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>Wow......I've sat back and watch everyone either bash or
>praise Jay-Z in some form or fashion, as far as his new
>song, direction for the album, etc. etc......
>
>Well, I thought I'd wait until everyone got out their
>"opinions" about the song and their take on his career
>direction before I start sheddin' some "truth" to the
>matter.....
>
>Hopefully, and I stress hopefully this would help change
>some minds about the perception of who exactly Jay-Z is as
>an artist and most importantly, an emcee.....
>
>So, before I begin let me preface this spill by saying, if
>you are a closeminded, new wave, I just learned about
>hip-hop last week cat, this post is not for you. There are
>a million and a half posts that you can reply to on OKP
>other than this one that will suit your needs......
>
>
>Here goes....
>
>I first heard about Jay-Z back in the summer of 1996. The
>first joint I heard was "Dead Presidents". I heard that
>joint, Wu-Wear, Fakin Jax, and Semi-Automatic in the same
>damn day(what a day). Luckily, I was blessed to witness
>hip-hop BEFORE the overground, underground split/big bang of
>1996, when rap was rap, no matter if you talked about money,
>drugs, hoes, mics, trees, sidewalks, shoelaces, WHATEVER.
>As long as you beats was dope, and you could ride a beat,
>you made it, which even this day, CATS STILL CANNOT DO IT.
>Backpackers was called backpackers because they wore
>backpacks like Black Moon. Most of the time, you didn't
>wanna find out what was in cat's backpacks........(weed,
>guns, crack, whatever....anybody that can remember, can I
>get a witness???)
>
>Anyways, Jay dropped Reasonable Doubt, and niggas went
>CRAZY. It was a dope album amongst the Ironman's, Atliens,
>Stakes is High's, BRandLife's, Illadelph'sand whatever else
>came out in the fall of 1996. That's when dope shit dropped
>every week. The record stores KEPT cats BROKE, buying 3 to
>4 CD's at a time. Then, the underground/overground bullshit
>started, and through EVERYBODY for a loop.
>
>Even me. I got caught up in the bullshit. First it was
>called Shiny suits vs. Real hip-hop or some other bullshit.
>Then it changed from Commercial vs. Underground.
>
>Commercial vs. Underground.
>
>Wow.
>
>That is some of the biggest BULLSHIT ever invented. I don't
>know who started this shit, but it killed hip-hop.
>Nevertheless, I fell into the shit like everybody else. I
>took sides, like everybody else. I took the "underground"
>side. I became a post 1996 backpacker....not a cat who wore
>a backpack with illegal substances in it.....shit, I didn't
>wear a backpack at all, unless it was for class.
>
>Needless to say, between 1996 and 2003 Jay-Z dropped 7 more
>joints, from In My Lifetime, to BP2. I began to feed into
>the "underground" way of life even more. If you talked
>about money, girls, sex, clubs, jewelry, I HATED YOU, no
>matter what.
>No matter if your beat was dope, you rhymed ON BEAT, the
>song made you dance(hell, that's 85% of rap music BEFORE
>'96).....na, FUCK ALL THAT, you were commercial, and I hated
>you.
>
>If you anything opposite of that, you were "REAL" or
>"UNDERGROUND", and I followed you to the end of the earth,
>like the Soundbombing's and all those joints they sold on
>hiphopsite.com and sandboxautomatic.com. Every night, me
>and fellow OKP bang97xxx would be on line looking for the
>new "underground" shit.....
>
>Until....
>
>The release of FANTASTIC VOL. 2....
>
>
>FUCKED ME UP.
>
>THEN I WOKE UP.
>
>All of the things that I hated soooooo much about subject
>matter in lyrics, good ol' Jay Dee, Baatin, and T3 talked
>about in EVERY SONG. They called women bitches and hoes,
>they talked about the going to the club, and might I add,
>they talked about women being bitches and hoes.....
>
>Over dope beats....
>
>WAS I THE ONLY ONE TO CATCH THAT?
>
>A couple of people did, but there were soooooo many cats
>that didn't for some strange reason. In the midst of this
>under/over bullshit, here's a group that did both. They had
>hooks, they rode beats, they weren't preachy, they just HAD
>FUN on the songs and that's it.
>
>It made you feel good.
>
>Everybody else was either in the club ALL Night, or freedom
>fighting for Mumia...
>
>Then came Neo-Soul.
>
>JESUS CHRIST.
>
>That's a WHOLE 'NOTHER POST right there.
>
>Talk about some industry made up shit. Some of the rappers
>that okp cats praise for doing that quote en quote type of
>hip-hop HATE THAT TERM....I MEAN....SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE
>EMCEES......
>
>Oh yeah CONSCIOUS RAP???? These SAME EMCEES HATE THAT TERM
>TOO...
>
>I know what you mean....its shocking like a muthphucka. We
>feed into the under/over split that the industry created
>just like the 12 year old's feed into 106 and park. When I
>first heard one of my FAVORITE artist say "fuck that
>neo-soul conscious rap shit", I was floored. I was like,
>"but aren't you neo-soul and conscious, AND underground
>might I add???"
>
>Nope, sure wasn't....
>
>Anyway, so then ?uest puts up a post called, The smartest
>backpacker(see OKP archives), and that made me curious on
>how divided the music world was....was it some made up shit,
>or was it actually true???
>
>Made up like a muthafucker.
>
>I fell for it like a dummy. Growing up in 1982-1996 age of
>hip-hop, I should of known better.
>
>Shortly after, the Listening was born.
>
>One cat on here said that it was same
>underground/neo-soul/conscious/mainstream shit he hears all
>the time....
>
>I told Tay, okay.....we are on to something....
>
>
>STOP TRYIN TO CATEGORIZE RAP MUSIC.......THERE SHOULD BE
>ONLY 2 CATEGORIES.....WACK AS FUCK and DOPE AS FUCK.
>
>No matter WHAT you talk about. Cats say that Jay-Z talks
>about the same thing every record. Okay, what the fuck does
>TRIBE talk about differently from record to record???? What
>about Gangstarr??? What about Black Moon???? WHAT ABOUT THE
>ROOTS???
>
>If you are FREEING MUMIA on your first record, then chances
>are you will be doing it on EVERY RECORD YOU PUT OUT.
>
>Redman makes a reference to WEED ON EVERY RECORD.....
>
>So what changes???
>
>The beats of the record changes the complexity of the album,
>YOU ARE WHO YOU ARE, NO MATTER WHAT.
>
>You mind a TOPIC here and there to elaborate on, BUT THIS IS
>RAP MUSIC...
>
>PUBLIC ENEMY TALKED ABOUT OVERTHROWING THE AMERICAN
>GOVERNMENT IN SOME SHAPE, FORM, OR FASHION, ON EVERY RECORD.
>
>Jay grew up in Marcy. That man knows about street life. He
>has expanded on certain topics here and there, but DAMN, I
>DON'T WANNA HEAR JAY TALK ABOUT ANY OF THAT SHIT POST '96
>BACKPACKERS DEEM TO BE REAL.
>
>Sorry.
>
>Just like I don't wanna hear THE ROOTS TALK ABOUT CARS,
>although I know they own some fat whips......but I guess
>some OKP's think that they don't 'cause they are REAL
>HIP-HOPPERS.
>
>Anyways, let's fast forward to a couple of weeks ago.....
>
>
>So I'm find myself sitting in Baseline Studios, NYC, in
>front of the "devil"....let OKP tell it, playing beats.....
>
>
>I played 29 beats.....he listened to every one.
>
>HE DID.
>
>Not an A&R, not an assistant, not his manager....
>
>Jay-Z DID.
>
>Every beat.
>
>I went to several quote en quote "underground, keepin it
>real labels" and the A&R's was like, "yeah man, I'm gonna go
>through these and pick out some for(fill in your favorite
>"real emcee")
>
>Not Jay....
>
>Probably Rap's richest, most power figure to date took the
>time out to listened to a new producer who got a couple of
>shots in mags hear and there.
>
>An hour.
>29 beats.
>At least 2 minutes to every beat.
>
>After which, he asked me, "damn man, what's your story?"
>
>I gave him a quick run down of where I was from and so forth
>and who my group was. Young Guru already had the Listening,
>had it the first day it came out, but never let Jay hear it.
> So did Kanye.
>
>A couple of days later, we recorded. ONE SONG.
>
>He took 4 takes on what some so called "skilled" cats take 4
>days to do......
>
>WITH NO PAPER.....IT IS NOT A MYTH......
>
>HE ATTACKS THE MICROPHONE LIKE HE IS PERFORMING....
>
>I have been in some studios with cats that cannot do that
>WITH PAPER.
>
>That is some hard shit to do, to come up with a rhyme in
>your head, and spit it like you knew it for years......
>
>DAMMIT PEOPLE LISTEN!!!!!!!
>
>Will the songs make it, who knows.....
>
>All I know is the game, t.v., and the industry has fucked up
>the minds of this new generation of hip-hop fans.
>
>There are dope cats that OKP's bash on the regular just
>because they get radio play, and praise the ones that
>don't....
>
>
>WHAT THE FUCK IS EVERYBODY GONNA DO WHEN THE MUSIC OKP
>PRAISE BECOMES MAINSTREAM.....if the industry sees that a
>Little Brother, or a Five Dees, or a J-Rawls, or a Aesop
>Rock can sell millions, that WILL be Mainstream hip-hop.
>Then, EVERY MAJOR LABEL WILL TRY THEIR DAMNNEST TO FIND A
>COPY CAT.
>
>So, before you label somebody the rap antichrist, or say
>somebody is not doing it for the culture, check yourself....
>
>Jay gave me shot...
>
>some of your favorite rappers didn't
>
>on the real....
>
>WAKE THE FUCK UP OKAYPLAYER....ON SOME LAWRENCE FISHBURNE
>SCHOOL DAZE SHIT...........
>
>
>Oh yeah, I rocked the fuck out of my Okayplayer shirt at
>baseline. Jay said...."damn, I was just on there this
>morning".
>
>
>Aight, everybody take turns bashing me across the head....
>
>LOL!!!!!
>PEACE!!!!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Ghost talks about wallabees ON EVERY RECORD....
chew on this......(from other board)
just wanna hear your responce to this text....
Jay Z's beats are weak, they are stripper beats, overpolished and lacks MAD creativity.
Little brother's album was premadonna, God's Son was also premadonna. Shit's solid, but none of these niggas got any right to be talkin bout "REAL" hip hop when NONE OF THESE GROUPS, from jay z, the roots, or little brother got a dj with any dope skills, straight the FUCK UP.
Read that shit again...
All of their djs they know, will get ripped on stage, their beats will get overpowered, and in the long run, if the battle was recorded, it'd be some classic shit where the real heads didn't even get recognized.
His story was the classic case of "underground kid" turned mainstream because a mainstream nigga gave him a shot. Please man, money makes people act funny.
He is right on one thing, there is only 2 types of hip hop, fresh and wack, what he doesn't understand is, jay z or his group wouldn't be in my category of DOPE SHIT. Most of my dope shit would date before 1997 (not much even) and the other dope shit isn't even filed under hip hop, which is a BAD THING.
Listen to MHE's GASLAMP KLILLERS, 95% of that shit is HIP HOP by producers that aren't filed under hip hop, and probably not even know, but that dirt is mad hard.
Hip hop today is split in 2 categories...
Mainstream and Underground
of those 2 categories...
Mainstream cats all make dance shit, and underground heads either TRY to make dance shit, but fail miserably, and the other side exploits the "underground" sound and has no sense of musicality.
In other words, 95% of hip hip is wack, regardless of category. There are few innovators, and there are even fewer DOPE ASS djs that are apart of groups in mainstream or underground.
The best way to use music as a communicator is to keep it vocaless, or keep the vocals to a MINIMUM on an album, because words have a tendancy to fuck up the mood, unless of course they are using their voice as apart of the music, tonally.. Listen to all this weak ass hip hop now, forumlas, from underground to mainstream, no one is original, because niggas STILL FUSSIN BOUT WHO BE DA BEST.
Jiggy beats will get fucked up in my domain, any "dj" in any group mainstream or underground group will get fucked up in my domain, and emcees, well, I dont like words in my music, so I could gives a fuck.
Hip Hop is WACK cause there are no more djs with skills in it, that is the undeniable fact. Where the freshest scratch djs are at, is where the dopest hip hop is at, remember that.
Right as I'm about to end this.... Inside Edition is on now, saying "Ashanti is posin in provactoive clothing in MAXIM's next issue" Isn't ashanti down with that hip hop with jarule? WORD, go get that money LITTLE BROTHER!
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The Lesson 
)..but at the same time, being where jay is right now, he's a lot more at liberty and in control of his music creatively enough to put people like you on. i'm sure a lot of people would 'give you a chance' if they were in his position...doesn't seem too fair a statement for you to make. another reason you can't hate on the mainstream too much...the possibilities (or the means to have those possibilities) are certainly more prevalant. which is probably why cats hate so much..all that $$...all that label distribution deal..sign whomever you want type appearance..makes fans wonder what's really going on.
