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Nah'Sun

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Everything posted by Nah'Sun

  1. @ Troy Side A You're playing with semantics Intrique and interest are the same thing by definition Intrique - to arouse the curiosity or INTEREST of by unusual, new, or otherwise fascinating or compelling qualities; appeal strongly to; I see I'm not the only one who has a way with words Side B I'm not your son You're getting emotional now You don't know how old I am...I was alive, well, and aware during the 80s Once again, Hip-Hop is not even 40 years old Just because you were alive during the inception of Hip-Hop doesn't mean you were active in the culture with an understanding of it Just like living in the projects doesn't make someone tough with street smarts Get off the age thing...the horse is dead Side C I'm basing my opinions of your thoughts on Hip-Hop on the strength your posts You don't strike me as someone who has a vast knowledge of Hip-Hop regardless of living in Harlem during that time There's people living in Harlem today who've never heard of the 5 Percent Nation of Gods and Earths when the Allah School is right there on 126th street and 7th Ave C'mon now...LOL I salute anybody who corrects me on any form of history Side D I NEVER said Cab Calloway originated the call and response style I used his name to answer Cynique to show similiarites and a bridge between rappers and jazz musicians in modern times on a mainstream level Hell, they showed the call and response style amongst slaves on the field in the movie Roots You're preaching to the choir when you mention the griots of West Africa and Kemetic storytellers Stop with the condescension by tossing in history lessons...LOL Side E Rap IS the last American art-form What came after rap??? I thought so It's unfair to put an age limit on rap and Hip-Hop...you can't put an age limit on timeless music And yes, I don't know a world without rap However, you don't know me on a personal level to make a statement about my worldly views...LOL Side F There are different forms of rap music And THAT'S why I see myself as a Hip-Hopper until the lights go out in this small world I'm sure Professor Griff is hitting 50...he's still reppin Hip-Hop How is Hip-Hop a flash in the pan when it's WORLDWIDE, Troy? We're not talking about the pet rock here WIth all due respect, you're not making any sense with that last post I seriously doubt something that lasted this long with the power of bringing nationalities and ethniticites together is a flash in the pan That power is the reason why Hip-Hop was co-opted in the first place I'm starting to believe you're arguing just for the sake of doing it
  2. @ Writer Girl I had agreed with you about the reactions between rap and street lit I only differed when it came to quality At least you admit you don't pay attention to Hip-Hop as much...kudos And in all modesty... I am an expert on Hip-Hop because I AM HIP-HOP
  3. @ Writer Girl The NWA thing was moreso toward Troy I'm just saying that Eminem hasn't invented the wheel or has done anything different that was already done before and after him besides sell tons of records I think people are moreso intrigued that a white dude can actually rhyme and keep up with the brothas than his actual content You automatically put yourself in the crossfire when you agreed with Troy with the Eminem co-signment I see you're forgetting about Lupe Fiasco and Kanye West in that 15 year span I don't know any rapper who made a song about Jesus in "Jesus Walks" and made it hot as Kanye Now that's interesting Once again...to each their own
  4. @ Cynique Not content to aggrandize rap, you want to elevate to the top position a type of music that consists of spitting out a bunch of repetitive, deliberately profane rhymes, the themes of which are unintentionally trite, having long ago lost their shock value. That comment alone shows me you know nothing about rap music I'm not discrediting others...I refuse to allow someone to give a half assed critique on Hip-Hop The majority of my opinions are backed up with facts...the rest are subjective I showed and proved all my arguements with examples, something that I hardly witnessed in this thread besides theories and assumptions And yes, Cab Calloway, if was alive and kicking now, would be considered a hype man for his call and response style The age issue is getting tired now...come up with a different arguement Anything you say to me from now on is irrelevant Carry on and sing the blues with your sweet sixteens POW!
  5. @ Troy and Writer Girl Wait a minute It’s funny that ya’ll giving Eminem a pass when he was accused of being homophobic and rapped about killing and burying his baby mother’s, popping pills, and other debauchery, but yet you shit on NWA??? How can you relate to that??? Hahahahahaha Eminem hasn’t done anything different that rappers before AND after him had already done If anything, DMX had made more of an impact in the last 15 years in the rap game besides 50 Cent Eminem is a dope artist, but to say he’s the most intriguing artist in the last 15 years is laughable I hope the “Elvis Presley syndrome” is not present in this thread I’m just saying @ Cynique I own the Love Supreme album by John Coltrane (Thanks to Mo’ Better Blues)…Blue Train is one of my favorite albums I even have a poster of the Blue Train album cover on my wall…LOL Cab Calloway was probably the ORIGINAL RAPPER with his call and response technique that MCs used in the 80s If it wasn’t for rap producers sampling their songs, I would find myself totally ignorant of jazz and blues and other forms of music When I say the Golden Age of Black Music, that’s not to negate the contributions of brothers like Gillespie and Little Richard That’s to say that modern Black music has reached its zenith when it came to world recognition and its height of creativity Side B How many rappers know that the frenetic be-bop music of genuises like Charlie Parker were in the vanguard of free style as an art form. Be-Bop IS freestyle rap…Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest had acknowledged that in their Beats, Rhymes and Life documentary A lot of the samples and influences in the late 80s and 90s rap CAME from artists like Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Billie Holliday and those of their ilk Lupe Fiasco had recently recorded a controversial song about American politics called “Strange Fruition” that plays off the song “Strange Fruit” Digable Planets, A Tribe Called Quest, Large Professor, Guru (RIP) from Gangstarr and countless others have acknowledged jazz and various elements of that genre as a major influence in their music Seen a show with Marvin Gaye last night, it had me shook Drippin peppermint Schnapps, with Jackie Wilson, and Sam Cooke Then some lady named Billie Holiday Sang sittin there kickin it with Malcolm, 'til the day came – Tupac “Thug Mansion” Enuff said Side C The assumptions and presumptions in this thread is ridiculously funny…hahahahahaha Miles Davis had worked with rap producer Easy Mo Bee and won a Grammy for the Doo Bop album!!! Ya'll are making this too easy for me To use age as a measure of wisdom is a dangerous belief considering that I, and others I know, are listeners of music that predates funk and disco dating back to high school How the hell do you think teenage and mid-20 producers were able to dig deep and find songs to sample??? I’m convinced Cynique, Troy, and Writer Girl are causal rap music listeners (and that’s being generous) and have limited knowledge about Hip-Hop on the strength of their responses If you gonna talk about rap, AT LEAST have a decent history about the genre before debating or presenting an argument…this thread is filled with stereotyping and assumptions Rap music is pretty much the love child of EVERY genre of music…it’s a melting pot of those elements mixed with various rhyming styles It’s the last American art form I’ll ALWAYS call myself a Hip-Hopper til the day I return to the ancestors Point blank Hip-Hop as a whole is just getting to be 40 years old
  6. @ Troy Side A My bad I meant to say perception…NOT perspective People do have similarities to each other when it comes to age…you did not say that in your original statements You said perception…and perception by definition is how someone views a person, place or thing based on their value system Theoretically, an older person should have a wide range of perception…it’s just dangerous to assume someone younger than you doesn’t when you’re building with them on an one-on-one basis like we’re doing now I’m considered an old soul (whatever that means)…so my perception is supposedly different from those in my age bracket…I just see the world for what it is and strive to think outside the box Side B I do not recall hearing a contemporary rap song that sampled a beat I was unfamiliar with. That quote shows me your range of rap music is limited Producers are infamously known for masking samples by chopping them up so no one can figure them out…especially producers like DJ Premier Chopping up samples is a slick way to avoid paying for them As far as Lux…like I said, to each their own…he destroyed Calicoe in that battle His flow, lyrics and use of metaphors and punchlines are advanced in contrast to the 80s, 90s and 2000s I don’t see how you can say Eminem is the only artist that interest you in the past 15 years Side C Just because you still have producers sampling James Brown doesn’t mean they’re popular That particular sound isn't dominating the airwaves Like I said before, it’s not what you sample, it’s HOW you sample the song Some producers may just his voice in a song and therefore the sample is credited There are many ways to sample a song…not everybody sample the loop and call it a day The production in rap music has advanced since it’s inception Side D I wanna know the same of these artists that your daughters know…LOL There aren’t a lot of women whom I come across, especially those born in the 90s, that listen to underground music I seriously doubt they listen to Dead Prez or Jedi Mind Tricks…I’m just saying ?uestLove is a dope drummer…if he wasn’t, you wouldn’t have artists, even those outside of rap, asking for his services
  7. @ Troy Side A It’s very dangerous to put people in the box based on age Age doesn't automatically give one a heighten sense of perspective...I know those who suffer from arrested development as they numerically get older I’ve met A LOT of old fools in my life time…I know children who have more sense than their parents! LOL You’ll be amazed how many people born in the 80s and 90s appreciate artists and songs from the past The problem is NOT age…the problem is not exposing the youth to their history and failing to pass down traditions…that art is lost in the Black community specifically I don’t expect a 50 year old to dig Loaded Lux…which is why I said “to each their own” I’m just saying Lux is a dope lyricist as I’m tired of people saying that rap is not what it used to be when they don’t dig deep for new music Side B Rap producers sample a variety of music…you’re stuck in the 90s because no one samples James Brown or Funkadelic anymore…LOL It's also not what you sample, but HOW you sample “Nautilus” from Bob James is an extremely popular song to sample in rap circles, but EVERY producer who sampled that song added their own spice and made it fresh It’s no different from writing books in the same genre as thousands of other authors and putting your own spin to a particular subject Sampling songs can also be used as a tool to teach the youth about the past so they can LEARN about the artists that are sampled Side C So you’re saying “Fuck the Police” and “Express Yourself” aren’t socially conscious??? “Fuck the Police” was so powerful that the Feds had sent them a letter to cease performing that song Once again, James Brown used to physically abuse Tammi Terrell, and Dr. King was said to be a womanizer and cheat on Coretta Scott King…but those actions don’t diminish their contributions to Black history I’m not saying anybody’s perfect…I’m saying look at the SUM of the body of work instead of the half NWA during their Straight Outta Compton days are just as important as Public Enemy when it comes to bringing forth social consciousness They just put a gangster twist to it I can’t say the same for their album “Niggaz 4 Life” because that album was totally ignorant…LMAO Side D I argue that the very nature of rap music is the reason: repetitive beats we've heard before, rap lyrics spewing the same braggadocio. You’re judging rap as a whole based on what you hear and see on radio and TV Commercial rap music is repetitive You gotta go to the underground to find fresh material You don’t dig deep for rap music…so I wouldn’t expect you to know there are a good number of artists that are STILL pushing the creative envelope Me personally, I prefer rap music from the 80s and 90s…however, I still keep my eyes and ears open to the streets Comparing Jay-Z to The Last Poets is apples and oranges…they don’t have the same content or flavor You would've been better using The Roots
  8. @ Troy Side A Here you go again with the age thing The Superfly soundtrack is my FAVORITE soundtrack to date…the lyrics and musical composition of Superfly from Curtis is genius In fact, I would say the lyrical content of that album is STILL relevant because I really don’t see a change in society from then to now…but that’s another subject It’s unfair to compare today’s music to that era because the 70’s is the GOLDEN AGE of Black music, or R&B in general A lot of the samples in rap songs come from that era You’re assuming too much about my musical taste based on age which is unwise thinking within itself One should NEVER judge someone based on age, but rather from their knowledge, wisdom and understanding along with their actions Side B Now I KNOW you don’t have a close ear to rap music to say that Eminem is the last MC to come out in the last 15 years that interest you...LOL To each their own My conclusions are drawn from your perception that a gangster rapper can’t be socially conscious at the same time The beauty of rap music IS its contradictions and politically incorrectness because that’s the reflection of the human psyche "Double Think," as George Orwell would say Dr King was said to be a womanizer, but that doesn’t negate his contributions to the Civil Rights Movement I believe Rap music was destroyed by those attempting to make more and more and more money from it while contributing less and less to art. When money became more important than the art, the art was destroyed. That’s ONE thing I agree with you on And that quote from yours reminds me of today’s Black fiction market What’s sad is that listeners and readers can’t see how the arts and crafts nowadays are severely dumbed down By the way… Loaded Lux is one of the reasons why lyricism is RELEVANT in today’s rap music without the help of a catchy beat or chorus Once again, to each their own
  9. @ Troy SIDE A You’re making seem as if NWA were responsible for the demise of rap music I never said NWA were perfect, but you can’t show the negative without acknowledging the positive Simple as that NWA was a mere reflection of what was going on in Compton with all the gang violence and the mentality behind it whether you liked it or not Even conscious rappers were influenced by NWA One group who held the torch for so-called Gangster Rap doesn’t negate the conscious movement of the late 80s They complimented each other, and showed there’s room for everybody Just like how there’s room for Street Lit The reason why NWA sold more than Public Enemy was because sensationalism and violence SELLS…that goes YEARS BEYOND rap music…just like how people will slow down to watch a car crash SIDE B And since we wanna post YouTube clips, check out Loaded Lux’s third verse in this battle against Calicoe This battle was this past August Loaded Lux's (the guy rocking the black suit) lyrics will show you that MCs STILL have something historical and socially relevant to say…even in an MC Battle You don’t have to watch the whole battle, just watch the clip starting at the 34 minute mark
  10. @ Cynique Once again…it’s Nah’Sun Not Nah’Shun Write a book or somethin’ I see you can't process my name the same way I wrote Winter as Writer's Girl name @ Troy So you want your gangster rappers to NOT have any consciousness in their music? Comparing drug dealing to rap music is a bad analogy Rap music isn’t responsible for damn near single handedly destroy a generation NWA and Ice-T were just as important to Hip-Hop as Public Enemy and Big Daddy Kane To come out with a song called "Fuck The Police" was very powerful and bold at the same time As far as Cynique…I guess I’m her new crush since the other guys hardly post here anymore Old women need love, too I guess
  11. @ Cynique For someone who clowned me about calling Writer Girl "Winter," you sure did a great job with spelling my name It's Nah'Sun There's no second "h" after the "s" I'm glad you read and study my posts...I'm honored @ Troy and Writer Girl I had to jab her back from the last thread....that's all @ Hickson Leave the CAPS alone, homie...you're doing yourself a GREAT disservice by being stubborn about your typing style
  12. Don't mind Cynique, Hickson She's just an old bitter author whose time done passed her by like that Pharcyde song I HATE when you type in CAPS, but I'll say get your money and do your thing
  13. @ Cynique I did make sense of your post...I just thought it was flawed And I got a good laugh out for your spite I was waiting for my first taste of a Cynique sarcastic remark...thank you...I'm honored @ Troy We're gonna have to agree to disagree with the age part Age doesn't automatically give you wisdom and a greater perspective of life...I've met a lot of old fools in my time who are living in their second childhood Back to rap music... Now you're on a totally different arguement when you bring up today's rappers We're talking about the late 80s, remember? Not our contemporaries Gangster rap may have impacted YOU...but that's not to say it had impacted the entire country in the late 80s Because to keep it funky with you, you STILL had socially conscious music coming out the West Coast I'm sure you heard of "We All in the Same Gang" from the West Coast All-Stars MC's still use DJs...they're just not as in the forefront like the past There are A LOT of talented MCs out there...you just gotta dig for them...simple as that Nothing in life is easy By the way, Biggie's DJ was Mr. Cee
  14. Pardon the mistake It has been corrected By the way...I don't do Twitter #TeamFacebook
  15. @ Writer Girl I do agree that early Street Lit is like early Rap The only difference is that rap music had evolved for the better Lyricism and beat making are more advanced today than it was during the advent of rap music I honestly don’t see an evolution of Street Lit from Donald Goines til now…if anything, it regressed in my opinion And it kills me when people say, “as long as they’re reading” when it comes to teenagers reading That comment subconsciously gives off the dummy vibe as if regardless of what, as long as they’re reading, even if what they’re reading has no nutritional literary value @ Troy The DJ was just as important as the MC on albums created in the late 80s NWA had Yella…KRS One had Scott La Rock…Fresh Prince had Jazzy Jeff…Kool G Rap had Polo…Rakim had Eric B…LL had Cut Creator…and so forth NWA is only one group...to use one group and say that there was an influx of Gangster Rap is rewriting history When I think of influx, I think of taking the country by storm…not just one region like the West Coast The influx of Gangster rap in the early 90s was birth from the combination of movies like Boyz N the Hood, Colors, Menace II Society and South Central coupled with NWA, Ice T and Above The Law The LA Riots of ’92 also helped the intrigue of gangsta rap Gangster Rap completely phased out Conscious Rap once The Chronic dropped “No medallions, dread locks or Black fist…it’s just that gangsta glare…that gangsta rap…that gangsta shit…make a gang of snaps” – Dr Dre from Let Me Ride I agree with you in part about money…however, I think we have two different arguments in different eras Back then everyone was broke…so you didn’t need money to spend excessively for sampling and producer fees like you do now because you had in-house producers I’m saying you don’t need a lot of money to make a classic album unless you’re sampling like crazy One of the reasons why albums back then were so good was because of the lack of funding You had no choice but to put your best foot forward considering the lack of money you had as an artists for studio time You didn’t have time to screw around in the studio KRS One once said he recorded The Bridge is Over and South Bronx in one take because him and Scott La Rock didn’t have enough dough for studio time Nowadays you can bullshit around because it’s more affordable to buy a home studio and bang out as many songs without effort With the advent of YouTube and social media, you can create your own buzz if you play your cards right Also, I don’t think it’s fair to base perception on age when it come history I know some youth who are wiser than their elders in that regard…some of the elders can’t see the forest from the trees
  16. @ Troy Age doesn’t matter when it comes to history and knowledge about certain subjects You can also live during a certain time period and still find yourself oblivious to the hap’nins That’s not directed towards you…I’m just sayin’ As an emcee (lyricist) and a student who builds with people who are part of the Hip-Hop culture, I know I’m qualified to speak on Hip-Hop as a whole The influx of so-called Gangster rap didn’t begin until the early 90s, which I DID mark as outside the first cycle of the Golden Age of Hip-Hop. Gangster Rap didn’t become strong until the early 90s…it reached its peak when Dr. Dre’s The Chronic was released, which gave birth to G-Funk During the Golden Age of Hip-Hop, you had a SLEW of classic albums like Paid In Full by Eric B and Rakim, Criminal Minded by Boogie Down Productions, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, Strictly Business by EPMD, Critical Beatdown by Ultramagnetic MCs, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back by Public Enemy, etc I’ll even throw in Straight Outta Compton by NWA because that album was revolutionary but gangster…even Ice T dropped knowledge in his gangster albums considering he was connected to the Zulu Nation and his songs were cautionary tales 1987-1989 was also the peak of Black consciousness in rap music even in the face of so-called gangster rap. Anybody with Hip-Hop knowledge will tell you that most of the greatest rap albums and songs were released between 87 and 89…I’ll bet my bank account on that Hip-Hop didn’t get co-opted as a whole until the mid-90s when corporations started merging, more money was made, and not to mention the Telecommunications Act of 1996 which allowed larger radio stations to buy out smaller radio stations thanks to then President Bill Clinton Also… What does making money have anything to do with the quality of albums??? Hardly anyone was making money even if you were conscious or gangster Artists back then, just like now, were getting jerked…that’s why Ice Cube had left NWA and went solo There are interesting parallels between rap and Street Lit, but no way in hell can anyone compare the Golden Age of Hip-Hop of the late 80s to current state of Street Lit The Golden Age of Street Lit was between 1999-2003…then it became clownish on some copy cat shit, just like commercialized rap music of today Street Lit is past its prime, but it seems like people have no choice but to read it because that’s the only genre that’s mass marketed and visible to the Black community When you get fed the same food, your taste buds will get used to it and reject anything different And anybody with some sense knows that the brain is the FIRST stomach
  17. @ Cynique Are you saying readers are born, and not made??? That doesn't make any sense because if that's the case, Black people would read almost anything considering the West African griots before and after the Trans-Atlantic slave trade Not to mention the hierogyphics of Kemet (now known as Egypt) And there are DIFFERENT types of rap music Case in point, A Tribe Called Quest is different from NWA Rap music can't be placed in one giant box
  18. @ Writer Girl I don’t think Street Lit will open doors to a new reading experience IF the readers are too comfortable with the content they're reading now Reading habits, like anything else, need to be monitored because people are creatures of habit People rarely think outside the box, and in order for anyone to progress, they need to hang around OTHERS who are sharper than them on a mental and intellectual level Iron sharpens iron And it’s unfair to compare Street Lit to the early stages of rap music You’re forgetting that the early stages of rap music produced the BEST Hip-Hop The Golden Ages of Hip-Hop started in 1987 and ended in 1989…that was because rap music suffered through an identity crises between going pop or hardcore…then it picked back up in 1992 and ended in 1996 because of the commercialization of materialism and superficiality in rap music which brought down the quality The conversation stemmed from beats and lyrics to who sold the most albums That sounds EXACTLY what the book game is going through now I would argue that we’re in the dark ages of Black Literature considering that damn near everything is the same And if you produce anything different, it gets ignored unless you have a kick ass co-sign I don't think street lit nowadays has evolved from Donald Goines, Iceberg Slim, Nathan Heard, Guy Johnson, etc I say that because they lack SOUL...at least the ones I've read It's almost as if I'm reading ministrel shows on paper
  19. Family I admire your grind, and I’m not telling you how you post However, you should take in consideration that it seems like you’re yelling when you type…consistently posting in CAPS is unprofessional It looks like you’re spamming as well I know you’ve been posting CAPS since forever because I’ve been lurking the boards for years before I recently registered as a member With that said, I usually skip over your comments and threads which is a shame because I’m sure you have something meaningful to say, and also write as far as your books I'm not straining my eyes to follow a post that's typed in all CAPS Just words to the wise
  20. Hickson Why do you type in all CAPS??? You have a wealth of knowledge, but typing in CAPS is hurtful for the eyes, family
  21. Troy If that’s the case about book stores and their time and energy spent, I might as well throw my own events which I am doing now The authors are BRINGING IN clientele because if the buyer doesn’t purchase a book at least they might buy something else I felt like I was pimped since I’m advertising for the book store by busting my ass to sell my own book You’ll be amazed to come across people who haven’t heard about the existence of a book store in the community UNTIL I approached them to buy my book As a reader, I LOVE book stores…as an author, they can kiss my ass from here to Mississippi As far as your last post… I don't think that analogy is flawed because I love reading liner notes of albums...LOL And yes, people actually tape album covers on their walls as a makeshift wall of fame I'm one of the FEW who still purchase CDs and REFUSE to buy an e-reader
  22. BINGO! Also… I think the reason why there are fewer comments in contrast to the past is because of the growth of Facebook and other social online media This site in particular was pretty much one of go-to-spots of the publishing industry at one time That's not a knock against this site...a lot of homegrown sites have taken a hit since the MAJORS have taken over That scenario looks familiar, doesn't it? By the way…Thumper is a funny dude…hahahahahahaha
  23. I’ve read old conversations on this board dating back to 2003 I’ve been a lurker since 2007 From the classic discussions about Street Lit to arguements with authors such as Kola Boof and Relentless You never know who's watching POW!
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