Post by @alisynthesis@io.waxandleather.com
So who is young and making smart ("conscious") hip-hop right now? Like, who is the modern equivalent of Talib Kweli, Mos Def, and that crowd? (If that's even a reasonable question)
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@dodecahedron me too. I absolutely love all that Black Star/Roots-adjacent stuff from ~2000. I guess I'll just keep listening to that. :)
I guess maybe Childish Gambino is kind of this? I haven't listened to him that much...maybe that's a way in.
@alisynthesis childish comes close? sometimes. dude, stick to yoru j5, mid 90's tcq, good de la, the roots, if you want some singing, and like acid jazz, spin some brand new heavies, theyr'e always great for a groove. You could go esoteric and mid 90s and go Arested development...
@alisynthesis I hope you get some good answers - I'd like to know, too!
I can't shake the feeling that they're as likely to turn up on an AriAtHome stream as in the charts these days. Probably MORE likely based on the current chart music I've heard.
@alisynthesis@io.waxandleather.com
Okay I'm finding a few entrypoints by searching around. Just checking out SA-ROC and Armand Hammer for the first time, both are really cool.
SA-ROC seems like a badass MC so far. I'm geeked that she has so much music I can check out.
(I have zero idea how popular these people are or if everyone knows them bc I have no way of knowing that. But I currently have a streaming subscription for the first time in ages, so I'm popping around checking out stuff.)
Allow me to second that you NEED to check out AriAtHome's streams if you have not.
Oh, yes, you have got to hear it. The streams are usually an hour plus but he has great editors that turn the raw footage into very tight short form videos.
This dude is more on a Wu-Tang vibe but as an example of the kind of random bystanders wandering around NYC who regularly turn out to have insane bars he's one of my faves.
Okay I'm finding a few entrypoints by searching around. Just checking out SA-ROC and Armand Hammer for the first time, both are really cool.
SA-ROC seems like a badass MC so far. I'm geeked that she has so much music I can check out.
(I have zero idea how popular these people are or if everyone knows them bc I have no way of knowing that. But I currently have a streaming subscription for the first time in ages, so I'm popping around checking out stuff.)
yeah SA-ROC is giving me bass face. Currently listening to Gold Leaf. Fucking awesome.
Goddamnit she is my age, 45. So not exactly young. Oh well, still excited to travel through her catalogue.
@alisynthesis Not super young, but Dessa has some good tracks. Check out Rome and Fire Drills and Camelot
@m750 bass face? oh it's VERY good.
Very similar to the "oh face" made famous in the classic film Office Space, but usually lasts a lot longer.
@m750 (I wasn't sure if bass face was a common phrase, but my friends and I knew a bass player who made the face all the time, and I think I've heard other music people say it over the years. A quick search indicates it is known by others.)
See also Little Simz
Just popping through a new album by Rapsody: God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops. It sounds GOOD and feels GOOD. Can't wait to listen to this whole album.
So I guess the ladies are carrying this torch? That's cool.
Okay, this☝️album is going in my collection for sure. I'm on track 4 and there's no way I'm doing anything else until I listen to the whole thing. Absolutely carrying the Talib/Mos Def vibe into the present.
I'm listening in my studio and the production is immaculate, with plenty of space and punch, which really matters to me w/ this kind of music.
(And yeah, she's also almost as old as I am.)
@alisynthesis I guess I'll pick it up - I need to broaden my musical horizon again. I've been falling back on comfort music lately (Sibelius and Khachaturain today).
@AlgoCompSynth yeah, I haven't been listening to this kind of hip-hop much for awhile, but I'm really craving it atm for some reason.
That's some good comfort music. :)
@alisynthesis I bought the complete Gayne ballet score recording on Amazon long ago - this may be the only recording in print, if it even is still in print. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007INY2Q
@alisynthesis Not young but Dälek hasn’t let up in the last 25 years.
Infinity knives
Clipping
I found this a while back too
https://mirlo.space/astrophoria/release/i-am-not-afraid-of-you/tracks/26189
@neverbeaten yeah, it looks like she's old like me too, but she sounds cool and I don't know her. Thanks!
@alisynthesis There's a lot of vibrancy in hip hop today. I think the "conscious"/smart label is tricky, and so is age... so I'll just focus on folks who debut'd in the late '00s or later who might have some of that lyrical quality you might want to check for along with nods to a more throwback/boom bap sound...
Saba (check his album w/No ID)
Rapsody
Skyzoo draws from and reminds me a lot of that scene
Open Mike Eagle (maybe the oldest on this list but seminal)
RAP Ferreira (fka milo -- i love Purple Moonlight Pages so much)
Defcee
Denzel Curry (his sound varies, see esp. Melt Your Eyes...)
some JID fits this bill, imo
Little Simz
noname
@nwbt YES, thank you!! Just before you posted this, I became obsessed w/ both Little Simz and Rapsody, so I can't wait to check out the rest of this list.
@alisynthesis let me know if you want album recommendations or another 10! there are also a number of folks from that period who are still really active, dropping legit late-career classics (Common, De La, Black Thought, Brother Ali, Aesop Rock)
@nwbt yeah, I definitely love all those artists and need to explore more of their recent music.
I'm definitely up for album recommendations and/or more artists if you're game! I mostly like to listen to whole albums.
@nwbt rn I'm listening to this new Rapsody album: God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops
It is SO freaking good. If you haven't heard it yet, check it out!
@nwbt also not sure if this is ultra-known, but check out what someone else in this thread just sent, it's incredible
For the above list, I'd recommend the following. hope this helps!
Saba -- From the Private Collection (w/No ID)
Skyzoo -- he has one of the best catalogs for lyrical contemporary rappers. my favorite is his "Retropolitan" with Pete Rock.
Open Mike Eagle -- his classic is often considered "Brick Body Kids..." but I really love his last few albums. Check last year's "Neighborhood Gods Unlimited" & his recent collaborative project under Previous Industries
RAP Ferreira -- fka known as milo, I'd start with Purple Moonlight Pages, then "Five to the Eye with Stars" which is almost as good (and more slept on).
Defcee -- his sound is varied. for a bit harder, go with "For All Debts..." Last year's "Other Blues" might fit your sound just a bit more, and is really really good. I wish more people knew about him.
Denzel Curry -- "Melt Your Eyes" is clearly influenced by the period you're describing, but check the Unlocked series, too
JID -- Forever Story (Mos Def/Yasiin Bey is actually on this)
noname -- Telefone and Room 25 both draw deep from the Soulquarians period
@nwbt amazing, thank you for taking the time to put these together! Can't wait to check them out next time I'm having a listening session.
@alisynthesis I’m going to suggest Little Simz from the UK. In more global hip hop, I always enjoy and recommend Baloji from DRCongo whose music is often introspective and sociopolitically aware, and tells stories that way, for example this nearly 10 minute epic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzHM_JLgqO0
@cassana wow, epic is right! everything about that track is perfect, can't wait to check out more of their stuff.
@alisynthesis Definitely check out Hotel Impala. It’s basically an album he wrote after receiving a letter from his estranged mother. He was sent alone to Belgium when he was 3, so he tells her in an amazing musical and poetic way about his life and struggles.
@cassana @alisynthesis There's also Kae Tempest. Sometimes I wonder if is hip-hop though or poetry with a beat. Anyway he's good,
@alisynthesis @cassana :) My favourites are his new album and Let Them Eat Chaos. the latter is like a modern Under Milk Wood.
@cassana @alisynthesis plus one for Little Simz! I had her “Sometimes I Might Be Introvert” on repeat for months! The follow-up album didn’t have the theatrics, so I put SIMBY back on repeat 🤙🏼
@alisynthesis I feel like I encountered a good answer for this not very long ago, but it's blanking right now. I'll let you know if it comes back, but I will also monitor this thread cause I am also interested in this...
Public Enemy is still around, of course. 
@alisynthesis I was all ready to drop D.Lights on you and then I realised the album is ten years old already! 😅
@jamescooke yeah this album is as good as it gets. Definitely putting this in my collection. What a fucking unique sound.
@alisynthesis FYI I first heard it on FIP about ten years ago. Some of my most special discoveries are from that radio station - and they’re a big part of why I always recommend radio for music discovery ☺️
@jamescooke oh nice, thanks, I'll definitely put that in my radio rotation!
It blows me away that no one apparently knows this group. They're so great and the production is top-tier. It's unreal how much great music is being made out there.
Already bought this album and I'm listening to it from my own server. I don't want to lose track of this one. Thanks for the stellar underground rec!
@alisynthesis Aesop Rock is an oldhead, but constantly releasing new music with a relentless vocabulary and turn of phrase.
@alisynthesis@io.waxandleather.com @dodecahedron@fwoof.space hip hop records I enjoyed immensely in recent months, in no particular order:
- DOOMED!, Open Mike Eagle & Kenny Segal
- The Monsters They Made Us, Normann Sann
- Cry Baby, Vince Staples
- Sow & So, Nappy Nina & Swarvy
- FENIAN, KNEECAP
- Dads At The End Of The World, Sole & Televangel
- VOICE OF THE REVOLUTION, The Neighborhood Kids
- Miami Lice: Season Four, Lice (Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman)
- Brilliance of a Falling Moon, Dälek
- RELAY RELAY!!, P.O.S x Dwynell Roland x YATA
I can't say that all of these ☝️ artists are young or that they would all call what they do conscious hip hop—OME describes his music as art rap—but all are recent(ish) albums that may be what you're looking for or might lead you to it.
@alisynthesis@io.waxandleather.com I saw in the comments that you found and enjoyed Sa-Roc (who is, indeed, awesome). The seasoned emcee makes an appearance on VOICE OF THE REVOLUTION, and it's so good to hear her supporting the kids.
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@alisynthesis Happy to see this thread - I have recently been looking for some artists myself 🤩
Promoe is one I've found a few months back, a rapper from Sweden
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tz-JNXwAdU
Also worth checking the hip hop group Looptroop Rockers who Promoe is a part of (if you liked it)
I've also been re-listening to a lot of Akala recently
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9X0McxAWm8
Edit: I missed the "young" part! Sorry 😅
@hejchristian I think the consensus around here is "we're old and so are cool hip-hop people" so bring on the old heads! 🤣
Can't wait to check all this out.
@alisynthesis I found this and really enjoyed recently:
https://giftedyoungstaz.bandcamp.com/album/
Stimulants II was the track that put them on my radar