Rap It Up

I thought I would try something different this time and do a blog with an entry that included a special guest blogger. I am really excited to say that Zach from the SIMhl has agreed to be a part of this most recent entry.

I called on Zach because he has extensive knowledge of a brand of music I am just beginning to understand. Zach on the other hand appears to be an authority on the subject and I thought it would be fun to bring him on board to collaborate on this entry.

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, I am talking about Rap. A brand of music where sounds produced by instruments and the mouth are meshed with words in a poetic format that has words rhyming in sync with sounds well at the same time, telling a story. For me it was a lot to wrap my head around...until Zach gave me an education. Without further delay, here is what Zach taught me in his own words.

Freestyle Rapping is where you come up with a rap on the spot with no prepared lyrics. The 3 best freestyle rappers are Lil' Flip, Proof, and Snoop Dogg. If you watch 8 Mile, all the battles are freestyle rapping.

Gangsta Rapping was created by N.W.A. and Ice-T. Gangsta rap comprises of beatboxing, vocals, and a drum machine. The main cities involved are L.A., New York, and Oakland.

Southern Rapping became a form of rap once 2Pac and Biggie died. This type of rap uses much more than gangsta rap. Southern rap uses turntables in their music. The main cities involved are Atlanta, Memphis, Houston, and Miami. Some others cities involved are New Orleans and Dallas.

However, the question for me then became, who would make the best selection of Rappers to listen to from each category or city. Zach did not fail me, he gave me this list to work with and if your looking to get a better understanding of each style of Rap this list may be helpful to you.

New York:
Notorious B.I.G. (Biggie)
Jay-Z
Diddy
Nas
50 Cent
Busta Rhymes

Detroit:
Eminem
D12 (Proof, Bizarre, Swift, Kuniva, Kon Artis, Eminem)
Obie Trice
Fat Killaz
Trick-Trick

Atlanta:
Ludacris
T.I.
Young Jeezy
Lil' Jon
Outkast (Big Boi, Andre 3000)
Yung Joc

Houston:
Chamillionaire
Lil' Flip
Paul Wall
Mike Jones
U.G.K (Pimp C, Bun B)

Memphis:
Three 6 Mafia (Juicy J, DJ Paul)
Lil' Wyte
Chrome

New Orleans:
Birdman
Lil' Wayne

Miami:
Rick Ross
Pitbull
DJ Khaled

Los Angeles:
2Pac
Snoop Dogg
Dr. Dre
Xzibit
Kurupt
Nate Dogg
N.W.A.
Warren G
Ice Cube
Ice-T
The Game
B-Real

(I know, there are a lot from L.A.)

finally,
Oakland:
Too $hort
E-40

I have had a chance to listen to a sample of these artists but I have to say, on the advice of my good buddy, I listened to a group called, "Cool Kids" and I like them a lot.

I know there a lot of groups and artists out there. I am hoping to experience as many of them as I can as I am hoping to experience as many different styles of music as I can.

Without the help of people like Zach, I would miss out on stuff like this. The way these artists weave words, sounds, and a storyline in one short song is amazing. I was impressed.

Sooooo, do you think you know an artist or type of music I should listen to? Lemme know, I am all ears (no pun intended)

Tomorrow I make my return home for the first time in a week, I will be devoting tomorrows entry to that subject...lets just hope its not heavy weather.

Special thanks to Zach for taking the time out to educate all of us on this style of music...I hope everyone got as much out of it as I did.

LiveSTRONG!