backpackers who didn't fall off?

[GentleJonesReturns]

who do you think made it through the 90s and still make credible music? there are a few who have catalogs that aged well, but there are lots and lots who fell off and in hindsight weren't very dope to begin with.

i think mos def and camp lo are good examples of cats whose catalog stands up to scrutiny and they are still putting in solid work.

history is littered with one hit wonders who never got it together and fell to the wayside, only a few keep putting out world class work and make it a career.

[Philaflava]

Mos Def didn't fall off? I can't think of a more wasted talent then him from that scene. He had everything IMO, the voice, the style, the smarts. Sure you can find things you've enjoyed since 1999 but as a whole, Yasiin Bey has not lived up to his potential. The New Danger was trash unless you lowered your standards and force-feed yourself to like it. True Magic garbage. The Estatic was good, mainly because he was rapping over good Madlib beats. Once he became an actor his desire to be a rapper waned.

I also never considered Camp Lo backpackers.

[drizzle]

el-p, duh

[thatkidnero]

The New Danger was trash unless you lowered your standards and force-feed yourself to like it.

The New Danger is dope. There's some damn near classic songs on there. He's just not rapping on them.

[GentleJonesReturns]

I also never considered Camp Lo backpackers.

maybe backpacker isn't the right term, i am referring to i guess any hip hop that's been around over 10 years at this point. once an act gets a decade under their belt i feel like we can really judge how the music stands up over time.

my favorite records are timeless, and i think there are some emcees making timeless music which maybe starts out over looked but eventually rises to the top.

dude ish from digable planets i would say also has a solid creative streak to still be around and putting out interesting work.

[GentleJonesReturns]

The New Danger was trash unless you lowered your standards and force-feed yourself to like it.

The New Danger is dope. There's some damn near classic songs on there. He's just not rapping on them.

yeah i enjoyed new danger and true magic they have some great moments

[Philaflava]

The New Danger was trash unless you lowered your standards and force-feed yourself to like it.

The New Danger is dope. There's some damn near classic songs on there. He's just not rapping on them.

Classic songs are My Minds Playing Tricks On Me, Proteck Ya Neck, Time's Up, Today Was A Good Day and Ain't Nuthin But A G Thang. Remove your claim homie.

[Echo Leader]

I honestly can't think of a dude from that era that didn't fall off.

Maybe Vordul? I thought his both of his solo records were dope, but when was Megagraphitti released? 2008, right? What else has he released in the past 5 years? Those Cannibal Ox "comeback" songs were pretty bad, imo. I honestly didn't think that his verse on woods' History Will Absolve Me was all that, either...

I'd guess I'd venture to say that El-P has been making dope music pretty consistently since the first Company Flow dropped. All of his solo records are pretty solid and the two Killer Mike albums are ridiculously good.

Kool Keith had a pretty weak run in the mid-aughts but the music he's been releasing over the past two years has been awesome. The Total Orgasm projects were great, and what I heard of the album he did with Sche was good too. Not sure if you can really consider Keith a "backpacker" but the Dr. Octagon and Dr. Dooom albums both figure pretty heavily into that overall canon.

For the most part, just about everyone from that era has either disappeared or fallen off badly.

[GentleJonesReturns]

i didn't hear the new kool keith stuff, he is one of my faves so i will have to hunt that down, good looks echo leader

[Balzac]

agreed on mos def. it took me a few years to appreciate new danger but all his other releases i instantly liked.

i would add qwel to the list. maybe R.A. as well.

[the dead poet]

i ride for that new danger album.

El - P is really the only one I can think of.

[Echo Leader]

This is the only song from New Danger that I would want to listen to these days. Minnesota had some solid production on that record.

Actually a pretty good representation of what the album was about; pretentious and long-winded.

[Hair of the Dog]

The Roots and Aesop Rock are still making music that is arguably as good or better than what they did in the late 90's/early 00's. Well I guess my favorite Roots album is from that era, but my point is that they've successfully evolved with the times and still consistently make great music; not just tolerable music.

[Echo Leader]

Yeah, I totally forgot about Aesop Rock. Skelethon was awesome.

[samdoom]

el-p and aesop rock.

[GentleJonesReturns]

yeah alot of these cats still around did actually get better over time, the more i record the more i learn and i think with most cats its the same way

some dudes just don't have the fire anymore, and some of them wasn't too hot in the first place

[GentleJonesReturns]

myka 9 and most the freestyle fellowship are still putting out dope music

[ChaMerZ]

is ghostface killer still not known for his remarkable consistency or what happened? 20 years in the game and he still has that fire. It's certainly not as bright as during the 36 chambers era, but it's arguably still there.

[GentleJonesReturns]

yeah i always check for ghost's new projects he is one of the best, rza too, out of the clan they remain my favorites

prince paul is still a force to be reckoned with as well

[Versive]

Mos Def didn't fall off? I can't think of a more wasted talent then him from that scene. He had everything IMO, the voice, the style, the smarts. Sure you can find things you've enjoyed since 1999 but as a whole, Yasiin Bey has not lived up to his potential. The New Danger was trash unless you lowered your standards and force-feed yourself to like it. True Magic garbage. The Estatic was good, mainly because he was rapping over good Madlib beats. Once he became an actor his desire to be a rapper waned.

Seems to me that quality and integrity of Mos Def's music music pre-/post- Black on Both Sides is a constant topic of debate here. I get why, but respectfully disagree with everything you say here. The Ecstatc is his best work to date, and Madlib only produced a handful of songs on there. The whole album was recently remixed by Def's DJ Preservation, and the verses still hold up great.

New Danger might be Mos' worst release to date, but I respect Mos for stepping totally out of his comfort zone on that one. I don't want to say it's experimental, but it's definitely a 180 from what he was doing up until that point. Remember also that this album was originally going to be a Black Jack Johnson release (so presumably no beats, just live instrumentation), but it seems like he reined it in a little bit at the last minute.

Here are some post-'99 Mos Def songs I consider great:

[Ned Ryerson]

agree with el-p, ish, prince paul and aesop

mos has had some really good stuff since black on both sides but i can't see how anyone can argue the consistency of his work hasn't declined. never listened to true magic but the new danger had a lot of throw aways in my opinion. would have made a dope EP. kinda feel the same about the ecstatic

don't know if i'd call him a back packer but Pharoahe Monch has been pretty consistent for 20+ years. Not sure how people around here feel about it but i think Desire is a great fucking album

Killah Priest. He's wildly inconsistent but still puts out dope stuff.

MF Grimm. Can't think of anything in the past couple years but his last album was dope.

J-Zone. i know he quit for a while but whatever, new album's pretty good

Madlib.

[Y@k Bollocks]

Producers or just rappers?

[GentleJonesReturns]

Producers or just rappers?

anybody making records, so both

[Ned Ryerson]

either way, Q-Tip. can't wait for the Last Zulu

[GentleJonesReturns]

Killah Priest. He's wildly inconsistent but still puts out dope stuff.

i always check for kp, i liked his double album he dropped recently

[Philaflava]

can we change thread title to rappers who didn't fall off? backpackers is pretty particular and seems like we should only be talking about the rawkus era artists.

[the dead poet]

Monch has been consistent too

[samdoom]

Monch has been consistent too

and i'm a HUGE monch fan.

[GentleJonesReturns]

MF DOOM got even better with time

[the dead poet]

Monch has been consistent too

and i'm a HUGE monch fan.

Yea I've got in this same argument with a few heads on here before...but I feel that every album he's done after IA has been better than the last.