The northern boys / Pete n Bas NSFW

[mojo pixy]

I read a lot of this as puncturing the ego of this genre

sometimes the line between satire and tribute is difficult to determine.

admittedly im a fan of the northern boys stuff which is far more self deprecating

I don't see it as self-deprecating, I see it as insulting.

It's genuinely depressing that it's got any kind of cachet or cool, but I'm some cunt so who cares what I think right? I'm sure the same was said about punk.

Anyway it's not about the style it's about the content. There's no excuse for it and I just wish the performers had something better to say than "I talk like a a cunt, you should talk like a cunt, it's OK talking like a cunt, actually it's quite funny, share with yr kids"

 

[Jeff Robinson]

Equating hip hop with this shite is an insult to hip hop tbh

I appreciate that you don’t like the content of their lyrics, that’s fair enough, but I think dismissing the technical art of rap as “easy” is something only someone who isn’t a fan of the genre could say.

 

[mojo pixy]

I appreciate that you don’t like the content of their lyrics, that’s fair enough, but I think dismissing the technical art of rap as “easy” is something only someone who isn’t a fan of the genre could say.

I love rap but I'm not an uncritical fan, and there's a lot which is genuinely just bollocks, like any style of music.

I also write a lot, and yes I think rhyme and rhythm with words is easy, takes practice like anything, and certainly isn't some kind of special arcane ability. If you can verbalise, you can find the rhymes (and a rhyming dictionary's free online)

Having something to actually say with it all is the real art form IMO, though I get that can seem subjective. Jabbering away like a pissed off monkey, rhyming nice, twice, height, bites, fight, right, shite .. even doing it in rhythm is pretty much a given, so that anyone can listen and say it's art or isn't - literally anyone who can talk can do that. It's not magic.

 

[ska invita]

Nine and Dex have got strong word play, excellent flow and very strong delivery, and both have a really good tone of voice -thats already miles ahead of most uk rappers
bragadaccio/slack talk is a form in itself, like haiku or something.... they clearly dont take themselves seriously....even the backing track is very light hearted ...

that said it comes off better when they write for Pete n Bas.... and if they've written all these Pete n Bas tracks then hats off to them...these are heavy lyrics!! :>>

 

[mojo pixy]

Nine and Dex have got strong word play, excellent flow and very strong delivery, and both have a really good tone of voice -thats already miles ahead of most uk rappers
bragadaccio/slack talk is a form in itself, like haiku or something.... they clearly dont take themselves seriously....even the backing track is very light hearted ...

that said it comes off better when they write for Pete n Bas.... and if they've written all these Pete n Bas tracks then hats off to them...these are heavy lyrics!! :>>

Fetishizing crime and the risks of naked acquisition, if it's not that then I've really no idea what they're on about. Sounds tory as fuck to me, borderline fash actually. Celebrating might makes right and pretending that's what the working class is all about. No they aren't saying it out loud, but it's there like a fucked up elephant in the doorway.

It's OK, better than the other stuff above but still. Meh. Makes me feel sad.

 

[Jeff Robinson]

I love rap but I'm not an uncritical fan, and there's a lot which is genuinely just bollocks, like any style of music.

I also write a lot, and yes I think rhyme and rhythm with words is easy, takes practice like anything, and certainly isn't some kind of special arcane ability. If you can verbalise, you can find the rhymes (and a rhyming dictionary's free online)

Having something to actually say with it all is the real art form IMO, though I get that can seem subjective. Jabbering away like a pissed off monkey, rhyming nice, twice, height, bites, fight, right, shite .. even doing it in rhythm is pretty much a given, so that anyone can listen and say it's art or isn't - literally anyone who can talk can do that. It's not magic.

With respect, again this tells me you don’t appreciate the art of rhyme, which hip hop has taken to the next level. No rapper worth their salt would do rhymes as simple as ‘height ‘ and ‘bite’ or ‘nice’ and ‘twice’. Multi-syllabic rhymes are a basic for any half-decent MC. Some rappers can literally rhyme entire sentences together. Then when you add internal rhymes, word association schemes, word play, polyrhythmic flows, double time flows, triple time flows, and all the literary techniques we learnt about at GCSE English lit (assonance, alliteration, metaphors, similes etc.), then you’re at least half way to a decent rapper.

 

[mojo pixy]

With respect, again this tells me you don’t appreciate the art of rhyme, which hip hop has taken to the next level. No rapper worth their salt would do rhymes as simple as ‘height ‘ and ‘bite’ or ‘nice’ and ‘twice’. Multi-syllabic rhymes are a basic for any half-decent MC. Some rappers can literally rhyme entire sentences together. Then when you add internal rhymes, word association schemes, word play, polyrhythmic flows, double time flows, triple time flows, and all the literary techniques we learnt about at GCSE English lit (assonance, alliteration, metaphors, similes etc.), then you’re at least half way to a decent rapper.

Yeah I don't think you can compare a finished song with a 30-second dashed-off internet post.

 

[mojo pixy]

I also feel you're talking down to me a bit so allow me a minute to return the favour rhyming might seem magical to you but to me it's not. English is actually one of the best languages there is for speaking in rhyme and meter because it's full of nice short words that can be combined in almost endless shapes. I definitely appreciate it when that's done inventively and there are countless rappers who can do that, but that by itself really isn't so hard. You'll just have to take my word for it.

What is hard IMO is 1. improvising it well on the spur of the moment, and 2. finding something to say that is actually worth the breath it takes to say it. I know there are massive egotists or straight up narcissists who really believe every word out of their mouth is pure gold, but the reason a great rapper is great goes beyond their flow and well into what they're actually saying with it. I'm talking poetry, not just rhyming for the sake of it.

Anyway, it feels shameful even mentioning 'great rappers' next to these vids. And I'm aware this trap stuff is achingly cool just now. But it's got knowingly ignorant, shit politics and I can't get over that. Words are like bullets etc.

 

[hitmouse]

Yeah, I can completely appreciate why someone might not like either of them, but fwiw I can get into the Northern Boys much more than Pete and Bas because the P&B thing does just seem like "it's standard trap but the twist is they're old white guys", whereas with the Northern Boys there's always the self-deprecation and full-on suicidal ideation undercutting any braggadocio. Here's a big sincere essay about them (although even I didn't attempt the accompanying 20-minute youtube video of someone talking about them):

The Northern Boys

Raising a glass to the gays and the bi's and the trans and the girls and the big bald men

thewhitepube.co.uk

 

[rutabowa]

New video just dropped from artists ‘nine and Dex’ (aka 91shots and Handsome Dexta, the producers of all Pete and Bas records), they are widely believed to be the creators of Pete and Bas (ghost writers and ghost performers). As you can hear their writing, back and forth and flows are very impressive:

clearly is the voices of pete and bas.... they're also clearly top league mcs, not many at all can pull off flows and wordplay like that and make it sound relaxed.... and they're clearly taking the piss with their lyrics, they're on a farm for most of the video ffs.

 

[DaveCinzano]

On Pete & Bas, the Snooker Team, Northern Boys, Frank & Maury, Sindhuworld etc:

Pete & Bas: Marketing Genius Or Musical Gimmick? - 366 Magazine

Pete, Bas and their friends have taken the internet by storm - but who is behind the project?

366magazine.com

These Cornershop Staff Just Dropped the Most Fire Single of 2017

Please help me understand what is going on.

www.vice.com

Please do not read if you believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny or truthful backstories in entertainment

 

[New New Nothing]

'White geezer' rap. Schoolboy in the playground stuff, bit of a circle jerk. Lots of puns, and lyrics about getting shitfaced, like that shortarse rapper from Brighton or House of Pain back in the olden days. It's alright, but for me it's not something I need to listen to more than once.

 

[Jeff Robinson]

clearly is the voices of pete and bas.... they're also clearly top league mcs, not many at all can pull off flows and wordplay like that and make it sound relaxed.... and they're clearly taking the piss with their lyrics, they're on a farm for most of the video ffs.

The one thing that I still can't figure out though is Pete's voice. Whilst Bas is obviously voiced by Dex (probably just pitched down a bit, with him doing a south london accent), Pete's voice genuinely sounds like an old man and nothing like Nine's voice. He may just be able to do a really good gruff old man voice I suppose. Could also be AI, but I don't think that's likely because when they started in 2017 the tech wasn't advanced enough. Pete's voice has always been the biggest mystery for me.

 

[ice-is-forming]

I've not listened to the artists on this thread ( apart from on this thread iyswim) although I've listened to a lot of rap and hip hop ( I was a youth worker for years and have 4 kids ) but I've only come to truely appreciate it after discovering Ren Gill - now it's like he's got inside my brain and I can't listen to any other artist. Luckily he's a great musician with a huge skill set and range of styles and giant play list.. but still, I'm beginning to wonder why one track or another is always playing in my head

Im posting this one, and tbh I'd post them all if I could - I know I can get a bit hyper focused on stuff but still.. this is a bit weird even for me.

 

[rutabowa]

I've not listened to the artists on this thread ( apart from on this thread iyswim) although I've listened to a lot of rap and hip hop ( I was a youth worker for years and have 4 kids ) but I've only come to truely appreciate it after discovering Ren Gill - now it's like he's got inside my brain and I can't listen to any other artist. Luckily he's a great musician with a huge skill set and range of styles and giant play list.. but still, I'm beginning to wonder why one track or another is always playing in my head

Im posting this one, and tbh I'd post them all if I could - I know I can get a bit hyper focused on stuff but still.. this is a bit weird even for me.



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he is def v talented ofc but listening to him makes me a bit anxious for some reason... which is weird because the rap I do like is often way more offensive, misogynistic, violence glamorizing etc etc

 

[rutabowa]

(not into pete and bas or any of their novelty byproducts tho... the dex and nine song is great though, and seems to be getting a lot of positive US attention which is rare for uk rap)

 

[Jeff Robinson]

Some of the most heartless bars yet in Pete & Bas' latest number:

Chuck him in a zip lock, chuck him in a van
Now he'll be forever young, fucking Peter Pan
Put him on a t-shirt, put him on the gram
Tell him that you love him, while he's laying in the ground