I've been saying this for years as well. I never connected it to 3000's statement, nor would I call that a promise, but I would 100% agree that the shit the South is pumping out now, is far from what 3000 was talking about.

and every time this topic is brought up, you have a circus of folks with a circus of excuses saying, "you're mad the South is hot right now" or "you're only talking of a small % of artists down here" or "the North is worse than the South" etc etc etc. and Bun B, as much as I like him as an MC, is disappointing to me as he continues to co-sign pure bullshit hip-hop that the South is known for.

of course, not all the South's hip-hop is wack, but to act as though what is in the forefront isn't wack, is nothing more than denial. and the biggest problem is that people from the South ride for whatever is popular PERIOD. that is where the bullshit comes in.

people up North will tell you when something or someone isn't coming hard. I completely agree with the poster above who said that the South had their own style with the live instrumentations, the gospel vibe, the intelligent street view point, etc etc. but now, it's all preset casio keyboard sounds with the most ignorant shit on top.

there is NO way i hell you can tell me that the South has remained true to what it was all about. Soul Food may very well be the album that BEST defines the sound that the South brought to the table and the feel they inserted into the game. and now, it's is so far removed from that soulfulness that it's damn near unbelievable.

and for those who will argue that "you can't just keep doing the same thing", I would say, that is true but the idea of progression is not to move light years backwards in quality.