I am sure Biz Markie or somebody else did it first..
Though in regards of an MC that has skills in both singing and rapping, I don’t recall anyone before Myka 9. Also, til this day I don’t see anyone surpassing him.
Dj Joey Joe Member since Sep 01st 2007 13770 posts
Mon Aug-23-21 10:09 PM
6. "The Force MDs aka Force MCs, Full Force, & Sugarhill Gang" In response to Reply # 0 Mon Aug-23-21 10:12 PM by Dj Joey Joe
...but that's taking it way way back, a lot of the ol' school rappers did sing and rap cause that's how it was but The Force MCs was a dope group of emcees but it's a shame they never proved it when they got signed but I will admit their r&b stuff was good as well.
As far as Full Force their rapping wasn't always good but they had the r&b & pre-new jack swing sound on lock at the time.
I remember buying a Sugarhill Gang album and out of the six songs on the album only two songs had rapping on it, the rest had them singing on it and I was shocked, I don't ever remember even hearing these songs or knew that they sung, but I see why nobody talks about those songs cause it wasn't good, just some average indie singing.
Nice-N-Smooth was another group that did some harmonizing on their songs, they had a group named Pure Blend on some of their hooks but they was just a singing group not rappers but what some might not know is that Smooth B. was one of the members of Pure Blend.
Also someone mentioned Lauryn but they totally forgot about the queen, Queen Latifah she was always singing here & there on her albums.
You can take your pick as to who was doing it before whom but what I want to know who started the "bad singing rapper" trend, cause all those I mentioned above cause sing well, but I think the original poster is getting at who was the one or artists who started the "bad singing rapper who don't care if they can't sing" trend though, and that I can't really tell ya cause I've always hated that shit and still try to ignore it and hope it goes away but these days rap music is a "No Man's Land" where the signed & unsigned are making names for themselves doing whatever they want regardless if it's a trend or not.
--------- "We in here talking about later career Prince records & your fool ass is cruising around in a time machine trying to collect props for a couple of sociopathic degenerates" - s.blak
11. "Andre is a definite influence" In response to Reply # 0
From liberation off aquemini, to the last 3 tracks off stankonia, and culminating with the love below album, Dre slowly transitioned to singing. I'm sure that others were before him, but I believe that he set the stage for other rappers, especially those who can't really sing (like dre) to step into that arena.
_________________ When you control a man's thinking, you don't have to worry about his actions. -Carter G. Woodson
story and voice here travels from boastful conscience to regret. with regret earmarked by switching to a sweeter tone? interesting to see them play with it as a contextual device. yeslawd is a fucking masterclass in shit like that.
Uptown legend. Apparently he was getting too high to get his recording career off the ground. Meanwhile other acts had success flipping styles he brought to the game .
Nice & Smooth incorporated a bit of his style into their work and it worked well for them. Listen to the end of this song I linked then go straight to Nice & Smooth's "Early to Rise".
There is audio of DJ Hollywood rapping & singing all the way back in 1982. Biz Markie pretty much redid this routine and put it out as a single.
33. "Ive read about DJ Hollywood for years " In response to Reply # 17
Listening to those two joints you put up lets me hear how he influenced cats. That’s crazy.
I wonder if him using “ooo tang” as a catchphrase planted a group name idea in the minds of a certain legendary crew who already liked karate movies. Ha.
23. "Bone Thugs probably the biggest influence on mixing the 2" In response to Reply # 0
I don't recall anyone doing it the way they did before them where it's fluctuation between rapping and singing the same verse. I'd say Crossroads is as earnest as it gets.
You might be able to throw Nelly in there. Definitely Z-Ro.
get the sauce. I just don't get how Bone Thugs & Cube got called out for taking styles but Organized Konfusion got a pass. "Stress" is just a polished East Coast version of what Freestyle Fellowship was doing.
She would straight up have r&b songs and songs where she rapped back to back on albums. And she was one of the ones that got to a point where hearing the beat didn’t let you know what was coming..kinda like where Drake was until his formulas got more recognizable/clear.
To me, she’s the one that usually gets left off of the list and she should be on there fo sho.
>Drake or Kanye get the most credit or visibility for it. >Phonte will rightly point out he was doing it before both and >his influence on Drake. > >But there were folks doing it, maybe not consistently, before >these guys right? > >I always liked She Said by Pharcyde because it seemed like >Slim Kid Tre was seriously singing. > >Who else? > >And I say "earnestly" because I am no talking about "Just A >Friend" type of singing where the singing is for laughs or >parody. > > > >********** >"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then >they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson > >"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"
31. "First? Most important? Most influential?" In response to Reply # 0
I mean, I think Kanye then Drake are the most significant influences on the folks who do it now.
Missy and Lauryn Hill and to a lesser extent Cee-Lo did it in their day, but for Missy and Lauryn it was also mixed up in sexism around rap and R&B.
In terms of blending it seamlessly with rapping, certainly Bone Thugs and Freestyle Fellowship.
There are a lot of tributaries. No doubt though that Kanye and Drake are the primary source of nearly everyone doing it now.
- Bullseye with Jesse Thorn A public radio show about things that are awesome. http://www.maximumfun.org "This is the kind of show people listen to in a more perfect world." - McSweeney's
34. "surprised that Q-Tip hasn't gotten a mention" In response to Reply # 0
i mean, his early stuff may have not gotten officially released (until sony put out Kamaal the Abstract) but it was definitely circulating in the early aughties
44. "RE: Hey, who really started this rappers singing earnestly business?" In response to Reply # 0
probably the best example of this is PM Dawn...
You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.
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