as far as the mainstream is concerned u might be right
that moment was his pinnacle and had crossover written all over it.
The real reason gangsta rap died [IMPORTANT POST]
- Thread starter Reebok Jones
- Start date
as far as the mainstream is concerned u might be right
that moment was his pinnacle and had crossover written all over it.
This is stupid
Hannibal Fox
Eetwidomayloh
Interesting thread OP. I actually agree with you. Soulja really did change the game.
Also, all these internet rappers. Keef didn't birth em, Lil B didn't birth em. Soulja did. He made it cool to be non-lyrical as well, without being dance oriented.
This nikka Fif rubbing me off the wrong way...
FAM I know
....
lucky lefty
Most Annoying Jay Z (aka GOAT) Stan of All Time
nikka, plz 
FOH with this Souljah Tsung conspiracy bullshyt
Gangsta rap died the day the GOAT our flow lord and lyrical savior Hova Da Gawd decided he didn't wanna spend his whole career rapping bout sex, murder & mayhem
If the GOAT to ever do it ain't fukking wit something it's destined for
status 
FOH with this Souljah Tsung conspiracy bullshyt
Gangsta rap died the day the GOAT our flow lord and lyrical savior Hova Da Gawd decided he didn't wanna spend his whole career rapping bout sex, murder & mayhem
If the GOAT to ever do it ain't fukking wit something it's destined for
status 
The common story everyone loves to tell is that Kanye basically made everyone get bored with gangsta rap after he came out with his Jay-Z squared, super-bragadoccio style, plus the chipmunk soul movement. Everyone was fukking with Ye's sentimental type shyt and 50 Cent and The Game were the last two great gangsta rappers to come out before the end.
Lets go back in time. G-Unit is on top of the world, 50 came with a 2nd great album, Candy Shop absolutely fukking everywhere that year. And he's the only rapper in the world who is more popular in the moment than the young cocky roc-a-fella prodigy Kanye.
So wtf happened when they both decided to compete for sales the same day with their albums Curtis and Graduation, and Kanye absolutely blew him out with US sales? It must've just been the changing climate, right? People stopped caring about being "hard", that barely mattered anymore, it was just a nice bonus if you were. People cared more about dope altogether tracks. Songs, melodies, hooks. In a funny way, 50 really was the best rapper to help make this transition because we all know what party bangers he made. In a lot of ways on some tracks he was more club rap without much gangsta rap at all.
So what made this climate shift? Why did people stop caring about being hard? What killed gangsta rap? Can we credit it to Kanye? Nah... someone else is responsible.
4 months before Curtis and Graduation are released, Atlanta rapper Soulja Boy releases Crank Dat, which becomes what is probably the biggest and most popular hip hop song of the entire decade, if not top 3. Soulja perfected the formula of ATL dance music in ways that his crunk predecessors couldn't even imagine. With just one song, he changed the entire climate of the rap game, and he should be credited as THE one who started Atlanta's 10 year reign as the most popular hip hop city in the world.
Think about it, why wasn't anyone really influenced by Kanye after Graduation came out? Most of the chipmunk soul songs from other artists came out 2003-2006 before Grad came out, and after it dropped the only new rapper at the time who sounded anything like it was Big Sean (but he was a ghostwriter for Grad so does this even count?). Yes, Kanye beat 50 in that competition, and people say he killed gangsta rap. BUT! It was really a completely separate movement, the ringtone rap era, that not only knocked NYC out of any contention for the throne, but made Kanye's sound seem irrelevant and boring as well.
Who knows what would happen if Ye's life didn't take that downfall after Grad, and he never released 808s but a 4th album of that sound? Would he have fallen off just like 50? I think he might've. Atlanta was just too strong, so strong that the WHOLE GAME needed to change up their styles again to something new.
Thank god for fukking Soulja Boy man...
Kanye is a pure artist...hes regressed due to marriage and fashion aspirations. You take away his family and merchandising ...he'll drop a classic on you
ATL couldn't even carry the torch from Luda and Outkast....
Jeezy, T.I . and Gucci/Wayne birth this whole south movement
Kanye literally fathered Drake, Sean, Cole, Wale, Gambino and every new school rapper.
He is hip hop's flashpoint. Like it or love it
letti cook
Superstar
Yep..it aint about direct influence on a sound and all that like op said..its the fact that Kanye made nikkas realize they didnt have to play extremes to be successful. On college dropout he was being himself instead of super hustler/pimp/mack/gangsta/conscience backpack nikka or whatever and it knocked. shyt was a breath of fresh air especially after 50 had every rapper yapping about how many times they'd been shot..Then when them dudes went head up and Ye won, it was official.
whats funny is that, while reminiscing on gangsta rap running things, op talked about Candy Shop ringing off as evidence
DoomzdayzV
Banned
D4L and Dem Franchize Boyz came before SB....they popularized that doo doo ass style of rap.
IllmaticDelta
Veteran
Gangsta Rap dies in 96/97
Soulja Boy changed rap in ways cats are just starting to figure out. fukk all that "Kanye so influential" shyt. No doubt Kanye has a huge hand in the WOAT era, but Soulja Boy was the first time I saw a kid dominate hip hop.
Think about it. Before Soulja Boy, everyone popular was grown, for the most part. Yeah you had Lil Bow Wow but he was never the center of rap. Those Laffy Taffy dudes were grown nikkas doing watered down music.
Soulja Boy looks at all the dumbed down music, realizes the bar is low enough for him to participate, and decides to upload himself. Goes viral and the rest is history.
He's the first major Internet rapper. After him, hip hop moved to the Internet and got younger. Which began the start of a new generation.
Think about it. Before Soulja Boy, everyone popular was grown, for the most part. Yeah you had Lil Bow Wow but he was never the center of rap. Those Laffy Taffy dudes were grown nikkas doing watered down music.
Soulja Boy looks at all the dumbed down music, realizes the bar is low enough for him to participate, and decides to upload himself. Goes viral and the rest is history.
He's the first major Internet rapper. After him, hip hop moved to the Internet and got younger. Which began the start of a new generation.
one of your better posts...but you can say the same thing about Nas ushering in the New lyrical era
one of your better posts...but you can say the same thing about Nas ushering in the New lyrical era
All my posts are good. It just depends on whether the reader catches feelings or not
but what you think about the Nas analogygangsta rap died because it wasn't reflective of black america anymore
nikkas moved to the suburbs started dressin like white boys adopting feminism & feminization & became the sissified generation we have today
suburban nikkas are more relateable to the cac consumer, even when they're selling a watered down imitation of the hood
society & then the internet shifted the culture away from the ghetto and thus away from the streets
nikkas moved to the suburbs started dressin like white boys adopting feminism & feminization & became the sissified generation we have today
suburban nikkas are more relateable to the cac consumer, even when they're selling a watered down imitation of the hood
society & then the internet shifted the culture away from the ghetto and thus away from the streets
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Nas is definitely a game-changer. And I think he ushered in a new lyrical era. But it wasn't as instant.
Soulja Boy instantly changed rap.