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Haha I was about to post a devin track yesterday but I decided to refrain cuz I'd already put too many. Devin's first album was tight tho, and a lot of people sleep on him.
Clevelands and Ohios got so many rappers, but like bone thugs, you ain't getting big unless it's luck. because there are no major labels here like in NYC, LA, or Atlanta.. why do you think those cities produce 90% of mainstream rappers?
That's totally true. I think Eazy E realized this and was attempting to capitalize on it right before he passed away. Does anyone remember Tab & Da Villon?? One of them was from Toledo and the other was from STL as I remember. They were signed to Ruthless and came out with a tape (yes I still have the cassette tape since this was '94-'95 and I was broke lol), but they never really blew. I remember being impressed by the style that region seemed to be coming out with back then b/c I was really big on Bone at the time.
Surprisingly enough Sacramento had a very similar style, and I first heard Brotha Lynch and X-Raided right after Bone had just come out and thought they'd all be connected somehow. But just like many of the Midwest cities, Sacramento was off the radar and no one was gonna get signed to any major labels w/o some luck (which never came for them). That's what sucks; if you're from some city that's off the radar you either have to work twice as hard as someone from NY or LA (or now ATL), or you have to have some kind of gimmick the record label can exploit. A lot of cities are relevant only for short periods of time b/c of passing fads and the constant overshadowing of NYC and LA. But that's just the way it is, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Maybe if some new label that actually cared about quality over sales grew in power, but then how are they going to gain enough power if they don't focus on sales? Its kind of a catch 22.
I gotta say tho, in Bone's case, they are IMO the most talented rappers I've heard from that region (along with Eminem) and I don't think it was only luck that got them as far as they got. Other rappers had a similar style, but no one else did it like Bone. Crucial Conflict and Twista could never touch them IMO.
Its interesting, thinking back I never realized how much of a connection LA seemed to have with that part of the Midwest. Eazy w/ Bone (and others he was trying for), Snoop discovering Bow Wow in Ohio, and then Dre finding Eminem. I guess that's more like NWA being connected to that area, but still its kind of interesting since I've never thought about it before.
My intention in mentioning hip hop's musical roots has nothing to do with taking credit away from New York. No one denies where hip hop originated and nowhere in my post did I imply that.
As a woman of color, I appreciate and study Pan African movements and I'm just trying to get us away from this regional beef we tend to have with each other. While still stating that New York is the birthplace of hip hop, I can also acknowledge that its parents are from all over the map.
My point is to get us to see that all of our contributions as black artists, whether they are from the South, North, or West, are all rooted in a collective history and culture, and this goes deeper than our immediate surroundings. I can no less claim that hip hop has no influence outside the Bronx than I can claim G-funk has no influences outside L.A., or soul has no influences outside Detroit.
This may trip you out (it tripped me out when I first learned about it), but a lot of what we do today as Black people are what's called African "survivals"-- things that enslaved Africans brought over from our home countries that stayed alive over the centuries b/c of our endurance and creativity. This includes call and response (go to any rap concert for this), the use of a griot (basically a hype man that would travel with royalty and use spoken word to hype him up), polyrhthyms, heavy drums and bass (that bass from Miami is not unique to the South, as Kool Herc was the first to bring loud ass sound systems to the US, which he modeled after reggae/dancehall sound systems in his hometown Jamaica), and oral lyricism (West African cultures used colorful oral language moreso than written literature), among many others.
When I first started reading about this stuff, I was blown away. A lot of times, we're so disconnected from our history we have no idea how much influence it actually has on us today.
I'm so over the NY vs. the West vs. the South BS... we all black, we all have contributions that we should acknowledge, and all of our art gets exploited. Time to move the conversation from "who's worsening what" to "how can we own and improve our music together"....off the soapbox.
This is a brilliant post! I have no idea how I have missed your posts on here before. Finally somebody that can see the bigger picture.
That's totally true. I think Eazy E realized this and was attempting to capitalize on it right before he passed away. Does anyone remember Tab & Da Villon?? One of them was from Toledo and the other was from STL as I remember. They were signed to Ruthless and came out with a tape (yes I still have the cassette tape since this was '94-'95 and I was broke lol), but they never really blew. I remember being impressed by the style that region seemed to be coming out with back then b/c I was really big on Bone at the time.
Surprisingly enough Sacramento had a very similar style, and I first heard Brotha Lynch and X-Raided right after Bone had just come out and thought they'd all be connected somehow. But just like many of the Midwest cities, Sacramento was off the radar and no one was gonna get signed to any major labels w/o some luck (which never came for them). That's what sucks; if you're from some city that's off the radar you either have to work twice as hard as someone from NY or LA (or now ATL), or you have to have some kind of gimmick the record label can exploit. A lot of cities are relevant only for short periods of time b/c of passing fads and the constant overshadowing of NYC and LA. But that's just the way it is, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Maybe if some new label that actually cared about quality over sales grew in power, but then how are they going to gain enough power if they don't focus on sales? Its kind of a catch 22.
I gotta say tho, in Bone's case, they are IMO the most talented rappers I've heard from that region (along with Eminem) and I don't think it was only luck that got them as far as they got. Other rappers had a similar style, but no one else did it like Bone. Crucial Conflict and Twista could never touch them IMO.
Its interesting, thinking back I never realized how much of a connection LA seemed to have with that part of the Midwest. Eazy w/ Bone (and others he was trying for), Snoop discovering Bow Wow in Ohio, and then Dre finding Eminem. I guess that's more like NWA being connected to that area, but still its kind of interesting since I've never thought about it before.
no lupe?
you know whats interesting. Everytime rappers from other regions collaborate with midwest dudes they always try to mimick their flow like is a competition or something lol. That kinda makes it fun to listen to though.
The best underground scene is by far in the Bay. Just for the fact that it is being ignored on here is an example of why this is true.
Yea, that makes total sense.
E-40 is the best rapper to ever come out of the Yay Area, but he's not really underground anymore. E-40's been doing it since '94 when he dropped In A Major Way. Too $hort is a legend in hip-hop, but he hasn't lived in the Bay since '96. Other than E-40 and Too $hort, the only rapper from the Bay that's making any noise is Mistah F.A.B.
you know whats interesting. Everytime rappers from other regions collaborate with midwest dudes they always try to mimick their flow like is a competition or something lol. That kinda makes it fun to listen to though.
E-40 is the best rapper to ever come out of the Yay Area, but he's not really underground anymore. E-40's been doing it since '94 when he dropped In A Major Way. Too $hort is a legend in hip-hop, but he hasn't lived in the Bay since '96. Other than E-40 and Too $hort, the only rapper from the Bay that's making any noise is Mistah F.A.B.
E-40 is not even close to being the best rapper out the Bay. He might be the 2nd biggest (next to Too Short), but he's far from the best.
Holla at me I'll be in the bath room boo boo'n. DEVIN DA DUDE. Hip hop is dead. LOng live the 90's
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