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As much as I think we can all agree that it's unfair to judge the merits of an artist's music based on the fanbase that he/she may unwittingly attract, you can't say that after a while that doesn't become an issue or a thorn in the side.
So look – I'm 30 and white. I watched a lot of my peers who look like me get off at way earlier train stops on this thing, and it always just felt a little off. Like, "oh, Aesop Rock/Slug is your favorite/the best rapper to do it, but you aren't even catching the references he's dropping to records from his peers, the Rawkus era, Golden era, etc? Interesting."
That level of fanatacism, minus the true knowledge of history (and I'm not saying you've gotta love it or even LIKE it, but this is a genre that rewards knowledge so you're better off at least UNDERSTANDING it) can be a little offputting.
I realize that this all almost seems like it belongs in a totally different post, but I'll say that the connecting factor is that this trend conjured, powered, and inflated a lot of subcultures of the genre in this era that appear to be a little limp today.
Oh and you want examples of the records I am referring to in the original reply? I'll just pull a couple from the A's, haha. Aesop Rock, Akrobatik, Aceyalone. Now for Aes and Ace, they both have material that I feel is classic brilliant shit...but it wasn't ALL good. www.twitter.com/seandammit
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