tru or nah: Underground rappers are only underground because..

[H.I.M.]

He wasn't underground though

And I admit I could be totally off base because I've never heard a g rap song before

Sounds like he would be in the Pusha T type lane.

Pusha isn't underground

Just made my point for me. But i bet you heard several Hammer songs though Your music being widely heard has very little to do with how ill a MC you are. It's all about marketing, promotions & industry co-signs. And if you can't create a radio/club single or singles that appeals to the masses (i.e. women & cacs) or some sorta gimmick to sell yourself, you pretty much have little to no chance of attaining any sorta commercial success. I don't give a shyt how dope your ryhme schemes are.

BTW Pusha T's debut moved 900,000 units. Kool G Rap hasn't even had an album that moved 400,000 over the course of 30 years. I think it's pretty safe to say G rap is an underground artist.

 

[Poetical Poltergeist]

i think thats the biggest bullshyt excuse of all

Probably.

Maybe its not that they WANT to stay underground but take pride in the fact that they haven't sold out....yet.

Money talks.

 

[H.I.M.]

Truth...

(1) Humans have an innate need to express themselves and to be understood...No matter how twisted or 'different' they think they are...We want to belong...

(2) If you are an artist and you don't have a lot of fans, it is because only a few people understand what you are trying to express...

(3) Therefore, OBJECTIVELY speaking, an underground artist has no logical basis to claim that he/she is better than more popular mainstream artists...

(4) And they shouldn't use that "people are brainwashed sheep and blah blah" rationalization either, because there are COUNTLESS example of people gravitating towards artists' whose works were not necessarily popular or mainstream friendly...

In conclusion,
OP is 100% correct..You are underground because (1) you are still trying to make it and/or (2) you just ain't that good at presenting your message in a way that people will understand and appreciate it...

With this said, I don't give credibility to any hip hop forum or statement that does not acknowledge Eminem, Jay Z and 2Pac as the OBJECTIVELY accurate Top 3 GOAT contenders of hip hop in history...

If you ain't got 30 Million records sold, you don't belong in the same sentence as Eminem, Jay Z and 2Pac...Catch Up

Don't forget Nelly, Hammer & Fif breh

 

[MegaTronBomb!]

More than not, it's always a case of them lacking sufficiently in one of these 4 areas.

1. having extremely low levels of swag - Joell Ortiz
2. can't make songs people want to listen to - Papoose
3. Can rap, but can't make songs- Serious Jones
4. Only raps about shyt a few people wanna hear about- Immortal Technique

 

[hex]

Some of you cats....Jesus Christ....

It's not A or B. It's not "they either want to get on, and haven't yet, or they can't because they suck". You're acting like labels ain't been raping artists since the 60's. Not everyone wants to "get on" because it's 2014 and you don't need major label or mainstream support to eat off rap. So yes, in some cases it's preferable to stay underground. Hell, in most cases nowadays it's preferable. Someone like Chief Keef signed to Interscope, and sold 50,000 first week, which is what he would've sold independently. The difference is Interscope wouldn't have been in his pockets the whole time.

Stop treating these labels like they're special....stop treating mainstream success like it's the most important thing in the world. Viacom/Clear Channel really did a number on you guys.

Fred.

 

[FreshAIG]

Truth...

(1) Humans have an innate need to express themselves and to be understood...No matter how twisted or 'different' they think they are...We want to belong...

(2) If you are an artist and you don't have a lot of fans, it is because only a few people understand what you are trying to express...

(3) Therefore, OBJECTIVELY speaking, an underground artist has no logical basis to claim that he/she is better than more popular mainstream artists...

(4) And they shouldn't use that "people are brainwashed sheep and blah blah" rationalization either, because there are COUNTLESS example of people gravitating towards artists' whose works were not necessarily popular or mainstream friendly...

In conclusion,
OP is 100% correct..You are underground because (1) you are still trying to make it and/or (2) you just ain't that good at presenting your message in a way that people will understand and appreciate it...

With this said, I don't give credibility to any hip hop forum or statement that does not acknowledge Eminem, Jay Z and 2Pac as the OBJECTIVELY accurate Top 3 GOAT contenders of hip hop in history...

If you ain't got 30 Million records sold, you don't belong in the same sentence as Eminem, Jay Z and 2Pac...Catch Up

Or the Beastie Boys, The Fugees, MC Hammer and Nelly by your logic.

 

[nineteeneightysix]

Don't forget Nelly, Hammer & Fif breh

What do their numbers look like...?

People hate on MC Hammer, but I was in Africa when MC Hammer was huge...He had a cartoon, the black kids use to argue about who is better between MC Hammer and Michael Jackson...They didn't even know about Rakim, Big Daddy Kane or Kool G Rap...

MC Hammer did MORE for hip hop on a GLOBAL scale than Rakim, Big Daddy Kane and Kool G Rap...

Believe that....

 

[call_me_step_daddy]

There's alot more that goes into selling records and appealing to a broad cross section of music consumers than just being a good rapper and creating good/great rap albums & songs. The vast majority of the most commercially successfully rap albums/songs for instance, were able to blow up and become huge by just simply having a catchy single or two. Not because the album or songs have great substance.

And just to make a random example... Kool G Rap is pretty much a career underground artist. I don't think he has one album that has sold more than 200,000-300,000 copies. But he's still widely respected amongst both rap fans & most of the greats in rap. Does him lacking the ability to create several crossover hits and sell a bunch of records mean that he's an inferior MC than say Nelly, whoi has outsold his entire discography about 15 times over with just one of is albums?

What about Eric B & Rakim thou?

They got plat records, spit mainly lyrical shyt, and i cant recall any commerical songs from back in the day( not including the dr.dre stint)

if rakim could make it, why couldnt kool g?

 

[nineteeneightysix]

Or the Beastie Boys, The Fugees, MC Hammer and Nelly by your logic.

So, why exactly shouldn't the acts you mentioned be praised for their achievements in hip hop...?

Lauryn Hill was SPITTING on The Score...That woman was LYRICALLY unstoppable....

If it is ok to list RUN DMC, then why NOT the Beastie Boys...

What is the difference between Jay Z and Nelly and why people love their music...? I love Jay Z's music for songs like "H to the Izzo" "Big Pimping" and etc...Like MOST people who know about Jay Z...To me that is the same lane as "Country Grammar" and "EI"...

Of course, a hardcore Jigganaut will beg to differ, and say "but Jay Z spits the truth about blah blah and his music really touches my soul. it is like he is directly talking to me blah blah" but that's how fans feel about their favourites...

When you are emotionally invested, your perspective is altered...You are no different than a woman who thinks her boyfriend is the greatest guy on the planet no matter how much he dogs her...

Logic and Objectivity >>>>>>>>

 

[the cac mamba]

...heck Em could have stayed underground if he hadn't gotten a couple good breaks

 

[The Ruler 09]

Hammer sold about 30-40 Million albums worldwide during G-rap's prime

And alot of his contemporaries were going GOLD & Platinum in their sleep.

Schoolin a lot of these idiots heavy lol.

 

[The Ruler 09]

Some people never get discovered. It's numerous factors. Luck, content, looks, who you know, work ethic, financial status, location. To simplify it is highly ignorant.

 

[FreshAIG]

So, why exactly shouldn't the acts you mentioned be praised for their achievements in hip hop...?

Lauryn Hill was SPITTING on The Score...That woman was LYRICALLY unstoppable....

If it is ok to list RUN DMC, then why NOT the Beastie Boys...

What is the difference between Jay Z and Nelly and why people love their music...? I love Jay Z's music for songs like "H to the Izzo" "Big Pimping" and etc...Like MOST people who know about Jay Z...To me that is the same lane as "Country Grammar" and "EI"...

Of course, a hardcore Jigganaut will beg to differ, and say "but Jay Z spits the truth about blah blah and his music really touches my soul. it is like he is directly talking to me blah blah" but that's how fans feel about their favourites...

When you are emotionally invested, your perspective is altered...You are no different than a woman who thinks her boyfriend is the greatest guy on the planet no matter how much he dogs her...

Logic and Objectivity >>>>>>>>

Selling a bunch of records isn't a Hip Hop achievement it simple means you created something extremely popular that doesn't mean it's quality. Quality and popularity do not go hand in hand. Anyone with an IQ over 12 understands that just because something generates a lot of money in no way does that mean it's of superior quality.

There's movies that are trash but will sell out in the box office while other films that are critically acclaimed won't. It has nothing to do with how good it is, it's has to do with mass hysteria, promotion, etc...now that's not to say just because something is popular it isn't good. Because there are some things that generated tons of money and became major worldwide AND are high quality. However, just because something made a lot of money doesn't in of it self make it good.

 

[The Ruler 09]

A lot of groupies on here, the only judgement should be regarding the music.

fukk you, will compare whoever to whoever, it's about music not fame. What kind of dumbass puts Vanilla Ice over Rakim, G Rap, Kane etc cause of sales, ridiculous premise and weak argument.

 

[hex]

Selling a bunch of records isn't a Hip Hop achievement it simple means you created something extremely popular that doesn't mean it's quality. Quality and popularity do not go hand in hand. Anyone with an IQ over 12 understands that just because something generates a lot of money in no way does that mean it's of superior quality.

There's movies that are trash but will sell out in the box office while other films that are critically acclaimed won't. It has nothing to do with how good it is, it's has to do with mass hysteria, promotion, etc...now that's not to say just because something is popular it isn't good. Because there are some things that generated tons of money and became major worldwide AND are high quality. However, just because something made a lot of money doesn't in of it self make it good.

I'm saying. fukking Rebecca Black had 167 million views on Youtube and has a gold single off this song:



Nobody in their right mind would argue that song is "good", by any definition of the word. It's universally accepted as a terrible song....but as long as it's successful these clowns want to assign some kind of importance to it. Like I said these people are puppets for Clear Channel and don't even realize it.

Fred.