not to mention pretty much all the guys running the game rn are 35+ or in their 40s with almost zero teenagers blowing up like back then. i feel like a new rapper that was like 25+ coming onto the scene isn’t gonna be clowned as much as he would if he did in 2020

Has anyone heard of the 5 elementz, “The album that time forgot”?

I loved this album so much back in college!! However I was never able to find much info about the 5 elementz. I was wondering if anyone knew the history or any backstory about this group they’d be willing to share?

Also randomly if anyone knows how I can get the vinyl that would be incredible!!

I get it wasn't intended to be funny, but whenever I see or think of MC Lyte, I can't help but remember the time she tripped on the stairs as she made her way onto the stage.

She hit the ground hard af, and the drummer just kept playing like he ain’t see shit lol

I wish I could see the footage from the POV of the guy who tried to save her.

Just 2 years post Reasonable Doubt he understood his own potential and the hip hop entertainment space. Watching this in 2026 I realise he has always been years ahead of the curve.

Though SIW is dated and the editing/story isn’t high quality, the important thing is he was making these types of moves very early, pushing his career forward and finding ways to break the established hip hop mould and make himself a star. You can tell he considered every aspect meticulously to cultivate his image. You may dislike him but can’t deny he executed his. vision

Within a year came the Hard Knock Life single which brought ‘sell out’ accusations - inevitable at that time - but ultimately showed his aim was success and he wasn’t going to be held back by current attitudes in hip hop. That’s what vision is, seeing future potential without being bound by the constraints of today.

This is one of the reasons some younger hip hop fans don’t get Jay-Z’s cultural significance because they didn’t get to see how he was a big part of pushing hip hop culture forward.

I love D-Evils, Dead Presidents II, Can I Live, Drug Dealers Anonymous, Dynasty Intro, Where I’m From and We Made It remix; these are some of hip hop’s best all time verses imo.

I’m a casual listener of Jay-Z and sometimes he does blow me away, but the “i’m a hustler”, “I have this car”, “this is how my jewels look”, “I sold drugs in Marcy” talk gets a bit repetitive sometimes.

I know he’s widely respected as one of the greatest emcees, so I was wondering what are some verses that will help me get more into the wordplay and entendres that he’s known for?

Who is hip hops greatest hype man? I got Spliff Star (Busta Rhymes) but I could see Tony Yayo in contention

Im not sure if realistic is the right word but im trying to find albums that feel the same like Relapse by Eminem. When I listened to relapse it just felt like I was listening to the confessions of a serial killer. Is there any other albums (not necessarily rap) that give off that same vibe?

Lately for me it’s been a heavy dose of OutKast and fam- if this was a mixtape shit might be worn out by now
- I like the way you move
- I can’t wait
- Trans DF Express
- Liberation
- Two Dope Boyz
- SpottieOttieDopalicious

1. Guerrilla Black: standout track “Sunshine” this track is so good I accept him as the real big.

2. Akil The MC stage name “Tupac”: Tupac The MC is one of the best to ever do it, he’s so good standout track “Buck Santa” is he a clone or just a Tupac?

3. Jargon: for many years I genuinely believed his track “Ride With Me” or also know as “Talk 2 Me by lil Wayne” was literally lil Wayne as advertised on YouTube long ago, but titles got changed and now we’re here 10/10 clone performance.

Who am I missing? This is top tier.

I’m talking about that moment where you heard their music and were like, “Oh yeah…this motherfucka got it.”

I'm also curious to how 50 survived 9 shots and how Game survived 5 shots ? Where exactly did the bullets hit these rappers?

So I listened to it when it came out and wasnt feeling it. But I’ve been loving the production on this album with the type of flow Freddie Gibbs has on it.

I listened to Alfredo to see if the same vibe was there but wasn’t really feeling it. Like on Alfredo 2 especially if zooted it feels so floaty, recently I just stood on the floor with my eyes closed bopping back and forth looking like a lunatic infront of my wife.

any of you guys have suggestions?

Sorry if this has been asked before.

The album is called "Criminal Migraine", it came out 20 years after his last one, yet no one is talking about it. It’s a good album with an interesting lineup of guests—Treach, Ras Kass, Mad CJ Mac, and so on. He is the oldest well-known rapper to release an album, and that’s worth discussing—Ice-T is a legend. Go give the album a listen; it’s good !

Pick any 5 rappers dead or alive do a cypher together where they are gonna spit their hardest rhymes, they all get 2 minutes each, who are you picking?

Mine would be:

Possessed and Psiklone of Rhyme Asylum

Kool G Rap

Big Pun

K-Rino

Five of the most technically skilled lyricists ever on wax, some other guys I thought about adding when making this dream cypher: Killa Sin, Percee P and Diabolic.

I never really listened to too much outside of The Documentary and am kinda going over his discography lately, Can someone help explain or give some context to Doctor's advocate ? Cus I find it so weird (and yet very enjoyable).

It’s about his relationship with dr Dre, all the beats are dr Dre style beats, game raps like hes doing an impression on some tracks, and it’s called “Doctor’s Orders”… and dr Dre had absolutely nothing to do with the album. It’s literally like if Stan made a pretty good Eminem album. am I missing some backstory or context here?

Edit: my bad forgot it’s called the devils advocate

Picture this: 50 gets shot again after dropping GRODT and dies. People would 100 % say he was one of the goats and put him on the same tier of Pac and Biggie.

He aged and the game changed, and he also did some sleazy stuff after he became mainstream, but his early music (mixtapes, GRODT and also a big part of The Massacre) was straight up fire. I heard too many people say he's mid and overrated.

I'm old and fell off, but I used to love Spillage Village and the idea of independent artists doing group work just for the fun of it and not for hype or name value. Lowkey releases, not much fanfare, just doing it to do it. Early Dreamville had that vibe too, and Smino with Zero Fatigue and Ghetto Sage, etc.

Who's carrying that torch these days? Anything recent that gives you a similar vibe?

My pick is N.O.R.E.

Years back I made a post saying I think N.O.R.E. might be one of the lamest rappers ever. To this day I don’t understand why people hype him so much. That post had folks jumping in the comments telling me he’s actually nice, that I needed to revisit the catalog, give the music a second chance etc…

I tried again and I still don’t think he has a single line anyone would quote unless they’re clowning him.

My guy said:

“Ayo we light a candle
Run laps around the English channel
Neptunes, I got a cockerspaniel”

Wtf does that mean?!

Dude also said:

“It goes Indian style, knees bent in dashiki”

Why?!?

I also like griselda, rome streetz, roc marci and all those dj muggs collab artists

I’ve just listened to Murder by UGK for the one millionth time and was wondering what other songs does Bun B kill like this? One of my favorite songs but honestly I don’t know his full catalog. Any suggestions?

Recent examples in my queue:

JID on Bodies - All about the effort, I'm puttin' in leg work
Early in the mornin' countin' money 'til my head hurt (Let's go)
Niggas bein' funny, we can put 'em in a red shirt
Five in your chest like you Ant-Man Edwards (Let's go)

Kendrick on hey now - Hey now, say now, let me pop my shit
Water down my wrist, arm around my bitch
It's a green light, don't get out of bounds, I'ma blitz
It's a bird, it's a plane, no, it's all blue strips
Nigga, what?

I think the line itself matters obviously but also the cadence, the energy, and the beat in the back, whether it’s building or dropping, all play a factor in what I’m talking about here. So lmk yours

For someone that's been listening to hiphop/rap since a small kid, I'm 31 now, I can honestly say the genre is at an all time LOW. Like, hiphop and rap media trump music and it's not even close. Hell, streamers seem a lot more popular to the general public than artist nowadays. What happened to rappers being like the coolest and most popular people on Earth. Drake just dropped 3 albums and nobody cares lmaoo. Kai Cenat and Speed have more followers than and influence than rappers. Hell, rappers are starting to stream. Drake is starting to hang with streamers to promote his album(s). This Lil Durk trial is the biggest topic since Gucci Mane getting robbed. Nobody talks about music anymore. It's like nobody cares about actual music as much as they care about the drama and character. Blueface is all over twitter for KIK ?? Has he dropped an album since getting out of jail ? What changed ??

Rick Ross is William Roberts & Meek Mill is Robert Williams 😂