I actually think the Snoop album could have been "album of the year" material if it weren't so long. They could have left a few tracks out and it would have been a better album. What I like about the Clipse album is that it's simple, to the point, concise, and easy to listen to (easy listening crack rap?). It's not that deep, it's not that different, it's not overly creative, it's just a good, listenable album to me. Fuck the hype, people like shit for different reasons anyway...
although I think Shawnna is a better rapper than the Clipse. The Shawnna album is about the same length as the Clipse record, but I wish it was longer, while the Clipse record would probably get more mind numbing (NOT melting) if it were any longer than it is.
It's like the "Who is your favorite Beatle?" personality diagnostic, except under this test, there are only two basic personality types: deejs and hurricane fennessys. You are apparently the latter.
It's like the "Who is your favorite Beatle?" personality diagnostic, except under this test, there are only two basic personality types: deejs and hurricane fennessys. You are apparently the latter.
When yr comparing two artists, there aren't many more positions you can take, short of calling it a tie or opting out altogether.
I'll take my favorite parts of that review and condense it:
Hip-hop's meanest, smartest duo spray everywhere. Brazenly dishing on minor details like sunglasses, EPMD's playfulness, unjustifiable relishing of moral decay, the frothiest ditty is about spending drug money on expensive shoes, Hipsters, bloggers, students-- might seem perplexing.
The drum sounds are light and chimey, the flair is undeniable.
Isn't this a fancy way of justifying that they are saying the SAME shit over and over again? I guarantee you, if anybody else wrote something as eloquent as this in regards to anybody else with limited range, fools on here would be STRAIGHT CLOWNING. Stealing new locations, bringing up a quote or two every time dude makes a new post, etc.
I bought this album today, listened to it with accompanying cold weather - today's the first day it's been "cold" per Tucson standards - as I feel this is a winterish record and I STILL hear nothing mindblowing. I hear them and I can feel them to an extent, but it doesn't seem as serious as a lot of you claim it to be. C'mon, do you guys honestly believe that these guys are STILL deep in the crack game? Personally, it takes a certain hunger for me to truly feel (and believe) somebody's struggle. Dudes jump on Jay-Z 'cause he stays on that crack shit knowing damn well how far removed he is. I think it's pretty obvious that Pharell ain't NEVER sold anything but music in his life so his attempts at covering the subject are corny as fuck. These dudes have been under Pharell for - what? - 5-6 years now? You REALLY think he'd jeopardize his investment by letting them stay in the streets? You honestly believe they ain't spend one rap-related dollar in 3 years or whatever?
Now please believe, I COMPLETELY understand the whole "artist as a voice" thing, so I can understand why their content is relevant, but shit, as classic as Curtis' "Pusherman" is, that wasn't ALL he had for the people. (I know, I know, nobody here is comparing Clipse to Curtis, just trying to make a point about topic range.) The one "remorse/paranoia" song on here is the one that most people on here don't seem to care for ("Nightmares").
And in regard to the beats, I think it's safe to say that if anybody else used these, they would be regarded as - for lack of a better term - wack. (For the record, I like the beats and I can appreciate the fact that they went against the norm ie. mainstream club shit, but I can also appreciate a good beat regardless of whose album it may be on.) Tell me some of these beats wouldn't fit perfectly on say, an MF Doom album. Shit, "Dirty Money" is straight up lo-fi Cody Chestnutt.
They're witty, yes. Wordplay is beautiful. Their descriptions are inspiring. I can tell they spent a lot of time with each line, but the bottom line is, as much as they can say say something different, they can't seem to say anything different. (Does that make sense?)
Herm
P.S. Why do these guys get a "questionable name-dropping" pass? Jay can't shoutout Sex & The City or My Chemical Romance without catching clownage, but these dudes are talking about Desperate Housewives and fucking Cheaters, not to mention Bape this, BBC that.
I can see where you???re coming from, and this isn???t to dis, but I mean, first off, all that ???[if it was] anybody else with limited range,??? ???if anybody else used these [beats],??? if anybody else was doing the name-dropping, etc., etc. is sorta some ???if my grandmother had wheels, she???d be a wagon??? shit. I mean, how can you really address something like that? And even if you could, why would you? We???re talking about a particular album of lyrics over beats; if the beats were under some other words, or if the words were over some different beats, or if the lyrics were coming out of some other mouth, or if the beats were coming out of some other keyboard, then we???d be talking about a different album (and I can pretty much guarantee that we wouldn???t be talking about said album from the south side of Page 11). Again, I???m not trying to be dismissive, I just don???t see the point in pretending that this shit is interchangeable. It's not.
Second, as far as topic range, there???s no shortage of dudes out there who are a mile wide and an inch deep; I???m not at all mad at dudes who want to dig deep into a narrow territory. I see very real merit in that. Like Luther Vandross said about singers: ???I don???t want to know your range???I want to know what part you can sing the hell out of.??? And anyway, as I explained before, I don???t believe that the content is the point here, or is where the impact lies.
And I think you???re making much less distinction than I would between artists and art. I don???t need to believe that Curtis Mayfield was a purely righteous, loyal, gentle man to believe him when he sings about purity, righteousness, loyalty, and gentleness, and I don???t need to believe that the Clipse are paying their bills with drug money to believe them when they sing about paying their bills with drug money.
I can fully respect your opinion, though. Like all the most interesting shit, this record isn???t for everyone.
And that's the thing, really. I get the distinct impression (and this isn't necessarily directed at you, Hotsauce) that many people with negative opinions of this record aren't responding to the actual record so much as they're responding to their perception that some faceless (or not-so-faceless) cadre somewhere on the Atlantic seaboard is telling them that they have to like this record, that everyone has to like this record. I think a number of dudes are saying "I don't like this record" when what they really mean is "I don't like being told what to listen to and what to like." (Exhibits A to the motherfucking Z: Dabney_Soulman's assertion that the only people in this thread that can be trusted are the people who don't like the album.) And I'm contrarian as fuck myself, so that's an impulse I can definitely understand, but still, it's really cuffing this thread's quotient of what the kids call "real talk."
"???Trill??? sounds like a club record that David Bowie might have written." -Vibe
I love how journalist dudes think by referencing an artists in a different genre or medium think it's going to add some real "razzle-dazzle" to their writing. Seriously, a god damn pet peave of mine.
RICK ROSS, The Jackson Pollach (sp) of hip-hop!!! Lil' Wayne the Archbishop Tutu of Street rap!!!!
"???Trill??? sounds like a club record that David Bowie might have written." -Vibe
I love how journalist dudes think by referencing an artists in a different genre or medium think it's going to add some real "razzle-dazzle" to their writing. Seriously, a god damn pet peave of mine.
RICK ROSS, The Jackson Pollach (sp) of hip-hop!!! Lil' Wayne the Archbishop Tutu of Street rap!!!!
A few years back, Spin magazine called DJ Premier "the Gertrude Stein of hip-hop." I was mad dazzled, son. (Maybe they just meant he liked brownies, though. 'Cause I think maybe he does, a little.)
And I like Vibe's implication that David Bowie has never fucked with a club record.
"A...a club record?! Like, a dance record? By David Bowie?! Why, what would that even sound like?!"
"???Trill??? sounds like a club record that David Bowie might have written." -Vibe
I love how journalist dudes think by referencing an artists in a different genre or medium think it's going to add some real "razzle-dazzle" to their writing. Seriously, a god damn pet peave of mine.
RICK ROSS, The Jackson Pollach (sp) of hip-hop!!! Lil' Wayne the Archbishop Tutu of Street rap!!!!
A few years back, Spin magazine called DJ Premier "the Gertrude Stein of hip-hop." I was mad dazzled, son. (Maybe they just meant he liked brownies, though. 'Cause I think maybe he does, a little.)
And I like Vibe's implication that David Bowie has never fucked with a club record.
"A...a club record?! Like, a dance record? By David Bowie?! Why, what would that even sound like?!"
Answer: like the future of hip-hop.
Not suprisingly to most, but to me it just rings like some racist-ass shit. Like Hip-hop needs to be friggin' legitimized through artists accepted and championed in white america. As if the rapper/producer isn't shit until he can be on the level of "ya know.....real music".
Which reminds me of the one time I read a review on Shadow's Endtroducing (The Album the launched a million and one little dudes) and it said "FINALLY! HIP-HOP LEGITIMIZED!" GTFOOHWTBSS!
Without looking at any message in this thread, here are my thoughts...
Clipse choose bad singles but thats what they get for trying to run their own show and pushing the blame off to Jive... Mama I'm so sorry, Nightmares & Keys Open Doors were great tracks in my opinion...
Snoop def got busy on his album... "Think About It" is classic... Crazy, Play On Playa, & Imagine were my favorite tracks on the album.
So what if both albums came out in last November... I wasn't the one who brought this thread back up...
Yes, regularly, along with Lord Willin and the first two WGIFC tapes.
.
i made a mixtape with the best tracks from these plus the birdman track and
this (west coast for teh one rootless)
and it's the only thing that has not left my MP3 player for years
shit is still as hard as ever
in a sense the downfall of the reup gang and malice's conversion acted like a series finale that wrapped things up and left an untarnished record of great outputs from them
did sandman ever do something else after that mixtape?
but more importantly
has rootless learn to comprehend and praise the plex phors?
Comments
Please rank the following 2006 releases in order of quality:
The Game
The Clipse
Shawwna
although I think Shawnna is a better rapper than the Clipse. The Shawnna album is about the same length as the Clipse record, but I wish it was longer, while the Clipse record would probably get more mind numbing (NOT melting) if it were any longer than it is.
That's Shawnna, you poptart.
Deejery of the year?
explain?
How could Shawnna hope to compete with hip-hop's meanest, smartest duo
It's like the "Who is your favorite Beatle?" personality diagnostic, except under this test, there are only two basic personality types: deejs and hurricane fennessys. You are apparently the latter.
You're either with us or against us
(I'm just playing)
Hip-hop's meanest, smartest duo spray everywhere. Brazenly dishing on minor details like sunglasses, EPMD's playfulness, unjustifiable relishing of moral decay, the frothiest ditty is about spending drug money on expensive shoes, Hipsters, bloggers, students-- might seem perplexing.
The drum sounds are light and chimey, the flair is undeniable.
Frothy!
I can see where you???re coming from, and this isn???t to dis, but I mean, first off, all that ???[if it was] anybody else with limited range,??? ???if anybody else used these [beats],??? if anybody else was doing the name-dropping, etc., etc. is sorta some ???if my grandmother had wheels, she???d be a wagon??? shit. I mean, how can you really address something like that? And even if you could, why would you? We???re talking about a particular album of lyrics over beats; if the beats were under some other words, or if the words were over some different beats, or if the lyrics were coming out of some other mouth, or if the beats were coming out of some other keyboard, then we???d be talking about a different album (and I can pretty much guarantee that we wouldn???t be talking about said album from the south side of Page 11). Again, I???m not trying to be dismissive, I just don???t see the point in pretending that this shit is interchangeable. It's not.
Second, as far as topic range, there???s no shortage of dudes out there who are a mile wide and an inch deep; I???m not at all mad at dudes who want to dig deep into a narrow territory. I see very real merit in that. Like Luther Vandross said about singers: ???I don???t want to know your range???I want to know what part you can sing the hell out of.??? And anyway, as I explained before, I don???t believe that the content is the point here, or is where the impact lies.
And I think you???re making much less distinction than I would between artists and art. I don???t need to believe that Curtis Mayfield was a purely righteous, loyal, gentle man to believe him when he sings about purity, righteousness, loyalty, and gentleness, and I don???t need to believe that the Clipse are paying their bills with drug money to believe them when they sing about paying their bills with drug money.
I can fully respect your opinion, though. Like all the most interesting shit, this record isn???t for everyone.
And that's the thing, really. I get the distinct impression (and this isn't necessarily directed at you, Hotsauce) that many people with negative opinions of this record aren't responding to the actual record so much as they're responding to their perception that some faceless (or not-so-faceless) cadre somewhere on the Atlantic seaboard is telling them that they have to like this record, that everyone has to like this record. I think a number of dudes are saying "I don't like this record" when what they really mean is "I don't like being told what to listen to and what to like." (Exhibits A to the motherfucking Z: Dabney_Soulman's assertion that the only people in this thread that can be trusted are the people who don't like the album.) And I'm contrarian as fuck myself, so that's an impulse I can definitely understand, but still, it's really cuffing this thread's quotient of what the kids call "real talk."
-Vibe
I love how journalist dudes think by referencing an artists in a different genre or medium think it's going to add some real "razzle-dazzle" to their writing. Seriously, a god damn pet peave of mine.
RICK ROSS, The Jackson Pollach (sp) of hip-hop!!! Lil' Wayne the Archbishop Tutu of Street rap!!!!
A few years back, Spin magazine called DJ Premier "the Gertrude Stein of hip-hop." I was mad dazzled, son. (Maybe they just meant he liked brownies, though. 'Cause I think maybe he does, a little.)
And I like Vibe's implication that David Bowie has never fucked with a club record.
"A...a club record?! Like, a dance record? By David Bowie?! Why, what would that even sound like?!"
Answer: like the future of hip-hop.
Not suprisingly to most, but to me it just rings like some racist-ass shit. Like Hip-hop needs to be friggin' legitimized through artists accepted and championed in white america. As if the rapper/producer isn't shit until he can be on the level of "ya know.....real music".
Which reminds me of the one time I read a review on Shadow's Endtroducing (The Album the launched a million and one little dudes) and it said "FINALLY! HIP-HOP LEGITIMIZED!" GTFOOHWTBSS!
:5pager:
co-fucking-sign
Not fair, we live in the west, its only natural that we prefer the snoop cd.
What's not fair? That the West is putting out better hip-hop?
Clipse choose bad singles but thats what they get for trying to run their own show and pushing the blame off to Jive... Mama I'm so sorry, Nightmares & Keys Open Doors were great tracks in my opinion...
Snoop def got busy on his album... "Think About It" is classic... Crazy, Play On Playa, & Imagine were my favorite tracks on the album.
So what if both albums came out in last November... I wasn't the one who brought this thread back up...
hell yeah. 8/10
hell hath makes it into my summer rotation every year, classic material
I just DLed Pusha's tape, so not sure of the whole thing, but have liked to loved the singles so far.
i made a mixtape with the best tracks from these plus the birdman track and
this (west coast for teh one rootless)
and it's the only thing that has not left my MP3 player for years
shit is still as hard as ever
in a sense the downfall of the reup gang and malice's conversion acted like a series finale that wrapped things up and left an untarnished record of great outputs from them
did sandman ever do something else after that mixtape?
but more importantly
has rootless learn to comprehend and praise the plex phors?
I wouldn't hold my breath
;)