Music Commercial Hip Hop Thread

Anyway… Considering this is still technically the Commercial Hip Hop thread, it’s kinda funny that Macklemore of all people has made both these twos silly shit flinging look thoroughly unserious in the conscious rap stakes (whether you think it’s on point or not)



also easily the hardest beat of the last couple weeks (sample here)

* it’s actually pretty pathetic how few artists have made openly ‘counter culture’ protest music when you consider how integral it was to the supposedly seminal 60s & 70s scene, not to mention hip hop in late 80s/early 90s.

It's all fine until people realise he just called out everyone putting out Drake diss tracks.
 
It's all fine until people realise he just called out everyone putting out Drake diss tracks.
Yeah didn't he say he thinks these guys are idiots when more important things are happening (referring to Israel/Palestine)?
 
I get it most people dislike Drake but some of the best bars of this back and forth (along with the beat) is at 5:17 on family matters.

Whether Drake wrote it or not is another matter.
 
Always liked Macklemore. Genuinely. Gets a lot of unwarranted hate


No he doesn't the guy won a grammy for best rap album in the year good kid maad city came out. Theres not enough hate in the world for that travesty
 
No he doesn't the guy won a grammy for best rap album in the year good kid maad city came out. Theres not enough hate in the world for that travesty
That hate should not really be directed towards him though.
 
No he doesn't the guy won a grammy for best rap album in the year good kid maad city came out. Theres not enough hate in the world for that travesty

That's not his fault though. Didn't he immediately say Kendrick should have won it? He even texted an apology to Kendrick which I think is a bit lame :lol:

Macklemore is fine, the hate is silly.
 
Aubrey's angels don't know what to do with themselves, clutching at everything online.
 
Anyway… Considering this is still technically the Commercial Hip Hop thread, it’s kinda funny that Macklemore of all people has made both these twos silly shit flinging look thoroughly unserious in the conscious rap stakes (whether you think it’s on point or not)



also easily the hardest beat of the last couple weeks (sample here)

* it’s actually pretty pathetic how few artists have made openly ‘counter culture’ protest music when you consider how integral it was to the supposedly seminal 60s & 70s scene, not to mention hip hop in late 80s/early 90s.


Biggest comeback of 2024. Respect Macklemore.
 
I get it most people dislike Drake but some of the best bars of this back and forth (along with the beat) is at 5:17 on family matters.

Whether Drake wrote it or not is another matter.

Yeah, can’t stand Drake but he’s made the best two tracks, with Kendrick have the best beat and hook, with bang average verses.

I can’t abide by that talky whispery bollocks that Kendrick does. Lyrically he’s miles ahead of Drake. If the content is true then Drake is toast. But he’s made a series of monologues that don’t come together at all as actual tracks.

I get it that plenty must like it. I don’t care for it at all.

If you reversed the tracks, people would still be saying Kendrick won. Because he’s better, and everyone - including me - has been desperate for Drake to get his comeuppance for well over a decade.
 
Yeah, can’t stand Drake but he’s made the best two tracks, with Kendrick have the best beat and hook, with bang average verses.

I can’t abide by that talky whispery bollocks that Kendrick does. Lyrically he’s miles ahead of Drake. If the content is true then Drake is toast. But he’s made a series of monologues that don’t come together at all as actual tracks.

I get it that plenty must like it. I don’t care for it at all.

If you reversed the tracks, people would still be saying Kendrick won. Because he’s better, and everyone - including me - has been desperate for Drake to get his comeuppance for well over a decade.


Euphoria and not like us are clear in my opinion, out of everything that dropped so far.
 
I get it most people dislike Drake but some of the best bars of this back and forth (along with the beat) is at 5:17 on family matters.

Whether Drake wrote it or not is another matter.
Second verse in family matters is the best rapping we've seen so far in the beef
 
Euphoria and not like us are clear in my opinion, out of everything that dropped so far.

Fair if you like Euphoria. I think it’s ass.

As I said, Not like us is a great beat and hook. Trash song. But to be fair, most rap beef tracks are. Masterstroke of a release. The hook is being played everywhere. Loads of artists will jump on it.
 
Macklemore is corny and a clout chaser, and asking why artists won't stand up while also saying if he was on a label he would gladly be dropped is cringe. He has much less to risk than most in speaking out and he's doing it on the wave created by the students protesting against the US backed Israel atrocities.

But big fecking respect nonetheless, he is one of the very few to speak out and his voice carries a little further than most of the population. Same for the others making the effort like Charlotte Church who at least help spark a little hope. Love them for it.
 
Yeah the Not Like Us and BBL Drizzy beats are basically already classics in under 23 hours :lol:. There are 100s of random Soundcloud rappers and comedians dissing him. Japanese rappers are getting involved!!






I reckon Drake’s only possible recourse is to make something incredibly catchy and hope it has mainstream staying power??

I think he's lost that battle as well. The not like us track is breaking records left right centre. Most streams on spotify in a day in history (beating a Drake record). :lol: :lol:

I've heard the track everywhere, when you got women in clubs chanting OVHO you know it's peak times for Drake. They even vandalised the OVO store in London with 'They not like us' on the front.
 
Yeah, can’t stand Drake but he’s made the best two tracks, with Kendrick have the best beat and hook, with bang average verses.

I can’t abide by that talky whispery bollocks that Kendrick does. Lyrically he’s miles ahead of Drake. If the content is true then Drake is toast. But he’s made a series of monologues that don’t come together at all as actual tracks.

I get it that plenty must like it. I don’t care for it at all.

If you reversed the tracks, people would still be saying Kendrick won. Because he’s better, and everyone - including me - has been desperate for Drake to get his comeuppance for well over a decade.
As a conscious rapper he's one of the best. I just can't take his voice seriously in a battle rap, esp when he changes character and does the weird voice, his flow is off at times too, but that's just my personal opinion. It's a shame Cole tucked tail and walked away, I think he would have come out with fire.
 
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As a conscious rapper he's one of the best. I just can't take his voice seriously in a battle rap, esp when he changes character and does the weird voice, his flow is off at times too, but that's just my personal opinion. It's a shame Cole tucked tail and walked away, I think he would have come out with fire.
Maybe but he would have had to massively up it from that 7 Minute Drill track, which was cringe. Can't be calling someone else's album bad when your own recent work has been utter shite.
 
Why Kendrick would ever get drawn into something like this is surprising to me. I always thought of him as a serious artist, in that he respected the art form and worked hard at being the GOAT.

Maybe the ego hit is just too much to take for anyone, especially someone from this world full of grandstanding and appearances
 
Second verse in family matters is the best rapping we've seen so far in the beef

This is some of Kendrick's worst work. He should have just kept himself away from it IMO - he clearly works best when he feels strongly about what he's saying and the tracks he's working on. For Drake meanwhile this is exactly his level.

Goes to show you how much better Kendrick is than Drake, it's not even the same universe.
 
Why Kendrick would ever get drawn into something like this is surprising to me. I always thought of him as a serious artist, in that he respected the art form and worked hard at being the GOAT.

Maybe the ego hit is just too much to take for anyone, especially someone from this world full of grandstanding and appearances
To be the GOAT you need to have that battle rap on your CV, all of the rappers that are considered top tier have done it to prove themselves, it's part of rap culture.

I agree this hasn't been Kendricks best work as his rap style & personality isn't suited to battle rapping.

And it shows, whilst he's a superior rapper to Drake who imo isn't really a pure rapper, Drake still landed some punches on him.
 
Why Kendrick would ever get drawn into something like this is surprising to me. I always thought of him as a serious artist, in that he respected the art form and worked hard at being the GOAT.

Maybe the ego hit is just too much to take for anyone, especially someone from this world full of grandstanding and appearances
I think he just really dislikes Drake, as a person.
 
Maybe but he would have had to massively up it from that 7 Minute Drill track, which was cringe. Can't be calling someone else's album bad when your own recent work has been utter shite.
Felt like that he wasn't trying to hard on that track and was still quite good. Agree about Cole's last few albums, just think his rap style is better suited to diss tracks.
 
Why Kendrick would ever get drawn into something like this is surprising to me. I always thought of him as a serious artist, in that he respected the art form and worked hard at being the GOAT.

Maybe the ego hit is just too much to take for anyone, especially someone from this world full of grandstanding and appearances

This is part of the art form. Every top tier MC has been involved in something like this.
 
Felt like that he wasn't trying to hard on that track and was still quite good. Agree about Cole's last few albums, just think his rap style is better suited to diss tracks.
Remember when Nelly battled KRS-ONE? I wanna see a re-run of that :lol:
 
Anyway… Considering this is still technically the Commercial Hip Hop thread, it’s kinda funny that Macklemore of all people has made both these twos silly shit flinging look thoroughly unserious in the conscious rap stakes (whether you think it’s on point or not)



also easily the hardest beat of the last couple weeks (sample here)

* it’s actually pretty pathetic how few artists have made openly ‘counter culture’ protest music when you consider how integral it was to the supposedly seminal 60s & 70s scene, not to mention hip hop in late 80s/early 90s.

Eh?! That Macklemore beat isn't shit on Mustard's Not Like Us, surely? Not Like Us is a genuine hip-hop classic and the beat is ridiculously good. Instantly one of the best disses ever.
 
Eh?! That Macklemore beat isn't shit on Mustard's Not Like Us, surely? Not Like Us is a genuine hip-hop classic and the beat is ridiculously good. Instantly one of the best disses ever.

Nah. It’s a great beat and hook but it’s a bang average diss track. Describing it as a hip hop classic is insane.
 
Nah. It’s a great beat and hook but it’s a bang average diss track. Describing it as a hip hop classic is insane.
How the hell is it bang average? :lol: I've literally not seen anyone describe it as an average diss track. The A minor bar is genuinely iconic already (and exposing Drake and his crew for being sexually weird sounds like it was fecking needed so it's got actual weight). The verse about Drake being a coloniser + trying to infiltrate the Atlanta club scene was also fecking hard. I don't know who you've spoken to/what you've read but the prevailing consensus (in my exp) is that it is already regarded an all-time classic diss. So ye, a hip-hop classic. Easily tbh.
 
How the hell is it bang average? :lol: I've literally not seen anyone describe it as an average diss track. The A minor bar is genuinely iconic already (and exposing Drake and his crew for being sexually weird sounds like it was fecking needed so it's got actual weight). The verse about Drake being a coloniser + trying to infiltrate the Atlanta club scene was also fecking hard. I don't know who you've spoken to/what you've read but the prevailing consensus (in my exp) is that it is already regarded an all-time classic diss. So ye, a hip-hop classic. Easily tbh.

There are a few properly good good bars. But it’s underproduced and sounds painfully thin in places.

That beat is crying out for a bigger vocal on it. It’s an all-timer.

As for the content… kinda has to be true to be worth a rub. If it is, it goes up a nudge. But the beat was wasted/rushed.

People are saying it’s a classic diss as they hate Drake (me too) and love Kendrick (me too). Doesn’t take away from the fact that the voice and flow were fairly generic vs what could have been done with it.
 
There are a few properly good good bars. But it’s underproduced and sounds painfully thin in places.

That beat is crying out for a bigger vocal on it. It’s an all-timer.

As for the content… kinda has to be true to be worth a rub. If it is, it goes up a nudge. But the beat was wasted/rushed.

People are saying it’s a classic diss as they hate Drake (me too) and love Kendrick (me too). Doesn’t take away from the fact that the voice and flow were fairly generic vs what could have been done with it.
The bars sound underproduced? Nah brah there are loads of crazily well written, well delivered lines. Certified lover boys? Certified pedophiles, going at each of Drake's crew, the delivery on the line 'beat your ass and hide the bible if God watchin' (there's loads of hard bars, cba to go through more).

He's using the Drakeo, West Coast rapping cadence on a Compton Mustard beat. It's normal that not everything speaks to us but the prevailing consensus and culture of hip-hop right now is definitely not that it's generic and thin. It's that it is a classic and historic moment.

The content needing to be true to be worth a rub is definitely not the case. It obviously helps but that's never been the entire point of hip-hop diss tracks .
 
There are a few properly good good bars. But it’s underproduced and sounds painfully thin in places.

That beat is crying out for a bigger vocal on it. It’s an all-timer.

As for the content… kinda has to be true to be worth a rub. If it is, it goes up a nudge. But the beat was wasted/rushed.

People are saying it’s a classic diss as they hate Drake (me too) and love Kendrick (me too). Doesn’t take away from the fact that the voice and flow were fairly generic vs what could have been done with it.

Your average hip hip fan isn't digging that deep. In a beef you have to win over the mainstream view that you won and Kendrick landed way more blows than Drake. Kendrick has people rapping along with the menorable lines and Drake's reputation is damaged. Job done.
 
Your average hip hip fan isn't digging that deep. In a beef you have to win over the mainstream view that you won and Kendrick landed way more blows than Drake. Kendrick has people rapping along with the menorable lines and Drake's reputation is damaged. Job done.
Kendrick's bars are deep enough for a diss - have people ever looked into diss track lyrics before?! They aren't ever particularly deep (in terms of complexity). That isn't the point. With the current situation, fans are willingly looking into them because they are well delivered and are interesting. The mainstream view until Not Like Us was that it was semi even, but Not Like Us and The Heart Part 6 and obviously has Dot way out in front.
 
The bars sound underproduced? Nah brah there are loads of crazily well written, well delivered lines. Certified lover boys? Certified pedophiles, going at each of Drake's crew, the delivery on the line 'beat your ass and hide the bible if God watchin' (there's loads of hard bars, cba to go through more).

He's using the Drakeo, West Coast rapping cadence on a Compton Mustard beat. It's normal that not everything speaks to us but the prevailing consensus and culture of hip-hop right now is definitely not that it's generic and thin. It's that it is a classic and historic moment.

The content needing to be true to be worth a rub is definitely not the case. It obviously helps but that's never been the entire point of hip-hop diss tracks .

It’s cool man. We disagree. Not having a scrap to convince you.

For me, that beat is crying out for a bigger voice, with someone that stays on beat for every bar. It’s a genuine all-timer. It felt so rushed. Needed more studio time.

But also… not saying the bars are underproduced. They’re shoehorned in at various points but I was talking about the track. It’s atrociously mixed. The highs are mad high in places (where it sounds really thin) and I’m more critiquing the fact it’s wasted on a diss track than anything else. ‘They not like us’ over that is such a killer lick and would have rang out forever had it not been attached to this diss track.

I’m hoping that other artists will jump on it. Just a shame it’ll be short 16’s rather than a full track. Could have been one for the ages.

Also, ‘Freaky ass N, he a 69 god’. Jesus Wept Kendrick, eat box ffs. Change your culture y’manchild.
 
How the hell is it bang average? :lol: I've literally not seen anyone describe it as an average diss track. The A minor bar is genuinely iconic already (and exposing Drake and his crew for being sexually weird sounds like it was fecking needed so it's got actual weight). The verse about Drake being a coloniser + trying to infiltrate the Atlanta club scene was also fecking hard. I don't know who you've spoken to/what you've read but the prevailing consensus (in my exp) is that it is already regarded an all-time classic diss. So ye, a hip-hop classic. Easily tbh.
I think Bo Burnham already used that A Minor line in one of his shows.

It was a good track overall but don't think it's a classic... But it would be if Drakes career is affected or some of these allegations get proven.
 
I'm guessing RedCafe isn't really the best place for reviewing if the these diss tracks are elite or not. I think these tracks are fire. From both sides. Best thing I've heard from hip hop in a few years. I don't really keep up these days though.
 
I think Bo Burnham already used that A Minor line in one of his shows.

It was a good track overall but don't think it's a classic... But it would be if Drakes career is affected or some of these allegations get proven.

Yeah he did the 'Beating off in A Minor' sketch I think.
 
Fair if you like Euphoria. I think it’s ass.

As I said, Not like us is a great beat and hook. Trash song. But to be fair, most rap beef tracks are. Masterstroke of a release. The hook is being played everywhere. Loads of artists will jump on it.

Yeah tbf most are not supposed to be high quality or anything. More about shock factor etc, Hit 'em up alone, probably isn't a great rap song but when you hear it, it hits every single time and that was its aim.
 
I think Bo Burnham already used that A Minor line in one of his shows.

It was a good track overall but don't think it's a classic... But it would be if Drakes career is affected or some of these allegations get proven.
Norm MacDonald had a joke about a guitarist and Adam Eget both having in common a fondness of fingering minors - that’s the first thing I thought off when listening to Not Like Us, which is my new all time favorite diss track. Been on repeat for days.
 
I'm guessing RedCafe isn't really the best place for reviewing if the these diss tracks are elite or not. I think these tracks are fire. From both sides. Best thing I've heard from hip hop in a few years. I don't really keep up these days though.
Have you heard Drake's other bangers?