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I know what she means though cause every time a "hard beat" comes out you get 20 or 30 versions of it. I think last year the big one was "throw some d's on it" i don't even know how the original went cause Kanye had a version, Jay Z had a version, T Pain had a version, R Kelly had a version, Young buck had a version....I was like are you kidding me?
And yes I'm sick of DJ Khaled and DJ Drama with everybody and they mama on one song. 5 rappers on one song is not good especially when one of the rappers is Plies. Why does he even embarrass himself by trying to rap with Luda, Wayne and rick Ross? He should try to do songs with Lil Boosie and Webbie so no one will notice how untalented he is.
Well honestly, Rick Ross is not that great himself. Lil Wayne is quite possibly the most overrated rapper in history. How he is so popular and Lupe Fiasco is not is something I don't understand.
Well honestly, Rick Ross is not that great himself. Lil Wayne is quite possibly the most overrated rapper in history. How he is so popular and Lupe Fiasco is not is something I don't understand.
Different kind of vibe. Lil Wayne is something you listen to mostly for the beat - well me anyway - when you riding in the car with a bunch of people, getting dressed to go to the club, when you like in a rowdy kinda mood. Lupe is more mellow - you only listen to it when you have time to enjoy it. I'll listen to Lupe when I'm riding alone or on the highway.
My theory of the destruction of hip-hop is that it is not destroyed by rappers, but by their producers.
Like all art when you start to mass-produce it, it starts loosing its quality (=that what distinguished it from other music styles). So now when all we listen to is hip-hop it just becomes bland.
And those musicians who do stick out because of their individual quality as an artist will be copied by the less talented rappers, because they wanna be the flavour of the month too. In short: mass production simply destroys creativity.
And using beats from other songs is inherent to hip-hop isn't it?
The only remixer I have an interest in is Junkie XL (or JXL in America).
He had his breakthrough remix of the late Elvis Presley's moderately successful 1968 single "A Little Less Conversation" for a 2002 Nike World Cup Commercial.
He was offered to do a remix of The Beatles song Strawberry Fields Forever and a whole CD with Presley remixes, but turned them down because it was only for making money, so did not find these offers artistically challenging. Instead he keeps himself extremely busy creating music for video games.
Rap music has been in a major sales decline for over 5 years now. The reality is that the rap industry is in serious danger of dying out in the next 10 years if they don't fix their product. Some of that has to do with the music industry in general, most of it is just changing tastes in the music-buying public.
I think what's killing rap is that they have lost their biggest record-buying base, the middle-class listener. I agree with others that Master P and in general the southern rap style is at fault. As was mentioned NWA and gangster rap started this trend (away from commentary and towards narrative) but "crunk" and it's spawn have finished the job. Most rap product today - not only mainstream but the 'hardcore' underground product as well - is creatively, musically, and intellectually bankrupt.
The reality is that being "hop-hop" - the clothes, graffitti, etc... is falling out of favor among the middle class. It is no longer cool to be thuggish or to pretend to be ghetto if you are not. That is a big change from the 90's were every kid thought he was "from the hood". The kids who embrace that lifestyle today are looked at as hoodlums and are largely excluded from their peers.
The current product is catering to those kids, the ones who are outsiders with no influence on their peers and no incomes to support the industry. Rap music is in danger of becoming a niche product unless it can get traction with the influential, music-loving kid who is alway buying music and going to shows. At least here in SoCal, those kids are into the punk / indie scene. Those same kids listen to plenty of rap - but they sure as heck aren't buying into the message.
I noticed a show on MTV where they are taking ghetto fools and trying to turn them into "gentlemen". This is the future - kids are recognizing that gold teeth and a rented bentley is phony and they want more. Kids do not want to sacrifice acceptance into the greater society for "keeping it real" anymore. Add in the fact that most 'hoods have improved greatly in the past ten years, it's hard for kids to relate to the same tales of drug dealing and shootouts - a lifestyle many have not only never seen, but may never see.
Rap music was interesting when it described reality. It was relevant and topical. Today it is just another entertainment product and the reality is now the people imitating that product. It's a pretty sad state of affairs when the top artists in the genre continue to abandon it to become more mainstream successes.
Honestly the only part of rap that is in decline is the mainstream. If you look beyond that there are plenty of talented rappers.
Be that as it may, but as soon as the make it big they somehow stop being creative or start doing something completely else (like pursue an acting career or that of a fashion designer). Maybe this phenomenon happens in the general music business?
Originally Posted by craziness2Be that as it may, but as soon as the make it big they somehow stop being creative or start doing something completely else (like pursue an acting career or that of a fashion designer). Maybe this phenomenon happens in the general music business?
Not at all. It's an acute problem with rap because the artists have such a limited shelf life.
The problem today is that so many rap acts are just novelties, gimmicks.
Not at all. It's an acute problem with rap because the artists have such a limited shelf life.
But how about the other genres?
I mean I'm not really a music expert and don't follow the music scene at all, but I get the impression that the general lifespan of musicians are a lot shorter now than they were in the 60's & 70's?
You don't hear anything anymore from Limp Bizkit or Avril Lavigne. Well at least here in the Netherlands.
Although I wouldn't mind if the Rolling Stones would give up rock & roll and started on Blues or somethin'. They kinda are gettin too old to rock on stage.
I wouldnt say what rapper killed hip hop i would say what killed hip hop period....And if you ask me a couple things did,
1: The term "swagg"...People think just because a rapper belives that he/she is the best thing since sliced bread then they are and thats just not true,cockyness wont get you too far in my book....
2:Gimmicks...If i hear another rapper use that Computer love voice thingy im gonna lose it!! Thats not hip hop! Thats you fighting a computer and loseing!....This means you T-Pain....this means you -.- (though his songs are catchey)
3:Going Pop....I for one, hated candy shop and everything after that....get rich or die tryin had to be one of the most solidest albums ive heard in a long time but when you go pop/sell out....its just sad.....EX:" Styles P Blow Ya Mind" Styles P is one of the hardest MC'S in the game and shouldve never ever did that...
4:The popularity contest.....Today thats all rap/hip hop is...... soulja boy outsells talib qweli does that make sense? I know somebody out there is fealing me.....Nelly outsells KRS1.....are you serious?! But yeah ill stop there but those are the biggest blows delt to hiphop of you ask me....."G.rowth & D.evelopment"
I wouldn't say that he's responsible single-handedly for destroying hip hop (nor do I think it's been destroyed), but if I had to pick one rapper who represents more than any other the negatives of hip hop, it would be 50 Cent.
50 Cent to me is the Britney Spears of rap. That is to say that, like Britney Spears, there is absolutely nothing remarkable about him in terms of talent, charisma, looks or voice. Some rappers are known for their witty wordplay (Ludacris, Eminem), their unique flow (Snoop Dogg, Nelly), their sociopolitical commentary (Nas, Mos Def), or their innovative music (Kanye West, Outkast, The Roots); and to me, 50 Cent has none of those things. His rap skills are unremarkable, the beats to his songs are virtually all the same and the subject doesn't change from the rap stereotypes of pimps, drugs, women, flashing wealth and violence. Quite a few of the artists I mentioned earlier do the same, but they at least have some sort of saving grace usually in that they have something that makes them unique whereas I feel like you could take almost any kid out of a housing project in Jamaica, Queens and with the right producers, handlers and trainers turn him into a "50 Cent" (which is the same way I feel about Britney Spears).
There are plenty of other artists in hip hop who I have similar criticisms of. Hip hop is rife with one hit wonders who record a song about ass-shaking, have it shoot to the top of the charts, release a platinum album full of generic rap and then fall off the face of the Earth. T-Pain, Juvenile, Lil Jon, Ja Rule, Soulja Boy, MIMS, Mystikal. I could go on and on. The reason why I pick on 50 Cent more than these guys is the sole reason that he has sold more records than any of them and continues to have a stellar career. More than any other rapper, he has made a career out of generic mediocrity and that's why I think he's the poster boy for what is wrong with the state of hip hop music today. No other rapper to me has been able to stretch their lack of talent as far as he has.
Excellent post. I'm not an expert on Rap but this is about how I see it. Especially the subject matter. Generic pimping ho's etc etc.
Same thing happened in the 80's with the "Hair Metal" bands.
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My theory of the destruction of hip-hop is that it is not destroyed by rappers, but by their producers.
In short: mass production simply destroys creativity.
Instead he keeps himself extremely busy creating music for video games.
Maybe this phenomenon happens in the general music business?
Although I wouldn't mind if the Rolling Stones would give up rock & roll and started on Blues or somethin'. They kinda are gettin too old to rock on stage.
