Thanks for the invite to this!
So... gun-to-my-head short answer: old school. More thoughtful and complex answer: I can appreciate a lot of both.
Rap is something I not only grew up on, it’s something I grew up WITH. Sugar Hill Gang released Rapper’s Delight, commonly considered the first true mainstream rap single, the same year I was born. As a very young child I remember watching music videos of Run DMC, Kurtis Blow, The Fat Boys, etc.
More rappers and groups started emerging through the mid-to-late 80s: LL Cool J, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, and the legendary and influential Rakim, to name a few. THAT is what I consider the “old school”, given my age and perspective. The 90s rolled around and it was a different animal, the choppy and punchy cadence of 1980s rap went away in favor of smoother flows and deeper lyrics, one of the things I’d say is what made Rakim so influential, he stood out from other 80s rappers, I feel like he started smoothing things out, while still maybe being a little choppy by later standards.
Another group that took things a different angle was Public Enemy, a still-confusing King/jester juxtaposition between political activist lead man Chuck D and his hyperactive, and just plain weird, hypeman, Flavor Flav... yup, THAT guy, from reality TV lmfao.
The 90s... A LOT happened in the 90s. Sub-genres developed: gangsta rap like NWA and it’s offshoots, (and a sub-sub-genre Of G-Funk) mostly from the west coast; “boom-bap” (for the bass-snare drum beats associated with it) the New York brand of rap, with a very gritty feel to it; then there was the more jazz-infused stuff like A Tribe Called Quest. And in 1994, Wu-Tang Clan came out, and no one has really been like them before or since. I’d be very remiss not to mention 2Pac and The Notorious B. I. G. as major 90s acts (although if I’m being totally honest, the claims that either were the best ever never really started until they died). Bone Thugs N Harmony, also a very unique group that I’ve never heard anyone else sound like. Nas and Jay-Z also dropped their first few albums in the 90s, to critical acclaim.
The deaths of Biggie and 2Pac really marked a line between the old and the new. Puff Daddy came on the scene as non-sidekick, and he brought Mase with him. “Floss rap”, as i’d call it, became the norm, and it was all about clothes and jewelry and cars. That imagery was always there, but it really became the focus. It used to be about being gutter, now the focus was who was the most wealthy. Around this time is when the 2000s came around... but not before Eminem came out. Em is kind of “my guy” because I was in on him before he was popular, and I’d actually even say there’s a difference between old school and new school Em, and I prefer the former.
Post-2000s... I like the 2000s more than the 2010s. little (GAG will change to “little”🙄) Wayne is an all-timer. I loved Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, and my favorite was probably Dipset (Cam’ron, Juelz Santana, Jim Jones, Hell Rell, and a bunch of other dudes), a lot due to producer Just Blaze’s beats. Kanye West was awesome when he first came out too. I didn’t care for a lot of the “Dirty South” hip hop movement: little Jon, and things of that nature.
The 2010s started moving away from lyricism, in my opinion (not that Young Jeezy and Rick Ross were poets lmao, Wayne is an excellent lyricist though). There are some very good lyricists still, such as J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar. But a lot of new stuff sounds more like it’s about a vibe rather than the words, aka Mumble Rap, like Migos, Young Thug, and pretty much most rappers I hear these days, haha. It’s all that fast cadence stuff with words running into each other. Sounds cool, but all sounds the same, so it needs a great beat behind it to stand out to me.
You also have guys like Drake, and he’s got a million reasons I could dislike...
Don't really like either. It's just noise to me. I'll never forget the words of the great Ray Charles when he was asked about rap back in 1993, a few years after it became popular. The key is he said... as a musician, I can't learn anything from it. That's how I feel about it. I'm certain if he were alive today, the answer would be the same. The whole answer is below.
He was asked: How do you feel about today's music? Are you hearing anything you like?
RAY: Not much. I'm just not into rap. What is rap? Nothing but somebody talking. I did rap back in the Sixties with songs like "It Should Have Been Me," "Green Back Dollar Bill," "Game Number Nine," all those. See, I call myself a musician, so I want something to trigger my brain and make me sit up and say, "Did you hear that?" Like Oscar Peterson would play something on the piano, or Charlie Parker when he was alive, or Milt Jackson would play something on the vibes and they could make you say "Oh, wow!"
That's what I'm looking for. I don't hear that in rap. I'm not knocking it. It's great for the kids... they can dance to it and enjoy themselves and from what I hear some of it has good messages. But as a musician, I can't learn anything from it. If I can't gain anything, What's the point? I'm after style. When you put on a Duke Ellington or Count Basie record, no one has to tell you who. thev are. Why? Because they have a style all their own.
Rap is personally not my cup of tea, but I definitely think old school is better than modern. I guess I just hear so much on the radio that sounds almost exactly like the modern example you listed that I am completely sick of it.
Besides, I think that with most genres, the older music is better than the modern. Not trying to be obscure or anything, I just overall prefer older music and find the quality to be better as far as talent and lyrics go. For example, compare "We Are the World" by USA for Africa and "Earth" by little Dicky, and it's extremely obvious that the former had musicians with better talent and more meaningful lyrics, while the latter was full of autotune, profanity, and sexual innuendo designed purely for shock value and attention grabbing rather than lyrical quality. I think this comparison really shows how much music has declined over time, at least in my opinion. All I hear anymore is autotuned garbage that all sounds the same and has some stupid, cheap message (or lack thereof), like dumb songs like "break up with your girlfriend, i'm bored" (also, such a shame that Ariana Grande chooses to produce garbage like that when she's actually an extremely talented singer, but her music doesn't showcase it at all), rather than something that speaks to you and that you can relate to. Today's music isn't even catchy or anything.
I like old school rap because a lot of them tell a story and they can keep the lyrics clean (no swearing or such). Modern rap has a lot more repetitive lines that seem similar to any normal song with an added beat. I especially don’t like the mumble rap, because I like to hear words, not some 9yr old who thinks they got it trouble. There are some good modern rap, but I prefer old school.
I like old school,
back then I feel they put a lot more feelings in their songs
they were Real and more meaningful, talked about real world problems , the struggles..
nowadays i think its way to easy to become a rapper. some spit some verses that make absolutely no sense whatsoever and they are a rapper. Life has really changed since Biggie, Tupac and Eminen times so
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I was listening to Changes by Tupac yesterday and I just remember thinking, ‘damn. This is fucking amazing.’ A lot of old school rap talked about important issues and said stuff that mattered. For me, when I was listening to Changes, it made me want to take action to make the world a better place.
I absolutely hate modern rap because it feeds off of negative stereotypes and stigmas that are usually associated with the black community while at the same time reinforcing them. I want nothing to do with it. I had a coworker listening to it during closing and all I heard was the n word every other line, drugs, fucking bitches, etc.
I can’t fathom why anyone, especially a black person could stomach that stuff. Nothing important is being spoke about. Old school rap had cursing for sure. The n word was used. But those songs had meaning. They were telling stories and giving a message that had the ability to change people for the better. Today’s rap does the opposite.
i know you dont want to focus on the actual vids in question but it must be taken into account that the modern version is commercialised rubbish designed to sell to kids... i personally think modern rap can be extremely good and move things forward in a huge way but when i say that im thinking more of this
or this
80's is the best in my opinion. I have like 200 of them on my phone. Early - mid 80's have this Electro style added to it which I love. Vocoders, synthesizers, scratching. Good stuff. I can provide a list of my favorite artists if you are interested. Modern rap is very disturbing. So much swearing and no creativity. Just a bunch of "F*** this, n**** that" over and over. I often don't even understand what the song is about. They are trying to rhyme without making any sense.
Even though I prefer old school, I don't dislike new school.
And a mini rant: old heads and new heads need to mutually stop fucking bickering and pretending like one or the other is objectively better.
Old school all the way. Granted, I'm not a huge fan of rap either way but 99% of the rap I hear today is pretty crappy, whereas there are a few rap songs from like the 90s that I have added to my playlist.
Old school. These guys went through a lot, and their music shows it. it was like them telling their life story and everything that they've been through in a beat. Their songs had meaning, and you can only get that when you've been through what they have been through. Plus, I'm really sick of Fly Young Red singing about how much he really likes boy pussy.
modern rap sucks and this poll proves it. but i think old school rap refers to hip hop music in late 70's and early 80's. anyway i love 90's hip hop
i'm listening to this right now. i just love this beat
Old school rap is superior. Unlike all other genres, lyrics are everything. Modern rap focuses primarily on the track and it's beat. How it sounds. Old school rap focuses more on lyrics, which is what rap is meant to do.
Here is a list of old school wrap I love:
Anything by Africa Bamata and the soul sonic force
The message
Wrappers delight
Jam on it - nucleus
Rapture - blondy
Last night a DJ saved my life
Cb4 - sweat from my balls
Ice t original gangster
Run DMC hard times
Woomp there it is (smh)
List of new wrap that I like:
... Ummmm.
Oh, the weekend, pray for me. Nah. Actually, great track but the wrapping is kinda meh.
Oh wait. I forgot beat street... But that belongs on the other list.
u Most of popular songs and artists are utter shit. I have no idea how they get the views / popularity they do.
AHEM
The new generation of "rappers" doesn't rap, they just speak fast with a background music.
There is your answer, sis.
I like both, some 2Pac or NWA is always a good option on my playlist. However, there's also good rappers nowadays like Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, and/or J. Cole who had made great rap songs
I think they both have their gems. Im a fan of newer rap, but mostly stuff like slaughterhouse and NF. Logic is nice too. Not a big fan of old school rap. But some of it is really good. Ill listen to Nas.
I tend to favor modern-ish but more like this:
I much prefer old Rap like Tupac, NWA, Snoop, and Biggie. As the others were saying, they kept it real and had a lot more thoughts and feelings in what they wrote. Hell, they even rapped about actual issues.
Old-school so much better. All these new rappers having all these new different type of rapping styles
I like the old school rap.
I like some new modern rap but not a huge fan of it.
Whats weird is i like old school rap. Its fun to listen to. It doesn't feel as dark and language isn't colorful like modern rap. Even the same people who used to listen to the old school then won't do it now. They seem to laugh and find it lame.
Old school had more substance and talked about fun stuff like block parties and kicking it with the ladies. All they talk about now is violence being criminals and don't respect nothing not even themselves.
mgk is not modern rap. he is gentrified rap. look up vince staples or kendrick lamar, ybn cordae if you want modern rap (thats actually good too).
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