03/gawker-calls-chief-keef-hip-hops-next-big-thing

On another note, reading about Keef on SoManyShrimp got me a little bit more invested in who the hell David Drake is. Seems like he replaced Noz at Fader, also writes for Pitchfork. I found this interesting piece online.

Fav. quote comes in the 1st graf: "Number one, I’m writing about rap music, which is in critical terms very poorly covered. I think a very narrow slice of what hip-hop is currently being made is actually being covered by magazines. If you have any kind of knowledge whatsoever, if you take your time trying to understand the actual scope, then you immediately stand out."

nb, the Gawker piece on Chief Keef was actually itself written by David Drake.

[Thermofusion]

The Hammer's Slammers guy? No kidding!

[milly balgeary]

Oh man, Drake... he writes this shit in between volumes of his trilogies of war and fantasy!

[Thermofusion]

He's an expert in hip hop mythos! You think the dude who writes the Gor novels got a rap tumblr?

[Little Sixes Little Nines]

ghostface is coming to wellington! 

[dieblucasdie]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/arts/music/earl-sweatshirt-is-back-from-the-wilderness.html?_r=1

As part of the Coral Reef curriculum he also performed community service, spending time working at Samoa Victim Support Group, a center for survivors of sexual abuse, including children.

“That was a pivotal moment,” he said one afternoon at Bristol Farms, a supermarket near his manager’s office. One of the things Earl Sweatshirt had been prized for as a rapper was his extreme imagery, bordering on vile. “You can detach imagery from words,” he said, adding that he “never actually pictured” the things he rapped about. (“Lyrics About Rape, Coke, And Couches Will Be Blaring In Your Ears,” was how “Earl,” the album, was advertised on Odd Future’s Tumblr when it was released in March 2010.)

By the time he began working at the center, “I had already come to the conclusion that I was done talking about” that sort of subject matter, he said, but coming face to face with young people who had suffered in that way was overwhelming. “There’s nothing that you can — there’s no — you can’t evade the — there’s no defense for like — if you have any ounce of humanity,” he said, the feeling swallowing the words.

[jebreject]

Wow.

[Babar]

ghostface is coming to wellington! 

If you give him a high five we'll only be one high five away from each other!

[dieblucasdie]

You know what's going to be depressing? The MCA hologram

[Antero]

 

[Ignatius]

man if this was 1000 BC or whatever and you saw a painting of Jesus in a cave you'd probably be saying the same thing. It's progress, dudes!

[dieblucasdie]

That would not be my first reaction to seeing a painting of Jesus in 1000 BC.

Jeb and I have been talking about this on FB, but I thought I'd post it here, too. Death Grips tweeted and updated their FB status last night:

we are dropping out to complete our next album NO LOVE. see you when it's done. (there are no longer any scheduled shows)

No further information anywhere; the dates are still on their respective venues' sites, but tour page at thirdworlds has been removed.

Such a dick move.

[jebreject]

Yeah, I'm pretty upset if it's true. What band does that?

[Antero]

That's kind of some bullshit.

Certainly a good way to ensure NO LOVE though.

[Antero]

On the plus side, this new ST 2 Lettaz track is fire.

[shai faithe]

Also, both this and El-P's solo record coming out in May!

JUST PASSED OUT.

On the plus side, this new ST 2 Lettaz track is fire.

dude is such a bonkers rapper.

http://leebannon.bandcamp.com/ "Caligula Theme Music"

re: death grips. one of the few acts in the past few years to consistently interest me OUTSIDE of their music. fascinating things happening there i think...i hope. this announcement adds to that.

[dieblucasdie]

There was this last week too:

http://www.thefader.com/2012/04/30/deniro-farrar-and-shady-blaze-f-st-2-lettaz-43-hours-in-prod-by-ryan-hemsworth-mp3/

Shady's verse is ridiculous.

[Antero]

I really like the "GO GO GO GO" drop that kicks off a lot of Shady's verses.

[cold before sunrise]

Just got notice that the Death Grips show has been cancelled and my tickets are being refunded so I won't be seeing you guys there and if anybody wants tickets to the Battles show then let me know, I'd hate to see them go to waste but it doesn't look like my attendance is in the cards.

[Antero]

In which Ice Burgandy suddenly becomes awesome[url]

I like everything about this song, from the creeping beat to the weird screwed voices.

[Little Sixes Little Nines]

sorry if you've already discussed this but
HAS R.A.P MUSIC DROPPED YET

[dieblucasdie]

It drops next week, but you can stream it on Spin.com right now. It's pretty fucking good.

[nicoinfurs]

Woah, R.A.P. Music. Speechless.

[Ignatius]

It is a solid piece of work. Killer Mike does what he does about as well as I've heard, but El-P's beats are incredible. He has such a solid grip on his aesthetic, but he makes it work at so many different speeds and moods without relying too much on established templates.

And, y'know, Reagan. God damn.