taking sides: epmd vs. gangstarr

EPMD=Rappers with lisps kick ass (see also Kool G Rap), they had the coolest slang of any rap group ever ("bozack", "skeezer", and they had dances called the Steve Martin and the Luther Vandross), were the first group to use the "Ain't No Nigga"/"Mack of the Year" and the "California Love" samples, among numerous others, plus this: "She had green eyes, thunder thighs and a def body / to top it off she drove a black Maserati / with a chrome kit and a smile that you couldn't resist..."

EPMD, no question.

Now to the topic at hand. I only have on gangstarr album and that is hard to earn. Motherfucking Premo needed to ditch that fucking no rap skills having ass nigga. In the beginning this bitch nigga Guru going say what he did to get on with his no skills having ass. Premos beats is ill as fuck and joints definitely have your fucking dome nodding. Fuck Dr.Dre cracker happy ass. Fuck timalands new cracker happy synthesizer beat boxing , fat country ass. Havoc and Premo are two greatest producers out there. Premo should have just did all beats for Nas and left guru.

EPMD is alright, my favorite shit is the "cross-over" cause they be carring those cracker ass rappers like third bass.

I want niggas to respond to this shit cause I know devils don't want to here the truth.

B) It doesn't mean that you should instantly agree w/ or dismiss what people say anyway.

C) Please avoid the n-word. It makes some of us uncomfortable.

D) Hope you stick around and keep contributing!

Oh yes, I'm with EPMD b/c Sermon has a knack for an extra element of syncopation and off-kilterdness in the beats which makes them that much better. Also, the lyrics are absurdly over the top.

"First and foremost, some rappers are sweet like fructose When I cock back these lyrics, y'all punks best be ghost I be the seven twenty-one, eighteen twenty-one The illest one, I'm almost doper than anyone Straight out the late nights of Bed-Stuy Steppin up, y'all put your weapons up, I make heads fly You're artificial like saccarhin You're crazy fake, it's more than skills you be lackin in Concepts you bite, cause your identity ain't tight Tryin to be somethin you're not, like pullin a knife at a gunfight"

"I'm type slick, known as the God Universal Kick rhymes without rehearsal, I cross the burnin sands Now I stand here with virtue, of course I could hurt you simply with my point of view, and I knew that many would come, that's why I've chosen to cut off pathways, and there's no runways or doorways open for the jokers who ain't focused And all the fake mercenaries get buried by the tongue of terrifying fury Nothing's blurry, fuck it I got no worries Hearts and minds, shine bright light with insight Yeah sense my birthright to set up cyphers with power cause mad shit ain't right, like punks in the spotlight who can't freestyle, sometimes I make my peeps smile by sayin somethin crazy wild like some shit off my dome, that be soundin better than the next man's whole album..."

"Yo, I be your highness, in slickness, you chumps bear witness Tremendous tropper, verbal nigga witht he fitness Drop you for your spot with the blazer then I blast ya Slice precise like ?fenny hanas? when I come to bring the dramas Styles so swift, that you can't peep the God as your lyrics get buried, six feet deep in my backyard I laugh hard, while your mental I run through mazes Dark stages of terror to shatter your dressing room mirror Your whole error gets crushed, your whole show gets bumrushed Too many dumb punks, want to enter this rap scene Kickin Willie Bobo, but need to be slapped clean into oblivion, the true champion always rises I bring surprises to the chief plus their advisers Size me up, and you will find nothing's larger Catch more wreck on your dome, than a deranged fuckin barber So what you made some dough, you best keep on scramblin All your vanity, is instantly crushed, when I start handlin Demandin that you pay, for your weak rhyme display Coast to coast, I break the fakes everyday"

None of yaw'll can tell me that those ain't some ill lines. This niggas been hittin us with pure hip hop since '89. Gangstarr is true hip hop and if you can't feel that then I'm afraid that your back pack fell off at the last Lil Kim concert.

fake mcs
they always act hard
but wont walk the streets without they bodyguards

gawd I was just thinking about this today czu I've been listening to both almost extensively. tempted to go w/ Gang Starr (cuz Guru is unfairly hated on and Premier was in his element) but it feels wrong to slight the EPMD.

I was thinking about this, unprompted, at the beach today too! steam-engine time.

Gang Starr are pretty underwhelmingly samey a LOT of the time. EPMD get a shitload of mileage out of their own limitations, and have enough variety beyond the "classic" "headnodder" track that their monotony as rappers isn't shown up as much as Guru's.

Also, Jazzamatazzzzzzzz.