hip hop nowdays

[kenz]

dont lie to me, its dead aint it?...... lol

its been comin down from its peak for the past couple of years...its more about hooks n flow, which is cool i like it, i aint dissin it, its jus different

you notice it especially over here the mainstream "fashionable" top shop types aint wearin sweatbands no more, its back to indy rock lol, dicks

whos the future?
i hear about reks, wale, i duno what happened to blu (n exile)

the UKhiphop scene is dead at the moment too

[TombStone]

I still find good music everyday. The underground is big as hell man, just camouflaged.

[kenz]

il be honest im pretty bored of rap atm, i aint heard much good lately, i listened to rap since iwas 10 and im 22 now, i think im jus fed up of all the shit thats out

and plus i mess about makin beats so i know how thats done, it takes away a bit of the magic, hard to explain

but yeah spraakwater is fuckin immense, favourited it on youtube

btw what does spraakwater mean? LOL

[Rudolf]

The original hip hopper :)

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/8229/snoopy.gif

[Slashe50]

The second I saw your name under this thread, I knew you posted something like that, Rudi.

Although I don't know if you getting predictable is a bad thing.

[Rudolf]

You know that I cannot help myself :)

Oh look, I found my little black dog :lol:

[kenz]

haha
not quite The original hip hopper considerin its been goin since early 80s maybe even 70s
but also not quite a new fag which il settle for

what is your favourite genre rudi? or do you have fingers in many pies?

[Rudolf]

Pies..........

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/8492/homerdrooling14513a7.jpg


What was the question again?


I'm more of a rock sort of person :)

[Slashe50]

I'm more of a metal person myself, but I can listen to old-school rap. You just can't pass up Sugarhill Gang and their hip, hop, the hippie, the hippie to the hip hip hop, a you dont stop

[rasaqboy]

http://www.mymusicsite.com/AlbumImage/LargeImage/200935134715875_HipHopAintDeadItLivesNDaSouth.jpg

[silasP]

"either i'm blind or hip-hop is dying in the south"

mainstream rap really starting dying with all that laffy taffy down south snap shit (sorry rasaqboy lol) but there are some southern acts that are dope like cunninlynguists, nappy roots, ludacris, outkast, UGK

but hip-hop overall is making a comeback, underground's been releasing mad shit you just gotta find the right underground hip-hop site and you'll be filled in

[shifted]

Someone post some underground hip-hop sites. :)

[kenz]

lol^

i jus listen to grime atm, its fresh and the passion is there so im enjoyin it

[Kenshi]

hip hip is now in the underground, i dont even like to call the stuff on the radio hip hop , or even rap for that matter. i think your just getting tired of the hip hop you hear, it doesnt mean its dying. your just not liking it as much. i think hip hop is alive and well and many more talented artists will continue to come out and make great tracks.

[kenz]

underground tends to lack techincal skill in production, and no knowledge of flow or the fact they are creatin music to listen to

i dont get excited by rap atm, grime i do get excited about but not rap, theres too many asher roths killin it lol

i jus need to find some flyin lotus or dan the automator, j dilla

[silasP]

well it depends on what kinds of underground hip-hop you listen to and find cuz by no means the underground in general lack the fundamentals, radio and tv is dead for music imo but underground and classics are always better in every genre too not just hip-hop

[kenz]

i didnt explain myself very well at all....i was on about like the immortal techinques, i know theres loads of shit that is underground that is of high quality, its jus mega hard to find
im startin to hate the cliched dark lyrics, stuffin rhymes in all over the place, wit shit production, its too easy to say somthin negative , its harder to say somthin positive imo

[TombStone]

but yeah spraakwater is fuckin immense, favourited it on youtube

btw what does spraakwater mean? LOL

It means "Speechwater, icecold speechwater, brrr consumption is mandatory" lol, translation sucks but the lyrics are pretty dope.



In other news, Heiruspecs makes me feel hiphop is still alive. We just gotta stop paying attention to these laffy taffy bling era rappers who are shittin all over hiphop.

[rasaqboy]

well it depends on what kinds of underground hip-hop you listen to
my exact response to your laffy taffy dancing south music comment.

yes the south sounds wack because of what you hear from the south. the radio only plays soulja boy , d4l, and snap dancing shit. If you really listened to ppl out the south and not just commercial south music you would know that rap is not dead but the radio is trying to kill it

[elchinoloco]

Materialism...violence inducing lyrics. I foresaw this a long time ago, and I moved into the underground :). It's alive and well down here, a lot cooler too...hahah.

[shifted]

Chamillionaire is from the "South" isn't he? He is one of the few talented artists out there. Even Bubba Sparxxx had good material in my opinion anyway.

Maybe we should have a separate category for Underground Hip-Hop in the gold mine section, so people do not get confused and get the good gear first. ;)

The "commercial" side of hip-hop is dying, no one wants to hear the crap they spill, even Eminem's new album fell well short of my expectations, and I don't care about seeing Relapse 2, seeing how this album has turned out (with only a couple DECENT tracks, the rest is either just plain wack crap or over use of swearing and pointless lyricism) and I do not see how Eminem could make a comeback to what he was earlier.

Focusing on the Underground, that is where you will see the lyrics and raw power those in influential positions do not want you to see. The mainstream is a business, and it is only their to sell, and bring about certain illusions about your reality. No different to TV. Go for the more free speech. ;)

[Drink_Gas]

I have to agree with you on the whole Relapse album. I like nothing off of it. He sounds like he's trying to do the voice to that old Informer song. Mainstream hip hop has become about making a song people can dance to instead of about the lyrics, I agree. A lot of people like that, they might not be too well versed in music but they like it and they dance to it like people want.

I for one have a guilty pleasure for Paul Wall on Still Tipping and Drive Slow. EDIT: I'd also like to point out that Kanye ripped off 2Pac for Drive Slow's beat.

In other news, did anyone see the article a few months back in XXL about "Emo Rap"? I certainly hope that doesn't get coined, they want to coin it because of Kanye's new album, but then they went on to say artists like Kanye & Talib & Slug and so on, all make emotional music. ECK-FUCKING-SCUSE ME, XXL, please never again mention Kanye with the likes of Talib & Slug when it comes to lyricism.
I almost gagged.

[Drink_Gas]

my exact response to your laffy taffy dancing south music comment.

yes the south sounds wack because of what you hear from the south. the radio only plays soulja boy , d4l, and snap dancing shit. If you really listened to ppl out the south and not just commercial south music you would know that rap is not dead but the radio is trying to kill it

I would love to agree and say RADIO is KILLING hip hop. But it's not. Radio is only trying to make money, the only way they can is by playing the stuff you would hear at a middle school dance. Buy sirius, you'll get better hip hop. (Not much better in a sense of commercial hip hop, but it is much better hip hop.)

[shifted]

You view is true Drink_Gas.

This AutoTune shit is gonna make hip-hop sit in that grave just a little bit further. KanYe, T-Pain and all them fools can no longer say they are hip-hop. Pop maybe, but definitely not hip-hop.

I saw a blog post about the new Hilltop Hoods album, and some clown replied saying something along the lines of; "They are shit, listen to Eminem's new album and Little Weezy and that is the real hip-hop, none of this wack shit" blah blah blah and it amazes me how blind people are.

Eminem has fallen off, I was expecting too much thinking he may just produce a decent album and go back to his roots, but he has gotten no better than all the other wankers out there now, it is not even music, shit, I know kids younger than me that can tell stories better, and Eminem is in his 30's!

I am expecting nothing of Relapse 2.

Worst news I heard today:

Lupe Fiasco is set to collab with Soulja Boy Tell 'Em on his new album, "The DeAndre Way"

Also, has anyone noticed the little bit of AutoTune on Lupe's new song? (Shining Down Ft. Matthew Santos)

Makes me sick. :(

I hope Lupe gets his head straight, Soulja Boy should realise he is not hip-hop and stop proclaiming to be...

Edit: Also, radio does not kill a genre, it is a money making machine that serves to supply music to a mainstream audience. You can have a radio station playing only the best hip-hop but it won't last long, the listeners are just not there, which means no drive, no advertisements, and the early death of a show.

Groove FM over here stayed with Hip-Hop, R&B and the like, and they did play some good gear, but then got sued for fuck knows why and now play everything, also, they are a free community based station, they do not have the license for all the extra stuff, but goes to show how quick things change.

The stations are not killing anything, the music being produced is. What the listeners get accustomed to will lead the industry. If artists started going back to the true, you might stand a chance, but people will object and kick and scream because it is not the same thing to what they are used to hearing.

[Drink_Gas]

I"m glad we see eye to eye. And that person who said Hilltop Hoods was wack shit was just stating an opinion. Granted he was being one of those internet bullies, he was still just stating his opinion. It's the hip hop he's growing up to know from the radio. I've listened for 12 years and I'm 20. I've seen a lot of good hip hop come and go, and I know you have too shifted, and we look at the genre differently.

Lupe working with Soulja Boy? I've just committed suicide. I really, truly, honestly thought Lupe would stay true to hip hop but now he's just going down the pop road.

That whole "pop" statement I have to agree with, you can't call the radio music hip hop anymore, it's pop. It's like when every hip hop station even on sirius plays "Prom Queen" it's awful, not hip hop but that's what the radio does, plays the shit that makes the money.

[kenz]

i think you need to redifine what you call good hip hop music, underground shit a lot of the time has shit production, a shit mix, simple to no flow, shit hooks etc

at the end of the day its music....to be enjoyed, if i wana know about pagan mythology l read a book..... i duno ive changed full circle since listening to hip hop, i think im jus fed up of people like asher roth claiming what real hip hop is, a lot of middle class white kids do that on the net aswell...the boom bap sound that was cool 10 years ago....with "complex lyrics" LOL, dicks, only reason they think that sound is cool is bcos it has already been done and everyone knows its cool, so they arent really risking being shot down to say its the best....

......god forbid they create a new sound or enjoy something new, they may look foolish when the truth comes to light that they aint got a clue, its much easier to say illmatic is nice than the new album that jus came out from some southern rapper......

i can tell how real someone is by what they listen to pretty easily
new shit is whats happenin now and will be looked back on in 10 years....
but solja boy an them are still shit i agree

[shifted]

On Lupe's point:

Either Lupe is gonna head down an awful track, or Souja Boy Tell 'Em will get his wack arse back into gear and actually provide good music (though I do feel this is impossible, he is just not hip-hop, maybe pop, but definitely not hip-hop) so I hope Lupe does something that does not make him seem crazy, but he better not be trying to bring Soulja Boy up, cos he will never achieve shit. I am surprised he even has a third album due!

Soulja Boy Tell’ Em is currently prepping and working on his third album, the ‘DeAndre Way’ which he has high expectations for, as he is quoted on video saying, “…mark my words, this album will be a classic.”

The rapper stated in an interview with MTV News that everyone was calling him “garbage” and a “one hit wonder” after his hit song “Crank Dat,” but he came out with “Kiss Me Thru The Phone” his second number one single which was followed by his recent and third number one single “Turn My Swag On.”

“I’ve got everyone’s ears open right now. Everybody’s listening. So I’m finna hit’em with a classic album,” Soulja Boy stated.

The confident rapper stated that the album will go platinum and it will be the best album that he has put out so far.

Soulja Boy goes on to state that he’s looking to reach out to “hip hop’s greatest” and wants the best of the best on his album like Jay-Z, Kanye and Lil Wayne and Soulja Boy says, with this album, he’s looking to tell his story unlike his first two albums.

“The third album is going down,” added Soulja Boy.

This made me laugh though:

A Soulja Boy fan makes an over advanced statement and threatens to “rape” the teen rapper.

Since Soulja Boy has been turning his swag on with songs such as the #1 Billboard single “Kiss Me Thru The Phone” and recent feature on “Delirious” with lyrics targeting the ladies, one fan seems to can’t control herself any longer. Though the eighteen year-old Soulja Boy may be use to fans’ admiration, it seems that the rapper and young businessman may have been thrown back by one fans’ gesture of emotion and over excitement when she said that she would quote ‘rape’ the young celebrity star, according to Soulja Boy.

“This girl looked me in the eye today and said ‘I will Rape the sh-t out of you,’” the rapper posted on his blog today.

It seems that the rapper may have been approached sometime during or after the rapper’s BET Spring Bling appearance when the fan made the over zealous statement as he was just mentioning his Spring Bling adventure beforehand.

“Ya boy shut down Spring Bling,” stated Soulja Boy.

Though Soulja Boy seemed to have been shocked by the statement or simply caught off guard, whether she was to be taken as an over-excited fan, a wannabe groupie or possibly a potential stalker, the rapper didn’t mention which one he thought she might be, but did happen to notice one other thing regarding her.

“She was fine ass hell,” stated the rapper.

In more regards to her statement made to Soulja Boy, the rapper seemed to have just laughed it off adding, “but I was like… lol.”

Could the rapper Soulja Boy be becoming the fans’ new sex symbol, as previously reported on HipHopRX.com?

Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em recently argued that Nas should be taken to task for rap’s so-called destruction instead of him.

In a recent video where he discusses hip-hop with his friends, Soulja Boy tackled the past claims by Ice-T and others who said the “Crank That” rapper single-handedly destroyed the state of hip-hop. From http://gallicwars.wordpress.com/2008/12/31/news-soulja-boy-transfers-blame-to-nas-for-hip-hops-death-he-came-out-and-killed-everybodys-money/#more-509

This is going to be a huge weekend for Soulja Boy Tell’em. On Saturday, he’s one of the performers gracing the stage at Atlanta’s Hot 107.9 Birthday Bash, and he’s also set to perform on Friday at the SuperJam concert for Greensboro, North Carolina’s 102 Jamz. This summer, the 19-year-old will be traveling all across the country, along with Young Jeezy, Drake and Lil Wayne for the America’s Most Wanted Music Festival. Performing such high-profile sets on the same bill as A-list rap superstars is never a worry for the teen hitmaker — the fans will remember him by the time they leave the building.

“I don’t really look at nobody as competition,” Soulja said. “I feel like I got my own lane, and I don’t have to worry about nobody. Anybody I feel is competition, I gotta knock them out the box. If there’s anybody that ever crossed my mind — [where] I say, ‘Man, he might be a problem for me,’ then I’mma have to get rid of him. But as far as getting my inspiration for stage performance, it has always been Michael Jackson. I remember I watched the DVD … Michael Jackson came and stood onstage for 10 minutes. They was screaming the whole 10 minutes. I actually imitated that a couple of times in my show.”

Soulja, who’s working on his The DeAndre Way LP, also said he wouldn’t mind hitting the road with another icon, Eminem. If Slim Shady should tour, Soulja says he wants in.

“I like his new music,” he said. “It’s different from what’s out. I think it’s good. It’s good for music. I’d open up for Eminem — lot of cheese right there.”

Soulja says he’s respected Em from early on in the Detroit legend’s career.

“Back in the days, I was tuned in to it,” Soulja explained. “I wasn’t too heavy into it, but he’s got some classic stuff. He used to come on TV, I used to be like, ‘That white boy go hard. Real hard.’ ”

http://www.soulja-boy.us/wordpress/?p=750#more-750

With absolutely nothing movie-related to promote or discuss, Soulja Boy Tell Em strolled the red carpet of the MTV Movie Awards and revealed that he's working with Academy Award winning actor/singer Jamie Foxx and fellow rappers Lupe Fiasco and Snoop Dogg on his upcoming project.

Known for his popularity on the Internet, Soulja Boy kept his fans/followers engaged as he twittered from the event. "Is it me or is 'Twilight' winning everything??" the rapper commented from his seat at the Gibson Amphitheater in Los Angeles.

While walking the red carpet, the 18-year-old stopped and talked about a run-in with a shy fan through his Twitter page. "I was at Busta Rhymes' album release party in New York," he told the BoomBox. "There was a chick in there [who] was twittering to me from across the room. She wouldn't get up and say [any]thing to me! That was crazy."

Before heading in to watch Eminem's performance, which he was most excited to see, the 'Crank That' rapper gave us a quick look at some of his 15 tattoos.

Since dropping his second album, 'iSouljaBoyTellEm,' last year, the rapper has been touring and celebrating the success of his chart-topping singles 'Kiss Me Through the Phone' and Turn My Swag On.' His third release, 'The DeAndre Way' hits stores this August.

Look, congrats on Soulja Boy doing what he loves, but it is I suppose not the stuff I prefer to listen to, as dance/pop music some of his songs have appeal, but otherwise he is hard to hear at times and his whole profile is just shit.

Congrats on being a Pop/Dance star Soulja Boy, but stop being wack and calling yourself a Hip-Hop artist.

Nas grew up with hip-hop through many dark days, he knows the genre as what it should be, not what it is now. It has evolved into something else.

I suppose I prefer the old school, but I would love to see more dope tracks dropped, regardless of the production behind them, I love good lyrics.

I gotta get my hands on more underground stuff. Once I get off my capped internet. ;)

[Drink_Gas]

I think Soulja Boy needs to go bump Main Source - Breaking Atoms (album) and listen for the song "Live at the Barbeque" for Nas's first 16 and notice how much better that is, back in 1991 then what Soulja himself is making today.

Can Soulja just die? In other news about hip hop nowadays.... did anyone see the new music video with T-Pain and Taylor Swift? If not here is a link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXsnCb1jntc

I think the only thing interesting is the irony of T-Pains "chain".

[shifted]

I gotta look at that when I get uncapped. Also, I gotta check out Main Source. Cheers for the heads up. ;)

[Drink_Gas]

Oh dude, Main Source is classic! Get on that, glad I could kick you in the rear end.

[kenz]

what do you two think of the fact most "classic" hip hop was sampled from pop songs?

[shifted]

2Pac did a good job with it. :)

The sampling for the beats I am not too worried with, I prefer the lyric side, I love being able to think and understand new concepts and new opinions. :)

[Drink_Gas]

Most songs today are sampled. Depends on what you do with it, like I said before, Drive Slow (imo) is better than Shorty Wanna Be A Thug for it's better use of said sample. Of course, the lyrics are better to me on Shorty Wanna Be A Thug, it just depends on a couple aspects.
A lot of beats now and classic beats were sampled from the do-wop era of music, and if you give credit, then all you're doing is flattering since "imitation is the most sincere form of flattery"

[kenz]

i didnt mean the sampling aspect i mean, you say you dont like pop but most hip hop was sampled from popular music, even soul like marvn gaye for example wud be the equivalent of someone like usher or neyo

these days you have many artists that create their own digital beats from scratch, in the past it was jus loops.....

nowadays sampling is advanced like dilllas style, but the boom bap era was mainly jus loops

im goin thru a phase of change in music, i know that much, il jus have to wait this one out, see what happens, im jus feelin the light hearted fun stuff more these days

[shifted]

I don't see how sampling from any song is a problem, because it depends on the structure and lyricism of the song in question.

The new songs may have "self-made" beats, but the lyricism is shit.

Like I said, I do prefer having lyricism to beats. ;)

At the end of the day, to each his own, and everyone will go through phases as they see fit. :)

I switch between Rap/Hip-Hop and R&B, and sometimes a bit of Alternative as well.

[Drink_Gas]

I switch between my love of hip hop and my love of post hardcore i.e. A Day To Remember / Drop Dead Gorgeous / Alesana it's all what we love =]

[kenz]

i prefer sampled music, but i know that people like dilla and 9th wonder, black milk are light years ahead of what primo was doin back in the day in terms of skill and technique, though i supose the end product is what counts

as for lyricism, i prefer soulful lyrics, but i also prefer good flows which have improved, added to the fact a lot of rappers nowadays make their own beats hiphop has improved exponentially

i listen to more grime atm, i have also in the past year got in to rock a lot more....i listen to alice in chains, smashin pumpkins...amogst other genres

[Drink_Gas]

I love 9th Wonder and Black Milk they've really done some great stuff. It makes me wish the skill and technique we have now was around for Biggie, Big L and Big Pun. I would love to here them on 9th Wonder beats.

I got into some grime a while back. Klashnekoff was the one I really got into. Who do you recommend I should listen to now? I'd love to listen to some brand new grime coming out but I don't know where to start.

[Cacteur]

You know... this whole thing about underground musicians selling out to "pop" has been going on for decades. I can still remember wanting to kill myself when Led Zep released "Stairway To Heaven."

It's simply a process, and is a natural result of good music being 'discovered' by the masses, and becoming successful, eventually being formatted and processed by the music industry trying to repeat the earlier successes, and ironically, losing that risky 'edge' that made them so popular in the first place.

It's quite straight forward really. Co-operate and get rich, or maintain your creative individuality and survive on packet noodles for the rest of your life. We should rejoice that so many artists do choose the second path, rather than complain about those that make the 'sensible' secure decision to sell out and make money.

It has always been that way and always will be. You jokers will eventually have to survive an era when people who are into rap/hiphop will be regarded as tragic old fellahs who had the misfortune to grow up in the bad taste era of the 90's and '00's, while the young folk move on to the next big musical buzz.

You'll soon realise that that is what it's all about, and it's what helps to keep popular street music so honest. There will always be good rap/hiphop around, just as there is still good old hard blues rock around, but the kids of the next generation will see through your collective bullshit and move on. That's it. Cool eh? It's all good man.. just enjoy what you like and fuck the rest.. :D

[kenz]

I love 9th Wonder and Black Milk they've really done some great stuff. It makes me wish the skill and technique we have now was around for Biggie, Big L and Big Pun. I would love to here them on 9th Wonder beats.

I got into some grime a while back. Klashnekoff was the one I really got into. Who do you recommend I should listen to now? I'd love to listen to some brand new grime coming out but I don't know where to start.


ah klashnekoff is really nice although he is UKhiphop, grime has a higher tempo around 125 to 145 i think...also grime is mainly digital beats, a lot of faster rappin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71ufGS8XcUU

but yeah if you want to check out grime check durrty goodz, wiley....
if you want uk hip hop check kyza, triple darkness, m9 in the uk thread

tbh there isnt much uk hiphop comin out atm its pretty dead and i mean that in the literal sense, not an opinion, theres literally not much comin out altho klashenkoff has an album out this year an kyza has an album out soon

[kenz]

You know... this whole thing about underground musicians selling out to "pop" has been going on for decades. I can still remember wanting to kill myself when Led Zep released "Stairway To Heaven."

It's simply a process, and is a natural result of good music being 'discovered' by the masses, and becoming successful, eventually being formatted and processed by the music industry trying to repeat the earlier successes, and ironically, losing that risky 'edge' that made them so popular in the first place.

It's quite straight forward really. Co-operate and get rich, or maintain your creative individuality and survive on packet noodles for the rest of your life. We should rejoice that so many artists do choose the second path, rather than complain about those that make the 'sensible' secure decision to sell out and make money.

It has always been that way and always will be. You jokers will eventually have to survive an era when people who are into rap/hiphop will be regarded as tragic old fellahs who had the misfortune to grow up in the bad taste era of the 90's and '00's, while the young folk move on to the next big musical buzz.

You'll soon realise that that is what it's all about, and it's what helps to keep popular street music so honest. There will always be good rap/hiphop around, just as there is still good old hard blues rock around, but the kids of the next generation will see through your collective bullshit and move on. That's it. Cool eh? It's all good man.. just enjoy what you like and fuck the rest.. :D


thats pretty similar to the point im tryin to make, most peopel on the net wana listen to old underground shit from 10 years ago,....that shit aint relevant nowadays...im movin wit the times, the relevant music that is out NOW, most people arent cos theyre too worried i think i duno, fuck it

[kenz]

You know... this whole thing about underground musicians selling out to "pop" has been going on for decades. I can still remember wanting to kill myself when Led Zep released "Stairway To Heaven."

It's simply a process, and is a natural result of good music being 'discovered' by the masses, and becoming successful, eventually being formatted and processed by the music industry trying to repeat the earlier successes, and ironically, losing that risky 'edge' that made them so popular in the first place.

It's quite straight forward really. Co-operate and get rich, or maintain your creative individuality and survive on packet noodles for the rest of your life. We should rejoice that so many artists do choose the second path, rather than complain about those that make the 'sensible' secure decision to sell out and make money.

It has always been that way and always will be. You jokers will eventually have to survive an era when people who are into rap/hiphop will be regarded as tragic old fellahs who had the misfortune to grow up in the bad taste era of the 90's and '00's, while the young folk move on to the next big musical buzz.

You'll soon realise that that is what it's all about, and it's what helps to keep popular street music so honest. There will always be good rap/hiphop around, just as there is still good old hard blues rock around, but the kids of the next generation will see through your collective bullshit and move on. That's it. Cool eh? It's all good man.. just enjoy what you like and fuck the rest.. :D


wow, i get it now, the mainstream has to survive for the underground to be able to conflict and rebel against it

i always had an understanding of that but you put it in to words for me, good post mate

[Jop]

I don't get it. Stuff from ten years ago isn't "relevant"? In terms of what? Issues that's happening today? Back then, they were talking about wanting to live a good, rich life, and today they still talk about reaching that goal. Maybe not in the same way, but it's there in a more rather tasteless, saturated form. Which leads me to the next point....

People are tossing the words "mainstream" and "underground" a bit too much. Back in the early nineties, Nas's Illmatic would have been considered "mainstream"(Seeing how it had 4 music videos and all), and being underground usually just meant being like a local MC or something along the lines of that. I mean, now it pretty much means that most of the time, but it wasn't always like this.

So yeah, I suppose I'm ranting through a view point where the 'standard' for good mainstream Hip Hop was set high, and then to see how low the bar has fallen now. Not a happy camper to say the least. Alas, it is what it is.

[kenz]

it isnt relevant to me to an extent, i listen to some stuff and for example, the nouns used are jus so archaic and abstract that i would have to research them jus to find the punchline....the mentality is so 90s aswell, that ghetto hardcore shit, nowadays people jus wana be happy not depressed

attention spans are shorter these days so beats and rhymes fit this

nas illmatic was a dreamy, ethereal affair that could not be matched back then or today
but are you honestly gonna be walkin down the street thinkin "that buck that bought a bottle cudda struck the lotto" LOL fuck that

i listen to old albums for their atmosphere not there soundscape

its like readin a history book, its good but it aint relevant

[Jop]

A history book isn't relevant? Think you could have used a better example. And nah, I won't be walking down the street with thinking that, but with "Before a blunt, I take out my fronts". Ha. That being said, I don't get your quote with that "Life's a Bitch" verse.

"nowadays people jus wana be happy not depressed" Wouldn't the verse you quoted be considered optimistic?

See the thing is your opinion is that most want a happy song when I can say that they need to be exposed to other things. Like how a person can hate Hip Hop on the grounds that it's not intellectually stimulating. When, in fact, they might not have even tried to go deeper. You can go ahead and dance to whatever, but if you give a person an album like Illmatic or have the song "Thieves in the Night" by Black Star playing, it can open whole new worlds. I can understand your viewpoint since it has a Dostoyevsky thinking to it, but I'm of the opinion that one needs to be exposed to several things before coming to a decision.

Same thing on how you think Illmatic is a "dreamy, ethereal affair". To me it had a very grimy, raw feel to it especially when he pulls a stream of conscious on tracks like NY State of Mind and The World is Yours. It's whatever though. It's each to his own.

[kenz]

that nas line is not optimistic its pretty immature ....reks flipped that same line in 2008, and made it more relevant

"That buck that bought the bottle could’ve struck the lotto/To invest in scratch tickets is a fucked up motto"

besides the rest of what im saying is opinion, which i know is my fault for not stating clearly, im older now, ive gone through my adolescent melcancholic stage....
that shit is not what im lookin to hear, like isay its what i feel.

and also look at the 80s, thats what were goin back to, the 90s was jus a phase

[Jop]

Hmmm, I guess I can see that, but then I can see how people are going to use that as fuel to hate on Hip Hop. It's regressing back to its "infancy" stages where its subject matter isn't the greatest to say the least. Meh, it's whatever.

And the line is still optimistic even if it's stupid or immature. Most optimistic people are like that! (Joking of course) At least it's not alcohol, that you know, can destroy people's life. Which album was it that Reks used that line though? Never heard it before.

[kenz]

it was reks - "grey hairs" i think there should be a copy on here or on the main site, its really nice, you should check it out, thats modern good hip hop, although on some tracks i feel he does borrow other rappers flows, but his heart is in the right place and hes a good rapper, a lot of undrground modern rappers are usually missin something imo, but reks hits most points, hes nice

its infancy stage as you say is definitly not the greatest in terms of subject matter, i agree
but you have to remember where rap came from and that was kids on the block enjoying music and partying to it...
wether it is insecurity on hip hops part so it feels the need to regress back to its grounded infancy i dont know, but lets see, i think im over reacting, digging that reks line up, and the subsequent album gave me a fresh buzz.....aswell as downloadin some albums today i think its in a healthy enough state

and besides klashnekoff got an album coming out this year so it cant be too bad

one thing i do know is that hiphop was all i used to listen to but now that has fragmented

i dont know why i dint realise before.... but im jus starting to realise thats probably bcos im getting older and nothing to do with hip hops state

[shifted]

On one note:

There has to be balance.

The world exists in a state of duality. Meaning, you can't have happy without sad, pleasure without pain etc, the cycles continue all the time. Mainstream and Underground will always exist because the balance has to exist.

So as mainstream evolves, underground will evolve to the same degree but in the opposite way, so as to always counter.

[shifted]

On one note:

There has to be balance.

The world exists in a state of duality. Meaning, you can't have happy without sad, pleasure without pain etc, the cycles continue all the time. Mainstream and Underground will always exist because the balance has to exist.

So as mainstream evolves, underground will evolve to the same degree but in the opposite way, so as to always counter.

[Kenshi]

underground is not the complete opposite of mainstream its not like good and evil or up and down. an underground artist can be the same thing as a mainstream artist just only known locally

[Cacteur]

"Underground" to me means not easily accessible, or not easily understood. When musicians experiment in new ways with sounds the result is an underground sound, often shocking to mainstream pop.

When enough people hear it, and hook into it, it becomes accessible, therefore, mainstream. It's no big deal. As I was saying, it's natural, and is what street music is all about.

With hiphop so established now, "underground hiphop" is as much of an oxymoron as "underground blues rock" is, or "underground punk".... well... to me anyway.

At the end of the day, it's all about music. Genres and labels are for marketing purposes, and have no place in what I like and don't like. I reckon western music is going through a bit of a lull at the moment. There's some new experimentation going on in alt. country/Americana at the moment that I like, but I'm mostly listening to Afro pop/groove stuff now. Cool shit man.. :)

Then... there's always my favourite saying about music."'Aint no accountin' for taste." :D

[Drink_Gas]

I went to work for the weekend, and I've lost track of this thread, jesus.

I'd like to hit on your point Cacteur because underground anything doesn't mean that much to me either. There's always examples of bands or hip hop acts you listen to that get to the point where they finally break and get to the point where they acquire more fans and get on magazines and fans from the beginning chastise them for selling out. Who cares? If you enjoy it, keep listening. I'm of the mindset underground just means you're still sitting at the merch. table selling your own EP's and not getting Kanye's ego.

[Drink_Gas]

best shit I heard in a while

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqn1dAB03hk