Old School in the New School

[Emadyville]

I think if they came out now they would get a ton of respect underground considering what mainstream popularity in rap is currently, and that they would sell decently, maybe platinum after a years release, just my thoughts

[mcZu]

Good point, but not to necessarily say all rap artists emerge at once. I'm just thinking in terms of how some people tend to regard old school artists as far as not being as skilled, relevant, etc. with the exception of Rakim, LL, and those who are still putting out music. I was just curious to see if people view it as they aren't as skilled, were good because the music was simpler, etc etc.

I see, well, there are definitly a lot of rappers, who are in the game right now, who could out rap some of the old school cats. However, the thing that makes those old school emcees great, is there integrity. If you put those artists next to, let's say a Wayne or a Gucci Mayne, you would definitly hear the difference in thier music in terms of impact on the listeners. Btw, I would class LL as an new school emcee, he is the one who started selling out and embraced marketing and business like methods in the creation of his music.

So LL is like Jay or Diddy in that sense?

I would say a Diddy under the old school rappers.

[Renee7931]

Ah, then that makes it interesting.
If they all came out at the same time, then I suppose there would be a rift even greater then the east coast versus west coast debacle, because the styles and its fans are so drastically contrasted.
If this was the case, then I bet it would be entire factions battling, not individual musicians.
Now we're talking alternate universe, time paradox stuff. I shan't speculate consummately, but I would think new school style would emerge victorious due to its more eclectic nature.

Eclectic in what sense? I know the 80's were simpler times, but if these artists were emerging during present times, that would mean times and content would be different as well. Wouldn't that factor in as far as lyrical skill and rhyme scheme goes? I personally think a young KRS could hold his own against a young Nas, but could a young Big Daddy Kane stand up against Biggie? Sorry for the barrage of questions I just find your viewpoints interesting!

Eclectic in the sense that new school artists are more daring with what they will do, in terms of being experimental. Instead of just being lyrical, which was the primary focus of old school rappers, a new school artist might say "I want to try a brand new flow that has never been heard before (think Em, The Way I Am)" or "I'm going to work in the beat to actually make it as much a part of the song as the lyrics (think Cam'ron, Oh Boy)" or "I'm going to sing gangster lyrics R&B style (think BIG, Playa Hataz)".
No matter how good or technically proficient a genre's music may be, its audience will always get bored after a while. New school rap does more to satiate its audience's demand for variety.
To answer your question directly, I think young KRS would beat Nas and young BDK would beat BIG.

As far as flow vs lyricism, what about groups like Das Efx? I know they were closer to 90' rap, but at the time no one had heard that type of rapid fire flow. I can't think of anyone else off the top of my head as far as flow but just s an example.

[Renee7931]

So LL is like Jay or Diddy in that sense?[/quote]
I would say a Diddy under the old school rappers.[/quote]

Because he's been around for a while? He didn't really start rapping until Big was out of the picture. Didn't Jay start rapping before him?

[Emadyville]

Answer: Cause Diddy never had much talent besides helping Notorious blow up.

Who can really disagree with that though?

[Renee7931]

Because he's been around for a while? He didn't really start rapping until Big was out of the picture. Didn't Jay start rapping before him?

I think I can fill this one for McZu

Answer: Cause Diddy never had much talent besides helping Notorious blow up.

I've always viewed Diddy as a mogul who entertains on the side as opposed to an actual rapper. He rode off of the aftermath of Big's death and didn't Mase write all of his material in those days? I remember on 50's behind the music he said he wrote for him as well.

[mcZu]

Because he's been around for a while? He didn't really start rapping until Big was out of the picture. Didn't Jay start rapping before him?

I think I can fill this one for McZu

Answer: Cause Diddy never had much talent besides helping Notorious blow up.

I've always viewed Diddy as a mogul who entertains on the side as opposed to an actual rapper. He rode off of the aftermath of Big's death and didn't Mase write all of his material in those days? I remember on 50's behind the music he said he wrote for him as well.

Diddy never wrote a single line, he always had ghoswriters.

[GoodGirlsGetGutted]

Das Efx was rapid fire and used "iggity" a lot, but generally speaking, their lyrics weren't particularly profound.
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony formed around the same time, had rapid flows, with more meaning behind it.
But I actually prefer Das Efx, so you can't just run a rapping style through a scientific method to tell you what you will like.
It's all a matter of YOU.

[Renee7931]

Das Efx was rapid fire and used "iggity" a lot, but generally speaking, their lyrics weren't particularly profound.
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony formed around the same time, had rapid flows, with more meaning behind it.
But I actually prefer Das Efx, so you can't just run a rapping style through a scientific method to tell you what you will like.
It's all a matter of YOU.

I was never a huge Das Efx fan, I just thought of them when you pointed out flow vs lyricism. I remember when I was in school and they first came out everyone was talking about the speed of their flow but no one could figure out what they were talking about!