Sean Price was the catalyst for the underground/street rap resurgence

[FreshAIG]

I know everyone likes to credit Griseld and Roc Marciano for making that style of rap huge

But to me, Sean Price is the grandfather of that movement. From when Monkey Bars came out, til his death, he was pushing that Boom Bap NY Street rap rap in the forefront.

It's sad because he would be having the best time of his career right now. All these big deals and big looks that the "hardcore NY rappers" are getting now, he'd be one of the people spearheading it. Plus personality wise, he trumps all of them. He'd probably have his own show on one of these networks Vice, Revolt, etc...

 

[dappadonna]

Is there really a resurgence though ?

 

[Turbulent]

RIP to him but it's hard to say he would have had all these things happening. It's rarely about who did it first. You could argue Lupe was Kendrick before Kendrick yet they didn't blow up the same.

Also, who's to say Sean P wanted that level of exposure?

This is not meant to disrespect Sean P (or even Lupe). All I'm saying is things play out the way they do and that's how they were suppose to happen.

 

[DaHNIC82]

5 star post

 

[FreshAIG]

RIP to him but it's hard to say he would have had all these things happening. It's rarely about who did it first. You could argue Lupe was Kendrick before Kendrick yet they didn't blow up the same.

Also, who's to say Sean P wanted that level of exposure?

This is not meant to disrespect Sean P (or even Lupe). All I'm saying is things play out the way they do and that's how they were suppose to happen.

Fair enough, but it would've been available to him, had he wanted it. His personality alone would've had him in those discussions. He's just a naturally blunt/humorous person.

 

[AMcV'88]

thats a great point actually.
considering when you look at how underground hip-hop was perceived at the time when Monkey Barz dropped.

I mean Marcberg/Reloaded is the reason because of what followed in its time span
but you cant deny Price left that space open for Roc to move into. especially when Sean got involved with the Snow Remix after Marcberg dropped.

I used to say Monkeys Barz and Jesus Price Superstar were the type of albums Cam'ron would be making if he never made it further in his career.

 

[FreshAIG]

Is there really a resurgence though ?

Yes. They're not taking over mainstream, but that lane is prospering right now, and they're getting looks on majors. Besides the Griselda movement, you have the Trust movement with 38 Spesh, Che Noir and now Ransom making heavy noise, Mach-Hommy, Steve God Cook$, etc. Even on a lower scale, guys like Grafh and RJ Payne who have been rapping for 20 years, dropping projects that people are highly praising.

 

[FreshAIG]

thats a great point actually.
considering when you look at how underground hip-hop was perceived at the time when Monkey Barz dropped.

I mean Marcberg/Reloaded is the reason because of what followed in its time span
but you cant deny Price left that space open for Roc to move into. especially when Sean got involved with the Snow Remix after Marcberg dropped.

I used to say Monkeys Barz and Jesus Price Superstar were the type of albums Cam'ron would be making if he never made it further in his career.

Very interesting point. I could see it.

 

[Max Goonberg]

I know everyone likes to credit Griseld and Roc Marciano for making that style of rap huge

But to me, Sean Price is the grandfather of that movement. From when Monkey Bars came out, til his death, he was pushing that Boom Bap NY Street rap rap in the forefront.

It's sad because he would be having the best time of his career right now. All these big deals and big looks that the "hardcore NY rappers" are getting now, he'd be one of the people spearheading it. Plus personality wise, he trumps all of them. He'd probably have his own show on one of these networks Vice, Revolt, etc...

You are right about him being grandfather of that movement tho. Definitely gotta mention P when u talk roc or gxfr. I’ll give you that P opened up that underground lane first and was one of the first to actually stamp Roc...But roc still gotta get that credit because he started and created the style that became the standard for that genre. Naked sample wit no drums lo fi shyt front to back street shyt. same shyt that griselda started getting attention doing they got from roc.

Also I don’t think roc gets credit for making that genre huge since that would definitely be griselda, but roc definitely gets credit for creating a specific lane for certain type of emcees to eat.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Is there really a resurgence though ?

Absolutely there is. Not in the mainstream, but I don't even know what that means anymore, because no one even listens to the radio anymore anyways. A LOT of underground/indie cats are eating super well off vinyl sales, touring (before COVID at least), etc. There's so much underground street rap that drops every Friday that I have hours of music on my 2020 playlist that I haven't even gotten to yet.

When Jay-Z is saying Price of Tea in China is his favorite album this year, you know that it's being paid attention to. That and him saying Overdose by Conway is a song that he's been having on repeat. Matter of fact since Jay has a tendency to be a trend-chaser, I've even got a conspiracy theory that Jay's next album is going to be more like the current underground/indie NY sound. I think Tea in China is gonna be a big influence for Jay's next album.

Roc Marciano and Ka. Westside Gunn, Conway, Benny, and Boldy James. Mach-Hommy and Fahim. 38 Spesh, Ransom, Che Noir, and Trust Gang. Flee Lord and Elcamino. RJ Payne. Grafh. All these people have a lane. It's crazy with cats like Ransom and Grafh too, because their careers basically were in no man's land, and they've been able to reinvigorate themselves. Freddie Gibbs dances in and out of the lane, but you can count him too.

It's helping producers too. Cats 25 years deep in the game like Madlib and Alchemist are now highly sought after for entire projects, and not just one-off song placements, and they are helping newer producers get work for entire projects with one artist or group.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

I know everyone likes to credit Griseld and Roc Marciano for making that style of rap huge

But to me, Sean Price is the grandfather of that movement. From when Monkey Bars came out, til his death, he was pushing that Boom Bap NY Street rap rap in the forefront.

It's sad because he would be having the best time of his career right now. All these big deals and big looks that the "hardcore NY rappers" are getting now, he'd be one of the people spearheading it. Plus personality wise, he trumps all of them. He'd probably have his own show on one of these networks Vice, Revolt, etc...

Good point. It might be semantics, but I almost think of Sean Price as being Roc's older brother. So Sean Price is like the funny but grumpy old uncle that started the movement, and then 5-6 years later Roc really pushed the ball a bit farther.

Also, cats might forget this, but Sean dropped his final album within a few weeks of Roc dropping Reloaded. I remember being able to hear snippets from each album (remember 30 second snippets on Amazon? ) on the same day. Even though Mic Tyson didn't have the same impact as Monkey Barz, it was super dope and is underrated IMO. Ithink a big reason why is because there's not many hooks, and most songs are just 1 long verse, or 2 verses with a scratch hook or something.

But yeah. Monkey Barz is low key one of the most slept on albums ever. Out of all my hip-hop memories with Little Brother and what not, my favorite memories are Sean Price recording Onion head, Bye Bye, Heartburn, and then most of Jesus Price Superstar down here in NC. What he did with Monkey Barz was so dope. Dude totally reinvented himself, and I definitely think even if he didn't pave the way sonically...he paved the way to show people that they could reinvent themselves as artists. He went from being the background character in Heltah Skeltah to being THE STAR of the entire BCC.

 

[PlayerNinety_Nine]

Wasn't P Bleek's cousin?

I know Jay tried to sign him at one point. Could definitely have seen him on the frontlines of the goon rap renaissance. If there's one thing a lot of those cats respect, it's the brothers who were the architects of their sound. The fact that Griselda fukked with Prodigy and how they continue to salute Rae and Ghost, I think P would have rocked with them.

 

[TheDarceKnight]

but you cant deny Price left that space open for Roc to move into. especially when Sean got involved with the Snow Remix after Marcberg dropped.

No doubt. In fact I was listening to an interview with Roc Marci last year where he said that the Snow Remix is what really helped kick his solo career into high gear. He said the sales for Marcberg were not bad, but not great. And he said after the Snow Remix he started getting a huge boost in sales and followers on social media. He said he'll always be really thankful to Sean Price for that.

Also, I think this is such an underrated gem they did together. Roc's verse on this is just

 

[TheDarceKnight]

Wasn't P Bleek's cousin?

I know Jay tried to sign him at one point. Could definitely have seen him on the frontlines of the goon rap renaissance. If there's one thing a lot of those cats respect, it's the brothers who were the architects of their sound. The fact that Griselda fukked with Prodigy and how they continue to salute Rae and Ghost, I think P would have rocked with them.

I do think P was Bleek's cousin. P had a huge family too. He worked down here in NC with 9th Wonder and Khrysis, but he also had a LOT of family down here by the beach too. He joked that he had family everywhere.

Not only would P have rocked with them, but he actually put in work. It's a very overlooked EP, and it got almost no hype when it dropped, but Prodigy and Conway did a 3-song project together called Hell Still on Earth. It's not on any streaming platforms, so if you want a copy let me know and I got you.

Here's a Youtube link though.

 

[_genocidecutter_]

I miss P