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No, I always thought it sounded ridiculous. Wayne can actually rap properly when he decides to though. But given that this gimmick sound created such a massive buzz, I can see why he embraced it so much.
The fact that a lot of this new generation of "rappers" legitimately think Eminem is trash (like his music or not, his talent is undeniable) speaks volumes to me.
I don't think they think he's trash generally, most of them just came of age after Eminem's prime. Keep in mind someone born in 2002 is likely not going to be familiar with Eminem besides his subpar 2010s output.
I said Memphis previously. I'm sticking with that, but to expand, a lot of southern cities make significant contributions to music.
So much of what we recognize now as popular music evolved from the African-American culture of that region: blues, jazz, gospel, etc., seemingly everything eventually flows from those genres along with the willingness to greatly expand and experiment on them.
Bluegrass of southern Appalachia can't be overlooked either in its contributions to country music. Interestingly, the banjo derived from African instruments and was initially associated with music from that culture.
So, honestly I think that Memphis, New Orleans, and perhaps Nashville and areas all over the south in many ways had a far greater impact initially on American music, perhaps more so than New York or Los Angeles.
Most cities have contributed popular bands and acts to the music scene over the years, oftentimes putting their own spin on things.
This is a good point. If I were to revise my list, I would probably put New Orleans first, then Detroit, then Chicago, then Nashville.
Maybe I'm biased as someone who consumes a lot of subgenres of rock, but I still think Chicago punches above its weight in producing musicians who were pioneers in their respective genres. House music also originated there which gives it major clout.
Chicago and Philly are heavyweights in music, no doubt -- Chicago more for Blues and Philly, more for Rock 'n Roll. But my argument for New Orleans is that its the foundation and birthplace for music, such as blues and jazz, that influenced so many other genres that other cities became famous for in their own right. And yes, African Americans were creators of so much of it... Case in point, you don't have Rock 'n Roll without blues -- note even the name of a substantial (if not THE main) subset of Rock: 'Rhythm and Blues'. There is no Country & Western without the blues... As you noted, Chicago, America's preeminent Industrial Revolution powerhouse of the late 1800s, became a blues hub during the Great Migrations of African Americans escaping the Jim Crow/pro-lynching South. But those folks' blues was influenced well before arriving in the North... more so back in the deep South, and New Orleans was the preeminent metropolitan city in the South -- really the only one -- dating to before the Civil War.
And while New Orleans was a pro-slavery city in a pro-slavery state, it has been for centuries the crossroads of so many races, ethnic groups and cultures (French, African American, Caribbean, Native American, Spanish,... on and on -- it is where so-called Creole race/ethnic culture was born), to the extent one could say N.O. was THE melting pot of America. And it created its own brand of music based on this cross-cultural identity that
I said Memphis previously. I'm sticking with that, but to expand, a lot of southern cities make significant contributions to music.
So much of what we recognize now as popular music evolved from the African-American culture of that region: blues, jazz, gospel, etc., seemingly everything eventually flows from those genres along with the willingness to greatly expand and experiment on them.
Bluegrass of southern Appalachia can't be overlooked either in its contributions to country music. Interestingly, the banjo derived from African instruments and was initially associated with music from that culture.
So, honestly I think that Memphis, New Orleans, and perhaps Nashville and areas all over the south in many ways had a far greater impact initially on American music, perhaps more so than New York or Los Angeles.
Most cities have contributed popular bands and acts to the music scene over the years, oftentimes putting their own spin on things.
Definitely. And honestly we can throw in "Appalachia" in general, even though it's not one place. The big cities really just are where people went for the audience numbers, but in terms of the roots of American music? Naw.
If Motown had happened in the 90s-00s-10s it’d be ahead of ATL.
Nashville or Seattle should be on your list not Minneapolis.
Minneapolis doesn’t belong that would be on the same level as Boston and the Bay.
Minneapolis had the Mine apples sound and basically collaborated with Boston based BBD/Bobby Brown, Al B Sure (Boston born, family all over Boston) and Ralph Tresvant in pioneering New Jack swing. It was then brought NYC and took off. New Jack swing is sort of the foundation of modern day sing-rap. Boston was the first city with “edgy/rough” boy bands (BBD/NKOTB)
Quite a few rock bands from the Bay and Boston and the Bay also has Hyphy music and creates tons of hip hop lingo. Boston has classic rock pier. Minneapolis has Lizzo m. Boston has Joyner Lucas and Donna Summer (queen of the disco)
Nashville has an enormous country music scene and is Music city (but also a/o Young Buck) Seattle is Quincy Jones Nirvana and Jimi.
New Orleans might be the most musical city in general though...
Which cities do you think have made the most contributions in the music world in any genre? I've excluded LA and NYC because are pretty clearly the top 2 and are heads and shoulders above other cities in the wealth of musical output that have come from them. Here's my list:
Chicago - Both Chicago Blues and house music originated here. So many influential music icons from pretty much every genre come from Chicago like Steve Albini, Muddy Waters, Nat King Cole, Sam Cooke, Kanye West, Lupe Fiasco, Patti Smith, and many more.
Detroit - Detroit pioneered both the Motown sound and the genre of techno. It was also historically a hotbed of many other genres like blues, jazz, r&b, soul, gospel, rock and roll, and hip hop. Notable artists are Gladys Knights & The Pips, Parliament-Funkadelic, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Jack White, J. Dilla, and Danny Brown.
Atlanta - ATL's dominance in hip hop and r&b is quite evident, though it also is killing it in other genres like indie rock, alternative rock, pop, and neosoul. Some amazing artists/bands that have come out of ATL are Outkast, Janelle Monae, Childish Gambino, Deerhunter, Black Lips, Atlas Sound, and Manchester Orchestra.
Minneapolis - Prince alone could easily boost Minneapolis to the top 10. There's a variety of other great artists like The Replacements, Husker Du, Lizzo, The Jets, and The Time.
A few other notable mentions are New Orleans, Memphis, and Seattle.
Nashville, Seattle, Austin, San Francisco, Boston, and few others should be listed as well.
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Originally Posted by Vincent_Adultman
Seattle - Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Quincy Jones, Soundgarden, The Sonics, Heart, Queensryche, Melvins, Mudhoney, Sunny Day Real Estate, Fleet Foxes, Foo Fighters, Mother Love Bone, Temple of the Dog, The Gits, The Fastbacks, Shabazz Palaces, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Macklemore, Ray Charles spent a good portion of his career in Seattle, Modest Mouse, Death Can for Cutie, Blue Scholars, etc.
The breadth and depth Seattle has is top notch. And it was the center of the rock world in the early 90s with the Grunge scene.
With the exception of a couple musicians, these are all very white acts for a very particular, white demographic.
It's funny how some people think "grunge" was some new sound out of Seattle when it was more about marketing the local scene; a scene who had been heavily influenced by the likes of Sonic Youth (NYC), Husker Du (St. Paul), the Pixies (Boston), the Replacements (Minneapolis), and a number of other groups who had been flying under the radar a decade before the likes of Nirvana. What Bruce Pavitt did for the Seattle music scene and alternative music was genius.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mhays25
Chicago, Detroit...
Minneapolis would be on a lower tier. The idea that Prince plus some smaller acts... If that puts it on a higher tier then Seattle's grunge era would be at least on a similar level.
My employer has renovated two core Seattle schools. One's grads include Quincy Jones, Jimi Hendrix, and Maclemore. The other had a grad/parent fundraiser before we started work...Heart, Pearl Jam...
There is far more to the Minneapolis or Twin Cities music scene than Prince. Let's not forget Bob Dylan. It's where he picked up the acoustic guitar and started introducing himself as Bob Dylan. It's where he met other local musicians as well as Paul Nelson (“a folk-music scholar”), who had a major influence on Dylan’s musical direction.
The Twin Cities have also had more R & B acts than a lot of cities, including Seattle. Mint Condition, Next, and the Sounds of Blackness come to mind.
[quote=YIMBY;60070372]
With the exception of a couple musicians, these are all very white acts for a very particular, white demographic.
It's funny how some people think "grunge" was some new sound out of Seattle when it was more about marketing the local scene; a scene who had been heavily influenced by the likes of Sonic Youth (NYC), Husker Du (St. Paul), the Pixies (Boston), the Replacements (Minneapolis), and a number of other groups who had been flying under the radar a decade before the likes of Nirvana. What Bruce Pavitt did for the Seattle music scene and alternative music was genius.
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Thank you! I've always thought people give grunge way too much credit, it was not musically groundbreaking or original. Culturally? It was revolutionary. Musically, it was just a bunch of loosely connected bands, most of whom weren't doing anything that wasn't already being done many years earlier. Pearl Jam may have been more commercially successful, but Sonic Youth and Pixies were and still are much more influential.
Whats the difference between notable and honorable?
Prince is by far the better artist but there's probably more people under 30 around the world who can name multiple Lil Wayne songs compared to Prince. And he has had a similar significant long-lasting impact on music. All these new rappers grew up listening to Lil Wayne, not so much Prince. With that said, Prince obviously has more impact but Lil Wayne's influence is probably more relevant in 2021.
^ Proof of just how sad the state of music and the music industry has become. Prince was on another level than Lil Wayne in terms of talent. He was not only a great musician (guitar, bass, drums, piano, keyboards, etc...), but he was an amazing lyricist, solid song writer, excellent producer, hell of a dancer, and overall, an insane performer. Lil Wayne not so much.
Prince's death was recognized by leaders and other musicians throughout the world, several cities lit up purple, and even NASA acknowledgement his passing. Hell, there were still tributes to him last year - four years after his death. Lil Wayne will never have the respect or impact - no matter how many new, garbage mumble rappers he influences.
For some perspective, do a Google image search of King and then do one of Prince.
With the exception of a couple musicians, these are all very white acts for a very particular, white demographic.
It's funny how some people think "grunge" was some new sound out of Seattle when it was more about marketing the local scene; a scene who had been heavily influenced by the likes of Sonic Youth (NYC), Husker Du (St. Paul), the Pixies (Boston), the Replacements (Minneapolis), and a number of other groups who had been flying under the radar a decade before the likes of Nirvana. What Bruce Pavitt did for the Seattle music scene and alternative music was genius.
[\QUOTE]
Thank you! I've always thought people give grunge way too much credit, it was not musically groundbreaking or original. Culturally? It was revolutionary. Musically, it was just a bunch of loosely connected bands, most of whom weren't doing anything that wasn't already being done many years earlier. Pearl Jam may have been more commercially successful, but Sonic Youth and Pixies were and still are much more influential.
Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains - especially Nirvana - were far more impactful and influential than Sonic Youth or the Pixies. SY and The Pixies influenced a lot of the Seattle bands but to say they were more directly influential is flat out wrong. The word Grunge was loosely used to lump a bunch of bands from Seattle and WA together, and it is kind of a silly term in that regard. But a distinct sound did come out of Seattle - a sort of sludgy mix of heavy metal and punk, as exemplified by The Melvins or Mudhoney’s “Touch me I’m Sick” - that was very influential on rock music.
Another Seattle band from a different era that deserves more attention here are The Sonics. They were one of the original protopunk bands and came even earlier than the Stooges and MC5.
As for being largely white acts, that is true although obviously Quincy Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Ray Charles, and Sir Mix-A-Lot are worth mentioning as well. And while not a ton of national acts came out of it, Seattle had strong Black Jazz and R&B scenes in the first half of the 20th Century, and even today it has better scenes in those areas than you’d expect.
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