(Part 3) Top products from r/hiphopheads

Thanks Riceman, really appreciate it. I'm glad I returned to this thread to see /u/MCDayC's edits and your response, which I'm chewing on right now. Really thoughtful, articulate stuff.

There are a lot of great critical voices in this sub, and reading stuff like this makes me think that there's potential here to do something I've always wanted to do: start an online publication dedicated to long-form hip-hop criticism and commentary.

I think there's a 'gap in the market' for this kind of writing with a big-picture/cultural context angle. It'd be less focused on hip-hop news and reportage, which I think is already sufficiently taken care of by your mainstay pubs like Complex, XXL, allhiphop, deadend, Pitchfork, Noisey, as well as the countless rap tabloid and gossip sites. Out of those, I think pitchfork and Noisey are the most 'literary' and provide the most thoughtful commentary. The traditional staples of hip-hop commentary -- XXL and Complex -- don't do this is as well, and are quickly degenerating into depositories for top 10 lists and maddening slideshows.

That said, I really think there's a thirsty readership for this kind of writing. One e-zine that provides a good model/blueprint for this is The Quietus. There's a lot of meat to their reviews, features and opinion sections -- way more substance than you find in your average hip-hop pub. I'd want to take their model of thoughtful, long-form explorations on the intersect of new rock and pop culture, and apply it to the intersect of rap and pop culture. Their voice is literary but not pedantic, and their content is presented elegantly. It's definitely a "thinking man's" magazine, but it doesn't feel academic, which is something I'd want to avoid. A lot of serious rap commentary risks that distanced, academic vibe which is lame. Just needs to be smart and conversational.

I'd also want to take cues from XLR8R, which is a similarly smart voice in left-field electronic music. It's focused on staying on the very tip of what's happening right this very moment in beat music, though, which I wouldn't aim for.

Other inspiration: Ben Westhoff's fantastic piece on RiFF RAFF for LA Weekly, as well as his equally fantastic book, Dirty South: OutKast, Lil Wayne, and the Southern Rappers who Reinvented Hip-Hop. It's thoroughly researched and smart but not academic. He also does a good job of providing cultural context and history, without it reading like a history lesson. That kind of exploration of musical DNA is something I'd want to focus on, like how Westhoff traces things back to the Mississippi Delta in this book. Informing without lecturing.


Another great example of this kind of writing is Chris Molanphy's wonderful feature for pitchfork, I Know You Got Soul: The Trouble with Billboard's R&B / Hip-Hop chart. A publication dedicated to this kind of shit would be awesome. Perhaps not the most commercially viable, but definitely relevant and cool, which is more important haha.

Utilizing these blueprints, models, and inspirations to create a wholly new hip-hop publication is something that I think is pretty feasible, and there are some great voices in this sub alone that would be interested in contributing. I think there's a void in rap journalism where something like this can stand out. For example, it's common for places like XXL or Complex to publish an article listing the best ad-libs. But what's less common is an article or feature about ad-libs; their origin, how they've evolved, how they're recorded, where to they fit into a rapper's brand or aesthetic, etc. Those are the questions that are rarely given consideration beyond top 10 lists, but it's a topic that could make an interesting feature.

I've also worked for some time in the literary/publishing biz, and picked up a decent bit of know-how, as well as some useful contacts. This isn't just a pipe-dream; it's something that I've given serious consideration. This sub also provides the ideal soil to grow that early readership.

I probably shouldn't have laid out my entire roadmap for everyone to see like that like that haha. Also apologies if I just bored you with something only barely related to your comment

I imagine a lot of these kids already listen to a bunch of hip hop. They'll have their own tastes and preferences and opinions, which you can definitely use to your advantage.

For some stuff they're probably not familiar with:

Scratch is a really great film about DJing. It's rated R for language so you might need parental permission. It goes over the significance of the four elements and includes a fair bit of history. Not to mention the dopest shit you've ever seen on turntables.

Black Noise is a great book. It will definitely be over their heads, but it could be great background for you and there are parts you could photocopy to put a lesson plan together about the modern cultural impact of hip hop. You can really challenge the cognitive dissonance of listening to music that seems to preach values you don't share.

Here are a bunch of NPR interviews with important people discussing hip hop.

I think a great exercise would be to assign one of the essential albums from HHH for them to listen to. Give them a 1-2 sentence description of each MC/album and let them pick one they haven't heard to listen to. Have them write 1-2 pages on what they think and then discuss them as a group. It would be a really cool place to start and it would be some guaranteed expanding of horizons. Of course, if your school has strict regulations about profanity etc, this might be a problem. I'd emphasize that this is not going to expose them to anything they haven't seen before...

Good luck!

Pretty interested to see how this goes. I'm not a big reader even though I always have intentions to start and tons of interesting books on a list. Hopefully this helps get me going.

Also, a long time ago I read the DMX autobiography and thought it was pretty well done and interesting. Figure you might want to add it to the voting list at some point: E.A.R.L.: The Autobiography of DMX

Ben Westhoff's new book about West Coast Hip Hop history, Original Gangstas: The Untold Story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and the Birth of West Coast Rap, is up for pre-order on Amazon. It drops on September 13th. Check out the people who've already praised on it the Amazon description, including Greg Mack and Chuck D.

I helped Ben, who previously wrote [a book about Southern Hip Hop,] (https://www.amazon.com/Dirty-South-OutKast-Southern-Reinvented/dp/1569766061?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc) with some of his research and have read the book. I think it's an excellent history of the most important period in West Coast Hip Hop music, full of detail, and with some juicy tidbits that have never been revealed before.

To get a taste of what's in the book, check out the [Facebook page] (https://www.facebook.com/originalgangstasbook/?fref=ts) for the book, which Ben has been posting on. From what I understand Ben is considering doing an AMA here around the time of the book's release. I hope you will check out his new book and ask him some questions if he does. He worked on this book for five years, interviewing some of the most important artists of the period.

Hi man, I'm also a Londoner, not many of them on here.

Studio time is a waste of money and is out of the question anyway if you are just starting out as a rapper - the extra quality of a recording isn't ENTIRELY necessary to build a basic audience. Honestly if you have any form of mic at all or can even pick up a basic one - go to Amazon and just look around, Blue Snowball is a name I see mentioned a lot for just £50 - record something when your parents are out and post it on here or PM me, people are always willing to help/check out new rappers, especially if they are good.

That would be my advice for you for now. I'm also a producer so if you're looking for any kind of original beat as opposed to rapping over well-known ones, let me know and I'll sort you out (if you like them of course). /u/RyanSammy is also a London-based producer, and while I can't speak for him I'm sure he might be interested in helping you out.


Any more thoughts to add just let me know

For in-ear's, I have purchased multiple pairs from Klipsch. They're my favorite in-ear brand. From Klipsch, I can recommend the R6i's

Shure is also a great brand I've used. The SE215K fits your budget.

Now as for which one I prefer, I personally like the sound of the R6i's more. However, I purchased the SE215's because of the detachable and replaceable cable. From my experience the cable of Klipsch headphones are very fragile, and tend to wear. The SE215's have yet to break on me. Klipsch headphones for me tend to last for a year before the plug breaks. It isn't too big of a deal if you don't mind soldering and repairing them, but otherwise you should go with the SE215's.

Crown City Rockers - Earthtones

If he likes "real" hip-hop then this is the one. It's of the most underrated albums of all-time. The production is on-point and the lyricism is fantastic.

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.

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

I had a couple music ones, and my only hip-hop one was this Wu-Tang one. I don't know if that link is the exact place I ordered it from, but mine was ~$12 and a pretty high quality print for the price

What price range? I personally have these and love em.

Otherwise, just look at this guide, go to your price range, and look for IEMs with a B next to their name.

As someone who owns the vastly underrated ['Cooking With Coolio'] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1439117616) cookbook, this is pretty great news.

This is a great place to start, if you're talking about hip hop commercially.

Illmatic is only like 6 bucks on Amazon

Here's a link

Scratch is a really good doco on turntablism.

so raashan ahmad is the vocalist for crown city rockers who for the last 10 years have been highly slept on despite basically being the bay area's version of the roots. with that said i feel like the roots are more soulful/gritty where these guys are more soulfull/partyvibe. their sound can sometime kind remind me of the dc gogo scene.

they all went to music school together and their senior project was released under the name 'mission: one' and is a classic. they then changed their name to crown city rockers and released another must listen called 'earthtones'

with this new album raashan has also released 4 solo albums and is one of the most consistent cats in the game imo. here's some gems

1

2

3

This reminded me of a favorite book as a kid, No More Jumping on the Bed

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

This book would be helpful.

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 would like to nominate this: http://amzn.com/B0000CF348

The regular it was like $12


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

i got it as a gift, but i think you can cop it on Amazon

You can buy it on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Takeover-Pt-2-Lil-Flip/dp/B000E1NWEQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1537818572&sr=8-1&keywords=Lil+Flip+Takeover

Edit: The physical CD.

Link

It actually got moved to May 1st

http://www.amazon.com/Trophies-Apollo-Brown-Oc/dp/B007I2C0V0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335289402&sr=8-1

I have one of these

www.amazon.com/Blue-Microphones-Snowball-iCE-Microphone/dp/B006DIA77E/

Found a vinyl one http://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Swords-Gza/dp/B005MIDE44/ref=sr_1_114_title_0_main?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1412635001&sr=1-114

http://www.amazon.com/Live-From-The-Underground-Explicit/dp/B005GRF35O

I wanted to add this to my bookshelf next to Cookin' with Coolio.

Some Wu shirts (couldn't find the shirt but it's this design)

and a red TDE hoody, plus some Rocksmith, if you wanna count that

Diamond D - Stunts, Blunts, and Hip Hop

Is this not it?

https://www.amazon.com/Takeover-Pt-2-Lil-Flip/dp/B000E1NWEQ

I wanted it too, until I saw the selling price on amazon.

The Lil Jon version of the classic children's book "No Jumping on the Bed."

http://www.amazon.com/No-Jumping-Bed-Tedd-Arnold/dp/014055839X

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 also recommend the MPK. It has keys and the same pads as an MPC. I had the MPK-25 which has 25 keys, but there's also a 49 key. And I got mine for $200 which really isn't bad, considering it was in pristine condition.

Only downside is unlike the MPC, it is a slave controller (MIDI) to Ableton which means it crashed my shitty laptop all the time...

Akai website

EDIT: Added some links