I don't really listen to rap a lot. But I guess my favorite rapper would be Tricky. I his deep raspy voice. And his songs are melodic and dissonant at the same time. And I love his lyrics, some of them are totally nonsensical. And he's sexy in that Thom Yorke kind of way. It pains me to say this but my least favorite rapper is Lil' Wayne. Part of the reason I don't like him is because I've been listening to his music since the mid 90's. Back when he was still with Cash Money and he first started his solo career he was really good and original. Now the rest of the world has discovered him and he's all cocky and has lost some of his creativity. I like that he's famous since it helps put New Orleans on the map, but I can't stand him.

FAV-Lupe,Kayne,Mos Def and Common, I know generic but I am just keeping it real.

Talib Kweli is not bad either- He has a song "Soon the Day" with Norah Jones and its one of my favorites.

By the way, Common's Electric Circus was/is one of my favorite albums ever.

Hate or Dislike- Anyone who demeans women in a hateful way or who thinks rapping about shooting people is entertaining.
For example,David Banner had a song with a few other artists about 2 years ago called "like a pimp". When I listened to the words I became so upset. There is a verse where a guy(not DB) raps about pulling a train on a girl/woman—pulling a train on a woman. How disgusting is that. I wonder if he likes the idea of men pulling trains on his mother.

Rain if you like Tricky what do you think of Dizzy Rascal?

faves - Kanye/Common,JayZ,LL Cool J(1986-1990's), Outkast
ews - all these hot-for-a-minute disasters, especially Soulja Boy, 50 Cent.

Parappa the Rapper? Hilarious!

My all time favorite hip-hop artist is Common. He has such a beautiful mind, an incredible flow and of course he is an incredibly beautiful creature. After Common comes Mos Def and Dead Prez. And for good measure I am going to throw in gospel rapper Da T.R.U.T.H. My least favorite is 50 Cent, Lil' Wayne, Soulja Boy, Young anything and anyone of their ilk talking about pure foolishness.

Hip hip hates me, as a Black person and as a woman, so I hate it back.

Tricky is not a rapper.

As a gay man, and intelligent human being, I don't really relate to much hip hop. The genre hates my kind.

There are some hot tracks I can get into though.

I can remember my trip to a store called Two Guys, long since gone out of business to buy Rapper's Delight, and bringing it to my Catholic school for show and tell…the look on the nun's faces…lololololol

Faves….Rakim, KRS-One, Jigga, Kanye, Mos Def, Common, the Jungle Brothers and crazy as hell L-Boogie, Oh, and Nas and Black Thought and Oh, I can' t leave out Heavy D!!!!!

I don't like most of this new garbage where they have nothing to say and spend most of their time degrading women and talking about paper they don't have etc….

I love hip hop, but I also love 80's pop music (I am an original MTV kid!), old soul, 70's, esp EWF AND Chicago etc…. and R & B

Monie- I don't know much about rap, but I do know that not ALL rappers are overtly sexist. I'll do my best to name the ones I know… A Tribe Called Quest, Common, Mos Def, Lupe Fiasco, Del La Soul, Black Sheep, Pulic Enemy, Gang Starr…
But are most currently-famous rappers hard-hearted? Yes. I hope the genre can reach its potential once more.
To be honest, it's hard for me to name my favourite rap artist. Because I adore Wu-Tang, but their lyrics can be so irrational and unfeeling. Nas and 2Pac frustrate me so much because they have progressive, empathetic songs, then they suddenly say something like "hos ain't worth NOTHING." And by "hos" 2Pac meant women. Great. Let's change the way we treat each other, Pac.

Oh… plenty of rappers I hate… I'll go with T-Pain for now.

Kayne West-brat, but his rhythms are good, and majority positive.
Common is good too, but I am a indie rock girl.
What bothers be about hip hop, besides the disgusting lyrics, the beats are not real. Its mostly some guy sitting at a computer pushing buttons. With Rock, its a group of people with real instruments put cords togehter, rifs, drum beats. -see Arctic monkeys, The Zutons, Maximo Park
Its not the same as the real thing

You know what would be cool? A thread asking us what are stage name would be if we were performers.

Fave rappers are Nas, Jay, Lauryn Hill, Kanye, Salt N Pepa, Latifah, and Lupe. I just fell in love with Lupe's music. I feel so behind, LOL!

Least faves are Soulja Boy, 50, Too Short, Trina. I really hate a lot of what's normally played on the radio.

ilnazhad,

Yes there are some so-called conscience rappers out there. There are a few that probably celebrate all that women are rather than insult them. But is it my job to wade through all the misogynist/ racist corporate rappers out there to find one or two that don't offend me?

Nope it's not my job, nor do I have the inclination to do so. I have a few thousand songs in my mp3 collection and maybe 10 rap songs. Those are by Queen Latifah, MC Lyte and a couple of other women rappers. Otherwise I spend my money on music that does not go out of its way to call me names.

I don't believe you should condemn the whole genre. It's not the genre that is sexist, it is many of the powerful rappers that are. So, good on you for not supporting sexists. But shouldn't the fact that some rappers are going against the grain by supporting females be even more laudable? "Wade through" and you will find some wondrous folk that deserve your time and respect. Yes, hate MTV. MTV is betraying the masses. But, I think, we should thank those musicians who work hard to entertain and educate even though it makes it harder for them to attain fame. Hating the entire genre because of a group of malicious people that have power right now is prejudicial. Isn't Stereohyped teaching us to abandon prejudice?

ilnazhad,

You make a persuasive argument. I think though that we just have differing points of view on this subject.

As a Black woman I simply cannot ignore the entire genres complicity in spewing hate speech. Yes there are rappers who do not engage in hate speech but I am just so turned off at this point that I no longer have the interest in rap.

As a consumer I don't think it's asking too much that I not be attacked by the product which is being sold. If the product can do harm to me both directly and indirectly; then isn't it my responsibility to avoid it?

I don't listen to commercial hip hop or hip hop at all really.Yet, I have discovered through others my favorite "hip hop" artists are Little Brother and Jean Grae.

fave? Kanye

least fave? Webbie

*confession* i cannot get into common. i have tried, oh i have tried. but he bores the crap outta me. nor do i find him sexy. i feel so left out. all my friends think he's the isht. oh well.

"I don’t think it’s asking too much that I not be attacked by the product which is being sold."

A product does not attack you. People behind the product sometimes attack you. I'm greatly offended by a large amount of rap lyrics. But I do not cut off rap, an art, I cut off the "artist." Just like when I am offended by a book, I do not support the author. I don't boycott books in general.
But, I understand, successful rap songs are usually mysoginistic, while books usually are not. All I mean is, do not punish rap, but condemn the harrowing rappers that do not do rap justice. Hopefully, rap will rise from such a low culture.

I've developed more of an appreciation for old school hip hop in recent years. I would claim Eric B & Rakim as a fave. Between the beats and Rakim's flow, it gets me pumped. I listen to a little bit of Kanye, LL Cool J, Jay-Z and Common plus I like Tribe Called Quest. That's pretty much it. All the rascals that have made their mark within this decade I do not like.

@solitaire: Tricky is a rapper, whether you like it or not. "As a gay man, and intelligent human being, I don’t really relate to much hip hop. The genre hates my kind."

An intelligent person should know that a genre of music can't hate you, only individuals who partake in it can. Even if many rappers are homophobic that doesn't make every song in the genre homophobic. That's akin to saying all Black people love fried chicken. Will Smith is a rapper after all.

@ Chic Noir: I haven't listened to Dizzee that much. I've heard a few of his songs but the only one I like is "Fix Up, Look Sharp". I like it a lot though.

ilnazhad,

"Hopefully, rap will rise from such a low culture."

That we agree on.

Summer,

"*confession* i cannot get into common. i have tried, oh i have tried. but he bores the crap outta me. nor do i find him sexy. i feel so left out. all my friends think he’s the isht. oh well."

Lol! I agree about his music. As for his looks; I wasn't that impressed until I saw him in Smoking Aces. He was pretty hot looking in that film (and so was Alicia Keys). Lol

Favorite: kanYe, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Lupe Fiasco

Least favorite: um, wow. Everyone else pretty much.

@RainaWeather

"An intelligent person should know that a genre of music can’t hate you, only individuals who partake in it can. Even if many rappers are homophobic that doesn’t make every song in the genre homophobic. That’s akin to saying all Black people love fried chicken. Will Smith is a rapper after all"

Do not condescend to me, and I stand by my assesment of hip hop, and it's culture. It's homophobic to it's core. Even Common (the supposed "conscious" rapper") has spewed homophobia in his past lyrics. Is the entire genre homophobic/sexist? Probably not, but way too much of it is in it's commercial form. I don't feel people should have to dig deep deep down to find the good in rap, when it should be apparent and obvious.

In any case most of commercial hip hop is pure garbage anyway.

I hate Lil Wayne. I hate his music and all of the stupid things that come out of his mouth. I also hate Soulja Boy and Flo Rida or any other rapper who degrades women and glorify being a pimp.

faves: Jay-Z, Mos Def, Outkast, T.I. (way at the bottom, but there)

new faves: Estelle, if she's a rapper or singer

least: ringtone rappers.

@solitaire: You and I obviously have different views on what makes something homophobic. We'll have to agree to disagree. The lyrics don't make the music.

solitaire all this time I though you were a woman. Tricky does someting called trip hop(?)

anonymis- Too short is straight filth. I have never heard a man spew such garbage about women in all my days.

RainaWeather :The lyrics don’t make the music
Whst! If lyrics do not make the music, then rappers would be useless, the issue with the music is the lyrics, they are a very key part. If we didnt want lyrics we would all listen to jazz.

I'm so glad someone else KNOWS about Little Brother and Jean Grae. If Jean Grae was around during the 90s she would've murked Kim and Foxy. Jean Grae is a beast! Please ladies get up on Jean Grae, thats how a female rapper should be.

My favs are Little Brother, Tanya Morgan(they're a rap group), really feeling Black Spade, Tribe, Leaders of the New, The Roots, Common, Mos, Talib, Salt N Pepa, J.J. Fad, Spec Boogie, Outkast, Ghostface, Pacific Division, and many many more. I just love hip-hop and black music. I like the commercial stuff too like Ye. I really don't hate much, mostly because I don't listen to the radio or watch much MTV/BET so if something is bad, I'm not exposed.

"Whst! If lyrics do not make the music, then rappers would be useless, the issue with the music is the lyrics"

You misunderstand me. Obviously a rap song has to have rapping. But the particular words being said are not what makes it a rap song, the fact that the words are being rapped does. You could rap the lyrics from a gospel song if you wanted to, and it would be a rap song nonetheless. My main point is that the fact that many rap songs have homophobic subject matter does not mean that rap is homophobic. That would be to say all songs that don't fit that description are not in the rap genre. A rapper can be homophobic, but a genre cannot. As i said before it would be like saying that all Black people love fried chicken by default of being Black.

@ RainaWeather & Chic Noir:

I love Tricky and Dizzy. Have either of your ever listened to Busdriver? Go to youtube and look up "Imaginary Places" and (my fav) "Casting Agents and Cowgirls."

I LOVE old school hip hop! Especially the years 90-95 hip hop. My faves of the moment are Kanye, Jay-Z, Common. However my love for Biggie, 2Pac, Outkast, and Tribe called Quest will never die.

I hate Soldier Boy!

O and my girls Salt N Pepa!