prog | (no subject)

Just bought all the tracks from the Battlestar America album I found during that on-a-whim iTunes search yesterday. It's country hip-hop! How can you not love this? (Some of the political statements in the 30-second samples make me wince, but still predicting I'll find the music more bouncable than not.)

I think I'll enjoy it even beyond the novelty factor. Even though hip-hop is one of the few musical genres that I flat-out state I don't like, I actually do like a lot of its technical stylings. What I can't stand is the lyrical attitude of popular hip-hop: song after song of aggressively paranoid, egomaniacal ranting. Completely insane and utterly disgusting, to me. So, I happily seek out & reward those who take the techniques in new directions.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hip-hop artists I've liked: Beastie Boys, Dälek, OutKast, The Roots, Common
Hip-hop artists I've heard about but haven't really checked out: De La Soul, Tribe Called Quest, The Fugees, Dr. Octagon
Some of these might be up your alley. They're generally pretty creative and the braggadocio is toned down or ironic. I have mp3s if you want 'em.

Sample Beastie Boys lyrics:

If you try to knock me you'll get mocked
I'll stir fry you in my wok
Your knees'll start shaking and your fingers pop
Like a pinch on the neck of Mr. Spock