(Part 2) Top products from r/hiphopheads

sawalrath

3x3

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Piñata
This year has had some great releases, but it's going to be hard for anything to top Piñata. I've had this on repeat for a couple weeks now and I honestly can say that I can't stop listening to it. I saw a post the other day on the discussion thread from a hhh who didn't even realize he was listening to it--I feel that. In the car, in his headphones, at night in bed--just can't stop listening to it.

YG - My Krazy Life
I don't know I gave this a listen to be honest... at least initially. I remember when YG was on the XXL Freshman list and listened to a little of him then, but then nothing for years. After seeing some people talking about My Krazy Life on here, and giving it some pretty high praise, I figured I'd give it a shot. BLOWN AWAY. This is such an amazing album. I love knowing it's like bad kid, maad city. That opposing force to GKMC. One of my favorite albums of the year so far.

Grieves - Together/Apart
First off, shout out to /r/hiphopheadsnorthwest. Grieves is a Seattle artist who just released an album yesterday that I have yet to listen to. I wanted to go back and listen to his first album prior. Honestly, I thought it was just kind of so-so. Nothing really stood out too much for me. Maybe his new album will be different. We'll see.

The Roots - How I Got Over
Just finished reading Questlove's book, Mo' Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove and had to listen to some Roots. Reading Quest talk about Dilla's death is heartbreaking. How I Got Over is probably my favorite Roots album. I do love undun but I honestly think this is better. It's a toss up. Let's call it that. I really suggest reading Quest's book too.

Vince Staples - Shyne Coldchain Vol. 1 & 2
Saw Staples late last year with Earl and his blew me away. I wasn't even hyped for vol. 2 to be honest, but when it came out I downloaded that shit immediately. I have been looking for "Trunk Rattle" since I heard it at the show. I really loved Staples and think he's one of the best up and comers. Looking forward to an album from him.

Sage the Gemini - Remember Me
I really liked "Gas Pedal" so I wanted to give Sage's debut album a shot. I really like his voice and think he could be a great rapper... but I didn't care for Remember Me at all. It seemed too poppy and clubish to me. I couldn't really get down on any other tracks. Disappoint.

The Roots - Game Theory
After reading what Quest wrote about Game Theory in his book, about how it was like a new beginning for the Roots, really interested me. I have struggled a few times to really get down on Things Fall Apart and Quest said that Game Theory was really a different approach for the Roots and that people who really liked Things Fall Apart might not have liked Game Theory. Gotta say, I love this album as well.

Viktor Vaughn - Venomous Villain
Preparing to write about this album for my blog this week and have listened to it a little this week and the past on and off. I really loved Vaudeville Villain, one of my favorite DOOM releases, but I don't quite know how I feel about Venomous Villain. I think it might be one of DOOM's weakest albums.

1. Audio-Technica ATH-M50x Great over ear headphones, more bass driven, but pretty well rounded sound. Good for being submersed in your music.
   
2. Sennheiser HD 598 Awesome open ear headphones, nice and roomy sound. (open back headphones allow outside sound in.) Great for acoustics and softer music.
   
3. FiiO EX1 My daily driver, which are surprisingly really nice. Great balanced sound for In ear, super comfortable too. Punchy bass when needed and handles light and relaxed music with good highs.

If you ever run across the 33^1/3 books anywhere and they have the Pauls Boutique edition then you should definitely grab it. Has some great insight into the hilarious behind the scenes events that help shape the album as well as some great chapters on the impact and the reception when the album dropped.

Well you've got a few options then.

If you want to start with an All-in-one, this controller has a keyboard and drum pads. It's $100. It'll get you started, but it'll leave some to be desired. The main issue is it only has 8 drum pads which I don't think is really enough.

Otherwise, I'm a big fan of this midi keyboard. I use it a lot when I'm on the go. You'd then want to get a drum pad as well, I'd recommend this or this. I'm partial to the Akai, I'm big fan of their more inexpensive drum pads over the Korgs, but with the Xkey there, too, you're looking at $200 which is the max you've got for your budget. So XKey+Korg is about $160.

posted this below but these are the best:

These: http://www.amazon.com/Westone-Universal-Protective-Earplug-Attenuation/dp/B00K6CX7HU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417850088&sr=8-1&keywords=ear+plugs+westone
or these: http://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-ETY-Plugs-Protection-Earplugs/dp/B0044DEESS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417850104&sr=8-1&keywords=ear+plugs+attenuation
and if you can ball out, get custom moulded to your ears and they'll feel a lot more comfortable. not a necessity though ($200 or so) http://www.westoneaudio.com/index.php/products/hearing-protection/tru-custom-hearing-protection.html

The story behind Paul's Boutique is just as interesting as the album itself. Coming off the huge success and massive pressure to repeat Licensed to Ill led to some pretty shitty contract conflicts with Def Jam. Stratospheric 80s fame + a move to Los Angeles + drugs + the Dust Brothers became the ingredients for one of the richest, unrecreatable musical mindfucks that still holds up decades later.


It's a relatively quick read, but the 33 1/3 series book covering the album does an awesome job of telling the tale of the conditions and scenarios that led to its creation: http://www.amazon.com/The-Beastie-Boys-Pauls-Boutique/dp/0826417418

I was able to get some Sennheiser HD 598s for $100 on Black Friday, and they were definitely worth it and still are at the current price. They are a little light on bass, and people will be able to hear the headphones as they are open back. The sound quality is some of the best I've heard and I still don't have a headphone amp, which I've heard makes them even better.

Yeah that one's really great. I'd also recommend Can't Stop Won't Stop like /u/courage_wolf said, as well as Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip-Hop

thats a large portion of the premise of this excellent book about the album. a very interesting read, i highly recommend the 33 1/3 book series in general (there are also books about illmatic and MBDTF, among others)

This is my record player. Then I have an old pair of toshiba speakers that I grabbed at a thrift shop that have an amazing sound. I power them with this. Classic I would recommend buying would definitely be Enter the 36 Chambers - Wu-Tang, Madvillainy - Madvillain, MBDTF - Kanye West, Illmatic - Nas, and The Infamous - Mobb Deep.

Questlove's Mo' Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove isn't strickly about hip-hop but it's a fantastic read. It's his autobiography and provides some good insight into The Roots while explaining the "soundtrack to his life". It really shows how much ?uestlove knows about music, both history and playing it.

EDIT: Also, story time. One time I stumbled into Criminal Records in Atlanta to kill time, and Questlove just happened to be doing a book signing. As I was getting my book signed, I awkwardly said something like "I didn't even know you were going to be here!" To which he replied, "Neither did I, man. Neither did I." He was really nice and it's still one of my favorite memories.

Sennheiser HD 598, I got them for Christmas and they have great quality and are really comfortable. I think they're also on sale right now.

Sennheiser HD 598 Over-Ear Headphones https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0042A8CW2/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_Z7ANub0MQ3X5Q

Pretty sure those aren't the real vinyls, if this is what you are talking about. Just look at the cover lol.

Rap IS poetry man, at least the good stuff. I've always loved Doom for the rhyme schemes and original metaphors with lines like
"A dead mouse is how he catch a phrase / in paws plays with it / kill it, and eat of it for days, get it?"
He uses a lot more tools than a lot of rappers. Aesop Rock is another guy who borders on gibberish but after enough listens you start to come around to the way he talks about things. A good book if you're seriously interested in the topic and/or want to write an actual paper is this. Also, rapgenius.com is dope for reading along if you didn't already know.

Thanks! Do you have any recommendations as far as hardware requirements? Like what do you have? Something like this looks serviceable but I have no idea haha. Also any recommendations for Ableton tutorials?

Read The Hip Hop Wars, if you guys want to know how it really goes down. Scholarly work by Tricia Rose, you may recognize her as the Author of "Black Noise" too. Basically fuck Clear Channel radio, and suited old white men trying to decide what 13-18 white girls want to hear. Those are your radio bangers. Pretty simple, and pretty obvious that average listeners have no say in what is "popular music."

A bit more expensive than 50 euros, but these

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00001WRSJ/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

are REALLY good.

Heads up though, currently available on Amazon for $7.99 pre-order of the CD, and you get the full album in mp3 available for instant download.

Edit: This is the definite option IF you have Prime. Otherwise, only if you want a physical copy. Includes all the same songs as the iTunes version, bonuses and booklets.

Whatever you don't go for a Crosley or any of those cheap portable players you see at Walmart, Urban Outfitters, etc. They'll ruin your records.

Most people recommend Audio-Technicas for cheap but solid first-purchase record players. Check out either the AT-LP60 or the AT-LP120. I've got the 120 myself and it's pretty damn good

Check out The Tao of Wu or The Wu-Tang Manual by RZA. very cool and interesting

EDIT: forgot to mention DMX's autobiography its reeeaaally dark tho

The CD is only $7.99 on Amazon right now w/ free MP3 download, that is dirt cheap. Please support.

[Here, grab these instead] (http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/headphones/99aff89488ddd6b1/index.html)

I'm not a person who is intelligent with over-ear headphones, but I heard Audio Technicas are good.

[Amazon @ $133] (https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50x-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00HVLUR86)

Fully endorse the homie Shea.


For future nominations my two favorite hip hop books I've read are:

Mo' Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove

and

Born To Use Mics

What's your favorite hip hop related book?

I was recommended The Hip Hop Wars but I'm not sure if it'll be worthwhile to pick up, anyone read it?

Illmatic is only like 6 bucks on Amazon

Here's a link

and once again I made a huge mistake and read some comments below the story...oh god why

> By the way, these are less than $100, and I guarantee will sound better than Beats when listening to anything but rap music: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR-V6-Monitor-Series-Headphones/dp/B00001WRSJ

Some of my favorites on vinyl:

Scarface - The Diary

Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde

J Dilla - Donuts

Danny Brown - XXX

Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly

De La Soul - 3 Feet High And Rising

PRhyme

Any Outkast or Tribe record

Because its an overlooked album; hes an overlooked producer; the album title is perfect & because this album just simply fucking kills:

Diamond D & The Psychotic Neurotics - Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop

Amazon Link

Listening Sample

Besides this having some of the best beats from the Golden 90's and beyond, it also features very early appearances by Big L & Fat Joe and guest production by Large Professor, Q-Tip & Jazzy Jay.

Now-a-days we have cats like Knaye who get in the door via production then turn rapper, well shit here is the original cat. I know our theme is instrumental but I still submit this because his beats are the stars of this entire album. I've listen to the album countless times and few lines, but I can tell you about every break.

I'd say just mess around with chopping things up

i'd say buy a small MIDI keyboard (something like this or this) to start off and just play around with stuff. A lot of it is learning music theory and different chord progressions

If you go to clubs, concerts or a musician I recommend these
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0044DEESS/ref=pd_aw_sim_ce_2?refRID=052NNTRFGPXTR5W7FP7T

The regular it was like $12


Illmatic [Vinyl] ~ Nas http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004WX4X/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_kXOwtb0DQMSZM

Anyone got any suggestions for earplugs to wear during concerts? I was looking at some yesterday and through some amateur research (there was a thread on from r/LPT and head-fi.org), I came across these brands. Alpine, Hearos, DownBeats, and Etymotic. I had trouble figuring out which ones to get so I bought the Hearos because they seemed similar to the rest and they were the cheapest with Amazon Prime. But if anyone has any suggestions or comments, I'd like to read em.

Amazon is saying that B4.DA.$$ drops on [October 7th] (http://www.amazon.com/B4-Da-Ss-Joey-Badass/dp/B00MHS5BMU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=8-1&keywords=b4.da.%24%24).

Amazon for the vinyl

https://www.amazon.com/6IX9INE-Day69-Graduation-Colored-Vinyl/dp/B07GHSJ5T2

https://www.amazon.com/Pimp-Butterfly-2-LP/dp/B012HOEOPS

Redbubble for the merch

There's a UK Amazon page up which has the new album titled 'The Takeover'. Also has what I'd assume is a placeholder release date of May 12th. Possible album artwork? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XPJB6W5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_9MX5ybJBMJK6F

Yep, The Wu-Tang Manual, written by RZA.

Got it for christmas, still haven't got to read all the way through it. The stuff I've seen in there so far is dope, though.

He's got another book that's a sequel to this one or something, but I ain't read it and I'm too high/lazy to go find a link for it

Get Rich or Die Tryin' (Marvel 2LP) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JVF7QZL/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_hj3YBb7HYAA9W

link to the amazon preorder
$60 boys

Read RZA's book The Tao of Wu

Don't make judgments or assumptions of people unless you hear it from them.

Use this book as a tool!!!!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0465003478/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=0972188223&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=16T63P90Y6R2SSR5YRGX

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JVF7QZL/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 is this also the deluxe version too?

It's on sale too!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009F1ZYO2/ref=tmm_vnl_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1492413020&sr=8-1

These headphones were $99 a few minutes ago. Just went back to $200 but it's the second time today it went down to $99.

Here's the 50 cent link:

https://www.amazon.com/Get-Rich-Die-Tryin-Marvel/dp/B07JVF7QZL/

Anyone know if this "the takeover" album is legit? People saying it's fake but isn't it posted by the legit kendrick account on amazon? I don't know if you can just put it under the artist. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Takeover-Kendrick-Lamar/dp/B06XPJB6W5

I wouldn't doubt it. I read the Wu-Tang manual and RZA talks about how GhostFace was someone you wouldn't want to mess with.

I'm paraphrasing cause I don't have the book on me, but he said there was one instance where they got in a fight and Ghost was holding two guy's heads underneath each arm and was about to fight a third dude.

Amazon link to the book (was a great read): http://www.amazon.com/Wu-Tang-Manual-RZA/dp/1594480184

https://www.amazon.com/Good-Kid-m-d-City/dp/B009F1ZYO2

For those interested, GKMC record is $10 right now. Hop on that shit

It's not a huge price difference but a couple dollars mean a lot when you're poor like me.

Might be this? https://www.amazon.co.uk/Takeover-Kendrick-Lamar/dp/B06XPJB6W5/ref=pd_rhf_ee_p_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XSBTDFFM513YXK2Y8K9X

either way if some lowly music store employee knows about it then we all would

Alright so I have logic , really enjoy it so far.

My next step would to buy something like this

However, for the turnable , I have an audio-technia turntable but the arm is really fucked and i think my belt is warped.

Suggestions on the turntable?

I said

>Gotta love a cop that acts like he gives a shit about racism. Fuck outta here

As institutional and fleshed out racism is in the prison industrial complex and LE culture; it's not too outlandish to say if a cop isn't racist, they are either indifferent to it or an apathetic person. I was implying you could be any of those. The reports will always match, right? I'm not a cop, nor a lawyer, but I do have a bachelor's in Criminology and Justice Studies and I'm a paralegal now at a criminal firm. Amateur and rookie as fuck, yes, but I'm not a complete outsider or a google warrior about this shit. What I mean to say is, I'm pretty comfortable with my assertion.

The good cops are still privy to a very corrupt system. It's embattled with all this shit and people don't want to lose their jobs, become jaded, whatever the fuck. You might even be a good person, but don't act like you don't know what you're apart of. I can't *prove* you've witnessed or done some racist shit at work, but I'd wager $100 you have.

And, about Uncle Tom versus the n-word... you make a good point. I stand by my asshole joke, though. I wouldn't say it to someone personally, but it's attention whore fuckin Kanye and he's acting like a little bitch, so I dgaf. Dragon Energy? Dude is gonna wind up with Tiger Blood like Charlie Sheen. RIP Kanye.

/r/headphones and /r/audiophile

Some of that shit can get crazy expensive, but a solid pair of headphones for a relatively good price are Audio-Technica ATH-M50s for around ~$150

They're notorious for having ridiculous amounts of base.

Stay away from Bose. They're like Beats, but worse quality. "No highs? No lows? Gotta be Bose."

i would add to this the hip hop wars by trisha rose.
>Hip-hop is in crisis. For the past dozen years, the most commercially successful hip-hop has become increasingly saturated with caricatures of black gangstas, thugs, pimps, and ’hos. The controversy surrounding hip-hop is worth attending to and examining with a critical eye because, as scholar and cultural critic Tricia Rose argues, hip-hop has become a primary means by which we talk about race in the United States.

>In The Hip-Hop Wars, Rose explores the most crucial issues underlying the polarized claims on each side of the debate: Does hip-hop cause violence, or merely reflect a violent ghetto culture? Is hip-hop sexist, or are its detractors simply anti-sex? Does the portrayal of black culture in hip-hop undermine black advancement?

Here's a comment in that ODB verse thread by /u/albinojustice

>Speaking of ODB's death, I recently read the RZA's memoir, The Tao of Wu and he has a very chilling story about the day Dirty died. Apparently earlier in the day Dirty had forced his son and RZA to watch him smoke crack and wouldn't let them leave. He then told RZA repeatedly that he "didn't understand." A few hours later he was gone. Shows just how crazy things had gotten for ODB by that point.

EDIT: Imma take this moment to plug the actual book: http://www.amazon.com/The-Tao-Wu-RZA/dp/1594484856

To elaborate on this, here's an excerpt from a book called The New Jim Crow.

It's written by a legal scholar named Michelle Alexander, and it explains how mass incarceration in America has replaced the Jim Crow laws as a racial caste system.

> Mass incarceration in the United states has emerged as a stunningly comprehensive and well-disguised system of racialized social control that functions in a manner strikingly similar to Jim Crow.
>
> This is, in brief, how the system works: The War on Drugs is the vehicle through which extraordinary numbers of black men are forced into the cage. The entrapment occurs in three distinct phases.
>
> The first stage is the roundup. Vast numbers of people are swept into the criminal justice system by the police, who conduct drug operations primarily in poor communities of color. They are rewarded in cash — through drug forfeiture laws and federal grant programs — for rounding up as many people as possible, and they operate unconstrained by constitutional rules of procedure that were once considered inviolate. Police can stop, interrogate, and search anyone they choose for drug investigations, provided they get “consent.” Because there is no meaningful check on the exercise of police discretion, racial biases are granted free rein. In fact, people are allowed to rely on race as a factor in selecting whom to stop and search (even though people of color are no more likely to be guilty of drug crimes than whites) ‒ effectively guaranteeing that those who are swept into the system are primarily black and brown.
>
> The conviction marks the beginning of the second phase: the period of formal control. Once arrested, defendants are generally denied meaningful representation and pressured to plead guilty whether they are or not. Prosecutors are free to load up defendants with extra charges, and their decisions cannot be challenged for racial bias. Once convicted, due to the drug war’s harsh sentencing laws, drug offenders in the United States spend more time under the criminal justice system’s formal control — in jail or prison, on probation or parole — than drug offenders anywhere else in the world. While under formal control, virtually every aspect of one’s life is regulated and monitored by the system, and any form of resistance or disobedience is subject to swift sanction. This period of control may last a lifetime, even for those convicted of extremely minor, nonviolent offenses, but the vast majority of those swept into the system are eventually released. They are transferred from their prison cells to a much larger, invisible cage.
>
> The final stage has been dubbed by some advocates as the period of invisible punishment. This term, first coined by Jeremy Travis, is meant to describe the unique set of criminal sanctions that are imposed on individuals after they step outside the prison gates, a form of punishment that operates largely outside of public view and takes effect outside the traditional sentencing framework. These sanctions are imposed by operation of law rather than decisions of a sentencing judge, yet they often have a greater impact on one’s life course than the months and years one actually spends behind bars. These laws operate collectively to ensure that the vast majority of convicted offenders will never integrate into mainstream, white society. They will be discriminated against, legally, for the rest of their lives ‒ denied employment, housing, education, and public benefits. Unable to surmount these obstacles, most will eventually return to prison and then be released again, caught in a closed circuit of perpetual marginality.

The American criminal justice system is rigged against black people, black men in particular. It's a disgusting injustice, and nobody in mainstream society seems to really care. I'm glad Kanye is shining a light on it though.