Classic Hip-Hop vs. Underground Hip-Hop

[Satire]

Rakim - The 18th letter
Rakim & Eric B - Paid In Full
Kool G Rap - Roots Of Evil
Kool G Rap - 4,5,6
Joell Ortiz - The Brick:bodega chronicles
Joe Budden - MM2,MM3,MM4
Nas - Illmatic
Nas - Stillmatic
Nas - God's Son
Common - Be
Biggie - Ready 2 Die
Lupe Fiasco - F&L
Masta Ace - Disposable Arts
Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt
Ice Cube - Raw Footage
Snoop Dogg - Doggystyle/The Blue Carpet Treatment

the albums i listed > underground,RA,AOTP and whoever you listen too

if u have them,listen to them,i bet u did one time then stopped.

I'm not debating with you about it on this thread, it's for albums. However if you want to make a thread of Classic Hip-Hop vs. Underground Hip-Hop I will gladly smash you.

Heavy, broad claims coming from both of these individuals. They asked for it, and as the classic hungry glutton I am I have to supply the grounds for their next battle. This one's for you, Robby

[classthe_king]

Rap now is better in pretty much every aspect

[Satire]

Does anyone else not get the hype behind Raw Footage? Everyone says it's better than Ice Cube's old albums but for me it was pretty forgettable.

[dead prez]

This thread is one big False Dichotomy as there could be both classic and underground, not to mention albums like F&L isn't even a classic, neither is Be.

[classthe_king]

Does anyone else not get the hype behind Raw Footage? Everyone says it's better than Ice Cube's old albums but for me it was pretty forgettable.

I think it's better than most of his old albums but still forgetable...he has such poor lyricism there isn't really anything that draws me back to it. The only songs from him I still like are Go To Church and Why We Thugs. Those songs >>>>>>>

[Satire]

This thread is one big False Dichotomy as there could be both classic and underground, not to mention albums like F&L isn't even a classic, neither is Be.

Don't blame me, Devil'sAdvocate listed those and then Class labeled the argument that so I just delivered the battlefield.

[Devil'sAdvocate]

woah,nikka,you claim that this ones for class just like that,it aint a bone and that dog named robby aint jumping to it.

tbh none of the albums i listed are from the 80's neither,we laying low to a lot of big daddy kane,some Boogie Down records,other G Rap records,NWA,Run-DMC,public enemy,biz markie,classic LL,i didnt take you way back son,those fuckin records are classics to me,people who cant see significance in these amaze me,you can argue that some dont have the lyrical ability but bam you down son,kane and rakim and g rap and krs are as lyrical as it gets,the moral of the story is that it comes down to a matter of preference,and i prefer Classic hip hop/Mainstream hip hop to Underground hip hop,class and some others may disagree but is that really relevent,its not like we use the same ears to listen.

PS: i am NOT saying underground hip hop sucks,not at all.

[Devil'sAdvocate]

Old School Rap is my favorite, it's basically Classic Hip Hop so it has my vote.

ma nikka!

[dead prez]

I'm stumped on this though, I mean a few months back, I would have vouched for Old School without a second though, but there are quite a few underground artists who I've taken a liking to just as much as guys like Ghostface,Nas, Prodigy being Dessa, POS, Blackalicious, ans well Lupe isn't underground but he sure isn't Old School. One thing's for sure that underground artists that I've taken a liking too recently aren't akin to Class'.

I will say this however rap's output in 88-96 heavily outweighs current rap by A LOT, I'm not even talking about the content and comparing it to current rap, I mean the overall momentum and spark that it once had and the golden ages that were prevalent. There was a movement and just about everyone was fighting for the finish line which forces the scenes to go through a renaissance as opposed to today where we have to relay on separate, desolate, disparte underground groups to rise to the occasion and break the mold.

It's common sense really.

Oh and I will say everyone back than had they're own signature sound that defined their region and the era, which I'm not sure I could say for today's rap.

[Block]

I don't think it's much of a debate, honestly.

Hip Hop has evolved in every sense of the word. Of course, we will always pay homage to those who pioneered the genre but, as with everything else that is birthed, Hip Hop was not fully developed in its infancy.

Still being a relatively young genre of music / art, Hip Hop is only now coming into its adulhood-esque stages. As such, we're witnessing more advanced lyricists and more branching out than ever before.

[classthe_king]

I don't think it's much of a debate, honestly.

Hip Hop has evolved in every sense of the word. Of course, we will always pay homage to those who pioneered the genre but, as with everything else that is birthed, Hip Hop was not fully developed in its infancy.

Still being a relatively young genre of music / art, Hip Hop is only now coming into its adulhood-esque stages. As such, we're witnessing more advanced lyricists and more branching out than ever before.

This. It's natural evolution. Of course Hip-Hop is going to get better as time progresses. Now it has better beats, flows, rhymes, punches, content, creativity, storytelling, basically any aspect of Hip-Hop you can think of.

[Trimss]

Does anyone else not get the hype behind Raw Footage? Everyone says it's better than Ice Cube's old albums but for me it was pretty forgettable.

I loved Hood mentality but it was mainly due to the beat, awesome. (Twista had it first though i think..)

Anyway it all depends, I'd rather listen to some old Ice Cube than some rapper i don't even fully understand because he uses words/expressions that i haven't learn yet. Lol, but I guess it's just because i don't speak fully english, and when i'll learn enough to understand a song without checkin lyrics i'll appreciate more underground rap.

[Devil'sAdvocate]

the sound that old school hip hop has is just amazing to me,again not taking anything away from the present but still nothing is matchin hip hop from 1988-2000,nothing.

[Devil'sAdvocate]

Rap now is better in pretty much every aspect

I have to agree. Any rap pre 1995ish is borderline boring to me.

[dead prez]

Rap now is better in pretty much every aspect

I have to agree. Any rap pre 1995ish is borderline boring to me.

You aren't helping our case, different preferences. He probably enjoys rap with intricate multies and internals, and varying flows, me I'm more about the overall movement and sound, and the content rather than the technicalities.