Dr. Tanner's Hip-Hop Prescription
In Episode 43 Tanner ranted about Eminem’s new album and how it might be distracting from better hip hop because of Eminem’s celebrity. Well, here’s your official prescription of good shit to recover from Eminem:
Kid Cudi - Soundtrack 2 My Life
Exploring anxiety and depression in far more interesting ways than Eminem with the help of a dynamic beat that isn’t trying too hard or overly processed. Some lyrical missteps (“My cock’s been sucked”) but infects your brain.
Kid Cudi - Pursuit of Happiness
And one more with a killer beat by MGMT and Ratatat that shows the best production comes from leaving the insular environment of star hip hop beat makers.
One of the most affecting and powerful MCs working. Effortlessly weaves folk-like tales of struggle with the help of a voice even Morgan Freeman is jealous of.
Raekwon et. al. - House of Flying Daggers
RAW WU
Highly skilled but ultimately immature with massive potential in his maturation—he just needs to write about something other than weed. But this simple casio beat serves as a platform for serious flow and moments of melodic genius (“I don’t love em; I don’t chase em I duck em”) that are absent in Eminem’s overcharged technical clusterfuck.
Charles Hamilton - Brooklyn Girls
He raps about videogames. That’s enough for me. This song, however, is more of a hook-laden and highly listenable attempt at exposure that didn’t succeed on the radio and was overshadowed.
Weakest song on this list but the most intelligent. An example of how to craft rhymes about something socially relevant and yet still personal.
Not hip hop but so ridiculously skilled and invigorating that she needs to be included. Step aside R&B no talents (Beyoncé) your mediocrity HATH BEEN EXPOSED.