Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/02/21/alex-trebek-raps.html
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That was a good way to start my Tuesday.
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well, he IS a professional, after all.
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I was watching last night.
I cringed all through that category–not because of Mr. Trebeck, he was having fun and good on him. I was cringing at the examples of what is thought of as “rap” today, and how damn wack they all were.
Yes, I’m old.
Rap sucks now.
I’m screaming “purple tape” versus that whole pathetic category
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Drake isn’t great and I can understand why you might dislike Desiigner, but have you actually listened to any of the other artists quoted in this video? Good Kid, M.A.A.D City is widely considered to be one of the best hip-hop albums in decades, and while TLOP was divisive (I liked it), it’s hard to argue that Kanye West hasn’t had a massive influence on hip-hop and popular culture with every album he’s released.
Also everyone has wack bars. Don’t forget that Run-DMC once said “There’s three of us / But we’re not the Beatles”
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Don’t look now, but there’s kids on your lawn.
As much footage as there is of Trebek reading categories I wonder how many things you could remix him into saying/rhyming?
Could this Bee the birth of a new vein (coil?) of Youtube Poop?
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I don’t dispute that. But that is not incompatible with my view that Kanye is not much of a rapper. In an early–perhaps his first-- appearance on SNL, he was skipping words because he had no breath control, he was gasping for air. Pathetic, and yet nobody called him on it. Reminded me of The Emperor’s New Clothes. He’s popular, yes. Popular tastes tend towards the watered-down.
much like the Democrats in the US are still called “left” while the party is really “center-right”; with the majority of rap being so horrible, the mediocre is now considered good.
Kendrick is OK, sometimes they play him at work and I’ll hear something clever but I don’t know him well enough to argue a position. But whatever bit was quoted in the Jeopardy category, the lyrics in every clue seemed horrible. (I’ll grant finding a TV-friendly bar affected the choice, but consider the first verse of “Shook Ones Pt 2” is completely curse-free beyond one N-bomb, thousands of Native Tongue rhymes, etc.) Also, I’m usually put-off by the beats of modern stuff, which makes it not interesting enough to explore any lyrical bits, but that is admittedly a tangential issue.
oh yeah, I freely admitted I was old. the lawn has been trampled to death.
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we get it, everything was better in your day
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I don’t think that’s what was being said there, but the condescension is duly noted.
As another connoisseur, I have to concur that nowadays the best Hip Hop doesn’t get much (if any) radio play; and that the music that does get exposure is subpar Commercial Rap, with vacuous content and repetitive, unoriginal beats.
When people starting proclaiming Lil Wayne of all people was “the best rapper in the world,” I knew commercialism had taken over the genre.
But all hope isn’t lost; Missy Elliott and a few others out there are helping keep the spark alive…
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Yeah I agree with you that Kanye isn’t the best rapper, but he’s still a great artist due to his production skill. I don’t know how you can call him watered down though - look at Yeezus or 808s and Heartbreak. They were both panned by audiences when they were released but were years ahead of their time - music today wouldn’t sound the same without them.
You should definitely give Good Kid, M.A.A.D City a listen. A lot of Kendrick’s popular bangers like Backseat Freestyle or m.a.a.d city have lyrics and beats that seem like they’re horrible watered-down uncultured modern rap or whatever outside of the context of the album, but I promise that it all makes sense in the story and sequence of the album. The album has a really diverse sound that takes from older west coast styles as well as newer hip-hop sounds. I’d be surprised if you listened to it and you disliked all of it.
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Kanye’s egomania overshadows any actual talent he has, and it diminishes his status as a legit musical artist, IMO; he seems far more interested in getting attention than creating a body of work that will have longevity.
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You can find flow in the unlikeliest of places…
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This. 
Exactly why I don’t dance.
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If he calculates the time and effort, then follows through with efficiency, he could really go far on the Nerdcore scene.
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At least The Doctor has a chance of becoming a POC one day.
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