5,000 Posts! 500 Threads! A Short History of The Essence. Favourite Threads and Why?

[renagade410.]

Post of the year by far........

Underground Hip Hop for me is more than just music. It might sound crazy but it saved my life. To keep a long story short i started out with reflections eternal train of thought and it really just opened my eyes. I saw life in a completly different manner, life wasnt just all about what majority of mainstream rappers were saying. This was back in about 2005 so i had ALOT of catching up to do. That kept me in the house and out of trouble that was happening all too frequent.

As far as the essence i have been lurking since 2004 and posting since 2005. It definitely has fell off in the sense of quantity of posters but the quality is still here. I have found numerous artist from here and have put people onto numerous artist as well....thats the beauty of the essence. Hopefully i can draw more posters in, everybody always ask where do i go to find new music and of course i say the essence. Only problem is trying to get people to get on their computer for more than just facebook lol. But all in all im glad that there is life still in the essence...there have been may of times i thought it was dead completely but thankfully its came back. A HUGE part of that is thanks to you eloquent/kenna/ruffdraft(i think those were all the names you had)

props on this thread and props on being the soul of the essence, alot more people than u think really appreciate having this forum....posters and lurkers

 

[traestar]

Well definitely those Playlists of the month and various mixtapes gives the visiting viewer a taste of what the independent/underground hip hop culture is all about. So if someone who has been constantly viewing the pages and want to know what its all about, they can listen for themselves.

The Essense is really what I feel is a domain that separates from the rest of the forum, because you don't get those same ignorant posters that flood the Reason.

I'd say for everybody to keep doing what you do right now, and I'm gonna continue to find those newest tracks!!!

~Traestar

 

[RuffDraft]

Post of the year by far........

Underground Hip Hop for me is more than just music. It might sound crazy but it saved my life. To keep a long story short i started out with reflections eternal train of thought and it really just opened my eyes. I saw life in a completly different manner, life wasnt just all about what majority of mainstream rappers were saying. This was back in about 2005 so i had ALOT of catching up to do. That kept me in the house and out of trouble that was happening all too frequent.

As far as the essence i have been lurking since 2004 and posting since 2005. It definitely has fell off in the sense of quantity of posters but the quality is still here. I have found numerous artist from here and have put people onto numerous artist as well....thats the beauty of the essence. Hopefully i can draw more posters in, everybody always ask where do i go to find new music and of course i say the essence. Only problem is trying to get people to get on their computer for more than just facebook lol. But all in all im glad that there is life still in the essence...there have been may of times i thought it was dead completely but thankfully its came back. A HUGE part of that is thanks to you eloquent/kenna/ruffdraft(i think those were all the names you had)

props on this thread and props on being the soul of the essence, alot more people than u think really appreciate having this forum....posters and lurkers

Man, I started out with the same album, just a few years earlier than you… what an album!! It was the first that I really just had the booklet in my hand the whole time just reading Kweli's lyrics and just snapping my neck to the Hi-Tek's beats. Unbelievable and yeah, like you, I started lurking The Essence until 2004. It's great that hip hop kept you inside and occupied happily… so many people without a passion are driven to bull shit, which is a shame.

Yeah it has in terms of quantity, but to be honest, we must have around 20 regular posters now; I won't list them, but they know who they are… that's not a bad number for a years worth of posting, I'm hoping my new signature will drive people here as much as the threads that we have here will turn the lurkers into posters… but like you say, the true beauty of The Essence is the discovery of so many new artists that we've recently discovered and sharing them. Like I think Traestar did for me with Knonam.

I hope so, I hope lurkers enjoy it as much as we do… it makes the constant posting much more worthwhile lol. But thanks and as much as I may slaughter this forum with posts, it's nothing without the rest of the posters here… who know and share just as much as I do with their posts and contributions… I used to think this sub-forum was becoming like my blog because nobody would be posting but me; but that's no longer the case now… it's great that so many people are here and are posting frequently and the knowledge that you and others like Traestar have on the underground is great for us… appreciate it massively because I don't have anyone in my local area who likes this music I love… so it's definitely my outlet too.

Well definitely those Playlists of the month and various mixtapes gives the visiting viewer a taste of what the independent/underground hip hop culture is all about. So if someone who has been constantly viewing the pages and want to know what its all about, they can listen for themselves.

The Essense is really what I feel is a domain that separates from the rest of the forum, because you don't get those same ignorant posters that flood the Reason.

I'd say for everybody to keep doing what you do right now, and I'm gonna continue to find those newest tracks!!!

~Traestar

Yeah, I think the Playlists of the month are a really good way for lurkers to get into the underground; it is definitely one of the best things we have done over the years…

Yeah, that's what I never want to happen here… it's why I'm really sharp on self-promotion threads because I don't want us to lose what The Essence is and become Roc Tha Mic.

Much appreciated Trae, you're always searching and finding gems!!

 

[Lou Cypher]

Im still relatively new. Essence is my favorite forum tho. i like discussing the Indie hip hop scene and discover new rappers on the come up.

 

[RuffDraft]

Im still relatively new. Essence is my favorite forum tho. i like discussing the Indie hip hop scene and discover new rappers on the come up.

Props Lou, great to see you posting regularly too :tu

What are your favourite threads? How did you discover The Essence?

 

[Lou Cypher]

Im a lot like renagade tho. the first underground album i bought was Royce Da 5'9" Death is Certain. While i still feel its a "Gangster" album, it really is different from all the other gangster albums. i felt pain and anger out of it and it was just too real. that made me look for EVERYTHING associated with hip hop, i went thru my Necro/Horrorcore phase, my back packer/Talib phase then my graffitti punch line/qn5 phase. I still love all these artists (not so much necro anymore but he is a DOPE producer) so now its just a combination of everything i listen to. i would stay in my house for the entire winter and download music all day. Listen to 3 new albums a day, then find some more. I would go over the bandwidth limit by 500$ a month and my parents would flip out on me haha. Since then i download any album from any artist ive seen featured on a song by a diff artist or is associated with an artist i do know. really since 13 it just kind of took over my life haha, ive gone thru 3 computers downloading music. got a 60 GB ipod full and workin on gettin my 80 GB ipod full.

Made me realize what i want to go to school for also, be a concert promoter, own my own little concert company. since i cant rap or anything =/ lol.

 

[Lou Cypher]

Eh im a stoner i cant remember too many threads, i forget what threads i post in so i never get answers to questions i had haha. I usually am on this website while im at work so the youtube links and all that dont work, but i love how we have threads for upcoming albums. like anticipation threads, How you made the Phonte thread and you update the first post with the most recent news. thats real dope.

and i discovered this place cuz the link in my sig was to a forum i posted at since i was 12 but it recently shut down. i needed a new place to discuss hip hop and i was a frequent visitor to AHH and SOHH so i decided to see what the ill community was like. i knew it would have loads of idiots from the comments on news stories but i found this little forum and its the one i visit most often

 

[RuffDraft]

Im a lot like renagade tho. the first underground album i bought was Royce Da 5'9" Death is Certain. While i still feel its a "Gangster" album, it really is different from all the other gangster albums. i felt pain and anger out of it and it was just too real. that made me look for EVERYTHING associated with hip hop, i went thru my Necro/Horrorcore phase, my back packer/Talib phase then my graffitti punch line/qn5 phase. I still love all these artists (not so much necro anymore but he is a DOPE producer) so now its just a combination of everything i listen to. i would stay in my house for the entire winter and download music all day. Listen to 3 new albums a day, then find some more. I would go over the bandwidth limit by 500$ a month and my parents would flip out on me haha. Since then i download any album from any artist ive seen featured on a song by a diff artist or is associated with an artist i do know. really since 13 it just kind of took over my life haha, ive gone thru 3 computers downloading music. got a 60 GB ipod full and workin on gettin my 80 GB ipod full.

Made me realize what i want to go to school for also, be a concert promoter, own my own little concert company. since i cant rap or anything =/ lol.

Dope post :tu I'm the same as you in terms of downloading (116GB's and Runnin', thank God it's unlimited), that said, I do own over 200 albums as well; so I support as much as I can on the ones I enjoy.

It's great that you're a digger though, I think we all are once we reach The Essence; it's great to discuss and find new artists and feeling that fresh new vibe that you haven't heard before… doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's worth the effort.

Be a great idea to promote your own concerts though! I know there's definitely an opening for that… but definitely need to be wise with how you handle your business… concerts have a lot of b/s that goes along with them, including money issues and broken promises as you probably well know...

Eh im a stoner i cant remember too many threads, i forget what threads i post in so i never get answers to questions i had haha. I usually am on this website while im at work so the youtube links and all that dont work, but i love how we have threads for upcoming albums. like anticipation threads, How you made the Phonte thread and you update the first post with the most recent news. thats real dope.

and i discovered this place cuz the link in my sig was to a forum i posted at since i was 12 but it recently shut down. i needed a new place to discuss hip hop and i was a frequent visitor to AHH and SOHH so i decided to see what the ill community was like. i knew it would have loads of idiots from the comments on news stories but i found this little forum and its the one i visit most often

hahaha that has to be one of the funniest posts I've read in time lol. A lil tip though, if you click on your name, you can view your posts that you've posted under 'view forum posts'. That may help your stoner head out :tu lol. That's dope, I like anticipation threads too, I'm going to make another in a minute when I get chance… thanks though, I try to keep the same thread circulating and becoming the official thread, it really helps to make our threads grow and is also a thread that encompasses the anticipation, the first listen and future listen comments, which are all great to look back on.

That's dope, so just by clicking in The Essence when you was perusing the Reason? I always wonder how many click out of curiosity.

 

[Lou Cypher]

Dope post :tu I'm the same as you in terms of downloading (116GB's and Runnin', thank God it's unlimited), that said, I do own over 200 albums as well; so I support as much as I can on the ones I enjoy.

It's great that you're a digger though, I think we all are once we reach The Essence; it's great to discuss and find new artists and feeling that fresh new vibe that you haven't heard before… doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's worth the effort.

Be a great idea to promote your own concerts though! I know there's definitely an opening for that… but definitely need to be wise with how you handle your business… concerts have a lot of b/s that goes along with them, including money issues and broken promises as you probably well know...

hahaha that has to be one of the funniest posts I've read in time lol. A lil tip though, if you click on your name, you can view your posts that you've posted under 'view forum posts'. That may help your stoner head out :tu lol. That's dope, I like anticipation threads too, I'm going to make another in a minute when I get chance… thanks though, I try to keep the same thread circulating and becoming the official thread, it really helps to make our threads grow and is also a thread that encompasses the anticipation, the first listen and future listen comments, which are all great to look back on.

That's dope, so just by clicking in The Essence when you was perusing the Reason? I always wonder how many click out of curiosity.

haha well i read the little definition under the essence talking about "True Hip Hop" so i knew thats where i needed to be

 

[RuffDraft]

haha well i read the little definition under the essence talking about "True Hip Hop" so i knew thats where i needed to be

Hahaha fair play…

 

[traestar]

Man, I started out with the same album, just a few years earlier than you… what an album!! It was the first that I really just had the booklet in my hand the whole time just reading Kweli's lyrics and just snapping my neck to the Hi-Tek's beats. Unbelievable and yeah, like you, I started lurking The Essence until 2004. It's great that hip hop kept you inside and occupied happily… so many people without a passion are driven to bull shit, which is a shame.

Yeah it has in terms of quantity, but to be honest, we must have around 20 regular posters now; I won't list them, but they know who they are… that's not a bad number for a years worth of posting, I'm hoping my new signature will drive people here as much as the threads that we have here will turn the lurkers into posters… but like you say, the true beauty of The Essence is the discovery of so many new artists that we've recently discovered and sharing them. Like I think Traestar did for me with Knonam.

I hope so, I hope lurkers enjoy it as much as we do… it makes the constant posting much more worthwhile lol. But thanks and as much as I may slaughter this forum with posts, it's nothing without the rest of the posters here… who know and share just as much as I do with their posts and contributions… I used to think this sub-forum was becoming like my blog because nobody would be posting but me; but that's no longer the case now… it's great that so many people are here and are posting frequently and the knowledge that you and others like Traestar have on the underground is great for us… appreciate it massively because I don't have anyone in my local area who likes this music I love… so it's definitely my outlet too.

Yeah, I think the Playlists of the month are a really good way for lurkers to get into the underground; it is definitely one of the best things we have done over the years…

Yeah, that's what I never want to happen here… it's why I'm really sharp on self-promotion threads because I don't want us to lose what The Essence is and become Roc Tha Mic.

Much appreciated Trae, you're always searching and finding gems!!

*sheds tear* lol

seriously I've never got anyone that has shouted me out like that, Thank you very much!

The knowledge that I have about underground hip hop came from hip hop artists
If it wasn't for J-Live, Omega Johnson, Oddisee, Trek Life, Zion I, Tanya Morgan, Nicolay, Jarobi of ATCQ, and many more artists, I wouldn't have learned about different artists in addition to listening to their tour/album stories. Forums are straight underrated, especially former Spitkickers forum and Okayplayer forum, in which I believe still holds many different Mcs and producers on there. I know there's many more like SOHH and what not, but other than those and this forum, you could definitely learn alot from forums.

 

[RuffDraft]

*sheds tear* lol

seriously I've never got anyone that has shouted me out like that, Thank you very much!

The knowledge that I have about underground hip hop came from hip hop artists
If it wasn't for J-Live, Omega Johnson, Oddisee, Trek Life, Zion I, Tanya Morgan, Nicolay, Jarobi of ATCQ, and many more artists, I wouldn't have learned about different artists in addition to listening to their tour/album stories. Forums are straight underrated, especially former Spitkickers forum and Okayplayer forum, in which I believe still holds many different Mcs and producers on there. I know there's many more like SOHH and what not, but other than those and this forum, you could definitely learn alot from forums.

Haha, don't worry about it… you do have extensive knowledge on some more under-the-radar artists… has Knonam released anything since???

How do you converse with those though? Is it through Twitter? And yeah, forums are incredible, they'll always be one of the best places to meet and discuss a topic.

The IllCommunity has everything though to me, it has the fools who act a fool in the right forums (Donkey), Grown up issues discussed light-heartedly (G&S/Powder Room), Computer games (The Arcade), hell, the I.C. even got me into comics. So I really like this for those reasons, I don't always discuss hip hop here, which other forums sometimes don't offer. I do want to take a look at Okayplayer soon though…

 

[rip.dilla]

I LOVE my Madlib thread and my occasional playlists

 

[RuffDraft]

I LOVE my Madlib thread and my occasional playlists

Hahahahahaha you smoking again Dilla or you just being honest about how great your threads are? LOL. I love that Madlib thread too and your playlists :tu You really rep the Essence Essentials section :tu

 

[traestar]

Haha, don't worry about it… you do have extensive knowledge on some more under-the-radar artists… has Knonam released anything since???

How do you converse with those though? Is it through Twitter? And yeah, forums are incredible, they'll always be one of the best places to meet and discuss a topic.

The IllCommunity has everything though to me, it has the fools who act a fool in the right forums (Donkey), Grown up issues discussed light-heartedly (G&S/Powder Room), Computer games (The Arcade), hell, the I.C. even got me into comics. So I really like this for those reasons, I don't always discuss hip hop here, which other forums sometimes don't offer. I do want to take a look at Okayplayer soon though…

twitter and facebook has become the new converse device, we just made a Google+ circle

And yea I.C. is like an university, so many different buildings, and departments!
Okayplayer should be still going strong.

 

[rip.dilla]

Hahahahahaha you smoking again Dilla or you just being honest about how great your threads are? LOL. I love that Madlib thread too and your playlists :tu You really rep the Essence Essentials section :tu

Anticipating Medicine Show #12

Copped a couple of indies this year

 

[traestar]

Hahahahahaha you smoking again Dilla or you just being honest about how great your threads are? LOL. I love that Madlib thread too and your playlists :tu You really rep the Essence Essentials section :tu

People need to know more about Madlib and Oh No, they have a huge following under the radar!

 

[RuffDraft]

twitter and facebook has become the new converse device, we just made a Google+ circle

And yea I.C. is like an university, so many different buildings, and departments!
Okayplayer should be still going strong.

I haven't messed with Google+ yet, but I'll check it out, Twitter is really good, I'm only just getting on it though, I dislike Facebook for all the pointless statuses… but following hip hop emcee's is cool…

The University 'phor is accurate! haha I'll check it out in the near future :tu

Anticipating Medicine Show #12

Copped a couple of indies this year

Do you think Stones Throw may put them together as a package? I'd be tempted to cop them all for like £70 or whatever…

What Indies you picked up? That Co$$ is next on my list…

 

[rip.dilla]

Do you think Stones Throw may put them together as a package? I'd be tempted to cop them all for like £70 or whatever…

What Indies you picked up? That Co$$ is next on my list…

They might after the last one drops

ehm, albums I've copped

Ski Beatz/Royce Da 5'9/Large Professor & Neek The Exotic/Curren$y/Bon Iver/Pete Rock & Smif n Wessun

Those I can confirm

 

[RuffDraft]

They might after the last one drops

ehm, albums I've copped

Ski Beatz/Royce Da 5'9/Large Professor & Neek The Exotic/Curren$y/Bon Iver/Pete Rock & Smif n Wessun

Those I can confirm

Nice list :tu What's your favourite? The Playlist of the Month is coming in around 8-9 hours!!!