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Subject: " How Lack of Topical Diversity is Killing Hip Hop and Its Listeners " Previous topic | Next topic
Yank
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Wed Oct-03-12 12:53 PM

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" How Lack of Topical Diversity is Killing Hip Hop and Its Listeners "


  

          

-No one's special anymore Variety is gone for sure ŠKRS ONE


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/homeboy-sandman/hip-hop-diversity-music-_b_1935556.html

Homeboy Sandman.Hip Hop Artist


I love going into schools and talking with kids. Before making music I taught high school full time. Ironically, students pay infinitely more attention now that I'm a rapper. Class always begins the same way. "What is hip hop? When you think about hip hop, what comes to mind?" I'm good at asking in a tone that suggests I'm curious to hear what their answers are, but I could write them all up on the board without calling on a single student.



"Money!" The class murmurs in agreement.



"Cars. Clothes. Jewelry. Watches." I suggest that that kind of falls under the money umbrella. They agree.



"The streets." I play dumb to flush this answer out. "What do you mean the streets? Do you mean like, concrete? Driving directions?"



They laugh, then correct me. "No. Street stuff. Ghetto stuff. Drugs. Crime. Shooting people."



I thank them for the clarification, and ask if there's anything else. Everyone knows what the last answer is, but depending on the grade, it may take some cajoling on my end to get a student over the embarrassment of blurting it out.



"Sex!" And the room erupts in laughter.



If my opening question were asked to 100 people on an episode of Family Feud, it would be pretty easy to sweep the board. To the casual listener (or the avid listener obsessed with what is most popular), hip hop has become pretty much devoid of topical diversity. Moreso than ever the genre is defined not by sound or musical composition, but by the actual content being covered. Simply put, certain subjects are seen as way more "hip hop," than others.



But it wasn't always that way. Themes like sex and violence have always existed in hip hop, but as a child my first deep connection to the art form came in 1987, when I first heard DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince's "Parent's Just Don't Understand." Only seven years old, I couldn't relate to L.L.Cool J and Big Daddy Kanes' harems of door knocker clad women, or Kool G Raps tales of shooting people in the belly just to watch them bleed. But when I found out that a famous rapper hated discount department store school shopping as much as I did, I was hooked. Children are bright shining balls of insecurity, craving validation at every turn. Here was a famous rapper, clearly deemed "cool" by societal standards, who shared something in common with me. I must be pretty cool too I thought. Good feeling.



Who knows what would have become of me had I grown up in an era where my idols, the preeminent examples for success from communities like mine, limited their content to the four or five themes that dominate today's hip hop landscape. Unable to identify with someone "cool" who was like me, I would have been left with no choice but to alter my behavior to fall in line with one of them. But instead I had options. With the way I looked at myself. And they way I looked at the world.



KRS-One questioned the health benefits of red meat on "Beef," and at the age of 10 I learned that you didn't have to eat what everyone else eats. What everyone else eats might even be bad for you. Which of course gave rise to the idea that the correctness of something should never be judged on whether everybody does it.



Older, but still very impressionable (perhaps we're all very impressionable until we're dead?) I remember my first time hearing Mos Def's "New World Water." Listening to Mighty Mos break down the commercialization of earth's most precious natural resource stopped me dead in my tracks. Changed the way I looked not only at everything that was for sale, but at the abundance that we take for granted in the United States that is absolute luxury in other parts of the world. Here was a hip hop song that actually made me a wiser, more compassionate, and well rounded person.



Topical diversity was never limited to health and wellness or global politics though. Between KRS-One and Mos Def's releases, GZA released "Labels," where he somehow managed to fashion the names of all of the major record labels into a coherent story who's moral was to watch what dotted lines you sign on. Ten years later DANGERDOOM actually released a song about vats of urine (understandably titled "Vats of Urine.") Despite being grossed out, the creativity of the subject matter instead made it a fan favorite. No one was put off my any of these records because they weren't covering the same old topics. On the contrary, breaking new ground while still managing to make undeniably dope hip hop made these artists accomplishments all the more impressive.



I myself have always tried to break from convention with regards to what it is I'm rhyming about. My second album's "Mambo Tail Tale" is a story of having to learn to mambo on the fly to get the girl. My latest release includes "Not Really," a song about how being well known for being yourself it's much different from being yourself when no one's looking. It's arguably my most well received single to date.



However, these songs aren't perceived the way that they would have been had I released them 20 or even 10 years ago. They're not looked at as regular hip hop songs today. They're looked at as different. They're labeled "conscious," "quirky." As if they are something different from default hip hop. Sadly enough, they are, but the truth is that my uniqueness and individuality make for my greatest weapon. That people know that they're going to hear something different when they listen to me is what allows me to thrive despite inclusion in a genre driven on big budgets and publicity machines that I've never had.



What's more, whenever higher profile acts stray from the what's become the stereotypical paradigm, they enjoy greater success too. Kanye West's career would not have had the foundation to go where it's gone today without "Jesus Walks." At the forefront of every conversation that I've had about Nas' latest release, is praise for "Daughters," the single about how challenging it is to raise a daughter in today's hip hop society, where he actually questions and criticizes the ideals of the culture he's played such a prominent role in creating. It's tough for him watching his daughter act lewd and date guys that think that life is all about the things that people rap about today, and he openly admits it.



Despite being a rapper I'm not the most tuned in to what's considered "current" in today's hip hop. On the morning of September 19th I tuned in to Hot 97 via the Internet from a hotel room in Birmingham, Alabama, for a random sampling of what people listening to the most famous hip hop station in the world are hearing today. The first rap song I heard was French Montana's "Pop That," an ode to clubbing, money, cars, drugs, and jewelery. I realized that I was going to have to take breaks during my listening session for my own mental health, so I started writing down the times they were aired. I tuned back in at 10:42 and heard Busta Rhymes' "King Tut." It too was all about about money, alchohol, jewelery, watches, cars, and sex. So was 2 Chainz's "No Lie," at 11:11 (with a bit more murder and violance sprinkled in), and DJ Khaled's "All I Do Is Win" at 11:21. I vowed to listen to five songs to inform me better towards writing this piece. The only one that wasn't a rap song was Rihanna's "Man Down," which most people will tell you is a metaphor for breaking a man's heart. There's no mention of any love or romance within the song though. "Pull the trigger," and "I'm a Criminal," are chanted hypnotically throughout the song.



I've had the honor of becoming friends with Crazy Legs of Rocksteady Crew, the legendary breakdancing crew that was featured so prominently in early hip hop movies like Style Wars and Wild Style. A conversation that I had with him about hip hop's birth (which he was there for in person in the 70s in the South Bronx) helped me formulate my theory about why hip hop has become the most popular musical genre among youth in the entire world, to where Rio de Janiero is denser with graffiti than Queens, and kids in the Czech Republic wear baseball caps and call each other niggers. It's because somehow all those broke South Bronx kids captured the essence of cool. The spirit of it. Couldn't be cool because of money, everyone was broke. Couldn't be cool because of where you lived, everyone was in the slums. Couldn't feel good about yourself because of your school because schools were a nightmare, or even because of your family as families in the South Bronx in the 1970 were plagued with every societal ill that society has to offer. But if you were an athlete, you could be a bboy. If you had some charisma, you could be an emcee. If you were artistic, you could be a graffiti writer. This was the inception of hip hop. Being cool without anything. Without being any certain type of person. Being cool only because of your talent.



Thirty five years later mainstream hip hop has come 180 degrees. Hip hop is no longer an arena where you can be cool without anything but being yourself. Where you're free to rap about what you want, paint what you want, or dance how you want as long as you do it well. According to the gospel of hip hop you become cool today by having certain things and behaving a certain way. The same things. The same way. Talent, creativity, innovation, indeed musicality itself, are all afterthoughts, if they have the good fortune to be thought of at all.



While alcohol and technology and car brands that advertise through hip hop are raking in the dough, kids in classrooms in New York and New Jersey and across the country are paying the price. They can only think about certain things. They can't be creative. They're ridiculed for breaking rank. For thinking freely. For being different. The heroes of their culture all appear to be the same person, and at these students vulnerable, insecure age, nothing could be more important to them than becoming that person too. A lot of them are going to ruin their lives beyond repair going for it.



English teachers in urban New York City schools are too concerned with getting students up to 6th grade reading level to teach Orwell's 1984, where culture is prophetically whittled down until entire languages consist of merely hundreds of words limiting peoples abilities to think. Young people today get the majority of their knowledge today from the media they consume, and fans of hip hop just can't fathom the idea that it might all of the uniformity might be part of a ploy carried out by gigantic corperations seeking to turn everyone into mindless consuming drones. Of course they can't. They've never heard Deltron 3030.

Lies run sprints.
Truths run marathons.

  

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Topic Outline
Subject Author Message Date ID
he just isn't as "different" as he thinks though...
Oct 03rd 2012
1
No it's not new but I rarely hear any discussions...
Oct 03rd 2012
2
really? I feel its been talked to death. This piece really
Oct 03rd 2012
9
He's just another dime-a-dozen indie rapper.
Oct 03rd 2012
16
awful.
Oct 03rd 2012
3
i'd say there's more topical diversity now than most of the 90s though
Oct 03rd 2012
4
agreed
Oct 03rd 2012
5
yep its wayy more music and regions being represented now too
Oct 03rd 2012
7
without question.
Oct 03rd 2012
8
true but it's not at the forefront like ATCQ or other groups of the 90's
Oct 03rd 2012
18
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Oct 04th 2012
22
yep. the major label hip-hop bubble got blown up.
Oct 04th 2012
28
on the radio???
Oct 04th 2012
24
rap music has been "over",
Oct 03rd 2012
6
He is talking about the mainstream and what 15 year old
Oct 03rd 2012
10
Right? Cats in here gotta quit thinking the average joe digs for music.....
Oct 03rd 2012
12
unlike back in the day, when 15 year olds were bumping New World Water
Oct 03rd 2012
14
Funny you say that...
Oct 03rd 2012
17
      RE: Funny you say that...
Oct 04th 2012
23
           and lupe sold 500k of lasers
Oct 04th 2012
27
                WEA vs. rawkus
Oct 04th 2012
31
                     ummm....
Oct 04th 2012
33
Maybe, but a15 year old had way more variety during that time
Oct 04th 2012
25
I wouldn't expect him to say anything else
Oct 03rd 2012
11
"waaaaahhhh why dont nobody want to hear my boring bullshit!!!" - HS
Oct 03rd 2012
13
bitch you listen to grown men whine over beats, shut your asshole up
Oct 03rd 2012
15
      lol
Oct 04th 2012
36
You guys in here take ad hominem to new levels
Oct 04th 2012
19
lol
Oct 04th 2012
20
lol how?
Oct 04th 2012
21
      that fucking bitch has nothing to add to any conversation
Oct 04th 2012
30
      dude.
Oct 04th 2012
32
           I disagree with you.
Oct 04th 2012
34
           i'm not sure i get your point.
Oct 04th 2012
35
                theres no progression
Oct 04th 2012
37
                     Do you think this is limited to rap though?
Oct 04th 2012
38
                          RE: Do you think this is limited to rap though?
Oct 04th 2012
39
                          Im a pretty big rock fan and...
Oct 04th 2012
41
                          RE: Do you think this is limited to rap though?
Oct 04th 2012
40
           RE: dude.
Oct 26th 2012
45
Yea the thought process on this board sucks too
Oct 04th 2012
26
RE: You guys in here take ad hominem to new levels
Oct 04th 2012
29
These kids out here are running wild with no knowledge of self
Oct 04th 2012
42
one last thing
Oct 05th 2012
43
get it up (c) poppa boner
Oct 26th 2012
44
lol this article still silly as shit 3 weeks later.
Oct 26th 2012
46
Agreed, just as silly as keeping up with
Oct 26th 2012
47
Damn, Its some trollin' ass hatin' ass niggas in here
Oct 26th 2012
48

Stadiq
Member since Dec 21st 2005
4865 posts
Wed Oct-03-12 01:03 PM

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1. "he just isn't as "different" as he thinks though..."
In response to Reply # 0


          


I mean, there is PLENTY of great and diverse hip hop out there.

Sandman is far from alone- and far from the best doing it.

But back to the topic-

What kind of intellectual ma$turbation was this??


So he wrote an essay to point out that commercial hip hop isn't diverse and kids are soaking it up??

Umm....thanks?


I'm not trying to hate or anything- this dude is talented.

But this isn't a new problem at all...and with the rise of blogs I'd say the diversity and choices in hip hop have increased big time.


If you can't find unique hip hop nowadays I don't know what tell you.

Yeah, turn off the radio- but thats BEEN the case.


Maybe he'd get more shine if he could pick a good beat and write a decent hook??

I guess I just don't see the point of these hip hop essays or whatever that point out the obvious and seem to imply that a particular artist isn't getting due shine because of this factor or that factor.

Make good music, do you, be original, turn off the radio...keep it moving.

  

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Yank
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Wed Oct-03-12 01:16 PM

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2. "No it's not new but I rarely hear any discussions..."
In response to Reply # 1


  

          

>
>But back to the topic-
>
>What kind of intellectual ma$turbation was this??
>
>
>So he wrote an essay to point out that commercial hip hop
>isn't diverse and kids are soaking it up??
>
>But this isn't a new problem at all...and with the rise of
>blogs I'd say the diversity and choices in hip hop have
>increased big time.
>
>
>

Lies run sprints.
Truths run marathons.

  

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Stadiq
Member since Dec 21st 2005
4865 posts
Wed Oct-03-12 02:54 PM

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9. "really? I feel its been talked to death. This piece really"
In response to Reply # 2


          


comes off as self-serving and oddly dated/out of touch.

As I said, if someone can't find great hip hop to love these days I really wouldn't know what to tell that person.

And if someone were looking for creative/original hip hop...I don't think I'd recommend Homeboy Sandman ironically.

Not that he's BAD...he just wouldn't even come to mind over others.

Dude is a dope lyricist but his "people don't give my song topics a chance" cop out is getting really annoying.

I swear he has said something similar in an interview somewhere- may have even been Okayplayer.


He is not the last well of originality that he thinks he is.

  

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Shaun Tha Don
Member since Nov 19th 2005
18284 posts
Wed Oct-03-12 09:16 PM

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16. "He's just another dime-a-dozen indie rapper."
In response to Reply # 1


          

Rest In Peace, Bad News Brown

  

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Guinness
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Wed Oct-03-12 02:13 PM

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3. "awful."
In response to Reply # 0
Wed Oct-03-12 02:15 PM by Guinness

  

          

the thought of people reading this revisionist drivel and believing any of it is sickening.

  

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Jon
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Wed Oct-03-12 02:22 PM

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4. "i'd say there's more topical diversity now than most of the 90s though"
In response to Reply # 0


          

  

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howisya
Member since Nov 09th 2002
39983 posts
Wed Oct-03-12 02:24 PM

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5. "agreed"
In response to Reply # 4


  

          

  

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Menphyel7
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Wed Oct-03-12 02:33 PM

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7. "yep its wayy more music and regions being represented now too"
In response to Reply # 4


  

          

I mean you can find someone rapping on just about anything...is it good or not is the point.

http://twitter.com/Menphyel7


"F you Im better in tune with the Infinite"

  

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Guinness
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Wed Oct-03-12 02:41 PM

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8. "without question."
In response to Reply # 4


  

          

and that fact makes the entire essay either inaccurate or disgracefully dishonest, depending on what you believe sandman's motivations are.

  

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Nick Has a Problem...Seriously
Member since Dec 25th 2010
16576 posts
Wed Oct-03-12 09:44 PM

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18. "true but it's not at the forefront like ATCQ or other groups of the 90's"
In response to Reply # 4


  

          

shit is subterranean for the most part

******************************************
Falcons, Braves, Bulldogs and Hawks

OutKast, Gang Starr, UGK, Mobb Deep and Eightball & MJG

  

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Kosa12
Member since Jul 19th 2006
4988 posts
Thu Oct-04-12 02:36 AM

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22. "^^^^^^^^^^^^^"
In response to Reply # 18


  

          

----------
https://93millionmilesabove.blogspot.com/
https://rateyourmusic.com/~Kosa12

  

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Dr Claw
Member since Jun 25th 2003
132212 posts
Thu Oct-04-12 11:21 AM

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28. "yep. the major label hip-hop bubble got blown up."
In response to Reply # 18


  

          

nowadays I have a hard time believing an "OutKast" could exist

  

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howardlloyd
Member since Jan 18th 2007
2729 posts
Thu Oct-04-12 06:36 AM

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24. "on the radio??? "
In response to Reply # 4


  

          

he clearly states the casual and/or radio listener

R.I.F.

http://howardlloyd.bandcamp.com

  

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david bammer
Member since Jun 20th 2010
4467 posts
Wed Oct-03-12 02:30 PM

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6. "rap music has been "over","
In response to Reply # 0


  

          

hip-hop has been over for quite some time.
hip-hop culture and the aura around THAT was really the draw to rap imo.
and the ghetto tour guide aspect.
the records (vinyl), the breakdancing, the art, the clothes, the respect, the culture, etc.
when it blew up in the 90's it was already 10+ years deep.
abandoned in the 00's and started fresh via corporations and stephen & friends.
diminishing returns ever since.
-shrugs-
i mean the writings been on the wall.
liken it to the titanic band still playing but because they think theyre going to get a paycheck at the end of the trip.
the only reason people still "do" rap is because they think there's money left to be made.
there isn't.
it's a plutonomy like eveyrthing else in the world in the 10's.
5-10 people make all the money.
so like just stay ahead of the curve and move on...
go into another direction.
march to the beat of your own drum.
don't stay bound to a passe style of music and let it define your character like a sucker.
stop grasping at straws and propping this thing up so it looks less deflated than it actually is.
the only people who do that are people who depend on it for resources.
that's really all i have to say about "rap" anymore.

  

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amplifya7
Member since Feb 07th 2010
2989 posts
Wed Oct-03-12 03:57 PM

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10. "He is talking about the mainstream and what 15 year old"
In response to Reply # 0


          

urban kids listen to. I've been teaching math to West + North Philly high school kids for 2 years and they talk about 2Chainz, Drake, Wayne, Wacka Flocka, Meek Mill, Kanye and Jay-Z...Those are the names they talk about over and over and over for the past 2 years. Yes, topically diverse indie rap is out there but its not on corporate radio/tv at all.

Bandcamp/IG/FB/Twitter: @hecticzeniths

  

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The Wordsmith
Member since Aug 13th 2002
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Wed Oct-03-12 04:31 PM

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12. "Right? Cats in here gotta quit thinking the average joe digs for music....."
In response to Reply # 10


  

          

...on the same level as we do. I've met enough cats that literally believe all of the topics those kids named are all that hip hop is about. Yeah, there are loads of topics in today hip-hop but if you're a casual listener or someone who exclusively deals with top 40 hits, all you're getting exposed to are the topics concerning drugs, money, ostentatious living, sex, and killing.





Since 1976

  

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soundsop
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Wed Oct-03-12 04:49 PM

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14. "unlike back in the day, when 15 year olds were bumping New World Water"
In response to Reply # 10


  

          

and Danger Doom was headlining Summer Jam

the internet existed back in the late 90s, you could probably find similar screeds on how kids only listen to Cash Money and Ruff Ryders, unlike back in the day when De La Soul could make a song like Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa

  

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amplifya7
Member since Feb 07th 2010
2989 posts
Wed Oct-03-12 09:26 PM

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17. "Funny you say that..."
In response to Reply # 14


          

I can't speak for the Philly population of urban youth in 99, but I can say that at the smallish private school in Brooklyn I went to, the 'popular' kids, both black and white, WERE listening to Blackstar and Rawkus artists, at age 15-16.

Bandcamp/IG/FB/Twitter: @hecticzeniths

  

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howardlloyd
Member since Jan 18th 2007
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Thu Oct-04-12 02:59 AM

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23. "RE: Funny you say that..."
In response to Reply # 17
Thu Oct-04-12 03:00 AM by howardlloyd

  

          

not to mention BOBS sold 700,000+ in the U.S.

http://howardlloyd.bandcamp.com

  

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soundsop
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Thu Oct-04-12 11:09 AM

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27. "and lupe sold 500k of lasers"
In response to Reply # 23


  

          

in a much worse climate for record sales

and those same private school kids in brooklyn (not really an apples-to-apples comparison with the philly public school kids) are probably listening to lupe right now

  

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howardlloyd
Member since Jan 18th 2007
2729 posts
Thu Oct-04-12 11:59 AM

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31. "WEA vs. rawkus"
In response to Reply # 27


  

          

lupe has had 10x the marketing dollars spent on him as compared to mos def

you tried to act as if MOs wasn't popular... when 700000 on rawkus is an amazing feat

not to mention ms. fat booty was on video and radio (in NYC at least)

lupe was cosigned by jay z and kanye before he even made a debut.

http://howardlloyd.bandcamp.com

  

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soundsop
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Thu Oct-04-12 12:45 PM

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33. "ummm...."
In response to Reply # 31


  

          

>lupe has had 10x the marketing dollars spent on him as
>compared to mos def
>
>you tried to act as if MOs wasn't popular... when 700000 on
>rawkus is an amazing feat
>
>not to mention ms. fat booty was on video and radio (in NYC at
>least)
>
>lupe was cosigned by jay z and kanye before he even made a
>debut.

so a left-field artist got a major label deal, with (allegedly) way more marketing money, with co-signs from 2 of the biggest rappers out there, and you're using that to somehow argue that there is less diversity nowadays?

  

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Yank
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24509 posts
Thu Oct-04-12 06:57 AM

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25. "Maybe, but a15 year old had way more variety during that time"
In response to Reply # 10


  

          

mainstream or no mainstream there was still variety in hip hop music.

Lies run sprints.
Truths run marathons.

  

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mrshow
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Wed Oct-03-12 04:27 PM

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11. "I wouldn't expect him to say anything else"
In response to Reply # 0
Wed Oct-03-12 04:42 PM by mrshow

          

Dude's entire persona is based on this argument/false nostalgia. I like the inference that Danger Doom and Mos's New World Water were getting radio spins. This guy's heart is in the right place but this piece betrays a clear ignorance of pre-1988 rap. Also, it's fucking horribly written which doesn't help his case either.

  

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BrooklynWHAT
Member since Jun 15th 2007
84997 posts
Wed Oct-03-12 04:44 PM

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13. ""waaaaahhhh why dont nobody want to hear my boring bullshit!!!" - HS"
In response to Reply # 0


  

          

<--- Big Baller World Order

  

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Garhart Poppwell
Member since Nov 28th 2008
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Wed Oct-03-12 06:00 PM

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15. "bitch you listen to grown men whine over beats, shut your asshole up"
In response to Reply # 13


  

          

__________________________________________
CHOP-THESE-BITCHES!!!!
------------------------------------
Garhart Ivanhoe Poppwell
Un-OK'd moderator for The Lesson and Make The Music (yes, I do's work up in here, and in your asscrease if you run foul of this

  

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Ghetto Black
Member since Dec 24th 2004
10172 posts
Thu Oct-04-12 05:58 PM

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36. "lol"
In response to Reply # 15


  

          

  

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stone_phalanges
Member since Mar 06th 2010
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Thu Oct-04-12 12:23 AM

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19. "You guys in here take ad hominem to new levels"
In response to Reply # 0


  

          

The article isn't about him and his music personally, it's about the youth and how they view hip hop. Of course he used examples from his own music that's only natural but he obviously wasn't suggesting that he is the only MC with topical diversity. Think of it this way. When you were young what would you have answered to the question "what Comes to mind when you think of hip hop?".

The perception of hip hop has changed and what gets played on the radio has changed. The culture of the music has changed. We used to have "weed songs" on albums now we have weed artist that just rap about weed for an entire album.

I'm honestly not sure if it's topical diversity that has changed or something deeper in the culture but there is something different in the hip hop of today that is affecting the youth and their perceptions of the music. Going forward I don't know where many of the really creative MCs that we listen to are going to be coming from.

I think it's a really cool article. If you don't let it be colored by how you feel personally about his music, and don't get caught up on his examples, there is a very interesting conversation to have about hip hop in there.

www.anwarmorse.com
https://www.instagram.com/thereal_anwarmorse99/

  

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Guinness
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Thu Oct-04-12 01:14 AM

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20. "lol"
In response to Reply # 19


  

          

>The perception of hip hop has changed and what gets played on
>the radio has changed.

lol

The culture of the music has changed.
>We used to have "weed songs" on albums now we have weed artist
>that just rap about weed for an entire album.

lol

  

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stone_phalanges
Member since Mar 06th 2010
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Thu Oct-04-12 02:18 AM

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21. "lol how?"
In response to Reply # 20


  

          

Just wondering.

www.anwarmorse.com
https://www.instagram.com/thereal_anwarmorse99/

  

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Anonymous
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Thu Oct-04-12 11:33 AM

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30. "that fucking bitch has nothing to add to any conversation"
In response to Reply # 21


  

          

other than a fucking giggle.

Ignore him.

Look how obvious it is that him and BrooklynWhat are constantly the most ignorant people on the boards and then align that to the music they champion on here.

They are some sad ass grown men.

  

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Guinness
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32. "dude."
In response to Reply # 21


  

          

commercial radio has never, ever been a friend of rap. it didn't play any in the 80s, except for ghettoizing it in saturday mixshows. in the 90s, they played mostly snoop, dre, biggie, puff, foxy. the idea that it was once some proponent of glorious temple of hiphop purity is pure romanticism.

drawing a general distinction between weed rappers and songs about weed is frigging bizarre. anyway, cypress hill, house of pain and redman talked about marijuana incessantly.

  

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stone_phalanges
Member since Mar 06th 2010
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Thu Oct-04-12 02:55 PM

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34. "I disagree with you."
In response to Reply # 32


  

          

I am not saying that the radio was once some type of great proponent of hip hop culture and now it is base and senseless and that isn't what the blog post was about and no one that remembers listening to the radio through the years is saying that.

That being said the radio was much less one note. Also, there was a time when you could be surprised that something so wack was on the radio and now I defy anyone to be surprised about any of that, "because I got high" was surprising when it came out and that wasn't that long ago.

Radio has changed period.

I think you may have missed the point of the other statement. I can't say that the amount of topical diversity in hip hop is causing it exactly but many people, casual listeners and even some that really like rap, see it as a very narrow thing. When you ask about why rapper don't talk about things other than a very narrow set of topics they ask "what else is there" as if everything other than hoe's, drug's, and violence is a very narrow topic.

The culture is definitely changing and maybe this is just the time when hip hop splits into adult contemporary and alt rap and hard rap and all the other B.S that rock is split into but you know what?

Ain't no alt rap station.

Ain't no adult contemporary rap station.

Ain't no hard rap station.

A lack of topical diversity is almost being bred into hip hop by every kind of rap needing to coexist together.

Nobody's being a revisionist like everything was perfect in the 90's or something but topically (not necessarily musically) hip hop is getting pretty stagnant.

Not even just on the radio or mainstream just rappers in general. I don't understand how you can say it's just as bad as back then and imply that there isn't a lack of topical diversity. If I talk to you about the same thing for 30 years the first 10 years maybe you rock with it then even 15-20 it's like "ok this is a good convo and all but what else you got to say" after 30 rappers rappin' about the same thing and your'e saying the topics are diverse?

Again it's not about homeboy sandman it's about what he's saying, and what your'e implying doesn't make sense.

www.anwarmorse.com
https://www.instagram.com/thereal_anwarmorse99/

  

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Guinness
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35. "i'm not sure i get your point."
In response to Reply # 34
Thu Oct-04-12 06:00 PM by Guinness

  

          

but first off, it's 2012. discussing the radio and major labels as if they're meaningful entities sounds pulled from an archaic undergroundhiphop.net conversation from a decade ago. both are completely at the mercy of the internet. sandman's essay makes him sound excruciatingly naive.

beyond that, you're speaking from personal feelings and perceptions instead of facts.

here are the top rap singles from the end of 1995.

coolio - gangsters paradise
biggie - one more chance
luniz - i got five on it
biggie - big poppa
tupac - dear mama
dre - heads ringing
junior mafia - player's anthem
naughty - feel me flow
az - sugar hill
bone - 1st of the month
brat - give it 2 u

2011 (i've left out all the LMFAO, pitbull, black eyed peas, kesha, etc)

nicki minaj - super bass
jeremiah and 50 - down on me
wayne - how to love
lupe fiasco - show goes on
wiz - black n yellow
bad meets evil - lighters
diddy - coming home
wayne - 6 foot 7 foot
flocka - no hands
khalid, etc - on one
nicki and drake - moment for life
em and dre - i need a dr
nelly - just a dream
wiz - roll up
kanye - all of the lights
drake - headlines
drake and wayne - she will

outside of rap being more poppy, there's no evidence whatsoever that hiphop was more diverse 17 years ago. especially if you add in all the mega-poppy records i left out from last year. the problem with these tiresome conversations is that everyone skews the past with these wistful sepia tones instead of being honest about what actually occurred.

  

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stone_phalanges
Member since Mar 06th 2010
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Thu Oct-04-12 07:33 PM

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37. "theres no progression"
In response to Reply # 35


  

          

I'm sorry if I was being too obtuse the other two times I stated the exact same thing. Put it this was the first 10 times I hear you rap about money how's and clothes its fresh. It is stale after 15 more years of it. That's not gonna change no matter how many lists you Google.

www.anwarmorse.com
https://www.instagram.com/thereal_anwarmorse99/

  

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mrshow
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Thu Oct-04-12 07:48 PM

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38. "Do you think this is limited to rap though?"
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Look at the biggest rock/indie bands currently going and there pretty much singing about the same things the Beatles and Stones were.

  

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stone_phalanges
Member since Mar 06th 2010
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Thu Oct-04-12 08:11 PM

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39. "RE: Do you think this is limited to rap though?"
In response to Reply # 38


  

          

You would probably have a better idea about that than me. Rock is one of my secondary genres so it's all new to me. one thing I have noticed is that rock songs about relationships tend to be miles beyond hip hop in their complexity in examining relationships. but again, you would likely know better than me.

www.anwarmorse.com
https://www.instagram.com/thereal_anwarmorse99/

  

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mrshow
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Thu Oct-04-12 08:59 PM

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41. "Im a pretty big rock fan and..."
In response to Reply # 39


          

and the subject matter hasn't changed much/at all. IMO, most of the problems "older" fans have with present day rap is aesthetics/style more than actual subject matter.

  

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stone_phalanges
Member since Mar 06th 2010
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Thu Oct-04-12 08:15 PM

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40. "RE: Do you think this is limited to rap though?"
In response to Reply # 38


  

          

Really I'm just glad we can have a conversation about music on this site without it devolving into "That dude sux, and has bad ideas cuz i don't like his music"

www.anwarmorse.com
https://www.instagram.com/thereal_anwarmorse99/

  

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murph71
Member since Sep 15th 2005
23113 posts
Fri Oct-26-12 07:55 AM

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45. "RE: dude."
In response to Reply # 32


          

>commercial radio has never, ever been a friend of rap. it
>didn't play any in the 80s, except for ghettoizing it in
>saturday mixshows. in the 90s, they played mostly snoop, dre,
>biggie, puff, foxy. the idea that it was once some proponent
>of glorious temple of hiphop purity is pure romanticism.

Huh?

I don't think this is about purity...It's the point that when popular acts like Biggie, Puffy, Foxy, and Dre & Snoop were ruling the airwaves, it was still OK for radio to play KRS-ONE ("MC's Act Like They Don't Know" was getting impressive run for a so-called, hardcore hip-hop veteran act)...Also getting play during that early 90's era was A Tribe Called Quest, Redman, and Pharcyde as did the likes of Mos Def later on in the decade...Hell, even a commercial act like Cypress Hill (more on them later) was pretty fucking weird and out there...

It was all about balance, not purity......

And what balance do we have now? Not as much as in the past....

For every Kanye or Kendrick Lamar there's an army of 2 Chainz...The crazy part is, we need the 2 Chainz of the world to keep hip-hop fun...

But I miss the balance of being able to hear Snoop, Lil Kim, and then a Pharcyde and MC Hammer...



GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

  

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Yank
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Thu Oct-04-12 06:58 AM

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26. "Yea the thought process on this board sucks too"
In response to Reply # 19


  

          

damn...

Lies run sprints.
Truths run marathons.

  

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spidey
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Thu Oct-04-12 11:23 AM

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29. "RE: You guys in here take ad hominem to new levels"
In response to Reply # 19


  

          

...Get's it...TEACH...

Integrity is the Cornerstone of Artistry...

  

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micMajestic
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Thu Oct-04-12 10:36 PM

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42. "These kids out here are running wild with no knowledge of self "
In response to Reply # 0


          

and the culture vultures & crab in a barrel ass negroes are reveling in it. It's pretty sad how people rush to dismiss him as disingenuous but when rappers promote greed, violence or self destruction, no one bats an eye.
The only complaint I have about the article is when he brings up his own music. I honestly think he would be considered quirky in any era. While I was entertained by "Mambo Tail Tale" most heads would agree it doesn't match up well with tunes like "New World Water" & "Labels". Sandman is a direct descendant of Freestyle Fellowship and they certainly weren't considered conventional rap. Aside from that I think he makes very good points.
_________________________________________
The Combat Jack Show is the best hip-hop related internet radio show
http://thecombatjackshow.com/

Crunchy Black

  

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stone_phalanges
Member since Mar 06th 2010
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Fri Oct-05-12 07:00 PM

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43. "one last thing"
In response to Reply # 0


  

          

So while I do think there is a lack of topical diversity in hip hop,or at the least topical stagnation. I don't think that it is keeping people from making good music. At least for the most part, there is still a ton of great stuff happening in hip hop.

www.anwarmorse.com
https://www.instagram.com/thereal_anwarmorse99/

  

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howisya
Member since Nov 09th 2002
39983 posts
Fri Oct-26-12 07:26 AM

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44. "get it up (c) poppa boner"
In response to Reply # 0


  

          

  

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BrooklynWHAT
Member since Jun 15th 2007
84997 posts
Fri Oct-26-12 09:23 AM

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46. "lol this article still silly as shit 3 weeks later."
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<--- Big Baller World Order

  

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Yank
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Fri Oct-26-12 10:40 AM

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47. "Agreed, just as silly as keeping up with "
In response to Reply # 46


  

          

the number of dudes named 'Lil'

Lies run sprints.
Truths run marathons.

  

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Abstract_TheEclectic_Nubian
Member since Sep 07th 2002
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Fri Oct-26-12 10:38 PM

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48. "Damn, Its some trollin' ass hatin' ass niggas in here "
In response to Reply # 0


  

          

Dudes just dissagreeing to show they face in a post. The lesson never had this many stupid ass niggas in it.

╭∩╮(︶︿︶)╭∩╮





www.last.fm/user/Tha_Abstract

  

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