For those who don't listen to rap music regularly this is for you. For those who do maybe you will find a new artist in here.

Rap music has long been talked about as if it were a huge monolithic entity. While rock music has recognized subdivisions like punk, alternative, and metal, hip hop does not get talked about in the same way by a majority of people. First however it is necessary to look into rap music's history.

The Decades

Old School 1970-1984: Rap started out as simply people who used their turntables in the streets of NYC making short simple beats that eventually evolved into longer more complex rhythms. While they spun the records these DJ's would sometimes chant short phrases to get the crowd going, simple stuff like "pump it up" or "put your hands up". However for much of the 70's the focus remained on the DJ making beats for people to dance to. It was not until 1979 that the first "real" rap song was released and gained widespread popularity. The Sugar Hill Gang- Rappers Delight This was the song that really put the focus on the rapper instead of the DJ, even the first line says "what you hear is not a test I'm rapping to the beat" a concept that had never been explored much beforehand. After this came other influential artists trying their hands at speaking over beats. Most notable of these was Afrika Bambaataa whose 1982 song "Planet Rock" is credited as being one of the most groundbreaking rap songs of all time. Also released in 1982 was the equally influential song "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, known for being the first popular hip hop song to have a social commentary in its lyrics.

The Golden Age 1985-1992: This is a time in hip hop known for its huge amounts of diversity and experimentation. It was a time when practically every artist or group had their own spin on rap and they all contributed greatly to what it is today. It is widely accepted that this time period was kicked off by the commercial success of Run-D.M.C. made up of Joseph "Run" Simmons, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, and Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizzel as their DJ. Their breakthrough hit was "Rock Box" a hugely popular song that vaulted Run-D.M.C. to the forefront of rap music. As this era progressed artists like Big Daddy Kane, the Beastie Boys, Eric B. & Rakim, LL Cool J and Queen Latifah rose to prominence . All of whom added their own flair to the ever evolving sound of rap music. This era ended with the rise of gangster rap and many consider N.W.A.'s "Straight Outta Compton" to mark its end.

Big Daddy Kane- Ain't No Half Steppin

The Beastie Boys- Fight For Your Right

Eric B. & Rakim- Eric B. is President

LL Cool J- Mama Said Knock You Out

Queen Latifah- Evil That Men Do

Rap Gets Popular 1992-1999: Also known as the era of gangster rap much of rap in the 90s were songs about life on the streets. Lyrics were about violence, drugs, struggle, and an overarching feeling of anger. Rappers like Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg glorified the gangster lifestyle with songs like "Check Yo Self" and "Gin and Juice ". It was this era that is responsible for rap's negative image of misogyny and violence. In reality the shift to these themes was not a natural one, in fact it was manufactured by the very people the songs disparaged. Upon seeing the success of N.W.A. and the gangster rap style they pioneered, record labels took notice of rap as a commercially viable form of music. They knew that if rap was maligned in the same way rock music was in the 50s it would become wildly popular. The gangster image was created by rich men who knew how to pray on the psyche of teens needing a form of rebellion against their parents. However this is not to say that this time was without quality. In fact many of the greatest artists of all time rose to prominence in this era. It's hard to say anything more about these artists than what others have already said so I am just gonna put up some links.

Notorious B.I.G.- Juicy

2Pac- Changes

Nas- Life's a Bitch Ft. Az

Jay-Z- Dead Presidents

Wu-Tang Clan-C.R.E.A.M.

Outkast- Elevator (Me & You)

A New Age 2000-present: It was in this time that hip hop was given the same kind of respect that rock music had. Rap music grew out of its gangster rap phase and branched out with many artists. Some who still remained from the 90s like Jay-Z evolved with the times and continued making quality songs. Newcomers like Kanye West and Lil Wanye however had to prove themselves. It was during this period that rap continued experimenting and broke into subsections like alternative rap, conscious rap, crunk, banger rap however it was not until the end of the decade that non mainstream rap would secure itself a place in the history of hip hop. Artists like Gnarls Barkley and Kanye West's 808's and Heartbreak were wildly out of the ordinary albums that were both out of the norm and commercially successful. They set the stage for artists like M.I.A., Kid Cudi, and Drake to become popular. There's a buttload of music in this timeframe so I am gonna just put up some the stuff I personally like.

Lupe Fiasco- Kick, Push

Kanye West- Heard 'Em Say

The Roots- Make My Ft. Big K.R.I.T.

Dilated Peoples- You Can't Hide You Can't Run

Jay-Z- 99 Problems

Kid Cudi- Mr Rager

Kendrick Lamar- Rigamortis

EL-P- The Full Retard

Lil Wayne- Swag Surfin I should stop before I lose sleep listing my library.

REPOSTS ENCOURAGED DURING THIS CELEBRATION OF FREEDOM

TITLES CAN BE WHATEVER YOU DAMN WELL PLEASE

SONGS OF SORROW FROM BRITS ACCEPTABLE BUT MUST STILL USE AMERICA FLAIR

For every genre you can't stand there's always that one song that you can't stop listening to. Call it a guilty pleasure, whatever, just post it!

Please use the [theme here] flair and put [Hate the Genre]. Title is however you want it. Again, requests or suggestions for themes are always welcome.

He has left us and gone onto the great life of real life. In the mean time we are all very sad he's gone so post songs of remembrance.

THEME TAG: [RIP KLAATU Part 2.]

The fact that so many books still name the Beatles "the greatest or most significant or most influential" rock band ever only tells you how far rock music still is from becoming a serious art. Jazz critics have long recognized that the greatest jazz musicians of all times are Duke Ellington and John Coltrane, who were not the most famous or richest or best sellers of their times, let alone of all times. Classical critics rank the highly controversial Beethoven over classical musicians who were highly popular in courts around Europe. Rock critics are still blinded by commercial success: the Beatles sold more than anyone else (not true, by the way), therefore they must have been the greatest. Jazz critics grow up listening to a lot of jazz music of the past, classical critics grow up listening to a lot of classical music of the past. Rock critics are often totally ignorant of the rock music of the past, they barely know the best sellers. No wonder they will think that the Beatles did anything worth of being saved. In a sense the Beatles are emblematic of the status of rock criticism as a whole: too much attention to commercial phenomena (be it grunge or U2) and too little attention to the merits of real musicians. If somebody composes the most divine music but no major label picks him up and sells him around the world, a lot of rock critics will ignore him. If a major label picks up a musician who is as stereotyped as one can be but launches her or him worldwide, your average critic will waste rivers of ink on her or him. This is the sad status of rock criticism: rock critics are basically publicists working for free for major labels, distributors and record stores. They simply publicize what the music business wants to make money with.

Hopefully, one not-too-distant day, there will be a clear demarcation between a great musician like Tim Buckley, who never sold much, and commercial products like the Beatles. And rock critics will study more of rock history and realize who invented what and who simply exploited it commercially.

Beatles' "aryan" music removed any trace of black music from rock and roll: it replaced syncopated african rhythm with linear western melody, and lusty negro attitudes with cute white-kid smiles.

Contemporary musicians never spoke highly of the Beatles, and for a good reason. They could not figure out why the Beatles' songs should be regarded more highly than their own. They knew that the Beatles were simply lucky to become a folk phenomenon (thanks to "Beatlemania", which had nothing to do with their musical merits). THat phenomenon kept alive interest in their (mediocre) musical endeavours to this day. Nothing else grants the Beatles more attention than, say, the Kinks or the Rolling Stones. There was nothing intrinsically better in the Beatles' music. Ray Davies of the Kinks was certainly a far better songwriter than Lennon & McCartney. The Stones were certainly much more skilled musicians than the 'Fab Fours'. And Pete Townshend was a far more accomplished composer, capable of "Tommy" and "Quadrophenia". Not to mention later and far greater British musicians. Not to mention the American musicians who created what the Beatles later sold to the masses.

The Beatles sold a lot of records not because they were the greatest musicians but simply because their music was easy to sell to the masses: it had no difficult content, it had no technical innovations, it had no creative depth. They wrote a bunch of catchy 3-minute ditties and they were photogenic. If somebody had not invented "beatlemania" in 1963, you would not have wasted five minutes of your time to read a page about such a trivial band.

He's going through some tough shit right now.

Life's got him down. So post only songs that make you happy and think will make him or other people happy!

Explain why the song(s) you post make you happy if you want to!

If you have no idea what dubstep is, it's simply a mix of dub (reggae remixes with emphasis on the drums and bass) and 2-step (dance music that lacks the four-to-the-floor kick and replaces it with lurches and hi-hats for the most part). Both genres took a dark, grimy slowed-down approach and created early dubstep.

UB40's Present Arms in Dub

Classic 2-step/garage beat with RnB vocals

Emphasis on the sub-bass and half-time percussion

One of the trademark sounds of dubstep is its chest pounding bass, or sub-bass. Early dubstep focused on creating what you might call atmospheres or soundscapes (for mixing), mostly through the use of tribal beats, heavy sub-bass and the occasional synthesizer line. Digital Mystikz' Da Wrath (2005) is a good example.

Dubstep is technically standard dance tempo of 140bpm. The key difference is that kicks are half time- played only on beats 1 and 3, or 2 and 4, creating a half time of 70bpm. However, everything else- hi-hats, drum rolls, bass lines, are played as if on a standard 140 bpm song. This disjoint is one of the key aspects of dubstep- it creates empty spaces, a darker atmosphere and a (sometimes) profound sense of unease- see Zomby's Witch Hunt (2011).

Even though Kode9's Curious (2006)sounds slightly faster, there are still only 2 kicks. The song also includes newer elements- such as a hypeman (from the grime genre) and more emphasis on melodies.

Crossover, melodies and wobbles

During this time (2004-2007), only a few tracks in dubstep made it to mainstream English audiences, and all of them filled previously empty spaces with mid-range synthesizer lines, creating less of a soundscape and more a defined, self-contained song. Skream's Midnight Request Line (2005) and Benga + Coki's Night (2007) both received BBC radio play.

Newer songs took the emphasis further and developed the wobble bass- a sustained mid-range bass note, distorted into repetition for an entire signature. Rusko and Caspa popularized seminal tracks such as Coki's Spongebob (2007) and their own Cockney Thug and Louder (both 2007).

The drop and the chainsaw

Dubstep exploded in popularity after this, with producers taking the later aggressive sounds and ignoring its history. The drop, a percussive build up, pause and 'drop' of midrange bass, was also used minimally by Rusko in Woo Boost (2010), but became the focus of many dubstep singles, including Modestep's Sunlight (2011) or Doctor P's Tetris (2010). It's ubiquitous enough to be self-referential (2010). You'll notice there's less sub bass and percussion, relying mostly on mid range 'chainsaw'-esque drops and the half-kicks. This also has to do with the popularity of remixing drum and bass, such as Gold Dust (2010). Original.

Skrillex and the roots movement

Skrillex brought with him what many call brostep or electrostep because of its intent and purpose is completely different. Notice how the percussion might as well be four-to-the-floor, the disjointed sample-based bass and the rap (not grime) lyrics in Bangarang (2012). It's really good, but basically a house beat. See the popularity of Kill the Noise (2008) and Excision (2011) who produce massive songs somewhere between dubstep and electrohouse.

On the other hand, the last three years have seen a rise in 'traditional' dubstep. While the sound has far more 'wubs' than it would have in 2004, it retains the same atmospheric qualities- see the creepiness of SP:MC's Oh My Gosh (2010), the attention to sub-bass in J:Kenzo's Ruffhouse (2011). Dubstep has become international, with Japanese producers like Goth Trad (2011) or crossover like Mala in Cuba (2012). It's also evolved into post-dubstep, which includes the likes of James Blake and Mount Kimbie (both 2010).

Basically, there's something for everyone if you like bass! If you like the classic, deep stuff, Loefah and Vex'd are there for you. If you're planning a house party, SBTRKT and Rusko can help you out. Or Flux Pavilion and Datsik can go even harder. The unnerving can be found in LX One and Pinch, and the soundtrack to a long walk home in Burial and Four Tet. Try one today!