The notion that we somehow "outgrow" music is simply unadulterated bullcrap.

[Brandon M.]

how can u have fun listening to their old shyt but say you've outgrown the artist.....thats mad irregular .......its the artist that falls off.......i love killa cam the rapper til this day, but i would be a fool to say he hasnt fell off because i still listen to Public Enemy and Purple Haze everyday!

 

[lyrical professor]

See, this is where it get subjective tho, I listen to all sorts of rap cuz they have different functions. I used to fukk with Gucci from 07-10 but while I've outgrown that shyt (and also think he fell the fukk off) others still love him and don't think he's missed a beat. Some will say it's outgrowing childish music, some say it's outgrowing the subject matter, and some just say its an artist becoming wack..,there are a lot of ways to look at it.

You pretty much hit the nail on the head it's always one of these three tbh

 

[Kalik]

As an artist as a child thru college and getting a job in graphic design for 15 years. You get tired of doing it.

I think it's the same for musical artform. Dudes just lack the passion.

Which is why majority of "classic" albums are rappers 1st, maybe 2nd solo album.

 

[lyrical professor]

As an artist as a child thru college and getting a job in graphic design for 15 years. You get tired of doing it.

I think it's the same for musical artform. Dudes just lack the passion.

Which is why majority of "classic" albums are rappers 1st, maybe 2nd solo album.

Pretty much, and also once you start getting a certain amount of money and notoriety, that makes you not give a fukk even more. Then on the other hand you have fans that constantly want you to recreate your 1st album if it is deemed as a classic in their eyes. So now every single project after that will be compared to it, the album can be dope on it's own, but fans put it in the negative because it's not up to that standard of your first joint. Sometimes fans won't let an artist be an artist and try other things.

 

[Kalik]

I look at my old college portfolio of paintings, photography and other fine art pieces. I do not know how I did that shyt -- I'm sure it is still in me, I have passion for other things now.

Thats how these rappers feel about their 1st classic album. The fans want them to recreate it. But they are no longer in that place.

What I've noticed is the rappers that never reach high success, can last longer in the game (because us the audience, the fans, are waiting for them to get to top tier). The one hit wonders have it the worse, they come out with 1 track and can never get there again.

Of course we have the top tier talent that time and time again they have given us good music, but even eventually they fall off, or can no longer appease their core fans. -- But they still have access to new fans, that like their current work, without going back and listening to their old sounds.

Pretty much, and also once you start getting a certain amount of money and notoriety, that makes you not give a fukk even more. Then on the other hand you have fans that constantly want you to recreate your 1st album if it is deemed as a classic in their eyes. So now every single project after that will be compared to it, the album can be dope on it's own, but fans put it in the negative because it's not up to that standard of your first joint. Sometimes fans won't let an artist be an artist and try other things.

 

[Brandon M.]

As an artist as a child thru college and getting a job in graphic design for 15 years. You get tired of doing it.

I think it's the same for musical artform. Dudes just lack the passion.

Which is why majority of "classic" albums are rappers 1st, maybe 2nd solo album.

i

I look at my old college portfolio of paintings, photography and other fine art pieces. I do not know how I did that shyt -- I'm sure it is still in me, I have passion for other things now.

Thats how these rappers feel about their 1st classic album. The fans want them to recreate it. But they are no longer in that place.

What I've noticed is the rappers that never reach high success, can last longer in the game (because us the audience, the fans, are waiting for them to get to top tier). The one hit wonders have it the worse, they come out with 1 track and can never get there again.

Of course we have the top tier talent that time and time again they have given us good music, but even eventually they fall off, or can no longer appease their core fans. -- But they still have access to new fans, that like their current work, without going back and listening to their old sounds.

imma keep it so funky with you bro.....nas my favorite rapper ever right.......he was averaging almost 2 million sales an album up til God Son. his last album did 369 K......total.....album before that did like 700k...his music remains great but how come nikkas aint buying it

 

[Wild self]

Pretty much, and also once you start getting a certain amount of money and notoriety, that makes you not give a fukk even more. Then on the other hand you have fans that constantly want you to recreate your 1st album if it is deemed as a classic in their eyes. So now every single project after that will be compared to it, the album can be dope on it's own, but fans put it in the negative because it's not up to that standard of your first joint. Sometimes fans won't let an artist be an artist and try other things.

What I found out is that from self-centered rappers, is that if you talk about yourself all the time and talk about your life story 24/7, you run out of material completely by your 3rd album. If you a socially conscious rapper that talks about anything and everything about life, and your hunger for good music is beyond financial, you will remain fresh and sharp for decades to come.

 

[Danny Up]

i

imma keep it so funky with you bro.....nas my favorite rapper ever right.......he was averaging almost 2 million sales an album up til God Son. his last album did 369 K......total.....album before that did like 700k...his music remains great but how come nikkas aint buying it

Who is selling records these days? The so called "Holy Grail" of hip hop "Illmatic" didn't sell shyt in '94 when people were selling 5 million records like nothing. Nas has replaced Snoop as my all-time favorite, but aside from "Life Is Good" everything after "God's Son" was a clusterfukk. Nas' subject matter is more "mature" it doesn't appeal to the "swag" whores. I mean you had this corny nikka Jeezy asking if Nas bust his gun, the hell does that got to do with hip hop?

But you can outgrow music. Some of it is so shallow and you've been listening to that same nikka spit the same shyt for 10+ years. It gets boring.

 

[Wild self]

i

imma keep it so funky with you bro.....nas my favorite rapper ever right.......he was averaging almost 2 million sales an album up til God Son. his last album did 369 K......total.....album before that did like 700k...his music remains great but how come nikkas aint buying it

Blame it on the ratchet nikkas that hate Nas cause they still butthurt over Ether. On top of the younger generation hating on him cause he is "boring." Nas still tours overseas and still performs in front of 100k people easily. If you think about it, anyone that dissed Nas either hurt music wise or their music career done.

Hov can't make a good album like American Gangster anymore
Cam is
Banks is ghost
Fif music career is
Gucci Mane went off the deep end

 

[Kalik]

i

imma keep it so funky with you bro.....nas my favorite rapper ever right.......he was averaging almost 2 million sales an album up til God Son. his last album did 369 K......total.....album before that did like 700k...his music remains great but how come nikkas aint buying it

Nas is one of the top tier rappers, in my eyes. He can still craft out lyrical albums, and songs with meaning. But I don't think he connects with the younger audience.

The main reason is, there are thousands of young people filling up the buyers market (by releasing free mixtapes) - and of course bootleg downloads. For some reason the older we get more and more of my friends tell me, I dont listen to rap anymore, or I just listen to 90s music.

How many features does Nas do? Does he work with many young acts, I know he was on Rozays shyt. I know Jcole likes him but I dont fukk with Jcole so I have no clue if he was featured.
=====
How many rappers from early 90s still around (pre 1995) and eating well.
I think everyone knows Nas is great, but it's kinda how we knew Rakim was great in the 90s, but we still eventually stopped buying his shyt.

In art (music too) sometimes tragedy (death) and gimmicks (fake retirement - or collabs, albums based on movies) help keep you relevant.

Which is why I kinda fukked with Nas and Damiand Marley album way heavier than his last album
=====

But Im speaking from the eyes of an old head (just turned 35), I have 2 sons one 13 and one 14 (my 8yr old dont count). Out of all my sons friends from 13-16 -- Only 1 kid talks to me about 90s rap. That kid favorite rapper is 50Cent (But he knows about Wu, Nas etc, and loves hearing me play old stuff)

My stepson, just put me onto Lil Bibby, but I mostly put them onto shyt. My son, just plays Pandora and builds his stations around Lil Wayne it seems

 

[Brandon M.]

Nas is one of the top tier rappers, in my eyes. He can still craft out lyrical albums, and songs with meaning. But I don't think he connects with the younger audience.

The main reason is, there are thousands of young people filling up the buyers market (by releasing free mixtapes) - and of course bootleg downloads. For some reason the older we get more and more of my friends tell me, I dont listen to rap anymore, or I just listen to 90s music.

How many features does Nas do? Does he work with many young acts, I know he was on Rozays shyt. I know Jcole likes him but I dont fukk with Jcole so I have no clue if he was featured.
=====
How many rappers from early 90s still around (pre 1995) and eating well.
I think everyone knows Nas is great, but it's kinda how we knew Rakim was great in the 90s, but we still eventually stopped buying his shyt.

In art (music too) sometimes tragedy (death) and gimmicks (fake retirement - or collabs, albums based on movies) help keep you relevant.

Which is why I kinda fukked with Nas and Damiand Marley album way heavier than his last album
=====

But Im speaking from the eyes of an old head (just turned 35), I have 2 sons one 13 and one 14 (my 8yr old dont count). Out of all my sons friends from 13-16 -- Only 1 kid talks to me about 90s rap. That kid favorite rapper is 50Cent (But he knows about Wu, Nas etc, and loves hearing me play old stuff)

My stepson, just put me onto Lil Bibby, but I mostly put them onto shyt. My son, just plays Pandora and builds his stations around Lil Wayne it seems

u know what and thats why i make sure i tell my younger hip hop heads about nas. im 26 and I let this 15 year old listen to ether the other day .he went crazy...i explained to him the whole biggie pac rivalry, then the nas jay rivalry. he listened to ether and walked around the house saying "fukk Jay-z " all day lmao...my lil cousin is 21 now , but when untitled came out , i made sure i bought him a copy. hes now a nas fan to the fullest. so i guess we can do our part in passing down good music. my old heads put me on to ice cube and and the rest of those early 90's late 80's cats and im thankful for that

 

[Kalik]

u know what and thats why i make sure i tell my younger hip hop heads about nas. im 26 and I let this 15 year old listen to ether the other day .he went crazy...i explained to him the whole biggie pac rivalry, then the nas jay rivalry. he listened to ether and walked around the house saying "fukk Jay-z " all day lmao...my lil cousin is 21 now , but when untitled came out , i made sure i bought him a copy. hes now a nas fan to the fullest. so i guess we can do our part in passing down good music. my old heads put me on to ice cube and and the rest of those early 90's late 80's cats and im thankful for that

Yeah when we playing madden or in the den, I play my itunes on random. I love seeing them nikkas ears perk up when something fire comes on. BUT where I fukk up is, Im so selfish and tryna hear the new shyt in the whip, I rarely play older music in the car. BUT I feel if I stop listening to the new shyt, Im gonna be one of them old heads stuck in the 90s, early 2000s....

 

[Brandon M.]

Yeah when we playing madden or in the den, I play my itunes on random. I love seeing them nikkas ears perk up when something fire comes on. BUT where I fukk up is, Im so selfish and tryna hear the new shyt in the whip, I rarely play older music in the car. BUT I feel if I stop listening to the new shyt, Im gonna be one of them old heads stuck in the 90s, early 2000s....

i feel u on that....if a rapper is nice , the beat is nice and he rapping about shyt with sense, i'll listen , no matter the age. theres no way in hell i can relate to a chief keef record or see myself singing a song of his while im at a club or something

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

i

imma keep it so funky with you bro.....nas my favorite rapper ever right.......he was averaging almost 2 million sales an album up til God Son. his last album did 369 K......total.....album before that did like 700k...his music remains great but how come nikkas aint buying it

Nas shares my #1 spot too

But to your post, Untitled had more "radio friendly" joints. I think nas is in that weird space where if you're 26/27+ you fukk with him, the issue is kids don't really fukk with him/appreciate him, he's not a blog celebrity - dude disappears between albums (and for him they're usually 2 yrs apart or more), he's not married to a beyonce, he's not appealing to the casual female listener, he's not doing a million other mainstream things outside of music, etc. add to the fact that his fans who are his age (like 36-45) don't really buy music like that anymore/just don't have the passion to really play music like they once did, his sales suffer.

 

[UpAndComing]

As an artist as a child thru college and getting a job in graphic design for 15 years. You get tired of doing it.

I think it's the same for musical artform. Dudes just lack the passion.

Which is why majority of "classic" albums are rappers 1st, maybe 2nd solo album.

Yeah I 100% cosign with this
What I don't like is unrealistic fans that expect an artist to have their 2nd album have the same hunger and vigor as their 10th album
I'm a Nas fan, but only a fool would expect Life is Good to have the same vigor as It Was Written. I know he's pushing 40 and got other things to worry bout in life, so I take it into consideration. Plus he's making bread so "getting out of the projects" ain't on his mind. You're just supposed to appreciate whatever the artist puts out, as long as its not wack. Some fans confuse me

Sometimes its not even cause fans outgrew an artist, its cause some people are just too damn unrealistic