Post subject: Design a path to get a middle-aged white guy into hip-hop
I'm 45.
I like R&B... from Sam Cooke, Aretha, Stevie Wonder, Prince...
But, I like very little hip-hop.
When I look at my albums, there was Arrested Development in the early 90's, and Lauren Hill in the late 90's that I liked.
In the 00's I liked some of the new Soul like Alicia Keys, and Erykah Badu.
But, I don't connect with anything like Kendrick or Kanye.
Can you design a listening path that will get my ears into hip-hop, starting from the late 80's until now?
(I think my stumbling block is that I need melody)
Have you heard Madvillainy by Madvillain? It’s good if you want some alternative hip hop and something different. I recommend you give it a listen. ATLiens by OutKast is also recommend.
Last edited by DJTommy on 10/16/2017 23:10; edited 1 time in total
This could actually be a very interesting project. If you dig Badu, then surely there'll be a gateway for you. Also, it's totally fine not to enjoy all kinds of hip-hop, but I'm sure there'll be niches that you'll like.
How about you check these out (not all are hip-hop):
Most of those are soul/jazz based, and they're all fantastic records. Donuts is instrumental, and Things Fall Apart is live instrumentation (for the most part... I believe... might need a recap on that album myself...). Channel Orange and The Black Messiah dabble with hip-hop, but they're both neo-soul. Madvillainy doesn't have any melody really, but it's hip-hop excellence from both the producer and the MC. Hope you dig them _________________ Submit Your List for BEA's 2023 Film Poll!
I'm not good at recommendations but boy do I like making them so here are some suggestions based on the fact you like soul and melody
1987: Eric B. & Rakim - Paid in Full
- Not necessarily melodic but Rakim changed the rap game with his rhyming schemes
- I Ain't No Joke
1989: De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising
- Really creative use of samples and tons of fun
- Me Myself & I
1991: A Tribe Called Quest - Low End Theory
- Jazzy goodness. I like Midnight Marauders better but lots of people like this one more
- Scenario
**I'll fill this in later because I have to run now...but I second the Outkast recommedation**
2004: Kanye West - College Dropout
- I know you said you don't like Kanye but in case you haven't heard his debut I'll list it here. Lots of soul samples and vocal hook, and much less of the egotism that's on his later albums.
- Through the Wire
2005: Common - Be
- Conscious hip hop with Kanye producing but only on the mic on a couple tracks. The opener might be the greatest hip hop beat of all time
- Be (Intro)
2007: Blu & Exile - Below the Heavens
- The most underrated hip hop album of all time, great sampling and beats
- Show Me the Good Life
2013: Chance the Rapper - Acid Rap
- Chance mixes singing and rapping pretty well. His album from last year got a lot of praise but Acid Rap is where it's really at. Might need to get passed his voice though
- Juice
2017: Open Mike Eagle - Brick Body Kids Still Daydream
- Like Chance, Open Mike Eagle mixes in a lot of singing but he's a lot wittier I think
- How Could Anybody Feel At Home _________________ And it's hard to be a human being. And it's harder as anything else.
As someone who also struggles to get DEEP into hip-hop, might I suggest to do songs first... totally the songs. There are good albums, don't get me wrong, but just like early rock n' roll, great hip-hop is in the songs.
Here's my list of hip-hop I really like - even at the album level (although I haven't updated this project/really finished it, but a decent start)
Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B by sethmadsen
Probably the other thing to ask yourself is what DO you like about hip-hop already? Any particular artists or songs or what have you? I'd say the first thing to do is find what you ALREADY like about a particular genre, etc. and then dig deeper there first.
Good luck!
Also, if nothing else, this is why you should listen to at least some hip-hop:
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