Big Ben

I cant' decide on most of these, though I've got to go with Eric B and Rakim, pulling the slight edge. How about Last Night Little Walter http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFlEOZMGSzk The Mar-Keys http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX5T9GvSnbY Rhymefest http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW4RN9QBMNM

I second that notion. I've just started listening to Yonas http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02XpRbr3UBM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1mFzbcqdUM And This Asher Roth song has been on repeat for me for quite a while now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH2OXMcbF5Y

I'm going to have to DR Dre, Montell Jordan, and a tie between hammer and EWF. For the Rain That's a bit tough, I like all three artist and each one has, in a sense, found a different way to take the rain concept. I'd have to say creatively I prefer Will Smith, but it's all subjective to my mood. Will Smith: Act Like You Know http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDe8oVeumkE Pete Rock and CL Smooth: Act Like You Know http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Mes12ZikPw I'd have to vote for Pete Rock and CL Smooth. DJ Jazzy Jeff Feat CL Smooth: All I Know http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty8GbVyws9Y B.O.B.: All I Know (sorry no DJ less version on youtube) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIOZQszmOQ4 And for that I'm going with Jazzy and CL.

I thought of a fun game we could play, guess it's not necessarily a game but anyway. The goal here is to put up two songs that have the same title but are different and unrelated. And of course to see which one everyone like better. Dr Dre: The Next Episode. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crdp30kRG3U Tone Loc: Next Episode. (sorry no youtube link) http://new.music.yahoo.com/tone-loc/tracks/next-episode--217302375 Which one do you like better? And if you've got two songs, put 'em up.

I'm just pretty pumped that I actually started a thread that got the 'Hot' label. But I gotta give it up to Chuck still doing what he does best, bringing in educated and civil discourse on a subject. If this was posted on a board like AllHipHop, it would have been filled with 'Chuck D is old' and 'Jay Z is a god' instead here we have an actual discussion, without resorting to name calling. That's probably why I still come around.

I can't take that as a legitimate argument, any racial or ethnic discrimination is horrible. It's starts with one comment, or one idea, and can spread. In that I fault both Kanye and Griff, I can't rate one as worse and more worse.

Can't say I remember you but that doesn't really mean much since I'm pretty forgettable. Anyway congrats on everything. I have one problem though, I can only speak english, so I hope it's okay if I pretend you were doing a full Clint Eastwood, 'Do you feel lucky' impression though.

Difference is Chuck D is the one saying it, and if I remember correctly Griff was reprimanded for saying it by fellow members of their group. I believe you think they are legends, you quoted them, so no argument there. Though I have a more difficult time placing Jay-Z on the same status as PE. Problem is Jay-Z has never really done anything, in my opinion, that has made a huge impact. Throughout his career he's repeatedly followed other, emulating their style, and basically holding onto their coattails. I believe we're seeing it now, with Kanye. Just my opinion. And it's okay if you guys jump on me for being disrespectful: For I fear not the internet gangsta. J/K And if we need to use quotes just a quick "Kanye stupid quote" search come up with plenty. "I'M A POP ENIGMA. I LIVE AND BREATHE EVERY ELEMENT IN LIFE. I ROCK A BESPOKE SUIT AND I GOT TO HAROLD'S FOR FRIED CHICKEN. IT'S ALL THESE THINGS AT ONCE, BECAUSE, AS A TASTEMAKER, I FIND THE BEST OF EVERYTHING. THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS THAT BLACK PEOPLE ARE THE BEST AT AND CERTAIN THINGS THAT WHITE PEOPLE ARE THE BEST AT. WHATEVER WE AS BLACK PEOPLE ARE THE BEST AT, I'M A GO GET THAT. LIKE, ON CHRISTMAS, I DON'T BUY ANY FOOD THAT TASTES WHITE. AND WHEN I GO TO PURCHASE A HOUSE I DON'T WANT MY CREDIT TO LOOK BLACK." ""IF IT WASN'T FOR RACE MIXING THERE'D BE NO VIDEO GIRLS. ME AND MOST OF OUR FRIENDS LIKE MUTTS A LOT. YEAH, IN THE HOOD THEY CALL 'EM MUTTS." Sorry for the cap's, didn't feel like typing it all up, and the source had it this way.

Downloading has definitely taken a toll, but at the same time I think it's partly on the artistry as well. There's not a lot of artist that are making magic, or making something that as a whole piece is lacking. Everyone is trying to make music that sounds like something else, which makes albums just a collection of singles. Looking at my shelf while i'm typing this, Big Willie Style, 3 feet high and rising, and Mecca and the soul brother, all are great albums. These all have the same thing in common, they flow really well, everything seems to belong and fit as a whole piece. But then I look at other albums, I rep the West, and in some regard Lost and found, they both have great songs on them but you can tell production was done by a bunch of producers and as a result the album doesn't feel like a whole piece. Just my two cents.

Can there really be any "Underrated" tracks on an album that went 9x Platinum?

Like I posted in another thread I'd love to see him work with: Cl Smooth Heavy D Rakim Mos Def Pharoahe Monch Honorable Mention and or Unavailable: Nate Dogg( It would have been interesting to hear him do a hook for Will, maybe someone like Montell Jordan would sound nice) Tone Loc and Young MC (I've always imagined the entertainment value of a Collabo with Will and these two) Nelly

I've never been as excited listening to the pop modern music station at work as I was Friday. It agonizingly slow and I was sitting on the counter listening to Ryan Seacrest babble on about something and then they brought up the subject that Will was looking to get back into rap. They proceeded to say he was looking to work with his favorite DJ, which had better be Jazzy. Regardless I was pretty amped.

I've more and more been noticing music making a shift. Now when I say music, I mean the vocal singing, minus the autotune. It's probably easier to just show what I mean. Mayer Hawthorne http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAxBdYM8opg Sharon Jones http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSvRMiemEGc&feature=fvst Janelle Monae - Tightrope http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwnefUaKCbc&ob=av3e Adele http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYEDA3JcQqw And Basically Cee Lo Greens entire last album http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I34cljQQ7YA I grew up with oldies and always hoped music would make a shift back in that direction, and a lot of these songs seem to be throwbacks to another era. Three of them have been getting a lot of play on the radio. Mayer Hawthorne has been making tracks as well, i believe he just signed to a major. Sharon Jones, I've seen make appearances on Stephen Colbert so she's making tracks also. I was just curios what you guys thought.

I've always dreamt of Will doing a throwback album with the likes of, Cl Smooth, Heavy D, and Rakim. But I hope he can come back with some great stuff one day.

Hopefully this means he's stopped taking career advice from his kids. Awesome news. Great thing to wake up and start my day to.

Has the track list for Nas' 'Life is Good' been released? It'd be epic if Will had recorded a track on it. I can dream.

Stay safe. At least in a positive light you'll have more material to rap about. Sometimes I just wish there was a place where people could go to live that was calm and never looked at the stock market. Maybe some politicians that can work together. Oh! And definitely tropical, but still would snow for a month never dropping below 60 Degrees F. Yeah, that would be nice.

Not so much dry, just too lazy to put in a goofy emoticon. I'm looking for a better job too, i'm just happy that i'm not unemployed right now.

Same here with Jurassic 5, I really wish they would get back together. It suck's that right when you discover the group, they break up.

But Chuck isn't telling them not to sample, it's not even about this particular sample, he's just asking them to uplift the masses. This is a direct quote from Chuck D which is right under the video on youtube: "This is a polite respect call to the troops , to continue to inspire but reflect the people better. OTIS Redding was a humble country man from Macon Georgia who bought a jet to work in, not flash. He perished in that plane. Heres to hoping that the J & K supergroup can elevate the masses and try a little bit more to reflect OTIS heart rather than swag, because they're too good to be less."

Has to be...

With everyone else jumping on the Jay-Z/Kanye Otis track, Chuck D got his own Otis Redding sample and questioned the direction of the Otis track. I respect everyone's opinions on here and was just wondering what everyone thought. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=161ZRrJZESA

Unlike AJ, since my plans have fallen through, I do actively spend my extra time looking for artist. :P Not underground but I did find Pharaoh Monche's new album to be enjoyable. Lately I've really been feeling Macklemore, this guy's got some really deep stuff along with some entertaining funny songs. A couple of my favorites from him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6jcr6k8J6A The above song really helped me through some decision making. I'm not a Mariners fan but I don't think you have to be really relate to this song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvNQWQSwmow And this one really flips the 'sneaker' song's on their head. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAg3uMlNyHA I could go on, but if you like any of these definitely check out the rest of his songs. I'll look around my computer for the other artist I've been feeling.

Well this should be the last 'update' for this old thread. Unfortunitly my plans fell through, financially I just couldn't swing the cost. I couldn't get a student loan that would give me the money before the school, only way I could get across the country, and Cali just raised tuition and i was already paying out of state rates. Anyway, my parents are gonna let me hang at home, which isn't really cool at my age, until i can get my finances in line for next year. Since my knee hasn't treated me well I'm pretty sure that my goal of law enforcement, in the capacity I wanted, is out. But this is just pushing me to go to graduate school for the only other thing that's driven me, and that's being creative. I may go for Writing, but have been really thinking of switching it up and doing film, behind the camera since I'm no eye candy. Anyway, that's my update, thanks everyone who gave me advice.

Thanks for the comments guys, I've had a lot of things going on lately so it took a bit to get back to this. I've never been a fan of the artist you mentioned, Drake and Lil'Wayne, but at the same time I can't get mad if someone likes them. I'll only get upset when that's all a person can talk about if you engage them in a conversation in hip-hop. My co-worker was a lot like that, he'd always say lil'wayne is the greatest, but after a while of showing him different artists and hooking him up with some music he's grown and moved to the likes of Talib. I think the key is that people need to have an interest in growing. When I was younger I grew up on oldies, 50's and 60's, and would denounce anything else, but then I grew. I still feel weird when I have to educate people on behalf of Hip-Hop since I'm still no expert. But thanks for the comments guys.