My new favorite Hip Hop Artist I cant believe I never heard this shit till yesterday

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Nico_G

Active member


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Why do bad things happen, to good people?

Seems that life is just a constant war between good and evil

The situation that I'm facin, is mad amazin

to think such problems can arise from minor confrontations

This shits amazing such a good rhyme
 
gang starr is not a person.. it's the collabo of guru and DJ premier.. since guru is from roxbury, mass.. i'm going to guess it was DJ premier?
 
ive been listening to gangstarr since i heard work in hibachi king. hibachi king for all who dont know is a really low budget movie done a loong time ago by "h3o films"
 
yeah gang starr is the shit, i've been listening to his stuff for forever.

Check out "Guru" and "Jeru the Damaja" if you like gang starr.
 
Wow. After hearing the beginning of moment of truth, I was knew I had hear it somewhere. It was in Dave Mirra BMX 2. I haven't played that game in years.
 
I bought Jazzmatazz a few years ago based on some reviews and I have to say, it was not what I expected at all. Still worth a listen though, I really like Guru as a rapper.
 
DJ Premier is a legend. Guru is subpar. He is monotone as shit (and reps it like it's a positive thing), pseudo intellectual, plus, he is into all of that 5%er nation nonsense. Gangstarr records are worthwhile for the production and features. Everyone from Freddie FOXX, Jeru, INS, Big Shug, Kiss, to etc. completely upstage Guru.

Do yourself a favor and buy the two disc comp. "Full Clip". That's the only Gangstarr you need. If you absolutely insist, only buy Hard to Earn and Moment of Truth. Otherwise, just buy other shit that is produced by Primo.
 
I kinda think his monotone voice sounds good with the beat i dont really see how he could harmonize it. His rhymes are pretty damn good imo, and he just flows like no one I have heard in a while.
 
you happened to stumble upon hip-hop's most consistent duo of all time IMO. and "all 4 the ca$h" is definitely one of my favorite gang starr joints. i love how primo samples guru's lyrics from "dwyck".
 
My bad. I live in suburbs of Boston, but we have a METCO program that lets boston kids from ghettos come to our school...so yea Guru went to my high school
 
Gangstarr is fucking overrated. Someone started sweating him on the internet and hes really sweet for no reason. I would put 20 rappers over gangstarr anyday. his rhymes are slow and boring
 
Guru has some good lines, like in Full Clip, one of his better songs no doubt. but he is a bit overrated. Mass Appeal is also a beter track of his but some of his stuff like Above the Clouds is a bit pseudo intellectual and futura for me. its like he tries to be this rhyme prophet that he just isnt. plus hes always dressed and made some pretty wack videos, which really tarnish the image of Gang Starr as a duo.

dont get me wrong, he is legendary, but i think Preem really helped his career. DJ Premiers beats are on a level that is unattainable by any other producer up till now and forever onward. undeniably the greatest producer of all time.
 
really never heard of them til now? wierd. yeah dude one of my favorite crews. i actually have "work" set as my ringtone for the past 3 years haha
 
I have to respectfully disagree.

DITC, Tribe, Freestyle Fellowship/Project Blowed, Pharcyde, De La, Big L, AZ, JuJu, GZA/Ghost/Rae/Meth, Shabaam Shadeeq, Mos, Kwe, Boot Camp Clik, Zion I, Souls of Mischief, Hov, Pharaohe, and on and on...... the 90's were a rebirth, waaay too much talent to put Guru in the elite class.

Honestly, I think Guru is incredibly overrated and if he had linked up with a different producer, his career wouldn't have been half of what it is.
 
ya ive been listening to gang starr for a couple years but i like

mass appeal

rite where u stand (one of my favorites)

above the clouds
 
Don't be ignorant. Half of those "MC's" you listed are groups, like D.I.T.C., which consists of nearly 10 MC's, and BCC, which is made up of 8 MC's. Big L is also part of D.I.T.C., so no need to mention him twice.

If your argument were to be, say, Guru doesn't fit among Lord Finesse, Big L, Pharoahe Monch, GZA, Raekwon, AG, KRS, Kool G Rap, Ruck, or Nas then you mgiht have had an argument but really you just made yourself fail. Guru is way better than Mos Def, Kweli, Amplive, JuJu, Shadeeq etc. Theres a reason the Gangstarr discography is so enormous, and it isn't all because of Premier. Plenty of his other projects didn't get very far (Group Home, Jeru).

Saying Guru is incredibly overrated is just blatant disregard for what makes a good MC. Listen to any song off of Hard to Earn for proof. Maybe his lyrics aren't as hard hitting as others, but his smooth style easily puts him above most MC's of the 90's. It is true that his style fits so well with Premier's style, but thats why they do so well, but don't give all the credit to Premier.
 
Do you honestly believe that I think that DITC and Boot Camp is one person? Because it sort of seems like you were taking an opportunity to try and show off your vast hip hop knowledge. Should I have listed each individually? I was trying to highlight Big L specifically.

Everything else I said was purely my opinion, which clearly differs from yours. I think Guru's flow is monotonous and that he reaches a bit too far to come across as worldly and well-read, and instead, he sounds like a name dropper or someone who uses big words incorrectly or out of context. For my money, Primo=Jordan and Guru=Pippen. Pippen wasn't bad, but who would he have been without Jordan?

I don't know how you could listen to the Blackstarr LP, Reflection Eternal, or Black on Both Sides, and say that Guru's shit on Hard to Earn is even comparable.

What can I say? I'm not trying to be the official critic and the final word on whether Guru is a legendary mc...I would just rather listen to Primo instrumentals than Gangstarr tracks.

Why did you feel the need to one up me and try and make me look dumb? Don't be corny, absolutely no need to hate on my opinion.

 
youve really never heard of them? theyre like the most played out duo on this site. and dont get me wrong, i love Gang Starr, i have every album. even No More Mr. Nice Guy.

fav tracks are

- TONZ O GUNZ

- ALONGWAYTOGO

- Dwyck (greg nice has the illest verse on that cut)

- skills

the list could go on and on and on...
 
We just disagree on some stuff. No hate. I'm just trying to stand up for Guru, he was getting slaughtered in here
 
Mos Def is a fucking clown! I honestly believe that anyone who even mentions him in their top emcees list becomes just as big of a clown, if not even more of one. He jacks production from everywhere and rhymes as well, but i guess it's okay because he butchers it with his cornball flow?! His rhymes sound like the target audience is six years old. Fuck that!!! The guy absolutely sucks. I can't even stand his acting either. But mentioning Guru and Premo and Mos Def in the same thread is one of the most blasphemous things one could possibly do. And as mothaeast mentioned, and this is an extremely valid point---you have to look at the continuity and level of consistency that epitomize the Gang Starr sound. There's a reason that every single one of their releases have been solid at worst. They know the formula for good music and it clearly works well. And anyone who said Guru is pretentious needs to check themselves. It's pretty damn hard not to sound intelligent when compared to Mos Def's kiddie rhymes. And half of the other "rap gods" of this site (see:Atmosphere) really could not strain themselves any harder to be pretentious and worldly, so i really don't see a valid argument.
 
Guru is not overrated. Gangstarr is one of the greatest rap duos ever. Talib Kweli and Mos Def were legit on the blackstar album, however their solo efforts are shit, so yea don't diss gangstarr.
 
I think Black on Both Sides is one of the best hip-hop albums ever. That being said, I don't think Mos Def has really released anything else great since aside from a single song every now and then. It's cool if you don't like it, but don't kid yourself into thinking it's trash. That's ignant.

Gang Starr is sick but I think the Pippen/Jordan analogy is pretty bang on. Premiere is fucking sick, probably my favourite producer of all time. He's done a lot of banger stuff on the side and since the breakup of Gang Starr.
 
Oh, here's a sick Premiere beat that was laid down about two years ago

after the split of Gang Starr. Rakim, Nas, KRS-One and Kanye

 
god damn soonnn theres so many artists that are sooo good just rockin the underground... u got good taste if u like gangstarr. check this out...

 
Yeah now that I think of it premiers beats really do make guru ten times better but i do think that they both fit well.

On the other hand I think Mos def is good but his beats are pretty generic for the most part.

TALIB KWELI on the other hand is reallllly overated in my opinion. His beats and rhymes dont really cath my ear at all. All his songs sound exactly the same. he has maybe one or two decent songs.
 
Wow. Black on Both Sides is one of my absolute favorite albums. I bought the New Danger LP and pretty much hated it...particularly, the misguided rock/rap attempts. Either way, I hear mos on "Big Brother Beats" off of De la's Stakes is High, a couple of tracks on Soundbombing II, and so on, and I'm blown away. I think he's charismatic, has great tone, and a good cadence. What's not to like?
As far as Kweli goes, I haven't bought or heard much since "Quality". I thought Quality was fair, but a huge step backwards from the Reflection Eternal album "Train of Thought". T of T is amazing. Hi-tek's production was so far ahead of his peers at the time (other than J-Dilla and arguably some others), and Kweli absolutely smashed that album track for track. I beg anyone who is not a fan of Kweli's recent stuff, to pick this album up and give it a through and through listen.
 
that is a good track, but the whole cd is amazingly solid, so it would have been a shame if mos didn't sound good.
 
Totally unrelated recommendation: 9th Wonder "The Dream Merchant Vol.2"

Well...not totally unrelated. Mos has a ridiculous verse, and Madlib smashes a track.
 
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