And what you're doing--comparing a five year span to a seven month one--isn't exactly fair.
Faux, you don't think at this stage of their careers that these same dudes in comparison haven't been rapping as long as the one's they're being compared to?
Skills are skills and some things get better over time but not that better.
Mike Jones vs. Scarface?
They could switch places in time and dude would still shut WHO? MIKE JONES. MIKE WHO? down.
I'm not sure what you're asking.
What I'm saying is that Phill's argument that rap used to be better because there were more quality releases during the five year span from 1987 to 1991, than there have been during that seven months that have so far elapsed in 2005, is flawed.
As far as rappers getting better over time, for the most part I don't think that they do, which is further evidence that rap is youth music. Most dudes kick in the door with a style when they're young, and then gradually fall off (or at least fail to evolve at the same rate that rap as a whole is evolving).
Ok, I misunderstood the 5 yrs. vs. 7 months comment.
I agree about the style thing. Anybody else ever cringe when they hear older MCs try to adopt whatever the current style is?
Most cringeworthy thing I've heard in the past year or so: that "They call me big el-lay, big el-lay..." terd.
Don't do it to yourself, Todd. You're one of the greats.
Uh...I guess when dude dropped that "butt dog ass" track of "Hey Love" in 95 you thought dude still had it?
P.S. "Headsprung"=white girl cat nip
Like you weren't begging the science teacher/"DJ"-for-the-night to rock your cassingle of that at the junior high dance.
"C'mon dawg!"
Actually, I think sticking to doing those types of tracks for the ladies is LL's best shot at aging gracefully--he needs to stop it with the club tracks.
Like you weren't begging the science teacher/"DJ"-for-the-night to rock your cassingle of that at the junior high dance.
"C'mon dawg!"
Actually, I think sticking to doing those types of tracks for the ladies is LL's best shot at aging gracefully--he needs to stop it with the club tracks.
Actually it was that Prince Markie Dee track "swing around my way".
Are you co-signing on *snicker* L.L.'s "tracks for the ladies" *snicker*
Like you weren't begging the science teacher/"DJ"-for-the-night to rock your cassingle of that at the junior high dance.
"C'mon dawg!"
Actually, I think sticking to doing those types of tracks for the ladies is LL's best shot at aging gracefully--he needs to stop it with the club tracks.
Actually it was that Prince Markie Dee track "swing around my way".
Are you co-signing on *snicker* L.L.'s "tracks for the ladies" *snicker*
I am cosigning them in the sense that I believe they are the best available look for a rapper that is almost forty years old. I am not cosigning them in the sense that I want to hear them. And don't even try to act like you didn't just PM me talking about "I learned half of what I know about women from that LL 'Doin' It' joint."
Side note: this is really messed up and I know it's not the post to put it in. But WTF
Carrottop does roids???
i have a friend (a dude) who carrottop hit on in a gym locker room (not my friend's thing though). apparently he's way into working out and tries to fuck anything that moves.
This used to be a unique "feature" on an album. Maybe there was one cameo appearance on one out of a handful of albums. The question is, does this affect quality? It affects integrity and vision, in my opinion... I also don't think people have the same level of focus now that people did in the years of old, due to things 'evolving'. Discuss.
And like what Day was aiming at, you can take Phil's list (and forget the original argument of 5 years versus 7 months--please erase that out of your head)--full of emcees who were young at their prime time. And most of these dudes would likely smoke the majority of the top butt dogs out right now. We can say people that came on the scene in the last 5 years.
I mean, I'm pretty damn old and I still love rap. As are a lot of other old fucks that I know. We grew up with this shit, what are we supposed to listen to now, fucking Kenny G???
pop tarts need not reply
Man, it's youth music and always has been. Doesn't mean that older folks can't enjoy it, but there's a reason why every rapper lies about their age.
BTW, I agree completely that the quality of today's rap has not declined one bit. I would even take that further and say that the quality is FAR better today than it has ever been in it's history. Let's take a closer look at this, shall we? For example-
50 Cent 2005 vs. Rakim 1987 Young Jeezy 2005 vs. KRS One 1987 Slim Thug 2005 vs. Ice Cube 1990 Mike Jones 2005 vs. Scarface 1991 Dipset 2005 vs. Public Enemy 1988 The Game 2005 vs. Kool G Rap 1989
I don't have to continue, do I? 2005 wins, hands down... it's not even close.
Naw Phil..... I can't get with those comparisons. And before cats say i'm an old jazz dude or something. I spin out weekly, do 2 radio shows and get all the new promo's, so i'm up on the lastest, and i'm 30+.
Production has definitely advanced. But none of those new jacks can hold it down lyrically to the golden era champions. 1/2 of Mike Jones' raps are straight loops like a dj was backspinning his shit. Dipset vs. P.E. naaaw joe...it ain't so
I mean, I'm pretty damn old and I still love rap. As are a lot of other old fucks that I know. We grew up with this shit, what are we supposed to listen to now, fucking Kenny G???
pop tarts need not reply
Man, it's youth music and always has been. Doesn't mean that older folks can't enjoy it, but there's a reason why every rapper lies about their age.
BTW, I agree completely that the quality of today's rap has not declined one bit. I would even take that further and say that the quality is FAR better today than it has ever been in it's history. Let's take a closer look at this, shall we? For example-
50 Cent 2005 vs. Rakim 1987 Young Jeezy 2005 vs. KRS One 1987 Slim Thug 2005 vs. Ice Cube 1990 Mike Jones 2005 vs. Scarface 1991 Dipset 2005 vs. Public Enemy 1988 The Game 2005 vs. Kool G Rap 1989
I don't have to continue, do I? 2005 wins, hands down... it's not even close.
Naw Phil..... I can't get with those comparisons. And before cats say i'm an old jazz dude or something. I spin out weekly, do 2 radio shows and get all the new promo's, so i'm up on the lastest, and i'm 30+.
Production has definitely advanced. But none of those new jacks can hold it down lyrically to the golden era champions. 1/2 of Mike Jones' raps are straight loops like a dj was backspinning his shit. Dipset vs. P.E. naaaw joe...it ain't so
you have just fell victim to a case of internet sarcasm???
I'm worried that we're going to be seeing a lot more music made for the aging rap fan who's turned off by the rowdy youth of today... the muzak of tomorrow, perhaps...
This used to be a unique "feature" on an album. Maybe there was one cameo appearance on one out of a handful of albums. The question is, does this affect quality? It affects integrity and vision, in my opinion... I also don't think people have the same level of focus now that people did in the years of old, due to things 'evolving' money. Discuss.
I mean, I'm pretty damn old and I still love rap. As are a lot of other old fucks that I know. We grew up with this shit, what are we supposed to listen to now, fucking Kenny G???
pop tarts need not reply
Man, it's youth music and always has been. Doesn't mean that older folks can't enjoy it, but there's a reason why every rapper lies about their age.
And there's a reason why I always see grumpy old f**ks here and elsewhere complaining about the decline in quality in rap over time. The quality hasn't changed, but the music has--it's been driven in different directions by younger artists and audiences. I don't know of anybody that's straight up turned their back on rap, but there's plenty of people on here that prefer to live in the past and listen to boring azz retro-hop because they can't identify with the same sh!t that the younger people who are driving the market are feeling.
FINALLY somebody who has it all figured out!
Check back in 20 years and see if you still feel the same way. Not saying that you won't, but... check back in 20 years and see if you still feel the same way.
Will there even be any rap as we know it in 20 years? (Hmmm, this could make a good thread topic...)
BTW, I agree completely that the quality of today's rap has not declined one bit. I would even take that further and say that the quality is FAR better today than it has ever been in it's history. Let's take a closer look at this, shall we? For example-
50 Cent 2005 vs. Rakim 1987 Young Jeezy 2005 vs. KRS One 1987 Slim Thug 2005 vs. Ice Cube 1990 Mike Jones 2005 vs. Scarface 1991 Dipset 2005 vs. Public Enemy 1988 The Game 2005 vs. Kool G Rap 1989
I don't have to continue, do I? 2005 wins, hands down... it's not even close.
But, Phill, what do you foresee happening over the next twenty years that would cause me to rethink this?
I mean, I've already been superannuated by rap--most of the MCs I'm checking for are already substantially younger than me. It's not as if I'm going to reach some turning point after which I'll be an old man in rap terms--I've already hit it.
You mean you're an old fuck too, faux??? I been tryin' to figure you out, dude... you seem to know (and at times respect) Hip Hop history, yet for the most part you give the impression that what's popular now in rap music is all that matters to you. No offense at all, hommie, but I honestly thought you were like a 22 year old dude fresh out of college who read a lot of books on Hip Hop history. Well, geez... if you are truly an old fuck then I have no idea what to tell you, my man. It's great that you're so thoroughly immersed in the current popular trends in rap? This will keep you "forever young"? I dunno, mang... I'm happy you're happy with where the music's going. I like a lot of this new shit too, please don't get it twisted. I just don't know too many people from "BITD" who really prefer what's happening now over the older shit- as you yourself have stated, I think it's really meant for the younger audience, not for anybody who's already "an old man in rap terms".
Which brings me to my own views on rap being youth music... no doubt, I think that the stuff that's popular with the kids right now is definitely youth music. But is that all that rap is? Is the stuff that's popular right now all that is relevant, and if so, why? Just because it's making the most money right now? That is a poor argument IMO- don't forget that in those cherished "golden days" of Hip Hop- about 1987 to 1991- nobody in rap was even close to fucking with MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice when it comes to sales and overall popularity. As far as Hip Hop goes, does that make them more relevant than a Kool G Rap, who never even went gold? I guess some people would say yes (and then they would say "Kool G who?"), but I beg to differ. In my eyes, rap consists of the popular stuff for the young but it also consists of old school, underground, etc. etc. As long as people like me (and I guess you too, faux) are listening to it and enjoying it how can it be just youth music?
And what you're doing--comparing a five year span to a seven month one--isn't exactly fair.
That is not what I was doing at all, hommie. I was comparing the popular rappers of today to rappers of yesteryear at the time that THEY were the hot properties on the street. I don't think I have to say anything else... it is what it is, and not real hard to see (not dissing any of those 2005 rappers because I like stuff by all of them, but... it just is what it is).
Like you weren't begging the science teacher/"DJ"-for-the-night to rock your cassingle of that at the junior high dance.
"C'mon dawg!"
Actually, I think sticking to doing those types of tracks for the ladies is LL's best shot at aging gracefully--he needs to stop it with the club tracks.
Actually it was that Prince Markie Dee track "swing around my way".
Are you co-signing on *snicker* L.L.'s "tracks for the ladies" *snicker*
I am cosigning them in the sense that I believe they are the best available look for a rapper that is almost forty years old.
I don't mean to keep bringin' it, faux, but where does Jay-Z factor into this theory? Would you say tracks for the ladies is the best available look for him too? Yes, we all know he's officially retired, but we also know that that muhfucka is still rapping- a LOT. We all know that he is like 45 years old, too.
hmm. i think its safe to say that rap music is now pop music. and pop music has historically been for the youth. now, me, i like pop music. cuz in 20 years most everyone will forget most of this shit except for me cuz i'll be bald and fat and turning it over in the karaoke box to great effect.
and i'll still have the ladies and gay dudes throwing bras and slingbacks at my feet.
I mean, I'm pretty damn old and I still love rap. As are a lot of other old fucks that I know. We grew up with this shit, what are we supposed to listen to now, fucking Kenny G???
pop tarts need not reply
Man, it's youth music and always has been. Doesn't mean that older folks can't enjoy it, but there's a reason why every rapper lies about their age.
And there's a reason why I always see grumpy old f**ks here and elsewhere complaining about the decline in quality in rap over time. The quality hasn't changed, but the music has--it's been driven in different directions by younger artists and audiences. I don't know of anybody that's straight up turned their back on rap, but there's plenty of people on here that prefer to live in the past and listen to boring azz retro-hop because they can't identify with the same sh!t that the younger people who are driving the market are feeling.
FINALLY somebody who has it all figured out!
Check back in 20 years and see if you still feel the same way. Not saying that you won't, but... check back in 20 years and see if you still feel the same way.
Will there even be any rap as we know it in 20 years? (Hmmm, this could make a good thread topic...)
BTW, I agree completely that the quality of today's rap has not declined one bit. I would even take that further and say that the quality is FAR better today than it has ever been in it's history. Let's take a closer look at this, shall we? For example-
50 Cent 2005 vs. Rakim 1987 Young Jeezy 2005 vs. KRS One 1987 Slim Thug 2005 vs. Ice Cube 1990 Mike Jones 2005 vs. Scarface 1991 Dipset 2005 vs. Public Enemy 1988 The Game 2005 vs. Kool G Rap 1989
I don't have to continue, do I? 2005 wins, hands down... it's not even close.
But, Phill, what do you foresee happening over the next twenty years that would cause me to rethink this?
I mean, I've already been superannuated by rap--most of the MCs I'm checking for are already substantially younger than me. It's not as if I'm going to reach some turning point after which I'll be an old man in rap terms--I've already hit it.
And what you're doing--comparing a five year span to a seven month one--isn't exactly fair.
I don't think you need a 5 year span - you could put 1990 after all of those artists' names & they would still son everyone of those 2005 emcees. That's not to say that there is still alot of great rap to check.
This used to be a unique "feature" on an album. Maybe there was one cameo appearance on one out of a handful of albums. The question is, does this affect quality? It affects integrity and vision, in my opinion... I also don't think people have the same level of focus now that people did in the years of old, due to things 'evolving'. Discuss.
And like what Day was aiming at, you can take Phil's list (and forget the original argument of 5 years versus 7 months--please erase that out of your head)--full of emcees who were young at their prime time. And most of these dudes would likely smoke the majority of the top butt dogs out right now. We can say people that came on the scene in the last 5 years.
This featuring this has killed most rap albums. If I buy an album, its for the artist featured on the cover, not his posse. Its cool if you want to hook up a friend, but don't do it on my dime, especially if the dude is not nice with his.
Which brings me to my own views on rap being youth music... no doubt, I think that the stuff that's popular with the kids right now is definitely youth music. But is that all that rap is? Is the stuff that's popular right now all that is relevant, and if so, why? Just because it's making the most money right now? That is a poor argument IMO- don't forget that in those cherished "golden days" of Hip Hop- about 1987 to 1991- nobody in rap was even close to fucking with MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice when it comes to sales and overall popularity. As far as Hip Hop goes, does that make them more relevant than a Kool G Rap, who never even went gold? I guess some people would say yes (and then they would say "Kool G who?"), but I beg to differ. In my eyes, rap consists of the popular stuff for the young but it also consists of old school, underground, etc. etc. As long as people like me (and I guess you too, faux) are listening to it and enjoying it how can it be just youth music?
I'm not sure where to side on this one, Phill - I'm old enough to have seen Run-DMC live when 'King of Rock' dropped and Jazzy Jay opened for 'em, cuttin' 2 copies of the album on his decks... And I've been spendin' a lot of time as of late DL'ing a lot of old '80s hip-hop, includin' Pretty Ricky & Boo-Ski's 12" on Fred Munao's Select Records...
Albums: long gestation period earlier on, ideas were thought through and thought through again before actually layin' ideas onto a reel b/c not everyone was releasin' material left, right, and center... Remember when you actually got a full length that you savored for 6 months straight 'cause nothin' else was gettin' released in that interim?
What's popular today though is bein' driven by the youth segment - does it appeal much to me? Not really, but I do check for 'em to stay afloat on what's goin' on... And I'm not really into revisionist acts like Little Brother who seem like that they would've been a 2nd or 3rd tier act in the golden age of Tribe that they appear to worship ad nauseum...
It is strange and surreal at times to see how far rap has come in the 20 + years I've been listenin' to it...
Funny thing.. Guess what just came on my winamp player?
Phill Most Chill - That Girl
This record is DEFINITELY not music for the youth. Awhile ago I heard people talking about random rap, I didn't know what the hell they were talking about. So I looked it up online and found this definition: "crude, listless rap recordings from the late 1980's made by talentless wannabes who weren't even good enough to get a real record deal back when rap was at it's most primitive". Yup, that about sums it up. Then people were going on about this Phill Most Chill record selling for all this loot on Ebay, so against my better judgement I bought the reissue. Let me just say that my first herpes outbreak was a much more pleasurable experience than listening to this waste of a barcode. To not call it the worst recording that I have ever heard would be a grave injustice to the karaoke industry. People actually paid five to six hundred dollars for this??? You'd have to pay ME $600 and then threaten to beat my ass and sodomize me to get me to listen to this horrible mistake of a record again- and even then I wouldn't bank on it.
hmm. i think its safe to say that rap music is now pop music. and pop music has historically been for the youthhollow as fuck for the last 35 years[/b]
Hip Hop has been de-fanged for radio consumption.
It seems like it went from The Black CNN to infomercials.
I'll stand by my old argument that rap just isn't balanced like it used to be and that's one of the biggest problems today. It's either thug/money/club shit or recycled ideas from the past.
I hate to say it, but Kanye is actually taking things in a new direction.
Yes, I said it.
I think if rappers our age get a big enough audience with open ears and take some chances things can shift back to wider array of styles being accepted.
I had this convo last week asking "could 'Doowhatcyalike' come out now? Would 'Me, Myself and I' even be heard?" I don't know, but I doubt it. It's like motherfuckers can't have fun anymore.
And please don't mention BEP being the "alternative".
That said, I like rap that's out right now and think it's thriving. And I've accepted that it's never gonna be what it once was FOR US, but it might be for others.
Rap isn't young peoples' music - old doods & record executives call the shots today more than they ever did. There's not much choice if you aren't willing to seek out the shit not being plugged/hyped/oversold. Alot of the majors sound stale. Young people are buying this stuff because its there. Its on the shelf. They'd buy anything if you told them it was good often enough.
somewhere out there, this is a forum for 40 year old punk rockers, reminiscing about the good ole days when richard hell and the buzz cocks were the sheit and how much punk sucks today
i think implying rap music is youth music is an unfortunate thing. its cheapening a musical artform's validity by saying it can't be appreciated unless you're 16...what a horrible thing to say about ANY genre. there's enough good shit out to say you'd be listening to beyond your teen years (but not necesarily absorbing the lyrical content as you once did). i was thinking about this the other day...all i do is think...but when people say how can u listen to rap, the message is so juvenile at times, well can't you read comic books?
walk into a hardcore comic book store these days, and id say the average age would be about 24ish (that's averagine out the kids with the 40 year old guys). yes it might look pathetic to outsiders watching a grown man reading a comic book, but phuck them! comic books contain intelligent ideas at times (scientific stuff, or just fantasy stuff) and cool worlds. what is my point again....um...oh yeah. if kids AND grownups can appreciate comic books, then why the phuck can't they do the same with rap music? now many older peoples would not be reading phucking transformers armada (a "modern" take on transformers) but they might be catching the latest allan moore comic book (some comics with tons of literary references).
here's where i think some of you (and me) are finding a tension. WHEN WE WERE KIDS, listening to gangster fairy tales were the sheit. listening to eazy e say "damn, dropped the gatt from my hand, what i thought was a bitch was nothing but a man...put my gun up his skirt cause this is one faggot that i had to hurt"...you giggled to that shit like a mother fucker back then but listen to that track 15 years later. It makes you feel a bit uneasy, he used the "f" word. we grew up to 2live crew as well, so why the hell do we have a problem with ying yang twins today?
the content is the same....YOUR VIEWS HAVE EVOLVED.
you dont want your kids listening to the same shit.
no other genre really has this problem. a 40 year old can play his classics from his youth in front of his whole family "hey 6 year old, check out this loud song by led zepplin, a whole lotta love" ain't the same as going "hey 6 year old, check out automobile by nwa!"
anyhow that's what my perception on the deal is. not saying its wrong or right, but just that your brain is a complex thing, that loves nostalgia and ain't really that rational, and if you dont like the lyrics/content of today, your brain might find a way to hate the musical trends in hip hop of late.
So many things going on in this thread. All valid points.
If you compare rap to rock, say... ok, nobody in the 80s made rock the way dudes in the 60s and 70s made rock. You can't compare Sabbath in their prime with any hair metal band or any punk band or new wave or whatever. BUT, those things are, in most peoples' minds, categorically different. We in hip-hop fail to make these categorical differences between artists and eras - it's just all hip-hop. I don't think it's fair to either MC to compare Mike Jones to say Scarface or Dipset to PE. Dipset could never be PE, and PE could never be Dipset (although some will say that's a good thing). Nation Of Millions is one of my favorite records ever, yet....... I did not bring that shit with me to Cali (where I'm posting from), nor have I brought it with me in the car, boat, plane, or train in a long long time... this is only to say that it's not what I pump on the reg. Doesn't mean "Back Like Cooked Crack Volume 2" is even on par with "Fear Of A Black Planet", it's just two very different types of music. Nobody would compare The Kinks to The Slits.
Also I think it's important to note that, if yo??'re getting all of your rap lips from THE FUCKING RADIO then you are as toy as some child listening to Vanilla Ice saying that it's the next shit. Dude hip-hop has never been on mainstream syndicated radio... there is plenty of genius and dangerous (oooh Faux Rillz future album title) music on the streets, where hip-hop has always been.
so what if it is? does that make you disgraced ? you feel ashame about rap now ? cuz all these younger cats are claiming they're hip-hop, but you think they don't know shit about rap cuz they didn't grew listening to Eric B or PE and didn't cop the "Move Ya Crowd" 12" when it came out ?
then you got the overseas cat, they're not in the alumni club either are they? cuz they sure have never even been to a 'real' b-boy jam with their fat laces. and they grew up listening to Mc Hammer cuz thats about the closest thing you get on TV in terms of rap.
so whats left ? yea the grown folks, the 30-ish true heads, the ones that grew with all the golden classic stuff, they will always be the 'only' true hip-hop heads cuz they grew up with it.
how long has rap been in existence anyway ? around 20 odd yrs now ?
not specifically directed to anyone, just thoughts.
Dude hip-hop has never been on mainstream syndicated radio...
I don't think this is entirely true, but I think I get what you're saying. The biggest problem with that staement is in the definition of hip-hop... is it all-encompassing or is it just "certain" shit? If it's all-encompassing then of course hip-hop has been all over mainstream syndicated radio. If it's just "certain" shit then which certain shit are we talking about? Defining what falls under the category of hip-hop and what doesn't in 2005 is pretty much impossible to do.
there is plenty of genius and dangerous (oooh Faux Rillz future album title) music on the streets, where hip-hop has always been.
I've heard a lot of the dangerous, but plaese to put me up on the genius! Believe it or not, I am SO open minded when it comes to new shit, I do not want to listen to nothing but shit from 15 years ago. I'm just not gonna hop on new shit simply because it's new, that's all. Hit me with a list of the 2005 future classics, mane.
I mean, I'm pretty damn old and I still love rap. As are a lot of other old fucks that I know. We grew up with this shit, what are we supposed to listen to now, fucking Kenny G???
pop tarts need not reply
Man, it's youth music and always has been. Doesn't mean that older folks can't enjoy it, but there's a reason why every rapper lies about their age.
And there's a reason why I always see grumpy old f**ks here and elsewhere complaining about the decline in quality in rap over time. The quality hasn't changed, but the music has--it's been driven in different directions by younger artists and audiences. I don't know of anybody that's straight up turned their back on rap, but there's plenty of people on here that prefer to live in the past and listen to boring azz retro-hop because they can't identify with the same sh!t that the younger people who are driving the market are feeling.
FINALLY somebody who has it all figured out!
Check back in 20 years and see if you still feel the same way. Not saying that you won't, but... check back in 20 years and see if you still feel the same way.
Will there even be any rap as we know it in 20 years? (Hmmm, this could make a good thread topic...)
BTW, I agree completely that the quality of today's rap has not declined one bit. I would even take that further and say that the quality is FAR better today than it has ever been in it's history. Let's take a closer look at this, shall we? For example-
50 Cent 2005 vs. Rakim 1987 Young Jeezy 2005 vs. KRS One 1987 Slim Thug 2005 vs. Ice Cube 1990 Mike Jones 2005 vs. Scarface 1991 Dipset 2005 vs. Public Enemy 1988 The Game 2005 vs. Kool G Rap 1989
I don't have to continue, do I? 2005 wins, hands down... it's not even close.
But, Phill, what do you foresee happening over the next twenty years that would cause me to rethink this?
I mean, I've already been superannuated by rap--most of the MCs I'm checking for are already substantially younger than me. It's not as if I'm going to reach some turning point after which I'll be an old man in rap terms--I've already hit it.
You mean you're an old fuck too, faux??? I been tryin' to figure you out, dude... you seem to know (and at times respect) Hip Hop history, yet for the most part you give the impression that what's popular now in rap music is all that matters to you. No offense at all, hommie, but I honestly thought you were like a 22 year old dude fresh out of college who read a lot of books on Hip Hop history. Well, geez... if you are truly an old fuck then I have no idea what to tell you, my man. It's great that you're so thoroughly immersed in the current popular trends in rap? This will keep you "forever young"? I dunno, mang... I'm happy you're happy with where the music's going. I like a lot of this new shit too, please don't get it twisted. I just don't know too many people from "BITD" who really prefer what's happening now over the older shit- as you yourself have stated, I think it's really meant for the younger audience, not for anybody who's already "an old man in rap terms".
Which brings me to my own views on rap being youth music... no doubt, I think that the stuff that's popular with the kids right now is definitely youth music. But is that all that rap is? Is the stuff that's popular right now all that is relevant, and if so, why? Just because it's making the most money right now? That is a poor argument IMO- don't forget that in those cherished "golden days" of Hip Hop- about 1987 to 1991- nobody in rap was even close to fucking with MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice when it comes to sales and overall popularity. As far as Hip Hop goes, does that make them more relevant than a Kool G Rap, who never even went gold? I guess some people would say yes (and then they would say "Kool G who?"), but I beg to differ. In my eyes, rap consists of the popular stuff for the young but it also consists of old school, underground, etc. etc. As long as people like me (and I guess you too, faux) are listening to it and enjoying it how can it be just youth music?
And what you're doing--comparing a five year span to a seven month one--isn't exactly fair.
That is not what I was doing at all, hommie. I was comparing the popular rappers of today to rappers of yesteryear at the time that THEY were the hot properties on the street. I don't think I have to say anything else... it is what it is, and not real hard to see (not dissing any of those 2005 rappers because I like stuff by all of them, but... it just is what it is).
Naw, I'm not up there with you, Phill--I'm probably about average for this board agewise. But I'm looking at 30, which means that a lot of the new MCs I'm checking for are (officially) as much as ten years younger than me. I don't prefer what's going on in hip-hop now to previous eras, either, but I also don't like it any less. I've got very strong nostalgic feelings for rap from about '90 to '96, because those were my teenage years, but when I step back I don't think that that era is objectively better than either what preceded it or what came afterwards.
And just to clear this up: I've never argued that the rap that makes the most money is the most relevant. I don't even own a TV, so I have no idea which records make the leap into MTV rotation. And it's rare that I turn on the radio except to listen to the post-midnight mix shows. My standard for relevance is what I know people are playing in my neighborhood and what I understand people to be playing in neighborhoods like it in other parts of the country.
Like you weren't begging the science teacher/"DJ"-for-the-night to rock your cassingle of that at the junior high dance.
"C'mon dawg!"
Actually, I think sticking to doing those types of tracks for the ladies is LL's best shot at aging gracefully--he needs to stop it with the club tracks.
Actually it was that Prince Markie Dee track "swing around my way".
Are you co-signing on *snicker* L.L.'s "tracks for the ladies" *snicker*
I am cosigning them in the sense that I believe they are the best available look for a rapper that is almost forty years old.
I don't mean to keep bringin' it, faux, but where does Jay-Z factor into this theory? Would you say tracks for the ladies is the best available look for him too? Yes, we all know he's officially retired, but we also know that that muhfucka is still rapping- a LOT. We all know that he is like 45 years old, too.
Well, I didn't mean to suggest that grown and sexy rap is the only option for all dudes that are getting up there.
There's the OG/preacher routine that Scarface does, for example.
But that's not gonna work for LL because he's been in the public eye for two decades now, and of the things that the public knows him for doing during that period, the grown and sexy one is the only one that I think he can still do with dignity.
Jay-Z has two advantages over LL: 1) he's known for doing a lot more things than LL. For example, he came in the game with a retired hustler persona, and that's something you can ride into middle age. And 2) he didn't really grow up in public the way LL did--people haven't been knowing him since 1985, so their ideas of him are not going to be as rigid.
Jay-Z has two advantages over LL: 1) he's known for doing a lot more things than LL. For example, he came in the game with a retired hustler persona, and that's something you can ride into middle age. And 2) he didn't really grow up in public the way LL did--people haven't been knowing him since 1985, so their ideas of him are not going to be as rigid.
So, damn... maybe I have a chance if I try again with this rappin' thing? I mean, who does more things than me? I do a LOT of shit, hommie. And I definitely didn't grow up in public... hell, barely anyone even has any idea who I am! You have inspired me to dust off my mic, faux. It's time to officially usher in the "old-head rap" sub-genre, and I think Phill Most Chill is just the guy to do it.
I think you should dust off your mic Phill. There has been a paradigm shift in hip hop where you have the "old heads" who grew up listening to this "newish form of expression" and are fairly disgruntled by a lot (not all) of current hip hop being released, and the kids who grow up listening to what is hot now. I think there is a market in reaching the old heads that is not being explored. Common IMO is not trying to rhyme for the youth anymore. Even though I think his newest incarnation sucks, I think he is playing to the older fellas and girls who have moved beyond the thematics of gangsters, guns, girls, and weed. His target audience is not the youth.If he gets the youth, all the better. If more rappers nowadays marketed themselves for the older generation, I think they would be able to not have to retire. I put De La Soul's most recent releases in the "old dude" section as well.
My problem with a lot of the hip hop being released of late is the beats, not the bullshit they say. Hip hop has always been essentially about talking shit. So you have BDK, Rakim, etc talking about what they're going to do with MC in similes and metaphors, Slick Rick and Kool G Rap telling detailed stories of (mostly) imagined escapades, or PE and X Clan having an alleged message in their music. When it came down to it, music never moves anyone to action and it all boils down to "party and bullshit," no matter how meaningful it feels at the time.
So anyway, back to what I was saying. Be it today or BITD, dudes are just kicking some shit they think sounds cool. The themes have been "streamlined" nowadays to feature the flash, gangsterism and sex marketing companies like Clear Channel and Time Warner know the youth eats up the most. So, hip hop is not solely "youth music", but a music catered to the youth, who have the most disposable income in America (M&D handing them money to buy a CD, no bills, etc). If "old people" like it, that's cool too.
I think if record companies targeted the older audience, they might be surprised by the returns they get. This targeting includes both sonically (kill the Triton) and to a lesser extent, content of the rhymes.
I think you should dust off your mic Phill. There has been a paradigm shift in hip hop where you have the "old heads" who grew up listening to this "newish form of expression" and are fairly disgruntled by a lot (not all) of current hip hop being released, and the kids who grow up listening to what is hot now. I think there is a market in reaching the old heads that is not being explored. Common IMO is not trying to rhyme for the youth anymore. Even though I think his newest incarnation sucks, I think he is playing to the older fellas and girls who have moved beyond the thematics of gangsters, guns, girls, and weed. His target audience is not the youth.If he gets the youth, all the better. If more rappers nowadays marketed themselves for the older generation, I think they would be able to not have to retire. I put De La Soul's most recent releases in the "old dude" section as well.
My problem with a lot of the hip hop being released of late is the beats, not the bullshit they say. Hip hop has always been essentially about talking shit. So you have BDK, Rakim, etc talking about what they're going to do with MC in similes and metaphors, Slick Rick and Kool G Rap telling detailed stories of (mostly) imagined escapades, or PE and X Clan having an alleged message in their music. When it came down to it, music never moves anyone to action and it all boils down to "party and bullshit," no matter how meaningful it feels at the time.
So anyway, back to what I was saying. Be it today or BITD, dudes are just kicking some shit they think sounds cool. The themes have been "streamlined" nowadays to feature the flash, gangsterism and sex marketing companies like Clear Channel and Time Warner know the youth eats up the most. So, hip hop is not solely "youth music", but a music catered to the youth, who have the most disposable income in America (M&D handing them money to buy a CD, no bills, etc). If "old people" like it, that's cool too.
I think if record companies targeted the older audience, they might be surprised by the returns they get. This targeting includes both sonically (kill the Triton) and to a lesser extent, content of the rhymes.
My 2c Peace T.N.
I agree with this post almost totally. Especially the part that says "I think you should dust off your mic Phill."
Funny thing.. Guess what just came on my winamp player?
Phill Most Chill - That Girl
This record is DEFINITELY not music for the youth. Awhile ago I heard people talking about random rap, I didn't know what the hell they were talking about. So I looked it up online and found this definition: "crude, listless rap recordings from the late 1980's made by talentless wannabes who weren't even good enough to get a real record deal back when rap was at it's most primitive". Yup, that about sums it up. Then people were going on about this Phill Most Chill record selling for all this loot on Ebay, so against my better judgement I bought the reissue. Let me just say that my first herpes outbreak was a much more pleasurable experience than listening to this waste of a barcode. To not call it the worst recording that I have ever heard would be a grave injustice to the karaoke industry. People actually paid five to six hundred dollars for this??? You'd have to pay ME $600 and then threaten to beat my ass and sodomize me to get me to listen to this horrible mistake of a record again- and even then I wouldn't bank on it.
I just got into work and loaded up winamp, which my playlist cycles through my hip hop folder. I read ur post and said fuck it... Pushed through to On Tempo Jack and it's rockin' $600??? Hmm I would never pay 600... Maybe 599 tho... That Girl is a lil fun humorous track.
My only 2 cents on the subject is this... Fuck putting boundaries on hip hop. That???s all fucking a marketing scheme. The one thing that appealed to me as a youth was that hip hop seemed to have no boundaries. One of the reasons I have a small[/b] distaste for the hip hop of today is because large corporations in the 90's realized they could make major dollars off it and started trying to put it into these nice little packages of different shapes & sizes. And people bought it... The youth in a giant way! Long gone are the days of being really experimental & creative (Cue in Sample laws or fucking everyone wanting to be hard or "REAL"). Don't get me wrong, there is some good music being made today. The youth will always have its thing. But lets remember, everything runs in cycles. "Youth music" is always changing... But I'll always be listening to everything that either makes my head bounce or make my mutha fuckin' soul sing.
And Phil, you should pick up the MIC! Do you got somethin' to say?
Side note : Winamp has moved onto Poor Righteous Teachers - Time To Say Peace
And Phil, you should pick up the MIC! Do you got somethin' to say?
Hells yeah I got some shit to say! Basically just dissing the current state of rap and talking about how wack all these young rappers are... you know, the typical grumpy bitter old rap dude steelo. Check out this 16 and let me know how you lovin' this:
I don't know if this is somethin' for pop charts or Pop Art Amazes me how crazy I be making these pop tarts I stop hearts, cardiac arrest 'em, open chest 'em they fail miserably physically when I mentally test 'em Don't get me wrong, I love current rap the only difference is I know the difference between real shit and current crap there IS a difference, but isn't if you ain't listenin' instead you'll be missin' it, livin' blissfully ignorant But at the end of the day, it don't even matter long as you have a- nuffa that drank to fill up ya bladder somethin' to blaze and a bad ass bitch who bubble is fatter it really seems this is the black american dream But I know what you mean- I'm just outta the loop, probly oh my God, he's- the hip hop version of Bill Cosby grumpy old dude, go back to your bowl of food we've decided we're no longer excited by what you do
Comments
Like you weren't begging the science teacher/"DJ"-for-the-night to rock your cassingle of that at the junior high dance.
"C'mon dawg!"
Actually, I think sticking to doing those types of tracks for the ladies is LL's best shot at aging gracefully--he needs to stop it with the club tracks.
Actually it was that Prince Markie Dee track "swing around my way".
Are you co-signing on *snicker* L.L.'s "tracks for the ladies" *snicker*
I am cosigning them in the sense that I believe they are the best available look for a rapper that is almost forty years old. I am not cosigning them in the sense that I want to hear them. And don't even try to act like you didn't just PM me talking about "I learned half of what I know about women from that LL 'Doin' It' joint."
i have a friend (a dude) who carrottop hit on in a gym locker room (not my friend's thing though). apparently he's way into working out and tries to fuck anything that moves.
BUT quality staying the same? I'm not so sure.
Featuring Featuring Featuring Featuring Featuring.
This used to be a unique "feature" on an album. Maybe there was one cameo appearance on one out of a handful of albums. The question is, does this affect quality? It affects integrity and vision, in my opinion... I also don't think people have the same level of focus now that people did in the years of old, due to things 'evolving'. Discuss.
And like what Day was aiming at, you can take Phil's list (and forget the original argument of 5 years versus 7 months--please erase that out of your head)--full of emcees who were young at their prime time. And most of these dudes would likely smoke the majority of the top butt dogs out right now. We can say people that came on the scene in the last 5 years.
common's turning into the don henley of rap.
or huey lewis.
Very good points made.
You mean you're an old fuck too, faux??? I been tryin' to figure you out, dude... you seem to know (and at times respect) Hip Hop history, yet for the most part you give the impression that what's popular now in rap music is all that matters to you. No offense at all, hommie, but I honestly thought you were like a 22 year old dude fresh out of college who read a lot of books on Hip Hop history.
Well, geez... if you are truly an old fuck then I have no idea what to tell you, my man. It's great that you're so thoroughly immersed in the current popular trends in rap? This will keep you "forever young"? I dunno, mang... I'm happy you're happy with where the music's going. I like a lot of this new shit too, please don't get it twisted. I just don't know too many people from "BITD" who really prefer what's happening now over the older shit- as you yourself have stated, I think it's really meant for the younger audience, not for anybody who's already "an old man in rap terms".
Which brings me to my own views on rap being youth music... no doubt, I think that the stuff that's popular with the kids right now is definitely youth music. But is that all that rap is? Is the stuff that's popular right now all that is relevant, and if so, why? Just because it's making the most money right now? That is a poor argument IMO- don't forget that in those cherished "golden days" of Hip Hop- about 1987 to 1991- nobody in rap was even close to fucking with MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice when it comes to sales and overall popularity. As far as Hip Hop goes, does that make them more relevant than a Kool G Rap, who never even went gold? I guess some people would say yes (and then they would say "Kool G who?"), but I beg to differ.
In my eyes, rap consists of the popular stuff for the young but it also consists of old school, underground, etc. etc. As long as people like me (and I guess you too, faux) are listening to it and enjoying it how can it be just youth music?
That is not what I was doing at all, hommie. I was comparing the popular rappers of today to rappers of yesteryear at the time that THEY were the hot properties on the street. I don't think I have to say anything else... it is what it is, and not real hard to see (not dissing any of those 2005 rappers because I like stuff by all of them, but... it just is what it is).
I don't mean to keep bringin' it, faux, but where does Jay-Z factor into this theory? Would you say tracks for the ladies is the best available look for him too? Yes, we all know he's officially retired, but we also know that that muhfucka is still rapping- a LOT. We all know that he is like 45 years old, too.
and i'll still have the ladies and gay dudes throwing bras and slingbacks at my feet.
I don't think you need a 5 year span - you could put 1990 after all of those artists' names & they would still son everyone of those 2005 emcees. That's not to say that there is still alot of great rap to check.
This featuring this has killed most rap albums. If I buy an album, its for the artist featured on the cover, not his posse. Its cool if you want to hook up a friend, but don't do it on my dime, especially if the dude is not nice with his.
I'm not sure where to side on this one, Phill - I'm old enough to have seen Run-DMC live when 'King of Rock' dropped and Jazzy Jay opened for 'em, cuttin' 2 copies of the album on his decks... And I've been spendin' a lot of time as of late DL'ing a lot of old '80s hip-hop, includin' Pretty Ricky & Boo-Ski's 12" on Fred Munao's Select Records...
Albums: long gestation period earlier on, ideas were thought through and thought through again before actually layin' ideas onto a reel b/c not everyone was releasin' material left, right, and center... Remember when you actually got a full length that you savored for 6 months straight 'cause nothin' else was gettin' released in that interim?
What's popular today though is bein' driven by the youth segment - does it appeal much to me? Not really, but I do check for 'em to stay afloat on what's goin' on... And I'm not really into revisionist acts like Little Brother who seem like that they would've been a 2nd or 3rd tier act in the golden age of Tribe that they appear to worship ad nauseum...
It is strange and surreal at times to see how far rap has come in the 20 + years I've been listenin' to it...
This record is DEFINITELY not music for the youth. Awhile ago I heard people talking about random rap, I didn't know what the hell they were talking about. So I looked it up online and found this definition: "crude, listless rap recordings from the late 1980's made by talentless wannabes who weren't even good enough to get a real record deal back when rap was at it's most primitive". Yup, that about sums it up. Then people were going on about this Phill Most Chill record selling for all this loot on Ebay, so against my better judgement I bought the reissue. Let me just say that my first herpes outbreak was a much more pleasurable experience than listening to this waste of a barcode. To not call it the worst recording that I have ever heard would be a grave injustice to the karaoke industry. People actually paid five to six hundred dollars for this??? You'd have to pay ME $600 and then threaten to beat my ass and sodomize me to get me to listen to this horrible mistake of a record again- and even then I wouldn't bank on it.
Hip Hop has been de-fanged for radio consumption.
It seems like it went from The Black CNN to infomercials.
I'll stand by my old argument that rap just isn't balanced like it used to be and that's one of the biggest problems today. It's either thug/money/club shit or recycled ideas from the past.
I hate to say it, but Kanye is actually taking things in a new direction.
Yes, I said it.
I think if rappers our age get a big enough audience with open ears and take some chances things can shift back to wider array of styles being accepted.
I had this convo last week asking "could 'Doowhatcyalike' come out now? Would 'Me, Myself and I' even be heard?" I don't know, but I doubt it. It's like motherfuckers can't have fun anymore.
And please don't mention BEP being the "alternative".
That said, I like rap that's out right now and think it's thriving. And I've accepted that it's never gonna be what it once was FOR US, but it might be for others.
[/ramble]
Rap isn't young peoples' music - old doods & record executives call the shots today more than they ever did. There's not much choice if you aren't willing to seek out the shit not being plugged/hyped/oversold. Alot of the majors sound stale. Young people are buying this stuff because its there. Its on the shelf. They'd buy anything if you told them it was good often enough.
i think implying rap music is youth music is an unfortunate thing. its cheapening a musical artform's validity by saying it can't be appreciated unless you're 16...what a horrible thing to say about ANY genre. there's enough good shit out to say you'd be listening to beyond your teen years (but not necesarily absorbing the lyrical content as you once did). i was thinking about this the other day...all i do is think...but when people say how can u listen to rap, the message is so juvenile at times, well can't you read comic books?
walk into a hardcore comic book store these days, and id say the average age would be about 24ish (that's averagine out the kids with the 40 year old guys). yes it might look pathetic to outsiders watching a grown man reading a comic book, but phuck them! comic books contain intelligent ideas at times (scientific stuff, or just fantasy stuff) and cool worlds. what is my point again....um...oh yeah. if kids AND grownups can appreciate comic books, then why the phuck can't they do the same with rap music? now many older peoples would not be reading phucking transformers armada (a "modern" take on transformers) but they might be catching the latest allan moore comic book (some comics with tons of literary references).
here's where i think some of you (and me) are finding a tension. WHEN WE WERE KIDS, listening to gangster fairy tales were the sheit. listening to eazy e say "damn, dropped the gatt from my hand, what i thought was a bitch was nothing but a man...put my gun up his skirt cause this is one faggot that i had to hurt"...you giggled to that shit like a mother fucker back then but listen to that track 15 years later. It makes you feel a bit uneasy, he used the "f" word. we grew up to 2live crew as well, so why the hell do we have a problem with ying yang twins today?
the content is the same....YOUR VIEWS HAVE EVOLVED.
you dont want your kids listening to the same shit.
no other genre really has this problem. a 40 year old can play his classics from his youth in front of his whole family "hey 6 year old, check out this loud song by led zepplin, a whole lotta love" ain't the same as going "hey 6 year old, check out automobile by nwa!"
anyhow that's what my perception on the deal is. not saying its wrong or right, but just that your brain is a complex thing, that loves nostalgia and ain't really that rational, and if you dont like the lyrics/content of today, your brain might find a way to hate the musical trends in hip hop of late.
Because they are wack.
If you compare rap to rock, say... ok, nobody in the 80s made rock the way dudes in the 60s and 70s made rock. You can't compare Sabbath in their prime with any hair metal band or any punk band or new wave or whatever. BUT, those things are, in most peoples' minds, categorically different. We in hip-hop fail to make these categorical differences between artists and eras - it's just all hip-hop. I don't think it's fair to either MC to compare Mike Jones to say Scarface or Dipset to PE. Dipset could never be PE, and PE could never be Dipset (although some will say that's a good thing). Nation Of Millions is one of my favorite records ever, yet....... I did not bring that shit with me to Cali (where I'm posting from), nor have I brought it with me in the car, boat, plane, or train in a long long time... this is only to say that it's not what I pump on the reg. Doesn't mean "Back Like Cooked Crack Volume 2" is even on par with "Fear Of A Black Planet", it's just two very different types of music. Nobody would compare The Kinks to The Slits.
Also I think it's important to note that, if yo??'re getting all of your rap lips from THE FUCKING RADIO then you are as toy as some child listening to Vanilla Ice saying that it's the next shit. Dude hip-hop has never been on mainstream syndicated radio... there is plenty of genius and dangerous (oooh Faux Rillz future album title) music on the streets, where hip-hop has always been.
so what if it is? does that make you disgraced ? you feel ashame about rap now ? cuz all these younger cats are claiming they're hip-hop, but you think they don't know shit about rap cuz they didn't grew listening to Eric B or PE and didn't cop the "Move Ya Crowd" 12" when it came out ?
then you got the overseas cat, they're not in the alumni club either are they? cuz they sure have never even been to a 'real' b-boy jam with their fat laces. and they grew up listening to Mc Hammer cuz thats about the closest thing you get on TV in terms of rap.
so whats left ? yea the grown folks, the 30-ish true heads, the ones that grew with all the golden classic stuff, they will always be the 'only' true hip-hop heads cuz they grew up with it.
how long has rap been in existence anyway ? around 20 odd yrs now ?
not specifically directed to anyone, just thoughts.
I don't think this is entirely true, but I think I get what you're saying. The biggest problem with that staement is in the definition of hip-hop... is it all-encompassing or is it just "certain" shit? If it's all-encompassing then of course hip-hop has been all over mainstream syndicated radio. If it's just "certain" shit then which certain shit are we talking about? Defining what falls under the category of hip-hop and what doesn't in 2005 is pretty much impossible to do.
I've heard a lot of the dangerous, but plaese to put me up on the genius! Believe it or not, I am SO open minded when it comes to new shit, I do not want to listen to nothing but shit from 15 years ago. I'm just not gonna hop on new shit simply because it's new, that's all. Hit me with a list of the 2005 future classics, mane.
Naw, I'm not up there with you, Phill--I'm probably about average for this board agewise. But I'm looking at 30, which means that a lot of the new MCs I'm checking for are (officially) as much as ten years younger than me. I don't prefer what's going on in hip-hop now to previous eras, either, but I also don't like it any less. I've got very strong nostalgic feelings for rap from about '90 to '96, because those were my teenage years, but when I step back I don't think that that era is objectively better than either what preceded it or what came afterwards.
And just to clear this up: I've never argued that the rap that makes the most money is the most relevant. I don't even own a TV, so I have no idea which records make the leap into MTV rotation. And it's rare that I turn on the radio except to listen to the post-midnight mix shows. My standard for relevance is what I know people are playing in my neighborhood and what I understand people to be playing in neighborhoods like it in other parts of the country.
Well, I didn't mean to suggest that grown and sexy rap is the only option for all dudes that are getting up there.
There's the OG/preacher routine that Scarface does, for example.
But that's not gonna work for LL because he's been in the public eye for two decades now, and of the things that the public knows him for doing during that period, the grown and sexy one is the only one that I think he can still do with dignity.
Jay-Z has two advantages over LL: 1) he's known for doing a lot more things than LL. For example, he came in the game with a retired hustler persona, and that's something you can ride into middle age. And 2) he didn't really grow up in public the way LL did--people haven't been knowing him since 1985, so their ideas of him are not going to be as rigid.
So, damn... maybe I have a chance if I try again with this rappin' thing? I mean, who does more things than me? I do a LOT of shit, hommie. And I definitely didn't grow up in public... hell, barely anyone even has any idea who I am! You have inspired me to dust off my mic, faux. It's time to officially usher in the "old-head rap" sub-genre, and I think Phill Most Chill is just the guy to do it.
My problem with a lot of the hip hop being released of late is the beats, not the bullshit they say. Hip hop has always been essentially about talking shit. So you have BDK, Rakim, etc talking about what they're going to do with MC in similes and metaphors, Slick Rick and Kool G Rap telling detailed stories of (mostly) imagined escapades, or PE and X Clan having an alleged message in their music. When it came down to it, music never moves anyone to action and it all boils down to "party and bullshit," no matter how meaningful it feels at the time.
So anyway, back to what I was saying. Be it today or BITD, dudes are just kicking some shit they think sounds cool. The themes have been "streamlined" nowadays to feature the flash, gangsterism and sex marketing companies like Clear Channel and Time Warner know the youth eats up the most. So, hip hop is not solely "youth music", but a music catered to the youth, who have the most disposable income in America (M&D handing them money to buy a CD, no bills, etc). If "old people" like it, that's cool too.
I think if record companies targeted the older audience, they might be surprised by the returns they get. This targeting includes both sonically (kill the Triton) and to a lesser extent, content of the rhymes.
My 2c
Peace
T.N.
I agree with this post almost totally. Especially the part that says "I think you should dust off your mic Phill."
I just got into work and loaded up winamp, which my playlist cycles through my hip hop folder. I read ur post and said fuck it... Pushed through to On Tempo Jack and it's rockin' $600??? Hmm I would never pay 600... Maybe 599 tho... That Girl is a lil fun humorous track.
My only 2 cents on the subject is this... Fuck putting boundaries on hip hop. That???s all fucking a marketing scheme. The one thing that appealed to me as a youth was that hip hop seemed to have no boundaries. One of the reasons I have a small[/b] distaste for the hip hop of today is because large corporations in the 90's realized they could make major dollars off it and started trying to put it into these nice little packages of different shapes & sizes. And people bought it... The youth in a giant way! Long gone are the days of being really experimental & creative (Cue in Sample laws or fucking everyone wanting to be hard or "REAL"). Don't get me wrong, there is some good music being made today. The youth will always have its thing. But lets remember, everything runs in cycles. "Youth music" is always changing... But I'll always be listening to everything that either makes my head bounce or make my mutha fuckin' soul sing.
And Phil, you should pick up the MIC! Do you got somethin' to say?
Side note : Winamp has moved onto Poor Righteous Teachers - Time To Say Peace
Hells yeah I got some shit to say! Basically just dissing the current state of rap and talking about how wack all these young rappers are... you know, the typical grumpy bitter old rap dude steelo.
Check out this 16 and let me know how you lovin' this:
I don't know if this is somethin' for pop charts or Pop Art
Amazes me how crazy I be making these pop tarts
I stop hearts, cardiac arrest 'em, open chest 'em
they fail miserably physically when I mentally test 'em
Don't get me wrong, I love current rap
the only difference is I know the difference between real shit and current crap
there IS a difference, but isn't if you ain't listenin'
instead you'll be missin' it, livin' blissfully ignorant
But at the end of the day, it don't even matter
long as you have a- nuffa that drank to fill up ya bladder
somethin' to blaze and a bad ass bitch who bubble is fatter
it really seems this is the black american dream
But I know what you mean- I'm just outta the loop, probly
oh my God, he's- the hip hop version of Bill Cosby
grumpy old dude, go back to your bowl of food
we've decided we're no longer excited by what you do
OH!!!!!! Sign this nigga NOW!