Why are Dilated Peoples so hopeless?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Well?

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Sunday, 9 May 2004 23:21 (twenty-one years ago)

there is nothing they can say that hasn't already been said. no hook not already hooked. no def jam not already blighted by hedonistic wasps. this is true of a great many bands tho so to single them out seems unfair.

― stevem (blueski), Sunday, 9 May 2004 23:26 (twenty-one years ago)

probably because they can't write a goddamn song to save their lives.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 10 May 2004 00:14 (twenty-one years ago)

(that they didn't crib from somewhere else. and then make anemic.)

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 10 May 2004 00:15 (twenty-one years ago)

"i know, let's take 'get by' and make it even more hookless, bloodless, and preachy."

"great idea, raka!"

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 10 May 2004 00:15 (twenty-one years ago)

that said, "work the angles" is still hot as far as premier rips go.

― strongo hulkington (dubplatestyle), Monday, 10 May 2004 00:16 (twenty-one years ago)

oo bile! dilated are meh alright and probly the least deserving of er those deserving the transparent agenda strawmanship seen here thus. and i still like 'the platform'! and babu has the most signature scratching ever! and they always somehow manage ok choruses! ok so:

1 make shocking! blanket! diss! 2 show Knowledgeable superior lineage (aka Hard Fact) 3 sprinkle conciliatory nugget to reveal i. actually not a shocking! blanket! diss! but considered thinking ii. author is a conflicted bleeding human not a dullbot 5000

(this is an excellent recipe and i have fed well on it myself many a time)

― prima fassy (mwah), Monday, 10 May 2004 00:38 (twenty-one years ago)

They've had some great beats in the past, but as mc's they've never been able come close to doing them justice.

― Jordan (Jordan), Monday, 10 May 2004 00:42 (twenty-one years ago)

also dom i thought u liked phi life cipher?! what the diff

― prima fassy (mwah), Monday, 10 May 2004 00:44 (twenty-one years ago)

none of their songs are *about* anything, the closest they've come was that one on the platform that recounted the timeline of the group but frustratingly elided all the juicy details. they're practically experts at wasting great beats, alchemist and kanye etc. they need to spend less time explaining rakkaa's name and the whole dilated/expanding "themes." also evidence really overdoes his "duh dah duh dah duh dAAAAh" emphases, even more than k "check the clever endrhyme" west.

frustrating because they should be great. babu is top notch of course.

― .rob (rgeary), Monday, 10 May 2004 04:46 (twenty-one years ago)

better than Jurrassic 5 at least

― christhamrin (christhamrin), Monday, 10 May 2004 05:48 (twenty-one years ago)

They're not THAT bad. I think they're at least deserving of being one of the most recognised backpacker groups. There are plenty of acts around that are waaaay more po-faced, have less hooks, less flow and less ideas.

Given, there is no way I'd listen to any of their albums without skipping, but they've got a few decent singles, most of which work better in a mix or on headphones than they do as stand-alone pieces for radio play.

― Jacob (Jacob), Monday, 10 May 2004 05:56 (twenty-one years ago)

At least Jurrasic 5 have made some attempt at differentiating themselves from all other conscious hip-hop. It's like Dilated Peoples set out to be hip-hop's Brand X.

― Sym (shmuel), Monday, 10 May 2004 06:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Though that "Third Eye Vision" song is pretty great.

― Sym (shmuel), Monday, 10 May 2004 06:28 (twenty-one years ago)

they're okay (and i do mean just okay, inoffensive, not great) by me, simply down to babu. as fassy says there's plenty worthy of far greater critical spanking.

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Monday, 10 May 2004 09:18 (twenty-one years ago)

My favourite moment on "The Platform" is when one of the rappers says "it's about communication, not of rappers' egos", and then on the rest of the album they rap about nothing but their skills. What happened to the communication part? It's kinda sad, I like their flows, if only they had something to say.

Also, Dilated Peoples' beats are way too polished and wanna-be-old-school. They don't irritate you, but they aren't particularly memorable, either. Actually, DP as a whole is like the rap version of easy listening: good for background music, but you shouldn't pay too much attention to it.

Those who aren't afraid Euro-rap should try the Swedish crew Looptroop. They're kinda like DP, but they have better, more angular beats, and some lyrical substance as well.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Monday, 10 May 2004 09:39 (twenty-one years ago)

easy: can't rap.

― r6qe56, Monday, 10 May 2004 09:43 (twenty-one years ago)

none of their songs are *about* anything

::eyeroll::

But yeah they're def inconsistent, "This Way" sucks outside of Kanye's verse, they are mediocre rappers...props to DJ Babu, though, who is the man.

― djdee2005, Monday, 10 May 2004 13:00 (twenty-one years ago)

::eyeroll::

haha djd, yeah that sounds all rockist, didn't mean it to be. what i meant was that they fill entire albums with what should be first verses of a good battle rhyme, and stop there. tuomas nailed it actually. i mean, c'mon, the platform didn't even have a song about LA if i recall correctly? that seems like a no-brainer, even jurassic 5 cover that.

i'm not saying they have to get all conceptual, just pick a topic for the song occasionally.

tuomas, i'll see if i can find some looptroop. what language do they rap in?

― .rob (rgeary), Monday, 10 May 2004 15:20 (twenty-one years ago)

English, and though it's obvious it's not their mother tongue, they don't sound as bad as you'd think. Try searching for "Bandit Queen" or "The Long Arm of the Law" for some nice tunes.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Monday, 10 May 2004 15:32 (twenty-one years ago)

They're painfully bland. "Worst Comes To Worst" is kind of an awesome song for the beat, but I've never heard anything else worth listening to from them.

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Monday, 10 May 2004 15:47 (twenty-one years ago)

It seems to me like they're somewhat able yet completely uncharismatic rappers who aren't nearly as passionate about many of the things they rap about as they should be to be rapping about them. Babu, however, is pure fucking gold. Didn't he come out with an album of his own awhile back?

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 10 May 2004 15:57 (twenty-one years ago)

didn't "Worst Come To Worst" come out at around the same time as Luda's "Growing Pains"? It had that really sorta aching mildness that's only really possible w/coffee-table stuff.

― etc, Monday, 10 May 2004 21:29 (twenty-one years ago)

that hip hop for hip hop's sake shit is sooooo tired. Dilated are about as exciting as Blazhay Blazhay.

― angel duster, Tuesday, 11 May 2004 03:16 (twenty-one years ago)

babu is the deal. 2 commerically available mixtapes. Duck Season vol1 and 2. i have heard vol 1 and love it far more that the new DP album, not heard Duck Season vol2.
neighbourhood watch was pleasant enuff though the attempts to sound mean/hard didn't sit well ..

― mark e (mark e), Tuesday, 11 May 2004 08:13 (twenty-one years ago)

eight years pass...

completely forgot about this group until just now. i think of them as backpacker crap that's supposed to make you feel cultured and intelligent when you listen to their lyrics, but i remember just feeling that they were really bland and the lyrics were boring. saw them back in '99 and my friend was convinced they were throwing out weed to the audience. I think they were actually throwing out little figurines of their stickman-with-an-eyeball-for-a-head logo.

― Poliopolice, Friday, 24 August 2012 04:59 (thirteen years ago)

they were always lame rappers but they had some beats tho.

― The Reverend, Friday, 24 August 2012 05:19 (thirteen years ago)

Worst comes to worst beat is all time classic flip of I forgot to be your lover

― Jandek at the Disco (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 24 August 2012 06:25 (thirteen years ago)

that hip hop for hip hop's sake shit is sooooo tired. Dilated are about as exciting as Blazhay Blazhay.

― angel duster, Monday, May 10, 2004 10:16 PM (8 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Wtf danger is classic
Ilx lets all jack each other off feeling superior to backpack rap era was so lame

― Jandek at the Disco (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Friday, 24 August 2012 06:26 (thirteen years ago)

narcissism of small difs

― A True White Kid that can Jump (Granny Dainger), Friday, 24 August 2012 06:35 (thirteen years ago)

Ilx lets all jack each other off feeling superior to backpack rap era was so lame

every thread on ilm is people jerking each other off.

"isn't steely dan so great?"
"oh yeah, steely dan fuckin' rules bro."
"i love steely dan, especially their first 22 albums."

― Poliopolice, Friday, 24 August 2012 14:34 (thirteen years ago)

five months pass...

"Yo I bring flows more rare than black quarterbacks."

Uh...

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, 24 January 2013 20:37 (twelve years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.