When you turn 30, you won't be shaking your booty at the club. (At least I hope you won't be one of those old dudes trying to blend in a club full of 18-20 year olds. Whatever floats your boat though) Then you'll probably look back at all the freestyles you downloaded and be like 'holy shit - what a pile of shit' and maybe abandon one of the most important American art-forms of our generation.
I'm not 30 yet (23 atm), and I won't go clubbing when I'm that age, but I'll be able to look back and say "Hey, I remember when I was younger and people went nuts to the song." ... Just like your parents or mine can remember when they were younger and appreciate those songs for what they were, even if it wasn't the type of music they really listened to on a regular basis. Hell, people went nuts over BeeGee's 'Staying Alive', it's not the greatest shit here you know, but people remember it as being a classic for getting down and boogieing. lol.
And no, I won't abandon the art form, and nor do I see why I would? I've been listening to rap since I was a kid, I grew up listening to Wu-Tang and Gangstarr. Shit, I grew up on oldies even more like Jim Morrison, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, etc. since it's what my parents played around the house (Croatian music also). So, I know the difference between music for the ages, and music of the moment.
I wouldn't go far as saying that the music of the past generation were all good. But my parents were listening to Marvin Gaye and Pink Floyd etc. I can enjoy those artists today. Sure, you'll raise your kids to be smart - I think you will but can you invite your son into your garage and be like 'hey, son - listen - this is some classic shit your pops was listening to back in the day. He's called Eminem and he's talking about sticking an umbrella up somebody's vagina. Those were the days!" I stress the importance of investing in music that you are proud of.
I agree with this, and the concept of investing in music that I'm proud out. There's a reason why I didn't buy Relapse, or any album of Eminem's since Marshall Mathers LP. As for his upcoming album, I'm hoping there's a difference since he said it will be more emotional content (which is my preference), shit, I just listened to 'Not Afraid' ... It's a good start, since all his first singles have been that corny shit he puts out. So, we have a good change at the moment, but we'll see.
Relapse went near triple platinum right? Now the creators will emulate that and it leads to sequels that we all hate. But it doesn't matter because you'll just download it - that's fine by me - but your next door neighbor Sally's mom and dad works for universal and they got mouths to feed, they all want to make money so they're not going to risk it with progress that we all admire, so creators will find a way to make money and you end up with pile of shit.
That's just the business sadly, and milking the money cow. That's why I usually urge people to download an album first, give it good listens and tell yourself: "Is this something you'd be happy paying 20 bucks for? Do you like the direction the artist is going? To do even think it's something that you'd play again and again 15-20 years down the line?" ... If it's yes to all those questions, then you invest in it.
I just want to make it clear, I'm not giving a 2 thumbs up commercialized music with no substance. If it was up to me, I would like it to be limited, but I can distinguish the difference in something I just enjoy hearing at that one moment and tossing it away (like when I'm clubbing, while I'm young lol), and something I can pop into my car, recline my chair back and listen to over and over again and get lost in the music.