Geeno

Think hard, pick one or two rappers and/or a rap group.

I like asking this at the bar.

I already know mine but wanna give it a minute.

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SageTree

What is your standard for 'rap' because music is a sythesis, so there are alot of 'roots' to rap that actually sound like rap as we know it today? And there is the producer angle of effecting an answer as well. Just to add some expansiveness to the possabilities?

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badgoalie85

probably two pack

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Pursue happiness.

To each his own.

Bearsy

2Pac or Biggie

They really changed the sound(or at least popularized the changed sound) from 80s rap.

But I don't know much about rap or rap history, so I could be coming off as a poseur.

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SageTree

I like groups like the Roots that brought in the 'root' influences back into a modern format. There is alot of old R&B sounding samples and classic grooves from James Brown styles.

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my_scatterheart

KRS One

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myxomatosis

Bitch stole my answer. That was the first thing that popped into my head.

Depends if you wanna break it down though and talk about different styles and yadda yadda. But really overall gotta give it to the t'cha.

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oh sometimes the blues is just a passing bird
and why can't that always be
tossing aside from your birches crown
just enough dark to see
how you're the light over me

last.fm
blog deal (updated 12/22/11)

SmokeSomeDoja

kris kross hands down

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fotoz fo yo azz



"I've run over black cats that were luckier than me."

farmergiles

Afrika Bambaataa

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cantSEEme

wow, imo there are so many correct answers to this. if i had to just choose one artist/group though, for hip hop as a whole as it is now (mainly sample-based), i would go with the sugar hill gang and "rappers delight". first group ever to take another song (chic - good times) and rap over the instrumental making it their own. not to mention it being the song that brought hip hop to the masses.

if i had to choose between most influential rapper/producer combo, it would of course be james dewitt yancey (jay-dee, j-dilla). dr. dre would also have to be included. if i had to choose most influential gangster rapper/group, of course it would be n.w.a.

so, there are a lot of correct answers to this question, but the most influential rapper/group for hip hop period, ima stick with my sugar hill gang answer.

pacman

the rza

the gza

ol dirty bastard

inspectah deck

u god

ghostface killah

raekwon the chef

& method man

Geeno

Personally I say KRS one, Ice-T and Run DMC/Beastie boys

Yeah theres a million answers and of course no correct one.

As far as KRS and Ice-T I think they pioneered modern east and westcoast rap, respectively. KRS one releasing criminal minded and Ice T with OG.

Run DMC had the rap group thing, trading verses, then beastie boys took it to a new level.

Now we gotta start attacking the choices of others.

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verklingen

i'm afraid ssd's position is unassailable

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“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”

Bearsy

Suicide, it's a suicide.

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Grieves

patti smith...

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Xil

i haven't really branched out much from wu tang, krsone, tupac, and a lil bit of nwa...so im gonna say ksr1 and tupac, just going from waht i know.

damn i needa stop by the hip hop album thread...

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Man in Black

first that comes to mind is NWA

Ice Cube
Dr. Dre
Eazy-E
MC Ren
Yella

hugely influential for the west coast gangsta rap sound, really pushed the limits as far as obscenity laws and censorship and what not. investigated by the FBI even.

I don't care what anyone says, Dre is one of the best hip hop producers ever.

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Budweiser buckles and soft faded Wranglers and each night begins a new day, if you can't understand him and he don't die young, he'll probably just ride away.

al-Mu'akhkhir

um hi,

wu!

wu!

wu!

wu!

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Geeno

Idk dont get me wrong I got boner for Wu all day... But as far as influential rapping.... idk... im not convinced.

Theyre more like the only group to pull off 5+ MC's

and Ive always felt like NWA was pretty overrated. I mean Ice T gives them props on a political level but you know that he knows he started that shiz.

I mean yeah they blew up in the media and exposed a lot of people to that shit but that was all timing with the riots.

I'm gonna DL dre the chronic though, cause I've never listened to it. Straight up.

As far as sugar hill gang, its a fact that they were the n'sync of their time. A formulated rap group that stole material from the real dudes pullin it off. "im the c-a-s-a the n-o-v-a and the rest is F-L-Y" shit was bit from the real casanova fly. A dude who was doin his thang and getting props from people for a radio hit.... even though it wasn't actually him. Ever since I learned about this I've been kinda disgusted with them. Songs dope, dont get me wrong, but it breaks my heart.

aaaaand... Melle Mel!

On the same tip as Ice T creating Gangster/pimp rap, and KRS creating gangster/political rap.... Melle Mel with "The Message" and "white Lines" was original as fuck!

"its like a jungle sometimes It makes me wonder how I keep from goin under"

Even Jay Dee gives props when hes all "its like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder how i keep from goin under my seat... to get it."

For me most influential is all about who inspired those guys that made shit truly mainstream.

I do agree on someones afrikaa bambata tip tho - That nigga opened some DOORS!

/drunk

Other Honorable mentions: ATCQ (q-tip/phife), Rakim (multisyllabic continous line style), Kool G Rap (prob the first guy to straight slaughter a beat with insane style?)

Rumor has it that Keak Da Sneak invented the hyphy genre which gave way to the Mac Dre and all that? Idk I'm an east coast cat. Sup with all that? Keak on jake one was legit tho

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cantSEEme

^ yeah, i feel ya on that, especially the stolen rhymes. but, i was thinking along the lines of popularizing the genre, and the whole sample-based production which is predominant in hip-hop today. if sugar hill gang never did that, and rappers delight never got out of the hood, then the world might never have known the greatness of hip-hop, and without the sample-based productions, hip-hop would be totally different today (for worse or better i couldnt say). and good call on the melle mel, and farmergiles was dead on with the bambaataa. also, ppl arent mentioning the pioneer of record cuts/scratching, and that is grandmaster flash. and as far as west coast pimp/party music is concerned, todd shaw (too-short) definitely needs a mention. i still bump his first mainstream album "born to mack" which came out in 1988. very influential imo too.

and hyphy was created to compete with lil johns crunk imo. it was started by e-40, and pretty much swept through the bay. imo hyphy should just be buried, and the bay should get back to making good rap/hip hop. mac dre was best b4 his thizz shit. to quote the man:

knick knack, paddy wack, give your ho some donkey
listen to the bass line, dont it sound funky
who can it be in the place to stay
thats right ho, mac motherfuckin dre
one more time back in your ear
those dope ass raps you love to hear
cold as ice, nuttin nice
if i thrust you once, ho, imma thrust you twice

those lyrics always make me lol! his newest shit before he died though, meh.