[Severian]

Originally Posted by pepper_green

yes! that's the hook! that's my jam! MM FOOD may not be the best DOOM but it has that track.

"mmm delicious rap snitch knishes".

Hey me too man. I rap that line over and over and over again because once I start it's like the Song That Never Ends from Lamchop's play along.

[Severian]

Hey am I the only one who thinks that part in Power where Ye says "I got the power make your life so exciting" sounds like "suicide" when the last two words echo back all those times? Sounds like fuckin suicide to me man.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Kanye is the Trump of rap. There, I said it

[Severian]

You think Kanye is the only loudmouth asshole in rap? When minor rappers sound off, nobody pays attention. But they're just as stupid. I read a Meek Mill tirade against 50 Cent the other day. Motherfucker didn't even use real words. Spoke in nothing but abbreviated street slang, emojis and "u so (this), u so (that) 4 real" insults. Kanye looks like a master linguist by comparison.

But I've had the same thought honestly. Except it was more along the lines of "Trump is the Kanye of politics" but it's not analogous. Donald Trump's only resume level quality is that he's a billionaire who has made more money than he's lost. He's not respected in any community, and he has no talent for anything.

Kanye West is, even if you hate him, an absurdly talented individual. Even if he's not using his talents... it's proven. When MTV slammed him for being a "fake producer," SPIN retaliated with a pretty in depth article titled "the 101 best Kanye West songs that don't feature Kanye West," where they stacked facts like mad to support the notion that Kanye has contributed to the careers of countless artists, and debunked the assertion that he only co-signs or pulls production duty to benefit himself.

The guy's talented as hell. He knows what to do with a soundboard, if nothing else. He knows how to work a sample like nobody else on earth, and he knows how to create musical atmosphere that sucks people in almost without fail.

Donald Trump is the Vince Mcmahan of modern politics. He's a showboating idiot and wannabe daughter fucker.

[Rob Instigator]

I just wish Kanye listened to better music. It would make his samples be more interesting to me.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

I just wish Kanye listened to better music. It would make his samples be more interesting to me.

Fair enough. I get that, and I feel that way about a lot of producers. But I've always been shocked at the quality of Kanye's samples. I mean... Aphex Twin? Daft Punk? Can? King Crimson? Section 25? Otis Redding? Nina Simone? Using Elton John and Steely Dan in ways that don't suck? I can't believe he's even heard of Section 25. In many ways I think his taste in music is one of the main reasons why his music sounds so great to me.

He sampled "Someone Saved my Life Tonight" on "Good Morning," and I used to listen to the exact little refrain he used, and think, "man, this song would be dope if it was just this part over and over again" ... And that's more or less what he did!

But, y'know, to each his own and whatnot.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Sev smoke a bowl bro I'm joking! Reality is Kanye has as many gaffes

[louder]

Originally Posted by Rob Instigator

I just wish Kanye listened to better music. It would make his samples be more interesting to me.

He used to have a pretty decent taste (Fiona and Portishead come to mind) but nowadays he only listens to trendy club music. He's obviously going through a midlife crisis.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by louder

He used to have a pretty decent taste (Fiona and Portishead come to mind) but nowadays he only listens to trendy club music. He's obviously going through a midlife crisis.

...

Dude, you are just going ice cold on our boy.

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by louder

He used to have a pretty decent taste (Fiona and Portishead come to mind) but nowadays he only listens to trendy club music. He's obviously going through a midlife crisis.

That much is brutally obvious. What always made hip hop great was not just the sampling, but in how the music they listened to INFLUENCED the music they created. Hip Hop was always a wider reflection of the great music that influenced hip hop artists. With Kanye, and a lot of contemporary rappers, their music is crap because they are listening to crap.

I used to listen to hip hop JUST FOR THE SAMPLES. When Tupac "Bad Boys Can't Stop Thug Life" comes up with that chorus sampling of Strawberry Letter 23 I LOSE MY SHIT.. indeed whenever that sample comes on I jump and start grooving!!!

This is crucial Hip Hop 101 which evolved out of Reggae culture.. in reggae original music isn't as important as it is in other genres, indeed quite the opposite! Many artists prefer to write and sing their original songs over "samples" of "riddims" because they know that people like me will go nuts when they hear they "favorite riddim" indeed on the dance floor whenever I hear my favorite riddim I don't even notice what the SingJay is singing.. I just get enraptured in my favorite song to dance to!!

THAT is essential to hip hop, that you not only hear your favorite rapper BUT you also hear your favorite songs from growing up. After all, the original samples were all that Grown Folkz Music from our parents and now grandparents record collections.

Further that the new music reflects sounds and elements that you loved in the old music. The new shit samples less, and what they sample sucks, and what they listen to sucks, and their own new shit sucks because they sound like the shit they listen to that sucks!

[Severian]

I don't know guys, I think Kanye's samples are dope and eclectic as hell pretty much all the time.

Keep saying he listens to shit, but again, fucking Aphex Twin? Can? Daft Punk (ok, so some DP is total shit but whatever, some of it is great) and Fucking Section 25?

I'm not seeing it, bros. Kanye loves great music, gets geeked about it, uses it in his music, makes me geel over it.

Also I take issue with anyone who tries to lump Kanye in with "other popular rappers" or current rappers. It's not something that can be done. Who's he like? Who, in any way, sounds like Kanye or does what Kanye does? I'll tell you who... Black Milk. That's pretty much it. Black Milk is like the deep underground Yeezy and he's doper than hell!

You just can't talk about Kanye and generalize what you're saying to "modern rap" because popular rap is Thug, Future, trap shit.... None of it has the feel of ye's multi-genre soul-blender style. It's all niche shit. It's like trying to talk about Michael Jackson in the context of fucking UB40.

[Severian]

And please please don't imply that 38 is "midlife." Just say "Kanye's going crazy/crazier right now." If 38 is the age for midlife crises, then you guys are gonna have a much crazier Severian on your hands over the next few cafés.

[Severian]

I will say this: "Waves" is an insanely dope track that is practically ruined by Chris Brown's woman hating ass. I knew the guy was an absolute fucking tool, but I had no idea that his actual singing was so generic and "gum-commercial-esque" ... If ever there was a time to pull Frank Ocean out for a verse, Waves would be it. Or even Miguel. Shit, I'd take Usher over Chris Brown's bitch ass.

I love that song. The beat is "feel good" but still glitchy and weird, and the lyrics put me in a "Bound 2" state of mind. But good as the song is, I can only list to Chris Brown say "no lie" so many times before I have to hit the skip button.

What a waste.

[louder]

Originally Posted by Severian

And please please don't imply that 38 is "midlife." Just say "Kanye's going crazy/crazier right now." If 38 is the age for midlife crises, then you guys are gonna have a much crazier Severian on your hands over the next few cafés.

My father who is 60 is just going through one. Don't worry, you still got a while to go.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by louder

My father who is 60 is just going through one. Don't worry, you still got a while to go.

Good, because ... well, man I tell ya. Some days. Today for example! I worked for over 12 consecutive hours. I will be paid for 8. And as I was filling out my mileage form (a process that always feels a bit obscene) I remember thinking, "certainly life has yet to even fucking start for my ass."

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Originally Posted by Severian

Good, because ... well, man I tell ya. Some days. Today for example! I worked for over 12 consecutive hours. I will be paid for 8. And as I was filling out my mileage form (a process that always feels a bit obscene) I remember thinking, "certainly life has yet to even fucking start for my ass."

Welcome to every single day of my career. I have had 3-4 hours of work to do that follows me home for years now. Indeed teaching is the only job where the more you work the LESS yoi get paid

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

And severian i love you but if you EVER in any way again even remotely compare Kanye to Michael Jackson i will deactivate my account and never look back.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

And severian i love you but if you EVER in any way again even remotely compare Kanye to Michael Jackson i will deactivate my account and never look back.

I'd like to say promise that it won't happen again, but I'm pretty sure there's no fucking way I could ever keep that promise even if I wanted to.

But I love you too!

[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

Bro I'm serious. A man of such good taste and sense as yourself surely can see the blasphemy in putting Michael Jackson and Kanye West in the same sentence.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous

Bro I'm serious. A man of such good taste and sense as yourself surely can see the blasphemy in putting Michael Jackson and Kanye West in the same sentence.

I can see how some people might see it as blasphemy...

All I mean is that I think both of them have a such a unique sound, energy and presence that no other artist is really comparable to them. That's not even a value judgement. If I hated Kanye West I'd still feel that way. They're both pretty much peerless. You could say the same thing about Andy Kaufman or Klaus Kinski.

And I was being serious when I said I couldn't keep that promise if I tried. I talk about music way too much, and make far too many comparisons between artists to ever keep be able to keep that shit straight.