My Rant. (the so called Death of Hip Hop)

[Relapse.LP]

Yeah, I was more into Eminem than into rest of rap. But every now and then I bump 2004 shit from time to time. Why?

So 5 years ago, you were full-fledged into hip hop as you are now?

[Wic Kid]

Yeah, I was more into Eminem than into rest of rap. But every now and then I bump 2004 shit from time to time. Why?

So 5 years ago, you were full-fledged into hip hop as you are now?

Not at all.

[Relapse.LP]

Yeah, I was more into Eminem than into rest of rap. But every now and then I bump 2004 shit from time to time. Why?

So 5 years ago, you were full-fledged into hip hop as you are now?

Not at all.

Huh? So when was the year you got introduced to hip-hop? Not the year of hip-hop you listen to.

I'm just curious... I should start a topic.

[Wic Kid]

I think it was 2003, when I bought TES. But ever since I began to lose interest in this shit they put out lately, I dedicated myself more to old school.

[Arrinef]

I think it was 2003, when I bought TES. But ever since I began to lose interest in this shit they put out lately, I dedicated myself more to old school.

yeah me too,
most recently, wu tang and the pharcyde

[Arrinef]

Charles has made good songs, he just needs to stop mixing his own songs and shut his mouth

Drake is getting worst as time goes by...I blame cash money on that (compare his old mixtapes to the shit he drops now)

Cudi is more of a singer to me

I won't even get started on Asher

i was thinking the same thing about drake, its seems now since he got with young money he developed a kanye personality. ala "last name ever, first name greatest"? fuck outta here,

as for asher......dont even get me started

[Kez]

You have a point Scott, but i think you're putting everyone into the same camp too much, which is ironic considering that's what you think "everyone" is doing to these artists you like.

I think any true hip hop fan, or at least someone with an understanding, would be aware that club music is a part of it, and really the culture wouldn't exist without it. The industry simply could not thrive on underground music, for the reasons you stated (as vain and shallow as they are). You are 100% right on it serving its purpose, and these rappers doing "what they get paid to do", but that's about as far as it goes for you being right.

I personally understand completely the need for poppy rap music; it doesn't mean i have to like it. It's not like just because somebody likes underground rap they can't appreciate more mainstream music. I can. I think most people can. I don't think it's as black and white as you seem to be putting it. I think it reflects two completely different types of people, as is quite clear in me talking to you. We have you, a photogenic "clubber" focused on pulling women, and we have me, a thoughtful writer who thinks about too much shit. The contrast between us as people is as clear in the music we campaign. To be truthful, i think it's only melodramatic people who claim rap music to be dead; indeed, thanks to Nas, the very phrase "hip hop is dead" has just become something of a quote, ironically used to on music that Nas himself probably respects. Really, hip hop can't be dead as long as people know about it and it's still being played; although it can get hard to distinguish R&B from hip hop, the point is still valid. Honestly, music genres don't "die". Hip hop is the only genre i have ever heard this phrase originate in, which i think is due to the wider variety of artists and shit.

I think you blaming "us the people" is a bit rich however; we did not "all choose" to follow one kind of music, as you seem to be suggesting. Soulja Boy may have got to number 1 with Crank Dat, but it doesn't mean us as a collective people, or a majority, liked it for the time being and are now trying to change our minds to seem intelligent. Indeed, when Crank Dat first came out before it blew up, it was posted here, and i can remember most of the people here just laughing at it, myself included. We do not all abide by what the majority of the public thinks is good, this is something that i don't think you understand. We should not blame ourselves as a collective just because a large amount of people thinks something. It basically comes back to my base argument that popular does not equal better, "arguably" or not, Scott. You say if people preferred underground rap these artists would be the ones more popular; however, think about it. If these people were the popular ones, there would probably be absolutely no change.

Let's just think about it for a second. Say the general public has always had a completely different view on music. Let's say that lyrics, multis, flow and such are renowned and bumped in clubs by women, whereas simplistic dance music is called the bullshit (that i personally think) it is. We'd still be having the exact same argument; there'd still be enough sheep saying that hip hop was dying eventually, because people like to complain. The balance would switch; it would suddenly be complex shit being toted as "mainstream" and dance music being called "underground", but it's all the same really. Popularity means nothing if you want to discuss actual musical quality, which clearly you have less interest in than how popular music is and how everyone sees it.

The bottom line is, you have good points amongst your post. I agree with the principles of your argument. But i don't agree that these musicians aren't responsible for the music they create; such a claim is ridiculous. They know what music they're making, and who for. Therefore, if i think they are small-talented people aiming to a crowd that is easy to please, then yes i am going to call them idiots. Cause that's how i see them. That's just from personal experience, and this is what you must grasp. You can't "blame" anyone, everybody sees it differently based on their life experience and preferences. But yes, hip hop isn't "dead", these people are just melodramatic idiots. But really, this is something anyone who understands hip hop already knows, so this thread is really a bit of a lost cause amongst most members here.

[Xray]

i fail to understand why people bitch, and moan and cry about the 'state' that hip hop finds itself in now. everyone is so quick to blame the artists who make poppy songs i.e. Flo-rida, Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy, Drake etc, they are ALL getting criticised by you so called 'real rap fans'. i am tired of seeing the same things being said over and over again.

my opinion is this. if you want to blame someone for 'killing' the rap game. blame yourselves. blame the fans. NOT the artists. don't hate the player, hate the game. can't you see?! it's US .. it's the PEOPLE who are to blame. WE as people are taking more interest in poppy music, rather than underground rap. why? because more people prefer it.

why are these people so rich? because they have fans. why are underground rappers not so rich? because not as many people like them. so obviously, poppy rap is more popular. and arguably, better.

i'm all for lyricism. flow and multis. but come ON. when you're in a club, do you REALLY want to hear a Canibus song playing? not only would you not be able to dance to it, but the girls would be out of the club within 2 seconds.

my point is, people should quit hating on these rappers. they are doing what they get PAID to do. they are doing what they love. they are NOT destroying the rap game. we, as people, as fans, are the ones who are destroying it. it is us who are buying the poppy songs, and it is our fault that the likes of Canibus and co are not that huge. IF people preferred underground rap, over poppy rap, then it would be THEY who are famous, and not Lil Wayne, Soulja Boy etc, but this is NOT the case.

COMMON SENSE MOTHERFUCKERS.

By this theory, you should be shot down.

[yoshi]

people like me, who like and enjoy both sides of rap. the poppy stuff, and the 'proper' rap too. are more open minded.

we don't jump on band wagons.

You just won the "Oxymoron of 2009" award. I'd elaborate, but it'd kill the moment.

[Xray]

Yoshi 1 - Scotty 0

[Xray]

Exactly which rappers have you heard that go by "proper rap" besides Eminem?

This should be interesting.

[Xray]

Nah I was just gonna laugh at your lack of intelligence about Hip Hop.

[Tornado]

This thread is gonna trun to a part 2 of "Big Question About Rapping"

but to be honest, people like you. you look through tinted glasses when looking at the rap game. you already know what you like, and what you don't like before you even hear it. for example you hate soulja boy, but you were mildly impressed when i showed you that fast song he did, you said something like "where the fuck was this stuff hiding" etc. which just leads me to believe that you don't give these artists a chance, because of your tinted glasses.

people like me, who like and enjoy both sides of rap. the poppy stuff, and the 'proper' rap too. are more open minded.

we don't jump on band wagons.

The "Tinted" glasses we look through, is actually what we prefer, becaquse Hip-Hop is becoming so vast, it has it's own sub-genres. Of course som will like the club suff more whilst others would like the more lyrical thoughtful stuff. Now don't get me wrong, Partying and clubs were a BIG part of Hip-Hop when it beagn and still should be, rocking the crowd, but over time, Hip-Hop evolved from just that and the standards have been pushed up. What i'm tired of seeing is people over-saturate the game with a song about the club or being in love with some some synths, an 808 kick with a clap and some futuristic Pad, and it's not just Hip-Hop, mainstream music in general follows this trend of blandness. If thats what you like, whatever, just dont call us close minded when we don't like it. And how would you know we don't give artists a chance? You think because we hate the lead singles and you do that you're open minded and we're just "Haters"? TBH the term Hater is used as an excuse to cover the fact that it IS shit 95% of the time.

As for Soulja Boy, his best track is succesful whcih is sub-standard, the fucking southeren accent sucks, so the chorus does and the beat is weak but lyrics were simple but i understand why he used it. So yeh, we do check artists before forming an opinion

[Xray]

Nas (only a few songs, the rest bore me)

[Tornado]

why the fuck is the camera shaking so much? that was stupid.

Ok, the flow is on point but thank fuck the lyrics was there on the info page, if you're gonna go go fast, your pronoucaition needs to be crystal clear which it wasn't. Lyrics were actually not terrible like if you gotta looking at the words to listen to a song, then it failed, thoug i bet a lot of people would like this becuase it's hype, kinda like when uk mc's spit hype and people shout like idiots. Chorus was horrible