Before reading, remember to leave your facebook name so we can put your name in a draw for some never deny growth gear ( or leave your email address). thanks.Let me take you back to 1994. I was still in high school with my grey and white uniform rockin’ white and blue Ponys, with my fresh blowout fade and even fresher acne. I also had my little RCA walkman on me at all times, playin’ the latest songs from Nas or Wu-Tang. Besides CKUT, radio wasn’t playing much hip-hop back then, but when you found the station that would play it, they spun the songs you liked. But today’s hip-hop has found new homes in several radio outlets (both english and french), and has proven to a somewhat accepting society, that this genre of black music has a place among fair airplay with pop and rock music. But how did hip-hop achieve such a feat? Back in ’94, the music people “love to hate” was ripe with diverse flows, and neck snapping beats courtesy of Dj Premier and Pete Rock which might have been considered too ghetto for commercial radio. Todays hip-hop has become the music you hate to love. Why? Well it went TOO commercial. There’s a simple recipe for a hit rap song my friends and in my opinion, it goes a lil somethin’ like this. Take a very catchy beat using high synth notes, and bassy drumlines (or pillaging the motown catalog which is now the new thing), and dumbed down lyrics, with annoying hooks and rants (Mike Jones! Who? Mike Jones! Who?) and there you have it, a club and radio hit. Follow these two steps and your success might be attainable. But at what cost? Now a days these new rappers coming out all sound the same. There’s no diversity and originality which have led some disgruntled fans and a Queensbridge rapper to claim that hip hop is dead. What’s even worse is that these new cats coming out aren’t focused on longevity, and most fall victim to being labeled a one hit wonder ( ahem, Mims) or being totally forgotten (remember Jibbz? No? Thought so!) Take my man Talib Kweli. I’ve been listening to him since the first Soundbombing mixtape of ’97. Since BlackStar. He’s been here for a decade, built a very strong and loyal fanbase and continues to this day to put out good, inspirational music. Now take Soulja Boy. He has that song out and it seems to be doing well for him. But dude’s 17, so I’m hoping he’ll see the light and build what’s necessary for a strong foundation in hip hop. It appears that these new dudes, and dudettes ( I didn’t forget Lil’ Mama) are all following the same pattern to a quick hit. A get rich quick scheme if you will (despite their claim to be rapping since the age of 2). It will be a shame to see their songs on the track listing of Much Music’s One Hit Wonders Volume 10 but it seems inevitable. What’s also funny is that some of these vets, like say, Busta Rhymes, are often found piggybacking on the success of these club anthems. (I guess dignity went out the window, huh Bussa Buss.) Hip hop needs a new sound, or maybe follow the same formula they had in ’94, when everyone had a different flow and rhythm. When rappers weren’t too focused on commercial acceptance and instead built a legacy for themselves through creativity and patience.
God I miss 1994...
10 comments:
it's sad to say but i think it's just how the world moves...like Chris Rock said "it's no longer about making music it's about being a mogul" which to me sounds just right. I mean the so called Mc's nowadays just needs a tiny open window & then they flood the airwaves with nothing but funny hooks. Once, the material is out it's becomes a remix and then a remix to the remix's remix, you know what I mean. I love Hip Hop, regardless of what direction it is going, unfortunately a lot of listeners refuse to expand their mind so they would rather listen to something catchy than something conscious but let's not blame rappers because they are out there to make money, even if it is the root to all evil...but then again just like Hov said "it's just entertainment and that if he makes some thought provoking shit, we question whether he's fallen off"
that's just me..
@bryan
lolol @ the remix remixes comment. so true tho.
its funny how (well to my knowledge) that no other type of music is going through this type of struggle.
and its messed up that people would rather listen to the catchy hoook and bang it on the system all day.
maybe hiphop was really meant to stay underground. well to me, i find that thats where the raw talent is at.
then again, as much as i hate this song, i catch myself saying: YOUUUUUUUUUUU! (soulja boy)
When i think of 1994 i think of originality....'94 was about the time i got into hiphop and the whole "be original" thing was real big then...to even think of bitting off someone was taboo..u knew it was wrong. Even then u knew just by listening to a rapper if they were being themselves or not. Thats what got me into rapping myself, the ability to create and be different and be accepted. Back then anything different was cool i remember hearing ODB for the first time then busta then bone thugs and thinking there all great.
Now a lot of the music on the radio is just plain garbage or some presidents choice brand shit. I just don't listen. Whats even worse is that a lot of fans believe the lies these rappers tell, its ridiculous.
Back to the topic, '94....when i really think about it back then hiphop was still "new" to a lot of people. If hiphop began like 79-81 and really only took off somewhere between 89-91, that would make hihop like 3 years old to most. Point being, hiphop is still young and young people do stupid shit....we were talking the other day about "bring the rukus" and how we were all scared to play it at home, the music had that shock value. Now its so regular to hear a song like that, and when u got a 17 year sayin' "supersoak that ho" u really gotta think...what the fuck am i listening to???
for the record, i'm a young'n so the music scene was already commercialized when I fully started to appreciate hip-hop. But now that i begin to listen to various "old school" as you guys may call it, it becomes easier to pin point where the "hits" actually came from. The beats, the mixes, the lyrics, some artist took it from another artist who mixed it from another artist and the cycle goes on. Any era its always been the same type of lyrics, someone complaining about something or their lifestyle, or someone explaining their love situation. But nowadays the second u hear a hot track in the club, the next week its hits the radio and the next week, its already overplayed.
anyways, im a fan of all kinds of hip-hop: old school, 90s, south, hits . . . but i totally agree, oh how have the times have changed. . .
I guess the world turns and people are all stuck in the "Get rich or die trying "thing...Let's two step our way, crank that and all that jazz. What bugs me is that eventhough we all know it's a one-hit-wonder thing or with luck..a 2 albums thing (1st being the "i like the first beat lemme listen to what else they did", 2nd album bieng the "what's the new suff like") Plus we had pioneers back then who did it all, not to say there's no way to create a new sound, but since it was the recipe of success then, why not sample others'stuff and make money out of it...? Not making excuses it sucks but arg... am getting pissed
I understand why they do it and why it works for them but yeah, IT JUST SU!CKS
even though im not a huge hip hop listener, I must say even I have seen the downfall in hip hop. I enjoy listening to lyrics and meanings of songs. Back before in the 90's , even early 2000's most hip hop artists were rapping good stuff, positve lyrics. it seems now everything has shifted and like he said, its just s quick beat. I hear that soulda boy song on the radio and feel like beating myself up. "supaman dat hooooo" I mean come on..are you just trying to rhyme anything you can with whatever word? no talent. that seems to be the trend now...being targetting for pre-ados. all those 14 year old girls love it. But what about us older people? the 25 year olds..what do we have?
- Asad Qureshy (facebook name)
To be honest, growing up, I was always a listener of the radio . . . i grew up where not many listened to hip-hop. I'm very forunate that my boyfriend is an educated hip-hip fan . . . he has educated me through the years, showing me that the thing they call "hip-hop" now is nothing close to what true hip-hop is about - people telling a story, emotions, etc.
I agree with raki - today, all people wanna do is make $$ . . . catchy beat and great hook = hot club track = popularity = $$ . . . sux, but i guess that's the whole point of endigee . . . to remind us of what hip-hop was and bring awareness to people like me, the uneducated hip-hop fan.
Thats the truth nah meen, you couldnt have hit the nail on the head any more than you did, but yo dont even pay attention to mainstream Rap, because the underground is the birthplace of Hip-Hop nah meen its always guna be the truth in the underground, the way im looking at it right now is hip-hop is currently undergoing an ice age nah meen like right now its kinda dead but eventually their will be one to rise up bring back the realness and bring back life to hip-hop, who knows i might even be that guy haha, but yeh for now juss listen to old school and eventually hip-hop will be ressurected.
Jared Roboz
Well said Jared,
here's hopin you make it in the bizz n show these one hit wonders a thing,or maybe two.
First off,
"with my fresh blowout fade and even fresher acne"..LMAO.
On a more serious note:
Isnt there a saying that says something like the best things are vintage? Well if thats true, why are rappers worrying about the big bucks their going to make now, rather than the long term effects? Yes, okay. you'll hear their song in the club, a couple HUNDRED times, then your over it.wheres the quality in that? it kinda makes you wonder if they truly love what their doing, or if their in it to win the bucks. After this, you wait for a follow up hit. Wait a couple months, hear nothing, forget their name.
Now take vetrans, like 2pac. not only did he bring hype beats to the ears of millions, he brought quality quotations. He wasnt a rapper destined to be a one hit wonder, and he knew that. So along with doing what he loved, he wrote what he felt. Not the simple, "uhh 2 step. uhh 2 step " (kinda makes you winder about their limited vocabulary when they write such meaningful choruses huh?), Pac brought quotes like “During your life, never stop dreaming. No one can take away your dreams”
tell me that's not good!
if you're going to put a track out there, make it last at least, and put ssome body into it.
i'm no rapper,but i know my one-hit wonders.
thirdly?third of all? oh boy...=s
Who is goiing to break the hip hop revolution barrier?
if all the new beats coming out now are not durable, who is to branch out and break this barrier if all the new, young and talented rappers are sticking to the status quo?
Here's hoping the (talent) era of 1994 will dawn on us again.
Post a Comment