On some real shit......
What started out as a response in another thread led to a full-blown thread.
Word.Originally Posted by claaa7
I was hatin' on Mac Miller (and a lot of other dudes) mainly because of this message board groupthink mentality we get stuck in so often, but i got into his shit recently and gave it a fair chance. I can honestly say it's refreshing. some of his shit is typical mainstream BS, but even his more recent material has a lot oldschool undertones which I love to hear.
He's not the most technically proficient MC, but I'm learning to get over that these days. I've realized, looking back, that most of my favorite records from back in the day weren't as "lyrical" as I always claim them to be. Some of the best hip-hop records of all-time were average lyrics over incredible beats and when I hear shit like the following couple of tracks, it brings me back to that.
This whole "Killah Priest is the greatest ever! So lyrical! J. Cole is trash, stupid lyrics" mentality that runs rampant here is something probably almost every Wu-head can relate to (including myself) but it gets old very quickly. By locking yourself in that box, you're robbing yourself of the opportunity to discover a lot of new music.
For instance, I spent an entire year shitting all over Joe Budden, despite never actually listening to his music. Why? Because I'm a Wu-Tang fan, because I'm a Canibus fan, because I like to think that my favorite rappers are better than everyone else. Then I heard Budden's verse on the Shady 2.0 cypher and realized that he's a good rapper. Period. I wasted a lot of time and energy hating on his music for no reason. (I have to specify that I said "his music." He's still a chump IRL)
"Positive energy activates constant elevation." The more time you spend being negative about cats like Lil' Wayne and Drake, the less time you have for discovering talented artists you haven't heard of. I wanna say peace to fatboybrandon for his constant positive attitude on this board. He's probably the most knowledgable hip-hop head on this board, and you'll never see him post any kind of negativity. There's a direct correlation between the two.
I don't need every rapper to sound like Rakim these days. Of course we want them to, because the sanctity of hip-hop is kept alive by talented MCs, but I'm starting to branch out and appreciate the fact that you don't need to be a great MC to make great music. As a result, I've begun to enjoy hip-hop more these days.
It goes beyond hip-hop. I've been on some "country music is trash" shit my entire life... that's just the next thing I'm gonna step my game up in.
It's called diversity. Try it out.
1
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks