Black Hippy thread (Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, etc.)

[stype_ones]

People keep bringing up Parliament/P-Funk because Kendrick himself said he was listening to a lot of it and a lot of Miles Davis (70's jazz/fusion era Miles) before and during the creating of this album. Funny thing is, half the people making those comparisons most likely have never actually sat down and listen to a Parliament Record or say a Bitchez Brew. I think the production on this album was picked with the idea of those artists in mind, but none of it actually sounds like it directly.

Trying to really review this album will take at least a couple of week's worth of listens. Music is so disposable these days, so everyone makes up their mind instantly. It's bullshit- it takes time. Especially with an album such as this.

[EMCEE DARTH MALEK]

let that bich breathe

[Y@k Bollocks]

Trying to really review this album will take at least a couple of week's worth of listens. Music is so disposable these days, so everyone makes up their mind instantly. It's bullshit- it takes time. Especially with an album such as this.

Roughly what out 10 though?

[Busta Ry]

I wish Kendrick went a bit harder on this. I mean, shit's cool and all - it's thoroughly interesting - but my favorite Kendrick is 'Hood Politics' and 'Blacker the Berry' Kendrick. I'm not too sure what the fuck he thinks he's doing with his voice on the second half of 'u' but it annoys the shit out of me. I can't with that nonsense. It's a bit akin to what he was doing on that song with MC Eight on the last record, except that was less annoying. "How much A Dollar Cost" is really dope. It's Soulquariansesque - no doubt.

[blastmaster]

This is kinda what all of the shitty albums people are comparing it to were trying to accomplish. Much more of a raw and authentic feel than the shitty "experimental" ego suckling bullshit that assholes like Common and Outkast were trying for. Good stuff.

[alpha]

I need to listen to this a few more times to get a better opinion. It's not what I was hoping for but it may be what I was looking for.

[First Beard]

I am too old and bitter to genuinely get excited over modern LP releases, but I am looking forward to this and have high-hopes. Waiting to buy a hard copy when they are available.

For those who have it - how do you rate it on the old 5 mic scale?

[sleazy_j]

listening was an enjoyable experience, like reading a good book. in the same sense, i don't think it'll have much replay value for me, personally. there aren't too many songs that sound good on their own. you can't load this album in shuffle mode.

[DLG]

This is kinda what all of the shitty albums people are comparing it to were trying to accomplish. Much more of a raw and authentic feel than the shitty "experimental" ego suckling bullshit that assholes like Common and Outkast were trying for. Good stuff.

[EMCEE DARTH MALEK]

This is kinda what all of the shitty albums people are comparing it to were trying to accomplish. Much more of a raw and authentic feel than the shitty "experimental" ego suckling bullshit that assholes like Common and Outkast were trying for. Good stuff.

i like that kdot makes albums. you listen front to back. that's an album. if u wanna shuffle rapper there's a bunch out there.

the progession of the poem is ill.

[ChaMerZ]

I need to listen to this a few more times to get a better opinion. It's not what I was hoping for but it may be what I was looking for.

what a meaningless ass statement

[sean]

this is a good album.

[EMCEE DARTH MALEK]

I need to listen to this a few more times to get a better opinion. It's not what I was hoping for but it may be what I was looking for.

what a meaningless ass statement

if rappers recorded the music they think their fans want instead of going out on a limb to do something original, they would be action bronson.

[Kid That's Lifeless]

I need to listen to this a few more times to get a better opinion. It's not what I was hoping for but it may be what I was looking for.

what a meaningless ass statement

if rappers recorded the music they think their fans want instead of going out on a limb to do something original, they would be action bronson.

I still gotta check this out.

[Escobar305]

This is kinda what all of the shitty albums people are comparing it to were trying to accomplish. Much more of a raw and authentic feel than the shitty "experimental" ego suckling bullshit that assholes like Common and Outkast were trying for. Good stuff.

.

[Versive]

Not saying I don't like this. I've only listened to handful of songs shuffled in Spotify and I already like it more than Good Kid ... but the best possible thing that could happen with this album is that it gets a whole wave of teenagers/college kids into jazz.

[Krook]

don't fuck with it at all

[Balzac]

caught about 6 songs via mp3 player shuffle in the truck the other day.

first song that came on was "blacker the berry" which was sick. the second one was a song where he did this over emotional half crying , high inflection flow which was brutal and ruined the otherwise good track. The other 4 were excellent songs. I'm impressed so far and I hope he minimizes his eminem-esque "overacting" flow, that shit is a terrible look.

[Kace]

It reminds me of people comparing FlyLo's last album to Miles Davis and such. Sure he was influenced by Miles and fusion, but his album doesn't sound/feel anything like those records.

Isn't Flying Lotus more influenced by (his relatives) Alice and John Coltrane? Like him and artists he likes to work with now (Black Hippy, Underachievers to name a few), they were more into all that Oriental hippy stuff, more so than Miles was.

[Y@k Bollocks]

On first listen, I pretty much wrote it off as not being for me.

Buuut since everyone seems to be creaming themselves over it, I've been listening to it on repeat for the last two days in the hope that it'll grow on me, which is has. That said, it does feel a little bloated and there are already tracks I want to skip.

I wish Kendrick went a bit harder on this. I mean, shit's cool and all - it's thoroughly interesting - but my favorite Kendrick is 'Hood Politics' and 'Blacker the Berry' Kendrick. I'm not too sure what the fuck he thinks he's doing with his voice on the second half of 'u' but it annoys the shit out of me.

^ This

[Escobar305]

Not saying I don't like this. I've only listened to handful of songs shuffled in Spotify and I already like it more than Good Kid ... but the best possible thing that could happen with this album is that it gets a whole wave of teenagers/college kids into jazz.

Plz recommend some good jazz.

[drizzle]

but the best possible thing that could happen with this album is that it gets a whole wave of teenagers/college kids into jazz.

bbng have been doing this exactly for a few years without the overhead incurred by this album

[B. Ware tha Siniq]

People keep bringing up Parliament/P-Funk because Kendrick himself said he was listening to a lot of it and a lot of Miles Davis (70's jazz/fusion era Miles) before and during the creating of this album. Funny thing is, half the people making those comparisons most likely have never actually sat down and listen to a Parliament Record or say a Bitchez Brew. I think the production on this album was picked with the idea of those artists in mind, but none of it actually sounds like it directly.

Trying to really review this album will take at least a couple of week's worth of listens. Music is so disposable these days, so everyone makes up their mind instantly. It's bullshit- it takes time. Especially with an album such as this.

uh... I listen to a lot of Funkadelic and I'd say there are very clear parallels and I had no knowledge that he was listening to stuff like that heavily. It's mainly in the bottom and in the subject matter and the way he handles it as opposed to the actual "sound" of the album.

[sean]

People keep bringing up Parliament/P-Funk because Kendrick himself said he was listening to a lot of it and a lot of Miles Davis (70's jazz/fusion era Miles) before and during the creating of this album. Funny thing is, half the people making those comparisons most likely have never actually sat down and listen to a Parliament Record or say a Bitchez Brew. I think the production on this album was picked with the idea of those artists in mind, but none of it actually sounds like it directly.

Trying to really review this album will take at least a couple of week's worth of listens. Music is so disposable these days, so everyone makes up their mind instantly. It's bullshit- it takes time. Especially with an album such as this.

uh... I listen to a lot of Funkadelic and I'd say there are very clear parallels and I had no knowledge that he was listening to stuff like that heavily. It's mainly in the bottom and in the subject matter and the way he handles it as opposed to the actual "sound" of the album.

i agree with b ware here. i hear a lot of p influence on this. and i think it's great

[stype_ones]

People keep bringing up Parliament/P-Funk because Kendrick himself said he was listening to a lot of it and a lot of Miles Davis (70's jazz/fusion era Miles) before and during the creating of this album. Funny thing is, half the people making those comparisons most likely have never actually sat down and listen to a Parliament Record or say a Bitchez Brew. I think the production on this album was picked with the idea of those artists in mind, but none of it actually sounds like it directly.

Trying to really review this album will take at least a couple of week's worth of listens. Music is so disposable these days, so everyone makes up their mind instantly. It's bullshit- it takes time. Especially with an album such as this.

uh... I listen to a lot of Funkadelic and I'd say there are very clear parallels and I had no knowledge that he was listening to stuff like that heavily. It's mainly in the bottom and in the subject matter and the way he handles it as opposed to the actual "sound" of the album.

What I meant is that the album sounds as though he was listening to that kind of music and therefore his music and overall production was picked, created, and mixed with it in mind without your typical Funkadelic or All Stars direct sampling. Certain vocal overdubs or the way choruses are sung are def inspired by, but to me the music itself only sounds like they had an overall idea of how they wanted the landscape to sound. He said that they specifically turned down beats that didn't fit with the overall sound. I don't think it sounds directly like a Hip Hop pfunk record in the traditional West Coast sense, or even Redman Dare Iz a Darkside.

And you are part of the half of the people who actually do listen to Funkadelic. My initial point was that everyone has been sort of bringing up Parliament but that was because he did, not because they actually know to put the two together.

Either way none of it matters, I was just making a point. The album is dope to me, that's all that I care about.

[Versive]

Not saying I don't like this. I've only listened to handful of songs shuffled in Spotify and I already like it more than Good Kid ... but the best possible thing that could happen with this album is that it gets a whole wave of teenagers/college kids into jazz.

Plz recommend some good jazz.

Humbled by the request.

Aside from a few artists, I'm not really up on modern jazz. There was a group a few years ago called Black Chamber that dropped an amazing album that should be pretty accessible to most hip-hop heads: https://cultclassicrecords.bandcamp.com ... ck-chamber" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As far as any time period, lately I've been listening to a lot of Rahsaan Roland Kirk. He was a blind multi-instrumentalist known to play three saxophones at the same time. There's a documentary about him that I highly recommend watching if you get the chance: http://www.rahsaanfilm.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. His albums Slightly Latin, Natural Black Inventions, Blacknuss, The Case of the Three Sided Dream and Return of the 5,000 lb. Man are all beautiful, and I hope to familiarize myself with more of his catalog.

Aside from him and the obvious (Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sun Ra, Herbie Hancock, Bob James), I'm also a huge fan of:

Pharoah Sanders
Gabor Szabo
Donald Byrd
Phil Woods
Grover Washington Jr.
Wes Montgomery

The list goes on. I'm definitely leaving out a ton of great stuff. If you're looking for more far out shit, I'm also very into:

Ornette Coleman
Charlie Haden
Art Ensemble of Chicago
Wildflowers: NY Loft Jazz

Above all, I recommend listening to Jazz Alternatives on WKCR 89.9. It's on Monday-Friday, 6PM-9PM and streaming online through multiple channels. Wednesday and Thursday nights are especially great IMO.

but the best possible thing that could happen with this album is that it gets a whole wave of teenagers/college kids into jazz.

bbng have been doing this exactly for a few years without the overhead incurred by this album

Hopefully. Obviously they're reaching a much smaller audience though.

[unclebengi]

As I've stated I get that he was influenced by P-Funk and probably tried to emulate a lot of the instrumentation. But if any of you legit think this album sounds like/feels like a P-Funk album (other than a George Clinton guest spot) than I guess I just agree to disagree, I'm a huge Parliament/Funkadelic fan and just don't hear it. I brought up the drug haze those albums were made under because it's in direct contrast to the hyper controlled, serious environment that Kendrick's album reflects.

It's just weird for me to hear him incorporating that type of sound without it feeling unnatural and forced. I don't think the sound he's going for complements his strengths as a rapper and it ultimately bores me. I can't vibe out to it the way I want to because Kendrick comes off as the fun police on half the tracks.

Kendrick is beginning to parallel Kanye to me in that they both have singular artistic visions that they are willing to take to extremes that no one else will and I respect the hell out of them for doing it, but I have a hard time relating to them and enjoying their music as much as most do.

[stype_ones]

I've seen other reviews by this dude here and there but never paid much mind to them. I think he pretty much hits this one on the head. I never listened to "i" in my headphones- only heard it on the radio in my car or laptop- but hearing it on the album in my headphones I automatically thought it was different, not knowing that it was a live mix. Like it much more than the original version.

I love this album, even though I still have more listening to do.

[Gyangsta 4 Life]

Some good shit on here. These Walls, Blacker The Berry, You Ain't Gotta Lie, Mortal Man.

[Escobar305]

Much appreciated Versive.