Wanting to get into rap

[Blinger$]

Ne-Yo - Beautiful Monster (Not rap, but R&B)

Eminem is a good choice, Love the way you lie is amazing.

Kanye West?

I like eminem's old stuff, it just sounds good, his voice isn't weird.. and yes.

Girls by D12 is a good diss song imo

[Swastika]

Don't listen to eminem, keep it gangster and old school.

[RedStratocas]

Love it!! I was positive I had heard N.Y. Stafe Of Mind before and now I remember, it was in GTA IV. If I like this then could you recommend any other artists who produce music similar to this please? Also when I was younger I always remember my older brother playing rap/hip hop in is car, back then I hated it but now I'm thinking I should try listening to some of the songs he'd always play again. I can always remember him mentioning people such as DMX, 2pac, eminem (obviously I know some of his songs) and Jay-Z. I have heard some of Jay-Z's latest such as Young Forever and Empire State of Mind and love them.

well good! yes, "empire state of mind" is actually purposefully in reference to nas's song (jay z and nas were in a feud for almost 10 years, but have since made nice). jay z is a good rapper to listen to, his recent stuff is actually not as great as his older songs. you could start with either "reasonable doubt," which is his debut breakthrough album from 96, or the original "blueprint," which is usually cited as his best. however, "the black album" is probably my favorite of his albums. for other 90's rappers, really you can just go with ones you already probably heard of, like biggie, wu-tang clan, big pun, etc. i'd personally recommend "only built 4 cuban linx" by raekwon, which is one of the best solo wu-tang albums. as a heads up, anywhere from 20% to 40% of any wu-tang album is inaudible/incomprehensible/gibberish lol, but trust me they've been the most compelling rap group of the past 20 years.

for more recent artists, personally im a huge kanye west fan. he's not really the greatest rapper around, but he's certainly one of the best producers and song makers of the past 10 years (he started out as a producer for jay-z). he changed the game as well, before him gangster rap was the only way to make it big in hip-hop, he started the trend of writing more about middle-class problems, self consciousness and things more relatable to people who weren't necessarily from the streets. he's not as much about pure flow and rhyming, he tries more to stay on topic and makes sure you can hear everything he says. his lyrics can be incredibly thoughtful. also, i find it awesome that he's the only real rapper who doesnt have a stage name. start with either "the college dropout," his debut, or "late registration," which is one of my favorite albums ever.

i dont mean to overwhelm you with info and suggestions lol, but if you want something REALLY recent, id highly suggest big boi's (from outkast) new solo album that came out a few weeks ago, it's one of the best hip hop albums ive heard in a long time, in terms of production its a masterpiece.

[Sly]

Well you've got Eminem who brings something new to the table with every Album, Drake whose just got his foot in the door but has made a great impression on me, Lil Waynes got Carter 4 comin' out in a few months which is said to be incredible, 2Pac isn't my favourite of rappers but he's quite well liked by most so you might aswell give him a listen, Yelawolf is another white rapper who is getting quite a lot of attention at the moment and Iron Solomon is a pretty good underground MC who is really impressive at first but later you realize he's a fake and isn't free styling at all - everything he says is rehersed (N)

[Apple]

I had eminem, nas and 2pac discographies downloading over night. When people say biggie vs 2pac are they saying which is the greatest rapper of all time or do they just get compared because they were enemies and both from the same time? I've listened to 2pacs greatest hits as I figured I couldn't go wrong and it is amazing, some of the best music I have heard in a long time. When I was younger I always remember songs such as without me, my name is, real slim shady, guilty conscience, who knew from eminem as they were always playing everywhere so it's gonna be interesting to see what his other older stuff from back then was like. This eminem discography didn't include his latest album with rihana but I have a couple of singles from that anyway. I've found 2 nas songs that I love, hate me now and hero. Thanks for the advice anyway now I finally have some new music to listen to.

[RedStratocas]

I had eminem, nas and 2pac discographies downloading over night. When people say biggie vs 2pac are they saying which is the greatest rapper of all time or do they just get compared because they were enemies and both from the same time? I've listened to 2pacs greatest hits as I figured I couldn't go wrong and it is amazing, some of the best music I have heard in a long time. When I was younger I always remember songs such as without me, my name is, real slim shady, guilty conscience, who knew from eminem as they were always playing everywhere so it's gonna be interesting to see what his other older stuff from back then was like. This eminem discography didn't include his latest album with rihana but I have a couple of singles from that anyway. I've found 2 nas songs that I love, hate me now and hero. Thanks for the advice anyway now I finally have some new music to listen to.

well the key factor of pac vs. biggie is west coast vs. east coast. hip hop originated on the east coast but west coast rappers like tupac were first starting to come up around the same time, and pac and biggie were very close in terms of popularity. basically your rapper represented you in the same way a sports team would represent you, minus that fact that there's no definitive winning or losing.

as for eminem, really all you need is everything up to the eminem show. honestly after that is when he really starts going downhill in my opinion. i mean if you like his new stuff thats cool, but even people who like his new stuff can't deny that the marshall mathers and slim shady lps are his peak and he'll never be that good again.

[Swastika]

I honestly can't stand eminem, he songs just remind me of parodies and i absolutely hate his voice.

Have you tried listening to the westcoast gangster rap yet pal?

[Apple]

I honestly can't stand eminem, he songs just remind me of parodies and i absolutely hate his voice.

Have you tried listening to the westcoast gangster rap yet pal?

Westcoast gangster rap? Artists like Biggie Smalls I am guessing?

Also I agree that Eminems older stuff are his best. If I love 2pac and biggie is similar then I will download his discography too, not now though my internet is going slow as it is.

[FlyingJesus]

it took me years to truly understand the scope of everything in it, so it takes time.

I can't imagine there ever being a time when anyone totally understands what Ghostface is on about haha

anywhere from 20% to 40% of any wu-tang album is inaudible/incomprehensible/gibberish

Yakoo! Maker and creator of the devil! Swine merchant, your time is near at hand. **** with me, and your time will be now. Your presence here affects the mind of my people like a fever. You, Yakoo, are the bearer of 9,999 diseases: evil, corrupt pork-chop-eating atrocities!

Westcoast gangster rap? Artists like Biggie Smalls I am guessing?

Nope that's East coast (which is superior) think he was on about people like Ice Cube and Dr Dre who do have some banging albums which are often perhaps easier to listen to than the NY style stuff, but as a lyricist I prefer East coast because they do tend to have a better lyrical style for the most part. That's not to say that you shouldn't get into the West coast too, like I say they got some great albums (AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted for one) so yeah shop around you like Tupac and he was West coast so quite likely you'll enjoy a few of them.
DMX was mentioned in passing earlier in the thread somewhere, getting hold of It's Dark And Hell Is Hot will let you know if you like his style as it's probably his best work, Nas you said you got the discography so that's always gonna be good listening, Doe Or Die by AZ is an amazing album from possibly the most underrated rapper around... I'll leave it at that I think, there are far too many great rappers to list all the suggestions I could make haha.

[Swastika]

Westcoast gangster rap? Artists like Biggie Smalls I am guessing?

Also I agree that Eminems older stuff are his best. If I love 2pac and biggie is similar then I will download his discography too, not now though my internet is going slow as it is.

No biggie smalls is eastcoast, westcoast would consist of snoop dogg, ice cube, dr dre etc.
Tupac and biggie are similar but at the same time completely different, if you get me.
Im sure you'll love biggie though.