The Hate on Mainstream Rap Is Ridiculous

[Confucius87]

I see alot of people shittin' on rap now-n-days, saying that it's in a 'state of emergency'. Other people state that is dead, completely. Me?, I tend to think otherwise. There are alot of artists out that's puttin' out quality music. I think the reason artists don't recieve the respect that they should is because of the fact that they actually get radio play. Like Jay Hov said, people judge a artist based on his/her single instead of taking more of a listen and then forming an opinion.

Look at Joe Budden. The way people talk about him know is just funny. Now that he's not much of a mainstream artist - especially compared to when he dropped 'Pump It Up - he recieves praise from alot of people, people who probably hated on him when he was mainstream. Joe has always been nice, but hearing some of the things that people say, you'd think different.

Aside from all the lame ass beefs, I actually like the position Rap is in.

 

[WayCide-Ridah]

.......well if we as the hip hop community stop letting record labels N' the middle class dictate what we listen to on radio N' on videos...than yeah I'm a hate...i don't hate all, juz ppl who sacrifice their own credibility to do so...i'm not talking about street cred...i'm talking about letting the label push u into what they think u should sound like....i'm pretty sure the reason budden ain't out iz cuz the label ain't hearing a single like "Pump It Up"....do i think hip hop in a whole iz dead??? naw, cuz i listen to more than juz the radio..i make a conscience effort to listen to new artists everyday, i listen to the up n' comers...the ones juz about to blow, the underground.......hip hop iz not dead, it's a zombie being controlled by ppl who juz want money....one

 

[FroDawgg]

i don't hate mainstream just b/c it's mainstream...i just think most of it sucks.

 

[Confucius87]

^ but isn't that how is always been? ever since Rap officially became a genre, the corporate vultures were waiting to add their 2 cents and collect in on the business. i do understand what you mean about compromising who u are just to sell a record, though. i'm a musician myself, and no dollar is worth me sacrificing my work.

 

[Write Firs]

That's how it is. You got people on this site and on other sites calling Rakim the Goat mainly because he has laid low for so many years, but yet will try to hate on LL Cool J. But if Rakim was to be out as nonstop as LL was, nobody would want to put him in top 5's either. The same goes people like Big L & Big Pun. Because there names are less heard, people will try to say, there better than Biggie and Pac. You've got people calling them Goat because there underrated. Most of the internet is about cheering for the underdog.

But in a way, I think hip hop is dead because even mainstream hip hop is not good. I understand corporations have been controlling hip hop for sometime. But there was at least a time period when radio singles were good. Look at the singles out right now. "Walk It Out", "This is Why I'm Hot", "Diamnonds On My Damn Chain". Even the mainstream songs suck. I think what killed hip hop is the viacom monopoly and the ending of the Box. In the 90s more artists would get play. In 98, if you wouldn't see Fatal or Big Pun on MTV or BET, you'd see them getting requested on the BOX. Now it's just MTV and BET and it's really the same system.

 

[WayCide-Ridah]

word......we need more independent outlets that don't answer to major labels or major companies....Viacom is too afraid to play anything that isn't wit the status quo.....i agree most mainstream is garbage...when's the last time u bought a true classic major release???

i can't even remember...but u have to have the shitty music juz so u can appreciate the good music u do hear....we need balance N' corporate america fucc'd it up

 

[linx]

I see alot of people shittin' on rap now-n-days, saying that it's in a 'state of emergency'. Other people state that is dead, completely. Me?, I tend to think otherwise. There are alot of artists out that's puttin' out quality music. I think the reason artists don't recieve the respect that they should is because of the fact that they actually get radio play. Like Jay Hov said, people judge a artist based on his/her single instead of taking more of a listen and then forming an opinion.

Look at Joe Budden. The way people talk about him know is just funny. Now that he's not much of a mainstream artist - especially compared to when he dropped 'Pump It Up - he recieves praise from alot of people, people who probably hated on him when he was mainstream. Joe has always been nice, but hearing some of the things that people say, you'd think different.

Aside from all the lame ass beefs, I actually like the position Rap is in.

Yeah that whole "Hip Hop Is Dead" thing got kinda old. I will say that. But I wouldn't say the hate on mainstream rap is ridiculous. People have every reason to think it's garbage. Because it is. The fact is, people will listen to it just like people will listen to the lesser-known rappers. I personally don't listen to lesser-known people because they are lesser-known. There's nothing cool about listening to underground hip hop, it's just alot different. From the production to the subjects the rappers can get away with. I don't wanna hear about how you fly high or why you're hot. Simple as that. I admit I get kinda sick of thinking to myself "boy, I hate the radio".. cause alot of people say that. Me though.. I can honestly say I TRUELY hate the fucking radio. You don't even know, lol.

As far as your comments on Joe Budden go, well you're right. Alot of people now a days have took notice of Budden. Cause for a while, alot of them same people only knew him for Pump It Up and Fire with Busta. Alot still do, but more people realize that Budden is a hell of a rapper. One of the best in the game really. His ability to rip the mic and/or show emotion on a song cannot be matched by many, if any right now. Dude is a beast.

 

[The_Destroyer]

What mainstream rap has redeeming value? The stars are talentless. I thought legends like Mos Def, Nas, and Jay-Z would pick up the pieces but they made bad albums too. If you want music, the mainstream isn't where its at anymore. Prove me wrong...

Come up with some good mainstream CDs we can all agree on.

 

[HiGhTillDeaTH]

For the person that said Rakim wouldnt be a God if he released albums as quickly as LL Cool J. Think about this. If you listen to rap lyrics today, 2 years ago, 3 years ago, and all the way up to about 7 or 8 years ago, you will hear artists saying the exact words and lines Rakim dropped on us a long long time ago. The differences between the 2 is countless. LL Cool J has completely changed his style and now raps strickly for women and youngsters. He is trying to make hits, and keep current. Rakim on the other hand is trying to create timeless music. He doesn't just create a song for a particular season, like LL, he just creates music that transends the years.

But I thank the mainstream rap because if it wasnt for artists in the mainstream we would not have the underground. We wouldnt have these distinct sounds seperating the different styles of rap.

Because if i didnt hear the utter cornyness and the same 10 songs every hour on the radio, i wouldnt be forced to listen to the underground.

Plus most people that listen to the mainstream most likely havent been listening to rap music for an extended amount of time. I know i strarted with some mainstream artists, but eventually grew tired of the same shit and eventually evolved into a wierd ass music listener of the 2day. Now a days ill give anything a chance because i like a whole bunch of different shit.

Tupac was a mainstream artist but still managed to stay true to practicually everybody. I dont know if such a feet is possible in todays media...

 

[The_Destroyer]

Big labels are businesses, and a business's goal is to make money. The common rap fan isn't interested in thought provoking lyrics, well-constructed beats, or albums with a purpose. They want songs they can dance to without having to make a focused effort out of listening to it. As a result, you have what you're hearing on the radio today. Fans buy it; therefore, artists make it. Mainstream rap won't change unless the tastes of the common fan change.

 

[samtarin]

good post. yeah honestly they put dumb shit on the radio. and a lot of it all sounds the same but i'm pretty open to whatever i dont care whether or not something get played on the radio or not. because good is good and shit is shit regardless. i try to listen to underground stuff if i can and if it is good it will get played by me.

i love budden tho. love his first cd when it came out and loved the mixtapes. first time i heard pump it up was at the hip hop summit in detroit. the first one in detroit and that song got played lots of times and i didnt know who it was but when i heard who it was and bought the cd i was very pleased because that is one of my favorite cds of all time. and when his next cd comes out you better believe it'll be bought by me.

you gotta think tho that if pac and biggie hadnt of died that they wouldnt of been as popular as they are now. they'da put some shit song out and people woulda hated them. just like people dont like eminem's newer stuff but a lot of them love the MMLP and the SSLP. but people grow and change styles and stuff and if you really love hip hop there will always be someone else to listen to when your favorite artist changes and you dont like them. then your favorite artist might come back and you might like them again and to me that is ok. music is about appreciation of it. if you love music there will always be someone new doing something different or something old that you havent heard. there is always something else to listen to thats what makes it great.

 

[realBOSTON]

it really is peopleon message boards like this, man. I'm not tryna hate or nothin like that. I've said this before and i'll say it again, and i really don't mean anything negative by it at all, but a lot of you cats are from either rural areas, the suburbs, europe, or somewhere else abroad. And there's nothing wrong with that at all; i really respect you people who can feel hip-hop on a different level when most everyone where you're from only can scratch the surface. But for someone to come out and say how hip-hop is trash, it's hit rock bottom, it's like, how do you know if you're not in the hood where the shyt is living and breathing? Hi-hop is as big and apparent as it's ever been, man. Yea, it's watered down and labels are candy-coating some of the shyt, but really, come through Dorcester, come through Boston, i garuntee your hearing some good shyt coming out of ppl's cars. Hip-hop is only growing and only will continue to grow.

 

[hizzle?]

i don't hate mainstream just b/c it's mainstream...i just think most of it sucks.

quoting.

Seriously, the beats are awful, the lyrics are really really ridiculous, the clips are fucking boring (girls shaking butts, bling bling, cars rolling down the street in slow motion, etc)

Note : The beats are better than when it was popular to have those little gay voices speak really really fast (ie : Cam'Ron)

I just can't stand most of stuff today...

 

[PELLA]

ya mainstream raps definately shit. I think its cause rappers try to reach out to a broader market? like 13 year old white surban wiggers and 17 year old girls who are just learning to suck dick. Thats one of my assumptions. I dont listen to new shit. I just dont like it. Beats are trash, theres no style or flavour and u always see the same rappers, nobody news coming up.

92-96 shit 4 life!!

 

[WayCide-Ridah]

first of all i blame the neptunes for my dislike of todays rap......i hate alot of their beats....juz think if clipse had a dope producer

 

[hizzle?]

neptunes are okay they are not ruining rap...

most of mainstream rap today is the south.... someone need to make a t-shirt that contradicts Luda's "Hip Hop aint dead, it lives in the south" that says "Hip Hop is dying in the south"... seriously, bar Outkast and less known rappers, Young Joc, Ying Yang twins, etc, are fucking KILLING rap music!!!!! i'm tired of it. seriously i cant stand it anymore, it ruins everything i used to love about rap!

 

[lii]

i been seeing a lot of hate on rap in the news aswell. its like everytime theres a chaotic event that includes black people theres someone talking about how rap has influenced it

 

[hizzle?]

its not that rap has infuleced it, it's just that a lot of rappers happen to say how gankstuhh they are... so to someone who doesnt understand that it's just a gimmick that makes you look kewl, therefore, selling more records, he just thinks it actually does influence it.

 

[roaches]

If anything, it's the opposite today.

 

[albohemia]

That's how it is. You got people on this site and on other sites calling Rakim the Goat mainly because he has laid low for so many years, but yet will try to hate on LL Cool J. But if Rakim was to be out as nonstop as LL was, nobody would want to put him in top 5's either.

Prolificacy is relative.

There is nothing wrong with people favoring a rapper who drops six tight joints in twenty years over a rapper who has, say, six wack ones out of twelve in as many years. The ability of Rakim, to murder LL in every aspect of the game is unrelated to his catalogue size.

The same goes people like Big L & Big Pun. Because there names are less heard.....You've got people calling them Goat because there underrated.

On the contrary, L & Pun are two great examples of why revisionalism in hip hop can be ridiculously advantageous. If anything, they are the antithesis of underrated.

I think what killed hip hop is the viacom monopoly and the ending of the Box. In the 90s more artists would get play. In 98, if you wouldn't see Fatal or Big Pun on MTV or BET, you'd see them getting requested on the BOX. Now it's just MTV and BET and it's really the same system.

Despite what Def Jam marketing executives would have you believe, Hip Hop isn't in the doldrums. I'm no Proponent of Viacom's deplorable BET cutbacks but I think you're overstating their influience on the genre. As for The Box, it's listenership was so dreadful it had to be swallowed into the subversive world of MTV2 to prevent embarrassment.