Real rap is not really my thing. Do the Diggable Planets and US3 count? That's more my bag.
Of the ones mentioned Tribe is my favourite. I used to like Q-Tip and the work that he did with the Jungle brothers and De La Soul, but that's real old school, these days he's gotten way too commercial.
Beastie Boys by a mile. I listened to NWA, 2 Live Crew, or whatever else I thought would royally piss my parents off when I was younger. Most of the rappers I've heard recently are too serious about themselves and too much work to try and figure out cultural references that are way out of my element.
I admittedly came into rap late, so I can't speak to the entire scope of greatness of groups like Public Enemy, NWA and Run DMC. From the work of theirs I do know, I feel this knowledge would probably blow some of these following groups out of the water. For me, this is my ranking:
The Roots Wu-Tang A Tribe Called Quest OutKast (whose work I know way better than the preceding three)
Even though good rap groups today are pretty much non-existent, if you are looking for one from this millenium, I would point you in the direction of Little Brother. They hail from North Carolina and are made up of three members, Phonte, Rapper Big Pooh, and 9th Wonder (producer). Their debut, The Listening, has a spot somewhere in my top 10 hip-hop albums of the 2000's. Best songs off the album, imo, are For You, Whatever You Say, and The Getup. If you are looking for a break from the T-Pain/Ne-Yo/whatever else is on the radio BS, I suggest you give this album a listen. Another cool thing about the album, it plays through like a radio station (similar to Snoop Dogg's debut Doggystyle, although the comparisons between the two stop there), so it makes for an entertaining listen.
One more tidbit about Little Brother. After the release of their second album The Minstrel Show in 2005, BET refused to play the single (Lovin' It) on their station, claiming Little Brother was too "conscious." It's pretty sad that BET uses that as a reason not to play their videos, considering the messages some of the other artists they play send with their music.
Oh crap, how this thead has gone on this long without the mention of Dead Presidents is beyond me. They have to be considered one of the greatest rap groups of all time.
I'm not really a fan of "underground hip-hop". It's ok but it all sounds pretty lame to me usually because of the production. There are definitely talented rappers but there aren't many talented producers in the scene. The only groups I've really liked in that scene are De La Soul and Jurassic 5. I also kind of like Heiruspecs which features a live band a la Roots. But, I don't really like The Roots all that much so maybe it's just because I've seen Heiruspecs live a couple times.
jfg wrote:I'm not really a fan of "underground hip-hop". It's ok but it all sounds pretty lame to me usually because of the production. There are definitely talented rappers but there aren't many talented producers in the scene. The only groups I've really liked in that scene are De La Soul and Jurassic 5. I also kind of like Heiruspecs which features a live band a la Roots. But, I don't really like The Roots all that much so maybe it's just because I've seen Heiruspecs live a couple times.
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by Metroid » Mon Jun 30, 2008 8:43 am 
