Thank you, seriously thank you. The main selling points of modern conscious/intellectual raps (for me at least) are that I can relate to it on a much greater level, the artists are highly honest with themselves lyrically, and that there is a level of passion and introspection that I can relate to.
Was never able to relate to the kanyes, lil wayne's, and drakes out there and I can't fathom how the majority of the populace does, unless the majority happens to be "real" gang-bangers with 100k+ cars whose lives consist of constant partying, being surrounded by 10+ supermodels at all times, and is a superstar with the rights to boast about it. The reality is that we don't, and it's not far-fetched to say that these artists themselves don't live by glamorous lifestyles they hype up so much. It's similar to the dichotomy between hair-metal and prog/thrash-metal back in the early 80's, you can just call it personal taste, but I call it a contrived illusion vs true expression.
3030 is an amazing concept album btw, I was pulled into the atmosphere that del created
No problem man, I'm sure other people can suggest some good lyrical stuff for you, and I can definitely throw some more stuff at you(probably will at the end of this post).
I think you have the wrong impression of all three of those artist. Lil wayne, if I'm correct in assuming where you are coming from, is probably the least relatable of the 3 because he does have a lot of misogynistic lines and a lot of gangbanger stuff, but he also makes it very clearly that he has a nerdier side as well. He definently is a skater(not exactly a gangster thing) and has lyrics like the goon to a goblin lyric from A Milli, which isn't something that a someone that fits the stereotype would say(Ice-T back in the early days, Snoop Dogg in the doggystyle days, Three 6 Mafia, Jay-Z any time before Blueprint, 50, ect). Also there is a 30 minute lil wayne PSA remembering Steve Jobs, talking about how he started drinking lean as a cultural thing in the south and he was a kid when Geto Boys and UGK were talking about, being honest about emulating something, and how adults shouldn't act like children and emulate celebrities(including him) because it sets an even worse example for kids and takes away the mysticism. Essentially it's him saying he picked up a lot of things because he wanted to be accepted culturally and some of his lyrics show that. And he has some straight up hilarious lines(some of which are the banging models touting guns variety) but there is some decent stuff in there. And yes, it's definitely not everyone's cup of tea.
Kanye and Drake on the other hand I find incredibly easy to relate to for the common person, especially older Kanye. Both of them seem to function somewhere between solipsism and deep self-doubt which seem only a small bit grander than that of you or I. Generally most people haf some self-centeredness and a fair bit of self-doubt that they can find something in each of these artist to relate to. First gonna go into Kanye, there was a lot of his first album that talked about being irresponsible with money and the college experience not being all it's cracked up to be. I think both of these things that the everyday individual can relate to. A lot of people who have graduated from college have trouble finding jobs after, some majors are straight useless(philosophy) but you still gotta pay for it, and just the difficulty of figuring out what you want to do puts an incredible ammount of pressure on students. Also, how can you relate to a guy who blew the first paycheck he ever got on a pair of Versace slippers? **** I blew my first paycheck on headphones. That excitement of having your own money, the urge to blow it all. Sure, do I relate to the hook of I am a God:
"I am a god
Hurry up with my damn massage
Hurry up with my damn ménage
Get the Porsche out the damn garage".
No, I drive a buick and ain't got the game to get a threeway, but I can relate to this:
"Ayyo, I know of some things that you ain't told me
Ayyo, I did some things but that's the old me
And now you wanna give me back and you gonna show me
So you walk round like you don't know me
You got a new friend
Well I got homies
But in the end it's still so lonely"
and
"We never had nothing handed
Took nothing for granted
Took nothing from no man
Man, I'm my own man"
As far as Drake goes, it's a lot of the same story, which makes given that without 808s and Heartbreaks, Drake probably wouldn't exist or at least wouldn't sound like he does. He operates in the same area where he has some stuff that is grandiose and over-the-top fame stuff but he has a lot of portrayals of defying expectations, some broken family stuff, and realistic descriptions of flawed relationships(romantic and otherwise). Again can I relate to "I'm all on the low, take a famous girl out where there's no paparazzi
I'm tryna give Halle Berry a baby and no one can stop me" but I think something like "My mother is 66 and her favorite line to hit me with is
Who the **** wants to be 70 and alone?
You don't even know what you want from love anymore".
Again I could probably do better if it was 5(almost 6) am. But yeah maybe try to give Kanye and Drake another chance. Start with College Dropout or Late Registration from Kanye and Take Care with Drake.
Yeah Deltron 3030 is a fantastic collaboration between Del and Dan The Automator and is really one hell of a concept album.
Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver, City and Colour, The lead singer/songwriter of Streetlight Manifesto has acoustic arrangements for a number of their songs under Toh Kay, You also might be able to find acoustic arrangements for songs like Spanish Sahara or maybe something that's far more recent then most of this stuff I just shared like HAIM
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No problem man, I'm sure other people can suggest some good lyrical stuff for you, and I can definitely throw some more stuff at you(probably will at the end of this post).
I think you have the wrong impression of all three of those artist. Lil wayne, if I'm correct in assuming where you are coming from, is probably the least relatable of the 3 because he does have a lot of misogynistic lines and a lot of gangbanger stuff, but he also makes it very clearly that he has a nerdier side as well. He definently is a skater(not exactly a gangster thing) and has lyrics like the goon to a goblin lyric from A Milli, which isn't something that a someone that fits the stereotype would say(Ice-T back in the early days, Snoop Dogg in the doggystyle days, Three 6 Mafia, Jay-Z any time
before Blueprint, 50, ect). Also there is a 30 minute lil wayne PSA remembering Steve Jobs, talking about how he started drinking lean as a cultural thing in the south and he was a kid when Geto Boys and UGK were talking about, being honest about emulating something, and how adults shouldn't act like children and emulate celebrities(including him) because it sets an even worse example for kids and takes away the mysticism. Essentially it's him saying he picked up a lot of things because he wanted to be accepted culturally and some of his lyrics show that. And he has some straight up hilarious lines(some of which are the banging models touting guns variety) but there is some decent stuff in there. And yes, it's definitely not everyone's cup of tea.Kanye and Drake on the other hand I find incredibly easy to relate to for the common person, especially older Kanye. Both of them seem to function somewhere between solipsism and deep self-doubt which seem only a small bit grander than that of you or I. Generally most people haf some self-centeredness and a fair bit of self-doubt that they can find something in each of these artist to relate to. First gonna go into Kanye, there was a lot of his first album that talked about being irresponsible with money and the college experience not being all it's cracked up to be. I think both of these things that the everyday individual can relate to. A lot of people who have graduated from college have trouble finding jobs after, some majors are straight useless(philosophy) but you still gotta pay for it, and just the difficulty of figuring out what you want to do puts an incredible ammount of pressure on students. Also, how can you relate to a guy who blew the first paycheck he ever got on a pair of Versace slippers? **** I blew my first paycheck on headphones. That excitement of having your own money, the urge to blow it all. Sure, do I relate to the hook of I am a God:
"I am a god
Hurry up with my damn massage
Hurry up with my damn ménage
Get the Porsche out the damn garage".
No, I drive a buick and ain't got the game to get a threeway, but I can relate to this:
"Ayyo, I know of some things that you ain't told me
Ayyo, I did some things but that's the old me
And now you wanna give me back and you gonna show me
So you walk round like you don't know me
You got a new friend
Well I got homies
But in the end it's still so lonely"
and
"We never had nothing handed
Took nothing for granted
Took nothing from no man
Man, I'm my own man"
As far as Drake goes, it's a lot of the same story, which makes given that without 808s and Heartbreaks, Drake probably wouldn't exist or at least wouldn't sound like he does. He operates in the same area where he has some stuff that is grandiose and over-the-top fame stuff but he has a lot of portrayals of defying expectations, some broken family stuff, and realistic descriptions of flawed relationships(romantic and otherwise). Again can I relate to "I'm all on the low, take a famous girl out where there's no paparazzi
I'm tryna give Halle Berry a baby and no one can stop me" but I think something like "My mother is 66 and her favorite line to hit me with is
Who the **** wants to be 70 and alone?
You don't even know what you want from love anymore".
Again I could probably do better if it was 5(almost 6) am. But yeah maybe try to give Kanye and Drake another chance. Start with College Dropout or Late Registration from Kanye and Take Care with Drake.
Yeah Deltron 3030 is a fantastic collaboration between Del and Dan The Automator and is really one hell of a concept album.
As far as some more recs, gonna hit you with another quick 3-4: MF Doom and his many pseudonyms, Cunninlynguists, Aesop Rock,
Either Guy from Run The Jewels
@Zuko on Le1f: It's essential what Azealia Banks would sound like if she were a gay dude. Boom one sentence perfect summary. 6 am but I still got it.
___
Good night men.
Edit: Bad Grammar, sry.
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ME WHEN THE ALLEN IVERSON SAMPLE KICKED IN:
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