In my youth I was a big hip hop fan (we’re talking mid 90s). Over the years I’ve drifted from the genre and whenever I stumble across some now it’s usually terrible trap sounding stuff. If we were to limit it to say the last decade, what hip hop would you recommend? I’m open to all sub genres. One thing I’d say is a must is if there is a rapper involved, the lyrics must carry some weight and be interesting. Cheers.
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Cant go wrong with RA The Rugged man.
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Already this thread is a win.
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Ka’s great.
Hard to know where to start here really (well, I suppose Kendrick is the obvious place to start) but here’s another couple of artists worth investigating:
Bonus El-P on the last one, he’s obviously had another lease of life in Run the Jewels too.
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Sitting back to read, listen and learn.
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I hear you. I’ve struggled to find more modern hip hop that holds up to my old favourites from the 90’s and early 00’s.
I’m a fan of Run the Jewels.
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I guess you’re not a fan of face tattoos and mumble rap then 
I really dig this dude:
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Same
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I’m gonna go against the grain here and say that while there’s hundreds of rappers out there doing pastiche-y versions of 90s rap music, personally if I want to listen to stuff that sounds like Mobb Deep, Wu Tang, De La Soul, whatever, I’d rather just listen to the originals.
It sounds like you’re pretty dismissive of trap (which is totally your prerogative), but there’s plenty of rappers making genuinely cool stuff without aping 30 year old ideas. Are the lyrics deeply impactful? Absolutley not. But as I’ve gotten older I’ve found that the rappity-rap, look how many words I know, type stuff has aged not so good (and this is coming from a die-hard backpack rap fan), and listening instead for flow, melody, and overall wordplay to be a much more satisfying experience.
None of these guys are going to bring you back to the mid 90s lyrically (read: you’ll probably dislike them), but I think when you adjust your focus to look past lyrical content and just sit in the vibe they set, I do think they’re singular artists making genuinely creative music that pushes boundaries.
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Tyler the Creator – every album is different (some more 90s-y than others), but a genuinely talented rapper/musician. His last two albums are super critically acclaimed.
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Mac Miller – def pays homage to the artists who came before him, his last two albums probably being his best.
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Young Thug – you’re def going to dislike his music, but as absurd as it sounds outside of Drake I think he’s probably the most important rapper of the 2010s – he kind of changed everything. All of the Slime Season albums are really good
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Drake – you’re also probably going to dislike his music too but he’s kind of unavoidable when discussing modern rap music. A total chameleon, so his projects can be hit or miss, but If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late is probably his most complete project, and his most recent release with 21 Savage is really good too.
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Future – again, probably not gonna like it, but I don’t think anyone’s been more popular outside of Drake. His run of projects from Monster to Hndrxx is really really really good.
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Lil Uzi Vert – IDK, a lot of people dislike him but i think he makes incredible songs and is a really talented technical rapper, and seems really interested in pushing things in new directions. All of his projects are good with Luv Is Rage 2 being my favorite.
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Young Nudy – Maybe this is just a personal favorite of mine, but every project he makes is a solid listen front-to-back (rare these days), and he has a style that no one can really imitate.
People ITT are probably going to recommend Kendrick, J Cole, Action Bronson and a bunch of other talented rappers – and for good reason, there are a lot of really talented lyricists out there – but to me I’d hesitate to call what they’re doing modern, in that to me they’re not really charting much new territory at all, and aren’t all that relevant to rap culture of the last decade or so.
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Trueno, Rap from Argentina. The Latin america scene is so good, the hiphop golden age is now there, there so many good artists from Chile, Venezuela, Colombia…
I highly recommend Lil Supa too, look in @Vee-d recommendation up.
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Nice thread! @Fyzion
I’m basically very similar position as you, so will dig through this with some interest and an open mind.
Incidentally, only today I stumbled upon this short hiphop mix I did back in the early 2000’s which is mainly mid-late 90’s hiphop. I haven’t done turntablism probably since this mix, but still have all my records all still taped up, although I sold my Vestax mixer years ago to pay rent.
Keen to dig through all the shares here, amazing.
I really like the production of MIKE’s albums, even if I don’t always love his delivery. Super different and creative:
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Thanks for your post, some salient points. I should add that I’m not dismissive of trap it’s just that what I’ve heard didn’t tickle my buds. I’ll check out your suggestions. I remember hearing Yonkers by Tyler the Creator years ago and loved that tune. Similarly, I really liked the track ‘know yourself’ by Drake on the album you mentioned (both of these tracks I picked up from Benji B’s Radio 1 show).
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