Modern Hip Hop/Rap!!!!

jessk

Originally i was posting this in reply to a poll on one of the other forums about who is the best rapper in G-unit but thought that the ridiculous notion of their actually being a good rapper in that group had gotten enough attention.

The idea that any of 50cent,the game,snoop,ludacris etc are decent rappers is laughable. I wouldnt call any of that lot rappers. As far as im concerned they all just try and live up to the sterotypical view of what is percieved to be rap music, and the truth is that its far from what they represent! They talk **** and there is no real meaningful lyrics in any of their so called hits! Saw an interview with public enemy recently and agreed with everything they said. They were asked about rappers like 50 and the game and so on and so on (as in they are all the same). Their reply was pretty much what i have said already that none of them talk about real issues,they are too wraped up in showing off their latest BLING and women to write real songs. They are a disgrace to what real hip hop/rap is...sell outs the whole lot of them.And as for the people who follow this pharce they wouldnt know real hip hop cause if they did they wouldnt even entertain these shallow wannabes.

They are just walking contradictions.....giant million dollar crucifixes and thanking god continuesly for their success while getting arressed for gun possession and being best friends with their mams while using women in the degrading way they do!! Dont get me started on them preaching to us the public about giving money to charity and making trade fair. Im saying this because i remember a recent example which stuck in my mind. Its kanye west who is probably the best of a bad bunch at the momnet but who also falls into that annoying hypocritical bracket as the rest of them. There he was on the stage at the last band aid concert telling us to help make trade fair and giving out about politicians driving about in their mercs while people are dyin, while standing there with a diamond chain around his neck. Diamonds which he used as a theme for one of his songs daimonds are forever. Yes Yes kanye we believe that you really care about these poor children working in the mines in sierra leon, so much so that we ignore the fact that you are wearing enough diamonds on you to keep these children in slave labour for a year let alone feed an entire village.

That example pretty much sums up what the comercial rappers represent these days and i think that they are a complete embarrasment to the genre.

oldboy

I agree 100%

A while ago I heard a speach KRS1 did after his last gig in Brixton (on the BBC Radio 1 extra site) it was delivered like a sermon and he spoke about the origins of rap music (Cool Herc and co back in the Bronx in the 70's) and what it is to be truly "hip-hop".

He talked about rap being the poetry of their life all about the struggle of growing up in the poorer parts of society, politics and love. It wasn't all doom and gloom, a lot of it was about the things they'd like to change and the simple stuff that made them happy - friends & family. The delivery had emotion and meaning in its core and was completely original, its own artform.

I can't name a single modern "pop" mainstream rapper who comes close. Rhyming words about how much you make, what car you drive, who you gonna kill, the ice on your neck, how many records you sold. Material crap where the $$$$ is all that matters.

I may be stereotyping.... but that is all the new rappers are. "Stereotypes". Its just a shame that they are the new pop sensation and will be for a while more, teenagers buying up their records by the million will make sure that they stick around.

The only good thing is none of them will be remembered as nothing more than a gimmick in years to come. An artist who sold a load of records and people were into at the time but never really did anything else apart from that. No innovation or creative imagination - just a blur of commercial stereotypes better off forgotten.

Makaveli

jessk wrote:

Diamonds which he used as a theme for one of his songs daimonds are forever. Yes Yes kanye we believe that you really care about these poor children working in the mines in sierra leon, so much so that we ignore the fact that you are wearing enough diamonds on you to keep these children in slave labour for a year let alone feed an entire village.

Conflict free diamonds exist.

Krs-One is a sellout. Obey your thirst. The chap is a bit to fond of his own legend these days and his music is not what it used to be.

spacecoyote

I don't fully agree on the KRS statement there Mak, but without a doubt the standards of his music have dropped since after I Got Next, and there is definitely a strong hint of ego coming into his music these days. he can get a little repetitive to be honest (but Still Spittin' off the album Keep Right is one of his best i'd heard in a long time)

I do agree that the majority of the "Hip Hop" music you hear in the charts is on the whole complete trash, but its just a bunch of guys trying to make money feeding off the latest MTV generation. If people want bling, give them bling. Its all about business at the end of the day. I really do hate it myself, and i've been fairly vocal on this forum in the past with regards to my dislike for hip-pop or whatever you wanna call it. But to be honest, the main problem for me isn't with the music itself, i've more of a problem with forums getting flooded with 50 cent/game/<insert name of latest rap sensation> is the best rapper ever threads. If you don't like "fiddy", etc... don't listen to them, stick with your PE, Roots, Blackalicious or whoever it is that you listen to!

me and the biz

spacecoyote wrote:

If you don't like "fiddy", etc... don't listen to them, stick with your PE, Roots, Blackalicious or whoever it is that you listen to!

Yep! If you don't like it, don't pay it any attention. It won't cost you anything. Besides, there is enough good Hip Hop and communities out there that is very easily accessed now because of the internet. Just stick to yer Doomtree/Rhymesayers/Def Jux etc and ignore the rest.

Orizio

I disagree.The truth is there has been plenty of rappers who have been obsessed with money and women in the past(Kool G Rap or Jay-Z anyone?)and were exceptional rappers.People like Jeesk are missing the point-they attack rappers for exercising there right to speak there minds,and do so in am admirably brutal and honest manner,simply because when they do exercise there right to free speech what they have to say doesn't agree with certain people.

While we are it,why do the likes of Ice Cube and Dead Prez treated like demi-gods around here despite there racist and in the case of Ice Cube sexist lyrics?Hypocrisy anyone?Didn't Chuck D use an anti-semitic Dj?

jessk

Orizio wrote:

I disagree.The truth is there has been plenty of rappers who have been obsessed with money and women in the past(Kool G Rap or Jay-Z anyone?)and were exceptional rappers.People like Jeesk are missing the point-they attack rappers for exercising there right to speak there minds,and do so in am admirably brutal and honest manner,simply because when they do exercise there right to free speech what they have to say doesn't agree with certain people.

While we are it,why do the likes of Ice Cube and Dead Prez treated like demi-gods around here despite there racist and in the case of Ice Cube sexist lyrics?Hypocrisy anyone?Didn't Chuck D use an anti-semitic Dj?

I Think its Orizio that is missin the point. Here we go with the usual reply rappers speak the truth,they are only saying what everyone else is too scared to say. To try and say that these people are the influential free speakers of our time is the biggest joke iv heard. If they actually atlked about real issues maybe....and im not talking about the so called hard life they grew up with.

jessk

Makaveli wrote:

Conflict free diamonds exist.

Krs-One is a sellout. Obey your thirst. The chap is a bit to fond of his own legend these days and his music is not what it used to be.

A little naive to think that someone like kanye west is using conflict free diamons,more that he likes the idea of talking about it so he can make himself feel that his ideas have substance. Even if he was using conflict free diamonds isnt it really counteracted by the nike runners and gold etc that he and all of them surround themselves with. I say this as surely if the reasoning behind was truely honest well wouldnt it be a philosophy used in the rest of their actions too.
I only make an issue of this as the idea that they would preach to us about certain issues and then carry on with their life as they do is insulting.

spacecoyote

jessk wrote:

I Think its Orizio that is missin the point. Here we go with the usual reply rappers speak the truth,they are only saying what everyone else is too scared to say. To try and say that these people are the influential free speakers of our time is the biggest joke iv heard. If they actually atlked about real issues maybe....and im not talking about the so called hard life they grew up with.

where did he actually say that they were "the influential free speakers of our time". Yes it is a joke & i'm sure that he would agree wholeheartedly. but they do influence culture unfortunately. as Oriz said, there were & always will be artists talking about women/jewelry/cars/violence from the origins of Hip-hop (Kevie Kevs - Waterbed Kev, west street mobb - ooh baby, i'm not gonna go listing songs, those songs may be tame in the modern era, but its all relative & has similar themes). If every rapper was releasing conscious rap or political rap, t be honest things might get a little boring. You need some artists releasing some house & party music.

Jay Ru

jessk wrote:

Even if he was using conflict free diamonds isnt it really counteracted by the nike runners and gold etc that he and all of them surround themselves with.

just out of couriosty, what wud u have him wear instead. common tried to go all eco friendly on us and look what happened to him career. he had to rely on kanye to bring him back. and to say "luda" is a bad rapper, c'mon man dudes got nearly as many different flows as jay z (but u probably think he's **** too, right?)

Makaveli

jessk wrote:

A little naive to think that someone like kanye west is using conflict free diamonds.

A tad presumptious to say he isn't. I'm sure a little bit of googling would probably return an answer but I'm not really bothered doing that.

jessk wrote:

Even if he was using conflict free diamonds isnt it really counteracted by the nike runners and gold etc that he and all of them surround themselves with.

Does he even wear Nike apparel? Do you know the source of the gold he wears? No, you're just assuming he talks about one thing and then does the other. For all we know he is a very active campaigner for human rights.

Kanye West is a muppet anyway.

Orizio

Here we go with the usual reply rappers speak the truth,they are only saying what everyone else is too scared to say.

Yup many of those you singled out do.Ludacris being the best example;his lyrics aren't 'nice' but they certainly aren't sugar coated.Which is as it should be.

To try and say that these people are the influential free speakers of our time is the biggest joke iv heard.

Nope never said that.

If they actually atlked about real issues maybe....and im not talking about the so called hard life they grew up with.

Is that it?Ignoring half of my post and then answering in generalizations kinda tells me you haven't quite thought thing through here.

Orizio

The truth is that politics and music usually don't go well together.The very best rappers don't rap about politics;the likes of Nas and Rakim put out intelligent lyrics that tend to be about anything relating to their lives and their past,they write about whatever they want to write about,not what some Irish dude wants them to write about.The reason Nas is better then someone like 50 is that he is innovative;he can look at anything around him and is able to give it a fresh and clever angle.


If you want some political insights read the Financial Times.;)

Tha Gopher

Didnt you guys get the memo? Any rapper post 1989 who has sold more than a million records is a fake/sell out/whathaveya. We should only support rappers who sell under 300 copies of their latest release, and should remember to hate on them if they get commercial success.

Makaveli

You forgot to have a go at Andre Benjamin and Outkast in general for being shíte but you have heard that their early albums are good but you don't have a broadband connection so you're not going to risk wasting your money on the cds because they are probably shíte.

jessk

Ok so i think what im saying is being taken too literally. Obviously i am making generalisations,im jyst using the easy examples to get across a general point that i think a lot of what is considered rap/hip hop today is in my opinion not true to what the music is really about. I know that sometimes its good to have some music that is fun party music as someone else said but sometimes content is also important and i feel that a lot of todays rap is without that.

Also about the politics issue,what im really gettin at is that i feel if someone is going to preach to the public about certain issues they should at least come across in a genuine manner and lately hearing some this i feel that it is just being done as its the popular thing to do.

jessk

Tha Gopher wrote:

Didnt you guys get the memo? Any rapper post 1989 who has sold more than a million records is a fake/sell out/whathaveya. We should only support rappers who sell under 300 copies of their latest release, and should remember to hate on them if they get commercial success.

Not about being sell outs in terms of record sales,its about bein sell outs as far as what they claim to be representing! Should only support rappers or musicains for that matter who are honest about their work and dont claim to represent something they dont. Fair enough if someone is just makin party music or whatever but when i hear people like snoop talkin about his modern work saying that his lyrics are saying something and have a message other that the obvious, i find that a joke.

12bizzle

MODERN HIPHOP IS ****!!!!!!!!!!!!!
if your a true hiphop/rap fan stick to the oldies the peops that started it all the hiphop/rap community is slowly turning into something else i mean who would call souljaboy rap!!!!!!!!!

it just saddens me that so many people dont make it in the scene because of asthetic looks or if it isn't tomorrows best selling ringtone sucks theres so much talent ot there!!!!!!!!!

BURN COMMERCIAL HIPHOP/RAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

herbieflowers

Tbh, to genralise modern hip-hop as commercial and rubbish is unfair. In my view, as a genre it has had its heyday, I'd find it hard to come across a modern album that I enjoy as much as say, Midnight Marauders. But that doesn't mean that there isn't good stuff out there, I guess it's just harder to come across. And of course it comes down to personal taste, too.

I don't have a problem with 50 Cent et al, or the hip-hop that charts / is popular, it's just I don't like music they put out - it has nothing to do with their prejudices, opinions, etc. I don't like the beats, the production, the rhymes. It doesn't necessariy have anything to do with the fact that the music is commercial.

DarkJager

jessk wrote: »

The idea that any of the game,snoop,ludacris etc are decent rappers is laughable.

Whats so laughable about it? The Game has established himself as a quality artist in my view, Snoop is a rap legend at this stage and Ludacris has hit the spot on plenty of tunes. Maybe you just don't like them, but don't tarbrush them as being **** because they are not your flavor of hip hop.

I wouldnt call any of that lot rappers. As far as im concerned they all just try and live up to the sterotypical view of what is percieved to be rap music, and the truth is that its far from what they represent! They talk **** and there is no real meaningful lyrics in any of their so called hits!

What would you call them? Is a person spitting ryhmes over a beat not called a rapper anymore then? Also, who the **** listens to rap to find meaning in the lyrics? Its music you put on when you're blazing up or out cruising just for the beats and maybe some clever lines, if you can somehow relate to anything being said then all the better. But if you go looking for some life or thought changing lyrics in it, you're definitely in the wrong place.

Saw an interview with public enemy recently and agreed with everything they said. They were asked about rappers like 50 and the game and so on and so on (as in they are all the same). Their reply was pretty much what i have said already that none of them talk about real issues,they are too wraped up in showing off their latest BLING and women to write real songs. They are a disgrace to what real hip hop/rap is...sell outs the whole lot of them.And as for the people who follow this pharce they wouldnt know real hip hop cause if they did they wouldnt even entertain these shallow wannabes.

Oh please, Public Enemy lost importance years ago, who the **** are they to comment? None of them talk about real issues, well thank **** for that. With everybody on about recessions and all the **** going on in the world, why would you deny people the chance to just listen to something for the way it makes them feel, rather than being preached to about wars or other such pretentious ****? As for people who follow it not knowing about real hip hop? I'm well into my hip hop, but don't feel a need to name drop "real" artists just in case somebody thinks "I'm not real enough". **** that bull****, that sort of petty sniping is best left to angsty underage metal fans.

If you want hip hop with intelligence, then go out and find it but don't just brush away genuine artists of a genre just because they don't feel the need to talk about "real issues".

Makaveli

Old thread is old.