You know what illy? I hate to be so brash, but you're just plain wrong.
It is dying. It is not happening. I know, because I talk to management, label heads, and people DEEP in this industry on a daily basis. You forget that I'm managed by one of the people directly responsible for discovering and building the success of Cypress Hill, The Fugees, Nas and many more, an absolutely pivotal figure in hip-hop, the man knows his shit, and when he tells me it's dying and tells me why, you cannot argue with those facts.
I forgot that your managed by who? Stop name dropping people to give your argument more credit. Everyone is entitled to their opinions. Nas, someone heavily involved in the game, claimed that hip hop was dead. Just because he's a credible rapper i have to believe every word he says? For every person that claims it's dead, there's always someone who will claim the opposite. Nas said it was dead, 90% of other rappers claimed it was alive. So who do i believe?
How about i form my OWN opinion based on what i'm hearing and what i can observe, instead of bowing down to "some guy in the industry" as if his opinion and perspective is the be all and end all.
Casey Rain said:
Labels are not even signing hip-hop artists. They are dropping the hip-hop artists they do have. Everyone from the smallest label to the biggest. Even Dr. Dre let go of almost everyone at Aftermath save for his two big-hitters, Eminem and 50. They won't put money into it, and they won't market it properly, because it's not worth their money for the amount of return they get on it. I'd be willing to bet that hip-hop fans illegally download more than any other genre of music. TV shows won't book hip-hop artists any more. Radio stations don't want to play the music.
I beg to differ. When it comes to acts like Souljah Boy etc, there is a risk being taken when you throw money at them in signing them and marketing their music. This clearly shows that they are still willing to take those risks with new acts.
What are you basing this off anyway? Because from the looks of things, and the amount of hip hop music out there, it clearly contradicts your point.
Casey Rain said:
And it's not about them 'using the internet' to get out there. Sure, that helps a little bit, but like I said to salty, it really only helps to the people that actively search for the music, and that isn't the way it should be.
And how did they do it in the late 80s and early 90s? All i'm saying is that it's easier to get your music heard now than it ever has been.
Casey Rain said:
Elvis was not an innovator, he was a thief. The Beatles were very much innovators, but they had the backing and full financial support of one of the biggest record labels in the world, and the genre was still new and fresh. Do you think The Beatles could have broken out if rock n roll wasn't supported by the TV and the radio? Not to mention (and this goes back to my earlier point), parents were scared of rock n roll at that time. It was rebellious for the kids to listen to it, so it sold. The rebellion factor lead to it spreading via word of mouth as well as traditional marketing means. That simply isn't the case with hip-hop in 2009, it's not rebellious, it's not supported by the media anymore, and as far as the internet goes, yes you can market yourself well, but how many people are buying your album and how many people are spreading the word COMPARED to the amount of people that download it off a torrent, listen to it a couple of times max, and then forget all about it?
Why does hip hop have to always be steeped in some sort of controversy or be black listed as "rebellious music" for it to have ongoing success? Rock isn't nearly as "rebellious" as it was with the emergence of the 60s, yet its popularity is unparalleled, and there is still music of a high quality still being produced.
Clearly with the emergence of artists like Kanye and Lupe etc (who actually do get a fair degree of radio play, and who are quite popular), shows that hip hop doesn't have to be cornered as "rebellious music" anymore. It doesn't JUST have to be something which kids listen to to piss their parents off. Kanye is a perfect example of hip hop moving away from that "rebellious" jibe, and still maintaining a high degree of popularity.
And as far as i can see, hip hop IS supported by the media. how is it not? when was it supported more by the media than it is now? are you insane man? there's WAYYY more channels dedicated to hip hop on the radio and on television than at any time in hip hop's history. i have no idea where you got this from?
Casey Rain said:
See above. This is a moot point. I didn't get it all wrong, you're talking to someone that lives this shit daily. I run my own Internet marketing company for artists, I look after a bunch of people including a girl that Timbaland recently signed, so don't assume I don't know what I'm talking about here.
Never missing an opportunity to big note yourself
Casey Rain said:
Oh - and Lily Allen and Arctic Monkeys WERE NOT discovered by MySpace. That was a big marketing ploy, and a lie. Evidently it worked since you believed it. Lily Allen is bankrolled by her famous actor father and a couple of guys she was fucking that produced her first few tracks...clearly that wasn't as good of a story as 'look at me I was discovered on MySpace'.....Arctic Monkeys had good timing, claiming to have been found on MySpace at a time when MySpace was all over the news. Where are they now?
Oh, and I know people that work at MySpace, if you're wondering how I knew that it was all bullshit, I knew from the start.
Of COURSE you know people that work at MySpace. There's some more name dropping. Yes, you know more than anyone else because of this and that. Listen homie, i also know people in the record industry, but that doesn't mean shit. and i'm not going to use "who i know" or whatever to make myself sound more credible. sheesh.
Casey Rain said:
You completely missed my point. Back at the peak of hip-hop in the mid 90's, there was an artistic balance between socio-political/gangsta and pop oriented club music. People like 'Pac and Snoop would recieve heavy club play, because the climate at the time allowed for music that was danceable but also spoke about real issues, real topics.
The world is a much darker place now, and as a result people look for escapism, an alternate reality, through music. Of course, this is not a new phenemenon, and I am not 'blaming' the death of hip-hop on this.....I am simply pointing it out as a contributing factor.
The only tracks by Pac and Snoop that were played in the clubs were about drinking alcohol, and fucking bitches. Not much has changed...
And as an illustration of the fickleness of fans;
* Can't Touch This - MC Hammer
* Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice
* Jump - Kriss Kross
* Good Vibrations - Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch
Just to name a few. Sure, I agree, music in my opinion was better back then. But that is subjective. Someone may say that music is better now. It's an opinion.
And furthermore, as you said, people in this climate aren't really wanting to hear politically charged music and all that shit. Especially not in these times where they can get all that crap from the news. Hence why Nas' last album was considered crap. But that doesn't mean hip hop is dying.
The world is changing, the industry is changing and hip hop is changing with it. The fact is, people love to romanticise the past, and get all sentimental and nostalgic with how things were. They fail to embrace the changes and the evolution of the genre. Whenever it deviates from how it was back in the "golden era" people get scared, and start prophesising that it's all doom and gloom and coming to an end, rather than accepting that YES, it is different, but that doesn't mean it's run is coming to an end. Just because people fail to accept the changes, and end up resenting what new up and comers are doing (ala Lil Wayne etc), they immediately yell that hip hop is dying.
Get a grip people. It's not dying.
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