Discussions

You know those long-ass posse cuts that sometimes seem to drag as you wait for the MC you personally favor the most to step up to the mic? Yeah, well, thankfully that shit doesn’t happen here. From Big K.R.I.T.’s fiery opening verse through DaVinci’s rough-voiced bars and the complementary rhymes from Webbz and J. Rockwell, “The Beginning” delivers and then some. Not to mention the fact that they’re all ripping apart a crazy beat full of sparkling hi-hats and whining saxophone for the better part of six damn minutes. If this doesn’t get your head-nodding…I have no words. Sorry.

You can stream “The Beginning” below or download it after the jump.

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Well, well, well, I didn’t expect to see this dropping for the lovely price of free.99, but hey, it’s a damn fine surprise. Moe Green’s second project, Rocky Maivia: Non Title Match, has been in my rotation over the past few weeks after the nice people at Audible Treats hit me up. Green offers a different look at Bay Area hip-hop outside of the dance fads and hyphy jams that the locale has become (in)famous for over the past decade or so. He spits with equal parts honesty and bravado across this 17-track project that features, thankfully, limited guests and plenty of down-to-earth lyricism. This is definitely worth checking for if you need a new summer album or just want more solid hip-hop on your iPod. Dig it.

You can stream “Day Dreamer”, which features soulstress Ragen Fykes, below and hit the skip to download the whole project.

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On a mainstream level, outside of The Roots and OutKast very few artists are openly accepted for taking chances or trying to be progressive musically. I just wanted to discuss progression or lack thereof in hip-hop. Hip-hop is very finicky about change. I find it odd that a genre that borrows from everything else is resistant to trying new things. Whats your take on it? Let’s discuss.

Back by popular demand. We did the most overrated hip-hop albums last week, so its only right we come back this week with the most overrated emcees. Who’s got your #1 spot?

As much as we have classic albums, we have overrated hip-hop albums. The word overrated is defined as; thinking something is better, stronger and more valuable than it really is. I wanted to include Illmatic in the choices but I feel like that album has way too much significance to be called overrated. However, people do bring it up to the point of annoying so its debatable. Which album do you think is the most overrated?

The golden era in the early 90′s is considered by most the best time in hip-hop. The quality of hip-hop being created in that time between 1991-1996′ is unmatched unless you consider 1988. Over the years 1994 has always the year some people lean towards or remember because of two classic LP’s; Illmatic & Ready to Die. However, as I listen to Reasonable Doubt, Stakes Is High and some of the other notable releases from 1996 I think its a lot closer than it seems. Which year do you think was a better year for hip-hop? I’ve included ten of the most memorable releases from each year.

It’s amazing how certain topics will always be debated to death when it comes to hip-hop.  Whether it is the great producer, greatest emcee or greatest album we all have our favorites. Obviously it’s all subjective. The ability to defend your viewpoints with an open mind is key to not making these debates personal, see Okayplayer. Which of the below do you find yourself debating the most?

A group is defined by two or more individuals with correlative talents committed to a common purpose or specific goal. Hip-hop has definitely given us some legendary groups since it first started. Some of these groups even produced some phenomenal solo artists. It was pretty hard to narrow it down to just ten choices. We based the below list on impact, relevance and catalog otherwise there would too many to name. Who gets your #1 spot?