Hip Is The Knowledge Hop Is The Movement  {3  Stars}
349068
Marley Marl.  KRS One.  When you mentions those names in most hip hop circles, the reaction is going to one of VERY high regard 9 out of 10 times.  So, naturally, when one finds out that the two are going to collaborate to drop an LP, you are going to instinctively expect an album to top all albums.  I mean, if this album turned out to be even a tenth of what Kris' collabo with Premier (<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Return-of-the-Boom-Bap/dp/B000000509/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Return of the Boom Bap</a>), then it's a worthy release in my mind.  The results are mixed, but it's a solid release overall.  I don't think KRS has ever put out anything that was totally wack.  There are topics that are touched upon that you've heard Krs go over a million times, but they get done in a way that will keep your attention.  Then there are others that just come off kind of preachy but are solid enough in the production to keep you from skipping.

I think one of the obvious flaws is Kris constantly beating his chest on track after track.  I love KRS One.  I grew up on him.  I remember what I was doing the very day I heard "My Philosophy" for the first time (I mean to the exact hour) and lost my mind.  Dude is a legend without question.  This is why it's hard for me to say this, but I found a lot of what KRS had to say to be pretty repetitive.  I haven't been this disinterested in a KRS affiliated album since the&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Spiritual-Minded/dp/B00005UBNS/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Spiritual Minded</a>&nbsp;album.  Maybe disinterested is the wrong word.  I mean, the lyrics are still entertaining, but I guess what I'm getting at is that the replay value just isn't what you've come to expect from a legend like KRS...especially when he pairs up with another legend like Marley Marl.  On tracks like the aptly titled "Nothing New" Kris steps into the aforementioned braggart role and on "I Was There" KRS waxes nonstop about how long he's been around and how he was a witness to many, many milestones within hip hop culture.  The thing is, fans of KRS already know these things so a lot of this album sounds to me like he's preaching to the choir.  I noticed that a few reviewers were mostly unimpressed by the production from Marley, I pretty much loved it.  There are a few that miss the mark.  "Musika" sounds like a rehash of "Funky Child" but with way less appeal as the L.O.T.U.G. hit.

With all that being said, Hip Hop Lives is still worth looking into.  If you're like me and grew up on both KRS and Marley you'll find this joint quite enjoyable.  I'll always support KRS because he's never let me down and he supplied the beats and rhymes that were the soundtrack many of my summers.  Newer heads may find the production somewhat tired, but despite the hit and miss quality, I still like it.  I suggest you leave all expectations at the door and listen with open ears.

Standout Tracks: All Skool, Rising To The Top, The Teacha's Back, Hip Hop Lives (My Favorite), The Victory feat. Blaq Poet, and Kill A Rapper
4016931
this cd is good, not great. i definitely think they fell off after quality control, which is probably my second favorite hip hop cd of all time (after illmatic of course). the problem with power in numbers is that they got away from what made the great: easy, fun, good sounding party songs. the beats by cut chemist have been taken up a notch on a few tracks here (notably high fidelity, sum of us, i am somebody, and what's golden), but the lyrics have fallen. you cant go wrong with chali 2na, but i thought soup was just lackluster on this album. also, they have too many guest appearances, especially from people i don't want to hear on a j5 album. nelly furtado? whats that about? they should give gift of gab an appearance, because chali 2na and g.o.g. sound just ridiculous on 4000 miles. there were also a lot of tracks they could have kept off, filler that i find myself skipping, especially around the middle of the cd. all around, this cd was definitely not as good as quality control, but for the true jurassic 5 fans out there, still worth the money.
2428637
I heard this the first time in Hong Kong in 2004, so it isn't as new as the publication date in the States might suggest.

It's a pretty good collection of home-made European hip-hop stuff, lots of French and middle-Eastern influences (also some Dutch stuff from Suriname, I guess), ambient noise, musique concrete, snippets, cut-ups and samples.

The first three or four tracks are awesome, then it gets a bit iffy and picks up again nicely towards the end with a couple of really good tunes.

It's by no means horrible, but isn't a stunner all the way through. What's good is very good, but what's mediocre is, well, terribly mediocre.

Try it if you like "abstract" hip-hop and something cool and unusual.
Great for hipsters, arty types, vipers and dinner parties...
3611599
Dope beat and dope rhymes. It's nothing deep or revolutionary but you know what? I think it's pretty original with the concept lol clever wordplay too. Modo rides the beat well too. The flow is on point.
614820
Discovery has some really fine moments:Digital Love(probably their best track),Nightvision,Superheroes and High Life show Daft Punk at their creative best. The big hit One More Time is of course also very good,a true sing along.

But there are some tracks that are kind of a waste. Crescendolls,Face to Face and Too Long are just not good enough. Too Long is of course funny when you hear it the first time but it gets annoying after that.

Still,an above average dance album.
1854534
Positives: Young Nas had a pretty cool flow and a more basic style back in '94. The better tracks on the album are "The World Is Yours", "Memory Lane", & "Represent". Nas does show a lot of potential in this album but I wouldn't call it a classic by any means.
Negatives: I think the album is too basic and old school but I guess a lot of rap from six years ago could be described that way. The CD has only 10 tracks and is 40 minutes long so it's a little short. This album is not very good compared to "I Am", his 3rd album, but I heard this one last of his four. I might have thought more of this album if I'd heard it in '94.
4514490
I like this CD, and some of the tracks will become classic.  However, Macklemore is not the savior of rap.  He knows that somehow most of his reviewers don't. Rap does not need him; he is just bringing a new sound. If the only CD's you own is Eminem, the Beasties, and Vanilla Ice you are not a real hip hop fan.  Additionally, you do all the other artist an injustice.  Rap has room for diversity.  Yesterday I was listening to some German rap artist some of it was actually good but they no way transform the entire industry.  TuPac raped what he knew at the time, Ice cube and Ice T did as well.  It is not fair in retrospect to say what they were rapping was wrong.  That is like re-doing a Miles Davis classic.
There is room for Macklemore and artist such as Eminem even though he lost me a long time ago.  I'm ok with you comparing Macklemore to Eminem, Haystack, Vanilla Ice, the Beastie boys, Kid Rock, 3rd base, Insane Clowns.  Let Pac the GOAT rest in peace.
3201507
Hands down you can hate all you want, but you have to admit Kanye is one of the greatest. No one in the game since A Tribe Called Quest has experimented with music the way he has. On the Graduation project it is evident that he will continue to be a trendsetter and hip hop chemist. I love it. As for the people that have posted comments about how this project is not the same as College Dropout, look if everything sound the same all the time music would be boring. Have you ever heard of being diverse and eclectic?
2986079
This one is led by Cory, a red-haired, muscular guy who looks to have had taken dance classes. It's the usual non-decorated large room w/concrete floors. The lighting, camera & editing are good. There are two backup women who TRY to follow along, who I feel bad for. Cory only repeats new moves, only sometimes does some moves in 1/2 speed & only cues w/minimal words as possible. He doesn't ever actually explain anything. You'd have to be a dance student or be comfortable/know basic hip hop to do this, and I don't meant just other hip hop workout dvds.
Fairly in the beginning, after a couple hops, he turns & pops his knee 2x? w/extra step flourish. Never does he mention the pop in the knee, etc. to make it look cool, rather then just a simple, boring half turn. Several times the girls were lost & the girls couldn't do the knees pops either, they just did the best they could, sometimes even totally lost here & there. Cory seem more interested in showing off what he's learned then teaching.
724000
This is a dance tape, not really an instruction tape.  It begins with some standard aerobics moves that take a lot of room.  It then moves to more dance steps taught a little more slowly.  It's not staying in my collection for three reasons:  1.)  It's impossible to do these routines unless you have a clear eight by ten space.  You can't do this in the space where you might do a step workout, yoga or pilates.  2.)  This is a relatively difficult set of dance steps.  (Which might be a positive, not a negative for some folks.)  3.)  These are not the kind of routines you can do in more conventional dance settings.  In recent years, hip hop and bellydance have garnered more interest from the general public because there are people teaching those particular forms of dance in ways that can be done in the small, socially conventional 2 by 2 space of a dance floor.

These are very well done, floor eating dance routines that can't be used like that.

Having said all of that, if you have a drill team, cheerleaders, drama club, or church group where large scale performances of more modern hip hop dance could be useful, and your students have some prior dance experience, this might be a go-to tape for practice. It's easy to watch, and well made.
3149863
HEY POP SOUL PIONEERS, NOT A BAD DISC BUT MY TRUE GRADE WOULD BE 3.5 !
4219703
d'cruze has been around in the hardcore and jungle scenes for years. You  can find some of his early work on the *cheesy* moonshine speed limit discs  - you know, the fast-paced, sped-up vocals of early hardcore. This album,  representing his first solo effort, is much better. My favcorite songs are  "free format", "come back", and "jazz dance".  I only gave the album 3 stars (wish there was a 3 1/2) due to slow parts in  various songs - the beat will be kickin' and then suddenly everything will  fade and leave you waiting for more action. This is NOT good for jungle.  Some of the songs are kinda boring too - such as freedom. However, if you'd  like a few good songs that represent well the early formations of techstep,  then pick this up.
3939580
I expected more from this CD knowing that City High were protogees of Wyclef Jean and the comparisons made between the group and The Fugees. Rest assured, this group is not The Fugees. Yes, there are some great songs on the album. Of course there's the huge hit What Would You Do? I'm also a big fan of Wyclef and his songs are incredible, particularly 15 Will Get You 20. However, many of the songs just sound too much alike. They have great beats and interesting lyrics but the music itself isn't experimental and tends to blend together. Where's the talent displayed by Wyclef when melding R&B, hip-hop and raggae? Anyway, for a first effort it's not bad, but I was expecting more!
210851
This album wasn't bad at all. I personally feel it was a step up from inspiration, which wasn't bad, but not great either.  It's a certified head bopper, and I can actually listen to every track except for the little "go-go song" boo..  But other than that I enjoy this cd very much.  And I sincerely hope he continues to make good music like this and **THUG MOTIVATION 101 (BEST)!
667364
Soulf Food and Still Standing are both outstanding and important albums in hiphop. Through those albums Goodie Mobb rapped about the political and social struggles of urban life with great convinction and understanding and  mostly power. They, like Oustkast, were voices that were dying to be heard  and made known by any means necessary.  With World Party it as though  Goodie Mobb as for now abandoned what made them so dynamic. Don't get me  wrong the album is good and it has a few healthy treats and banging beats  but the message has gotten lost somewhere in that. Its true we all must  take a break from the strain of the day and hassils and have a little fun  but with all the melodramatic, monotonuos garbage that is filling hiphop  radios. Its no time to party.
4686367
The dollar bin is exactly where I stumbled upon this album at a local used record store. I figured it was worth a shot, and honestly it's not bad considering I had pretty low expectations. The group mostly has nice flows, which is probably the strongest aspect of the album. The beats are hit and miss-overall decent, but it feels like they tried too hard to make something catchy and accessible. This appeal to accessibility also shows up in the lyrics, which makes the overall vibe feel kind of contrived. Braggadocios, feel-good rap with some attempts at having a harder/club sound peppered in, but none of it's very believable. There's also a few religious undertones are thrown into the mix. Honestly, this feels a bit like a hip hop group that formed out of an suburban church youth group. They have energy and a little bit of promise, but it's just difficult to take too seriously, and the album lacks a level of skill and refinement that would make it more worthy.

Whether you'll like it or not will depend on what kind of hip hop you're into. If you're not picky or you're relatively new to the genre, you'll probably dig it for being a contrast to more negative and materialist mainstream acts. But if you're a hip hop veteran or have more refined taste in music, you might not want to waste your time with this one. As mentioned, the flows are pretty decent and some of the beats are well done. It's not too bad, but it's also nothing special. It's basically just really good dollar bin rap. Respect is due to Natural Habitz for bringing something positive and somewhat unique to the table though.
3718807
This is not really mainstream but some of the beats are suspects some of these songs are pretty smooth rap songs on this album it is a half and half album it is pretty cool sometimes. The Top songs are "Headstrong","Rub my Back",

"Hush","Shake it baby" and "Can't Explain it"

Lyrics-7/10 Production-6/10 X Factor-6/10 Classic-7/10 Replay-7

Total=6.5 out of 10 Fingers