hell even nas said it himself. he wasnt completely wrong either. alot of ppl took this slightly out of context tho imo. what i think he meant is that mainstream/commercialized hiphop is dead. it was on its last leg then this bitch soulja boy came by n killed it. then lil waynes phony azz walked all over da dead corpse. real hiphop only lives in da underground NOW. i kno it...u kno it...da record execs kno it...hell da WHOLE FUCKIN INDUSTRY KNO IT!
today wit mainstream radio confusin what hip hop is n so called hip hop web sites callin kelly rowland, christina aguilera n numerous others hip hop. everyone has it so twisted that nobody really kno what real hip hop is anymore. at best what they r pawing off as hip hop is a mix of pop n R&B. sure thur some great hip hop artist out but many more just lost in da shuffle cuz it gotten 2 da point where even record labels confused bout what hip hop is. take soulja boy receivin a nomination 4 a grammy award 4 best rap song 4 da 50th grammy awards? R THEY FUCKIN SERIOUS? GIMME A GAWD DAMN BREAK! his music is pop or snap but NOT hip hop. NOT by a long fuckin shot. myspace 4 example is loaded wit many great hip hop n rap artists after looking there da A&R people could only find this bitch named soulja boy?
there really no place for an A&R position today as record labels not really developin any new artists. 2 get a deal or distribution u have 2 bring numbers. if u got numbers y da fuck do u need them? thas like sayin go make ur mark n when money start comin in call us n we will be thur 2 help get our share. major labels n some unscrupulous distribution companies cant see that da lack of their sales is all brought on by 1 person...THEMSELVES. they just like rapist waiting 2 pounce on any artist who lets them. DA INDUSTRY FUCKED UP DA WHOLE GAME!
today da "headlines" tell us rap n hip hop music is da biggest thing since da invasion of rock n roll. rap has grown into a billon dollar industry. not really. commercialized rap n hip hop has sold out n in exchange it is being accepted.
todays rap is bling bling n 40oz.s. cristal n rides wit spinners. NO social issues. not a "fuck da police" or a "straight out of compton." no mention what drives da murder rate in da inner city up. no mention of aids killin off what is left of a generation of gun shot wounds and crack.
keepin it real is supposed 2 b a big part of da hip hop culture. whats so fuckin real bout a $90,000 hummer wit 24's in an inner city neighborhood? well at least not here i havent seen any. people without enough 2 eat or even a roof over their head thas what i fuckin see. but thru bottles of cristal expensive gym shoes n $100,000 rides u are given da impression that life in da hood is all good. BULLSHIT!
as some of da major rap n hip hop artists venture into XXX ventures n relating it 2 hip hop n as the continual disgrace of da women our future demoralizin them into hoes n bitchs n just sex items n our youth r steered toward cristal spinners n da art of bein a "pimp" hip hop culture will take da blame 4 da out come.
b4 anyone twists this into a racist or color thing there r hungry n homeless blacks whites latinos natives mexicans orientals. ALL r represented in da culture of hip hop.
if a woman any woman is jus a hoe or a bitch n a man is jus a pimp what is da future? da ones doin da destruction dont n wont care cuz they will have theirs. they got theirs from us n it is da old saying "use ya till they use ya up" n then they move on sorta like da pimp they r trying so hard 2 sell ya. we will be left 2 live da "real" life in da waste land they r creating. da only difference is 4 us it WILL b "real". there will still b da hungry, da homeless, n what then? we r all reduced 2 hoes n pimps. mainstream society will ask "what is wrong wit those people"?
since pac "died" (i put it in quotes cuz i dont think he dead but thas a whole notha rant) n da west coast committed suicide. da west coast has not regained any true stature in da hip hop community. after pac it seem da west coast looked around n said "what do we do now"? they 4 da most part r still lookin round waitin 4 a savior but wit da attitude of many of da west coast artists they will remain lookin round till they understand that u have 2 make music da world will like n get behind. 90’s gangsta rap has it place but music has 2 b "radio playable" to sell. or so thas what we have been lead 2 believe. BULLSHIT! look at da underground scene. alot of that wont b played on da radio. not jus the violent shit either. if it too political or sum "certain" ppl dont want u 2 hear then it wont get played. talk bout how da whole government is crooked or bout crooked cops what happens? u guessed it NO AIRPLAY. how shit really is in da hood? again NO AIRPLAY. how the world is setup 2 put most the da wealth in da hands of a few? same thing. how our younger generation is dyin over colors or cuz they were on the wrong side of da street? same fuckin thing. these r all things that r talked bout in da underground scene. but everyone still gettin paid. even without airplay or lots of promotion. what needs to happen? we need 2 say "FUCK THE MAJOR LABELS". do shit like it used 2 b done. STAY INDEPENDENT! run all da major labels rite da fuck out of town. thas da only way 2 truly revive hiphop. hip hop has 2 b somethin 2 relate 2 2 be accepted.
most mainstream hip hop n rap artists DO NOT support each other. most r too busy hatin on each other 2 make any significant gains in da music industry. there are so many "kings", "best of da wherever", "greatest" n so many self centered titles that NOBODY has been able 2 come out n make a lasting mark. it seems mainstream hip hop worst enemy is not only da big labels but da artists themselves n their "clicks". this nationwide 4 da most part too. however it should b said da down south artists have gained more than anyone lately n not really cuz of "crunk" but cuz they r willin 2 work together n they r NOT afraid 2 promote each other. it took them so long 2 get noticed that it seems that many of them respect da position they have gained but this is not true of ALL southern hip hop n rap artists but it is true of many. fuck even snoop who seems 2 b "ego trippin" is loosing his grip. although he turns up it seems on every mix tape comin out from california n new york. u sorta get tired of hearing him pop up everywhere wit his 16’s. mix tapes full of featured artists only show da artist has no real faith in his work n feels compelled 2 have a multitude of featured artists wit him 2 help CARRY him. rule of thumb i use is 1 or 2 features that compliment da artists talents together is great. more than that da artist is not comfortable wit his talent n feels he needs help 2 make it. so he should b in a group NOT a solo artist.
so many different sub genres have come n gone. hyphy came n went. reggatone came n went n true hip hop has come n went it seems. at least in da mainstream. 2 get real hip hop u have 2 look 2 da underground artist. those that da record labels overlook because they r not of da mold that da industry has set 4 a hip hop or rap artist. yea we can look at some of da notables among da hip hop community like nas, krs-1, chuck d, ice cube, common, big daddy kane, wu tang clan, too short n a few others 2 bring us some good hip hop but who is goin 2 take their place? artists like jasiri x, nyoil, immortal technique, kemo the blaxican, 1223, und, k-loron and many others deserve 2 b there but they remain great "underground" artists because they do NOT fit da mold of da "pop hop" or meaningless dribble that da industry is calling hip hop.
da "so called" artists that do break out seem 2 NOT respect da culture of hip hop or da power of da mic. music that celebrates death n is filled wit destruction is NOT da best of da hip hop culture. hip hop should not b viewed as a "destructive force" that glorifies death destruction n degenerates. it also shouldnt disconnect us or promote self-destructive behavior. hip hop should have substance that will uplift elevate n empower ppl 2 b all they can b n 2 notice what is goin on round them n report on it. sure party tracks n good time tracks r also needed but da reality is what is now called "hip hop" is NOT hip hop.
i feel a movement or a comin together must take place 2 re-claim da culture of hip hop before it is so twisted that nobody remembers or questions what real hip hop is. all artist black, brown, asian, west coast, east coast, down south n all points in between need 2 come together for da main idea of pure hip hop n not treat da genre as a "money grab" gettin mine n that is all it is about. a coalition of artists maybe lead by influential hip hop artists who understand what real hip hop is n how 2 direct n guide da up n comers so da culture remains strong n growing in da right direction is needed. real hip hop stand up. if we dont re-claim what is ours i am afraid it will be lost or what it really is will b lost 2 this "wannabe hip pop movement" that seems 2 b going on now.
thankx 4 listenin to my rant/vent. keep it real peeps.
