Rap fans have long been a part of the gaming world, with most popular video game message boards having a sub-forum or rolling thread dedicated to all things hip-hop (shout out to NeoGAF's "GAF-Hop" crew). The IGN Hip-Hop Board, or HHB as its denizens call it, is one of the largest of these communities. The general taste of the board tends to fall squarely in the middle of current trends, with posters who appreciate an extremely wide variety of hip-hop. The thread "Let's be real, Migos' Y.R.N. is better than Yeezus" is a prime example of this—it was met with equal parts incredulity and praise for Y.R.N. as one of the hardest street mixtapes out. The IGN boards have almost 1 million members, and HHB is by far the busiest of the music section. It is constantly busy, and fast-moving, and keeps up with the latest releases and news stories. Despite its size, HHB feels like a cozy, self-contained community.
9. Philaflava
Philaflava's tagline says it all: "Skilled In The trade of That Ol' Boom-Bap." It is the go-to site for East Coast/"Golden Age" rap purists, although the board boasts plenty of contrarian personalities. Here, MCs such as Roc Marciano, Sean Price, and Ka are revered. The general tone of posts on Philaflava can be best characterized as nostalgic—even the threads on new-school emcees tend to harken back to the "good old days." That said, it is a very valuable resource for the East Coast-centric rap fan. It has also spawned two invaluable blogs: "T.R.O.Y.," which focuses on the rarities and forgotten MCs of yore, and "Steady Bloggin," which eschews the forum's old-school focus and takes a more progressive tack, covering a wider variety of newer hip-hop. The rolling "Battle Rap Vid" thread is also a must-see for anyone who is interested in the battle-rap scene.
8. The Coli
This relatively new board is quickly becoming one of the better spaces for hip-hop fans to interact. Much like the now-defunct SOHH, The Coli is a general board devoted to the discussion of rap, sports, and general culture from a hip-hop perspective. The discussion here tends to focus more on the heavyweight rappers of the day than the underground/upcoming MCs—the top five threads with the most replies on The Booth (the rap board) are about Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, and Lil Wayne—but generally everything is up for discussion (and clowning). The Coli has been credited with starting the infamous Drake "DaDa" meme, and posts generally have a playful, humorous tone.
7. The Hood Up
Though this isn't explicitly a forum about rap music—its focus is street life—rappers are a common topic of discussion on Hood Up. Every so-called street rapper gets G-checked on this board, and as such it is an invaluable source if you are interested in knowing who really lives the life they rap about. Gang ties and rap sheets are vetted and discussed here daily, with sub-forums focusing on the street activity of each region of the U.S. The recent thread "Atlanta Rappers and Gang Affiliations" is a comprehensive breakdown of the street bona fides of every notable Atlanta rapper, from Gucci Mane to Ludacris. The forum is billed as "Where American Hoods Connect," and there's a general sense of camaraderie here that is often surprising given the subject matter. Think of Hood Up as the F.E.D.S. Magazine of rap message boards.
6. Okayplayer
If this list were written 10 years ago, there's a good chance Okayplayer would have been No. 1 (or, at the very least, top two, behind the now-defunct SOHH). OKP began as the official fansite of The Roots (Questlove is a frequent poster), and the overarching taste is what you'd expect from that crowd—Common, Talib Kweli, and Lupe Fiasco are among the board's favorites, and Erykah Badu has been known to post on occasion. There is a general reluctance to embrace Southern hip-hop here—particularly anything of the "trap" variety—but the community has warmed up to mainstream rap over the last decade.
Okayplayer is affiliated with the influential blog 2DopeBoyz, and that partnership makes total sense—the types of rappers that get love of 2DopeBoyz are typically in line with the taste of OKP. While it is not the most musically adventurous board, you can always find long-winding, fascinating discussions on OKP, and you never know when Questlove or Lupe themselves will drop in and drop knowledge. There is a general know-it-all tone to a lot of posts, but it is often backed up by deep musical knowledge. The Lesson (OKP's board for general musical discussion) has an archive of the most "classic" threads that is essential reading.
5. Hypebeast
Of all of the sites on this list, Hypebeast has had the most tangible influence on hip-hop culture. It frequently gets shouted out in songs (e.g. Trinidad James' "All Gold Everything," where he raps "Hypebeast we know about cha/Don't buy shoes unless they popular"), and fashion-conscious rappers such as A$AP Rocky and Big Sean have been derisively called Hypebeast rappers." Complex has already covered Hypebeast's impact on hip-hop style extensively, but the Hypebeast effect on music is also worth mentioning.
As is to be expected, most of the talk on the Hypebeast forums is style-related, but there is an active music forum. While all types of rap are discussed here, there is a definitely a well-defined Hypebeast aesthetic: flashy swag rappers who mix streetwear and high fashion. A$AP Mob, Kid Cudi, and Flatbush Zombies are current favorites. That said, the posters who frequent this forum are more open to new sounds than most, and are generally on the forefront of what's hot. This musical open-mindedness is one of the main reasons why the Hypebeast music forums are also great for up-and-coming artists. The "Aspiring Artist Thread" is one of the biggest threads on the board, allowing posters to share their music and get feedback and production tips while lending a supportive community for artistic growth and discussion.
4. Reddit Hip Hop Heads
Over the past few years, Reddit has become a ubiquitous social platform, hosting in-depth conversation on pretty much every conceivable subject. Hip-hop is no exception—the Hip Hop Heads (HHH) Reddit is perhaps the most active board dedicated to rap music. At any given time you are sure to find hundreds of posters discussing the latest mixtapes and news stories. One common criticism of message boards is their relatively slow pace; since long-form, measured responses are valued, message boards lose out to more immediate social media platforms like Twitter. Such is not the case with Reddit, and the discussions on HHH move just as quickly as any Twitter conversation. In true Reddit form, HHH is often home to in-depth conversations and AMA sessions with rappers, connecting them to their fans—in fact, Chance the Rapper is a frequent poster.
3. NikeTalk
Sneaker culture and hip-hop have long gone hand in hand, so it should come as no surprise that NikeTalk has a huge hip-hop sub-forum. The main thing that differentiates the NT forums from the others on this list is the breadth of their taste. NT's aesthetic skews towards the underground, but not in the traditional Def Jux/Rhymesayers sense. NT posters are by far the most open-minded and adventurous of any board on this list; they were among the earliest supporters of Lil B, Kendrick Lamar, Future, etc. Any rapper you can think of that has buzz right now is sure to have a thread on Nike Talk, and that thread has likely been running for months before you even heard of that rapper.
NT has an uncanny ability to spot upcoming trends and single out the artists that are going to really make a mark. NT-ers have a sizable Twiter presence, and have been very vocal in championing their favorite artists across social media. The most noteworthy example of this is Lil B, who has himself acknowledged NT's role in helping him blow up. In fact, during Lil B's first ever show in New York City, he gave a special shout-out to NikeTalk, thanking them for all of the support. In addition, rappers such as Wale and L.O.S. have been ID'ed as posters on the board (and Wale has shouted out NT on numerous occasions).
2. KanyeToThe
This Kanye West fansite boasts one of the most active communities of rap fans anywhere. The subject matter discussed on the board is true to its namesake—Kanye West and his disciples (which include both actual G.O.O.D. music artists and post-Kanye rappers such as J. Cole, Wale and Childish Gambino) get a fair deal of the attention here—but what KTT may lack in adventurousness and analysis, it more than makes up for in the sheer amount of information it provides.
KTT is an amazing resource for staying on top of leaks, new mixtapes, rumors/speculation, and news. And although it has its specialties, all types of music are open for discussion here, with threads dedicated to practically every notable rap release. Keeping tabs on KTT's artist-specific threads is one of the best ways to stay in the loop, rapwise, today.
1. Boxden
When it comes to discussing rap on the internet, no forum comes close to Boxden.
On BX, as its known, street rap co-exists with boom-bap, and you're just as likely to find supporters of Gucci Mane as of Nas. Beyond that, though, no other forum has the breadth of hip-hop culture and news that BX does, and there's always a humorous bent to that discussion. A number of popular rap-related memes have gotten their start on BX; a thread entitled "Wale Is Trash" famously turned into a hundred-page roasting session (which ultimately got deleted, allegedly due to complaints from Wale's camp). Questions such as "Why doesn't Jay-Z have any pictures with J. Cole?" become long-running gags and inside jokes.
No topic is off limits, and discussions frequently spiral into photoshop contests, flamewars and new memes. There are many instances of a thread on BX seeding articles or news items on mainstream publications—including Complex. If that wasn't enough to cement its place at the top of this list, BX has had a clear influence on other rap message boards. The trademark BX "smilies" (emojis created from funny pictures of famous athletes or rappers) have spread all over the other boards on this list. Boxden seems to have absorbed all of the posters from the once huge, now-defunct message board SOHH/ProjectCovo, and has become the top destination to discuss music, sports, news and culture from a hip-hop perspective.
http://www.complex.com/music/2013/08/mo ... right-now/
Boxden
I like boxden & ktt because a song will be posted on these forums the second it leaks.
