Attention:Old Heads

[Ghostface Trillah]

I dont have the time to type the paragraphs it would take to break it down but I just had a debate about this on Memorial Day. The bar is really low and the potency of it lessens everyday. That is what happens when art forms become businesses controlled by corporations. They take something thats 100% use 60% of it and try to pass it off as the whole 100% when its actually a strained 60% but to the untrained eye its the full 100%

When wu-tang dropped it was different but is was good. They all had skills and they moved to the beat of their own drum. They were undeniable as a force. All their classics they got were not called classic instantly like cats say now. I was bumping enter the 36 chambers like it came out yesterday for years. thats a classic.Classics stand the test of time.

Most of the rappers now are go with the flow rappers with no lyrical ability backed by a machine telling you that they're hip-hop. They've watered down the value of skill. An average rapper from 94 can out rap any rapper popping now. They dumbed the people down so hard now.

 

[mozichrome]

man just play whatever the hell you like

 

[BrothaZay]

youngin..we had steak and potatoes in the 90's now its Bologna and noodles.

Dont you mean Mac & Cheese

 

[avon barksdale]

Dont you mean Mac & Cheese

thats even to good for this era

 

[PS5 Pro]

So, I was born in 91 and throughout my life I've always been intune with West Coast Hip Hop and East Coat Hip Hop as well. First tape I owned was Westside Connections tape (LOL a child should not be bumping that) and as I've gotten older I've started to understand why those that are highly respected in the genre are because of what they brought to the table, but it's taken me a while to understand why they're viewed as they are. My question for the older members are when you heard OB4CL and Enter The 36 Chambers, and all of the other albums, did you guys say "wow these guys are going to be hall of famers" or did you just go with the flow, give the MC props and then as time progressed started to view them as some of the greats? And if so why, do you believe that since the foundation has already been laid and those who are greats have been acknowledged, that my generation is so in search for MCs to represent us as a generation and how we were growing up that we're quick to either deny the presence of an mc of today simply because we have the ability too look back and view your greats of the time and say "that's how I want my generation to be represented"? And if so, do you think that's holding hip hop back from progressing because we're constantly looking for something that's not there and will never be there again? An example being Joey Badass and other MCs and fans who refuse to respect the present time MC and the progress in hip hop that should come along with the time? Is saying "today's hip hop sucks" just a sign of ones failure to adjust with the times and move forward?

Basically YES. When Wu-tang dropped we knew they was special but it wasn't blind love. Real recognizes real, most rappers today aren't. Hip-hop itself is ran by corporate America now. Wasn't as much the case in the past. White people in general didn't expect hip-hop to be anything more than a fad. Alot of black people thought that too honestly. Once it blew up, and there was money to be made? Well they tried with Vanilla Ice but the community was too smart. Then one rapper claimed they "dumbed down to double their dollars" which the industry said and has followed in the footsteps of its ambassador ever since

 

[Illuminatos]

I was too in the moment in like 94-95 to think so far down the road to think about things like all time greats to be honest with you.

but damn, Joey is definitely doing something right because he's making a lot of these new school garbage ass rappers uncomfortable and insecure...people hearing that 90's vibe and getting nervous as fukk...and it's not even clear that he's the nicest one out of his crew

 

[BrothaZay]

thats even to good for this era

It depends what kind of Mac&Cheese we talkn

Is it the kind Big Mama make on Thanksgiving


Or the kind white people and lazy hoodrats make and serve with paper plates

 

[avon barksdale]

It depends what kind of Mac&Cheese we talkn

Is it the kind Big Mama make on Thanksgiving


Or the kind white people and lazy hoodrats make and serve with paper plates

The Mac lil scrappy had for thanksgiving

 

[licktheballs]

The Mac lil scrappy had for thanksgiving

that struggle plate

 

[DANJ!]

I can't speak for anyone else, but in '94 I was not listening to any of that stuff and thinking "man, we'll still be talkin' about this in 2013"... 2013 was a looooonnnng fukkin' way off, and at that age, so was 1999 for that matter. You just go with the flow at the time, then hindsight makes the great stuff really stand out as the years go on.

And meanwhile, when that era was going on, nikkas were nostalgic for the late-80s. All you'd see on Rap City or in the Source or in convo with older heads was props being given to the era of Rakim, PE, Kane, BDP, etc. Most of those dudes were still out in the mid-90s but it wasn't "their time". They were more like the elder statesmen still making (or for some, trying to make) good music while the new breed was defining the new era. All the while, most of us weren't like "yo this is such a classic unforgettable time in hip-hop that we'll reminisce on for years to come!" it was just a real good time to be a 'head' and hear all the good new shyt that was coming out.

I'm not as locked into the new music as I used to be, but this era will be OK. These nikkas don't need to bring back what other nikkas did, they just need to do what they do well. If I recall, wasn't nobody in '95 tryin' to resurrect Kool Moe Dee's flow 'nshyt, and wasn't a ONE of us youngins tryin' to buy no new Melle Mel record. Some of us oldheads talk like "none of this new shyt will be talked about in 10 years" and all that, but we can't really say that. Any time there was a thread on here with a nikka worshipping Skee-Lo's "I Wish" , and nikkas in another thread biggin' up Silkk the Shocker ain't no way you can say young nikkas now won't remember anything they grew up on and enjoyed.

 

[Dead End]

I knew S.O.S.A., IAM and the W were classics out the gate.

 

[Majestyx]

just because something has 'progressed' doesnt mean it has been for the better.

none of these 'MC's' have advanced the art form of 'hip hop'. none of these nikkas are saying anything new, or saying it differently. shyt is all the same. i dont actively hate on new shyt because i dont have to listen to it.

only thing holding 'hip hop' back is lack of standards and quality control.

 

[JuvenileHell]

The only aspect of rap I'll say that has "evolved" is the production tip, which is a good thing. As long as that part is alive, Hip Hop won't die out.

 

[The Dust King]

nas was 99 and az/wu were 2000.

that's 13/14 years ago.

when those dropped a lot of people were like this ain't itwaswritten/piecesofaman/wutangforever but I knew better, they were moving with the times and changing they sound while still keepin it true.

most consider those albums very good or classics I'm the latter.

also I never been to minneapolis but if u was in NY in 2000/2001 u heard them albums gettin mad play.


I chose those albums since they were turn of the millenium joints. what you need to be at is the amount of people who are championing mase harlem world in that thread.

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

Its very simple fam

It all comes back to replay value. Music today has zero replay value. Who is really still bumping Thank Me Later? Who can manage to stay awake through a J-Cole disc?

Meanwhile OB4CL is still razor sharp. Capital Punishment is still raw, lyrical and fun. Even the chintzy shyt that dated itself still has some entertainment value. Like today I woke up and I had Juve's "Follow Me Now" stuck in my head. There's albums young nikkas were calling classics 2, 3, 4 years ago that nobody talks about now. But nikkas still talk about Illmatic and shyt.

If this generation wants to make music that's respectable it has to be memorable and layered. Music today is very simple and disposable. Rappers are afraid to compete and not talented or technical enough to make memorable multifaceted records. Very very few people today are making rap records that make you say 'hold on rewind that i missed that'. But there are discs from 10, 20 years ago that I listen to now and still find new shyt in. Its no comparison