Rap for people who don't like Rap

[walterphil]

not a huge rap fan myself, but i liked a few of the poppy singles from the nineties before i even realized they were rap like tone loc's "funky cold medina" and young mc's "bust a move."

i like a rap song as long as it's got killer hooks as strong as those two.

but my fave rap group has got to be p.m. dawn. ever hear them? they did 4 albums in the nineties, and they're great. sensitive, melodic, and they're not afraid to sample the greats, like joni mitchell & kraftwerk. their first hit was "set adrift on memory bliss of you," which sampled "true" by spandeau ballet.

oddly they kinda sound to me like an A & M act.

their lead singer was a big heavy guy that spoke in parables, with lots of hippy type references. their records are full of intense beauty.

and they were basically drummed out of the scene by the heavier gangster type rap groups because they were thought of as too sappy.

bet you'd like em if you gave them a listen. they still hold up, and i thought it could be a good direction for rap to go, if they'd have stuck to their guns.

walt

 

[Dave]

Tone-Loc had a real claim to fame with "Wild Thing", which was what I consider a tolerable Rap song... And another group who made a Rap/Singing song a/l/a Pet Shop Boys, was Faith No More, a Heavy Metal/Rap Group with one hit, which I forgot the name of...


Dave

...with a couple Rap/One-Hit-Wonders, online...

 

[walterphil]

i don't care what the genre is.
it doesn't matter what kind of music it is
a good song is a good song

 

[bob knack]

Quincy Jones did a version of Birdland preceded by rappers interspersed with old time jazz stars that was quite good. I can't remember the CD.

 

[walterphil]

yes i have that lp and i love that version of birdland

great guest stars. do you know that that version of birdland was not only the one time sarah vaughan & ella fitzgerald sang together, but it was also the last recording that either one of them ever did?


i cherish it

 

[bob knack]

Yes. I don't think anyone other than Jones could have put that together. I always look at him as the black Henry Mancini. So prolific. Miles and Dizzy were on it too and are gone. I didn't know that about Ella and the sassy one.

I think Birdland should become the new national anthem. I have many versions. Buddy Rich, Maynard, Freddie Hubbard, Manhattan Transfer. Herb could do a good version if he wanted too.

 

[DAN BOLTON]

I consider Johnny Cash to be the father of "gangsta rap"...anything that he did along those lines was pretty good to my ears. I also really got into a Christian group in the early '90's called D.C. Talk...

Lucille Starr and Bob Regan were rockabilly artists in the '50's, mostly in Canadian venues. Their first A&M album was produced by Dorsey Burnett, and featured liner notes from Hank Snow. Lucille could sing just about anything she tried, from rock and roll to Broadway showtunes. Herb compared her to Edith Piaf...her solo album has several duets with Bob, at least my reissue does.



Dan

 

[Mike]

How ‘bout them rappin’ 1985 Chicago Bears, doing the “Super Bowl Shuffle”

We are the Bears' Shufflin' Crew
Shufflin' on down, doin' it for you
We're so bad, we know we're good
Blowin' your mind, like we knew we would
You know we're just struttin' for fun
Struttin' our stuff for everyone
We're not here to start no trouble
We're just here to do the Super Bowl Shuffle

Mike

 

[Dave]

...Biggy, Biggy Biggy, can't you see sometimes your words just hypnotize me... --That is the Notorious B.I.G. rap song, "Hypnotize", borrowing from Herb Alpert's "Rise"... (C'mon, now, "Rise" might'a sounded good, RAPPED...!!) Really wish Herb and maybe his band were on that "remake"; think Herb would'a really enjoyed 'blowin' it out' again!

Another Rap Song that I must admit I really DID enjoy almost- Ten-Years-Ago, when I first heard it!

This calls for a "Re-Mix" of Herb's Rise album, in the manner of Whipped Cream...--Re-Whipped!!!--How 'Bout It??!!


Dave

 

[nightcat]

I'm not into rap, but I thought I'd comment on the one rap song I really do like. Ir's about 15 years old. I'm not sure anyone remembers this, but Its called Rebirth Of Slick (aka Cool Like Dat) by Digable Planets. It has a GREAT bassline that repeats and creates a cool hook. There's some horns they sampled from an old jazz album that makes a nice little riff at the end of every chorus. And the video is very cool as well.

I think the group just faded away, and to this day I've never heard a rap song I liked anywhere near as much as this.

 

[Rudy]

Who sampled Steely Dan's "Black Cow"? I've seen Donald Fagen say "Uptown baby!" during the intro to that song on the Classic Albums DVD for "Aja".