Lil Wayne didn't help matters by using his time at the top to constantly remind everyone that he was blasted on Rx codeine-filled cough syrup all day every day. All the rappers we see now grew up in the era of Wayne. He was probably the first big rap "star" most of them knew about. I know this goes against my common assertion that Kanye is the most influential dude in the scene — but Kanye's appeal was always more universal, not at all confined to or even affiliated with "hood" scenes, while Wayne had ab entirely different vibe.

Anyway. Yeah, I imagine most of these folks are not anything approaching clean. Even the most sober-minded references xannies and shit. Then there's Future, basically marketing mass indescriminate consumption of everything, all the time, everywhere.

Personally I think opiates and benzodiazepines are more prevalent in thais culture than cocaine at the moment. Which scares me, because it's starting to spread and affect legislation for millions of people who take these mediations legally and responsibly (yah yah, I know ... hah hah, but they're out there.)

Most interviews with rappers nowadays tend to be snoozefests. I appreciate it when a rapper is coherent and capable of expressing his/her thoughts in an articulate manner. Travis, Keef, Thugger and Kodak are a bunch of mumblers.

This little interview with Gucci was FANTASTIC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gmN0GuTZS8

What a guy. :)

Future definitely exaggerates in his lyrics. If he really took all those stuff he claims to be taking he would've overdosed already.

see, Gucci Mane is articulate and lucid and somewhat smart, modest. ha! he's all southern as hell. like he's about to bust into an Otis Redding tune.

I like. good stuff.

Eh. It's totally possible to take massive quantities of various substances without overdosing. And "overdose" is a bit subjective. Most hospitals would admit someone who doubled their dose of OxyContin, at least for observation (and because $$$). You don't have to flatline or whatever to overdose. And if you creep up on these things, building on your intake slowly, or just taking enough to buzz yourself every day, tolerances can get Fucking ridiculous really fast.

I'm sure he exaggerates though.

Maybe not overdose then, but is it possible to take so many drugs and still function so well? He seems to be in complete control, compared to obvious addicts like the ones I mentioned above. I think he raps about doing a shitload of drugs because he knows that's what the fans wanna hear.

Well that's really the problem, though innit? That fans want to hear that shit? That people are attracted to that kind of over self-destruction?

Anyway, even when the guy's on tour, he's only working four hours a day... max.

the kids wanna hear about partying, drugs, geting laid, etc. SAME SHIT AS ALWAYS!

Hey guys, I know this isn't strictly hip-hop, but the new Botany album has some insanely good beats on it. It's instrumental, but I think some of you guys would dig this.

Like this track for instance:

Botany - Janis Joplin (YouTube)

I think this qualifies as good hip-hop music, even if it's rapless. Also, it's probably the strongest hip-hop adjacent release of 2017 so far, so... yah. Listen!

New Vince Staples album/single/whatever (still a mystery) this Friday!

I think this is going to be a non hip-hop year, to be completely honest.

That Vince thing (which might actually just be a single?), another Danny Brown collabo with Paul White, and whatever the fucking fuck "More Life" is going to be, plus Yeezy Season 5 coming with no new music announcements, all point to this being an off-year for actual albums.

So far we have Run the Jewels and Migos. yaaaaaaaaay.

I think this is going to be an indie-rock bounceback year with lots of good electronic and experimental music to dig through.

So maybe we should talk about "old" hip-hip, just so this thread doesn't suffer. To this end, I've decided to read the 33⅓ entry on MBDTF — which should be here any day — for inspiration.

Hey louder, I was just looking back at old café threads, and I can't believe how much shit you took from assholes when you started this. I did not remember just how nasty people were to you just because of ... what, exactly? The misconception that you believed yourself to me a higher authority on the genre than others? Your specific taste? I don't really know what the issue was, but that was pretty fucked up.

Also, it's funny that your first post in any of these threads was simply:

"..."

Haha.

ILOVEMAKONEN came out of the closet and no one gave a damn. progress!

Let us know how it is! I'd be tempted to read it, however, heard mostly negative stuff about those books.

The people who read the books are, like, really into them. Like it's an actual series or something. Doing the math, you've gotta figure most folks who read every 33⅓ entry probably haven't heard at least ⅓ of the albums they're reading about, but there's anreally loyal fan base. Or, maybe "readership" is the better word, since most of what people seem to want to do is bitch.

Anyway, I'm kind of a music book addict, and there's not much available on Kanye, apart from bullshit like his mom's book, or his "children's book" (with sizzurp) based on "Through the Wire." I'm sure there will be no shortage of material as his career winds down, but for now it seems as though this is the best we're going to get as far as serious critical writing goes.

I've never read a 33⅓ book before, which is crazy considering how many of my favorite artists have been included (Beatles, Lips, Joy Division, Beefheart, Aphex Twin), so it'll be an interesting experience.

Hey what's that?

This is how supreme egotist and marginal-quality vocalist Beyonce announced her pregnancy with twins.


someone put Jay Z on it.

I know right? Most people here were dicks to me just for the sake of it. In the Non-Sonics forum it was even worse because their attacks were meaner and more personal. It kinda fucked with me for a while because I was just a teenager trying to develop his identity and I was also suffering from depression and anxiety. Probably the reason why I've been avoiding that place for years now.

You, NR, foreverasskiss and SuchFriends were always cool though, y'all were the reason I kept going. Rob kinda replaced SuchFriends in a way and the thread is still going strong, heh.

Wow, only yesterday I found myself wondering where the hell Jay Z was in that photoshoot too!