₦airaland Forum

Hot song El . . .

"You can't copy me I solo like Isolo"

- M.I (I'm Hot)

This is one of the reasons why a thread was opened some time ago to criticize Nigerian rappers.

How can anyone with an ear for good music call this track "hot"?

I've never had any probs with Illbliss as an artiste, I mean; I love "Aye Po Gan", "Dat Ibo Boy" and "U Go Wound". And yeah he tries to rap like Biggie. But this song is at best mediocre. By the whiskers of General Al-Hassim Moustafah, what on earth was that chorus - Who be you, who be you, who be you?? Sounds more like when rastas are warming up to sing a song

Until we start to call a spade by its name, until we begin to look objectively at a song and not who sang it; we still have a long way to go in making standard music in Nigeria.

Imagine this song being played before an international audience?

What the . . . ??

No long story for now but Blaze is my fave joint on that album. Not 'bout the danceable rhythm but it's just so splendid a track. Nice beat, real tight flows, great hook. Plus there's a Jamaican touch in the hook - "Put your lighters in the air, o-oh". Overall concept is real nice. Jesse Jags impressed me most on it anyway.

"Talk About It", "Hustle", "Safe" are also great tracks.

^{*I might be back for a more indepth review*}

Last word, if you're the type that loves rappers who are mostly into wordplay (above serious lyrics), MI would cut it for you.

^{*on a rebounce. . .*}

I've read a lot of funny comments in here. Talkin' 'bout "you need to be sexy before you wear the crown" Toluwalomo's post got me crackin' Well, there's an element of truth in what he said. . .

On the real tip, Sasha has got what it takes really. It's not much about her talent or skill - it's more about her presence. She's got this aura thingy goin' for her. She looms large in my naija rap's eye . . . Not sayin' she ain't talented 'neways. She is. Plus she's the best packaged of all naija female rappers and has the potential to blow up like nitro.

But talkin' of talent, Blaise still got it goin' for me.

Sasha ain't bad. She's good on delivery but needs to improve on her syncopation (she could've easily worn the crown but sounds too bland/ordinary to be taken serious atimes).

Kel is very promising. Can't judge for now.

Bouqui's good. But her delivery needs some overhaul. She tends to rap too fast and goes off-beat atimes.

Blaise cuts it overall for me. She's the most consistent, skilled and constantly hones her craft.

Aiight man, you ma bruv anytime

chiogo:
Hmmn, I honestly love everything by Tupac

But I gotta give it to "Keep ya head up" because he reaches out to the females. That song touches my heart!

True talk!

A-40:
Still I Rise was definitely one of the best Pac songs and Rap songs of all time

Changes!! that song is timeless

Dear Mama (For all the single moms out there)

Till the end of time

Word.

"Still I Rise" has got this overall effect - it gets you boppin' yo' head, dancin', and reflectin' - all at the same time. That song is magic!

All those other joints are dope too. Just when you thought you've had enough of him, you hear some other joint and you go "wow"!!!

@Eldee

Nah bruv
Bout the Nas thingy, c'mon you can't call that Nas' beef
The whole track was Nas playing down the whole beef thing
Remember

'They don't want beef, they're vegetarian' or sumn like the in that same song
That was Nas telling 50 to chill, not a beef track
And did you see the many interviews where Nas stated that he wasn't going to reply??

Yeah Yeah, I agree with you - to some extent. You really can't call that a Nas beef. Cos Nas alluded in a lot of interviews that he ain't on 50's level. He particularly stated in an interview "I need a good opponent to go after, then it's all good" I think we're saying the same thang. Just that I got the impression you were saying Nas never replied 50 at all. Hence the emboldened part of his lyrics that I posted (for the avoidance of doubt - so you can know he was replying 50). You know 50 called him a sucka for love . . .

C'mon, JayZ's naturally cocky, he's been dissing anonymous people since heaven knows when
Listen to his latest single, Jocking JayZ and tell me who he's talking about
For a beef to be taken as direct, you either use nameplay, quote the rapper or at least refer to him

Listen to Oh My God on the Kingdom Come album and see the amount of coded lines there
Beef is so easy, you either diss or don't diss at all, there's no standing in the middle

I quite agree here too but I'm convinced his verse on Hustlin' was an indirect shot at Cam'ron. Jay does that a lot (taking indirect shots) - he's a good subliminal puncher.

In Jockin Jay-Z, he was dissing Noel Gallagher. There was this Glastonbury Festival incident with Noel Gallagher who stated that Jay-Z didn’t deserve to headline the show. The Oasis lynchpin claimed that it was wrong for a hip-hop act to be booked to headline an event originally meant for traditional guitar acts. In the song, Jay spat:

“That bloke from Oasis said I couldn't play guitar
Somebody shoulda told him I'm a f***in' Rockstar
Today is gonna be the day
That I'm gonna throw it back to you”


@b-gees

bgees:
Bamsyle,
u disappoint me o! If u give dejiariyo 's rant any thought. IMO dejiariyo is hawking his silly ideas and some people are actually buying it just because they are on the Mode 9 side.

Hey dawg, if you read my post again; you'll see I stated that dejiariyo should follow his convictions. I advised him to keep believing what he believes. 'Twas about the whole argument thingy. I mean, how can one silly ape just keep hittin' his keyboard and posting rubbish just to convince everyone that Mode is wack? Those who can read between the lines would easily know that this animal has a score to settle - he's not analyzin' nada. I've said it many times on this forum that Mode's got a lot of work to do on delivery but to generally label him as wack? C'mon you know that's lame . . .

Also, I stated "We might be getting close to knowing the truth". I never said that I swallowed dejiariyo's theory - hook, line and sinker. I mean - 'bout the Magnum thingy. But the fact remains that the monkey under reference here is criticizin' Mode based on a personal beef. It's as clear as noonday. You need no prophet to tell you that. I don't need to know who the monkey is. Whether or not he's Magnum or not, the beef in his posts is so real you could almost touch it. That's why I saw and still see an element of truth in what deji said. . .

We ain't kids in here. The monkey should try his lame-ass moves on a bunch of 6-8 year olds. Here, we don't buy that sh*t.

Still I Rise.

For me, that is the track that best defines 2pac - his person, his ideology, his themes, his life, his essence. It defines his drive, his energy, his reason for doing most of the thangs he did, the reason why so many peops misunderstood and still misunderstand him.

Behind the 'thug', the 'villain', the 'violent and anti-social dude' and a whole lot of other tags that people put on him, I get to see the real 2pac anytime I listen to that track.

If I get a chance to pick a second song, I'll mos def go for So Many Tears.

Another defining song. This song has a life of its own. Sacred and solemn. Even the opening part of the beat grabs the heart, mind, and ears of the ardent listener.

The list is endless but suffice to say Pac's best tracks are the reflective/solemn ones. Joints like Dear Mama, Life Goes On, My Block et al readily attest to this.

Nah, El.

Just a quick one - this debate is open-ended but Nas has dissed 50 in more tracks than one.

In "Made You Look", Nas spat:

"But I ain't 50, ya know it's Nas yo"

He also recorded a full diss song for 50 - "Don't Body Ya Self" (MC Burial)

'Twas kinda subliminal but hear him:

"They say Jada defeated him
Joe too street for him
What's next? I guess it's for Nas to ether him
Ya'll awaiting an MC burial
This is ethereal, FM stereo to XM radio
What does it mean, ethereal? Hmm,  whether heavenly or spiritual
Extreme, delicately like in a way that seems too perfect for this world
Man that is righteous, faithful and keeps law
Will surely live to cleanse the sovereign Lord
And you are none of the above
So you a sucka for death if I'm a sucka for love
And ya wanna know why I don't got an answer n****z
Cos I truly understand these n****z
Scared of me so they talk about family members
Like I can't point out your grandma to n****z
Damn you was my man like crew dawg
Don't make me change your body frame to blue fog . . ."

B.T.W, Jay also took shots at Cam'ron (very subliminal/coded though) in Rick Ross' "Hustlin'" (remix feat. Jay-Z & Young Jeezy). Check out some of his lines on that track and you'll agree.

This prompted Cam'ron's reply:

"Player hater I don't play them games/You got beef with Killa, n***a
Say my name/You shy?"

Aaww, heard the info a couple of days ago . . .

Someone should have told him Mike Adenuga is one hell-of-a-man!!!

^{*just came in here to give shout-outs*}

dejiariyo,

Keep doin' yo' thang man Be your own man with your own mind. Follow your convictions - they'll never deceive you even when some monkey prowls a public forum trying to settle a personal grouse . . .

You kicked up something interesting you know . . . We might just be gettin' close to knowing the truth . . .

And I mos def know somethin' quite fishy's goin' on here . . .

No matter what anyone types in here, real peops know the truth . . . they read between the lines . . . they got their own minds . . .

Lalaboi ^{*and all others keepin' it real*} stay cool

Y'all could keep hittin' on yo' keyboards at the speed of lightning. . .

Argue from now till the Sun goes down. . .

Both cats, though could be better, are good.

I smell A PERSONAL VENDETTA from a poster in here. . .

Just a quick one - there have been many claims about Rugged doin' what he did back then for the "industry".

I fail to see it that way.

I saw and still see it as a smart move by a smart bizman. With or without Rugged, the Nigerian Rap Scene would have evolved. Whether that move had an effect on the Rap Scene, directly or indirectly, is however debatable.

^{*The Rugged v. Mode issue has been over-flogged so I won't say much on it. . .*}

Fly Girl - Queen Latifah

Candy Rain Remix - Soul For Real feat. Heavy D

^{*Within the last half hour. . .*}

Save Room - John Legend

Fantasy Remix - Mariah Carey feat. ODB

Zombie - Cranberries

God's Grace - Trin-i-tee 5:7

Put Your Hands - Trin-i-tee 5:7


_{*searchin' for oldies, in da oldies mood. . .*}

This issue of Rugged v. Mode has been so over-flogged it should be put to rest.

I won't say anything different from what I've always said anytime the issue comes up for discourse - each rapper is good in his own way. Rugged is good in delivery and Mode is undoubtedly way better in lyrics.

Java, though we disagree atimes on certain points (particularly your fiery campaigns against Rugged), I'll advise you to consider who is worthy of your replies when Modenine is the issue. Though I'm not as passionate as you are about Mode, how can any right-thinking person dismiss Mode's lyrical abilities with a wave of his hand? Even a Pop fan wouldn't do that. You ought to know by now that some cats visit NL to vent their personal beefs. You oughta know that some dudes have met and have real-life beefs with the dudes they castigate on NL. . .

Mode can mos def improve on his rap skills, especially his delivery. I've always advocated for that. Rugged also is good in delivery but lacking in impressive lyrics. And I dunno what 2pac/Biggie Beef has got to do with this. Well, some peops have one hobby - to get on a public forum and creep under peoples' skin . . .

I ain't surprised. . .

False. He's the MOST PROMISING for now. Too early in his career to label him the best.

@lalaboi

I said ma piece and kept ma peace . . . on this topic . . . but sumwhere along the line, I think there's been a lil' digression from what this thread actually stands for.

Basically, the impression I get from the original poster is that Nigerian rappers lack lyrical content and good rap artistry in general. And sincerely over the years of my rap listenership, I've come to discover that two thangs make a good rap artiste - Lyrics and Delivery. All other thangs are secondary.

I agree with you on some thangs. A Nigerian rapper can rap in his local parlance and still have an international appeal. However, wisdom is applicable here. If the whole rap verses are not done in that local parlance, it's acceptable IMO. For example, MI and Rugged mix plain English, pidgin and Yoruba language in their raps. IMO, this sounds good enough. I also got no prob with local choruses. But I'll give you a -ve example to illustrate my point. DAT NIGGA RAW. My days, I DO NOT LIKE THAT DUDE AT ALL. WTF? OMG, that guy sounds really wack to me. 2shotz also started out well but compromised. . .

But then like I said earlier, these dudes are atimes compelled to go wackie - cos of promoters, VJs/DJs/presenters and atimes even the wack audience. You see a major portion of Nigerians don't even know what Hip Hop is. The larger percentage of those who know Real Hip Hop are amongst the youth.

Well, I really don't have major probs with local parlance or not. What I'm on are Lyrics and Delivery. These 2 elements are the most important for any rapper. Mode is very promising on lyrics, Rugged/MI on delivery. If Mode can work well on his delivery, he'll be untouchable on the Naija Rap Scene. As for MI, I've observed that he's not really into lyrics - he just likes playin' around with words. Just like Eminem does. That's why I don't blame him for sayin' "Mo gbona felifeli/Yo' lyrics are smelly smelly" and stuff. He's playin' on words - the Nigerian way. Playin' by Nigerian standards. Given another playin' field, he might choose to play better. Or differently. Rugged is also not into lyrics. But he's very promising on delivery. But then ALL of them - including these 3 . . . HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO.

I disagree with you on one point - I believe that with a lot of hardwork, Nigerian rappers can outdo their American counterparts. Not in accent - they shouldn't even try that . In lyrics and delivery.

The issue of a rapper's dopeness or wackness is atimes difficult to explain in writing. But those who know real rap know when a rapper's hot. And when he's not.

Laydeeeees!!!

<sup>*I dey visit here everyday, I nor just dey post.

Like Dr. Dre, I prefer to watch. This thread na my humour section*

*iice, keep it up

Muki, I go explain this ya siggy one day. . .*</sup>

Thanks for the comments Java. But easy on Rugged - not above-board lyrics but good on delivery

Guys, poster does really have a point.

As easy as some think Rap Music sounds, it's not an easy art. You need to be armed with a lot of tools to be called a real rapper of international reckoning. Of these tools I think impressive lyrics with a corresponding on-point delivery or flow are the most important. A rapper is like a messenger. First, a messenger needs a message. But then he needs to deliver it well to be listened to. I remember the town criers that I used to see in some home videos back then. These guys go to town with a message . . . coupled with a sonorous/captivating voice and a gong to deliver it. Come to think of it, on finishing they even ask their audience - "Have I spoken well?" Shows how important your audience should be to you as a messenger. Your message must be delivered to 'em gracefully and effectively.

In Nigeria, rappers still got a lot of work to do to be regarded as rappers of international standards. That's why there's this pervading appreciation for singers more than rappers - in today's Nigeria. Which rapper in Nigeria enjoys international recognition like 2face, 9ice, Femi Kuti, Majek Fashek et al? Nigerian rappers need to take thangs to another level.

But then you may not all agree with me but like I said earlier, rap is more difficult as a music art than singing. A lot of peops don't understand that rappers also need music/voice training just like their singing counterparts. They need to learn MUSIC. They need to learn how to play instruments. Some so-called Nigerian rappers just walk up to the mic and spit nonsense. They brag and boast all the time, not knowing that most of the stuff their American colleagues brag about are real. It's not even about blings. What are the 4 elements of hip hop? MCing/Rap, Break-dance, DJ-ing and Graffiti. Rappers who have these on top of their minds can't but get respect. Rappers need to master the very first element very well - Mcing/Rap. That's where delivery and lyrics come in.

But then again the standard of Hip Hop has been lowered/compromised in Nigeria ^{*and even the world over*}. Marketers, promoters, producers, managers etc now dictate what these rappers should rap about. Not only rap, they dictate what music should sound like in Nigeria. I do know a lot of artistes in Nigeria who could sound a lot better if given a level playing ground. But these above mentioned people, plus DJs and presenters are the ones killing the game. They insist on club-bangers all the time. No messages. Just dance. No skills. If you make sensible music they won't play it. Just put a commercial producer on your joint and presto - there goes another hit song. That's bullsh*t.

We as a people have come to accept this brainwash. We now believe that songs must be all dance and no message. I'm not against dance but THERE MUST BE A MESSAGE! Not only that. As a rapper, whatever happened to wordplay, wit, humour, wisecracks, etc? And this is even spreading round the world. When rap was rap, an MC was a god. Commanded awe, respect, power. . .

A lot of questions come up in my mind. With the hungry DJs that we have, how won't the standards be compromised? They dictate what artistes should play. Everything has been commercialized. It's all banging banging and zero sense. Hardly do we hear sensible music on radio anymore. These DJs also get paid to play. That's nonsense.

In Nigeria, 3 rappers show a lot of prospects - Mode9, Ruggedman & MI. Whilst the first is lyrical, the last 2 are nice with delivery. Imagine a cross-breed between Mode and Rugged/MI . . .

Nigerian rappers need to study international acts like Biggie, Nas, 2pac, Eminem and know what they got going for 'em . . .

Well, can't stress it enough. A good rapper needs impressive lyrics and great delivery. Without these then we might as well say "Not Yet Uhuru".

Hehehe. If that's the case, then those Kerewa guys must be on the mother of all cokes.

Po Deep:
Brght,
NaS has a good side, d poetic, youth teaching side and all BUT before making him a role model for Nigerian rappers, we must carefully consider d fact dat NaS grew up as a gangsta & so some of his lyrics are contradicting.
Eg:
In d Godson album, he said in d track 'I can' :
"nobody says u have to be gangstaz, hoes. . ."
BUT then again in 'made u look' from d same album, he told girls lookin' for a man to :
"make sure he's a thug & intelligent too."

When listening to deep rappers, of which Nas is an example, it's best you approach their lyrics and themes with a deep mind too.

Nas did not mean 'thug' in the literal sense of the word. He meant it as a real man, a strong man, one who can take care of a woman. A man who can fight for his woman or for his love. A man with brains and brawn. Not a street urchin.

Some peops need to be told that what makes the world still regard Pac's "Hit Em Up" as his best diss track ever is not only what Pac said on that joint but how he said it. The fiery delivery, the fearlessness, the directness, the attitude, the angst - the list is endless. And on the entertainment side, whether you admit or deny it; even the rhythm and the flows got all o' y'all dancing. How many diss tracks are danceable? No wonder Pac said in "You Can't See Me" - "My lyrics bang like a Crip or Blood/Ni**a word/It ain't nutin but a party when we thug". You wouldn't even know dude was battling My days, many peops even regard "Hit 'Em Up" as the best diss track ever.

Pac's battles were the straight-to-da-point, in-yo'-face, no-time-for-bullsh*t kind. He never believed in beating about the bush when it came to battles. He was known to bomb first. Little wonder in "So Many Tears", he said;

". . . you wanna last/Be tha first to blast, remember Kato"

Wasn't this said in "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" - "If you wanna shoot, shoot. Don't talk"?

I mean, why resort to science, aliens and metaphysics when you can come direct?

How many listeners have time, precious time for all that merry-go-round?

My point - "Hit Em Up" may not contain out-of-this-world kinda lyrics - but it had everyone listening!

Pac breaks his stuff down for all o' y'all to understand. Check out all his battle tracks - Against All Odds, Bomb First, All Out, etc. His battle tracks were always on point. Pac was a very opinionated dude, and if he didn't like someone or something they did or said, he let 'em know straight up! So opinionated was he that when his close buddy Dre never showed for any of Snoop's trials, Pac considered this as disrespectful to Snoop and dissed Dre toward the end of "To Live And Die in LA". Check out his beefs with Biggie, P.Diddy, Mobb Deep, Chino XL, Dre, Nas, LL Cool J, Jay-Z - they were all based on opinions. Is there a crime in voicing your opinions?

For all y'all Pac lovers ^{*and maybe haters*} , Pac himself called this joint "the realest sh*t he ever wrote
and . . . the truest sh*t he ever spoke" It's called "Against All Odds" and it's the best battle track by Pac.

Since the thread says "Illest Punchlines", I'll just post excerpts and not the full lyrics to the song

. . . Next time grown folks talk, nigga close your mouth

. . . All you old rappers trying to advance
It's all over now, take it like a man
Niggas looking like, Larry Holmes flabby and sick

. . . Niggaz that don't rhyme right
You've seen too many movies

Lastly, Pac was not into punchlines and stuff. He shouldn't be made up into what he was not - especially by peops who never understood him. Every rapper has his style. Pac's signature style was the reflective stuff, the deep and emotional style. He was a dude who just spat what he felt - at any given time. I'm yet to see a rapper, nay, music artiste in the history of music, as expressive as this dude was. I mean, how many rappers can spit simple lyrics like he does and still get his listeners swooning over them? No, not one. He was a very deep/introspective rapper. His best lyrics were sung in the sober/reflective moments of his life.

Songs like "Life Goes On", "So Many Tears", etc readily attest to this.