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Nick Has a Problem...Seriously
Member since Dec 25th 2010
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Fri Sep-27-13 11:15 AM

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"10 Facts About Rap That People Don't Talk About Enough (link)"


  

          

http://www.complex.com/music/2013/09/facts-about-rap/#gallery

Jay-Z made #FACTSONLY a new rap motto this year. But not all facts are created equal.

Some we know all too well, like that rap albums don’t sell as well they used to, and that mixtapes are where most of the good music is. But as the new reality of the genre and the industry continues to change shape, there are new laws of the land coming into focus. And some of them haven’t been discussed or understood enough to be common knowledge. Meanwhile, there’s some dusty old received wisdom still hanging around from the '90s that many heads need to finally disabuse themselves of.

Is there such a thing as a bad collaboration? Should rappers release every song they record? Does it matter that Drake “freestyles” with a Blackberry in front of him? Just how rare of an accomplishment is Kendrick’s platinum plaque? Should every MC turn their back on the major label machine and go independent? Is Atlanta still the center of the rap universe? Will Detox come out, or more importantly, does it matter if it ever does? We have answers to these questions, but more importantly, we have an idea why.

These are the 10 Facts About Rap That People Don’t Talk About Enough…

Written by Al Shipley (@AlShipley)


10. Rap mixtapes are ruining rap albums.

Occasionally, artists can use a mixtape as a springboard to major label stardom perfectly, establishing an aesthetic and persona that they're able to follow through and expand upon with proper albums. Think of the way Jeezy's Trap Or Die or Drake's So Far Gone became an instant calling card without overshadowing the albums that came later. But increasingly, it feels like the only artists whose albums aren't bested by their mixtapes are the small number of superstars who don't make mixtapes.

Maybach Music Group in particular has been afflicted with that pattern of late, with Meek Mill's debut album losing some of the luster of his DatPiff blockbuster Dreamchasers mixtapes, and Rick Ross's Rich Forever tape feeling like more of an event than its major label companion, God Forgives, I Don't. For artists who are already signed but still have to throw a mixtape out there before the album, it sometimes serves as an advertisement that's better than the product they're hoping to sell.


09. Codeine is treated like weed, but in reality it's much much more dangerous.

Rappers can walk around in public with Styrofoam cups and not attract the kind of police attention that a lit joint will get. But just because it's not as much of a legal taboo doesn't mean there's not risk involved. What's shocking about how many of Texas's hip-hop legends have died under circumstances where syrup addiction was a known factor is how young they all were. Pimp C and Big Moe died at the age of 33, and DJ Screw was even younger.

But because it's easily acquired, and is consumed much more easily, and more pleasantly, than a needle in the arm or even smoke in your lungs, it's become frighteningly uncontroversial in the hip-hop community. We still don't know how much sizzurp had to do with Lil Wayne's recent health scares, but hopefully it won't take something really serious happening to a star of his magnitude for hip-hop to get a wake up call.


08. It's better that Detox never come out.

Deep down, we all know it. Every few years, Punxsutawney Dre pokes his head out of the studio, thinks about finally letting the world hear what he's been working on all this time, sees his shadow, and thinks better of it. Last time that happened, we got closer than ever to an honest release date, with two Top 40 singles. But "Kush" was a rehash of past glories, complete with a fake Nate Dogg hook, and "I Need A Doctor" was a depressing pop crossover with a Skylar Gray hook and Eminem all but taking over the record to beg Dre to put out the album.

The album Dr. Dre would've released in 2011 would've been a crushing, Chinese Democracy-level disappointment. And while you can tell yourself that Kendrick wrote some incredible verses for it, we're better off just getting those on Kendrick's next album. Let Detox live on in our imaginations.


07. Atlanta hasn't produced a true new crossover rap star in years.

From the late '90s to the mid-2000's, being a rapper in Atlanta was a little like being a rock band in late '60s London: if you were the hottest thing in the city, you were probably also about to take over the world. Year after year, from Outkast to Ludacris to Lil Jon to T.I. to Young Jeezy, whoever ran the A soon enjoyed massive mainstream success. But ever since Gucci Mane fell short of extending his reign over ATL to the rest of the country, the disconnect between popularity in Atlanta and popularity throughout America has continued to widen.

2 Chainz has gotten further than anybody lately, but he's from the previous generation, actually older than T.I. or Jeezy. And his peak moment of mainstream exposure, when he could show up on 2 Broke Girls and the "Gangnam Style" remix, seems to have already passed by. Of the next generation, Future has been the most ubiquitous on urban radio, but he's still got a ways to go to make it up to the A-list.


06. You don't need to release every single song you record. And you probably shouldn't.

As 2Pac's vaults were lucratively emptied out in the decade following his death, rappers gradually abandoned the practice that made those recordings possible. Many MCs kept tracking multiple verses every day, sometimes with even greater speed than Pac ever did, but in the Lil Wayne model of spilling them out the public as quickly as they were recorded, on mixtapes, features, and even unsanctioned studio leaks. These days, only a few rappers seem to acknowledge any capacity to edit their output, or hold onto a song for a while—Jay-Z's admission that parts of Magna Carta Holy Grail were a couple years old was met with shock and confusion in some corners, that a song that would've sounded perfectly good in 2011 was kept under wraps until 2013. But there's something to be said about knowing when to let a song sit for a while for reconsideration and revision, and not just the diss tracks you lost your nerve about pulling the trigger on.


05. Freestyling is overrated.

The furor a couple years ago over Drake rapping live on Hot 97 while reading lyrics off of his Blackberry exposed a lot of freestyle purists. But more than that, it exposed their naivete. Listen to some of those classic "freestyles" that Biggie or Jay spit at Hot 97 and try to tell yourself those amazing lines came right off the dome. Hell, some of those lyrics ended up on album tracks mere months later, with little or no variation. The truth is, freestyling is its own discipline that only a small percentage of rap's greatest writers excel at. If most great MCs were forced to go completely off the dome, without using any recently composed and memorized bars, they'd probably sound a lot like Lil B, except they wouldn't be spitting "based" freestyles on purpose.


04. White rappers totally run iTunes.

The shift from brick-and-mortar CD stores, the ones that made gangsta rap a major commercial force in the dawn of the SoundScan era two decades ago, to digital sales has had a lot of indirect effects on the music industry. One of those is that certain listeners are more likely than others to get their music on the iTunes store. And whether it's simply those demographic differences, or the fact that they haven't given away most of their music on free mixtapes, there's been a definite shift towards not just the always popular Eminem but also Mac Miller and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (to say nothing of the white R&B singers who've run the charts this year, Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke). After all the hoopla about French Montana returning Bad Boy to rap glory, Machine Gun Kelly ended up with the label's best-selling hip-hop release of the last couple years.


03. Only four new rappers have gone platinum since 2006: Drake, Nicki, Kendrick, and Macklemore.

In 2005, a lot of rap artists released their first million-selling albums: Young Jeezy, The Game, and practically the entire city of Houston. But by then, album sales had already started to crater, with rap getting hit harder than most genres. And for the next few years it would only be long-running established artists moving those kinds of units: Jay-Z, Kanye, 50, T.I., Eminem, the usual suspects. Even 2006's biggest new artists, who have since gotten bigger, Rick Ross and Lupe Fiasco, have never moved a million copies of any one album. It's pretty clear: gold is the new platinum.

Drake ended the drought in 2010. But since then, only three rappers have followed in his footsteps. And when you consider that Nicki's second album actually missed the million mark, that means Drake, Macklemore, and Kendrick are the only leaders of the new school currently coming off of platinum albums.


02. Artists should turn down collaborations more often.

Once upon a time, you didn't have to be a superstar to get away with releasing a solo single. Now, not only does every other song feature another artist, but it's usually one of the same handful of artists every time. Not that long ago, the game was ruled by stingy collaborators like 50 Cent and Eminem, who worked primarily with their inner circle of labelmates and only occasionally with outside associates.

But that all changed in the Lil Wayne era, when pretty much every major label artist could get a Lil Wayne verse on pretty much any single, and nearly all of them did (or a T-Pain hook, or more recently, a Chris Brown or Nicki Minaj feature). Not only has this one-size-fits-all A&R approach made radio more homogenous, it's also flattened out the differences between artists, reducing most breaking and mid-level MCs to whatever qualities would work best on a song with Drake.


01. Not every artist can—or should—go independent.

Major labels aren't the ironclad barrier of entry to a successful rap career that they once were, with cult heroes like Tech N9ne making millions and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ruling pop radio on an independent label budget. But those were long-building coups, with the artists finding their audience without the help of the RIAA. Drake and Wiz Khalifa built up huge fanbases before signing to their current labels, with many at the time claiming they were making a mistake by not staying independent.

Given the kind of success they wanted, though, they made the right decision. It's hard to imagine Drake having the same chokehold on the rap game without the Cash Money machine helping him corner the radio market. If Wiz had stuck with just Rostrum without an Atlantic Records co-venture like Mac Miller, he'd probably have a respectable career, but probably not a #1 single or a gold album.

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

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

  

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Topic Outline
Subject Author Message Date ID
Whoa great article. I'm almost shocked but I shouldnt be at
Sep 27th 2013
1
RE: Whoa great article. I'm almost shocked but I shouldnt be at
Sep 27th 2013
2
a girl from NY, don't forget that,
Sep 27th 2013
5
RE: a girl from NY, don't forget that,
Sep 30th 2013
26
      lol. my G, i'm from LA
Sep 30th 2013
34
           lol okay I was about to say
Oct 01st 2013
37
I didn't think about the regional part...
Sep 30th 2013
21
      Damn! See...yea, for one it shows that the appeal is there but it isn't
Sep 30th 2013
28
           As a DJ, you have firsthand in sight to this...
Sep 30th 2013
31
Who knew that Complex writes good articles.
Sep 27th 2013
3
They honestly have a lot of good stuff
Sep 29th 2013
15
The codeine one is truly fascinating
Sep 27th 2013
4
it's true tho... The HTown codeine phase taught niggas nothing
Sep 27th 2013
6
      and Philly was on that bullshit even before HTown, it's a shame
Sep 27th 2013
7
           Yup,
Sep 30th 2013
22
I Agree With "Artists Should Turn Down Collaborations More Often"
Sep 28th 2013
8
RE: That kinda goes for more than just hip hop though.
Sep 28th 2013
9
      I mean, it does but I still think it's worst in Hip Hop
Sep 28th 2013
11
           RE: Ever feel underwhelmed by the all star game?
Sep 28th 2013
12
                Damn good example
Sep 29th 2013
16
                     I don't agree. All Star games are a once a year thing....
Sep 30th 2013
27
                          Perfect example, Pusha T's tracklist for MNIMN.
Sep 30th 2013
32
Honorable Mention: not everyone is cut out for gang affiliation.
Sep 28th 2013
10
this is good. but i strongly disagree w/ #1. unless you tryna be
Sep 29th 2013
13
I still laugh at how quickly people wrote off Ross
Sep 29th 2013
14
KRIT did it, too.
Sep 29th 2013
18
RE: I still laugh at how quickly people wrote off Ross
Sep 30th 2013
23
Freestyling was always fucking overrated
Sep 29th 2013
17
True freestyle = Dunk contest
Sep 30th 2013
19
RE: 10 Facts About Rap That People Don't Talk About Enough (link)
Sep 30th 2013
20
RE: 10 Facts About Rap That People Don't Talk About Enough (link)
Sep 30th 2013
24
I made this post here about Detox a few years back....
Sep 30th 2013
30
      Just read that whole post...
Sep 30th 2013
33
great article ..
Sep 30th 2013
25
I disagree about the freestlyling
Sep 30th 2013
29
#8 especially
Sep 30th 2013
35
in what world has 2 Chainz NOT crossed over?
Oct 01st 2013
36

-DJ R-Tistic-
Member since Nov 06th 2008
51981 posts
Fri Sep-27-13 11:50 AM

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1. "Whoa great article. I'm almost shocked but I shouldnt be at "
In response to Reply # 0


  

          

the one about only four artists going platinum since 2006. And it's even wilder than none of them are from the South, two are from the West, one's a girl, and one's from Canada.

------------------------------

50+ FREE Mixes on www.DJR-Tistic.com!

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Nick Has a Problem...Seriously
Member since Dec 25th 2010
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Fri Sep-27-13 11:59 AM

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2. "RE: Whoa great article. I'm almost shocked but I shouldnt be at "
In response to Reply # 1


  

          

>the one about only four artists going platinum since 2006.
>And it's even wilder than none of them are from the South, two
>are from the West, one's a girl, and one's from Canada.

that shit is wild right?

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

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

  

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astralblak
Member since Apr 05th 2007
20029 posts
Fri Sep-27-13 01:33 PM

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5. "a girl from NY, don't forget that,"
In response to Reply # 1


  

          

who raps (when she wants to rap) like a typical NY rapper

  

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Nick Has a Problem...Seriously
Member since Dec 25th 2010
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Mon Sep-30-13 08:11 AM

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26. "RE: a girl from NY, don't forget that,"
In response to Reply # 5


  

          

>who raps (when she wants to rap) like a typical NY rapper
who's album sounds nothing like NY rap. is it that bad that y'all are claiming Nicki Minaj now fam?

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

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

  

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astralblak
Member since Apr 05th 2007
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Mon Sep-30-13 04:39 PM

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34. "lol. my G, i'm from LA"
In response to Reply # 26


  

          

i'm just saying she do rap like a NY person, not southern or westcoast. the beats. whole different convo

  

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Nick Has a Problem...Seriously
Member since Dec 25th 2010
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Tue Oct-01-13 08:22 AM

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37. "lol okay I was about to say"
In response to Reply # 34


  

          

I know NY hurtin if they claiming her lol. I have never seen the heads here embrace her at all.

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

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

  

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Remedial
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Mon Sep-30-13 05:25 AM

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21. "I didn't think about the regional part..."
In response to Reply # 1
Mon Sep-30-13 05:34 AM by Remedial

  

          

>the one about only four artists going platinum since 2006.
>And it's even wilder than none of them are from the South, two
>are from the West, one's a girl, and one's from Canada.

But you're so right. With the way trap music dominates the sonic palette of rap today, you'd think that at least a few of those artists who embrace that sound almost fully would have plaques, I.e., 2Chainz, etc...

So, then, the South's dominance of radio is just a farce, then? Because, obviously folks ain't buying the shit.

But yet, turn on MTV Jams right now or turn on your local urban station and that's still ALL you'll hear. Don't make no sense to me.

The sad part is that many major artists have fallen prey to the allure of potential success painted by the omnipresence of trap: T.I. fell prey to it on this most recent album ALTHOUGH he had been on a more commercial rap trajectory before going to prison; Jeezy will never accomplish his full potential because of his unwavering allegiance to it; Jay completely watered down the Kool Aid so he could try to jump on that bandwagon, etc...
About Kanye was the only one who said f' that and went completely left just to break away from Medusa's trance.

I say that to say this: Trap IS an underground sound and really was never meant to be something that dominated the hip hop arena. Why? Because it's a lot like dubstep: There's only so much variation you can do with it and eventually, to the untrained ear, it REALLY all starts to sound the same.

There, I SAID IT.

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

  

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-DJ R-Tistic-
Member since Nov 06th 2008
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Mon Sep-30-13 03:31 PM

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28. "Damn! See...yea, for one it shows that the appeal is there but it isn't"
In response to Reply # 21


  

          

AS wide as it may seem.

It's random as hell, but telling...when I DJ family type events, I notice that old people NEVER dance to the Trap-Tempo stuff around 60-80 BPM. But they'll dance to an upbeat 100BPM song, whether it's Blow the whistle, Function, or Rack City. Truth is, the Trap sound is just TOO damn slow, and even with the millions of hits that came from it...there haven't been as many SUPER hits with that vibe. "N's in Paris" is one of the few, and people already never wanna hear that song again in life. The South's huge hits were still fast...such as "Yeah" "Get low" and even the older songs.

------------------------------

50+ FREE Mixes on www.DJR-Tistic.com!

Twitter and Instagram - @DJ_RTistic

  

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Remedial
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31. "As a DJ, you have firsthand in sight to this..."
In response to Reply # 28


  

          

I honestly think that trap could be the next genre to go the way of disco, where, there could be SUCH a backlash that folks won't even want to hear any trace of it in their musical diet.

And not particularly because it's a bad musical genre. It isn't. It's just saturated the market to such a level that it's bound to have that effect on folks after a while.

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

  

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Hitokiri
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Fri Sep-27-13 12:05 PM

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3. "Who knew that Complex writes good articles."
In response to Reply # 0


  

          

Surely not me.

--

"You can't beat white people. You can only knock them out."

  

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Ketchums
Member since Jan 30th 2005
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Sun Sep-29-13 03:06 PM

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15. "They honestly have a lot of good stuff"
In response to Reply # 3


  

          

People focus on the BS, but they have some insightful/in depth stuff too

----

https://weketchum.contently.com/

  

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PCProductions
Member since Oct 31st 2009
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Fri Sep-27-13 01:23 PM

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4. "The codeine one is truly fascinating"
In response to Reply # 0


          

Just goes to show how the method of intake of a drug transcends the drug itself when defining its social acceptability. It really isn't a joke that codeine syrup is essentially liquid heroin. But... you mix it with Sprite and throw in a jolly rancher and you've got yourself a cute little beverage!

Oh... and this was a mysteriously good article from Complex. What are they up to...?

  

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LAbeathustla
Member since Jan 24th 2004
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Fri Sep-27-13 01:34 PM

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6. "it's true tho... The HTown codeine phase taught niggas nothing"
In response to Reply # 4


  

          

and since all these young niggas are Wayne clones I blame him for still promoting the shit after screw, moe, and pimp...the shit is highly addictive.. Young niggas in LA all hyped on activist ( the cheap brand) they ain't even sippin Barre... but they gon off this shit and don't really know the consequences or don't care

------------------------------------
2019 CABG Survivor

2016 OK Survivor Champion

be about it or be without it

RIP GOATs

  

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Bombastic
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Fri Sep-27-13 01:58 PM

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7. "and Philly was on that bullshit even before HTown, it's a shame"
In response to Reply # 6


  

          

anything that folks connect with prescription drugs in general gets glossed over when in fact nothing is really more dangerous.

https://soundcloud.com/matt-koelling-666011203

www.somethinginthewudder.com

https://twitter.com/nostrabombus

https://www.facebook.com/matt.koelling.96

https://www.instagram.com/something_in_the_wudder/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-koelling-438a80

  

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Remedial
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Mon Sep-30-13 05:41 AM

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22. "Yup,"
In response to Reply # 7


  

          

>anything that folks connect with prescription drugs in
>general gets glossed over when in fact nothing is really more
>dangerous.

I remember sitting on two different occasions with two separate co-workers, both of whom were female, and both telling me nonchalantly about their prescription pill popping habits. One told me how whenever one of her friends got some for whatever ailment, she'd cop a few other. The other was telling me how she was popping like 4 Xanax a day, and her sis was doing like 6-8.

It seems that folks tend to think that because it's prescribed (even if not specifically to THEM) and you didn't have to buy it from some dirty drug dealer, it's socially acceptable. Rogue doctors and pharmacists have become the new drug dealers of today.

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

  

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Dj Joey Joe
Member since Sep 01st 2007
13770 posts
Sat Sep-28-13 01:01 AM

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8. "I Agree With "Artists Should Turn Down Collaborations More Often""
In response to Reply # 0


  

          

>02. Artists should turn down collaborations more often.
>
>Once upon a time, you didn't have to be a superstar to
>get away with releasing a solo single. Now, not only
>does every other song feature another artist, but it's
>usually one of the same handful of artists every time.
>Not that long ago, the game was ruled by stingy
>collaborators like 50 Cent and Eminem, who worked
>primarily with their inner circle of labelmates and
>only occasionally with outside associates.
>
>But that all changed in the Lil Wayne era, when pretty
>much every major label artist could get a Lil Wayne
>verse on pretty much any single, and nearly all of them
>did (or a T-Pain hook, or more recently, a Chris Brown
>or Nicki Minaj feature). Not only has this
>one-size-fits-all A&R approach made radio more
>homogenous, it's also flattened out the differences
>between artists, reducing most breaking and mid-level
>MCs to whatever qualities would work best on a song
>with Drake.


I totally agree cause when new upcoming artists try to get some shine but getting these top charting rappers to guest appear on their record the problem with that is that most radio listeners will forget it's your record and instead think it's another song by the well-known rapper featuring this nobody/new artist; and most likely wait till they see that song on a mix-cd with a bunch of songs that basically is features of that popular rapper but not there songs.


https://tinyurl.com/y4ba6hog

---------
"We in here talking about later career Prince records
& your fool ass is cruising around in a time machine
trying to collect props for a couple of sociopathic degenerates" - s.blak

  

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Austin
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Sat Sep-28-13 01:18 AM

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9. "RE: That kinda goes for more than just hip hop though."
In response to Reply # 8


  

          


``i know you are fake. . . 'cause man, i'm the same.``
"doctor who nursery rhyme." http://bit.ly/18oC1gH
"jacques." http://bit.ly/17V33fa
"with henry james." http://bit.ly/1cIpnM6
"wind." http://bit.ly/180r30E
"one year later." http://bit.ly/1eQNPwI

  

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-DJ R-Tistic-
Member since Nov 06th 2008
51981 posts
Sat Sep-28-13 03:27 AM

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11. "I mean, it does but I still think it's worst in Hip Hop"
In response to Reply # 9


  

          

I feel like 90% of the songs that end up on radio are a collab, sometimes with 3+ artists.

------------------------------

50+ FREE Mixes on www.DJR-Tistic.com!

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Austin
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Sat Sep-28-13 11:29 AM

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12. "RE: Ever feel underwhelmed by the all star game?"
In response to Reply # 11


  

          

It's the same sort of thing, I think.


``i know you are fake. . . 'cause man, i'm the same.``
"doctor who nursery rhyme." http://bit.ly/18oC1gH
"jacques." http://bit.ly/17V33fa
"with henry james." http://bit.ly/1cIpnM6
"for vini." http://bit.ly/19HQbtF
"one year later." http://bit.ly/1eQNPwI

  

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NotScared2Ask
Member since Aug 23rd 2011
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16. "Damn good example "
In response to Reply # 12


  

          

  

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The Wordsmith
Member since Aug 13th 2002
17070 posts
Mon Sep-30-13 03:18 PM

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27. "I don't agree. All Star games are a once a year thing...."
In response to Reply # 16


  

          

....and not a collab on nearly every game during the season. With some of these artists you see so many collabs that they are drowned out of their own albums. You don't see players collabing outside of the All Star game during the regular season. Some of these albums start looking like compilation albums because cats don't limit collabs to a few songs at the most.


Since 1976

  

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Remedial
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32. "Perfect example, Pusha T's tracklist for MNIMN."
In response to Reply # 27


  

          

nm

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

  

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JFrost1117
Member since Aug 12th 2005
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Sat Sep-28-13 01:49 AM

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10. "Honorable Mention: not everyone is cut out for gang affiliation."
In response to Reply # 0


  

          

I agree with most of the points made, but I'm not typing it all out on this iPad right now.

____________
Twitter & IG: @rulerofmyself
SC: rulerofmyself17

Yes! She's on the drugs. (c) BoHagon

  

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poetx
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13. "this is good. but i strongly disagree w/ #1. unless you tryna be "
In response to Reply # 0


  

          

a megastar, i'd say that going indie is where its at.

fuck would you wanna go an indebt yourself to a label for?

they don't even do as much as they used to. and you prolly ain't gettin on radio anyway.

get a higher percentage of a smaller pie.


peace & blessings,

x.

www.twitter.com/poetx

=========================================
** i move away from the mic to breathe in

  

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BigReg
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14. "I still laugh at how quickly people wrote off Ross "
In response to Reply # 0


  

          

He dropped his best(Rich Forever), and his worst, projects in one year. I remember how even on the boards people were praising it, but come October it was like "Rawse sucks"

  

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JFrost1117
Member since Aug 12th 2005
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18. "KRIT did it, too."
In response to Reply # 14


  

          

Whatever the mixtape was *right* before the album was damn near amazing, and the ones before it were too. I'm hoping he's working on his non-sample beats for the new album. Or, Def Jam needs to fight harder to clear samples.

____________
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Yes! She's on the drugs. (c) BoHagon

  

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Remedial
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23. "RE: I still laugh at how quickly people wrote off Ross "
In response to Reply # 14


  

          

>He dropped his best(Rich Forever), and his worst, projects in
>one year. I remember how even on the boards people were
>praising it, but come October it was like "Rawse sucks"

I still don't get the hype about Rich Forever. Had about 3 good songs on it to my last count. I think maybe because it LITERALLY was of the same quality of his commercial releases, people got stoked about GFID.

And, I guess, contrary to the consensus around here, I thought GFID was his best album, which isn't saying a lot for a Ross release.

Overall, he's lazy as hell with his lyrics but picks great beats and knows how to make a chorus. If his spit game was better and he didn't make all those missteps with his background story and trying to maintain said story, he probably could be top 20 of all time right now.

On a side note, on GFID, did anyone else notice that he mentioned being front row at the Heat game like 5 times throughout the album. I guess that's his filler line like when Snoop had the custom of just repeating DPG or DO double G in his lyrics just to lazily fill space.

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

  

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NotScared2Ask
Member since Aug 23rd 2011
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17. "Freestyling was always fucking overrated"
In response to Reply # 0


  

          

Seriously eventually you just start to use the same words to connect rhymes. Never took points away from rappers because they couldn't freestyle

  

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-DJ R-Tistic-
Member since Nov 06th 2008
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19. "True freestyle = Dunk contest"
In response to Reply # 17


  

          

It's some Jordan's, some Niques, some Vince Carter's, some James Whites, some John Stocktons, some Iversons....and all inbetween.

It's great artists who can freestyle just as good....good-decent artists who's freestyles are amazing....some who suck when it comes to writing a song but can freestyle for hours...some who are great artists who can't even freestyle as good as a 5 year old.

------------------------------

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melanon
Member since Oct 21st 2003
2012 posts
Mon Sep-30-13 03:26 AM

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20. "RE: 10 Facts About Rap That People Don't Talk About Enough (link)"
In response to Reply # 0


          

I have lots of one thing...and couldn't get the other thing that screw liked. I've never even seen if.

  

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Remedial
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24. "RE: 10 Facts About Rap That People Don't Talk About Enough (link)"
In response to Reply # 0
Mon Sep-30-13 08:07 AM by Remedial

  

          

>10. Rap mixtapes are ruining rap albums.
>
>Occasionally, artists can use a mixtape as a springboard to
>major label stardom perfectly, establishing an aesthetic and
>persona that they're able to follow through and expand upon
>with proper albums. Think of the way Jeezy's Trap Or Die or
>Drake's So Far Gone became an instant calling card without
>overshadowing the albums that came later. But increasingly, it
>feels like the only artists whose albums aren't bested by
>their mixtapes are the small number of superstars who don't
>make mixtapes.
>
>Maybach Music Group in particular has been afflicted with that
>pattern of late, with Meek Mill's debut album losing some of
>the luster of his DatPiff blockbuster Dreamchasers mixtapes,
>and Rick Ross's Rich Forever tape feeling like more of an
>event than its major label companion, God Forgives, I Don't.
>For artists who are already signed but still have to throw a
>mixtape out there before the album, it sometimes serves as an
>advertisement that's better than the product they're hoping to
>sell.

I think this phenomenon is predicated by the fact that, with mixtapes, there is little to no label involvement. Hence, the artist is able to put out whatever he or she chooses. Now, I saw that Meek "kind of" tried to replicate that with his first album (or maybe it really was just a mixtape labeled as an album), but it didn't work, although he did get some pretty good singles off of it.

As a sidenote, would I be wrong in saying that Jadakiss' The Champ Is Here was one of the first mixtapes to outshine the adjoining album? If not, I can say that I do remember that being the consensus of that release around the time of it's drop.

>08. It's better that Detox never come out.
>
>Deep down, we all know it. Every few years, Punxsutawney Dre
>pokes his head out of the studio, thinks about finally letting
>the world hear what he's been working on all this time, sees
>his shadow, and thinks better of it. Last time that happened,
>we got closer than ever to an honest release date, with two
>Top 40 singles. But "Kush" was a rehash of past glories,
>complete with a fake Nate Dogg hook, and "I Need A Doctor" was
>a depressing pop crossover with a Skylar Gray hook and Eminem
>all but taking over the record to beg Dre to put out the
>album.
>
>The album Dr. Dre would've released in 2011 would've been a
>crushing, Chinese Democracy-level disappointment. And while
>you can tell yourself that Kendrick wrote some incredible
>verses for it, we're better off just getting those on
>Kendrick's next album. Let Detox live on in our imaginations.

I don't know if this is true. I haven't heard a great producer album in YEARS and Detox would be a great swan song for Dre. But, as we all can agree in, he can't just go through the motions, as he did with Kush, and he can't give us a sound we're not expecting with hopes of chart dominance (I Need A Doctor was REALLY bad).

Now that the "don'ts" are out of the way:

1. He DOES need to introduce us to a new rapper to feign over, like he did with Snoop on the Chronic and Hitman on Chronic 2001. Detox would have been a great platform to introduce the world at large to Knedrick's skill and THEN have followed it up with GKMC, just like he did with The Chronic and Doggystyle. If that was the strategy, Kendrick would AT LEAST be double plat by now.

2. He DOES need to once again redefine the sonic footprint of the commercial rap album once again like he did with Chronic 2001.. I really think Detox would have been a great time to either do a SACD or Surround Sound version of his sound, just to once again set a precedent for all other so called super producers to strive to. If not that, at least a 24/96 version just to show how much more space it gives the mix.

3. He DOES need to give us the hottest beats we've heard in FOREVER. Just because hip hop production has become stagnant with the dominance of trap.

>07. Atlanta hasn't produced a true new crossover rap star in
>years.
>
>From the late '90s to the mid-2000's, being a rapper in
>Atlanta was a little like being a rock band in late '60s
>London: if you were the hottest thing in the city, you were
>probably also about to take over the world. Year after year,
>from Outkast to Ludacris to Lil Jon to T.I. to Young Jeezy,
>whoever ran the A soon enjoyed massive mainstream success. But
>ever since Gucci Mane fell short of extending his reign over
>ATL to the rest of the country, the disconnect between
>popularity in Atlanta and popularity throughout America has
>continued to widen.
>
>2 Chainz has gotten further than anybody lately, but he's from
>the previous generation, actually older than T.I. or Jeezy.
>And his peak moment of mainstream exposure, when he could show
>up on 2 Broke Girls and the "Gangnam Style" remix, seems to
>have already passed by. Of the next generation, Future has
>been the most ubiquitous on urban radio, but he's still got a
>ways to go to make it up to the A-list.

Well, Future ain't got enough feed to keep that one trick pony going for the next year. What Atlanta needs Is a true spitter in the vein of Outkast and T.I. to come forth and take the reins. The jesters have had their reign and now it's time for the real entertainment to start.

>06. You don't need to release every single song you record.
>And you probably shouldn't.
>
>As 2Pac's vaults were lucratively emptied out in the decade
>following his death, rappers gradually abandoned the practice
>that made those recordings possible. Many MCs kept tracking
>multiple verses every day, sometimes with even greater speed
>than Pac ever did, but in the Lil Wayne model of spilling them
>out the public as quickly as they were recorded, on mixtapes,
>features, and even unsanctioned studio leaks. These days, only
>a few rappers seem to acknowledge any capacity to edit their
>output, or hold onto a song for a while—Jay-Z's admission that
>parts of Magna Carta Holy Grail were a couple years old was
>met with shock and confusion in some corners, that a song that
>would've sounded perfectly good in 2011 was kept under wraps
>until 2013. But there's something to be said about knowing
>when to let a song sit for a while for reconsideration and
>revision, and not just the diss tracks you lost your nerve
>about pulling the trigger on.

First let me say, the fact that some of the garbage on MCHG sat for years probably shows it wasn't worthy in the first place and its eventual release shouldn't be lauded as good business practice. Garbage is garbage, whether it's from 2011 or yesterday.

Now, on to business...

The reason why rappers want to release every cot damn thing (one of OKP's biggest darlings, Blu, is one of the guiltiest parties) is because they've all adopted Wayne's World's technique for building and maintaining a fan base. ALSO, if you're lucky to package some of this output up as a mixtape and possibly generate a hit from one of them (like Wale did with Bad Girl and Jeezy did with R.I.P.) you can get REAL tour and ITunes sales money based off of that alone. The business model most rappers are adopting today is to use their music solely as a vehicle to get tour money, which is why mixtapes are like full blown albums these days.


>04. White rappers totally run iTunes.
>
>The shift from brick-and-mortar CD stores, the ones that made
>gangsta rap a major commercial force in the dawn of the
>SoundScan era two decades ago, to digital sales has had a lot
>of indirect effects on the music industry. One of those is
>that certain listeners are more likely than others to get
>their music on the iTunes store. And whether it's simply those
>demographic differences, or the fact that they haven't given
>away most of their music on free mixtapes, there's been a
>definite shift towards not just the always popular Eminem but
>also Mac Miller and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (to say nothing of
>the white R&B singers who've run the charts this year, Justin
>Timberlake and Robin Thicke). After all the hoopla about
>French Montana returning Bad Boy to rap glory, Machine Gun
>Kelly ended up with the label's best-selling hip-hop release
>of the last couple years.


Hate to say it, but it's because:
A. Their music by default is made to embrace a wider palette of the music listening populace, due to their being white and naturally making music to appeal to their hometeam and also having to make music to draw the urban population who's music they've co-opted. They HAVE to learn to straddle that line better than a well trained high wire walker. Leaning too much to the white side leaves you without a clue of where to go, a la Asher Roth (whom I'm a BIG fan of), and leaning too much to the black side makes you a caricature, like Riff Raff.

Now, the problem most black artists have is making music that can't reach that white audience who's going to buy that single on ITunes. As great as artists like Meek are, their music is TOO hood to get that buy. And, I'm not saying they should go and make a FULL ON radio track like J-Cole did with that TLC collabo, but, something like Meek's Amen was a step in the right direction.

I could extrapolate further, but, I'll leave that for another day.


>03. Only four new rappers have gone platinum since 2006:
>Drake, Nicki, Kendrick, and Macklemore.
>
>In 2005, a lot of rap artists released their first
>million-selling albums: Young Jeezy, The Game, and practically
>the entire city of Houston. But by then, album sales had
>already started to crater, with rap getting hit harder than
>most genres. And for the next few years it would only be
>long-running established artists moving those kinds of units:
>Jay-Z, Kanye, 50, T.I., Eminem, the usual suspects. Even
>2006's biggest new artists, who have since gotten bigger, Rick
>Ross and Lupe Fiasco, have never moved a million copies of any
>one album. It's pretty clear: gold is the new platinum.
>
>Drake ended the drought in 2010. But since then, only three
>rappers have followed in his footsteps. And when you consider
>that Nicki's second album actually missed the million mark,
>that means Drake, Macklemore, and Kendrick are the only
>leaders of the new school currently coming off of platinum
>albums.

Not much to add to this than to say that it seems that Nicki's time is coming to an abrupt end if she don't drop the shenanigans and start making good music, period, and, after this new album by Drake, he's on a short leash too. But, as much as some folks LOVED Take Care, it was a step down from So Far Gone and the first album (Headlines was a HORRIBLE single) and this new one is a further step. You can just tell his head and his heart just aren't into it. And, unlike all these other rappers that would love to just transition into acting, Drake can ACTUALLY do that because he has the background, so, maybe that's where his head is at. Honestly, Drake is the only one of the modern rappers that has a chance of catching Will...

I have to wait and see what Kendrick and Macklemore's second ones sound like first before coming to a verdict.

>02. Artists should turn down collaborations more often.
>
>Once upon a time, you didn't have to be a superstar to get
>away with releasing a solo single. Now, not only does every
>other song feature another artist, but it's usually one of the
>same handful of artists every time. Not that long ago, the
>game was ruled by stingy collaborators like 50 Cent and
>Eminem, who worked primarily with their inner circle of
>labelmates and only occasionally with outside associates.
>
>But that all changed in the Lil Wayne era, when pretty much
>every major label artist could get a Lil Wayne verse on pretty
>much any single, and nearly all of them did (or a T-Pain hook,
>or more recently, a Chris Brown or Nicki Minaj feature). Not
>only has this one-size-fits-all A&R approach made radio more
>homogenous, it's also flattened out the differences between
>artists, reducing most breaking and mid-level MCs to whatever
>qualities would work best on a song with Drake.

YES!! When did hip hop become this fraternity where everyone has to pretend like they like everyone else just to get sales? And, the sad part is that, some folks have extended it beyond just their peers in the hip hop game, with cats falling over themselves just to get their name mentioned in the same sentence as Miley's (that video IS NOT gonna help the dismal sales you're about to endure, Big Sean; time to step them bars up).

I think this very saddening trend is just a product of the waning sales market for hip hop releases. Cats will try anything to get that extra sales boost, even if it means courting a 16 from another artist that they personally can't stand. Everyone is hoping that getting that Wayne feature will bring some of his fanbase to their camp, but, it hasn't worked. And, to me, that was the biggest thing I took away from Kendrick's laying down of the gauntlet: fuck trying to pander to mofos with hopes to get their audience; instead, I'll rip them lyrically and musically and take them the ole fashioned way, which is how it should be. I ain't never see Aerosmith featuring the Rolling Stones on any of their songs...

>01. Not every artist can—or should—go independent.
>
>Major labels aren't the ironclad barrier of entry to a
>successful rap career that they once were, with cult heroes
>like Tech N9ne making millions and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
>ruling pop radio on an independent label budget. But those
>were long-building coups, with the artists finding their
>audience without the help of the RIAA. Drake and Wiz Khalifa
>built up huge fanbases before signing to their current labels,
>with many at the time claiming they were making a mistake by
>not staying independent.
>
>Given the kind of success they wanted, though, they made the
>right decision. It's hard to imagine Drake having the same
>chokehold on the rap game without the Cash Money machine
>helping him corner the radio market. If Wiz had stuck with
>just Rostrum without an Atlantic Records co-venture like Mac
>Miller, he'd probably have a respectable career, but probably
>not a #1 single or a gold album.

This I disagree with. To me, the only thing that separates the haves and have nots when it comes to the independent route is the drive. I think that Drake could have done close to the same numbers because he appears to have that drive. Wiz, who's career, to me, is over (after this last horrible album and his reluctance to actually work at his craft), definitely wouldn't have. He obviously doesn't have that verve and willpower to get up EVERY DAY trying to promote himself and his releases.

My most prescient example of a group not seizing the independent route when it was most viable and profitable to them was Mobb Deep. After their remarkable Free Agents album made it to number one on the Billboard Independents chart, I figured they might give indie a go. Instead, they decided to do that tripe of an album called Blood Money (still had a few bangers, though) and then we're eventually FORCED to go independent. Now, had they taken their fanbase with them before dropping that horrible G-Unit album, they might have still maintained some modicum of success. Now, one of the biggest ironies with Mobb Deep is that, on their last major label release, not counting the Sony RED release, P was still on that "I don't even have to rhyme anymore" tip. Now that he's completely independent and has to rape Alchemist for whatever throwaways he has, he's Dr. Suessing his ass all over thr place.

I still don't get how people think that making it to the top is the perfect time to get lazy.

But, the thing about being independent is that certain things that can be left to others when on a major have to be milled over like whether or not to press the red button for them nukes. Great example: With the first single off of Quik's Book of David, Luv of My Life, Quik a very cheaply done video where he obviously needed a stylist because he was dressed like a teenager from 1997 (and not a stylish one, either). Now, I think that may have been a severe blow to the sales of the album. EVERYTHING COUNTS! By the time of the Nobody video, it looks like he figured it out that you need more than a dirty strip club and your street clothes to shoot a vid. But, those mistakes can cost you a fortune when it comes to sales of an independent album.

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

  

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-DJ R-Tistic-
Member since Nov 06th 2008
51981 posts
Mon Sep-30-13 03:51 PM

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30. "I made this post here about Detox a few years back...."
In response to Reply # 24


  

          

http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=17&topic_id=139450&mesg_id=139450&page=1

And I still think that's the case. Just listening to his sound, how long it's been since it was a "hot" or relevant sound to most folks...and his just being this much older...he might not have it in him to TRULY re-invent his sound completely and change the game again. And he can't rely on the same formula, even with the whole "put a new artist on it and release their album after"...that was literally 20 years ago when that happened and worked. Some of us forget how much folks were thinking 2001 was gonna be a flop, and that was just seven years after Chronic. Now, this shit here would be 14 years later!!

>>08. It's better that Detox never come out.
>>
>>Deep down, we all know it. Every few years, Punxsutawney Dre
>>pokes his head out of the studio, thinks about finally
>letting
>>the world hear what he's been working on all this time, sees
>>his shadow, and thinks better of it. Last time that
>happened,
>>we got closer than ever to an honest release date, with two
>>Top 40 singles. But "Kush" was a rehash of past glories,
>>complete with a fake Nate Dogg hook, and "I Need A Doctor"
>was
>>a depressing pop crossover with a Skylar Gray hook and
>Eminem
>>all but taking over the record to beg Dre to put out the
>>album.
>>
>>The album Dr. Dre would've released in 2011 would've been a
>>crushing, Chinese Democracy-level disappointment. And while
>>you can tell yourself that Kendrick wrote some incredible
>>verses for it, we're better off just getting those on
>>Kendrick's next album. Let Detox live on in our
>imaginations.
>
>I don't know if this is true. I haven't heard a great
>producer album in YEARS and Detox would be a great swan song
>for Dre. But, as we all can agree in, he can't just go
>through the motions, as he did with Kush, and he can't give us
>a sound we're not expecting with hopes of chart dominance (I
>Need A Doctor was REALLY bad).
>
>Now that the "don'ts" are out of the way:
>
>1. He DOES need to introduce us to a new rapper to feign over,
>like he did with Snoop on the Chronic and Hitman on Chronic
>2001. Detox would have been a great platform to introduce the
>world at large to Knedrick's skill and THEN have followed it
>up with GKMC, just like he did with The Chronic and
>Doggystyle. If that was the strategy, Kendrick would AT LEAST
>be double plat by now.
>
>2. He DOES need to once again redefine the sonic footprint of
>the commercial rap album once again like he did with Chronic
>2001.. I really think Detox would have been a great time to
>either do a SACD or Surround Sound version of his sound, just
>to once again set a precedent for all other so called super
>producers to strive to. If not that, at least a 24/96 version
>just to show how much more space it gives the mix.
>
>3. He DOES need to give us the hottest beats we've heard in
>FOREVER. Just because hip hop production has become stagnant
>with the dominance of trap.
>

------------------------------

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Remedial
Charter member
6459 posts
Mon Sep-30-13 04:28 PM

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33. "Just read that whole post..."
In response to Reply # 30


  

          

And I love seeing how off-track and delusional some of the opinions were. One cat was praising Jay Electronica's loop (can't even call it a cot damn beat) for Eternal Sunshine as better than anything Dre could do. Wow. The hype must have been TREMENDOUS for Jay around that time.

Fans can be the worst at times. Let some new, unproven producer had tried to pass off that loop as a beat to him and he would have bashed it in a minute. Put Jay Electronica's name in the credits, and it's heat. Same thing with Blu's production output.

And then, some cat chimes in that Dre should get some beats from Sa-Ra. Where did those cats ever make it with that supposed new style of production they were supposed to be bringing in? No where.

But, the more rational points still stand true: Dre does need to innovate and does need to just drop that damn album and stop pussyfooting.

Come to grips with the fact that most OKP's are of the Nut Hugger lineage, so, if you' re not part of the little cliques that exist 'round here, your posts will probably tank like Souljaboy's album sales.

  

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JAESCOTT777
Member since Feb 18th 2006
28487 posts
Mon Sep-30-13 07:39 AM

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25. "great article .. "
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stone_phalanges
Member since Mar 06th 2010
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Mon Sep-30-13 03:42 PM

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29. "I disagree about the freestlyling"
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(insert vulgar analogy about blowjobs here)

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Goose
Member since Feb 05th 2006
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Mon Sep-30-13 07:19 PM

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35. "#8 especially"
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surprisingly good article.

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rjc27
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Tue Oct-01-13 08:05 AM

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36. "in what world has 2 Chainz NOT crossed over? "
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and thought the potential for disappointment is/was there, would still like to hear Detox

>10. Rap mixtapes are ruining rap albums.
>
>Occasionally, artists can use a mixtape as a springboard to
>major label stardom perfectly, establishing an aesthetic and
>persona that they're able to follow through and expand upon
>with proper albums. Think of the way Jeezy's Trap Or Die or
>Drake's So Far Gone became an instant calling card without
>overshadowing the albums that came later. But increasingly, it
>feels like the only artists whose albums aren't bested by
>their mixtapes are the small number of superstars who don't
>make mixtapes.
>
>Maybach Music Group in particular has been afflicted with that
>pattern of late, with Meek Mill's debut album losing some of
>the luster of his DatPiff blockbuster Dreamchasers mixtapes,
>and Rick Ross's Rich Forever tape feeling like more of an
>event than its major label companion, God Forgives, I Don't.
>For artists who are already signed but still have to throw a
>mixtape out there before the album, it sometimes serves as an
>advertisement that's better than the product they're hoping to
>sell.
>
>
>09. Codeine is treated like weed, but in reality it's much
>much more dangerous.
>
>Rappers can walk around in public with Styrofoam cups and not
>attract the kind of police attention that a lit joint will
>get. But just because it's not as much of a legal taboo
>doesn't mean there's not risk involved. What's shocking about
>how many of Texas's hip-hop legends have died under
>circumstances where syrup addiction was a known factor is how
>young they all were. Pimp C and Big Moe died at the age of 33,
>and DJ Screw was even younger.
>
>But because it's easily acquired, and is consumed much more
>easily, and more pleasantly, than a needle in the arm or even
>smoke in your lungs, it's become frighteningly uncontroversial
>in the hip-hop community. We still don't know how much sizzurp
>had to do with Lil Wayne's recent health scares, but hopefully
>it won't take something really serious happening to a star of
>his magnitude for hip-hop to get a wake up call.
>
>
>08. It's better that Detox never come out.
>
>Deep down, we all know it. Every few years, Punxsutawney Dre
>pokes his head out of the studio, thinks about finally letting
>the world hear what he's been working on all this time, sees
>his shadow, and thinks better of it. Last time that happened,
>we got closer than ever to an honest release date, with two
>Top 40 singles. But "Kush" was a rehash of past glories,
>complete with a fake Nate Dogg hook, and "I Need A Doctor" was
>a depressing pop crossover with a Skylar Gray hook and Eminem
>all but taking over the record to beg Dre to put out the
>album.
>
>The album Dr. Dre would've released in 2011 would've been a
>crushing, Chinese Democracy-level disappointment. And while
>you can tell yourself that Kendrick wrote some incredible
>verses for it, we're better off just getting those on
>Kendrick's next album. Let Detox live on in our imaginations.
>
>
>07. Atlanta hasn't produced a true new crossover rap star in
>years.
>
>From the late '90s to the mid-2000's, being a rapper in
>Atlanta was a little like being a rock band in late '60s
>London: if you were the hottest thing in the city, you were
>probably also about to take over the world. Year after year,
>from Outkast to Ludacris to Lil Jon to T.I. to Young Jeezy,
>whoever ran the A soon enjoyed massive mainstream success. But
>ever since Gucci Mane fell short of extending his reign over
>ATL to the rest of the country, the disconnect between
>popularity in Atlanta and popularity throughout America has
>continued to widen.
>
>2 Chainz has gotten further than anybody lately, but he's from
>the previous generation, actually older than T.I. or Jeezy.
>And his peak moment of mainstream exposure, when he could show
>up on 2 Broke Girls and the "Gangnam Style" remix, seems to
>have already passed by. Of the next generation, Future has
>been the most ubiquitous on urban radio, but he's still got a
>ways to go to make it up to the A-list.
>
>
>06. You don't need to release every single song you record.
>And you probably shouldn't.
>
>As 2Pac's vaults were lucratively emptied out in the decade
>following his death, rappers gradually abandoned the practice
>that made those recordings possible. Many MCs kept tracking
>multiple verses every day, sometimes with even greater speed
>than Pac ever did, but in the Lil Wayne model of spilling them
>out the public as quickly as they were recorded, on mixtapes,
>features, and even unsanctioned studio leaks. These days, only
>a few rappers seem to acknowledge any capacity to edit their
>output, or hold onto a song for a while—Jay-Z's admission that
>parts of Magna Carta Holy Grail were a couple years old was
>met with shock and confusion in some corners, that a song that
>would've sounded perfectly good in 2011 was kept under wraps
>until 2013. But there's something to be said about knowing
>when to let a song sit for a while for reconsideration and
>revision, and not just the diss tracks you lost your nerve
>about pulling the trigger on.
>
>
>05. Freestyling is overrated.
>
>The furor a couple years ago over Drake rapping live on Hot 97
>while reading lyrics off of his Blackberry exposed a lot of
>freestyle purists. But more than that, it exposed their
>naivete. Listen to some of those classic "freestyles" that
>Biggie or Jay spit at Hot 97 and try to tell yourself those
>amazing lines came right off the dome. Hell, some of those
>lyrics ended up on album tracks mere months later, with little
>or no variation. The truth is, freestyling is its own
>discipline that only a small percentage of rap's greatest
>writers excel at. If most great MCs were forced to go
>completely off the dome, without using any recently composed
>and memorized bars, they'd probably sound a lot like Lil B,
>except they wouldn't be spitting "based" freestyles on
>purpose.
>
>
>04. White rappers totally run iTunes.
>
>The shift from brick-and-mortar CD stores, the ones that made
>gangsta rap a major commercial force in the dawn of the
>SoundScan era two decades ago, to digital sales has had a lot
>of indirect effects on the music industry. One of those is
>that certain listeners are more likely than others to get
>their music on the iTunes store. And whether it's simply those
>demographic differences, or the fact that they haven't given
>away most of their music on free mixtapes, there's been a
>definite shift towards not just the always popular Eminem but
>also Mac Miller and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (to say nothing of
>the white R&B singers who've run the charts this year, Justin
>Timberlake and Robin Thicke). After all the hoopla about
>French Montana returning Bad Boy to rap glory, Machine Gun
>Kelly ended up with the label's best-selling hip-hop release
>of the last couple years.
>
>
>03. Only four new rappers have gone platinum since 2006:
>Drake, Nicki, Kendrick, and Macklemore.
>
>In 2005, a lot of rap artists released their first
>million-selling albums: Young Jeezy, The Game, and practically
>the entire city of Houston. But by then, album sales had
>already started to crater, with rap getting hit harder than
>most genres. And for the next few years it would only be
>long-running established artists moving those kinds of units:
>Jay-Z, Kanye, 50, T.I., Eminem, the usual suspects. Even
>2006's biggest new artists, who have since gotten bigger, Rick
>Ross and Lupe Fiasco, have never moved a million copies of any
>one album. It's pretty clear: gold is the new platinum.
>
>Drake ended the drought in 2010. But since then, only three
>rappers have followed in his footsteps. And when you consider
>that Nicki's second album actually missed the million mark,
>that means Drake, Macklemore, and Kendrick are the only
>leaders of the new school currently coming off of platinum
>albums.
>
>
>02. Artists should turn down collaborations more often.
>
>Once upon a time, you didn't have to be a superstar to get
>away with releasing a solo single. Now, not only does every
>other song feature another artist, but it's usually one of the
>same handful of artists every time. Not that long ago, the
>game was ruled by stingy collaborators like 50 Cent and
>Eminem, who worked primarily with their inner circle of
>labelmates and only occasionally with outside associates.
>
>But that all changed in the Lil Wayne era, when pretty much
>every major label artist could get a Lil Wayne verse on pretty
>much any single, and nearly all of them did (or a T-Pain hook,
>or more recently, a Chris Brown or Nicki Minaj feature). Not
>only has this one-size-fits-all A&R approach made radio more
>homogenous, it's also flattened out the differences between
>artists, reducing most breaking and mid-level MCs to whatever
>qualities would work best on a song with Drake.
>
>
>01. Not every artist can—or should—go independent.
>
>Major labels aren't the ironclad barrier of entry to a
>successful rap career that they once were, with cult heroes
>like Tech N9ne making millions and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
>ruling pop radio on an independent label budget. But those
>were long-building coups, with the artists finding their
>audience without the help of the RIAA. Drake and Wiz Khalifa
>built up huge fanbases before signing to their current labels,
>with many at the time claiming they were making a mistake by
>not staying independent.
>
>Given the kind of success they wanted, though, they made the
>right decision. It's hard to imagine Drake having the same
>chokehold on the rap game without the Cash Money machine
>helping him corner the radio market. If Wiz had stuck with
>just Rostrum without an Atlantic Records co-venture like Mac
>Miller, he'd probably have a respectable career, but probably
>not a #1 single or a gold album.


<< Started From The Bottom

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