Josh Doyle

This week the Ontarion wanted to offer some sound advice for anyone longing to properly involve themselves in the wonderful world of hip-hop music. Perhaps you already consider yourself a “certified hip-hop listener.” Well, if that’s the case then maybe you don’t need this article. But for those of you rocking out to Lil Wayne remixes, bumping Drake in your car thinking you’re hip-hop heads, here’s a brief tutorial on how to get off the whack train, and start filling your ears with quality hop.

The first and most important step in the direction of rap enlightenment is to TURN OFF YOUR RADIO. Mainstream radio stations are constantly pumping the airwaves full of garbage R&B and calling it Hip-Hop. If you want to listen to real hip-hop, STEER CLEAR. Most good hip-hop is not sitting in plain sight, and you must embrace what’s commonly known as the underground scene if you want to hear a lot of the quality music being produced.

Second, you need to listen to some music and see what you like. The best way to do this is find someone you know who listens to hip-hop you haven’t heard in the mainstream, and ask them what they’re rockin’. Since I’m writing this you can use my advice, but if you have a friend who seems to have his/her head on straight when it comes to beats, don’t hesitate to borrow a headphone.

The best hip-hop comes from America. There are other respectable artists in the world, but even the good ones from other countries model themselves after American artists. This is where it started and this is where it’s progressed the furthest. Within American hip-hop there are many sub genres, often having to do with geographic locations. First you have the East coast, for which New York is the focal point. This is where hip-hop was birthed by the Sugar Hill gang with Rapper’s Delight. For a sampling from this area try the songs “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” by Nas, and “Nostalgia” by Masta Ace. West Coast hip-hop comes mostly from California, more specifically LA. You may already know Snoop Dogg, and if so you should also know his song “Gin and Juice”. After this try TuPac’s “Keep Ya Head Up”. Then you’ve got the South, which covers all the southern states, especially Georgia. For this region check out CunninLynguists song “Doin Alright,” or T.I.’s “What You Know.” Then find out who your favourite rappers favourite rappers are, and pursue them like you’re building a social network. Read a couple of short bio’s and find out what they’re most respected albums are.

Another key element of becoming a hip-hop head is to stop downloading your favourite songs off iTunes or Limewire, and start buying or downloading full albums. You cannot possibly experience an artist for all their depth and abilities by sampling the one song you heard in a car that grabbed your ear. Forget the singles, find a talented artist and spin the album. Start with these:

1) Jay-Z, Reasonable Doubt
2) Nas, Illmatic
3) Masta Ace, Disposable Arts
4) Cunninlynguists, SouthernUnderground
5) CYNE, Pretty Dark Things

This is a very general overview, and in order to successfully get into hip-hop you’re going to have to do some work of your own. While barely scratching the surface, my hope is that this will offer the proper mindset for delving into this fun, interesting, and complicated world.

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