"Kind of defeats the purpose to give one man credit when he himself has others to thank for his own
style no?"

how do you figure that? If everyone pays credit to those they sampled/imitated, everyone gets their
fair share of dues. It's only when some clown like Lil Wayne comes along and convinces a bunch of
kids he is the "best rapper alive" because he jacked a bunch of styles of artists they
aren't old enough to hear, that makes him filthy rich and leaves those original artists practically
starving.

If he woulda gave them credit, people woulda known he was kinda a hack. Similarly Kendrick has
international audiences convinced he has some kind of revolutionary delivery when its basically run
of the mill to people familiar with LA undeground rap. He doesn't give credit because if he
gives credit, he seems less impressive, thats biting.

Album Rating: 3.0

I figure that because giving credit to someone who should be giving their credit to someone who should be giving their credit to someone who should be giving their credit to someone etc. is an exponential nightmare and so fucking stupid. It is hard to trace who originated anything, and people like you are incredibly biased and will demonize any mainstream rapper as having "stolen" their style from even the slightest of similarities between them and predecessors/ contemporaries. Eminem, who you laud so highly, was the subject of ridicule waay back in the day because everyone said that on "Infinite" he sounded like a Nas rip-off when he sounded zero, absolutely zero like Nas.

Album Rating: 3.0

I figure that because giving credit to someone who should be giving their credit to someone who should be giving their credit to someone who should be giving their credit to someone etc. is an exponential nightmare and so fucking stupid. It is hard to trace who originated anything, and people like you are incredibly biased and will demonize any mainstream rapper as having "stolen" their style from even the slightest of similarities between them and predecessors/ contemporaries. Eminem, who you laud so highly, was the subject of ridicule waay back in the day because everyone said that on "Infinite" he sounded like a Nas rip-off when he sounded zero, absolutely zero like Nas.

Album Rating: 3.0

I see accusations of "biting" as nothing but pithy, unfair ways to discredit MCs

*sigh* I suppose youre right. An art form which has been reduced to vibrant sexism, gang violence, drug flaunting and debauchery is too senseless of an art to ever hope to have standards.

"I figure that because giving credit to someone who should be giving their credit to someone who
should be giving their credit to someone who should be giving their credit to someone etc. is an
exponential nightmare and so fucking stupid. "

How is it any different than what people do to cite their sources for a paper/article? What is
stupid about getting credit for your work? Anyway biting isn't really about giving credit, its about
having the integrity to not take someone's art and run with it. If you don't care about integrity,
thats your deal, but don't act like there isn't a well known in tradition of hip hop to despise
biters, and don't act like its too hard to tell who is biting and who isn't- so we should just throw
our hands up and let everyone steal each others style.

Have you even heard Ellay Khule, King Crooked or Eligh? There isn't just a slight similarity, he
steals one of their three styles on every track hes made. Don't ask me who he bites, then tell me I
have a bias when you haven't even heard the examples I just gave to you.

"I see accusations of "biting" as nothing but pithy, unfair ways to discredit MCs"

I see you making excuses for plagiarism in hip hop and ignoring the criteria I already explained for
biting. Eminem doesn't bite, he pays tribute. We've already been over this.

Album Rating: 3.0

That's not what I'm saying, Negator. I don't care about the subject matter of any hip hop, if it's dope i'll listen to it regardless. Hip hop is most of what I listen to. And LambsBread, I think you're missing what I'm saying entirely. Hip hop and where a style/ particular method of delivery/ etc. came from isn't concrete, it isn't fair to just say "oh he was the first to do it he deserves credit a 100%". It's not as easy as a term paper where you can look up a scholastic article on some library database and pin point where a particular tid-bit of information came from. Now I heard Ellay Khule, I have to say he's amazing, but I don't think the similarity is just as pronounced as you think it is. Even if it was (keeping in mind he has been rapping since '88), who's to say with a 100% certainty that his particular way of rapping wasn't influenced by a more obscure predecessor that we don't know about? And that's the same kind of confirmation bias I am referring to. Not only was Em being accused of ripping off Nas, but also some lesser well known guy called Cage. Your own bias effectively dispels any notions Em might have stolen from other dudes, while with others you will say "yeah he's a hack" with no consideration of the contrary.

I'm not saying you need to give a shoutout to every artist who you conceivably may sound similar to.
But when you write a rap, most people know if what they are doing is biting or not. I get the
feeling Kendrick knows he is unfairly recycling styles, and not giving anyone the credit who he
knows deserves it. But Em actually pays tribute to Nas and I think he even admitted his style was
taken from Nas on Infinite. I've never heard Kendrick pay tribute to anyone.

I'm not saying I know for sure, but in my opinion Kendrick bites and Eminem doesn't. I guess I
shouldn't act like there is a scientific formula to determine if someone is biting, but in my mind
people like Joey Badass are such obvious Jay-Z/AZ knock offs that you have to draw the line
somewhere.

I will admit it was exaggerating saying Kendrick took 1/3 of their styles, that was just dumb, but
he doesn't give the LA underground enough credit for the style he has become filthy rich using.

Btw check out Rifleman's (Ellay Khule's) song "reflex", its on spotify, holy shit

Album Rating: 3.0

Yeah I can agree with that. I just don't like how calling someone a biter has suddenly become hip hop

McCarthyism, discrediting certain dudes who are very young and haven't molded or figured out their own style

yet. Some guys do get that "biter" label a bit unfairly, while others do deserve it. Ellay Khule is

incredible dude. Thanks for the rec. I'll check out the other guys as well.

Album Rating: 2.5

I just don't like how calling someone a biter has suddenly become hip hop

McCarthyism



uhh...no, in modern culture that term being used is "hater", "biter" is nowhere near as common tbh

Album Rating: 2.5

eams tbh

Album Rating: 3.0

"biter" is just as annoying and unfounded when used as a label against certain people, even if less prevalent

Album Rating: 3.0

yes one does not simply stop a pointless flame war

Album Rating: 3.0

I've commented on this thread to death already, but I'd like to point out those drums on "Sing About Me" were on Nas's Still Dreaming almost 6 years beforehand.

you all are fucking stupid talking about music on sputnikmusic.com, jump back in the bucket with the rest of us crabs!!

fuck yea dude Ellay Khule is the shit. have you heard Holy Scriptures yet? its his best album i've
heard

im finna spit on yung jedi that instrumental right up my alley

listened to this album and felt like i'd heard it a hundred times before, agree with aziz.

and lambsbread you sound like the biggest backpacker lel
"A good example of a biting MC, I think, is Kendrick Lamar. He has bitten many artists from the LA
underground that the international audiences have never even heard of. It would be one thing if he
ever gave them any credit or tributes, but he doesn't. That's biting."

do you actually have anything to back this up? kendrick's early stuff was very obviously influenced
by lil wayne's style, not "underground LA artists."

Album Rating: 3.0

as i listen to this more and more, i find myself agreeing more with the reviewer's line of reasoning. honestly he tried so hard to make this a classic album by copying other classic albums

Album Rating: 3.0

but for what it's worth, there's still plenty of straight good music here