What happend to rap/hip hop now a days?

[Silent Warrior]

It completely sucks now. I cannot stand listening to it. The new shit sucks. Its like all they care about is money, bling bling, 26's and shit like that. I dont even know what there saying anymore. The rap/hip hop was best back in the 80's/90's. I think it went down hill when eazy e, 2pac and biggie died. I love old school gangsta rap and hip hop from NWA to Naughty By Nature. What we need is real rap/hip hop back in the game. I think rap is way to commercialized now.

[Viper]

In my opinion, it's been that way for a long time now.

You're right about the time frame when it started to go way down hill. Mid 90's.

Then again I believe that same issue is industry wide and not just relegated to rap and hip hop. Music in general started to suck about then. Do you know what event took place during that time period that has caused it? Deregulation. They deregulated radio station ownership and within just a few years, 3 companies owned 95% of all radio stations in the US. Clear Channel being the worst. They replaced all live DJ's with automated pre-planned rotations. The music that got played was no longer at the mercy of the DJ, the station manager or god forbid callers but rather some corporate fat cat with fucked up commercialized taste in music.

Movies have the same problem, TV sucks now for the same reasons and we've been seeing the beginnings of this happen in the video game industry.



*goes off and listens to Sex Packets*

[Haris]

Go find some Lil wayne mixtapes.

[Phoenix]

I've never liked rap or hip hop, but looking back, that old stuff could at least be regarded as a legitimate genre and considered music. Nowadays it's absolutely unbearable.

[Kay B]

The old stuff wouldn't sell to the majority of fan's anymore thats the only reason. What sold than doesn't interest the younger generation of listeners and thats what 90% of mainstream artists aim for, they aim to attract young people in clubs, they aim to make a song that will get someone dancing. Its more about the beat now rather than the actual content of the song, hence the reason 50cent, game ect ect are so successfull

[Phoenix]

But I don't get that either - the "beats" in modern rap (particularly of the gangsta variety) are absolutely terrible and not dance-worthy. That one Laffy Taffy song (my single least favorite song PERIOD) by God only knows and God only cares who comes to mind, although that's kind of a different thing entirely.

[Viper]

Sorry, Kev but the beats and party rap songs back then beat the absolute fuck out of party rap songs now.

Where are the 69 Boyz of today? The 95 South's? The Quad City DJ's? The DJ Laz's? The DJ Magic Mike's? The Sir Mix A Lot's?

In terms of beats....Dre isn't on his game anymore, DJ Unique isn't out there anymore, Digital Underground style tracks don't exist anymore, Pac's beats? Nope. Big's beats? Nope.



Kev the only reason it won't sell today is twofold. 1. It wouldn't get any major promotion. No radio play, no advertising, etc....
2. Kids these days grew up after that classic shit hit so they don't know anything better.

It's the same reason why rappers today can say the same type shit someone from the old school said and get away with it. To them it is new.

[OmniCloud]

Rap dies a long time ago...

But...u can find some cool stuff still

wayne
JayZ
Eminem

etc...there's still some real stuff around if you search. but yeah mainstream stuff if straight trash...

"party like a Rockstar" :huh:

LMAO:lol:

google the lyrics--it's even more entertaining....

[Gummy]

They have horrible lyrics.

But there are some decent ones out there who is not totally mainstream.

Well just stick with old hip hop then, that's what I try to do anyways.

[Kay B]

Sorry, Kev but the beats and party rap songs back then beat the absolute fuck out of party rap songs now.

Agreed im not saying the beats no are better im just saying the beats now have a larger fan base than old one's do, as id say 90% of rap fans are young boys/men who are in clubs each weekend hearing 50 being played.

Kev the only reason it won't sell today is twofold. 1. It wouldn't get any major promotion. No radio play, no advertising, etc....
2. Kids these days grew up after that classic shit hit so they don't know anything better.

Thats my exact point the reason hip hop is so diffrent is because the genre as a whole has changed, and its all the kids know...I cant say im a fan of eazy E or any other origonal rappers apart from the ones that are still around because i haven't heard enough of there material to judge them. Its about money and rappers know what will and wont sell, back than that stuff would get advertisement i don't think it would now, i mean how often do u see talib advertised on tv? (talib just being one example that come to my head) It doesnt attract people in the way it used to and that is no fault of hip hop itself every genre evolves into something diffrent sooner or later.

[Xer0]

You know what the problem is? No DJ. I want to hear some scratching on these songs, but no, i get techno, anyway.

[Phoenix]

Why scratch when you can have cheap edited-in gunshots and more N-bombs?

[Xer0]

How could i forget

[Kay B]

It's what sells, the way people criticize hip hop they could say exactly the same for preety much any genre of music....Its business

[Fats]

Old School Sugarhill FTW!

[Gilly]

I honesty don't understand what kids my age like about rap today.
I can't listen to the radio, because you MIGHT find one decent song among 20 shitty ones.
I like rap music a lot, and even after the mid 90's, you still had guys like Jay-Z and Em and the Beastie Boys putting out good tracks, but now, you can't find them. Even those guys' stuff has gone down in quality.

I think anyone could write a rap song that could be commercially popular today, but hell, I wouldn't want to, because it's so inferior to the rap of old, and it's disrespect to the world of rap.

[Fats]

Well, to be fair, there's a lot of great artists out there. It's just the commercialised bollocks that gets played on the radio that gets on my Titz.

[Gummy]

A bay bay!


Honestly, the beats are pretty damn catchy, just the lyrics are horrible.

Hyphy is pretty gay.

It's not just hip hop and rap that sucks now-a-days.
Indie and rock bands are pretty shitty now too.

[Blaksmoke]

There's plenty of great music coming out every week, of any genre. You just need to know where to look. Right now I'm listening to the Grandmasters album by GZA and DJ Muggs. Awesome stuff.

And I didn't even like rap 2 years ago.

[Shadow19]

I don't like much Rap/Hip Hop but I like:

Mos Def:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=i1cKFAaJxKs
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vlsDPN-Tjks

Black Star (Mos Def & Talib Kweli)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Rx5aVI2zsFE
http://youtube.com/watch?v=WiNwTL0HQRI

Dead Celebrity Status
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y54GSnZ0sV4
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xNv6uflD8zc

[Silent Warrior]

Sorry, Kev but the beats and party rap songs back then beat the absolute fuck out of party rap songs now.

Where are the 69 Boyz of today? The 95 South's? The Quad City DJ's? The DJ Laz's? The DJ Magic Mike's? The Sir Mix A Lot's?


Exactly man. They do beat the fuck out of the crap out now. Where is C+C Music Factory, La Bouche and Tag Team? Radio played 69 boys and 95 south all the time!

[Boggy700]

Forget about mainstream music these days, most of it of all genres is garbage.
Mainstream music is for lazy people who just don't care about what they listen to.
There's a lot of good music coming out these days, but you have to find it for yourself.

[Kay B]

I honesty don't understand what kids my age like about rap today.
I can't listen to the radio, because you MIGHT find one decent song among 20 shitty ones.
I like rap music a lot, and even after the mid 90's, you still had guys like Jay-Z and Em and the Beastie Boys putting out good tracks, but now, you can't find them. Even those guys' stuff has gone down in quality.

I think anyone could write a rap song that could be commercially popular today, but hell, I wouldn't want to, because it's so inferior to the rap of old, and it's disrespect to the world of rap.

I don't see how its a disrespect to the world of rap personally, im a huge rap fan always have been, and yeah im the first to admit everything is commercialized but so is every other genre of music, if u get into the business to make money, your goona do what you need to in order to make money, and thats all rappers are doing. Eminem for one his style has evolved MAJORLY he went from being himself to being commercial but the thing is 90% of people are young kids who wanna hear his new shit, that 10% who want him top revert back to his old style (myself included) just dot match up to the number of sales he'll get off them...And its the same with any rapper, u listen to power of the dollar by 50cent....AMAZING album....yet he still switched up his style when he got big in order to sell...Its the business world man.

Also not everyone could write a rap song....it's ALOT harder than it seems and anyone who does/did write such as hisham/viper ect will agree with me on that one im sure, i understand what your saying that the shit is so simple, but still not anyone could do it, it takes a certain degree of talent whether you like or dislike that person. Personally i think rappers these days are better BUSINESS MEN than those of the past, i mean look at p-diddy....50 cent ect they've made money because they have some of the best business minds in the industry and they will continue to make money for that reason.

It's not just hip hop and rap that sucks now-a-days.
Indie and rock bands are pretty shitty now too.

Uh huh, like i said previously every genre of music is the same overtime they change and most end up changing back.

Honestly, the beats are pretty damn catchy, just the lyrics are horrible.

Correct again and that is what draws the fans into the party's/clubs

[seahorse]

i like that new timbaland song.

[Fats]

I personally hate Timberland now. He had a little stretch of time when anything he touched turned to gold. But now? I mean, I heard some band say that he's still a good producer, but as far as I'm concerned he's as generic as it gets.

Christ, Dabrye's One/Three (Two/Three is fucking awesome though) is about as cutting edge as I've heard in the Hip-Hop/Rap scene. Six years ago. Thank God there are still artists to this day that try to push themselves a little further.

[seahorse]

"your body ain't pamela anderson, it's a struggle just to get you in the caravan"

genius.

[Fats]

...

I don't have much to say about that really. No. Nothing at all.

*returns to naked star jumps*

[r33hash]

I like me some Junk Science and El-P.

I want some new Slick Rick.

[LaLiLuLeLo]

Rap/Hip Hop is like a flower that no one trimmed or watered or pruned, and so it's grown completely out of control into a hideous weed, and now it's come back around and is finally burning itself out. Rap these days is (90 percent of the time, the stuff on the radio, there are gems out there but you have to dig for them) repetitive garbage that goes on and on about the rap lifestyle, and the rappers aren't actually saying anything worth listening to. People are getting tired of it. It's cyclical. I'd say the same thing happened to rock music, which is now on the upswing, topping rap in the charts.

Here's what's going to happen, or, is already happening, rap is going to eat its own tail and collapse, and have a revival. Gonna start seeing a lot of 'grunge', 'indy' and 'alternative' rap, or something similar to what rock went through after the end of the 80s/early 90s. I guess it's a cycle when genres are in their infancy. Rap's only been around as an established genre for 30 years.

Guys I listen to that are actually good are Murs, Lupe Fiasco, Little Brother, Mos Def... they're quality.

[Kay B]

Timberland is a great producer and artists everyone has there moment of fame when they are on everything that is released at the minutes it's timberland, he's doing his thing and he's doing it well you can't criticize him for that.

[woundingchaney]

Most everything I listen to is 50s-70s era some modern rock but not much. The primary problem with music today is lack of the ability to relate. I know of struggle, turmoil, love, hate, hardship, joy etc. but what I dont know about is club hoppin, banging bitches, shooting people (although Im an effective pugilist :)), riding in my bently etc.

[Gummy]

How could you have not shot anyone yet?!

Get out there, get a gun, and shoot somebody while riding on your newly customized Bently!

[Hisham]

I don't see how its a disrespect to the world of rap personally, im a huge rap fan always have been, and yeah im the first to admit everything is commercialized but so is every other genre of music, if u get into the business to make money, your goona do what you need to in order to make money, and thats all rappers are doing. Eminem for one his style has evolved MAJORLY he went from being himself to being commercial but the thing is 90% of people are young kids who wanna hear his new shit, that 10% who want him top revert back to his old style (myself included) just dot match up to the number of sales he'll get off them...And its the same with any rapper, u listen to power of the dollar by 50cent....AMAZING album....yet he still switched up his style when he got big in order to sell...Its the business world man.

Also not everyone could write a rap song....it's ALOT harder than it seems and anyone who does/did write such as hisham/viper ect will agree with me on that one im sure, i understand what your saying that the shit is so simple, but still not anyone could do it, it takes a certain degree of talent whether you like or dislike that person. Personally i think rappers these days are better BUSINESS MEN than those of the past, i mean look at p-diddy....50 cent ect they've made money because they have some of the best business minds in the industry and they will continue to make money for that reason.



Uh huh, like i said previously every genre of music is the same overtime they change and most end up changing back.



Correct again and that is what draws the fans into the party's/clubs

Yeah you have to please the majority if you want to make any sorta money. And that is why it is slowly killing itself off because the majority of people I know are starting to be bored of rap because the same shit keeps comming out.

And yep, it is ALOT harder making/recording a rap song than most of you give credit. Flowing to a beat and breath control are seemingly simple things, but they can be hard to do. But yeah if you have a good enough Sound Engineer, they can make any piece of crap sound good lol.

Rap/Hip Hop is like a flower that no one trimmed or watered or pruned, and so it's grown completely out of control into a hideous weed, and now it's come back around and is finally burning itself out. Rap these days is (90 percent of the time, the stuff on the radio, there are gems out there but you have to dig for them) repetitive garbage that goes on and on about the rap lifestyle, and the rappers aren't actually saying anything worth listening to. People are getting tired of it. It's cyclical. I'd say the same thing happened to rock music, which is now on the upswing, topping rap in the charts.

Here's what's going to happen, or, is already happening, rap is going to eat its own tail and collapse, and have a revival. Gonna start seeing a lot of 'grunge', 'indy' and 'alternative' rap, or something similar to what rock went through after the end of the 80s/early 90s. I guess it's a cycle when genres are in their infancy. Rap's only been around as an established genre for 30 years.

Guys I listen to that are actually good are Murs, Lupe Fiasco, Little Brother, Mos Def... they're quality.

Yeah this is what I think too. We are on the verge of having late eighties/early ninties rap back.

Timberland is a great producer and artists everyone has there moment of fame when they are on everything that is released at the minutes it's timberland, he's doing his thing and he's doing it well you can't criticize him for that.

Ehh, I don't like him to much... 9th Wonder, DJ Premier, Dre, Pete Rock and alot of others are ALOT better than him IMO. But yeah, he found what works for him, and people like it, so I don't knock him for that. I just prefer other beatmakers.

[Kay B]

Ehh, I don't like him to much... 9th Wonder, DJ Premier, Dre, Pete Rock and alot of others are ALOT better than him IMO. But yeah, he found what works for him, and people like it, so I don't knock him for that. I just prefer other beatmakers.

I agree totally all those you mentioned are better producers than Timberland, but he is still a great producer, and at the minute he's doing his thing

[seahorse]

S1o8OoorDS8