Recommend some good rap.

[Raven]

Tell me some good rap artists.

I like ones with meaning to thier work, not bling bling, get some hos, nelly kinda shit.

Thanks.

I'm sorry, I don't think there is any "good" rap.

Actually, I used to like some of it. It use to be quite fun.
Basically, everything I've heard in the last 13 years has made my skin crawl.

[Peter H.]

Go with the classics: Public Enemy, Run DMC, Afrika Bambaataa, Slick Rick

[afronaut]

Digable Planets, Mos Def, Gangstarr, the Fugees, Wyclef, the Roots, Dialated Peoples and Jurassic 5. I like them, anyway.

[Locu5]

GZA (esp. Liquid Swords), Grandmaster Flash, Eric B. & Rakin, Channel Live, 5th Platoon, Faust and Shortee, Invisible Scratch Picklez, though the last 3 are more turntablist with hip-hop stuff.

[PoleFighter]

Well, the genre is kinda big, and divided into lots of sub categories, all with a very distinct sound.

My personal contemporary favorites include
MF Doom (check out Operation: Doomsday)
Madlib (everything, but most notably Quasimoto: the Unseen (very unconentional album) and the album Madlib and Doom did together: Madvillian)
Jay-dee (just lot's of little songs everywhere. Check out The Red by Jaylib)
El-p (check out Fantastic Damage and his old group Company Flow's album Funcrusher Plus, both very difficult listens for many)
Cannibal Ox - The Cold Vein
MF Grimm (the downfall of Iblyss: a ghetto operah).

If you like geeky white canadian angst-rap, chek out Buck 65 - Vertex.

Classic albums to check out are
Nas - (before he went pop) Illmatic (greatest hiphop album of all time)
Gang Starr - Step in the Arena
The Roots - Do you want more??!?!?!
Everything Wu-tang Clan did between 93 and 96 (my favorites are Raekwon - Only Built for Cuban Linx and Wu-tang Clan - Enter the 36 Chambers),
Pete Rock and CL Smooth - Mecca and the Soul Brother (jazzy shit) and The Main Ingredient (a bit more mellow and accessible)
KMD - Mr Hood.
A lot of people would say Public Enemy, but I never got into them.
Run DMC are also good, but they're not my favorite group

Just a few of recomendations off the top of my head.

[PoleFighter]

How could I forget? It's gangsgta but it's a little deeper:

Mobb Deep - The Infamous

[Locu5]

meh, i prefer old school, mid school stuff, and turntablist stuff since it tends to not be as gangsta. though that is far from a hard and fast rule, as i dig the wu.

[albert]

"First Born" by Eyedea and Abilities. Not sure if you'll be able to find the album in Canada though, try a P2P or something.

[PoleFighter]

I hate Wu-tang Forever. To me it marks the departure from their gritty sound. It's just too polished for my tastes. Everything they've done after Forever, with the exception of the Ghostface albums, has been less than stellar, to put it gently.

[Beatdown Richie]

To give this thread a new twist:

What I dislike the most about the rap/ hip-hop I've heard so far is the absence of musicality. I hear very few great melodies, interesting chord progressions, crazy instrumental parts, or elaborate song structures - it's mostly minimalistic, beat-driven, and the hooks are usually sampled from some other artist. The only hip-hop I can think of that was more interesting was the Fugees and Lauryn Hill's solo stuff, and Faithless (although they were more a electronic/ pop/ crossover band who happened to have a rapper).

Can anyone recommend good MUSICAL hip-hop?

[Locu5]

/agree os, though imho, they are now more identified with their gansta works unfortunately. on the upside, at the latest racial draft they got picked up by the asians so the blacks are off the hook ;).

also, for some good stuff, check out the latest outkast almbum, "speakerboxxx". there are some solid, if unconventional, tracks on it. overall very well produced.
if you like scratching, in addition to the invisible scratch picklez, there are some good works out there. look at mix master mike's "anti-theft device". the "scratch" album (soundtrack, various artists) has a great remake of herbie hancock's classic "rockit".

edit: musical hip-hop, huh? try looking at the beatnuts, timberland-produced songs, faust and shortees original beats...

[SamHarber]

Jurassic 5 rocked when I saw them. The Roots do everything (and I mean everything) well, some of the most sublime blues/rock blended with some great hiphop, rap and funk.
Mike Skinner (aka The Streets) and Goldie Looking Chain have a rather british outlook which makes for a rather different take on the rap style. Be warned, GLC are welsh, so it sounds a little odd.

[PoleFighter]

To give this thread a new twist:

What I dislike the most about the rap/ hip-hop I've heard so far is the absence of musicality. I hear very few great melodies, interesting chord progressions, crazy instrumental parts, or elaborate song structures - it's mostly minimalistic, beat-driven, and the hooks are usually sampled from some other artist. The only hip-hop I can think of that was more interesting was the Fugees and Lauryn Hill's solo stuff, and Faithless (although they were more a electronic/ pop/ crossover band who happened to have a rapper).

Can anyone recommend good MUSICAL hip-hop?

Me likey hiphop cause hiphop sound nice in ear.