>I mean, cats were really tripping over him talking about guns
>on "Gun Music?" We were that bothered by a slicker West Coast
>sound on the DJ Quik joint? Was it such a crime to have a sung
>hook on "Waiting for the DJ?" I realize that hindsight is
>20/20, and these moves may have helped to foster the shift in
>perspective, but it's crazy how much artists were kind of
>catching shade for stepping outside their boxes when, looking
>back, they weren't doing anything all that appalling.

I was a HUGE fan of the neo-soul/Soulquarian sound but I also accepted and enjoyed those same artists breaking that mold. I've always appreciated, understood and preferred my artists evolving and growing rather than sticking to the same formula that "works". A great example is that Kanye could have stuck in the same Get By/I Try/This Way/etc. rut and kept making the same song over and over, and faded out by 2006. But he decided to evolve and grow, and even though I haven't liked a lot of his output since 2007, I still will always check for him and am always interested because I know he will forever present something new and fresh, even if it doesn't ultimately move me in the end.