Rap	Oct 13 06:53 UTC 1991

        I noticed the lack of a rap item, and thought I'd enter one.
        (this after McNally browbeat me into finally joining this cf)

        Two disparate rap groups, Public Enemy and A Tribe Called Quest just 
released new albums.
        The News/Free Press gave A Tribe Called Quest high praise, in today's
"Homestyle" section: "('The Low End Theory') is definitely a step in a new 
direction for Quest, and a huge leap forward for one of rap's most 
ambitious front-runners"

        I don't fully agree with the "new direction" bit, but the rest, Yeah.

        Public Enemy's album isn't any great departure, but does feature 
"Bring the Noize", a re-make co-starring thrash metal band Anthrax. 
        
        More about both of these later.

        For now, I'm really curious if anyone here has ever heard of A Tribe
Called Quest. This is about as non-rap-appreciating group as I can imagine,
really (the people on this system, I mean). Mostly, probably, because I've 
yet to meet a single black user, and also because there's a large 
"intellectual" crowd. 

        I've heard rap described by my friends as "the disco of the 80's", 
meaning it would be a short-lived fad, rather than a legitimate music type.
They were clearly wrong, I think, but not everyone agrees with me.

        So here it is - the rap item. 

        
        I hope to at least get people accepting that there is good and
bad in rap, it doesn't all sound the same any more than "rock" does, and
the "rapping" done on TV shows and in movies like three men and a whatever,
(and that done by Vanilla Ice, evil bane of all rap), is as much 
rap as someone sitting and hitting the same key over and over on a piano
is classical music.

        Have at it.

response 2 of 41:

Oct 14 13:07 UTC 1991

Correct. Cooperation and mutual respect. Include in the Jungle Brothers.
And KMD. 

response 4 of 41:

Oct 15 04:15 UTC 1991

Actually, that's the point with De La Soul. They're more of a psychedelic-
oriented sort of rap, and apparently very fed up with all of the b/s running
around in the genre these days. 

Actually, I was rather fond of the old(er) style of rap, that came about
during the early eighties. Unusually enough, although most people would claim
rap to be a "ethnic" form of music, the only delimiter to the original groups
was a common lower-class background. Anyone remember... "Rappin' With The
Duke?"

However, I really don't care for a lot of modern rap. Some of the better 
songs by NWA and PE, and a few others, have music beyond a beat and stolen
clips. The majority of what's out today seems, to me at least, to be mostly
a drumbox, a sampling machine, and an endless drone of fronting from murder
to rape to racial violence coming from someone who's spent all of their life
in the subs.

response 6 of 41:

Oct 15 06:42 UTC 1991

  I find I prefer reggae-style raps to "real" raps.  Sly & Robbie are
pretty cool.

response 8 of 41:

Oct 15 22:39 UTC 1991

   This is interesting.  My perceptions are not what they should be from
what I see here.  I'm going to have to listen to some things that people
recomend there, and listen again.

response 10 of 41:

Oct 16 04:57 UTC 1991

My own feeling is that rap isn't aimed at me, so it's not too surprising
that I don't like it.  That's OK, I don't feel that my tastes incorporate
the sum total of good music.  I appreciate reading information about
all genres of music, so I hope the rap experts will be encouraged to
contribute here.

response 12 of 41:

Oct 16 06:02 UTC 1991

        Excuse me if I just spew information in no particular order...

response 14 of 41:

Oct 20 22:58 UTC 1991

I kinda like the Dream Warriors what I have heard from them so far
has been quite humorus.

response 16 of 41:

Oct 21 08:37 UTC 1991

  You've probably heard "My Definition of a Bombastic [Boombastic?]
Jazz Style" if you've heard anything by them.  They have a newer single
out that I've heard, too.

  They're OK, and "My Definition.." is amusing the first couple of times
you hear it but like anything else that gets too much airplay it grows
a little thin.

  One question I have for those of you who consider yourself rap fans is
whether or not raps have considerable lasting value for you.  Do you go
back and listen to the earlier albums by groups that you like or is a lot
of a rap's appeal tied up in its novelty and freshness?  It seems to me
that the people I know who are somewhat into rap don't ever seem to go back
and listen to the older stuff, they're just into whatever's current.
Are they exceptions to the rule or is that something that generally applies
to rap?

response 18 of 41:

Oct 22 17:40 UTC 1991

Whoops, have heard "My Definition..."
And I listen to older rap albums as much as I do my other older albums.
(older by time in my collection, as well as real time)
I just don't have too much older stuff.
Part of this might be that rap from the early eighties can be a whole
different thing than rap today...if you're talking actual age.
If you're talking about getting tired of albums, I haven't found that 
problem any more than in other music.

response 20 of 41:

Apr 24 04:23 UTC 1992

  The only "album" I have is one called Laff Attack, which has the 
classic (?) Rapping the Duke and a few others. I find most if it is
crap, but there *ARE* precious few rap songs that I will spend money on.

response 22 of 41:

Aug 1 17:36 UTC 1992

Anyone interested in the newest rap and hip-hop sounds should check out the
Nectarine on Monday's, in the Sludge Club (the basement).  The music played
there tends not to be gang rap or hardcore (terms for the more violent music
of the genre) but extremely danceable.

One of my favorites is _Masters at Work_, a kinda hip-hop/reggae/tribal/funky
group.

response 24 of 41:

Aug 5 04:31 UTC 1992

Hmmm...I picked my copy up (CD) during the Art Fair at WhereHouse; it was the
last one, but I'd be surprised if they haven't re-stocked it by now. Really
worth listening to- *supremely* intelligent lyrics, cool sounds. If you
absolutely can't find it, I'd be happy to make a tape for you. Just let me 
know.