Asking about Good Hip Hop here is like asking where to find Good Mexican food in Alaska. So that's what's gonna make this so interesting. Beastie Boys, Run DMC and Wu Tang is already covered in my digital collection. Either from CD rips or "Questionable obtaining" Mostly the former
If your looking for older stuff then you got to have some de la soul & Public Enemy. Alot of NAS's older stuff is great too although for me he has produced anything good in alot of years. Jay-Z's older stuff is alot more hip hop rather than rap as is ODB. My favorites being de la soul but for something a bit different try some beatnuts.
I bought Guilty Simpson's album today and sounds good to me. It's called "Ode to the Ghetto". It doesn't sound mainstream; it sounds really good.
You may not like it as I don't typically like hip-hop, and it certainly doesn't fit with anything else listed here, but cLOUDEAD's Peel sessions is a masterpiece in eclectic, weird hip-hop.
hmmm Good insights and Especally interesting since you're all from Europe I knew I'd get some interesting answers.
Great Call on Skrapz!!!! See I used to listen to a lot of rap but the majority of what I was listening to was so manufactured and refined I felt like I was getting stupider and stupider listening to it. And Kanye West constantly making an ass of himself doesn't raise my faith that rappers are particularly intellgent people.
In an attempt to kill the thread, I will state that the Hip Hop generation copied a lot of their image from this guy. So I wouldn't put much faith in that people in hip hop have much intelligence. This guy is the first ever DJ, invented the Twin Deck, has the hip hop image down to a tee, has bitches and dogs and does photo shoots with his expensive car. Most hip hop is fairly rubbish, although some of the older stuff is reasonable, Grand Masterflash and the Furious 5, Sugarhill Gang, De La Soul, Mantronix, Kurtis Blow, etc.
You can snag his album at his site: http://www.skrapz.com I highly recommend it. Its one of the my favorite hip-hop albums ever. Also, if you like trip-hop at all, you could always look into Dial81: http://www.myspace.com/dial81
99% of Hip hop to be exact. and Kayne West and DMX are testaments to Rappers being fucking morons and after listening to Life After Death I have a feeling Biggie Smalls Isn't dead
