by other artists? is that not gangsta or something?

You got it!

Maybe cos most of them are crap ?!

Maybe cos most of them are crap ?!




not the old skool joints. i mean woudn't it be cool to see someone like jay z or the beastie boys cover planet rock??

A lot of old hip hop is full of samples, so you'd end up covering a cover in some instances if you don't bring a brand new beat to the table.

dancerella said:

The lack of original music has alot to do with it. Stil it does happen. Slick Rick has been covered/sampled more than a few times.

Didn't anyone hear Duran Duran's cover of "White Lines"? It was horrible. That's why non-rap acts shouldn't cover hip hop songs.

As for the reason why hip hop acts don't cover hip hop songs, rap is all about your lyrics and your flow. If you cover an old song and just recycle someone else's lyrics and delivery...what's the point?

The Vines covered "Ms. Jackson" by Outkast.

Nelly's "Hot in Herre" was covered by Beck, Coldplay, Tiga, Tufts Beelzebubs, King Virtue, Flip the Switch and Widespread Panic.

Duran Duran covered Public Enemy's "911 Is A Joke."

The Gourds (a BLUEGRASS group) covered Snoop Doggy Dogg's "Gin and Juice."

Phish and Keller Williams covered Sugarhill Gang's "Rappers Delight" and Sir Mix-a-lot's "Big Butts."

Fun Lovin' Criminals covered Eric B. & Rakim's "Microphone Fiend."

Staind & Limp Bizkit covered Public Enemy's "Bring The Noise."

Dynamic Hack covered Eazy-E's "Boyz N The Hood."

Mindless Self Indulgence covered Method Man's "Bring The Pain."

Then you have those countless rap/rock bands in the late '90s.

Also, there was the "Take A Bite Outta Rhyme: A Rock Tribute to Rap" compilation a few years back.



There's TONS more...
[Edited 10/13/04 14:59pm]

dancerella said:

And it is hard to steal something that has been stolen before... but most of it all, I think it says alot about the Strength of most of these songs..... (no strength that is)

OdysseyMiles said:

The Fugees sampled Enya's Boadicea, then Mario Wynan's sampled The Fugees who sampled Enya. He sampled the sample. It's getting crazy.

That has happened a lot.Several rock bands have covered hip hop tunes and ,of course,the def squad and snoop have covered other rapper's hits.

Its risky...
Cause you might get the sample approved from the group that sampled another group
but you didn't get the approval from the group who got sampled by the other group...
its a dangerous and confusing process
law suit waiting to happen
i think the biggest hip hop tragedy was when vanilla ice
Sampled Under PRessure, by bowie and queen...

and didn't some younger rappers redo Parents just don't understand for some soundtrack....and Bow wow sorta remade "basketball"...

I think in many, many cases, the artists mention their names (as well as others) along with a lot of refrences that date them. Not to mention the samples, which almost makes it like two covers.

dancerella said:

Because when they are, they turn a classic like La Di Da Di into a rambling mess like Snoop's LoDi DoDi. One of my least favorite remakes of all time.

"Follow the Leader" by Clinton & Co was pretty fun

MrSquiggle said:

But Mario got Enya's permission. The Fugees didn't and walked right into a lawsuit.

Check out these hip-hop songs covered by Tricky:

"Slick 66" (Slick Rick's "Children's Story")
"Black Steel" (Public Enemy)
"Bad Dreams" (Chill Rob G)
"Lyrics Of Fury" (Eric B & Rakim)


I think part of the reason rap songs aren't often covered is because the original lyrics usually contain self-referential rhyme schemes.
[Edited 10/14/04 15:45pm]

RipHer2Shreds said:

Oh no you didn't!

smokeverbs said:

Oh yeah I did. The original is classic and Snoop's version is awful.

Snoop redid "La di da di", "The Vapors" and BDP's "Material Love (love's gonna get cha)"
Foxy Brown redid Salt N'Pepa's "Tramp" I also heard MC Lyte's "Paperthin" redid by Bahamadia and a version by No Limits Mia X. who also redid "Salt N'Pepa's "I'll Take your man"

Didn't Foxy Brown remake "Rock The Bells" too?

[quote]Didn't Foxy Brown remake "Rock The Bells" too?




No way! did she really? was it horrible?

dancerella said:[quote]

It was actually really good...from her first album, Ill Na Na. It was called "Foxy's Bells"

okaypimpn said:

Yeah it was good

Yeah I couldn't remember how Foxy retitled it. The lyrics were modified. Jay-Z wrote 45% of the lyrics on Ill Na Na.

In 1997, a compilation of hip-hop artists covering classic songs was released called In Tha Beginning...There Was Rap. And I have to admit that even though the artists often didn't change the original production, it was interesting to hear which artists chose what songs, and hear them recite it. I like this disc.


Sucker M.C.'s / Wu Tang Clan
Fuck Tha Police / Bone Thugs N Harmony
Big Ole Butt / Puff Daddy
6 'N Tha Mornin' / Master P
Freaky Tales / Snoop Doggy Dogg
Knick Knack Patty Wack / Tha Dogg Pound
Rapper's Delight / Def Squad (Erick Sermon, Keith Murray, Redman)
I'm Still #1 / Cypress Hill
I Need a Freak / Too Short
Dopeman / Mack 10
Money (Dollar Bill Y'all) / Coolio
The Show / Roots

okaypimpn said:

I'm sorry 'dancerella' but I have to agree with 'okaypimpn'!