Gangstarr - The Ownerz

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I am having a nervous breakdance
Even though I have always liked hip hop I usually tend to stay away from the genre's cd:s nowadays. It is very uncommon that I hear a hip hop cd that is great all the way through. They often have too many tracks on them or simply not enough good tracks, IMO.

But today I actually bought the first hip hop cd in a long time. I bought the really cool cd The Ownerz with Gangstarr who is kind of veterans by now, I guess.

I don't know if anyone here has heard this cd, but I like it a lot. It has great lyrics, something that I miss in a lot of contemporary hip hop. It takes more than a decent flow and punk ass attitude to catch my attention. I can like a song and listen to it a hundred times just to realize that I don't have an idea what the lyrics are about. But just as with Bob Dylan I actually find myself listening to the lyrics. It is very well written and about other stuff than just bitches and bling bling. And the music/production is fantastic. It's just the way I like it with simple but innovative and extremely funky beats and really cool basslines and other interesting samples and sounds. And a lot of excellent scratching too! It's oldschool and new at the same time.... Check it out, openminded people!!!
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do they have a new single out?
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I am having a nervous breakdance
I don't have a clue. But there are a couple of tracks that I can imagine would be potential single candidates. It is a great cd!

There are a lot of cool guests on it: Krumbsnatcha, Smiley, Jadakiss, Boy Big, Fat Joe, M.O.P., Big Shug, Freddie Foxxx, Snoop Dogg and a couple of others.



I must become Caligari..!
Gangstarr

The hip hop Ringo???
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I haven't heard the new album, but I likely don't need to. They are very uninnovative, but terrifically consistent. They don't try to break the barrier every album, they just make rap that's edgier than the more mainstream alternatives but still is quite fun to listen to. I enjoy them, usually.
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I am having a nervous breakdance
Originally Posted by Henry The Kid
I haven't heard the new album, but I likely don't need to. They are very uninnovative, but terrifically consistent. They don't try to break the barrier every album, they just make rap that's edgier than the more mainstream alternatives but still is quite fun to listen to. I enjoy them, usually.
Yeah, I think that is kind of the right way to describe it. I think it sounds old school in a way and that is why I probably like it. But I think hip hop has gone back to this sound, even the innovative stuff, more hard and basic beats with funky and jazzy samples rather than the futuristic stuff that's been cooking for a while. (If you think I am totally out of it you might be right, I am certainly not a hip hop expert). And the lyrics is, just like Henry say, edgier and more socially aware which I like. Hip hop is a lot about having fun but the pimp and gangsta **** get really boring in the long run.



Originally Posted by Henry The Kid
I haven't heard the new album, but I likely don't need to. They are very uninnovative, but terrifically consistent. They don't try to break the barrier every album, they just make rap that's edgier than the more mainstream alternatives but still is quite fun to listen to. I enjoy them, usually.
Yes, you do need to hear it, because anybody who's going to even act like they know hip hop cannot ignore Gang Starr. You obviously don't listen to hip hop. Dj Premier's beats are the most innovative in its history. And what, praytell, does the word 'edgy' mean?


Originally Posted by Piddzilla
Check it out, openminded people!!!
The irony is this statement is that Gang Starr fans are among the least openminded people around. Premier and Guru and the whole First Family have been putting out classics for 15 years now. MOP, Bumpy Knuckles (aka Freddie Foxxx), Big Shug, etc are royalty in rap music. If you want more, start with Moment of Truth and work back to the beginning. All of their albums are classics.
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I am having a nervous breakdance
Originally Posted by Steve
The irony is this statement is that Gang Starr fans are among the least openminded people around. Premier and Guru and the whole First Family have been putting out classics for 15 years now. MOP, Bumpy Knuckles (aka Freddie Foxxx), Big Shug, etc are royalty in rap music. If you want more, start with Moment of Truth and work back to the beginning. All of their albums are classics.
With "openminded" I meant those who necessarily don't listen to hip hop all the time - like me - but that are open for new good music anytime no matter the genre.

And I know that Gang Starr is one of the most respected hip hop acts ever and I also remember checking them out in the late 80's when hip hop actually was what I listened to the most. But I was more into De La Soul and that Native Tongue thing and Gang Starr wasn't appealing to me then I guess. But nowadays they stand out because, as they said in an interview, they constantly evolve but at the same time they always relate to what they did in the past.

And I hear you on the beats part. I love it.

Btw, I guess Henry means with "edgy" that they are verbally really sharp. The rhymes are not "clean" but they focus more on saying something with substance rather than just sounding like badasses.



Originally Posted by Steve
Yes, you do need to hear it, because anybody who's going to even act like they know hip hop cannot ignore Gang Starr. You obviously don't listen to hip hop. Dj Premier's beats are the most innovative in its history. And what, praytell, does the word 'edgy' mean?



Meh. I don't claim to know rap, I just have never found them very innovative in recent times. Besides, considering they only seem to release albums every 4 or so years, I guess I probably am pretty out of the loop on them.



Not a rap fan whatsoever, but I heard some Bumpy Knuckles solo stuff which I pretty enjoyed for some reason.
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