Metal Reviews

In metal circles, rap seems to be a "love it or leave it" thing. Some metal fans shamelessly love it. Others toss it in the "MTV garbage" dump (does such a thing even exist anymore?). So what are your personal thoughts on it? Any bands in the genre that you like?

Personally, the only rap band I like enough to buy music from is Rage Against The Machine. But I can also enjoy Public Enemy, Beastie Boys (actually, I sometimes ponder whether or not I should buy "Hello Nasty"), Run-DMC, and heck even Eminem can be entertaining from time to time (or may be that's just my inner-Detroiter talking? ).

I think the main problem with rap isn't so much what it is but rather what it's become. After Snoop Doggy Dogg popularized the "gangsta rap" subgenre in the early-90's, rap gradually devolved further and further into self-parody. Which is why you now have 50 Cent and Ja Rule selling millions of records, while more deserving rap artists fall by the wayside. It's sad, really...

1991: Anthrax collaborates with Public Enemy to re-record (and "metalize") Bring The Noise. Nobody gives them any flack for it.

Eleven Years Later: Metallica collaborates with Ja Rule to do a song called "We Did It Again." People consider that the final nail on the once seminal metal band's coffin.

Wow, what a contrast!

there's some great rap/hip-hop out there.

my favorite hip hop album is probably GZA- Liquid Swords

I like trip-hop bands like Massive Attack and Burial. Not too fond of regular old rap and what have you.

Like all genres, some great, a lot of shit. Prefer old-school too, Public Enemy, Wu Tang, etc. I like Dalek and other experimental stuff as well though.

Aesop Rock is good, Deltron 3030 is good, what I've heard of Atmosphere is pretty good... I'm really picky about rap.

Busdriver is tolerable.

Coolio

I love, I mean I fucking love, the Streets.

Why? and cLOUDDEAD are both excellent, though they're hardly conventional and the former has been moving away from hip-hop for a long while now.

Rage Against The Machine is rap? Really?

I like "bouncy" rap/hip hop .. Paul's Boutique by Beastie Boys is probably my fav. I also like most of what Cypress Hill has put out. Some stuff by Missy Elliot I think is great, DJ Krush is genius but I'm not sure if that would qualify.

However, it's simply not a genre I have explored that deeply nor do I intend to.

Well, Zack raps, so.... why not?

Public Enemy's Fear of a Black Planet is the only rap album I own, but I have been meaning to change that. It's way cool.

I hope you've at least heard It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back...

I haven't listened to much rap, although I've heard a couple songs I like, so someday it'll happen.

Eminem. he has a good flow and his lyrics are great

Yep. Except I'd consider Atmosphere to be the best of the three.

Cunninlynguists and K'naan are also very good.

Jay-Z is also okay, from what I've heard. He does have one of the best drummers in the world in his backing band.

I'll always have a place in my heart for rap. I listened to it all through high school and whenever I hear 'Regulators' I can't help but sing along and feel a little nostalgic. I probably won't ever buy anything, but when Eazy E comes on, I can enjoy myself after a few drinks with friends.

I don't generally care too much for the media sanctioned pop rap, my fiancee got me into Older Eminem; Atmosphere are interesting and I like the lyrics from Immortal Technique. The Welfare poets are really good too, too bad genuinely good rap is hard to come by.

wait .. were we supposed to rap?

No love for Jedi Mind Tricks?

The Psycho Social album was and is a masterpiece of hip-hop music, dark twisted beats and equally dark and twisted lyrics.