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Location: Watching half my country turn into Gilead
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After 2Pac, Biggie (locks) and Jay-Z (business savvy, Beyonce marriage and longevity work in his ultimate favor), I think the 4th slot is more interesting, since it's a true dogfight between Eminem and Nas. Both are lyrical monsters, both filled a niche (white rapper, street conscious) and both have struggled with beat selection throughout their careers.
In Eminem's favor, he's the best selling rapper of all time, and successfully knocked down rap's racial barrier in a way that no one before him had or (arguably) has since. In Nas' favor, he beat a fellow legend (Jay-Z) in the second most infamous rap beef of all time (after Biggie/Pac, of course) and successfully bridged the gap (pun intended) between the Golden Age of rappers (Rakim, KRS One, Big Daddy Kane, etc) with the new generation. If we go global recognition and pop culture impact, Eminem wins this. If we go with rap recognition and street culture impact, Nas wins.
Outkast, the greatest 2 MC Hip Hop group in the history of the game, but groups are usually not considered when coming to Mt Rushmore. Andre 3000 even though a Top 10 all-time MC is disqualified from Mt Rushmore because he never dropped a solo album project.
Ludacris and T.I. both get a few votes but that's as close as it gets for Atlanta.
NYC: Jay-z and Nas is on Mt. Rushmore end of story no debate will be tolerated. We're also not going to include the "Godfathers" like Rakim, KRS-ONE, Slick Rick and Kool G Rap.
Biggie?? Yes for alot people but some say his discography was limited
Outside of NYC and Atlanta: Tupac, end of story and no debate will be tolerated. Ice Cube, close call. Scarface, close call. Kanye West, very close call. Eminem, woah....
So for solo acts you can go with Jay-Z, Nas, Tupac, Biggie. Or Jay-Z, Nas, Tupac, Eminem. I personally lean towards having Biggie on the list
What?!?! Blasphemy...
You're giving him top 10 even though he hasn't released a solo album. What qualifies him in the TOP 10?
We were talking about sonic distinctiveness. That means the beat and the elements of the typical trap beat--drum roll, heavy 808, hi hat--do not have their origins in Atlanta. Project Pat had been rapping over that kind of beat long before anyone from Atlanta.
So in other words, a trap beat is not an "Atlanta beat" or the "Atlanta sound" since there were other producers in other Southern cities that played a large part in creating what most people think of today as a "southern sounding" beat.
Say the sound then. Because trap music IS Atlanta music. Trap music isn't Memphis. It isn't New Orleans. It isn't Miami and it isn't Houston and most Southerners would agree to that.
I believe it was you who mentioned NYC style fashion being dated, etc. I merely countered those assertions.
That's NOT the discussion and I should know because I started the thread.
I asked which city's hip hop scene is more famous.
You keep going back to which is more relevant today, but that is not the same as which is more famous overall. Andre Ward is more relevant on the boxing scene today than Mike Tyson, but that doesn't mean more people know who he is, especially outside of boxing aficionado.
Well yeah. I've said this before on here. No hate on Atlanta but it didn't really have a sound to it's own until this trap sound. The booty shaking sound is Miami. They tried to bounce at one point, which was New Orleans. They tried the crunk/get buck sound, which was Memphis. All of these styles started in the late 80s in these respective cities. Atlanta borrowed from the cities in ways and capitalized this. In the 90s, Atlanta and Miami made similar music mostly.
I wouldn't call it an "Atlanta" sound since Lil' Wayne, UGK and Three 6 Mafia had been rapping over those beats before Jeezy, T.I., Gucci, etc. were on the scene.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BajanYankee
Atlanta artists were not the first to introduce or even popularize what came to be known as "trap" beats. And by "trap beats" I mean beats with drum rolls, hit hats, 808s and a high BPM.
Atlanta was known for booty shake in the early to mid 90s (Kilo, DJ Taz, Freaknasty, etc.). Lil' Jon and the East Side Boyz made the transition from booty shake (Shawty Freak a Lil' Sumthin) to crunk music (Throw It Up). Trap music, which is basically what people think of now when they think "southern" rap, was never really confined to one single geographic area the way bounce or booty shake was, but Memphis definitely put it on the map with acts like Gucci, Jeezy and T.I. coming later. People forget that Three 6 Mafia was going platinum.
That's why I don't see "trap" and "Atlanta" as one in the same. I see it as part of the "the South" in general though Atlanta has been the biggest contributor to the genre in the last decade or so. NYC, however, can be said to have its own sound because no other city had the influence it did over East Coast hip hop, or even rap music in general.
Which is where I responded to. 3-6 Mafia didn't make trap music. Gucci, Jeezy, and TI did. 3-6 Mafia also didn't call their music trap music. Jeezy, Gucci, and TI did. To most folks from the South that grew up with the hip hop in the region, the first time most heard Trap was in 98 with Outkast. It was all GA. The first time we heard anything referring to trap music was 2003 by TI.
After 2Pac, Biggie (locks) and Jay-Z (business savvy, Beyonce marriage and longevity work in his ultimate favor), I think the 4th slot is more interesting, since it's a true dogfight between Eminem and Nas. Both are lyrical monsters, both filled a niche (white rapper, street conscious) and both have struggled with beat selection throughout their careers.
In Eminem's favor, he's the best selling rapper of all time, and successfully knocked down rap's racial barrier in a way that no one before him had or (arguably) has since. In Nas' favor, he beat a fellow legend (Jay-Z) in the second most infamous rap beef of all time (after Biggie/Pac, of course) and successfully bridged the gap (pun intended) between the Golden Age of rappers (Rakim, KRS One, Big Daddy Kane, etc) with the new generation. If we go global recognition and pop culture impact, Eminem wins this. If we go with rap recognition and street culture impact, Nas wins.
A Mt. Rushmore can't be done then. It really only includes rappers from the mid 90s. At least with the NBA, it spans generations with Wilt/Bill Russel, MJ, Magic/Bird...etc
Which is where I responded to. 3-6 Mafia didn't make trap music. Gucci, Jeezy, and TI did. 3-6 Mafia also didn't call their music trap music. Jeezy, Gucci, and TI did.
But if you read our entire discussion, it was evident we were talking about the music production, which has very objective sonic elements. I don't care to get into an argument about what trap music is since that's more open to debate, but the actual characteristics of a "trap" beat are not something heavily disputed by producers.
Well yeah. I've said this before on here. No hate on Atlanta but it didn't really have a sound to it's own until this trap sound. The booty shaking sound is Miami. They tried to bounce at one point, which was New Orleans. They tried the crunk/get buck sound, which was Memphis. All of these styles started in the late 80s in these respective cities. Atlanta borrowed from the cities in ways and capitalized this. In the 90s, Atlanta and Miami made similar music mostly.
I gotta stop you there. As I've stated before, ATL had a much more distinct sound with the Dungeon Family, which is more laid back funk. Then Lil John in the early 2000s; Lil john's beats were so popular because as frequently as it was heard, they were mostly used by Atlanta artist. Then you had Jazzy Pha, which was similar to the Dungeon Family. Actually back then, Atlanta had a very distinct sound; today, however, everywhere else is adopting Atlanta's sound, so it doesn't seem as unique anymore. It goes to show how influential Atlanta has become.
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