so, it's always cool looking at artists/acts/producers who started out in the game a certain way and end up doing things bigger, better or just completely different than anyone could have expected...

doesn't matter the genre, or time period.. but let's look mostly at those who have been around/active for at least 7 or 8 years (i want to say 10 years, but i don't want to cut any cool stories out).. and for the record, "they rocketed out of the gate and they gradually slowed down and now he/she is a bum" isn't what i'd call an interesting career trajectory... it also doesn't really matter if you *like* what they ended up doing, just that it was different and from their perspective, it was a good look...

i'll kick it off w/ Cee-Lo (who i originally thought about for this post)... starting out as a member of goodie mob - a fan favorite to a relatively small sect of the population, as a rapper... early classics under his belt... then on to make pretty awesome (and kinda weird) solo records, mostly as a rapper.. maybe even less commercial success than with the group.. then links up w/ Danger Mouse for an album of singing - seemingly on a whim and created as a side project... has a monster hit w/ Crazy... probably gets called Gnarls Barkley to his face countless times by fans who have no idea he had a pretty long and successful career before Crazy... then becomes a fan favorite as a singer - to a completely new audience.. stars in commercials, budgets increase - drops internet sensation, Fuck You... now households everywhere know him as one of the coaches on reality show, The Voice...

... damn.

it's especially funny to me, because i remember meeting him in the line at CVS when i first moved down to miami ('08).. i thought it was kinda weird, seeing a superstar (in my mind) buying his own toothbrushes and shit.. and basically in the time it took me to graduate law school, he's pretty much a permanent fixture in the industry and possibly even a household name.. anyways, i doubt i'll be seeing him at the mini-mart any time soon lol...

i can think of some more.. but i'd like to hear y'all chime in

When I first heard Drake, he was just some guy who had a song with Dwele and Little Brother. Then I see HELLA FB statuses talking about his mixtape in early 2009, and I said "wait....same dude from the Dwele and LB sogn???" I didn't know anything about him being on TV, which made it even stranger.

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my homeboys literally use to break dance with them around 96-98. Now they are NEGA stars and Kim Hill is still doin' her indy-soul thing in Compton.

ehh on Drake, from So Far Gone to now, he's pretty much been the it boy. that LB/Dwele "phase" really wasn't one. i'm more fascinated about how he, especially with Black woman, stikes such an emotinal/personal cord. I was at his after party in Vegas on New Years day, and literally 70% of the club (95% Black) was rapping word for word to every damn song of his the DJ played. He really is a "phenom".

include his days on that canadian sitcom in talking about his career... all entertainment-based... i don't really dig his music like that... but from that "wheelchair jimmy" gig to beefing w/ hip hop HOF'ers... that's quite uniqe... haha jk, i give him more credit than that, he's legit at the top of the entertainment world right now.. but yea, either way, what a wild ride that must've been.. speaking of drake, funny tidbit: one of my friends randomly chatted w/ him on that chat-roulette website the other day, has screenshots and everything... no clue folks like that went on chat roulette.. the joke here is that he was looking to see random penis... but i kid.. i'm sure that's not why................


and yea, Black Eyed Peas - underground rappers to doritos commercials and the superbowl? wow. still trying to put my finger on the catalyst for that turn around... hahaha..

i feel like tyga isn't quite big enough for consideration just yet... honestly, i barely know who he is

stories to me.

Most artists come out locally, get buzz, get some nationwide buzz, blow up with either a commercial single or a more Regional sounding single, and then it goes into whatever direction.

With him, NOBODY in L.A. had heard of him...then he gets a single in rotation on MTV with Travie Barker that's not even really Rap, and people are like "who the hell is he? Wait, he's from L.A.???? The hell???" then he gets signed to the biggest camp in Rap, and instead of saying "yeaaa L.A. got somebody on YM!" we said "why and how??"

Then...he was on a few songs, nobody really cared...then a few more, folks said "oh, he's not good but ok he's on some semi-hit songs"...then to "Deuces" which he didn't do anything special on but was a hit.....then "Lap dance" which got a lil play.....then..."RACK CITY"......and the ENTIRE city was like WTF??? It became the biggest song of the year for L.A., a Top 50 Nationwide Billboard hit....and folks still felt like "that's cool...what's next?" Then, he puts out two mixtapes that have HELLA club bangers that end up giving him the crown as the king of L.A. Club music by the end of 2011.

So yeah...even a year ago, ask somebody in L.A., "how do you feel about Tyga?" and they say "That lil dude? Who cares?" and now it's "along with/behind YG? He RUNS the club/Ratchet scene."

Still not major like that, but I just think that's a rare story for a rapper to get big locally way after getting major play nationwide...backwards as hell really.

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no other way for his shit to turn out

__________________________________________
CHOP-THESE-BITCHES!!!!
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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

just the idea that his band started as a (relatively) singing group
and then managed to morph into all the crazy stuff they did later on.

they had the 50s rock and roll sound w/ "shout."
they had the motown sound w/ "this old heart of mine."
they had a thing going in the 70s as an album oriented band.
they had some r&b success in the 80s,
and even when hip hop came around, mr. big was still a presence all the way up until like 2004 or something.



it's completely unprecedented.
i can't think of another band that had that kind of longevity.




EDIT: *post-rock and roll music. i see you AFKAP lol

track... then i was exposed to earlier work... wow.

Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Common, Erykah Badu, The Roots, Jill Scott, YES on Cee-Lo

everything that went on in their careers... but i will say Common was another one i was thinking of... i'm interested in what you mean w/ Erykah.. seems like her career has been pretty straight forward (and mf'ing great, imo)

it's actually pretty interesting in my opinion.

She wants to be a female rapper when she's growing up, but opts to sing. She steps on the scene with an alternative look, but a very Black (woman) sound and expands the alter-Black/Boho lane that D opened up a couple years earlier with 3 great singles: "On & On", "Next Lifetime" and "Tyrone" that make her a big hit and wins her awards

3 years later she still goes 2x plat with Mamas Gun, and is a critical darling, but yields no big singles and rides the end of the neo-soul wave... while making the gossip wire with relations to Andre (having a kid) and Common

she disappears for 4 years (due to label mergers), comes back more political but with an even more abstract ep/lp that again has no big singles, and has mixed views from critics. It also seems she loses half of her fan base with this release

another 3 years pass (dealing with writers block), she seems to create a small-hit with "Honey", which is really a mask for one of the most progressively strange and experimentally wonderful (arguably her best) soul/funk/r&b lps of recent memory, that gets A LOT of love from critics, but loses another quarter of her fans.

now here we are today. she has another kid with the enigma of Jay Elect, is making music with FlyLo, Shafiq, Thundercat and Ta'raach, with little to no mainstream love, making artsy / "controversial" videos and one of the few "progressive" psuedo-indie Black singers...

again, this is the woman who was on ALL the covers and winning awards with her first album 15 years ago.

following him, Jay-Z probably. Even though he was always more or less a rapper...

if you told me in 1990 than in 2011 people would be waiting with baited breath over the news of his newborn daughter like it was a big tabloid event, I'd probably laugh at you

jay is damn near pop culture royalty... 98 was really the first year i was really into music and after hearing Hard Knock Life, i def. wouldn't have predicted where he's at.. even though he always acted as if he was at the top already...

then ye as a super trendy producer.. and i remember clowning him after "Through the Wire" came out... i was a fan a couple more singles into that album and i mean, the rest is history.. i think kanye's career has been REALLY interesting along the way too... great theatre too

People don't believe me when i tell em the dude who made F' You was also the dude from Gnarles Barkley and started his career in a southern rap group

Starts off as part of K.M.D. in the early 90's, a Native Tongue-ish group affiliated with 3rd Bass. Then in 93 his brother is killed, their 2nd album gets shelved, and he's dropped from the label.

A few years later he returns fat and sloppy-looking with a raspier, slurrier delivery while wearing a mask.

He then eff's around and drops multiple classics/very enjoyable albums within the span of a few years, becoming one of the underground's bigger names and more adored MC/producers.

Then he disappears for a few more years and returns with a solid album while having stand-ins rap as him at concerts.
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I don't like the beat anymore because its just a loop. ALC didn't FLIP IT ENOUGH!

Flip it enough? Flip these. Flip off. Go flip some f*cking burgers.(c)Kno

Allied State of the National Electric Beat Treaty Organization (NEBTO)

.

DOOM was definitely an instant "check-for" artist in the 2000s
and he came out of the ashes

I remember picking that one up, and when I came in here talking about how much I liked it, I was beheaded by the Legion of Doom Stans...

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But I similarly caught a lot of flack for how much I loved that album from friends of mine who were huge Doom stans. They said it was subpar, etc. And while, yea he had better work around that time, I still thought that album, on its own, was excellent and fun.

I still listen to that album pretty often, actually.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

I didn't find him as clever lyrically, but I liked it overall.
__
I don't like the beat anymore because its just a loop. ALC didn't FLIP IT ENOUGH!

Flip it enough? Flip these. Flip off. Go flip some f*cking burgers.(c)Kno

Allied State of the National Electric Beat Treaty Organization (NEBTO)

I had no idea it was unpopular with DOOM fans on here. Shit bangs back to front for me. The remixes/bonus tracks are dope too.

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

www.albumism.com

Checkin' Our Style, Return To Zero:

https://www.mixcloud.com/returntozero/

"getting sick and tired of a frickin liar"

Nigga I'm FAST....*pyoon*
ARE YOU TRYING TO RACE?!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Hiper18Yc

In fact, I think I've posted sometihng almost exactly like that in a precious post about "successful comebacks" a few months ago.

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

www.albumism.com

Checkin' Our Style, Return To Zero:

https://www.mixcloud.com/returntozero/

If you remember, his first album (with a DOPE 01-02 era Neptunes single) was a complete flop and he was dropped from Arista. I never expected to hear from him again after that. Add on to that all the jail stints.

I guess the equivalent would be if Ray Cash were to somehow resurrect and have a celebrated career (btw, i would really like to see this happen. Ray's debut was dope to me)

www.soundcloud.com/j-clyde
www.twitter.com/JClyde757
IG: @JClyde757

that came out like a month ago.

He talked about in several songs how he went to jail a couple years ago right when he was making a footing in the game, and how he let alot of people down and planed to avenge that with his music now that he just got out..

The mixtape was alright..I didn;t here anything that would set the world on fire, but it had some good joints on it..

i need to go peep that. thanks for reminding me.

www.soundcloud.com/j-clyde
www.twitter.com/JClyde757
IG: @JClyde757

Happy 50th D’Angelo: https://chrisp.bandcamp.com/track/d-50

He went from opening for guys like Ice Cube and Too Short in the early 90's to hosting the CMT awards nearly 20 years later.

I'm not sure how the story will end. But from start to where JK is now, it's been a pretty interesting ride.

From his days as a skateboarding treehugger, who auditioned ( and was turned down ) for the Brand New Heavies to Superstar.


I would've NEVER dreamed that the guy who gave us "When You Gonna Learn", "Emergency on Planet Earth" and all that Humanitarian organic Soul would wind up as a drug addled, Ferrari drivin', Filthy rich Superstar with none of his band around him to carry the groove.

When JMQI first dropped that single on Acid Jazz ( they weren't even signed to Sony yet), I knew they were bad ass. But THEN the Full Length "EOPE" came out and it was Game Over for pretenders in the Acid Jazz Genre ( they pretty much killed off The Heavies and all those other Milqetoast Acid Jazz groups).

So yeah...They were dope. But nothing lasts forever, right?

Wrong... "Travelling Without Moving" dropped and killed anything that wasn't moving. Disco, Funk, Soul Jazz, Downtempo, you name it, JK and 'nm did it. To DEATH.



JK got "Famous" and then started doing drugs. And with the success of the "Virtual Insanity" video, the rest of the world heard them for the first time. We should've seen it coming.

They dropped ANOTHER smoker with "Synkronized" just to prove they weren't fuckin' around. But that's
when the wheels came off...

JK spiraled out of control, and one-by-one, core members of the band left, which affected the music. By the time "Dynamite" ( which, to be fair was a pretty good 'comeback' album) rolled around, Jamiroquai sounded like a Jamiroquai Tribute Band.

It's sad to see, but if you have the "High Times" DVD, you can see from the videos that as the band got more and more successful, Jay's offstage lifestyle came seeping into the band. He went from singing about starving babies to wearing $2,000 Gucci Suits while driving Heidi Klum around in a convertible Rolls Royce.

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yes, lol

i need to watch that DVD. and you aint lyin' TWM and SYnk are some serious shit

It's been a crazy ride for sure. I can't completely co-sign on the Jay went corporate shit. He did in some ways but the groove never left that dude. He still has some of his ideals as well. And I actually like that Jamiroquai was able to explore Acid Jazz, Funk, Disco, Electronic, and Acoustic sounds across their albums.

The thing that really did Jay in was the success of TWM. The rest of the band wanted a bigger cut and and Jay started to view the band as more of a solo venture with backing musicians rather than a band. I get so angry when people say "Oh you like Jamiroquai.....HES really good" But I can't blame them if all they fuckin see is Jay. A lot of the cohesiveness left once that shit crept in. Jay's got a huge ego. But he's still a very brilliant, and talented singer.

Bassist Stuart Zender leaving really changed the dynamic of that band. He is a fuckin wicked bassist. They've not had anyone even close to that good since. Toby Smith, their former keyboardist left after Dynamite. His loss was jsut as big probably, as he wrote almost their entire catalog with Jay. You can really hear his absence on their new album, although the album isnt terrible by any means.

Unsigned Hype back in '91.

Seven years later, he's arguably the biggest rapper on the planet with 2 number one albums in the same calendar year.

Seven years later he's completely irrelevant, spending the majority of his time behind bars for completely reckless behavior (more than likely caused by a steady diet of hard drugs).

Seven years later he is out of jail, presumably sober and attempting to make a legit comeback this time.

www.soundcloud.com/j-clyde
www.twitter.com/JClyde757
IG: @JClyde757

Was never a huge fan, but he's had some of my favorite guest spots and it would be nice if he made a good comeback in life and music.
__
I don't like the beat anymore because its just a loop. ALC didn't FLIP IT ENOUGH!

Flip it enough? Flip these. Flip off. Go flip some f*cking burgers.(c)Kno

Allied State of the National Electric Beat Treaty Organization (NEBTO)

I didn't know he was Unsigned Hype in 1991. That's wild.

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"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

Went from battle DJ prodigy, winning the DMC's at 15. Honorary member of the Skratch Piklz. Kanye's tour DJ. Now he's the electro house king. Saw him rock here in SF not too long ago, venue was packed, girls hella screaming for him...dude's a rockstar.

------
so...if you're into DJing or nightlife...
or DJing AND nightlife...
peep Opening Set Podcast
https://soundcloud.com/openingset

also remixes: http://jonreyes.bandcamp.com

@stankpalmer

lol... now i get why ?uest ain't too fond of us sometimes....

but yea, the roots as a group, ?uestlove as an individual, throwing in Scottie as a spinoff, and then the lack of recognition for an MC who gets face/voice time on network television every damn day... they're interesting as fuck (honestly, i still meet plenty of so-called rap fans who have NO clue who BT is until i say "the roots".. but they know "that drummer w/ the afro" and could spot him out of a crowd.. not to mention, nearly 2M twitter followers)...

not even stopping there.. the turtle-speed rise to the top, w/o ever really getting a chance to be on "top"... the fact that they've been around as long as they have been... that they've been on the tip of EVERYONE's tongue at some point or another (millions of ppl site the roots as a "favorite"), the fact that they've worked for and with industry GIANTS... that they've been able to fit into MULTIPLE eras of hip hop and exhibit how a band can/should age and still put out a superior product that reflects where *they're* at as much as it kinda reflects going against the grain of "the times" - or at least, their own spin on the times... the creative ways that they've found to keep it together (that ?uest laid out for us not too long ago)... the creation of motherfucking OKP (and in particular, the Lesson), which has stood as somewhat of a tastemaker for quite some time now..

yea, the roots need a documentary.. like, yesterday

most of us are fans, so we know the story, take it for granted, and not discuss it/give them regular props... but they're still vastly underrated for all the reasons you gave and then some and, yes, a very interesting, unique story

i hope ?uest knows how much we appreciate him and the whole band

Barry White, Stevie Wonder.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

I think about this from time to time.

The "Rapper turned" evolution...

Remember Mase? What about Queen Latifah, MC Lyte and Fresh Prince?

I also love a good comeback...

___________________________________
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http://www.naijacandy.com
http://www.twitter.com/naijacandy <~ Catch me talking shit about your favourite rapper.

now that is a strange journey.

he went from fuck the police, straight gangsta

to

semi-political/serious/introsepective classic solos

to

movies i swear at some point i thought ice cube was be making some deniro type moves.

to

r rated comedy friday

to

pg rated comedies barbershop

to

straight up family/kid comedies

not knocking him, most of what he has done has been quality for it's genre, ceptin some of the later albums.

just cause

Radiohead.

They were always writing beautiful music with cool arrangements but every single album they change their sound up and still manage to sound like themselves and yet not sound anything like themselves at the same time, all the while being able to stay popular and sell millions without having to put out "pop" records.


I'm baffled as to why more artists and groups don't go the radiohead route.

And then I realize it's because of ego.

Wasn't he rapping in throwback jerseys on Slip n Slide records back in the day? Mentioned he knew Kanye before the fame, probably when he was ghosting for Trina and Kanye produced "B R Right"

And then...nothing.

Till one day Im on a run and Cipha plays "the biggest song in Miami right now"

Hustlin.

Oh. Okay. Cool. He'll make some nice ringtone money.

But then it's Trilla.

Maybach Music was cool. Boss was aight. But he ain't gonna be no star.

THEN THIS NIGGA WAS A CO.
Are you kidding me? A proclaimed cocaine kingpin who was a corrections officer?

No way. Finito. Done.



And then he's beefin with Curtis. Kiss of Death. Nigga a C.O. AND he beefin with 50? Game Over(c)Flip

Then some weird shit happened.
Not only did he withstand it, he came out with a DOPE record (Deeper than Rap)
Then he was featuring everywhere
Then Teflon Don
then the Warner Deal

Now he's got MMG. Mill on fire. Diddy Alliance. French Montana under the wing.

hell, he even put out Triple Beam Dreams that makes me interested new Nas material.

his presence pushed Jeezy out a space he was real comfortable in.

his album not dropping probably put Jeezy back in the game, so to speak.

I always used to tell people "He's some kid's Biggie." I hope I don't have to explain what I mean by that.

Now he's on the Shot Caller remix with Diddy and spit over the "Great to Be Here" flip that B.I.G. did.

some mid 30s former CO lying ass coke kingpin.

I'm awed every time I see him that he "made" it.

If you hear the borderline unlistenable and sloppy goregrind mess that is their debut and then compare it to the fairly dull and bland 90's metal on their last album, you can not even guess it's the same band (well, the vocals give it away I guess) but if you listen to all their records in order, it makes total sense. I don't know many bands who evolved in such a linear, organic fashion from point A to B.

If wer'e talking roughly the same genre, Death has a somewhat similar career trajectory but I think ''they'' threw more curveballs and became weirder and the many line-up changes means that it feels more disjointed since the musicians Chuck used on the various albums were SO different from eachother stylistically. Still, in terms of songwriting, I see a very linear evolution there too.

Anyway, I always felt this is the best way for bands to evolve even if neither of those two totally suceeded (Carcass went bland and I'd say peaked on their second and third albums whereas Death became a bit too wanky and show-offy at the end)