Yo whats good fam just droppin my first line here on live journal. Right now I'm sittin at the day job killing time so i figured why not drop in a line or two just to get my feet wet. Anyway i was just thinkin bout how the music mainly the hip hop and r&b side of the industry and the fans have changed.
Back in the days when hip hop was just on the come up the music had so many deviations and so many options it seemed like you could find a new favorite artist every other week, which made the game seem so fresh and new with every new listen. I remember the first time i heard the Roots illadelph half life boy was my mind blown! from the sound scape to the rhyme schemes i was just in awe of what i was hearing not to mention the creativity involved in a project like that. See back in the days being a hot commodity in hip hop was not based on record sales it was based on the actual music that was being made, that's what drove us to the stores, drove us to read all the liner notes and 'want" to be the first one to let your friends know about the latest ill spitter that wasn't on their radar yet.
I was in a studio session last night with my fam and we got on this topic of how things are sooo based on album sales as opposed to real skills. The moment Jay-Z uttered the words "whose the best emcee Biggie , Jay-Z or Nas" the culture went into a frenzy - not over who had the most money or the biggest house, but over the lyrics. We immediately began to defend our favorite by quoting actual lines from our favorite emcee, to prove to whomever would listen why this or that person should be deemed the best! Which only pushed you to devour and seek out the most potent verses and lyricist around to uphold or add to your argument.
It's not that I'm not still in love with hip hop, but to a degree, I get why and how Nas could come up with a concept like Hip Hop is dead. Your status was never measured by your record sales then, critical acclaim meant as much as a plaque on your wall and artists with little to no radio spins got as much love as artists that were in heavy rotation on the daily. It was more about the vibe, the art and the feel.
I found it interesting when 50 cent stated that he was a better artist than some of his adversaries such as Jadakiss, and Fat Joe, based solely on their soundscan numbers, but then years later, after losing a "sales" battle to Kanye West and having two disappointing albums himself, states that the culture was now "too" driven by record sales when this is the very monster he seemed to cater to when things were on the upswing for him. I bring this up only to say that at some point, this industry and the fans have to start investing back into the "art" of hip hop, as opposed to the fly-by-night catchy hooks and blahzay blah verses that are here today and gone tomorrow.
Don't get me wrong - who doesn't enjoy a good party. But honestly, it seems most artists are too afraid or dare I say lazy to push themselves to make timeless records instead of goin for the flavor of the month. I'm not saying this to hate on the current crop of artists, cause Hip Hop is big enough for us all, but there does need to be a balance and right now there is none. I love this culture and I think it has a lot to offer, but I think it starts with the fans. If we accept anything - that's just what we'll get.
Have a good one! JonBlaQ OnOurGame.com
