"Live From the Writer's Bench - Has 90's Hip Hop Come To An End?" Sun Jan-25-15 02:59 PM by Kil
It's a fact that each great era of hip hop eventually comes to a close. Whether it was the '78-'85 era where groups and MC's like The Funky Four Plus One More, Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Fives, Busy Bee, T La Rock, etc. eventually weren't able to make music that the masses wanted anymore. The same with the '85-'90 era where groups like Run DMC, Whodini, The Fat Boys, Kurtis Blow, etc. (and basically everyone from the movie Krush Groove...except LL) And even the greats of the late 80's/early 90's like Rakim, Big Daddy Kane, Kool G Rap, etc. now find themselves in that same boat. So does history repeat itself with the MC's/groups that stepped up from '93-'98 like Wu Tang Clan, Tribe Called Quest, The Alkaholiks, Jay Z, etc? Out of all of the groups/MCs that dropped from '92-'98, who do ya'll REALLY want a new album in 2015 from?
11. "RE: De La, Q-Tip, Kast and Nas are the only artists from that 92-'98 era" In response to Reply # 10
Here's my issue with KRS. He's Top 5 dead or alive period but he's released 10+ albums post I Got Next. How many of them were any good? How many duds are we allowing artists to release before we're like "nah fam, I'm good"? And when I say duds I'm talking quality not sales.
****************************************** Falcons, Braves, Bulldogs and Hawks
12. "RE: De La, Q-Tip, Kast and Nas are the only artists from that 92-'98 era" In response to Reply # 11
I'm not really qualified to speak in detail about those KRS albums since I'm not exactly a "KRS guy". I appreciate him from afar but i've never gotten excited about word that a new KRS project is dropping(back then or now).
That being said, each time I drop in on him and peep what he's doing, I still feel like he is the same KRS One I've always known and respected.
an opposite example is when Melle Mel was promoting music in OKP years ago and had videos and whatnot, I just couldn't get with it. I wasn't fitting into what I believed to be quality hip hop music.
It's a tough one to really put a finger on without using the phrase "it sounds dated". With the Melle Mel stuff, it was more than just sounding dated, it just didn't sound dope(lyrics, music, visual presentation...etc)
He's an example of a certified legend who should just relax from recording and just be the legendary MC that he is.
But I get your point on KRS though. I'm not as hardcore of a fan of his so my standards are much lower for him and in addition, I don't even listen to whatever he's putting out so I can't really be 100% trusted on that front.
14. "Yup thats pretty much my list as well" In response to Reply # 2
Im a 90's kid, but I really dont care to hear anything new from most of the artist from the 90's though..nostalgia aint getting it for me this time around.
When I do listen to these artist, it's their older classic material from that era.
13. "Although I give him credit for sticking this long, but Jay" In response to Reply # 5 Mon Jan-26-15 07:37 PM by Alphabet
in my opinion finally has reached that, "Who gives a fuck" period with me...sans his "Seen It All" verse (and even that was no classic mind blowing shit, but the rare introspection made it decent) I really haven't been interested in his music anymore for the last couple years.
I just think his flow has gotten lazy, his hunger is gone and he is in his" Larry Holmes flabby and sick", Jordan on the Wizards faze musically.
I know it's more personal because Jay's household name is enough to have him float off that for a couple more years in relevancy to the general public..but his music feels soulless to me at this point.
6. "Alot of the responses seem to be based on curiosity..." In response to Reply # 0
I think you should have been more strict on them and stressed that "would you go buy it to listen to it" factor in there.
I'm only at the Blackstar section right now but the response to this one seems to have more excitement and legitimate anticipation vs. the response to some of the others like Artifacts and Black Moon where cats were more like, "I'd like to hear what they sound like...etc".
To me, I'd "like to hear what they sound like" for pretty much any of the groups from the golden era.
Example: I'd be more likely to buy a New Blackstar album sight unseen/ ear unheard vs. say Trendz of Culture.
But, if you told me Trendz was dropping in 2015, I'd want to hear what it sounded like but I def. wouldn't drop $ on it to hear it and I wouldn't necessarily be in a hurry to peep it if someone to sent it to me.
That would be another benchmark that could be cool to use too.
"How long would it take for you to listen to it if I emailed it to you?"
9. "That grumpy crocodile joint put that Liknuts project to rest" In response to Reply # 0
Not too many were looking forward to that project after that. The song wasn't bad just not what was expected from that collabo. I heard another song and it wasn't great either. Better than grumpy crocodile though.
****************************************** Falcons, Braves, Bulldogs and Hawks
15. "This is all a bigger topic than are the 90s dead" In response to Reply # 0 Mon Jan-26-15 09:25 PM by Anonymous
There are a lot of MCs that people shit on because they're "trapped in the 90s"
I feel like Mos on Theives In The Night..."there's never no in between".
It seems like artists get shitted on for staying the same and then also for trying to progress. Fans are very particular.
You have the MCs who tried to walk the commercial line and failed and...
...You have MCs who never attempted to do ANYthing different.
The difficulty is finding that balance. Some people answered who they wanted to hear today just to see what they would sound like.
I don't see it that way.
I see it as "what artist would I want an album from, if produced right."
And there are many MCs from the 90s that I would still cop an album from.
Nas is obvious. If you can listen to the second verse of Where's The Love and not want more then stop listening to MCs. OC. Trophies and Rays Cafe just add to an already stellar 3 albums in his discography. I'll gladly take more albums from him. AZ. Did yall hear him on 36 Seasons? He just needs some direction. Deck. Go listen to Cynthia's Son and tell me hes not capable of a classic right now with the right direction. Mos Def/Black Star Black Thought on some Marco Polo shit. All damn day! Meth with quality production. Sign me up. Camp Lo is still strong. Primo just laced Royce.
And that's just to name a few.
The problem isn't the "90s". The problem is those artists either trying to fit in with the mainstream or those artists not progressing at all.
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