I highly recommend a movie called Hustle & Flow from 2005. That was written & directed by Craig Brewer who was also responsible for the cooler-than-expected $5 Cover MTV series about the Memphis music scene. Another of his movies that's really good but has nothing to do with rap is Black Snake Moan. I also highly recommend CB4 and Fear of a Black Hat. High Lord Mardy Pune said:

I totally agree with Ixnayray. The chart shit is just that; it's shit. But the kids keep buying into it and record companies like making money.
I like the early gangsta rap N.W.A., Ice T... A lot of people get offended by it but I think the rappers are just telling it like it is. I think the making of any good rapper though is the DJ sitting behind them. Kool Herc and Grand Master Flash were total musical revolutionaries and I think their attitude was totally punk; "fuck it this is how I'm doing it"

You have to remember that the term hip hop refers to the four corners as Hip Hoppers call it: Rappers, DJ's, dancers and Graph Artists. There's a great doco called Scratch which is mainly about DJing but sorta looks at the other three aspects of Hip Hop.

I got to meet Ice T at an in-store he did at the record store I worked at. Cool guy, but I wasn't a big fan of his music. De La Soul was one that I'd forgotten about. They were good, too. Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

While I didn't listen to a lot of Rap music, I liked what I heard between 1985 to about 1990. Mostly Run-DMC, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, LL Cool Jay, I guess a lot of the early Def Jam things. Also liked Ice T and the first NWA record. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one. I only own 3 rap records however and they're all Beastie Boys.

I don't really listen to Hip-Hop anymore... and when I do it would be the old stuff anyway. As for talking about a "solution", well it helps if you address the problem first. And like Rockin' Rod said, artists like Public Enemy and KRS-1 were doing this back in 1987. There are still many political rap artists out there but they have to operate at a more independant level... a guy called Immortal Technique is a more recent one and I have only checked out a few of his tracks but he's a fierce lyricist and extremely political. Worth checking out if you are curious. No major label is going to fund political controversy when they can just as easily fund Eminem to squeeze money out of todays kids.

The good stuff is still out there and I guess you'd have to be a real hardcore fan to know "where it's at", but in the words of my homeboy Danny Glover - "I'm too old for this shit".

Records that at least try and suggest sollutions would be those by Public Enemy, KRS - 1, or De La Soul but those would be any of their records from between 1987-1991. I guess a lot of those that followed gave up on sollutions and got into the mindset of "every person for themself" and the LIFESTYLE, and how do I get more. I stated I never listened to a lot of rap but that doesn't mean I didn't listen to any and I also read a lot about it mostly just to check up on what's going on.

Didn't deedee have the house of rap? Before he was with gg allin? Didn't he own a tennament block or something? i believe he was really into it and wanted to promote it to the world, but was maybe too early, and also it wasnt grandmaster flash etc.. it was his junkie friends?! Hell i dont know! i dont like it, it seems to have gone nowhere in 30 years. I am quite ignorant on it, but has there ever been an artist who sang about a solution?!+= Spain is varied, u have the chart lovers who all go about bling bling, u have kids under flyovers skateboarding and talking about no cash for glue, u have gitana- gypsies- and u have new world beats... bottom line for me, its all the same, the content has no solution, same breaks, down beat or other, same intros and vocal length, same recordings, like i say i am ignorant, maybe i need to be woken up, i really dont mind an eye opener.. send rants and raves, or indeed requests to what i should hear.. i welcome all.

I agree with Kopper, it is difficult to name a "FAVORITE",Louie Louie by The Kingsmen is FUCKING AWESOME,
but Cruel To Be Kind still gives me chills when I here it. That's what a "FAVORITE" song should do! Is it not?

no, slade owned it! got even better round about their 1979/81 tours also! get some in yer!

Kingsmen did a version of Born To Be Wild? Ross Jesus Navaro Richards said:

That sir is a motherfuckin great selection! I also love their version of Born To Be Wild, has balls and intensity, rather than a cool tune. I must go with In like a shot from my gun, or some of the earlier pre galm stuff.. gospel according to rasputin etc.. And i wish Don Powell had more studio time, he was a great writer! It changes like most people every day or month haha, but these songs have stuck with me for 30 years or more,...

Cruel To Be Kind by Nick Lowe

That sir is a motherfuckin great selection! I also love their version of Born To Be Wild, has balls and intensity, rather than a cool tune. I must go with In like a shot from my gun, or some of the earlier pre galm stuff.. gospel according to rasputin etc.. And i wish Don Powell had more studio time, he was a great writer! It changes like most people every day or month haha, but these songs have stuck with me for 30 years or more,...

Went with Curved pressings in the end, wee bit more expensive than sending off to United but they're based in the UK - just got the test pressings and they sound good!

Can you reference what your talking about? I've never seen anytthing where there are demon tattoos on Mick Jagger's body. Ross Jesus Navaro Richards said:

Yes sir! thats him, and although not as punk as other pre birthed, he had it tight enough to say fuck u! With punk attitude in the mind, he wrote a lil' piece called the wagon, i think at less than 1.40 minutes long, a celebration of childhood. A reflection perhaps, Its in Nursery Suite..
The stones recorded quite alot for the show, truth be told it is crap! The tapes circulating are hard evidence, But that bit when jagger pulls of his shirt to see devil tattoos and demons over his body is fuckin god like! Punk as!

Yes sir! thats him, and although not as punk as other pre birthed, he had it tight enough to say fuck u! With punk attitude in the mind, he wrote a lil' piece called the wagon, i think at less than 1.40 minutes long, a celebration of childhood. A reflection perhaps, Its in Nursery Suite..
The stones recorded quite alot for the show, truth be told it is crap! The tapes circulating are hard evidence, But that bit when jagger pulls of his shirt to see devil tattoos and demons over his body is fuckin god like! Punk as!

I can dig what you are saying man... do you mean this edward elgar: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Elgar ? Ross Jesus Navaro Richards said:

Keith Moon often rambled about speaking with the horned one, on the other hand, said horned one is afraid of keef Richards. I was too young at the time, and in a different country, But what i see now is, the who were punk, like Kinks, but the stones were dangerous.. A different kind of threat. And what about Edward Elgar.. first English punk? Two fingers up to everything...

Keith Moon often rambled about speaking with the horned one, on the other hand, said horned one is afraid of keef Richards. I was too young at the time, and in a different country, But what i see now is, the who were punk, like Kinks, but the stones were dangerous.. A different kind of threat. And what about Edward Elgar.. first English punk? Two fingers up to everything...

Johnny Paradox said:

however, I love gothic literature and music. However I also love punk style and

Names like Lightnin' Hopkins would go under H, since Hopkins is a typical last name and indeed was his real last name (his first name was Sam). Same with Mississippi Fred McDowell, which would go under M since that's his last name. "Mississippi" is just a nickname. Muddy Waters (since that's not his real name and "Waters" is not technically his last name) would go under M for "Muddy." Howlin' Wolf would go under H. Barbecue Bob under Ba, Roasting Banana Joe under R, but Bo Diddley, though, I file under "D" because a lot of people think that's his real name. Maybe it should go under B? Who knows for sure! I guess that one is a toss-up. My Teenage Shutdown rule only applies to Teenage Shutdown comps (I really wish Crypt had just made that the name of the series instead of the faux label name). All the rest go alphabetically by title. The screamin' Soul Preacher said:

And What about the bluesmen ? Lightnin' Hopkins, Muddy Waters, Screamin' Joe Neal, Mississippi Fred Mc Dowell, Barbecue Bob and Roasting Banana Joe ...
About comps, where do you file "Psycho Serenade" and "Four Hairy Policemen" for example ? Under W as "Wavy Gravy" as you would do for the "Teenage Shutdown" serie or...???
Ouch ! My head aches...
That's why I've stopped filing my records long years ago !!!
But now I'm lost in a labyrinth of records and I can't get out !!! Lps and cds are still "pretty easy" to find when I'm not too loaded but I can't search a 7 inch one week long without finding it and I admit that's quite a problem when you're deejaying !!!

ooh! my bad, it says 300 discs. meant to be 3000, means nuthin to you, but to me an the missus its an extra 3 inches haha!

i have around 300 discs, its so dis organized, its organised. My boot's are the same, Buddy Holly hotel demos next to seeds gigs.. Next to Morisons last words, Ramones talkin about glue sniffers in Edinburgh, I break it up with robots and space ships, and some psyche art... 4 walls, window only space not with discs, my film room is the same, Japanese, American, Europe, Rough idea of the genre, but thats it. Er no, lol.. I don't!

Tame & Civilized live with Matthew Matt said:

Me too! I'll need to come up with a clever name for it if it works out like Michael Kaiser...

SnyderMan said:

I am excited about some LIVE PORK!!

Me too! I'll need to come up with a clever name for it if it works out like Michael Kaiser... SnyderMan said:

I am excited about some LIVE PORK!!

I am excited about some LIVE PORK!!

I've seen SUNRA a couple times, i'm still up there! NATIONAL HARVESTER, a pre Pink Floyd Hawkwind group from Sweden, more glue than anything, but some really strange, U can see the connections, I think that Matching Mole's Caroline is a nice and tasty nugget, paints yer room a different colour anyway! Gong the 3rd lp in trilogy 'YOU' is nice, and quite flowing, OM playing conference of the birds is super killer.. AS Terry Riley church of Anthrax.. Brian Eno?

Go get some!

Ranger Sound, I Bubblegum... I like, original language, if i can't understand it i use it as another instrument, the highs and lows of the tonal segments.. fuckin great! Some South American covers of Stones songs blow the originals away, I think the percentage of groups have to sing in English, as that is world standard, but to those who can't communicate without out mother tongue, its a blessing also, as they can pour out what ever stories they have with passion!

Well he's doing a book tour...I guess this thread would be better for people who aren't in the States.