A few things i don't like about Rap

I'm a major music nerd, i buy books, magazines and Cd's like there are no tomorrow and spend plenty of time finding obscure groups no one has ever heard of and my main genre (besides Reggae) is Rap/Hip hop. That does not have to mean that i like everything that goes on whit in the confines of this genre, consider this a list of things that annoys me, in no particular order.


1.Anniversary magazine issues
Seem like every major rap/urban magazine existing are very keen on finding 1 billion reasons to celebrate some sorta anniversary and look back at previous issues and pat themselves in the back (while they say the best is yet to come). This is starting to bug me, i mean there are legitimate reasons to celebrate, like for an example the 100th issue, 10 years in the industry or even your 1st year as a magazine but shit are starting to get a bit ridiculous now.......


2.Acronyms
One thing that really, really gets on my nerves is when artists claim to be a thug, gangsta, pimp or whatever and then flips the word into some bogus positive acronym (like T.H.U.G.=them healthy uplifting guys). It's like they think, "I'm gonna call myself all these cool street things and if someone criticise me for glorifying negative shit i can just claim it mean this........." Just give it up and represent what you are and nothing else. However, this is not to be mixed up whit for example religious artists who tries to camouflage their message to reach lost souls in the streets (like "I'm slanging the gospel to the Jesus fiends"), i consider that pretty clever.


3.Overused samples
Am I the only one seriously fed up whit folks who samples "Scarface" quotes in their songs? It seem like every rap album known to mankind have to include the lines "All i have in this world.....". Unf. I'm guilty myself of making beats whit samples from this movie, call it hypocritical or not but i can't stand hearing Al Pachino on every album i pick up, i way rather go whit James Brown or George Clinton samples (which is criminally overused in the sampling world as well).


4.Intros, skits etc....
De La Soul's "3 feet high and rising" may be one heck of a classic album and i absolutely love it but it was also the first Rap/Hip hop album to feature "skits" a plenty and these little things are something i hate whit a passion. Why do we have to put up whit all these phony radio broadcasts, news show segments and game shows whit lame attempts at humor? They're at the best of albums as well as the worst and are never funny so please quit it, NOW!!!!

5.Coming soon
This may not totaly fit the criteria as i don't disslike or hate this phenomenon but isn't it kinda funny looking at the inside booklet of many of the independent releases and see how many albums there is that is adverised as "coming soon" that never came for one reason or another. Seems like the rap game was not the "pot of gold" that so many thought it would be. I wonder what happened whit the folks behind all these failed labels whit grand plans that amounted to nothing......

Graveyard Soldjas - Day of execution

Man, this is quite some creepy shit we got here, these cats may be from New Orleans but it's not the usual gangsta or bounce sound they come whit. This is their first album and usually the one that fans likes the most, on their other 3 albums the released after this one they changed up their style a lil bit. If you are into toungetwisting and and horrorcore like music (not the rap/metal sorta horrorcore that they do in Detroit, like ICP, Twistid etc..) u will go crazy over this album.

After the obligatory intro comes "Natas of nos" ("Son of Satan" backwards) and while I'm 100% against satanism i gotta admit this is one heck of a strong opening and a str8 killa track where they rap about how they are possessed and kill and slaughter folks, the lyrics really ain't that different from something you would find on some sorta more extreme "Metal" album. They really got a "Bone Thugs" sound on this one though so it's more slow and creepy than rock like.

Then comes "5 leaf clover" which is a relaxed smoking weed song whit a very different feel than the first one, it's not my favourite song of the album but it's still good and their flow is as tite as ever. The beat on "Listen" is among the best of the album (whit it's synthetic sounding flute melody) and their toungetwisting is 100% on point, damn if i could rap like that. Whit "Sites were back to the dark, creepy shit whit "Bone Thugs" typa harmonies, would be the perfect tune for a horror movie whit it's killa typa lyrics.

I could go on and praise each and every song on this album, even though some are better than others this is one of those rare albums you could listen to from start to finish and not skip one single track. Except for the Intro there is only full songs on here, no annoying skits, not 1 million guest features that distract you or any other annoying things. If I am forced to find a weak spot it would be the lyrics, not that they are bad but pretty much every song is about the same shit, Murda, murda, kill, kill.....

For shure a New Orleans classic, full of sooopah tite songs but don't expect variety or your usual NO rap, u wont find it here and y'all better not be too sensitive to violent lyrics either. If you can find it, get it. There is a re-release out there but it's also pretty rare, worth it though....