1. You forgot at least The Roots, Common, Dilated Peoples, Kanye West, Mos Def, and Talib Kweli in your list of people who make good hip-hop music.
     posted by bill mill at 10:28:18 PM on August 23, 2004  
2. Well, the list wasn't meant to be exhaustive... :-)
     posted by Hans Nowak at 12:26:44 AM on August 24, 2004  
3. I thought crap was what you got when you mixed country and rap. Oh well, live and learn...
     posted by Sean at 10:28:34 AM on August 24, 2004  
4. Here's a second for bill mill's list, particularly the last four (I'm less familiar with The Roots and Common, although the new Roots album is great). Check out anything by them and you'll likely have a better experience with hip-hop.
     posted by Shawn Wheatley at 11:16:57 AM on August 24, 2004  
5. If you aren't familiar with The Roots, scramble to the nearest store and grab *all* their albums (including Organix, which can be a bit hard to find). These guys are, IMHO, the best hip-hop group of all time (and have the best live show). In fact, They're one of the best Jam bands of all time in any genre. Any Common after _Can I Borrow a Dollar_ is great, though _Like Water for Chocolate_ is his magnum opus. I am a big fan of his much maligned recent effort _Electric Circus_. And don't forget on this list: Mr. Lif, K-OS, Dead Prez, GhostFace Killah (last good member of Wu-Tang) and a host of others I can't think up now. BTW, I can't stand Kanye West, though I like his production for others.
     posted by uche at 09:09:27 AM on August 25, 2004  
6. Well, uche, just remember that "can I borrow a dollar" has "soul by the pound" on it, which is one of my top 5 rap songs of all time. Also, though I like Kanye's lyrics, I don't think he's a great rapper - it's bob dylan syndrome.
   
   Also, I definitely second Mr. Lif, althought Dead Prez is a little ridiculous to me.
     posted by bill mill at 08:30:16 AM on August 30, 2004