Maybe you guys can offer thoughts on these individual rappers.











Post more later when I dig more up. It's 2 am.

Maybe you guys can offer thoughts on these individual rappers.

Pouya [+]

I wouldn't even say he's up and coming anymore, he's like a figurehead of the underground scene (can you call it grime/horrorcore? IDEK what to call it.) overshadowed by $uicideboy$ and maybe XXXtentacion (because X is a hypebeast). He's young too, there's some footage of him out there that's like, from him when he was 17. And it's actually really good. I just really like his flow, and his lyrical style.

Night Lovell [+]

Good flow. Good rhymes, not too lyrical, but it gets the job done and is good music for when you just relaxing cause it doesn't require thought to process. He just rapping about some dumb shit and sometimes that is all I want.

KVKA [+]

Personally one of my favorite tracks, KVKA always on spot with the flow, gotta say lyrically he's kinda repetitive at times but again, sometimes it is just this type of music that you're looking for. Same with how you listen to Chief Keef when you wanna ride, you listen to this when you trynna get pumped or wanna get in a savage mood or something.

I specifically like the line I got dreams like I'm Martin. Feels kinda clever, even though it's basic as fuck.

Also the bass just claps hard as fuck and I love that shit. Honestly.

$uicideboy$ [+]

Suicideboys are like at the fucking forefront of the underground grime-y scene of rap. They have dirty af beats, dirty af lyrics, and aren't afraid on stepping on toes when it comes to being straight up just dirty.

Rich Chigga [+]

he's my dad


he's also funny af

Post more later when I dig more up. It's 2 am.

i fuck with each and every single one of these people

Listened to everything. @Buddha



I do kind of enjoy the instrumental of the Dark Light, I can easily see that be turn your brain off and vibe music.

I'll give some props, to Suicide Boy, I NO LONGER FEAR THE RAZOR GUARDING MY HEEL. Not a whole lot of 7 minute rap songs and it seemed a little experimental too...I can at least see the appeal.



For Rich Chigga. I always appreciate people with senses of humor.

Pouya

Scrubs was a really… really good piece, though I can’t help but think Shakewell was the most interesting part of it. Were Pouya’s side of the song bland or outright bad? Probably not, but I can’t help but think Pouya is the less capable MC. Shakewell’s flow is so quick and smooth whilst Pouya has a quick noticeably less refined spitting ability. I’d be interested in hearing more by either, though.

Night Lovell

Could be this the MC to change my feelings on cloud rap? Hard to say outright, but I can tell you that I enjoyed these two tracks at the very least. Lovell has a nice, hazy and laid back approach as a MC and that can be something that can work really well [which I have experienced with Chance the Rapper before]. At the very least, I’ll be looking for a copy of his 2016 LP, Red Teenage Melody as soon as I can due to how quick these two tracks captured my attention. Perhaps repeated listens could give me an idea what I think of his wordplay and phrasing more concisely.

KVKA

The first thing that hit me was the mixing was pretty… off. The rapping itself is mixed too low, whilst the instrumentation is way too high; and with that said I don’t think the beat matched the rapping itself, but perhaps this sort of disorienting approach was intentional. This is just my first impression of the song you’ve shown me, after all. Anyway, the rap itself and not the production of it: do I like it? The answer is I’m not quite so sure, though I do like the lyrical content and phrasing. His slow punchy style does work with the subject matter but I can’t help but keep getting distracted by the beat behind it. KVKA is obviously proficient as a rapper, but it’s hard to separate the rap from the beat when it is just so poorly mixed to the point I’m just not interested in finishing the listen to completion.

$uicideboy$

I don’t think I’ve heard my two least favorite styles of hip hop merged into one cohesive style before, but I guess that’s what $uicideboy$ are doing here. I’ve never really felt interested in their work enough to listen to them, which I suppose would not be surprising if you understand that I really don’t like cloud rap or trap rap. I don’t like their style nor do I like how their music is put together. But again, in my prior experiences with cloud rap and trap rap I have never found something I really could appreciate on a mechanical, aesthetic, or lyrical level. I don’t think $uicideboy$ will fill in that gap for me based on these samples, though it is hard to say how valid my opinion could be without listening to a full record (such as Eternal Grey or Dark Side of the Clouds) to see how it fits in with a full narrative and artistic moment.

Rich Chigga

I’m actually familiar with Rich Chigga, though I’m still trying to process what I think about him. He’s released a few singles and so far he just seems like a really competent emulation of his influences. However, Back At It was a nice listen regardless of that fact.

@QueenOfTheBee that's not much of an analysis.

@SleepingSilence $uicideboy$ is really experimental I guess mostly because they are doing what, afaik, nobody else is really doing. But it works for me and they've influenced a lot of people.

@Inkarnate I can definitely agree that Shakewell had the better verse. I mean that line, 'ey yo Pouya, I been praying a lot, but I don't know who's talking back, is it Satan or God?' is just the nail in the coffin at that point. I guess at that point no matter what Pouya did, he would've sounded off. But then look at these two:





Now contrast that to Billy Mays, which is probably my favorite track of his, or Suicidal Thoughts in the Back of the Cadillac.





Perhaps putting scrubs as his track to judge by was a bit unfair, given that it's one of his weaker tracks (but it's so good tho) but perhaps you can see a bit more of why I like him on these respectively.

I have Night Lovell's album and it's a mixed bag. I picked his best tracks on this one and while I definitely like listening to all his tracks, Contraband or Dark Light are definitely ''better''. I still suggest you give it a listen though.

Maybe you guys can offer thoughts on these individual rappers.

Pouya [+]

I wouldn't even say he's up and coming anymore, he's like a figurehead of the underground scene (can you call it grime/horrorcore? IDEK what to call it.) overshadowed by $uicideboy$ and maybe XXXtentacion (because X is a hypebeast). He's young too, there's some footage of him out there that's like, from him when he was 17. And it's actually really good. I just really like his flow, and his lyrical style.

i haven't listened to scrubs yet, when it comes to pouya i mainly just been listening to drop out of school lately. tho, after hearing this, i think i might end up playing underground underdog more often cause this shit was dope. honestly tho i think out of the two, shakewell killed it most on this track. tbh it should be shakewell - scrubs (ft. pouya) LOL

aside from that, another dope track and pouya got good flow and bars as always. yuh/10

Night Lovell [+]

Good flow. Good rhymes, not too lyrical, but it gets the job done and is good music for when you just relaxing cause it doesn't require thought to process. He just rapping about some dumb shit and sometimes that is all I want.

when yo bitch wan sum fuk

in other news, dunno why i been sleeping on this guy. honestly prefer dark light over contraband since the latter is, like you said, some dumb shit, but holyyyyyy fuckkkkk that bass boost at the end of contraband. the two are pretty fuckin different though, most ppl wouldn't even know they were both made by the same artist if it weren't for the title lmao. i think i listened to one of night's tracks before, trees of the valley, and that was pretty dope too. probably gonna save an album or two on spotify now

KVKA [+]

Personally one of my favorite tracks, KVKA always on spot with the flow, gotta say lyrically he's kinda repetitive at times but again, sometimes it is just this type of music that you're looking for. Same with how you listen to Chief Keef when you wanna ride, you listen to this when you trynna get pumped or wanna get in a savage mood or something.

I specifically like the line I got dreams like I'm Martin. Feels kinda clever, even though it's basic as fuck.

Also the bass just claps hard as fuck and I love that shit. Honestly.

kvka is the only person in this list i ain't listened to before and i hate myself for it. fukken saved.

dope bass clap and dope lyricism, i think i also just like the raw way he delivers his lines LOL. legit just sounds like he shouting in a studio or some shit like that. gonna check out some more tracks later. repetition don't matter when it's lit af.

$uicideboy$ [+]

Suicideboys are like at the fucking forefront of the underground grime-y scene of rap. They have dirty af beats, dirty af lyrics, and aren't afraid on stepping on toes when it comes to being straight up just dirty.

you will forever be a god for introducing $uicideboy$ to me. i don't think there will ever be a time that i'll stop fucking with them. i'll be fucking 80 and still poppin to south side $uicide, man.

Rich Chigga [+]

he's my dad


he's also funny af

i wonder how many secret children rich chigga got at this point. i've decided i'm one of them.

he got bars though. sweet to see another young rapper on the scene. seventeen is also another good track (fucking love it, got me to listen to him more often)

also his eyes are blinking in that back at it video. tfffffff

Post more later when I dig more up. It's 2 am.

please

@Buddha Listened to most of it. ;P

I do tend to listen to different instrumental backgrounds overall. But I do find's Joey Badass's flow and wordplay fairly engaging. As for underachievers, that's somebody I'm already familiar with.

Since we're still on rap/hip-hop. Here's just a few artists of my own. :P









As for a question and discussion everyone can join in, I've had this discussion with other people online, and with family and friends.

Do you listen to more happy/positive lyrical music or do you listen to more negative/sad sounding music? And why?

I've always personally felt like music in nearly every genre just sounds better when it comes from a desperate/dark place. Most sad music, whether musically or only lyrically (when they use happier beats to hide a darker message) just seems like the artists are trying harder. Though maybe the point of happy music isn't to be thought provoking. I suppose since I do pay attention to lyrics probably more than most, though I've even gotten a little more lenient past my teen years. I still can have good music utterly ruined by the lyrics. I know everyone has different genre tastes, but most genres has plenty of both positive and negative. I just have always leaned toward the latter.

Also I just looked up something that actually kind of surprises me, that kind of drifts to another topic altogether. Apparently rock sells twice as much as pop music, which really makes me amused since pop music is apparently not all that popular anymore. When I know I've been into more than a few. "Pop is loved by the most people, that's why it's called pop!" discussions back in my day.
digitalmusicnews.com/2016/04/07/most-p..
musicbusinessworldwide.com/rock-music-..
gigwise.com/news/97927/rock-music-bigg..

Do you listen to more happy/positive lyrical music or do you listen to more negative/sad sounding music? And why?

I don’t think I’ve ever attempted to quantify mood in my record collection. There are many things I’ve attempted to quantify, but it has never been that aspect of music as it varies. There are brilliantly written songs about hopeful and optimistic fonts just as much as there are profound works scripted in cynicism and despair. I don’t go out of my way to seek out mood very often, but on that loose point I’d like to say when I am depressed or anxious I often listen to depressed and anxious music such as I listen to the opposite when I am not. When my mood is neutral it ends up a little of column a and column b, as well.

Though maybe the point of happy music isn't to be thought provoking.

I do not agree with this assessment. Many albums have proven that music attempting to inspire “light” emotions can be just as intelligent and profound as any dark record. It just so happens that the tortured artist point-of-view is a well-known perspective and while it is true that much profound music has come from the “dark side”, that does not mean that the opposite cannot or is not.

Apparently rock sells twice as much as pop music

When it comes to albums, most contemporary pop music is a singles game and not an albums game. That is why even the most conventional and basic rock music will outsell basic pop music on a median average. You must understand that just because pop art is called pop does not mean it is popular; that is a longstanding musical myth that anyone with a modicum of education in music understands.

I can definitely agree that Shakewell had the better verse. I mean that line, 'ey yo Pouya, I been praying a lot, but I don't know who's talking back, is it Satan or God?' is just the nail in the coffin at that point. I guess at that point no matter what Pouya did, he would've sounded off. Perhaps putting scrubs as his track to judge by was a bit unfair, given that it's one of his weaker tracks (but it's so good tho) but perhaps you can see a bit more of why I like him on these respectively.

Yeah, I liked “Undecided” and “Billy Mays” a bit more than his verse on the aforementioned song. I can really appreciate how the man can spit yet retain a fluidity that a lot of people would find difficult to do—or at least just as well. I think the lesson learned here with Pouya is he shouldn’t let Shakewell do a guest spot.

Now something entirely different. Gangsta Gibbs was probably my first experience with real gangsta hiphop that wasn't modern-day 'I'm a banger gratata bang bang 300' stuff. He's kinda like old school gangsta rap (and he's older so I guess that makes sense). He's a real one too. If you see someone smoking crack in his video? That's a guy they hired off the street to smoke real crack. No actor shit. He's real. He cooking crack? Real. He tasting it? Real.

Freddie Gibbs is probably my favorite artist that you’ve discussed thus far and I am very familiar with his body of work. His versatility, flow, and storytelling is pretty much up there with the greats and I’d be pretty comfortable calling him one of my favorite rappers of the new generation. He hasn’t had an album as good as Piñata yet, but he’s supposed to have a follow-up collaboration between him and Madlib coming up this year so you can say I’m pretty excited for that.

I mostly just enjoy their beats, samples and flows but they have some lyrical shit in there that I do enjoy a lot. But eh, idk, you kinda have to be in the mood for it? It's very uplifting music in a way because it's very spiritual and talks about peace and love and other shit like that.

Slick. I like these guys; best songs you have, in my opinion, dropped so far that I have not heard before. I like their flow a lot, but the production behind it is what instantly got my attention—positively polished mixing of jazz-y samples and a warm timbre to it. What’s not to like about something like this?

@Inkarnate Try this:

I heard hip-hop in that OP. What do people think of XXXTENTACION? I'm aware that he's essentially become a meme after "Look At Me" and the fact that he worked with Ski Mask The Slump God, but he's got some good shit. If you don't mind the...interesting artistic choice of putting a KKK speech at the end of it, "Riot" is fucking amazing. "Vice City" is fantastic. "Save Me" and "#IMSIPPINTEAINYOHOOD" are really angry, pretty short, but that's kinda my jam. Not for everyone, though.

Also, is it me, or has rap gotten pretty damn depressing lately? I mean, there's always been some sad-shit, but now you've got Suicideboys (however that's stylized) and shit. Then there's that new Uzi Vert song. "XO Tour Life" which is hella depressing, but I love it. Is that just a change in taste? Has this been going on for a while? I only recently started listening to new shit after years of pretentiously clinging to my Wu-Tang albums and claiming there's no such thing as good, new, rap.

In terms of something not hip-hop, anyone heard the new NOFX album? First Ditch Effort. It's a pretty wild departure from the norm for them. Less silly and "man isn't punk rock great?" and more introspective and somber. "Six Years on Dope" was immediately one of my favorite songs ever, and that's all about them regretting the whole "super coked out, all the time" thing that NOFX had going, as far as I can tell. "I Don't Like Me Anymore" is a glorious anthem for people who find themselves becoming dickish as they get older. "I'm So Sorry Tony" is one of the best tribute songs ever, and easily the best Tony Sly tribute out there. It's so personal, but I feel it so hard. It's weird to hear Fat Mike not angry or excited in his songs, but damn if he doesn't pull it off. Guess an old dog can learn new tricks.

@Fisticuffs I love XXX. Most his songs are just lit hypebeast tracks and a few of them are lyrically just really good. I don't mind the KKK speech in Riot. It serves its purpose, and it definitely fits the rest of the song.

I think you might be misunderstanding XO tour life. "All his friends are dead" refers to his only friends being dead presidents (money). The rest of it is about how his girlfriend broke up with him, telling him to get off the xanny, and how she was pushing him to the edge. I don't think it's depressing per say. But yeah overall this has been going on for a while.

@Buddha Oh, I love X. His range is so weird to think about. "Save Me" is the same guy who did "I Spoke To The Devil in Miami" is the same guy who did "Run Up On Me" is the same guy who did "Vice City". It's crazy.

As for the KKK speech in Riot, I think it makes sense. It fits the song, definitely. God forbid your über liberal roommate walks in while you're listening to it.

As for Tour Life...really? I got the girl friend angst part, but was I just not listening to the kyrics hard enough to catch the bit about dead presidents, or does that go back to another Lil Uzi Vert song? I've heard nothing else of his. UntilTour Life, he was just the guy from the Sprite commercials.

@Fisticuffs nah he doesn't explicitly 'state' that it's about dead presidents but it's what you can infer given the lingo surrounding dead presidents. It's a common theme, hence I just automatically made that link as did many others.

@Buddha I can sorta see it, now, going in with that knowledge. Never been the best at finding meanings outside of the direct words. You know that Atmophere song, "Your Glass House"? People say that's about the War in Iraq, but I can't see it.

@Fisticuffs I definitely never heard that before but I don't know the song. I think it references alcoholism/party culture being toxic af.

@Buddha Right? That would only make sense. A little research gives me people saying they've heard that, and there's a bit about it on the Wikipedia page. Can't find any real sources. One those things that everyone has heard, but no one remembers where they heard it.

I don’t think I’ve ever attempted to quantify mood in my record collection. There are many things I’ve attempted to quantify, but it has never been that aspect of music as it varies. There are brilliantly written songs about hopeful and optimistic fonts just as much as there are profound works scripted in cynicism and despair. I don’t go out of my way to seek out mood very often, but on that loose point I’d like to say when I am depressed or anxious I often listen to depressed and anxious music such as I listen to the opposite when I am not. When my mood is neutral it ends up a little of column a and column b, as well.

I do agree that good music is pretty much anywhere you look, if you look hard enough for it. I'd possibly consider writing purely positive vs negative music might require completely different writing to make them brilliant. But I know plenty of overall positive songs that are brilliantly written, but a lot of them do stem from triumphing over the greatest struggles. The 'finding the light through the darkness' hopefulness that is a strong sentiment, but I'd argue it still needs that "negativity" or the more accurate word "drama" to be powerful.

The idea of not searching for mood in music is an interesting one and really I don't have much consistency in my playlist or when just casually looking up stuff to listen to either. Listening to some sad melancholic rap to, in your face metal, back into some happy pop song on the fly. Usually only in the most extreme moods do I every really purposefully avoid certain music. Though I am interested in asking, does your "seldom searching for a certain mood in music" include when your writing/roleplaying? Do you/can you not write with music playing? I find it sometimes a necessity for me to write certain scenes I'm creating with the write music to get me into that mindset.

I do not agree with this assessment. Many albums have proven that music attempting to inspire “light” emotions can be just as intelligent and profound as any dark record. It just so happens that the tortured artist point-of-view is a well-known perspective and while it is true that much profound music has come from the “dark side”, that does not mean that the opposite cannot or is not.

What are some examples you'd consider is purely wholesome, good and optimistic albums. (not just songs.) But entire albums with nothing but positivity, ignoring or minimizing as much as possible of the drama and the adversity and the overcoming of such things. That is overall a brilliant piece of writing? I know a lot of fantastic albums where the light is at the end of the tunnel, and is so strong because of the darkness previously displayed. But I really don't have many all fun and games albums that I'd consider lyrically brilliant or anything but fun to listen to. I suppose other than the parody and silly ones that come to mind. (and the good musically though not lyrical in writing, purely instrumental bands that put on the feel good vibe.) So a couple examples would be fantastic. ^-^

When it comes to albums, most contemporary pop music is a singles game and not an albums game. That is why even the most conventional and basic rock music will outsell basic pop music on a median average. You must understand that just because pop art is called pop does not mean it is popular; that is a longstanding musical myth that anyone with a modicum of education in music understands.

I do understand that. Those "pop is popular" discussions were not ones lead by me. I don't know if I made that clear, but yeah I'm aware that's not the truth. But don't have much more to add. <.<

What are some examples you'd consider is purely wholesome, good and optimistic albums. (not just songs.) But entire albums with nothing but positivity, ignoring or minimizing as much as possible of the drama and the adversity and the overcoming of such things. That is overall a brilliant piece of writing?

Oh I'll take this one because I haven't paid any attention to the conversation but boy do I have a bunch of shit people are gonna probably not like but totally fit the criteria of wholesome albums!



(Really a lot of their stuff fits this, especially their early stuff)

(Just like all their albums too)

(Deerhoof is wholesome energy in music form)

(The album 'Everywhere' is good vibes)

(Honestly, this band is cheating it's all happy)





(Nefi + Girly is about cats playing in the yard it's optimistic as hell)

(ANd the album it came from 'THunder, Lightning Strike')

(Also the album it came from, Grand. At this point I'm just getting on the nose)

(The album 'Lighght' as well)

(Listen to track 10 for a spot with our favorite rapper man!)

(Give all of Graduation a listen and tell me it ain't an upbeat album with positivity)

I probably missed the specifics of what you're looking for but whatever, here's some basic stuff.